The Use of Hybrid System of Classification for the Retrieval and Modification of Mechanical Products

摘要

With people becoming more individualistic in their choices they make in personalizing the goods and services they use, as resulted in major development that has been recorded in the customisation world. This individualism has resulted in the increase in demand of customized products in many industries especially in the footwear, kitchen and computer industries. However, little has been done when it comes to mechanically oriented products and little flexibility has been given to the consumers in the co-creation of customized products. The Hybrid system of classification is one way to satisfy the customers' need for the products that are mechanically oriented in nature thereby meeting their desire needs.This paper presents a framework in which an Hybrid system of classification is used to integrates Customers into the design process by defining, configuring, matching, or modifying personal product that is mechanically oriented in nature and grouping the products into classes and sub-classes using a wide range of product parameters, products configuration which make it possible to add and/or change functionalities of a core product, a coding system for mechanical designs which is applicable to each product in the hierarchy, the use of a database for the products information. And the retrieval system to retrieve a similar product code from the database if the initial customer configuration data does not yield a feasible product code through the application of Analytic Hierarchy Process and finally modifying the existing similar product to suit the customers desire.