2.1 Introduction
Axiomatic design is a design theory that was created and popularized by Professor Suh of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Suh 1990, 2000). Actually, it is a general design framework, rather than a design theory. As the word
“framework” indicates, it can be applied to all design activities. It consists of two axioms. One is the Independence Axiom and the other is the Information Axiom. A good design should satisfy the two axioms while a bad design does not. It is well known that the word “axiom” originates from geometry. An axiom cannot be proved and becomes obsolete when a counter example is validated. So far, a counter example has not been found in axiomatic design. Instead, many useful
design examples with axioms are validated. Design is the interplay between “what we want to achieve” and “how we
achieve it.” A designer tries to obtain what he/she wants to achieve through appropriate interplay between both sides. The engineering sequence can be classified into four domains as illustrated in Figure 2.1. Customer attributes (CAs)
are delineated in the customer domain. In other words, CAs are the customer needs. CAs are transformed into functional requirements (FRs) in the functional domain. FRs are defined by engineering words. This is equivalent to “what we want to achieve.” FRs are satisfied by defining or selecting design parameters (DPs) in the physical domain. Mostly, this procedure is referred to as the design process. Production variables (PVs) are determined from DPs in the same manner.
The aspects for the next domain are determined from the relationship between the two domains, and this process is called mapping. A good design process means an efficient mapping process.
Design axioms are defined from common principles for engineering activities as follows