How You Calculate Metrics in Concepts

Your team is asked to modify the existing model of a mountain bike to meet certain requirements received as feedback from users.

The mountain bike and its components exist in a PLM application as an item structure and items respectively.

The primary requirements are:

• Reduce cost from 680 to 470

• Decrease power consumption from 40hz to 35hz

The detailed requirements specifications include:

• Reduce the size of the air box to improve efficiency and decrease power consumed

• Improve the exhaust system to optimize the power consumed

• Implement high flow rates and outstanding oil filtration for efficient power consumption

The following table summarizes key decisions for this scenario:

Decisions to Consider	In This Example
How can the existing PLM items be used in the concept design?	Convert existing items to concept components
How are requirements and metrics correlated?	Map requirements to components in the concept structure
How do I consider different design approaches based on the same concept structure?	Assign components to solution alternatives
How do I ascertain the most suitable concept design?	Modify component specifications Calculate metrics and compare solution alternatives Determine the concept design that fulfills requirements

Prerequisites

Complete the following actions before proceeding to the next task:

• Convert existing items to components in the concept

• Assign components to solution alternatives

The structure and component specifications of the newly-created concept Mountain Bike in this example are tabulated in the following table. The units Air Box, Exhaust System, and Oil Filter are PLM items converted to components.

Concept Component	Default	Solution Alternative 2	Solution Alternative 3	Cost	Power
ATV Air Box	Yes	None	None	330	17
Air Box	None	Yes	Yes	200	10
Exhaust System	Yes	Yes	Yes	190	15
Oil Filter	None	None	Yes	80	10
Cartridge Oil Filter	None	Yes	None	140	14
Wrench Off Oil Filter	Yes	None	None	145	13

1. Enhance specifications of the converted components Air Box, Exhaust System, and Oil Filter.

   Reuse existing PLM items by converting them to concept components in the structure, and modifying specifications according to the requirements. The changes in component specifications can be translated into item enhancement requests in the PLM application.

2. Map requirements to components in the concept structure.

Calculate Metrics

1. On the Edit Concept page, click the concept root node Mountain Bike and assign the following specifications to it: Target Cost 470 and Target Power 40.

2. Click the Metrics link to view assigned metrics.

3. Click the Recalculate icon to roll up and view calculated metrics.

Compare and Select a Solution Alternative

1. On the Edit Concept page in Metrics view, locate the Solution Alternative menu to view and analyze the metric calculations of each solution alternative.

2. Select the Default option from the Solution Alternative menu. The calculated power exceeds the target power as indicated by the Warning icon.

3. View the calculated metrics for Solution Alternative 2 and Solution Alternative 3 also.

   The cost and power metrics of each solution alternative are tabulated in the following table.

   Solution Alternative	Default	Solution Alternative 2	Solution Alternative 3
   Cost	665	530	470
   Power	45	39	35

   Solution Alternative 3 offers an optimum solution to the primary requirements. You can convert the concept structure of this solution alternative to a PLM item structure, or request approval for the concept Mountain Bike itself.