Product module evaluation method, product module evaluation program, and product module evaluation device

Abstract

To evaluate a modularization plan from the viewpoint of a predetermined evaluation index.SOLUTION: A product module evaluation method executed by a computer system, the computer system including an arithmetic unit and a storage unit, the storage unit storing part specification information indicating components of each product, module information specifying a component handled as a module common to a plurality of products among the components, and equipment candidate information associating work of a process with equipment for each component, the product module evaluation method including: a procedure in which the arithmetic unit generates a configuration of equipment for processing processes for producing each product based on the part specification information, the module information, and the equipment candidate information; a procedure in which the arithmetic unit generates a configuration of a production line including the equipment for processing all processes for producing each product; and a third procedure in which the arithmetic unit calculates a predetermined evaluation index based on the configuration of the equipment and the configuration of the production line.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for evaluating modularity of components of a product. [Background technology]

[0002] As a technology for designing a production line in a factory, for example, the technology described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2022-131505 (Patent Document 1) is disclosed.

[0003] Patent Document 1 states that "a production line design system is provided with: a storage unit that stores product CAD information related to the shape of the product, part attribute information related to the attributes of the component parts, module group specification information related to the specifications of module groups formed by combining the attributes of modules that are the production resources of the product for each work process of the component parts, and module specification information related to the specifications of the modules; and a calculation unit that designs a production line by sequentially executing equipment design, control design, process design, and layout design, wherein the calculation unit is a functional unit that performs equipment design using the information stored in the storage unit, and is provided with a module group candidate extraction unit that extracts configuration patterns of module group candidates that combine the module group candidates that can handle work for each of the component parts of the product and the modules handled by the module group candidates." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-131505 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the manufacturing industry, diversifying and shortening consumer needs are driving shorter product lifecycles and a wider variety of products. Geopolitical risks, such as conflicts, epidemics, and disasters, and supply chain risks are also on the rise. In response to these trends, the manufacturing industry is striving to achieve flexible production, enabling the same products to be produced quickly and cheaply at any location, by standardizing, sharing, and modularizing products, manufacturing methods, and equipment across multiple global locations.

[0006] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for optimizing a production line. However, it does not disclose how to evaluate productivity, production costs, etc. when parts are modularized. It also does not disclose how to calculate the equipment configuration within a cell or line when parts are modularized.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to evaluate modularization proposals from the viewpoint of a predetermined evaluation index such as productivity or production cost. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve at least one of the above problems, the present invention provides a product module evaluation method executed by a computer system, the computer system having a calculation unit and a memory unit, the memory unit holding part specification information indicating the components of each product, module information identifying components among the components that are treated as modules common to multiple products, and equipment candidate information that associates process tasks for each of the components with equipment, the product module evaluation method including: a first step in which the calculation unit generates, based on the part specification information, the module information, and the equipment candidate information, a configuration of equipment that processes the components to produce each of the products; a second step in which the calculation unit generates a configuration of a production line including the equipment that processes all processes to produce each of the products; and a third step in which the calculation unit calculates predetermined evaluation indexes based on the configuration of the equipment and the configuration of the production line. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, modularization proposals can be evaluated in terms of a predetermined evaluation index.

[0010] Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become clear from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a product module evaluation device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of production quantity information held by the product module evaluation device according to the present embodiment. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of process plan information held by the product module evaluation device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed by the product module evaluation device according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a product module evaluation device 100 according to this embodiment.

[0014] The product module evaluation device 100 has a calculation unit 110, a storage unit 120, an input unit 130, an output unit 140, and a communication unit 150. The communication unit 150 is connected to a network N and communicates with an external device 106 via the network N. A user (e.g., a production line construction engineer) can use the functions of the product module evaluation device 100 via the input unit 130 and the output unit 140, or via the external device 106 and the network N.

[0015] The calculation unit 110 is a functional unit that performs calculations to control the overall processing of the product module evaluation device 100. The calculation unit 110 has an intra-cell equipment configuration generation unit 111, an intra-line cell configuration generation unit 112, a product module evaluation unit 113, a module change plan generation unit 114, an operation allocation unit 115, and a production simulation unit 116. The processing executed by each of these units will be described later (see FIG. 4).

