Towards Structured Knowledge Reuse to Support Design for Manufacturability: A Case-Based Reasoning Approach

Towards Structured Knowledge Reuse to Support Design for Manufacturability: A Case-Based Reasoning Approach. Thanabalan, K., Malburg, L., Kunz, L., & Bergmann, R. In International Symposium on Hybrid Intelligence in Product and Production Engineering (HIPPE), Paderborn, Germany, März 24-26, 2026. Accepted for publication.
abstract bibtex

Design for Manufacturability (DfM) relies heavily on experiential knowledge to identify and resolve manufacturability issues early in product development. However, this knowledge is often tacit, inconsistently documented, and at risk of being lost due to demographic changes and workforce fluctuation. Existing DfM support approaches are predominantly rule-based or data-driven and therefore struggle to reflect experience-based design reasoning and evolving manufacturing contexts. This paper proposes a structured Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) approach to support systematic reuse of DfM knowledge in early design phases. The core contribution is a case representation that captures manufacturability problems, applied solutions, and outcomes within the relevant functional, structural, and manufacturing context. Building on the Function–Behavior–Structure paradigm, the representation integrates structured attributes with explanatory textual information to balance retrieval performance and practical applicability. Following the Design Science Research methodology, the approach is implemented in a prototypical CBR system and evaluated using an industrially motivated use case. Initial results indicate that the proposed representation enables meaningful retrieval of similar DfM cases and supports experience-based design decision-making. The findings demonstrate the potential of CBR to complement existing DfM tools by enabling transparent, flexible, and reusable manufacturability knowledge support.

@inproceedings{ThanabalanEtAl2026Hippe,
    author = {Kokulan Thanabalan and Lukas Malburg and Leonhard Kunz and Ralph Bergmann}, 
	title = {{Towards Structured Knowledge Reuse to Support Design for Manufacturability: A Case-Based Reasoning Approach}}, 
	abstract = {Design for Manufacturability (DfM) relies heavily on experiential knowledge to identify and resolve manufacturability issues early in product development. However, this knowledge is often tacit, inconsistently documented, and at risk of being lost due to demographic changes and workforce fluctuation. Existing DfM support approaches are predominantly rule-based or data-driven and therefore struggle to reflect experience-based design reasoning and evolving manufacturing contexts. This paper proposes a structured Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) approach to support systematic reuse of DfM knowledge in early design phases. The core contribution is a case representation that captures manufacturability problems, applied solutions, and outcomes within the relevant functional, structural, and manufacturing context. Building on the Function–Behavior–Structure paradigm, the representation integrates structured attributes with explanatory textual information to balance retrieval performance and practical applicability. Following the Design Science Research methodology, the approach is implemented in a prototypical CBR system and evaluated using an industrially motivated use case. Initial results indicate that the proposed representation enables meaningful retrieval of similar DfM cases and supports experience-based design decision-making. The findings demonstrate the potential of CBR to complement existing DfM tools by enabling transparent, flexible, and reusable manufacturability knowledge support.},
	keywords = {Case-Based Reasoning, Design for Manufacturability, Knowledge Reuse, Design Decision Support},
	year = {2026},
	note    = {Accepted for publication.},
	booktitle    = {International Symposium on Hybrid Intelligence in Product and Production Engineering (HIPPE), Paderborn, Germany, März 24-26}
}

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