Series ISSN: 2573-3168

Synthesis Lectures on

PIDAPARTI DESIGN ENGINEERING JOURNEY

Mechanical Engineering
Design Engineering Journey
Ramana M. Pidaparti, University of Georgia

This book provides an introductory treatment of the design methodology for undergraduate
students in multiple disciplines. It introduces the principles of design, and discusses design tools and
techniques from traditional and multidisciplinary perspectives and comprehensively explores the
design engineering process. Innovation, creativity, design thinking, collaboration, communication,
problem solving, and technical skills are increasingly being identified as key skills for practicing
engineers in tackling today’s complex design problems. Design Engineering Journey addresses the
need for a design textbook that teaches these skills. It presents a broad multidisciplinary perspective
to design that encourages students to be innovative and open to new ideas and concepts while also
drawing on traditional design methods and strategies. For example, students are provided with
design solutions inspired by nature as well as the arts to nurture their creative problem solving
skills. This book provides an overview from establishing need to ideation of concepts and realization
techniques and prototyping, presented in an engaging and visually appealing manner, incorporating
multidisciplinary examples that aim to reinforce the student’s evolving design knowledge.
The technical level of this book is kept at an introductory level so that freshman and sophomore
students should be able to understand and solve a variety of design problems and come up with
innovative concepts, and realize them through prototype and testing. This book also can serve as a
reference text for senior capstone design projects, and the readers will find that the examples and
scenarios presented are representative of problems faced by professional designers in engineering.

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Design Engineering Journey
 Synthesis Lectures on
Mechanical Engineering
Synthesis Lectures on Mechanical Engineering series publishes 60–150 page publications
pertaining to this diverse discipline of mechanical engineering. The series presents Lectures
written for an audience of researchers, industry engineers, undergraduate and graduate
students.
Additional Synthesis series will be developed covering key areas within mechanical
engineering.
Design Engineering Journey
Ramana M. Pidaparti
2018

Mathematical Magnetohydrodynamics
Nikolas Xiros
2017

Microcontroller Education: Do it Yourself, Reinvent the Wheel, Code to Learn

Dimosthenis E. Bolanakis
2017

Solving Practical Engineering Mechanics Problems: Statics

Sayavur I. Bakhtiyarov
2017

Unmanned Aircraft Design: A Review of Fundamentals

Mohammad Sadraey
2017

Introduction to Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Systems: Theory and Applications

Allan Kirkpatrick
2017

Resistance Spot Welding: Fundamentals and Applications for the Automotive Industry
Menachem Kimchi and David H. Phillips
2017
 iii
MEMS Barometers Toward Vertical Position Detecton: Background Theory, System
Prototyping, and Measurement Analysis
Dimosthenis E. Bolanakis
2017

Vehicle Suspension System Technology and Design

Avesta Goodarzi and Amir Khajepour
2017

Engineering Finite Element Analysis

Ramana M. Pidaparti
2017
Copyright © 2018 by Morgan & Claypool

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations
in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Design Engineering Journey

Ramana M. Pidaparti
www.morganclaypool.com

ISBN: 9781681732602 paperback

ISBN: 9781681732619 ebook
ISBN: 9781681732626 hardcover

DOI 10.2200/S00815ED1V01Y201711MEC011

A Publication in the Morgan & Claypool Publishers series

SYNTHESIS LECTURES ON MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Lecture #11
Series ISSN
Print 2573-3168 Electronic 2573-3176
Design Engineering Journey

Ramana M. Pidaparti
University of Georgia

SYNTHESIS LECTURES ON MECHANICAL ENGINEERING #11

M
&C Morgan & cLaypool publishers
ABSTRACT
This book provides an introductory treatment of the design methodology for undergraduate
students in multiple disciplines. It introduces the principles of design, and discusses design
tools and techniques from traditional and multidisciplinary perspectives and comprehensively
explores the design engineering process. Innovation, creativity, design thinking, collaboration,
communication, problem solving, and technical skills are increasingly being identified as key
skills for practicing engineers in tackling today’s complex design problems. Design Engineering
Journey addresses the need for a design textbook that teaches these skills. It presents a broad
multidisciplinary perspective to design that encourages students to be innovative and open to
new ideas and concepts while also drawing on traditional design methods and strategies. For
example, students are provided with design solutions inspired by nature as well as the arts to
nurture their creative problem solving skills. This book provides an overview from establish-
ing need to ideation of concepts and realization techniques and prototyping, presented in an
engaging and visually appealing manner, incorporating multidisciplinary examples that aim to
reinforce the student’s evolving design knowledge.
The technical level of this book is kept at an introductory level so that freshman and
sophomore students should be able to understand and solve a variety of design problems and
come up with innovative concepts, and realize them through prototype and testing. This book
also can serve as a reference text for senior capstone design projects, and the readers will find
that the examples and scenarios presented are representative of problems faced by professional
designers in engineering.

KEYWORDS
design, engineering, innovation, problem solving, analysis, tools, techniques, design
evaluation, product realization, design projects
 vii

Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii

1 The Design Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 What is Design? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.3 What is Engineering/Product Design? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.4 Design Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.5 What are Characteristics of a Good Design? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.6 Engineering Designs and Failures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.7 The Design Process Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.8 What is Design Thinking? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.9 What are Product Design Paradigms? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.10 Multidisciplinary Approach to Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1.11 Multidisciplinary Design Teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
1.12 Engineering Profession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
1.13 Attributes of a Design Engineer Attractive to Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
1.14 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

2 Solving Design Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

2.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.2 Design vs. Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.3 Types of Design Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.4 Solving Design Problems – Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.5 Robust Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.6 Sustainability Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2.7 Nature-inspired Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2.8 Integration of Arts, Nature, and Design for Innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
2.9 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
viii
3 Reverse Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.2 Reverse Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.3 Reasons for Dissection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.4 Product Dissection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.5 Product Dissection – Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
3.7 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

4 Design Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4.2 Design Journey Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4.3 Design Journey Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
4.4 Design Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
4.5 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

5 Design Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
5.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
5.2 Design Concepts – Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
5.3 Design Concepts – Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
5.4 Design Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
5.5 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

6 Detail Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
6.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
6.2 Detail Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
6.3 Design Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
6.4 Bill of Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
6.5 Design Analysis Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
6.6 Final Design and Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
6.7 Design Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
6.8 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

7 Design Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

7.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
7.2 Design Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
 ix
7.3 Design Communication and Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
7.4 Design Report and Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
7.5 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

8 Design Realization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

8.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
8.2 Design Realization Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
8.3 Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Computer-Aided Manufacturing
(CAM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
8.4 Prototyping and Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
8.5 Product Data Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
8.6 Business Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
8.7 Virtual Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
8.8 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

9 Sample Design Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

9.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
9.2 Benefits of Participating in the Design Competitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
9.3 Sample Design Project #1 – Design of an Automatic Music Book Page
Turner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
9.4 Sample Design Project #2 – Design of an Oblique Flying Wing . . . . . . . . . 129
9.5 Sample Design Project #3 – NASA Moonbuggy Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
9.6 Sample Design Project #4 – Design of a Low-cost Ambulance . . . . . . . . . . . 135
9.7 Example Projects/Design Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
9.8 Possible Design Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Author’s Biography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

 xi

Preface
Design, engineering, and innovation are fundamental to many industries, and should be inte-
grated and taught at all levels in the arts, business, and engineering curricula. There is a growing
need for fundamental and introductory textbooks due to the fact that the technology is rapidly
expanding and many topics need to be covered. This comprehensive book deals with the design
engineering journey process and the use of design tools and techniques in the realization of the
design. The design engineering journey book is appropriate for first- and second-year students
as well as for senior capstone design projects, and is based on the author’s experiences teaching
design and senior capstone design projects over the past 25 years.
The book is compiled into nine chapters and provides an introduction to basic concepts
along with case study examples to fully illustrate the design engineering principles and their
applications. Each of the chapters provides enough details for students to understand basics
and steps in the design engineering journey process. Design examples are provided that will
help students to understand and apply concepts related to product design. Chapter 1 provides
an introduction to design journey including good characteristics of good design, design fail-
ures/successes, details of engineering/product development, as well as the design thinking pro-
cess. Chapter 2 describes several of types of designs, and problem-solving strategies. Brief de-
scriptions of sustainability design, robust design, design innovation inspiration from nature, and
the integration of arts, design, and nature, are presented. Chapter 3 describes the methodology
of reverse engineering used to redesign products for better performance. Chapter 4 describes
the steps of the design journey process, specifically the tools/techniques needed for identify-
ing the design requirements. Chapter 5 provides an overview of concept design generation and
evaluation techniques along with specific examples. Chapters 6 discusses the detail design and
evaluation required in the design realization process and provides a comprehensive review of
major design tools and techniques commonly employed. Chapter 7 discusses the reviews during
the design journey process as well as the key communication and documentation processes of
the design. In Chapter 8, the design realization process is discussed. In this section, CAD/CAM
tools commonly used in design and manufacturing, as well as rapid prototyping and virtual en-
gineering are also discussed along with a brief business plan that are vital to effective product
innovation.
Sample design projects that further clarify the design engineering journey process and
assist the student in understanding the strategies and techniques involved in designing quality
xii PREFACE
products that are responsive to the needs of society are presented in Chapter 9. Several examples
of interesting and challenging design projects are also presented.

Ramana M. Pidaparti
January 2018
 xiii

Acknowledgments
The author acknowledges the support and guidance of many of his colleagues, and sincere thanks
go to many of his students at IUPUI, VCU, and UGA for their contributions, help, and feed-
back. Finally, the author thanks his family (Chitra, Rohan, and Reena), and friends for their
support and encouragement.

Ramana M. Pidaparti
January 2018
 1

CHAPTER 1

The Design Journey

After reading this chapter, you will be able to:
• Explain and define the term design
• Define the characteristics of good and flawed designs
• Explain the design journey process
• Explain different design paradigms
• Define multidisciplinary design and teams
• Understand the role of professionalism and the need to learn ethics

1.1 OVERVIEW
This chapter provides an introduction to design and its characteristics. Major design approaches,
problem-solving steps, and characteristics of design teams are described. Design examples
are also provided to illustrate salient features of the design journey process as well as design
paradigms. Multidisciplinary design and design teams are briefly described. Attributes of tech-
nology graduates attractive to industry are also presented.

1.2 WHAT IS DESIGN?

When teaching design courses, instructors usually ask students to define the term “design.”
Typical responses include aspects related to innovation, solutions, creativity, teams, etc. When
the author asked students in his sophomore design class to list as many words as they could think
of that describe the term “design,” the answers resulted in a wordel format presented collectively
in Fig. 1.1.
There are many definitions of design. These include design as art, design as problem solv-
ing, design as a social process, and so on. The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Tech-
nology (ABET) is an organization which evaluates and accredits engineering curricula in the
United States. According to ABET, engineering design is defined as the process of devising a
system, component, or process to meet desired needs. It is a decision-making process (often iter-
ative), in which the basic sciences, mathematics, and engineering sciences are applied to convert
resources optimally to meet a stated objective.
2 1. THE DESIGN JOURNEY

Figure 1.1: Words defining the term “design.”

Among the fundamental elements of the design process are establishment of objectives
and criteria, synthesis, analysis, construction, testing, and evaluation. The engineering design
component of a curriculum must include at least some of the following features: development
of student creativity, use of open-ended problems, development and use of design methodol-
ogy, formulation of design problem statements and specifications, consideration of alternative
solutions, feasibility considerations, and detailed system descriptions. Further, it is essential to
include a variety of realistic constraints such as economic factors, safety, reliability, aesthetics,
and social impacts.