[0016] The storage unit 120 is a functional unit that stores various information. Specifically, the storage unit 120 has product module information 121, production quantity information 122, part specification information 123, equipment candidate specification information 124, work time information 125, process plan information 126, intra-cell equipment configuration information 127, intra-line cell configuration information 128, and module change information 129.

[0017] Product module information 121 is information about modules included in each product. Here, a module is a unit of a product's components. The relationship between products and modules is not limited, but generally, one product may include multiple modules, each module may be composed of multiple parts, and a module may further include one or more lower-level modules. Furthermore, generally, each module corresponds to a function, and different products may include common modules as components. Product module information 121 includes information that identifies common modules included in each product. Even common modules may be assigned different identification information (ID) for the production management of each product, but by referencing product module information 121, the common modules can be identified.

[0018] The production volume information 122 indicates the production volume of a product for each period. An example of the production volume information 122 will be described later (see FIG. 2).

[0019] The part specification information 123 is information that lists the components of each product, and corresponds to a so-called BOM (Bill of Materials). For example, the part specification information 123 may include hierarchical information such as the IDs and quantities of the components of the product, and the IDs and quantities of the components below each component. The components referred to here may also be the modules mentioned above. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, "parts" refers to all the components of a product, regardless of whether they are modules or not.

[0020] The equipment candidate specification information 124 is information that identifies equipment, tools, etc. that can perform the work of a process for each part included in the part specification information 123. For example, when a certain part is to be assembled, information that identifies a robot that can perform the assembly and tools, etc. that are attached to the robot is stored as the equipment candidate specification information 124.

[0021] The work time information 125 is information indicating the work time of each process. For example, when a part is assembled using a robot and tools as described above, the time required for the work is stored as the work time information 125.

[0022] The process plan information 126 indicates the results of allocating the work of each process to equipment. An example of the process plan information 126 will be described later (see FIG. 3).

[0023] The intra-cell equipment configuration information 127 is information indicating the equipment that constitutes each cell in the production line. A cell refers to a set of equipment that performs work in a certain process, such as a robot and the tools used by the robot. For example, information indicating the robot and tools assigned to work in that process may be stored as the intra-cell equipment configuration information 127 for each process.

[0024] The in-line cell configuration information 128 is information indicating cells that constitute a production line. For example, information indicating the arrangement of cells required for a production line to produce a product may be held as the in-line cell configuration information 128.

[0025] The module change information 129 is information indicating changes to the original modules. As a change to the original modules stored in the product module information 121, for example, a module change proposal may be generated to change part a of product A and part b of product B into a new module common to product A and product B (i.e., modularize them). Alternatively, when part c of product C and part d of product D were a common module, a module change proposal may be generated to stop treating these parts as a module and treat them as independent parts. In such cases, information indicating these changes may be stored as the module change information 129.

[0026] The product module evaluation device 100 can be configured, for example, by a general computer system (for example, a personal computer or a server device), and can realize characteristic processing functions (for example, the calculation unit 110 of the product module evaluation device 100) by, for example, software program processing.

[0027] The input unit 130 is realized by, for example, a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse or a touch panel, or a microphone which is a voice input device.

[0028] The output unit 140 is realized by, for example, a display, a printer, or a speaker that is an audio output device.

[0029] The storage unit 120 is realized by, for example, a main storage device, an external storage device, or a combination thereof. The main storage device may be, for example, a memory device such as a random access memory (RAM) or a read-only memory (ROM). The external storage device may be, for example, a non-volatile storage device capable of storing digital information, such as a so-called hard disk drive, a solid state drive (SSD), or a flash memory.

[0030] Each functional unit included in the calculation unit 110 is realized, for example, by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program. This program is stored in a main memory device or an external memory device, and is loaded into the main memory device and executed by the CPU when the program is executed.

[0031] The communication unit 150 is realized by, for example, a communication device for communicating information with the external device 160 via the network N. The communication device may be, for example, a wired communication device that performs wired communication via a network cable or a wireless communication device that performs wireless communication via an antenna.

[0032] Note that the above-described configurations, functions, processing units, and processing means may be partially or entirely implemented in hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits. The above-described configurations and functions may also be implemented in software, with a processor interpreting and executing programs that implement the respective functions. Information such as programs, tables, and files that implement the respective functions may be stored in storage devices such as memory, hard disks, and SSDs, or in recording media such as IC cards, SD cards, and DVDs.

