Patent ID: 7389212

Claim:
A computer implemented method of interactive design of a component part associated with a vehicle that is a pareto-optimal and robust product design using design parameters and design responses, said method comprising the steps of: determining a plurality of design parameters associated with the component part and modeling corresponding design responses; determining a location and dispersion of each of the design responses within a design space, wherein the design space is a response surface of the design responses; determining a total percentage contribution of each design parameter to each of the design responses; determining a cut-off value for classifying the percent contribution of each design parameter to each of the design responses; using the cut-off value to classify the percent contribution of each design parameter as having a significant influence or a dominant influence on a variable design response; determining if a total main effect value of a classified significant influence design parameter or a classified dominant influence design parameter violates a predetermined condition, and further reducing the design space if the total main effect value violates the predetermined condition; identifying an ideal product design, by classifying each significant influence design parameter or each dominant influence design parameter as a necessary or an unnecessary design parameter, each significant influence design parameter or each dominant influence design parameter is an unnecessary design parameter if the corresponding total main effect value has a predetermined significant influence on a variable design response, and fixing the unnecessary design parameter at the total main effect value, if the total main effect value for each significant influence design parameter or each dominant influence design parameter has a predetermined significant influence on the variable design response; determining a most robust ideal product design by calculating a variation and an optimal improvement of the identified ideal product design, and selecting a most robust product design that has a predetermined optimal improvement and is an uncoupled design or a decoupled design and continuing to iteratively reduce the design space until the most robust ideal product design is selected; and optimizing the selected most robust ideal product design to obtain a pareto-optimal and robust product design, wherein the pareto-optimal and robust product design includes a design parameter having an independent design response, and the pareto-optimal and robust product design improves one design response without degrading another design response; and using the pareto-optiamal and robust product design of the component part for the vehicle associated therewith.