1.3 WHAT IS ENGINEERING/PRODUCT DESIGN?

Engineering design is a scientific decision-making process used to meet specific societal needs
such as construction of physical objects (aircraft, engines, bridges, medical devices, chemical
plants, skyscrapers) or information systems (computer software, chips). The overall objective of
any engineering design is to create a product/process/system that benefits society and also at the
same time turns into an economic benefit.
The ability to design is both a science as well as an art, and combines analysis and synthesis
methods. The scientific aspects of design can be learned through a systematic process (design
methodology), problem-solving techniques, and through experiential learning. The artistic as-
 1.4. DESIGN EXAMPLES 3
pect of the design is gained through practice, by developing the ability to appeal to the aesthetic
as well as technical design specifications. Engineers use their creative and imaginative skills along
with scientific principles to develop efficient designs. Design skills are learned best by “doing,”
through first-hand experiences in developing and testing solutions to real-world problems.
In customer-oriented societies such as ours, consumers want products that function well,
are sustainable, affordable, and aesthetically appealing. Moreover, the 21st century global mar-
ketplace has fostered the need to develop new products at a very rapid and accelerated pace. To
compete in this market, companies must be very efficient in the design of their products. It is
the design process that determines the effectiveness and efficiency of new product development.
Therefore, college graduates today are expected to be able to address economic, social, environ-
mental, aesthetic, and ethical considerations in designing products and services tailored to meet
the needs of their clients. Today’s consumer products have become so complex that most product
development efforts require a multidisciplinary team of people with diverse areas of expertise to
develop an idea into a product. Due to the involvement of large numbers of people in a mul-
tidisciplinary project, there is a greater need for ongoing communication and for establishing
protocols and infrastructure to ensure that nothing important is overlooked and to maintain
customer satisfaction.

1.4 DESIGN EXAMPLES

History is full of great design innovations. Some design examples of famous structures and
buildings include, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Gothic cathedrals of Europe, the Great Wall
of China, the Taj Mahal of India, and many others. Engineering designs can also be found
in our daily lives. For example, products we use everyday such as the iPhone, iPad, and DVD
players, soda cans, coffee makers, toasters, grinders, peelers, bicycles, chairs, paper clips, cars,
motorcycles, airplanes, helicopters, wheel chairs, robots, exercise machines, and so on are all the
result of quality product designs. A simple gadget like a personal DVD player contains many
intricately designed components such as motors, mechanisms, lasers, electronics, gears, switches,
optics, LCD, etc.
Several design application examples from various disciplines (biomedical, civil, aerospace,
mechanical, electrical and computer, and industrial) are presented in Fig. 1.2. It can be seen
from Fig. 1.2 that a lot of creativity and innovation goes into the design of many engineered
products.

1.5 WHAT ARE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD DESIGN?

Figure 1.3 shows graphically that a design need is fulfilled through multiple solutions following
various design process paths. The design process path depends on the designer’s knowledge of
the design process and also domain knowledge. The domain knowledge comes from studying
different disciplines, say engineering (where students takes courses in physics, math, engineering
4 1. THE DESIGN JOURNEY

Aerospace

Biomedical

Civil

Electrical/
Computer

Industrial

Mechanical

Figure 1.2: Examples of designs from multiple disciplines affecting our daily lives (Courtesy of
Nokia, DeWalt, Boeing, Lockheed, Intel, Sony, NASA, Clarks Orthopedic, Honda, Filmetrics,
Ferrari, JJS, Bell).

Design Process Knowledge

Design Need Multiple Solutions

Process Paths

Domain Knowledge
(Design, Engineering, Arts, Business, Psychology, etc.)

Figure 1.3: Design leads to multiple solutions following multiple process paths for the same
need/problem.
 1.6. ENGINEERING DESIGNS AND FAILURES 5
sciences, materials, manufacturing, kinematics, economics, mechatronics, etc.). Similarly, art
students go through various design studio courses as well as metal, wood working, along with
other courses as part of their discipline. In general, different process paths will lead to different
solutions for the same design need/problem. One of the main goals in the design process is to
find a good solution with minimum cost and resources and that at the same time meets the
customer needs.
From the perspective of companies and investors, the designed products should yield profit
by offering a quality product at an affordable price to consumers. The characteristics that measure
the effectiveness of a product design are as follows.

Quality — How good is the product from the customer’s point of view (does it satisfy needs,
is it robust and reliable, looks great, and does it have the best selling price)?

Cost — What is the manufacturing cost for producing each unit, and how much profit can the
company make after accounting for marketing and sales and discount?

Time to Market — How quickly can the design team bring the product from its initial concept
to final product to the market?

Impact – Social and Environmental — What impact does the design have on society? What
is the environmental impact (sustainable and eco-friendly) related to the design life cycle?

The time and money required to develop a new product to market depends on the type
of product. A few products can be developed within a year, while many require 1–3 years, and
some take as long as 3 years or more, such as the Boeing 7E7 aircraft, and recently, the Boe-
ing 787 Dreamliner. It has been estimated that flaws in the design process contribute to up to
85% of the problems with new products that do not work as they should, that take too long to
bring to the market, or cost too much. Also, the designs may fail due to poor understanding of
the problem, not making realistic assumptions, incorrect design specifications, poor choice of
materials (plastic instead of metal), or faulty manufacturing (large tolerances and poor quality
control).

1.6 ENGINEERING DESIGNS AND FAILURES

Throughout history there have been many design successes and design failures. These are briefly
described below. But before we discuss them, consider this guiding question.
What makes some designs succeed while others fail?
We need to look into the history of designs and often the answer is related to how complex
the design is and whether all of the requirements are met in the final design.
6 1. THE DESIGN JOURNEY
What are the primary causes of engineering failures/disasters?
Here are some examples:
• Human Factors
• Design Flaws
• Materials Failures
• Extreme Conditions
• Combinations of the above

Human Factors: The Three Mile Island nuclear disaster (shown in Fig. 1.4), involved a valve
that was broken and there was rampant confusion about whether or not it was fixed, and people
failed to communicate progress with each other. A simple failsafe fail resulted in one of the
worst disasters in nuclear history. Variable elements, like humans, in complex systems design
make things all the more difficult.
Design Flaws: Sure, the Titanic struck an iceberg as shown in Fig. 1.5, but had the ship’s
ballast and hull surrounding the engine been shaped better, the impact wouldn’t have been as
devastating. In the future they will account for this design flaw when building the Titanic II.
Materials Failures: In the Oklahoma City Bombing, a car bomb blew up columns in the
federal building. The fail safe was to have load fall on single point, but the concrete was not
strong enough to handle all the load, and exacerbated the damage (see Fig. 1.6). Obviously the
car bomb had something to do with causing material failures, but the damage wouldn’t have been
as bad with better material choice. Terrorism is now a factor in materials choice and building
construction.
Extreme Conditions: The Tacoma Narrows Bridge was made to be the longest suspension
bridge of its time, but it didn’t account for the danger of extreme winds, and resulted in twisting
and partial collapse as shown in Fig. 1.7. This led to more engineers taking into account the
importance of wind in their designs, like the Brooklyn Bridge.
Combination of the Above Situations: The BP Oil Spill involved human error, design flaws,
extreme conditions, and materials failure, as shown in Fig. 1.8. Insufficient knowledge and un-
certainty are the biggest factors in engineering design failures.
 1.6. ENGINEERING DESIGNS AND FAILURES 7

Figure 1.4: Three Mile Island nuclear disaster (www.google.com/images).

8 1. THE DESIGN JOURNEY

Figure 1.5: Titanic ship wreck disaster (www.google.com/images).

 1.6. ENGINEERING DESIGNS AND FAILURES 9

Figure 1.6: Oklahoma city bombing (www.google.com/images).

10 1. THE DESIGN JOURNEY

Figure 1.7: Tacoma narrows bridge disaster (www.google.com/images).

 1.7. THE DESIGN PROCESS JOURNEY 11

Figure 1.8: BP oil spill disaster (www.google.com/images).

1.7 THE DESIGN PROCESS JOURNEY

The design process is a journey that relies on our ability to communicate our ideas through a series
of steps for the development of a project. The design process varies from product to product, and
industry to industry. In order to develop new, innovative, and competitive products, the design
engineer has to develop creative skills and strong analytical capabilities, and employ a systematic
methodology. Even though several authors have defined and variously named key steps/stages
in the design process, it is possible to present a generic process of the activities involved in the
design process to meet design goals related to societal, environmental and business needs.
Designing a new product involves completing specific tasks and objectives corresponding
to several design phases over time, starting from establishing a need to designing a product to the
realization of the product. The various steps involved in the design journey process are discussed
in detail in Chapter 4. The overall product design process involves five different phases, as shown
in Fig. 1.9. The major aspects of each of the phases are briefly presented below.

PHASE 1: ESTABLISH NEED

The “Establish Need” phase deals with identifying customers/stakeholders and their needs, and
developing requirements for designing a product/system. The design journey process begins with
customers or marketing or sales personnel identifying a need. Needs may be related to consumer
12 1. THE DESIGN JOURNEY

Phase #1 Establish Need

Phase #2 Gather Requirements

Phase #3 Conceptual Design

Phase #4 Detail Design

Phase #5 Release to Production

Figure 1.9: Overview of various phases in the product design process.

demand for products and services which may be driven by industry’s desire to produce profits.
Also, needs may arise as a consequence of federal or state or local government policies, military
regulations, new technologies, business strategies, or sustainability concerns. In any case, it is
usually not the designer who initially identifies the need to be satisfied, as shown in Fig. 1.10.

Market Driven
New Technology
Research Project
Phase 1 Establish Need
Business Strategy
Sustainability Concern
Aesthetics

Figure 1.10: Phase 1 of the design process journey—Establish Design Need.

PHASE 2: GATHERING REQUIREMENTS

This phase deals with the task of understanding who the stakeholders are, and gathering re-
quirements for what the stakeholders want, and defining design/project objectives, as shown
in Fig. 1.11. This is very essential prior to translating the customer’s needs into a conceptual
 1.7. THE DESIGN PROCESS JOURNEY 13
form that will ultimately lead to a satisfactory design solution. The design may be subjected to
constraints such as available budget, time, personnel, materials, manufacturability, legal/ethical
factors, and competition. In this phase of the design process, it is very critical that the designer
work with the customer to ensure that end user needs are truly understood. In practice, defin-
ing the problem requires regular communication between clients, users, and designers. Typical
design criteria in defining engineering requirements include cost, quality, reliability, maintain-
ability, aesthetics, safety, human factors, environmental and societal impact, and others.

Customers and Requirements

Engineering Requirements and Targets
Phase 2 Gather Requirements Existing Designs
Competition Benchmarking

Figure 1.11: Phase 2 of the design process journey—Gather Requirements.

PHASE 3: CONCEPTUAL DESIGN

This phase deals with the task of generating candidate concepts, and analyzing and evaluating
them, as shown in Fig. 1.12. Brainstorming is one technique commonly employed by design
teams to generate many alternate solutions. After several concepts are generated, they are evalu-
ated against the customer requirements to identify one or two concepts that will receive further
consideration in the product design phase. The conceptual design phase is the most critical and
important part of the design process. There is maximum flexibility for design changes during
the conceptual design phase, with the lowest impact on cost.

Concept Generation
Evaluation
Phase 3 Conceptual Design
Refine Concepts
Update

Figure 1.12: Phase 3 of the design process journey—Conceptual Design.

