Agile design approach for managing change propagation in modular products assembly

Implementing mass customization manufacturing implies frequent design changes and recurrent process variations. Decisions taken during product development can have consequences on the functional, physical and process structures, which either enhance or reduce product manufacturability. This paper proposes a methodology to help designers on considering both design and production process aspects in order to assist them on finding best solutions. In particular, we deal with the integration of design and assembly planning aspects in software tools conceived to achieve a more cost-effective realization of modular product variety.