Perspectives on hierarchical modeling in mechatronic design

Hierarchical modeling helps to describe product models and data from different viewpoints that, representing the different disciplines involved in the design process of mechatronic systems. This paper gives an overview of hierarchical modeling techniques. This includes the investigation of systems, which requires handling different issues that address very specific views of the system (system aspects) and come from various disciplines. Also the model granularity which describes the extent to which an object or model is broken down into smaller elements it an important aspect. The different phases of the product life cycle require models with different objectives and levels of detail. Some models are needed mainly in specific phases of the product life cycle, which are discussed in detail in the paper. Especially in the conceptual design phase some design-characteristic aspects such as hierarchy of parameters, modularity of the design should be analyzed, because in this phase the largest part of the later resulting product costs is predetermined or even fixed. As a consequence, the scope for design is limited to merely small changes in the subsequent design phases. Therefore the interaction between the design phases and the related models plays an important role the development process of mechatronic systems.