PHASE 4: DETAIL DESIGN

During this phase as shown in Fig. 1.13, detailed analyses for deformation, stress analysis, heat
transfer, failure, design for manufacture, design for assembly, safety, cost, etc. are performed.
In this phase, it is the design team’s responsibility to come up with product details including,
geometry, dimensions, materials, manufacturability, assembly, and various drawings for manu-
facturing, and cost analysis. The designer may use several types of designs (configuration design,
14 1. THE DESIGN JOURNEY
parametric design, robust design, sustainability and green design, and others) in the design pro-
cess.

Design Analysis
Form Generation
Manufacturing
Phase 4 Detail Design Prototyping/Simulation
Economics
Safety

Figure 1.13: Phase 4 of the design process journey—Detail Design.

PHASE 5: RELEASE TO PRODUCTION

After the detailed design and manufacturing phases of the product are completed, the product
is released to production, as shown in Fig. 1.14. In this phase, the issues of quality control and
maintenance are discussed. The product is retired or recycled after the product is in use for the
designed life.

Assembly
Quality Control
Phase 5 Release to Production Maintenance
Retirement, Recycle, etc.

Figure 1.14: Phase 5 of the design process journey—Release to Production.

1.8 WHAT IS DESIGN THINKING?

Design thinking is a human centered innovation process focused on producing innova-
tive/creative solutions. One of the key differences from conventional design is empathizing with
the customer, which means putting oneself in the customer’s shoes. It takes designers/engineers
out of their comfort zone, and puts them in the field to experience and become emotionally in-
volved with a design problem. Design thinking promotes a more open minded approach where
designers collaborate with customers as well as people from other disciplines that aren’t normally
involved in the design. Design thinking promotes an accelerated innovation process through
crude prototyping, failing fast to learn faster, and quicker reaction rather than formal processes.
Design thinking connects people and businesses using design as a medium. The differences be-
tween conventional design and design thinking are presented in Table 1.1 below.
 1.8. WHAT IS DESIGN THINKING? 15
Table 1.1: Comparison of conventional design vs. design thinking

Conventional Design Design Thinking

What solution will satisfy this design problem? Empathize with the customer. What do they
really need?
Using technical specifications and market Start by observing, experiencing, and
research as a starting point for the design. understanding the problem/application in the
field.
Cross‐functional collaboration. Including customers in the design process as
much as possible and soliciting participation
from unconventional sources.
Designer knows best. Involve everyone, not just designers.
Analyzing and perfecting through incremental Emphasis on radical innovation. Prototyping
improvements. and failing quickly to speed up the learning
process.
Majority of the design focus is on product Greater emphasis on understanding the entire
features and performance. product life cycle and all of its implications.

The design thinking process is similar to the design process journey, as shown in Fig. 1.15.
It has five phases which include empathy, define, ideate, prototype, and test. In general, design
thinking is a process mostly adopted by designers and it is how a designer thinks and pursue
a solution to meet the customer need. It is also similar to scientific thinking but the designer
address a problem defining and focusing questions based on insights from empathy. Human
centered discussions are used to come up with design solutions that address problems that are
imperfect or incomplete.
Design thinking approaches also offer the opportunity to comprehensively assess the
strengths and weaknesses of a proposed design idea or concept prior to moving to the prototyp-
ing phase in the design process. The ideation process is typically not complex or expensive but
requires modeling and testing a physical prototype as many times as needed (test, re-prototype,
re-test, re-prototype for example) to ensure that the final prototype is as close to being perfect
as possible and meets consumer needs.
Apple’s product design and development process is widely admired and recognized for its
high success rate and reputation for quality products. Spearheaded by Steve Jobs, the product
development process typically is systematic and detailed and outlines the roles and responsibil-
ities of all the personnel involved in developing, designing and producing a new product. The
design team selected to work on a specific product for example comes up with its own reporting
structures and works directly with the executive team. Once a product is designed, a prototype
16 1. THE DESIGN JOURNEY

Empathy Define
Learning about the
customer for whom you Defining and focusing
are designing questions based on
insights from the
empathy state

Test Ideate

Brainstorming to coming
Prototype up with creative
Testing with solutions
customers to get
feedback and refine Building a prototype to
the idea further demonstrate
the ideas

Figure 1.15: The design thinking process.

is developed and is tested and reviewed iteratively. This cycle is also implemented throughout
the manufacturing process to ensure that the Apple product launched is both cutting edge and
offers a high quality consumer experience.
Kaiser Permanente used design thinking to solve a problem related to information flow
between nurses during shift changes. It did not have an effective system for recording and or-
ganizing patient care information that could be easily accessed by the various nurses providing
care during different shifts. The design thinking approach helped them understand and better
address this critical gap in providing patient care during different shifts by nurses.
Shimano is another example of a company that used design thinking to come up with in-
novative design solutions and carve a unique niche for itself in the bicycle parts market. Through
extensive consumer research including input from novice bikers on social media, Shimano real-
ized that it was very important to address both performance and ease of use in manufacturing
bicycle parts. Shimano also used discussions with consumers prior to launching their brand and
ensured that the purchasing experience was user friendly.
Other specific examples include design thinking for X (social good, mobility, educators,
teaching kids, innovation) in which each of the projects deals with the design thinking process
to deliver an innovative solution.

1.9 WHAT ARE PRODUCT DESIGN PARADIGMS?

The product design process involves the organization and management of information and peo-
ple to develop ideas into quality products. Basically, it is a problem-solving method that trans-
forms a poorly defined problem into a complete functioning product. Product function, product
 1.9. WHAT ARE PRODUCT DESIGN PARADIGMS? 17
form, manufacturing processes and materials are the important controllable variables in engi-
neering product design. Due to the complexity of products and manufacturing processes to-
day, several different people are required to design and fulfill roles in marketing, engineering,
and manufacturing. Historically, variations in how the design and manufacturing activities are
conducted throughout the design process have led to the following two major approaches to
engineering design.

OVER-THE-WALL DESIGN APPROACH

In the over-the-wall design approach, also known as conventional design, each group (cus-
tomers, marketing, design engineers or manufacturing) involved in the design is separated (or
walled off ) from the others. Figure 1.16 shows the overview of the over-the-wall design ap-
proach. It can be seen from Fig. 1.16 that the design process begins with the customer needs
being thrown over the metaphorical wall (one way) to the marketing group. The marketing group
then establishes its perceived market needs and in turn, transfers or throws this marketing need
to the design engineers. The engineering team interprets the market needs to be used in develop-
ing and refining concepts into manufacturing specifications. Finally, the manufacturing group
interprets the specifications and builds what it thinks the previous group (engineers) wanted.
Frequently, the separation and lack of interaction between the groups leads to misunderstand-
ing of what the previous group wanted. Not only is additional time required in clarifying the
needs of the previous group, more time is unnecessarily used if a group along the way makes a
poor decision that inadvertently affects another group’s ability to be efficient, or more impor-
tantly, a product that doesn’t work effectively or perform its task. Due to the inefficiency of the
over-the-wall design approach, the concurrent engineering approach was developed and is the
preferred engineering design approach today.

Customers Marketing Engineering Production

Design

Figure 1.16: Overview of the over-the-wall design approach (conventional design).

18 1. THE DESIGN JOURNEY
CONCURRENT ENGINEERING APPROACH
Concurrent engineering, also known as parallel design method, brings together teams of people
with tools and techniques needed to effectively integrate product and process design. In con-
current engineering, all stakeholders involved in the development of a product are an integral
part of the design team and are involved in every stage of product development from identifying
the need for the product to manufacturing the product, and finally, recycling or retiring it as
appropriate. Design teams today need representation from various professionals (with expertise
in marketing, materials, project management, manufacturing, etc.) to effectively handle the ever
increasing complexity of products and manufacturing processes. As design teams become more
inclusive, timely and accurate information sharing becomes even more critical to the success
of the design project. Consistent communication (sharing the right information with the right
people at the right time) throughout the life cycle of the product will be one of the most impor-
tant indicators of the quality of the product. Several tools and techniques including computer
based approaches may be used in sharing information between members of the design team who
are simultaneously evaluating progress on product development and manufacturing processes.
An overview of the concurrent engineering approach to product design is shown in
Fig. 1.17. This approach was created to address ten features built around integrating the product,
information/tools, and people. These features (Ullman, 2015) [24] include:

• Focus on the entire product/design life

• Use and support design teams

• Realize that the process is as important as the product/design

• Attend to planning for information-centered tasks

• Carefully develop product/design requirements

• Generate multiple concepts and evaluate

• Be aware of the decision-making process

• Attend to quality during each phase of the design process

• Simultaneously develop product and manufacturing processes

• Emphasize communication—key information provided to the right people at the right

time.

Independent of which design approach is used, the success of a design process is evaluated
in terms of the cost of the design, design effort, quality of the final product, and the time needed
to develop the product. All evaluated criteria have some unit of account, whether it is the amount
 1.9. WHAT ARE PRODUCT DESIGN PARADIGMS? 19
Teams Tools and Techniques
Customers
Design Engineers Computer-Aided Design Tools
Manufacturing Engineers Paper and Pencil
Material Engineers Design Process Techniques
Marketing/Sales Personnel Rapid-Prototyping
Vendors CNC

Design
Realization and
Product Development

Requirements
Concepts
Products
Design Process Plan
Manufacturing Process Plan
Product Life Cycle Phase

Product and Process Information

Figure 1.17: Overview of the concurrent engineering approach.

of time, and/or dollars, with the exception of quality. Quality is determined by asking the cus-
tomers questions such as does the product work as it should, how long should it last, how does it
look, is it easy to maintain/repair, etc. The consumer responses can then be evaluated in terms of
the product’s performance and engineering targets may now be measured in terms of time and
cost. Survey results of various industries including Boeing, Toyota, Ford, and others showed that
the concurrent engineering approach can reduce the time to market by 60%, improve return on
assets by 70% or higher, and improve overall product quality by 350% or higher.

Case Study In order to better illustrate the product design process, a simple design example
is discussed in detail below.
Example – Paper Clip Design
Let us consider the design of a paper clip, a common office product we are all familiar
with. How would you go about designing this simple gadget that has no moving parts? The
answer may lie in following the basic design process.
20 1. THE DESIGN JOURNEY
Need: To have a gadget that can hold a few pieces of paper together and not spoil or tear the
papers.

Requirements: It should be inexpensive, reusable, compact, easy to use, and rust proof.

Possible Design Idea: May be made from a single piece of rust resistant wire with no sharp
edges and with a pointed end toward the papers so that the clip can slide on to them.

Manufacturing Method: A fixed length of wire can be bent around posts of two slightly dif-
ferent radii.

Possible Materials: Steel, iron, wood, plastic, and others. Iron may have enough strength, but
may corrode so it needs to be coated with rust protection. Other possibilities include wood
and plastic. Some materials (steel) are stiffer than others (plastic or wood). Depending
upon the usage, if only a few pages are inserted, then the material springs back to original
shape. But if many pages are inserted, then the clip material may undergo permanent
deformation and may not return to its original shape. With repeated use, eventually, the
clip may break.

There are many design changes that are possible. One design idea may be to make the tip
of the inner loop slightly bent out of plane, another may consider a different tip shape, different
ends design, etc. It is interesting to note that the first patent for a paper clip was filed in 1899, and
the latest one in 2003. Some of the patented paper clip designs are illustrated in Fig. 1.18. The
GEM paper clip was first invented in 1899, and then improved in 1920. The common double
overlap shape manufactured by GEM Manufacturing Ltd., of England is still used today. Paper
clips today come in many shapes, materials, and colors.
Imagine that you are required to improve the design so that the paper clips are easily
inserted, hold pages securely, are lightweight, and won’t break. What other design ideas would
you consider? Keep thinking about it, and you will come up with many possibilities.

