Development of a Functional Basis for Design

Functional models represent a form independent blueprint of a product. As with any blueprint or schematic, a consistent language or coding system is required to ensure others can read it. This paper introduces such a design language, called a functional basis, where product function is characterized in a verb-object (function-flow) format. The set of functions and flows is intended to comprehensively describe the mechanical design space. Clear definitions are provided for each function and flow. The functional basis is compared to previous functional representations and is shown to subsume these attempts as well as offer a more consistent classification scheme. Applications to the areas of product architecture development, function structure generation, and design information archival and transmittal are discussed. [S1050-0472(00)00704-2]