[0033] The functions of the product module evaluation device 100 may be realized by two or more CPUs. The functions of the product module evaluation device 100 may also be implemented in multiple computer systems. In this case, the multiple computer systems communicate via a network. For example, some of the functions of the system of this embodiment may be implemented in one computer system, and other parts may be implemented in another computer system.

[0034] The computer system that implements the functions of the product module evaluation device 100 may be, for example, a server device or a personal computer owned by an administrator of the product module evaluation device 100, or a server device that the administrator accesses via a communication network. In the latter case, the computer system may be a so-called virtual server on the cloud. In this case, the functions of the product module evaluation device 100 are realized by computer resources on the cloud.

[0035] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the production quantity information 122 held by the product module evaluation device 100 according to this embodiment.

[0036] The production volume information 122 includes information indicating the production volume of each product for each period. In the example of Fig. 2, the production volume for each month from April to October 2022 for products of each item with product IDs "08AAB03", "08AAC01", and "08AAA010" is displayed.

[0037] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the process plan information 126 held by the product module evaluation device 100 according to this embodiment.

[0038] The process plan information 126 includes information indicating the equipment assigned by the operation allocation unit 115 to the work of each process for each component of each product in the process described below. In the example of Fig. 3, resources with resource IDs of "145," "135," "133," "140," and "155" are assigned to the work of five processes with process IDs of "08AAB03-1" to "08AAB03-5" for the component with component ID "08AAB03-14B" of the product with product ID "08AAB03." Here, each resource identified by a resource ID is, for example, one of the cells generated by the intra-cell equipment configuration generation unit 111 and arranged on the production line by the intra-line cell configuration generation unit 112 in the process described below.

[0039] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the product module evaluation device 100 according to this embodiment.

[0040] First, the calculation unit 110 acquires the product module information 121 (step S101). Next, the intra-cell equipment configuration generation unit 111 in the calculation unit 110 generates an equipment configuration within each cell based on the product module information 121 (step S102), and the intra-line cell configuration generation unit 112 generates a cell configuration within the production line by arranging the generated cells within the production line (step S103).

[0041] For example, in step S102, the intra-cell equipment configuration generation unit 111 may identify all products to be produced based on production quantity information 122, identify all parts to be worked on based on part specification information 123, and identify the configuration of a cell for performing work on each process for each part based on equipment candidate specification information 124. The generated intra-cell equipment configuration is held as intra-cell equipment configuration information 127.

[0042] Then, in step S103, the in-line cell configuration generator 112 may generate a configuration of cells in the production line by arranging the cells generated in step S102 in the production line according to the order of the operations to be performed for each product to be produced. The generated in-line cell configuration is stored as in-line cell configuration information 128.

[0043] The above steps S102 and S103 generate a production line configuration corresponding to the current product module information 121. These processes may be performed so as to optimize the evaluation index of the production line. The evaluation index may be any index that evaluates, for example, productivity, production efficiency, production cost, safety, or environmental impact, and may specifically include at least one of production throughput, production cost, the number of shared equipment groups, and the number of shared processes. The number of shared equipment groups is the number of cells included in the generated production line that can perform the same work. The number of shared processes is the number of common work processes performed in each cell in the generated production line.

[0044] As for the specific method for generating the configuration of the production line in steps S102 and S103, a known optimization technique or the like can be applied, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0045] Next, the module change plan generating unit 114 in the calculation unit 110 generates a module change plan (step S104), and the product module evaluation unit 113 evaluates the module change plan (step S105).

[0046] For example, the module change plan generation unit 114 may generate a module change plan to modularize a part that is not modularized in the current product module information 121, or may generate a module change plan to de-modularize a part that is modularized in the current product module information 121. The generated module change plan is held as module change information 129.

[0047] The intra-cell equipment configuration generation unit 111 and the intra-line cell configuration generation unit 112 execute steps S102 and S103, respectively, based on the generated module change plan, to generate a production line configuration corresponding to the module change plan.

