DESIGN IMPROVEMENTS OF DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMERS : How to improve conditions of transportation in Vietnam

Abstract: Nowadays international companies wish to relocate their production to developing countries in Asia. The product design is often developed in Europe and is, therefore, not always adapted to the production (transport and manufacture conditions) present in the country of manufacture. The consequence is less qualitative products e.g. distribution transformers of ABB Vietnam get damaged during transport; a problem none existing in Europe. The purpose of the project was to develop the design of distribution transformers for ABB Vietnam, so they better withstand the transport conditions. This Bachelor Degree Project in Integrated Product Development follow a general design process typically for product development and is divided into four main phases. The four faces are; Exploration (of the ill-defined problem space), Generation (of concepts), Evaluation (of the design proposals), and Communication (of the final design solution). Methodologies as literature studies and empirical investigations (observations and interviews) performed at the ABB Vietnam factory in Hanoi provided information about the problem space and a brief overview of the production of ABB transformers. In the study it emerged that the underlying problem was due to both the structure of the product and the infrastructure of the country, e.g. extreme road conditions, lower standard of transportation means etc. Design methodologies were implemented to systematically create ideas, generate and evaluate a number of concepts. The final design concept chosen was simulated to behaviour adequately of transport in real life to verify that the concept manage its purpose. The concept can be further improved and optimised. The outcome of the study revealed the possibilities of improvement, designers can contribute to increased quality of products by understanding the country of manufacture. The thesis is intended to enlighten people working with product development what they shall consider when designing for transportation, and may be used as a practical example of similar problems. The final design concept is an external support frame attached to the transformer to enhance support and contribute to improved quality – especially under extreme road conditions.