1.10 MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO DESIGN

In the concurrent engineering approach, the emphasis is on the product life cycle and may in-
volve only one discipline (mechanical engineering or civil engineering or electrical engineering
or other disciplines) in the overall design process. This may lead to the absence of optimization
in the design process. In contrast, people from multiple disciplines (e.g., mechanical, business,
arts, education, psychology, electrical, chemical) may work toward understanding the design
problem and find a solution. Multidisciplinary design and optimization is a new technology in
engineering systems that exploits the synergism of mutually interacting phenomena. The inte-
grated design process under the multidisciplinary approach will improve the design quality and
reduce the design cycle time and cost.
 1.11. MULTIDISCIPLINARY DESIGN TEAMS 21

Common Sense— Weis Clip—

Owl—1908 Idel—1902 Ezeon—1920 1904 1904

Philadelphia— Rinklip— Niagara Clip— Kurly Klip—

1867 1905 1897 1936
Gem—1892

Figure 1.18: Paper clip designs over the years (sources: http://www.officemuseum.com/pap
er_clips.htm and http://www.wipo.int/ipdl/IPDL-CIMAGES/view/pct/getbykey5?KE
Y=03/66350.030814).

In order to develop designs that address societal needs and to have greater impact, design
solutions need to be arrived at through multidisciplinary teams including marketing, engineer-
ing, and design in order to add a value or benefit to the product, as shown in Fig. 1.19. Through
the use of a multidisciplinary approach to product design, customers can have products that
are useful, usable, and desirable. The multidisciplinary approach to design has recently gained
wide acceptance in the aerospace industry. Figure 1.20 shows the multidisciplinary approach to
aerospace systems design. This approach is currently being implemented in many other product
applications.

1.11 MULTIDISCIPLINARY DESIGN TEAMS

The increase in size, complexity, and importance of products has made the product development
process more reliant on effective team dynamics and teamwork. Successful product development
may require many different talents and skills from business, psychology, art, and engineering.
The success of a multidisciplinary design team is attributed largely to the ability of indi-
vidual members to be highly motivated and to be cooperative, and to regularly communicate
22 1. THE DESIGN JOURNEY

Ergonomics
Product Interface
Functional
Engineering Feature Integration
Production Cost
Material Selection
Safety and Reliability
Manufacturing
…
Cost of Integration
…
Useful Usable
Customer
Requirement

Business Design and Art

Desirable

Ease of Use
Cost
Aesthetics
…

Figure 1.19: Multidisciplinary approach to product or system design.

Aerodynamics

Structures Propulsion
Multidisciplinary

Design
Materials Configuration Design

Controls

Figure 1.20: Multidisciplinary approach to aerospace systems design.

 1.11. MULTIDISCIPLINARY DESIGN TEAMS 23
ideas and decisions to the right people at the right time. The effective characteristics for making
group decisions as well as functioning efficiently in a multidisciplinary team are given below.

• Have a clearly defined and set objectives/goals

• Understand and commit to customer’s expectations

• Make decisions effectively based on facts/data/information

• Communicate effectively to resolve any conflicts in a timely manner

• Freely express ideas and feelings

• Continuously monitor the performance and make improvements

The following are the responsibilities of some of the members in a product development
team.

• Product Design Engineer—Has an engineering background and is responsible for the

primary design of the product.

• Product Manager (Marketing Manager)—Has a sales background and is the liaison be-
tween the customer and the design team.

• Manufacturing Engineer—Has a manufacturing background and provides useful input

about the facility’s manufacturing abilities and the potential costs.

In addition to the product design engineer, product manager, and manufacturing en-
gineer, depending on the size of the design project, additional personnel may be included as
necessary. These include a drafter, materials specialist, artist, psychologist, detailer, quality con-
trol/assurance specialist, industrial designer, assembly manager, technician, vendors, etc.

• Drafter—Uses computer-aided tools to develop drawings of the components.

• Artist—Uses creativity skills to develop innovative ideas.

• Materials Specialist—Has a thorough knowledge of materials to aid in appropriate selec-

tion.

• Machinist—Aides in the creation of tooling and prototypes.

• Detailer—Finishes up the design and provides the assembly and manufacturing specifica-
tions.

• Business Manager—Uses marketing and management skills to develop market strategy

and business plan for the product.
24 1. THE DESIGN JOURNEY
• Quality Control—Inspects the incoming raw materials, components produced, and the
final product to ensure not only quality but also that the product is up to current codes and
standards.

• Technician—Performs tests to insure that the engineering and performance specifications

are met.

1.12 ENGINEERING PROFESSION

The Engineering profession is a noble one. It is dedicated to systematically developing and ap-
plying technology for the benefit of society. The engineer/product designer should take responsi-
bility for the design decisions, and remain dedicated to using his/her talents to benefit humanity.
The engineer may have to take on many roles as a statesman, an artist, and a humanitarian. Engi-
neers usually work in many roles as a sales/marketing engineer, design engineer, manufacturing
engineer, materials engineer, application engineer, and others.
The term “profession” rather than occupation or job is used to refer to the practice of en-
gineering, as it requires formal education and advanced skills as well as the exercise of judgment
and discretion and results in positive public service outcomes. Standards for admission to the
profession are established by specialized agencies and members are expected to abide by certain
basic rules and regulations governing their conduct, particularly in their roles as professionals.
Essentially, engineers are expected to abide by a “code of ethics” that outlines their rights, duties
and obligations as members of the profession. Knowledge of the profession’s ethical principles
will help the practicing engineer make informed judgments in situations where they may be
a conflict between government and company regulations and public safety and environmental
protection considerations, for example.

CODE OF ETHICS
Professional ethics/codes are often broad based in nature and do not necessarily address ev-
ery dilemma that may arise during the course of work activities. However, they are intended
to provide a starting point for ethical decision making. When designing a complex project,
there are many decisions that need to be made which may affect all stakeholders. To help to
make the decisions, several professional engineering organizations (ASEE—American Society
for Engineering Education; ASME—American Society of Mechanical Engineers; ASCE—
American Society of Civil Engineers; IEEE—Institution of Electronics and Electrical Engi-
neers; ABET—Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology; and NSPE - National
Society of Professional Engineers) have developed their own code of ethics. These codes should
be used as guidelines when faced with a dilemma in making a decision and sometimes require
further research and discussion among all stakeholders involved in the design project.
A couple of examples of “code of ethics” from ABET and NSPE websites are given below
and students are encouraged to visit the websites for better understanding.
 1.13. ATTRIBUTES OF A DESIGN ENGINEER ATTRACTIVE TO INDUSTRY 25
• ABET Code of Ethics for Engineers (www.abet.org)
• NSPE Code of Ethics for Professional Engineers (www.nspe.org/resources/ethics/co
de-ethics)

CASE STUDIES
The ethical skills can be practiced by going through case studies that are available given below.
• From National Society of Professional Engineers, NSPE Board of “Ethical Review
Cases,” website: www.nspe.org/resources/ethics/ethics-resources/board-of-
ethical-review-cases
• From National Academy of Engineering, “Cases and Scenarios” Online Ethics Center for
Engineering, website: http://www.onlineethics.org/

1.13 ATTRIBUTES OF A DESIGN ENGINEER ATTRACTIVE

TO INDUSTRY
In order to be marketable in engineering industries, every product designer/engineer should be
aware of the attributes discussed below (http://www.boeing.com).
• A good grasp of engineering science fundamentals.
– Mathematics (including statistics), physical and life sciences
– Information technology
• A good understanding of the design process and manufacturing (i.e., understand engi-
neering).
• A basic understanding of the context in which engineering is practiced.
– Economics, history, legal aspects, environment
– Customer and societal needs
• Good communication skills.
– Written, verbal, graphic
• High ethical standards.
• An ability to think both critically and creatively, independently and cooperatively.
• Flexibility—an ability and the self-confidence to adapt to rapid/major change.
• Curiosity and a desire to learn—for life.
• A profound understanding of the importance of team work.
26 1. THE DESIGN JOURNEY
1.14 EXERCISES
1.1. What is engineering design and why should we study it?
1.2. Identify five design problems from everyday life.
1.3. What are the major design approaches? Discuss their advantages and disadvantages.
1.4. Select a product and determine the design objective. Discuss how the design can be
improved so the product can have multiple functions.
1.5. Find four examples of designs and describe the design process steps.
1.6. Find design examples related to civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and
aerospace engineering and discuss the design process steps unique to each discipline.
1.7. Find examples of multidisciplinary design related to arts, business, and engineering.
1.8. Discuss the stages involved in designing an electro-mechanical toy for children. What
disciplines should be involved in the design team?
1.9. What are engineering ethics and why should you learn them?
1.10. Review the ASME Code of Ethics and list two principles.
1.11. Discuss a case study from the NSPE Ethical Review of Cases.

Figure 1.21: Drawn by 20th century cartoonist Rube Goldberg (1883–1970), studied engineer-
ing at UC Berkeley and then became an artist (source: http:/www.bethpage.ws).
 27

CHAPTER 2

Solving Design Problems

After reading this chapter, you will be able to:
• Explain the differences between analysis and design problems
• Explain various types of design problems
• Apply design problem solution strategies
• Explain robust design characteristics
• Explain sustainability and green design characteristics
• Explain nature-inspired design
• Explain how design ideas can be explored using nature/art

2.1 OVERVIEW
This chapter introduces the differences between analysis and design, various types of design
problems and a general problem solving methodology. Robust design, sustainability and green
design, and design inspired by nature and art are also presented. Strategies for solving design
problems are also discussed.

2.2 DESIGN VS. ANALYSIS

Design problems are open-ended, where more than one feasible solution may exist. The goal of
design problems is to find a solution to meet a set of requirements (see Fig. 2.1). On the other
hand, analysis involves using the laws of mathematics, physical and chemical sciences to find a
solution for a given set of data/design (see Fig. 2.1). The word “analysis” can also be applied to
problems that predict or validate the results of an experiment using mathematics. The following
examples further illustrate the differences between design and analysis.
28 2. SOLVING DESIGN PROBLEMS

Input DESIGN Many

Requirements Solutions

Given ANALYSIS Unique

Design Solution

Figure 2.1: Design vs. analysis—differences.

EXAMPLES OF DESIGN PROBLEMS

Design a water bottle to hold enough water for a day when traveling in the mountains. Another
example, design the tallest tower possible with three pieces of paper, ten paper clips, and one
scotch tape. Both the problems are open-ended in that many solutions exist. The design process
involves problem formulation, solutions generation, and evaluation. The characteristics of design
problems are summarized below.

DESIGN PROBLEMS – CHARACTERISTICS

• Problem statement is incomplete, ambiguous, and self-contradictory. It is less precise. It
needs more information and/or has to make assumptions to find a solution.
• Problem does not have a readily identifiable closure. There are many possible solutions
using different scenarios.
• Solutions are neither unique nor compact. There are many possible answers based on the
assumptions.
• Problem requires integration of knowledge from many fields. These include science, math-
ematics, design, art, mechanics, etc.
Analysis helps to make decisions and guide the design process. A design project with-
out analysis is like a class without a teacher or basketball team without a coach. Usually, the
analysis process involves: (i) formulating (understanding the problem and having plan for a so-
lution); (ii) solving (figuring out unknowns using mathematical methods and equations); and
(iii) checking (accuracy, precision, and validation). Different types of analysis are required at
different stages of the design process. The characteristics of analysis problems are summarized
below.

ANALYSIS PROBLEMS – CHARACTERISTICS

• Problem statement is compact and well defined. It is complete, unambiguous, and with
no contradictions.
 2.2. DESIGN VS. ANALYSIS 29
• Problem has a readily identifiable closure. It is easy to recognize that an answer is obtained.

