The role of product feature relations in a knowledge based methodology to manage design modifications for product measurability

During product development, the verification process should already be considered at the design phase to ensure that the characteristics of the product are measured effectively and reliably. Moreover, the verification process may prove more effective if the inspector is aware of the specific designer's intents. The development of the new ISO GPS (Geometrical Product Specifications) standards is mainly founded on these considerations. In accordance with the ISO GPS concepts, previous work developed a knowledge based system named Design GuideLines (DGLs). This system provides the designer with the knowledge concerning the manufacturing and verification procedures/tools and better links the manufacturing and verification processes to the designer's activities/needs. Further research then exploited the DGLs to discover the relations among product features determined by a particular manufacturing process. This work again uses the DGLs to prove that further relations among product features may also be determined by the verification process. This knowledge helps designers in understanding the consequences of the modifications applied to the product features required to improve the measurability of the product. Moreover, inspectors can better manage the verification procedure knowing these relations among the product features.