[0048] In step S104, a module change plan is generated that includes at least one of changing a part to a module common to multiple products and removing the module status of a part that is a module common to multiple products. When a module change plan is generated to change a part to a module common to multiple products, work related to that module (such as work to assemble that module) can be performed using equipment with the same configuration. For example, it may be possible to perform process work on the same module for different products in a single cell. Based on this, steps S102 and S103 are processed for the module change plan, and an optimal intra-cell equipment configuration and intra-line equipment configuration for the module change plan are generated.

[0049] On the other hand, when a module change proposal is generated that removes the module treatment from a part that is a module common to multiple products, the part is not necessarily immediately changed so that it cannot be applied to other products, but if a design change, specification change, etc. occurs later for the part, there is no need to reflect the change in the part for other products. For this reason, it is necessary to generate the intra-cell equipment configuration and intra-line equipment configuration on the assumption that parts that have been removed from modularity cannot be worked on in the same equipment.

[0050] In step S105, the product module evaluation unit 113 compares the evaluation indexes of the production line before and after the module change, and determines whether the improvement rate of the evaluation index due to the module change is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. At this time, the production simulation unit 116 may execute a production simulation based on the configuration of each production line, and the product module evaluation unit 113 may calculate the evaluation indexes, such as production throughput and production cost, based on the results.

[0051] How a change in modules affects the performance indicators of a production line depends on factors such as the configuration of the production line, the production plan, and the types of parts that have been modularized, making it difficult to give a definitive description. However, to give a typical example, modularizing multiple parts may increase the number of shared equipment groups and processes, thereby reducing costs. On the other hand, if cells are consolidated through modularization, production throughput may decrease. If modularization is removed, the opposite change may occur.

[0052] If the improvement rate of the evaluation index is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (step S105: YES), the module change plan generation unit 114 generates a new module change plan (step S104), and the intra-cell equipment configuration generation unit 111 and the intra-line cell configuration generation unit 112 generate a production line configuration corresponding to the new module change plan (steps S102, S103). Then, the product module evaluation unit 113 compares the evaluation index of the production line before and after the module change for the new module change plan (step S105). The above process is repeated until the improvement rate of the evaluation index becomes smaller than a predetermined value.

[0053] If the improvement rate of the evaluation index is not equal to or greater than a predetermined value (step S105: NO), the calculation unit 110 displays, via the output unit 140, the generation results of the intra-cell equipment configuration and intra-line cell configuration corresponding to the initial product module information 121 (step S106), and further displays the generation results of the intra-cell equipment configuration and intra-line cell configuration corresponding to the latest module change plan at that time (step S107). Alternatively, the communication unit 150 may output the above generation results to an external device 106 connected to the network N, and the external device 106 may display them. Furthermore, the calculated value of the evaluation index may be displayed together with the generation results of the intra-cell equipment configuration and intra-line cell configuration.

[0054] In step S105, if the improvement rate of the evaluation index is not equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, it is estimated that further repetition of the process will not improve the evaluation index, i.e., it is estimated that the evaluation index has converged. This is one example of a termination condition for the process, but other termination conditions may also be applied. For example, the repetition may be terminated when the evaluation index reaches a predetermined value, when the number of repetitions reaches a predetermined upper limit, or when a termination instruction is input by the user.

[0055] The user can refer to the displayed module change proposal and the corresponding intra-cell equipment configuration, intra-line equipment configuration, etc. to decide whether to adopt the module change proposal. For example, even if a module change proposal is generated to change one of the components to a module common to multiple products, a design change or specification change may be required to realize such a module change, so for example, a product designer or manufacturing personnel may decide whether to adopt the module change proposal.

[0056] The product module evaluation device 100 automatically generates proposed changes to modules to improve specified evaluation indicators, and automatically calculates and presents the degree of improvement in the evaluation indicators based on the proposed changes, as well as the configuration of the equipment and production line if the proposed changes are adopted, thereby supporting the evaluation of modularization from the perspective of evaluation indicators such as productivity or cost.

[0057] The system according to the embodiment of the present invention may be configured as follows, for example.