• Solution is unique and compact. There is a single correct answer.

• Problem uses specialized knowledge. They require the use specific knowledge related to
the problem.

EXAMPLES OF ANALYSIS PROBLEMS

Consider the design of most robust and giant ship “Titanic” of the early 1900s. The giant ship
sank when its starboard side was punctured by an iceberg, causing the hull to fill with water
and tip the ship. This was due to designers not considering the dynamic analysis which takes
into account external forces due to choppiness of the sea, and the unbalancing movement of
a collision with an iceberg. At the same time, engineers considered only static analysis during
the design of the ship, meaning the ship was assumed to be stationary and considered only the
weight of the passengers, cargo, and wind forces.
Another example of successful engineering analysis is the development of modern air-
craft, where engineers developed better approaches for the design analysis of airplanes under
a dynamic environment. In engineering and technology, analysis problems, a given behavior
can be predicted for specific function or characteristics. For example, given the diameter and
length of a cylinder, the volume can be predicted using mathematical equations. The following
examples further illustrate the analysis problems.

Example 2.1 For the circuit shown in Fig. 2.2, find how much current flow through the circuit
0.5 s after the switch is closed.

Switch

+ +
Battery Capacitor
– –

Resistance

Figure 2.2: Example of an analysis problem—an electric circuit.

30 2. SOLVING DESIGN PROBLEMS
Example 2.2 Determine the deflection and maximum stresses for a simply supported beam
given that the beam has a circular cross-section of diameter 200 and is loaded, as shown in Fig. 2.3.

1,000 lb

Figure 2.3: Example of an analysis problem—simply supported beam.

2.3 TYPES OF DESIGN PROBLEMS

Design problems can be thought of as a combination of any of the following sub-problems:
(i) selection design; (ii) configuration design; (iii) parametric design; (iv) original design; and
(v) redesign. In addition to the above types of design problems, robust design, sustainability and
green design, and design from nature and art are also briefly presented.
Independent of the type of design problem, the more knowledge the designer obtains
throughout the design journey, the various terms and language used in describing the product
tend to decrease in the level of abstraction. That is, as time progresses and as more facts are
known about the product or component, the semantic (verbal or textual representation of the
component), graphical (drawing of the component), analytical (equations or procedures repre-
senting the component), and physical language (hardware or physical component) become more
concrete in the information they provide to the designer. Various types of design problems are
briefly described in the paragraphs below.

SELECTION DESIGN
Selection design involves the evaluation of potential solutions based upon the problem’s need to
make the right decision or choice. The potential solutions related to a specific component can be
selected from vendor’s catalogs that describe all the relevant characteristics of the component.
The standard components include structural beams of various shapes and sizes, gears, valves,
motors, pumps, springs, sensors, etc.
Consider an example where a design problem might be to select a tire for all terrain vehi-
cles with a certain weight. The solution to this problem involves looking up tables or catalogs to
select a specific tire, say A932004 based on weight restrictions and all-terrain ability, as shown
in Fig. 2.4. There are a wide variety of components and systems readily available “off the shelf.”
 2.3. TYPES OF DESIGN PROBLEMS 31

Figure 2.4: Tire Selection: A932004, A1016, and AR10317, respectively.

Figure 2.5: Selection design of an I-Beam section to meet required specifications (source: www.
metalworldinc.com).
32 2. SOLVING DESIGN PROBLEMS
Another example of a design problem might be to select an I-beam to support a central
load of 100 N acting on a beam of length 3 m. The solution to this problem involves looking up
tables or catalogs (see Fig. 2.5) to select a specific I-beam to meet the above needs. Again, there
are many components and systems readily available “off the shelf.”

CONFIGURATION DESIGN
In configuration design, the components are already designed. The question is how to assemble
them into the finished product to improve performance and size (for example, packaging electro-
mechanical components into a motor).
Consider an example where the objective is to design the location of a laptop in a backpack
so that it is easy to carry. Figure 2.6 shows the possible backpack configurations to hold a laptop.

Figure 2.6: Configuration design for the location of laptop in a backpack.

Another example may be to design the location of a car engine in an automobile. Figure 2.7
shows the possible configurations: (a) engine behind driver, forward control, and driver ahead of
front axle; (b) engine ahead of front axle, step-through control, and driver ahead of front axle;
and (c) engine ahead of driver, convention control, and driver behind front axle.

Forward Control Semi-forward or “Step-through” Conventional

Figure 2.7: Configuration design for the location of an engine in a commercial automobile.
 2.3. TYPES OF DESIGN PROBLEMS 33
PARAMETRIC DESIGN
Parametric design involves discovering values for features (dimensions) or design parameters that
characterize the design objectives. The design parameters (usually relate to specific sizes, mate-
rial types, and manufacturing process requirements) and the performance may be expressed in
equations through relationships. To develop a systematic parametric design, the following steps
can be followed.

• Formulate the parametric design problem by identifying the design variables which influ-
ences the performance.

• Generate alternate designs by selecting different values for design variables.

• Analyze the performance of all of the alternate designs using analytical or experimental
methods.

• Evaluate all of the alternate designs to determine the best design.

• Refine and optimize the design variables for feasibility and performance.

For example, consider designing a beverage can (approximated as a cylinder) with a radius
(r ) to hold a fluid volume of V D 10 cm3 . The volume (V ) of a beverage can with radius “r ” and
length “l ” can be determined by
V D  r 2 l:

Given V D 10 cm3 , the design problem reduces to finding values for “r ” and “l ” to satisfy the
above equation. A variety of can shapes can be obtained by varying the diameter and length
(with “r ” and “l ”) to achieve the desired fluid volume for the beverage can.

ORIGINAL DESIGN
The creation of a process, assembly, or component not in existence or not available to the designer
is an original design. There is no specific algorithm to come up with an original design, each
design represents something new and unique.

REDESIGN
Finally, redesign is the modification of existing products to meet new requirements, attract new
customers, or to implement new technologies. Most of the companies redesign an existing prod-
uct to improve the performance, cost, additional functionality, or aesthetics. For example, the
I-Phone was redesigned in the past couple of years, with new features that are very attractive to
customers by changing the size, shape, configurations, and materials.
34 2. SOLVING DESIGN PROBLEMS
2.4 SOLVING DESIGN PROBLEMS – STRATEGIES
The products of engineering design are all around us, ranging from common household appli-
ances such as toasters and lawn mowers to car seats, airplanes and canoes. These products as
mentioned previously, arise out of customer and market demands, and are modified and refined
as needed, to improve technical performance and customer satisfaction. In addition to customer
need or marketing opportunity, there are other factors that have to be considered before a de-
cision is made to address or tackle a design problem. These include such factors as time, cost,
manpower, urgency, and necessity. While the first three factors are commonly noted and un-
derstood, it is important to pay attention to the latter factors as well. For example, consider a
situation in which a customer complains of a particular brand of hair dryer that short-circuits
frequently. This situation is both annoying and potentially dangerous to the customer, and calls
for a necessary degree of urgency in solving the problem.
There may also be other situations, where a decision is made to defer/postpone action, or
do nothing to address a problem. For example, automobile manufacturers design cars to have
gas emission rates that are legally acceptable and choose to defer or delay other eco-friendly
features that are not legally mandated. Finally, defects or flaws in a product may be so severe
or catastrophic that the decision is made to recall and retire all of them (defective tires leading
to sports utility vehicle rollovers, laptop computer batteries that become too hot with use and
literally burn up the computer, etc.).
Depending on the nature and scope of the design problem, there are a number of strategies
or approaches that may be used to solve the problem. These strategies are briefly summarized be-
low using the hair dryer example mentioned above. Let us assume that a defect in a specific part
of the dryer was identified as being mainly responsible for the short circuiting problem. What
strategies can we use to tackle this design problem? The design problem strategies discussed in
the previous section and also listed below will help you get started.
Parametric design or variant design strategy: In this approach, the solution to the design
problem is focused on changing some parameters or dimensions of the part such as its
thickness, length, or material.
Configuration design: This strategy focuses on changing the configuration (geometric features
for example) of the part, and then observing its performance.
Selection design: In this strategy, it is assumed that the defective part is due to poor or improper
fabrication, and, therefore, a similar part from a reputable vendor is selected and purchased,
to take the place of the faulty part.
Redesign: Under this approach, the faulty part is removed from the particular subsection of
the product in a re-design strategy.
Concept design strategy: The technical features that led the part to be defective are analyzed
and the part is built again with new and improved technical properties.
 2.5. ROBUST DESIGN 35
Any combination of the above design strategies may be employed to address the hair dryer
design problem. Another option not mentioned in the above list, is the do nothing option, where
the solution may be to discontinue the product for safety reasons.
It is very important to remember that the selection and success of any particular design
strategy lies in large part on the amount of information available regarding the nature and origin
or roots of the design problem. For the simple example discussed above, where a defective part
caused product failure, the solution strategies were self-evident and obvious. The solution strate-
gies are rarely as clear cut or obvious when tackling design challenges and opportunities today.
Moreover, time and cost expenditures limit the capacity of businesses to gather all the informa-
tion related to figuring out the source of failure in a product. Therefore, design engineers play
a key role in assisting business partners in formulating the design problem—getting the right
information needed to select the initial design strategy solution. You will learn in Chapter 4 that
design problem formulation is a very critical aspect of the design problem solution, and forms
the basis or foundation for all the design strategies and approaches considered.
In addition to the design problem types discussed in Section 2.4, engineers should be
aware of the following design methodologies as well.

2.5 ROBUST DESIGN

A “robust” product is one that functions as intended, regardless of variations in materials, pro-
cesses, the environment, and the product’s use or misuse. In traditional design, critical design pa-
rameters are determined without considering the variations (noise) coming from various sources.
The tolerances to critical design parameters are added later, after the product is designed. In
contrast, the robust design method estimates the design parameters and tolerances so that the
product’s performance is insensitive to noises or variations.
Figure 2.8 shows an overview of the robust design methodology. Robust design is con-
ceptually easy to understand in that for a given performance target, there may be many com-
binations of parameters that will yield the desired result. But, some of these combinations are
more sensitive than others. We would like to select the combination of parameters that are least
sensitive to product performance in the presence of noise factors. The robust design process uses
experiments and data analysis to identify a set of robust points for the design parameters we can
control. Robust designs take into account these potential sources of variation and generate “new”
design information that is often critical for improving product quality, reliability, performance,
and cost.
The robust design method also called the Taguchi method is the most powerful method
available for reducing product cost, lowering product development time, and maintaining cus-
tomer satisfaction. A strategy called “Design of Experiments” (DOE) has been used effectively
in robust designs to identify and experimentally control the impact of potential design factor
parameters and noise (uncontrollable variability) factors on desired performance characteris-
36 2. SOLVING DESIGN PROBLEMS
Noise Factors
(materials, processes, the environment)

Signal Factor Product or Output

System (design parameters
and tolerances)

Control Factor
(performance)

Figure 2.8: Overview of the robust design.

tics. This method has been successfully employed in various industries including automobiles,
telecommunications, and computer software.
To develop a robust product through DOE, the following steps are followed.
• Identify input parameters (signal factors), noise factors, and output parameters related to
performance.
• Formulate an objective function by minimizing output (performance metrics).
• Develop the experimental plan involving experimental designs (full factorial or fractional
factorial or orthogonal array or one factor at a time).
• Run the experiment by testing the product under various conditions obtained from the
experimental plan.
• Conduct the analysis by obtaining the mean and variance for the objective function.
• Select and confirm factor set points that have strongest effect on mean performance and
variance, thereby achieving robust performance.
• Reflect and repeat to further optimize the product performance.

2.6 SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN

Sustainability is a global issue affecting many people on this planet. According to a United Na-
tions report (1987), up to 70% of the Earth’s land surface will be destroyed or disturbed over
the next 25 years. Sustainability means “meeting the needs of the present without compromis-
ing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Our Common Future, Oxford
 2.6. SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN 37
University Press, 1987) [5]. Engineers must incorporate and adopt “sustainability” in all engi-
neering products. Sustainable development includes three elements: environment (impact on
nature and earth’s environment), society (needs and quality of peoples lives and communities),
and economy (cost related to infrastructure and business services), as shown in Fig. 2.9.

Environment

Sustainable
Development

Social Economy

Figure 2.9: An overview of sustainable design/development.

Several challenges arise when dealing with sustainability. The goal of sustainable design is
to produce products using only renewable resources. Environmental aspects therefore need to be
incorporated into engineering designs in the same way as economics and safety and aesthetics.
Due to increasing concerns about the environment, current and future product designs should
address the issue of sustainability throughout the life cycle of the product by minimizing the
usage of materials, labor, and other factors. For example, the design team may consider selecting
materials for products that are environmentally friendly, biodegradable, and recyclable.
Figure 2.10 shows an example of recycling aluminum cans into usable products (sheathing,
sandwich panels) for low-cost housing applications. A mobile coffee house designed by VCU
students in Richmond Virginia for use in Monroe Park is shown in Fig. 2.11 to illustrate the
history and sustainability aspects.
38 2. SOLVING DESIGN PROBLEMS

Figure 2.10: A schematic of production of composite panels from recycled beverage cans.

Figure 2.11: Design of a coffee house for use in Monroe Park at VCU.
 2.7. NATURE-INSPIRED DESIGN 39
2.7 NATURE-INSPIRED DESIGN
Multidisciplinary designs in engineering realize that 21st century innovations in engineering and
biotechnology will involve “out of the box” ideas. Living systems that evolved over thousands of
years, integrate design at multiple size scales. Inspiration for engineering design can come from
many sources. The best source of inspiration may be Nature’s design of many living systems (see
Fig. 2.12).

Figure 2.12: Nature inspired design (images courtesy of www.morningsun.net, https://su

ctioncups.com, https://uanews.org, https://olypen.com, www.navy.mil, pkmet.szm.
sk).

For product design, inspiration comes obviously from other products, and from new ma-
terials and processes. The mechanics of plants/animals—the things they can do, and the way
they do them continues to mystify, enlighten, and inspire designs of the 21st century. Some of
the innovative products inspired by nature include suction cups (octopus), smart robots (insects
and bugs), and sonar devices (fish or bat echolocation). Researching designs that mimic nature
will help to foster new design concepts for future products and technologies.
Nature is filled with beautiful and wonderful creatures and creations that continue to in-
spire and inform us everyday. Yahya (2007) [26] presents examples of many man-made inven-
tions that were inspired by nature including the following: scuba diving gear based on the shape
of the fins of whales, hiking boots and shoes based on the hoofs of mountain goats, submarines
40 2. SOLVING DESIGN PROBLEMS
structure and coating similar to that of a dolphin, and Velcro bandages that were modeled af-
ter burrs. Insects such as ants, chitins, and scorpions have been the basis for many new robotic
technologies. Figure 2.13 shows some of the innovative designs inspired from biology.

Figure 2.13: Examples of bio-inspired (left) and engineering design concepts (right).

2.8 INTEGRATION OF ARTS, NATURE, AND DESIGN FOR

INNOVATION
Design innovation can be achieved through the integration of arts and engineering design prin-
ciples and by exploring the creative methods and processes existing in the arts community as
well as taking inspiration from nature, as shown in Fig. 2.14.
Let’s ask a question, who is an engineer? Most people will tell you that engineers are de-
signers, scientists, inventors, and innovators. Few will say that an engineer is an artist. Engineers’
 2.8. INTEGRATION OF ARTS, NATURE, AND DESIGN FOR INNOVATION 41

Design

Innovation

Art Nature

Figure 2.14: Design innovation is the synergy of art, design, and nature.

artistic side is clearly evident in their work. For example, Robert Fulton, steamboat inventor, and
Samuel Morse, inventor of the Morse code and the telegraph, both pursued careers in art before
changing their interests to technology. Architects, also engineers, make many detailed sketches
of their final design product before beginning construction. The bridge-builder Robert Maillart
is known for his use of “structural art,” a construction style that started during the industrial
revolution.
Leonardo da Vinci, best known for his famous painting, the Mona Lisa, was also a very
capable engineer. In the late 1400s, he began working on several ideas for human powered flight.
It was his background in art that provided him the creativity to visualize such revolutionary
designs that were far ahead of their time. In his paintings and drawings, one can observe the
attributes associated with artwork, specifically symmetry, balance, and rhythm. In one example,
we can see that the wing he has designed and drawn is symmetric in that it is a mirror of itself
if it was split down the middle. There is also a natural balance and rhythm to the drawings,
where the weight of the man is balanced by the lifting power of the wing through its rhythmic
movement. By studying the drawings we can almost imagine how the apparatus would look if it
were put into motion. In many ways his designs transcend and/or combine the elements of art,
nature, and design.
Engineering design is at its best when it integrates the aspirations of art, science, and
culture. Think back to a time when you stopped to admire a painting, building, or sculpture. It is
very likely that features such as its color, shape, appearance, etc. and the feelings they evoked in
you are what attracted you to the work. Functionality was probably not the first thing that you
thought about. Many architectural and natural wonders of the world are highly regarded and
endure today because of both artistic/aesthetic appeal, as well as sound engineering design. A
good concrete example can be found in the Pyramids of Egypt in Giza. The harmonious marriage
of art and design can be found in many other examples such as Europe’s gothic cathedrals, and
India’s Taj Mahal to mention a few. These monuments would not last as long they have without
42 2. SOLVING DESIGN PROBLEMS
sound engineering design, and at the same time, not cherished as they are without the artistic
appeal.
Developments in technology and the streamlining of manufacturing processes over the
past couple of decades have transformed the U.S. economy into a commodity economy. There is
only one factor that differentiates one competing product from on another: design. Companies
such as Ford, Tesla, Apple, Amazon, and Samsung are pioneers in positioning design as a key
contributor to innovation. These creative companies, along with others, are emphasizing the role
of design in connecting with customers’ emotions and needs, and constructing maps that show
the path to innovation. Engineering design is a passion, and it is a process of invention that
allows us to develop new devices, tools, materials, and procedures to meet needs that are not
met by existing technologies.
To illustrate how art can be integrated into engineering, a design project was initiated by
the author involving both engineering and arts students working together to come up with an
exhibit to display in a zoo setting. The design exhibit is presented in Fig. 2.15 and shows that
Rhinos see from the sides unlike humans who see directly.

Figure 2.15: Rhinos (left) and zoo exhibit design mimicking rhino’s head (right).

There are differences in problem solving methodologies and projected consumer use be-
tween engineering and arts, which are presented in Tables 2.1 and 2.2.
 2.9. EXERCISES 43
Table 2.1: Differences in problem solving methodologies

Engineering Arts
Knowledge based on hard science principles Knowledge based on standards of visual
perception
Mathematics, physical, and chemical sciences Shadow, form, line, compositions, etc.
More formulaic approach to problem solving No standard approach to problem solving

Table 2.2: Differences in projected consumer use

Engineering Arts
Consumer asks for a funcitonal product that Audiences expect to have sensibilities engaged
meets a need
Expects longer product life Expects to understand or appreciate artists
creative vision
Safety designed into product Understands object not in terms of usability,
but in comprehension
No bias in product function Expect art to exist within artistic context

2.9 EXERCISES
2.1. What are the various types of design problems?
2.2. Discuss the differences between analysis and design problems.
2.3. Design a gauge to measure the temperature range from 30–70ı C.
2.4. You are a designer of vaulting polls. A simple model of vaulting poll is a cantilever beam.
Design a new poll so that a 150 lb man deflects the poll by 400 when vaulting at one end.
Design five configurations by parametrically varying the length, material, and diameter
of the poll.
2.5. How would you design a laptop for easy travel that has several important accessories?
2.6. Identify a basic problem solving method for the following:
(a) Finding a tool in a hardware store
(b) Selecting new clothes for a birthday
(c) Installing a wall-mounted speaker
(d) Selecting a new vehicle
44 2. SOLVING DESIGN PROBLEMS
2.7. Define robust design and comment on the issues that needs to be considered for an
automotive control system.
2.8. Define sustainability design and the implications for the environment.
2.9. Develop ideas using nature as a teacher for designing a sensor to measure pressure in
the range of 10–100 MPa.
2.10. Design a toy for boys and girls that is inspired from nature.
 45

CHAPTER 3

Reverse Engineering
After reading this chapter, you will be able to:

• Define reverse engineering

• Explain the rationale for taking something apart

• Dissect a product

• Create a component decomposition diagram

3.1 OVERVIEW
This chapter discusses reverse engineering or product dissection and outlines reasons for dissect-
ing a product. The process of product dissection and completing the component decomposition
diagram is explained. Through reverse engineering, students gain insights into product redesign
methods.

3.2 REVERSE ENGINEERING

Reverse engineering is the process of redesigning an existing product. A product can be defined
as something that a customer purchased and use it as a unit. Examples of products include an
electric drill for the workshop, a can opener in the kitchen, or a new car (like the car industry,
when designing 2011 model, it is time to start on the 2012 model) that are being used after
they purchased. For engineering and technology students, an example of reverse engineering
may be looking at the previous design process that the team just finished redesigning. Reverse
engineering looks at what was done right, what is needed to be designed that was left out due
to various reasons as a result of new government standards or availability of better materials or
manufacturing technology, or customer needs.

3.3 REASONS FOR DISSECTION

Why take something apart? Reasons for taking things apart could be curiosity as to how some-
thing works; the desire to fix something that is broken; or to learn from engineering successes
and failures. Further, one may also be interested to see how something is made so that the de-
sign can be documented to duplicated (reverse engineering) or improve on the design (value
46 3. REVERSE ENGINEERING
engineering) for benchmarking, or competitive analysis. Also, it is possible to compare differ-
ent design alternatives, estimate costs, or evaluate the competition and learn to see how each
component performs in the product and how to improve the design. All of the above reasons
necessitate dissecting a product or assembly as a prelude to reverse engineering.

3.4 PRODUCT DISSECTION

Products can be simple (a few components) or complex (a thousand components) as shown in
Table 3.1, depending on the number of components and their size and function. For example, a

Table 3.1: Examples of simple and complex products

Simple Products Complex Products

 3.5. PRODUCT DISSECTION – EXAMPLES 47
mechanical pencil consists of 4–5 components. In contrast, an automobile or an airplane contains
hundreds to thousands of components. Products usually consist of parts (single piece) or assem-
blies (more than two pieces assembled in some fashion). Examples of standard parts include pin,
nut, bolt, rivet, gear, and so on, whereas assemblies include pumps, motors, switches, brakes,
engines, etc. In general, some assemblies are standard while others may be custom (special pur-
pose parts/assemblies). Special purpose parts are those that would need to be manufactured for
a specific product.
Usually, the dissection begins by dividing the product into assemblies according to their
function. These will be recorded on the component decomposition diagram, similar to a family
tree with many branches. The component decomposition diagram categorizes the components
into an assembly and subassembly with all of the individual components under each subassem-
bly. Then, components of the subassemblies of each assembly are listed. A record is made as to
whether they are standard parts or special purpose parts by subassembly. While dissecting the
product, the parts are laid out in order that they can be cataloged as to the assembly or sub-
assembly by function. The function of each component and how it works or relates with the
other components is determined.
Clues as to the use of the components can come from the material that they are made of,
for example metal, plastic, or fabric. What other components do they come in contact with? Are
they of the same material or different materials like when plastic comes in contact with brass
or aluminum? The physical characteristics of the component can lead to a better understanding
of its functions and how it interacts with the other components it comes in contact with. For
example, consider the threaded component. What type of either national fine or national coarse
or metric should be used? Recording the dimensions can assist if further research of compati-
ble components is needed for product development. Product dissection can also provide a size
perspective when presenting the findings.