[0058] (1) A product module evaluation method executed by a computer system (for example, a computer system realizing a product module evaluation device), the computer system having a calculation unit (for example, a calculation unit or a CPU realizing the calculation unit) and a storage unit (for example, a storage unit 120 or a main storage device and an external storage device realizing the storage unit), the storage unit storing part specification information (for example, part specification information 123) indicating components of each product, module information (for example, product module information 121) specifying components that are treated as modules common to a plurality of products among the components, and equipment candidate information that associates process work and equipment for each of the components. The product module evaluation method includes a first procedure (e.g., step S102) in which the calculation unit generates a configuration of equipment that processes processes for each component element to produce each of the products based on the part specification information, the module information, and the equipment candidate information; a second procedure (e.g., step S103) in which the calculation unit generates a configuration of a production line that includes the equipment to process all processes to produce each of the products; and a third procedure (e.g., step S105) in which the calculation unit calculates predetermined evaluation indexes based on the configuration of the equipment and the configuration of the production line.

[0059] This allows modularization proposals to be evaluated based on predetermined evaluation indices.

[0060] (2) The product module evaluation method described in (1) above, wherein the calculation unit further includes a fourth step (e.g., step S104) of generating a proposed change to the module information, and the calculation unit further executes the first step, the second step, and the third step based on the proposed change to the module information (e.g., a loop from steps S102 to S105 until a termination condition is met), and in the third step, the calculation unit determines whether the evaluation index has improved based on the proposed change to the module information.

[0061] This allows for proposals for module changes that improve evaluation based on predetermined evaluation indices.

[0062] (3) The product module evaluation method described in (2) above further includes a fifth step (e.g., step S107) in which, when the improvement amount of the evaluation index based on the proposed change to the module information satisfies a predetermined condition in the third step (e.g., when it is determined that the improvement of the evaluation index has converged), the calculation unit outputs the equipment configuration and the production line configuration corresponding to the proposed change to the module information.

[0063] This allows for proposals for module changes that improve evaluation based on predetermined evaluation indices.

[0064] (4) In the product module evaluation method described in (3) above, in the third step, the predetermined condition is convergence of the improvement amount of the evaluation index, and the calculation unit repeatedly executes the fourth step, as well as the first step, the second step, and the third step based on the proposed change to the module information generated in the fourth step, until the improvement amount of the evaluation index converges (for example, a loop from steps S102 to S105).

[0065] This allows for proposals for module changes that improve evaluation based on predetermined evaluation indices.

[0066] (5) In the product module evaluation method described in (2) above, the proposed changes to the module information include at least one of a proposal to change any of the components to a module common to multiple products, and a proposal to remove the module status of any of the components that are common to multiple products.

[0067] This results in a proposed module change that is the subject of evaluation based on predetermined evaluation indices.

[0068] (6) The product module evaluation method described in (1) above, wherein in the first step and the second step, the calculation unit generates the equipment configuration and the production line configuration so as to optimize the evaluation index.

[0069] This generates the optimal line configuration when the proposed module changes are applied.

[0070] (7) In the product module evaluation method described in (1) above, the evaluation indexes include at least one of production throughput, production cost, number of common facilities, and number of common processes.

[0071] This allows modularization to be evaluated from the perspective of productivity, etc.

[0072] (8) A product module evaluation method as described in (7) above, wherein in the third step, the calculation unit calculates the production throughput and the production cost by performing a production simulation based on the generated equipment configuration and production line configuration.

[0073] This generates the optimal line configuration when modularization is applied.

[0074] The above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those including all of the described configurations. Furthermore, it is possible to replace a portion of the configuration of one embodiment with a configuration of another embodiment, or to add a configuration of another embodiment to a configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace a portion of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration.

[0075] Furthermore, the above-described configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be partially or entirely implemented in hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits. The above-described configurations, functions, etc. may also be implemented in software, with a processor interpreting and executing a program that implements each function. Information such as the programs, tables, and files that implement each function can be stored in storage devices such as nonvolatile semiconductor memory, hard disk drives, and solid-state drives (SSDs), or in computer-readable, non-transitory data storage media such as IC cards, SD cards, and DVDs.