3.5 PRODUCT DISSECTION – EXAMPLES

The following are examples of product dissections with their component decomposition dia-
grams. The first product is a Do It Best Adjustable Utility Knife shown in Figure 3.1. The Do
it Best Retractable Utility Knife is an example of heavy duty construction. It features a heavy
two-piece die-cast body. The body has ribs to assist with the gripping of the knife and help
prevent slipping. The blade has three different positions so that the user may choose the amount
of blade exposed and the depth of the cut. Three extra blades are included and are stored inside
the utility knife.
The dissected utility knife consisting of ten components, four of which are razor blades
stacked together (component 7) is shown in Fig. 3.2. Component 7 is recorded as one item with
four pieces.
The component decomposition diagram for this product breaks down into three assembly
or systems (housing, razor blade holder, and cutting tool) according to function. The housing is
48 3. REVERSE ENGINEERING

Figure 3.1: Do it Best Adjustable Utility Knife (courtesy of James Earwood).

1 Left housing
2 Right housing
2 3 Screw, pan head
4 Holder, razor blade
5 Adjusting button
6 Spring
7 7 Razor blades (4)
4
3
6
5

Figure 3.2: Do it Best Adjustable Utility Knife dissected showing various components (courtesy
of James Earwood).

made up of three components: the left housing, the right housing, and a pan head screw. The
diagram also identifies whether the component is special purpose or a standard part that could
be purchased. The second assembly is the blade holder. It too is made of three components: the
holder, the adjustment button, and the spring. Again the components are identified as special
purpose or standard parts. The last assembly is the blades, four each, and they are standard parts.
Another example is a Boston two-hole punch, as shown in Fig. 3.4. The dissected com-
ponents (see Fig. 3.5) and component decomposition diagram are also presented in Fig. 3.6.
 3.5. PRODUCT DISSECTION – EXAMPLES 49

Left Housing Special Purpose

Housing Right Housing Special Purpose

Screw,
Standard Part
Pan Head

Holder,
Special Purpose
Razor Blade
Do It Best
Utility Knife
Razor Blade Adjusting
Special Purpose
Holder Button

Spring Standard Part

Cutting Tool Razor Blades (4) Standard Part

Figure 3.3: Adjustable utility knife—component decomposition diagram.

Figure 3.4: Product dissection example: Boston two-hole punch (courtesy of James Earwood).
50 3. REVERSE ENGINEERING

Boston 2-Hole Punch

10 11 1 Screw (2)
2 Bracket, hole punch (2)
3 Spring (2)
4 Punch, hole (2)
5 Clip, E, retaining (2)
6 Guide, paper width
1 7 Clip, retaining, guide
2 9 8 Rivet (2)
7 9 Handle/lever
3
10 Base
4 11 Cover, paper hole catch

5
6 8

Figure 3.5: Boston two-hole punch: dissected components (courtesy of James Earwood).
 3.5. PRODUCT DISSECTION – EXAMPLES 51

Screw (2) Standard Part

Bracket (2) Special Purpose

Hole Punch
Spring Standard Part
Assembly

Punch, Hole Special Purpose

Clip, E,
Standard Part
Retaining

Guide, Paper
Width Special Purpose
Paper Guide
Boston 2-Hole
Assembly
Punch
Clip,
Special Purpose
Retaining

Rivet (2) Standard Part

Handle/Lever
Assembly
Handle/Lever Special Purpose

Base Special Purpose

Base
Assembly
Cover, Paper
Hole Catch Special Purpose

Figure 3.6: Component decomposition diagram for Boston two-hole punch example.
52 3. REVERSE ENGINEERING
3.6 SUMMARY
Reverse engineering is the process of disassembly, examination, recording, and analyzing how
a product functions. This is done for a variety of reasons with the focus on obtaining a better
understanding of how a product functions, and why the customer likes or dislikes the features
examined. It is a small part in the product redesign process. A typical product dissection sheet
shown in Fig. 3.7 is used during the product dissection assignment/activity.

How many detachable pieces does the product have?

Figure 3.7: Product dissection data sheet.

 3.7. EXERCISES 53
3.7 EXERCISES
3.1. Explain reverse engineering.
3.2. List five reasons for dissecting a product.
3.3. Find a kitchen product, dissect it, and complete a component decomposition diagram.
3.4. Find a product in the garage/workshop or tool box. Dissect the product, complete the
component decomposition diagram, and write a report of how your team disassembled,
examined, recorded, and reassembled the product to working condition.
 55

CHAPTER 4

Design Requirements
After reading this chapter, you will be able to:
• List the steps in the design journey process
• Gather information to develop requirements for a design need
• Develop a project schedule utilizing tools such as the Gantt chart
• Understand and develop design specifications using QFD technique
• Write a design project proposal

4.1 OVERVIEW
The design journey process is a systematic methodology for solving design problems. This chap-
ter introduces the methodology of the design journey process with examples. In this chapter,
there is more emphasis on the early steps of the design journey process, specifically gathering
design requirements and project planning. The techniques are explained and illustrated, with ex-
amples as needed, to facilitate real-world implementation. Specific tools discussed in this chapter
include project scope, design brief, Gantt chart, and QFD technique. Several examples of QFD
are presented.

4.2 DESIGN JOURNEY PROCESS

Design innovation involves designing a new product or service that substantially improves the
functional characteristics as well as affordability. From computer chips to space vehicles, engi-
neering design principles and processes are vital to creating products and services needed by
mankind. Whether the design task relates to creating medical devices, smart robots, Micro
Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) devices, heating and cooling systems, or racecar engines,
the basic engineering design process remains the same. The design journey process is essentially a
process of problem solving—coming up with the best match or solution to an identified problem
or need in society.
The transformation of an ill-defined problem into a complete functioning product (as
shown in Fig. 4.1) requires the following stages: establishing a need, developing a plan (how
to solve the problem), understanding the problem, developing requirements and comparing to
existing solutions, generating and evaluating additional concepts, deciding or choosing a final
56 4. DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
solution, and communicating the results. The goal of the design process is to find the best possible
solution to an ill-defined problem that leads to a quality product with the least commitment to
time and other resources through the organization and management of people and information.
The reason we study design methodologies is to learn from previous examples, to understand the
effectiveness or lack thereof of different methods, and avoid repeating the mistakes of others.
The design process is successfully accomplished through consistent communication among the
members of the design team.

Problem Solution

Ill-defined Problem Well-functioning Product

Figure 4.1: Design journey is a process to find a solution to an ill-defined problem.

The following section provides an overview of the product design process. The design
process is a sequence of steps that helps define various aspects of the design in a systematic
manner, as shown in Fig. 4.2. Several steps underline the design journey process and are discussed
further in this section.
It is worth mentioning that design is an iterative process going through design journey
steps. The objective of following a systematic design journey process is to minimize the number
of iterations required in order to generate a quality product. Designing quality into a product
means designing a product that is easy to assemble, durable, and that meets performance criteria.
The quality is integrated into the product through the design journey process by checking the
technical documentation, dimensions, material properties, surface quality, and other factors that
are critical for the form and function of the product.

4.3 DESIGN JOURNEY STEPS

The various steps in the design journey process are presented in Fig. 4.2. Below is a brief de-
scription and explanation of each of the steps in the design journey process.
 4.3. DESIGN JOURNEY STEPS 57

1. Design Need

2. Project
Planning
6. Design
Evaluation and
Communication
Design
Journey
Steps
3. Design
Requirements
5. Detail
Design

4. Design Concepts
and Evaluation

Figure 4.2: Steps in the design journey process.

STEP #1: DESIGN NEED

Identifying a societal need and defining the need in measurable terms is not as easy as it may
seem. Needs may be market-driven, or may come from private industry or the introduction of
new technology. They may also arise out of a need for improving an existing product or are a part
of a larger project (space vehicle or race car) to achieve sustainability or even arise from federal
regulations or national research initiatives. In general, there are several aspects that provide the
design need, as discussed in the following.

Market Research: Several aspects are examined that include demographics (Who uses? Who
buys?), socio-economic and cultural factors, sustainability factors, aesthetic parameters,
and applicable technologies.

Existing Designs: This includes looking into reverse engineering the designs from functional
performance, mechanical features, materials, manufacturing processes, and aesthetics per-
spectives.
58 4. DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
End Users: This includes looking into how the end users are using the design through observa-
tions of physical interaction, psychological aspects, and how they are using/misusing the
design/product.
Human Factors: This includes looking into how ergonomics (physical interface, tactile feed-
back, and user interface) and intuition facilitate using the design for communicating the
function, design graphics, arts, visuals, and icons and their appeal to the end user.
Design Integration: This includes looking into how various electrical, mechanical, materials,
and manufacturing requirements are integrated in an interdisciplinary fashion to achieve
the required design.
Figure 4.3 shows some of the sources from which the design need can be generated. For
example, the automobile industry is currently researching and producing hybrid/electric cars
due to the positive response from consumers to the higher gas mileage and eco-friendly aspects
of these cars. Pharmaceutical companies are always on the lookout for biomechanical devices
that more effectively deliver medicines with fewer side effects. The National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) successfully launched an unmanned space flight to Mars/Moon,
charting new frontiers for space exploration with robots. It is the primary task of the designer to
communicate closely with the clients and end users to fully understand the need, and assist the
clients in creating a product or service that most closely meets that need. Clients, stakeholders,
users, and designers typically work together in teams to define and carry out design-related
projects.

Improve Existing
Design
Desi
sign
gn
Aesthetics
Ae
Aest
st
Market N
Need
Nee
ee

Design
Design Need
Definition

New Technology
nolo
no logy
gy Sustainability
Sust
Su st
Part off a La
Large
Project

Figure 4.3: Generation of design definition from multiple perspectives.

Most design problems are not well defined and are open ended. The design project state-
ment may not give all the information needed to find the solution. Identifying the missing in-
formation will be the key to fully understanding what needs to be designed. The goal in product
 4.3. DESIGN JOURNEY STEPS 59
design is to find the best solution that leads to a quality product with minimal cost and limited
resources.

“The mere formulation of a problem is far more often essential than its solution,
which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill. To raise new
questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle require creative
imagination and marks real advances in science.”
Albert Einstein

DESIGN NEED – GATHERING INFORMATION

During the design need identification step, the designer has to identify customer/stakeholder
needs, which in itself is a process. The following are the three methods commonly used to gather
information to determine customer/stakeholder requirements.

• Observations: This method involves observing customers using the existing product in order
to see whether the product needs to be redesigned or develop a new design with improved
properties and performance that would compete with the products already available in the
market. Many requirements can be found by observing customers using the product since
most new products are refinements of existing products.

• Surveys: The survey method is generally used to gather specific information or ask people’s
opinions about a well-defined subject. Surveys make use of questionnaires that are carefully
designed and applied through the mail, over the telephone, or in face-to-face interviews.
They are well-suited for collecting requirements on products to be redesigned or on new,
well-understood product domains.