[0076] In addition, in the above explanation, the control lines and information lines are those that are considered necessary for the explanation, and do not necessarily show all the control lines and information lines in the product. In reality, it can be considered that almost all components are interconnected. [Explanation of symbols]

[0077] 100 Product Module Evaluation Device 110 Arithmetic section 111 Cell facility configuration generation unit 112 Intra-line cell configuration generation unit 113 Product Module Evaluation Department 114 Module change proposal generation unit 115 Work Allocation Unit 116 Production Simulation Department 120 Storage section 121 Product Module Information 122 Production volume information 123 Parts specification information 124 Equipment candidate specification information 125 Working Time Information 126 Process Planning Information 127 Cell facility configuration information 128 Cell configuration information within a line 129 Module Change Information 130 Input section 140 Output section 150 Communications Department 160 External device N Network

Claims

1. A product module evaluation method executed by a computer system, comprising: the computer system includes a calculation unit and a storage unit; the storage unit holds part specification information indicating components of each product, module information specifying components that are treated as modules common to a plurality of products among the components, and equipment candidate information associating process operations and equipment for each of the components; The product module evaluation method includes: a first step in which the calculation unit generates a configuration of equipment that processes each of the components to produce each of the products based on the part specification information, the module information, and the equipment candidate information; a second step in which the calculation unit generates a configuration of a production line including the equipment for processing all processes for producing each of the products; a third step in which the calculation unit calculates a predetermined evaluation index based on the configuration of the facility and the configuration of the production line.

2. 2. The product module evaluation method according to claim 1, The calculation unit further includes a fourth step of generating a modification plan for the module information, the calculation unit further executes the first procedure, the second procedure, and the third procedure based on the proposed change to the module information; The product module evaluation method is characterized in that in the third step, the calculation unit determines whether the evaluation index has improved based on the proposed change to the module information.

3. 3. The product module evaluation method according to claim 2, a fifth step in which, if an improvement amount of the evaluation index based on the proposed change to the module information satisfies a predetermined condition in the third step, the calculation unit outputs a configuration of the equipment and a configuration of the production line corresponding to the proposed change to the module information.

4. 4. The product module evaluation method according to claim 3, In the third step, the predetermined condition is convergence of an improvement amount of the evaluation index, a calculation unit that repeatedly executes the fourth procedure, as well as the first procedure, the second procedure, and the third procedure based on the proposed changes to the module information generated in the fourth procedure, until the improvement amount of the evaluation index converges.

5. 3. The product module evaluation method according to claim 2, A product module evaluation method characterized in that the proposed changes to the module information include at least one of a proposal to change any of the components to a module common to multiple products, and a proposal to remove the treatment of any of the components that are common to multiple products as a module.

6. 2. The product module evaluation method according to claim 1, A product module evaluation method, characterized in that in the first step and the second step, the calculation unit generates a configuration of the equipment and a configuration of the production line so as to optimize the evaluation index.

7. 2. The product module evaluation method according to claim 1, The product module evaluation method, wherein the evaluation indexes include at least one of production throughput, production cost, number of common facilities, and number of common processes.

8. 8. The product module evaluation method according to claim 7, A product module evaluation method, characterized in that in the third step, the calculation unit calculates the production throughput and the production cost by executing a production simulation based on the generated equipment configuration and production line configuration.

9. A product module evaluation program to be executed on a computer system, the computer system includes a calculation unit and a storage unit; the storage unit holds part specification information indicating components of each product, module information specifying components that are treated as modules common to a plurality of products among the components, and equipment candidate information associating process operations and equipment for each of the components; The product module evaluation program a first step of generating a configuration of equipment for processing steps for each of the components to produce each of the products based on the part specification information, the module information, and the equipment candidate information; a second step of generating a configuration of a production line including the equipment for processing all processes for producing each of the products; a third step of calculating a predetermined evaluation index based on the configuration of the facility and the configuration of the production line.

10. A product module evaluation device, A computing unit and a storage unit are included, the storage unit holds part specification information indicating components of each product, module information specifying components that are treated as modules common to a plurality of products among the components, and equipment candidate information associating process operations and equipment for each of the components; The calculation unit generating a configuration of equipment for processing steps for each of the components for producing each of the products based on the part specification information, the module information, and the equipment candidate information; generating a configuration of a production line including the equipment for processing all steps for producing each of the products; A product module evaluation device that calculates a predetermined evaluation index based on the configuration of the facility and the configuration of the production line.

Images