• Focus groups: These are used to capture customer requirements from a carefully sampled
group of potential customers. This technique is best suited for developing original products
or to gather the customers’ views on product/design improvement.

DESIGN BRIEF OR NEED STATEMENT

A well-constructed design brief clarifies the project/design scope involving stakeholders and
provides a clear description of the design need. This design brief is the first document that
designers/engineers develop and inform all identified stakeholders. As the understanding of
the design problem evolves, changes can be made and the design brief may be updated as the
project moved ahead in the design journey process. A typical design brief includes the following
information.

• What are the problem description and its objectives?

• What is the focus within/outside of the scope of the project?

60 4. DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
• Who are the target users and the stakeholders that need the design?

• What are the constraints, assumptions, and standards that need to be considered?

• What are the key exploratory questions that need to be answered for various stakeholders
through research, literature, and benchmarking?

• What are the expected outcomes and innovations?

STEP #2: PROJECT PLANNING

The project planning step of the design journey process includes developing a plan for the design
process with respect to scope and resources available at hand to accomplish the design activities
of the problem identified in step #1. There are various reasons for project planning, including
obtaining better understanding the project objectives, eliminating the uncertainty and improving
the efficiency of operations, and providing/guiding the project teams and minimizing the risk
for project completion.
The resources may be categorized in terms of time, money, people, and manufacturing
and testing capabilities. The main activities in the project/design planning step are:

• Form a design team

• Develop tasks

• Research the market

• Estimate schedule and cost

The following are the project planning steps in a design journey.

1. Design Team: The size of the design team depends on the specific project. It may be
necessary that in a design team one person may have several titles or several people may
have one title or perform different roles.

2. Identify the tasks and objectives and develop a sequence: The specific tasks/activities that
need to be accomplished in the design project are identified. For each of the identified
tasks, the objectives should be clearly stated, along with the anticipated outcome for that
task. Each task objective should be defined in terms of information (developed or refined
and communicated to others in terms of deliverables—drawings, design information, test
results, etc.), that is easily understandable (by all team members) and feasible (with avail-
able personnel, equipment, and time). For example, a bar chart may be used to develop a
sequence of the tasks that must be completed before, after, or in parallel, depending on
the nature of the tasks involved in the design project.
 4.3. DESIGN JOURNEY STEPS 61
3. Research the market: In this step, the focus is on gathering information—information on
what is already available in the market, and information on assessing the competition. Re-
sources such as trade journals, U.S. patents, and research reports are commonly consulted.

4. Estimate the design personnel and time and product development costs: Once a project
plan is developed, the design team can estimate the product development cost. For each
task, it is necessary to identify who on the design team will be responsible for meeting the
objectives, what percentage of their time will be required, and over what period of time
they will be needed. For each person assigned to a task, it is necessary to estimate not only
the total time requirement but also the distribution of this time (ex. number of hours/week
to be spent on the task).

PROJECT MANAGEMENT – GANTT CHART

Generally, a project plan is developed to meet the project deadline and manage various tasks
involved in the design project. Gantt charts are used to represent the timing of various tasks
planned in the design project. The horizontal axis shows the timeline and the vertical axis shows
various tasks to be completed. The start and end of a task is usually represented by a horizontal
bar. If the task is completed, then it is represented by a completely filled bar. The unfilled bars
represent the fraction of the task that is completed.
An overview of a Gantt chart displaying various tasks and their timelines in the design
process is shown in Fig. 4.4. A main problem with the Gantt chart is that it does not explicitly
display the dependencies among various tasks. The dependencies dictate which tasks must be
completed before others can begin or finish, and which tasks can be completed in parallel. When
two tasks overlap in a Gantt chart it means they may be sequential, parallel, or coupled. In
addition to Gantt charts, Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) charts can also
be used to represent both dependencies and timing of various tasks in the Gantt chart and
estimate the “critical path,” namely, identifying the longest chain of dependent tasks/events.
Commercial software such as Microsoft Project Manager is readily available for develop-
ing Gantt charts and managing design projects.

STEP #3: DESIGN REQUIREMENTS

In order to develop the best possible design, it is essential to develop a good understanding of the
design problem and generate a set of design criteria/engineering specifications. Misunderstand-
ing a design problem may result in bad design, higher cost, and delay in time to market. There-
fore, it is very important to understand the design problem first before searching for any possible
solutions. The goal in understanding the design problem is to translate customer needs into en-
gineering specifications with specific target values. This is accomplished through the adoption
of a technique known as Quality Function Deployment (QFD), as shown in Fig. 4.5.
62 4. DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
Tasks/Months 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Identify the Need

Project Planning

Project Specification

Conceptual Design
and Evaluation

Product Design and Evaluation

Specifying and
Communicating

Implementing the Design

Verifying and Evaluating

Figure 4.4: Overview of a Gantt chart showing various tasks and their timeline.

Engineering
Customer QFD
Requirements/
Requirements Process
Targets

Figure 4.5: Translation of customer requirements into engineering requirements through the
QFD process.

The QFD technique was developed in Japan in the mid-1970’s, and has been utilized
in the U.S. industry since the late 1980’s. The benefits of applying the QFD technique include
achieving a greater understanding of the design problem which results in higher-quality products
with reduced cost and with quicker product development time. The QFD technique can be
applied to the entire design problem or sub-problems. The Toyota Car Company was able to
reduce the cost of a new car to the market by 60%, and the time to market by more than 30%,
by using the QFD technique.
The following points further illustrate the importance of applying the QFD technique.
The design team should employ the QFD technique even though they think they understand
the design problem. The team must translate customer requirements into measurable targets, and
worry about what needs to be designed rather than how the design will work and look. The QFD
technique helps the design team to generate valuable information necessary for understanding
the design problem including:
 4.3. DESIGN JOURNEY STEPS 63
• The specifications or goals for the design/product

• How the competition meets the goals

• What is important from the customers’ viewpoint

• Work toward certain engineering (measurable) targets

QFD TECHNIQUE
The development of design specifications (customer and engineering requirements) is accom-
plished through the use of the QFD technique. The overall QFD process for developing speci-
fications for a design project is presented in Fig. 4.6. Each of the steps in the QFD technique is
shown in each block in Fig. 4.6. Applying the QFD steps builds the house of quality describing
Who vs. What; What vs. How; Now vs. What; and How vs. How? Also, the QFD technique
forms the foundation for the concept generation phase of the design process.
The seven steps in the QFD technique are summarized below.

The House of Quality (QFD Diagram)

Engineering
Requirements
How

Competition Benchmarks
Customer Requirements

House of Quality
Who vs. What

Now vs. What

What vs. How

Relationships
(Very Strong, Strong, Weak)

Engineering
Targets
How Much

Figure 4.6: Overview of the QFD technique for design specification development.
64 4. DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
1. Identification of customers—“Who” in the House of Quality. The customers may include
several personnel including consumer/user, stakeholders, designer, management, manu-
facturing, sales, service, and standard organizations (Product Standard Index, ASME,
American National Standards Institute, American Society for Testing of Materials, Un-
derwriters Labs).

2. Customer requirements determination—“What” in the House of Quality. In this step, the

designer needs to determine what is to be designed from the customer wants. Table 4.1
illustrates the features customers (consumer, production customer, and market/sales cus-
tomer) typically want in a design/product. All of the wants should be considered in the
design problem.

Customer Requirements
Who vs. What

Table 4.1: Customer “wants” in a design/product

Consumer Production Customer Marketing/Sales Customer

• Lasts long time • Easy to produce • Meets consumers
• Works as it should • Uses available resources requirements
• Easy to maintain • Uses standard parts and • Easy to package, store, and
• Looks attractive methods transport
• Incorporates the latest • Uses existing facilities • Is attractive
technology • Produces a minimum of • Suitable for display
• Has many features scraps and rejected parts

Typical customer requirements include:

• functional performance (operational steps and sequence);

• physical requirements (available space, physical properties);
• life-cycle concerns (durability, maintainability, safety, failure rate, distribution, in-
stallation, repair);
• human factors (appearance, usage);
• manufacturing requirements (materials, quality, company capabilities); and
• resource concerns (time, cost, standards, equipment, environment).
 4.3. DESIGN JOURNEY STEPS 65
Based on all the requirements obtained in this step of the design journey process, the final
design/product must satisfy some of the requirements (MUST’s) and accommodate some
optional requirements (WANT’s).

The customer requirements are generated through various information collection methods:
observation, surveys, and focus groups as discussed in Section 4.3. In addition to the above
collection methods, the design team may need to consult with professional organizations
and experts in university and industrial settings, and review patents and research the design
problem topic further by using library and Web resources.

3. Determine relative importance of the requirements—“Who vs. What” in the House of

Quality. In this step, each of the requirements is evaluated with respect to their relative im-
portance, and sometimes through weighted requirements when different customer groups
are involved.

4. Identify and evaluate the competition—“Now vs. What” in the House of Quality. Here the
goal is to determine how the customer perceives the competition’s ability to meet each of
the design requirements, called competition benchmarking. This step brings an awareness
of what already exists related to the design problem.

Engineering
Requirements
How

5. Generate engineering specifications—“How” in the House of Quality. Engineering spec-

ifications are the measure of the customer’s requirements. They are parameters that let the
design team know if customer’s requirements have been met. Without them, the design
team cannot know if the product being developed will satisfy the customers.

6. Relate customers requirements to engineering specifications—“What vs. How” in the

House of Quality. In this step, how the engineering parameters relate (strong, weak, or
no relation) to a customer requirement is discussed.
66 4. DESIGN REQUIREMENTS

House of Quality

What vs. How

Relationships
(Very Strong, Strong, Weak)

7. Set engineering targets—“How much” in the House of Quality. In this step, a target value
for each engineering specification (or measure) is determined or set. These target values
will be used to evaluate the product’s ability to satisfy customer’s requirements.

Engineering
Targets
How Much

Courtesy of Scott Adams—© Dilbert

Figure 4.7: Courtesy of Scott Adams – © Dilbert.

The following examples illustrate the QFD process and project planning.
Example 4.1 Consider a design of a multifunction peeler for use in a modern kitchen. Develop
design specifications, and a project plan for the design.
Table 4.2 lists the customer requirements and the corresponding engineering specifica-
tions.
 4.3. DESIGN JOURNEY STEPS 67
Table 4.2: Information for Example 4.1

Customer Requirements Engineering Specifications

Light weight Weight is not more than 1 lb
Inexpensive Cost is less than $5
Durable Cutting blade can be used at least 10 years
Easy to operate No moving parts
Ambidextrous Sharp edge of the cutting blade can be adjusted for right‐ or left‐
handed people
Easy to clean Dishwasher safe
Adjustable cut‐depth 1–5 mm
Stained proof Peeler is made from non‐corroded material

Project planning
• Form a design team (material scientist, mechanical engineer, industrial engineer, manu-
facturing engineer, marketing person)
• Develop tasks (marketing survey, conceptual design, detailed drawing, evaluation).
• Research the market (patent, survey).
• Estimate schedule and cost (develop a schedule using Gantt chart, cost analysis).

Example 4.2 Consider designing a nature inspired robotic jumping mechanism, much as a
robotic leg inspired by a grasshopper mechanism that would allow a small robot to jump over
obstacles. Develop design specifications and a QFD chart for the design.

Following the steps in the design journey process, the QFD process was used to develop
the customer requirements and the corresponding engineering specifications in Table 4.3.
The QFD chart is given Figure 4.8.

Example 4.3 The objective of this example is to “design” a three-seater transporter that can
take UGA Engineering interns to various companies in the Athens area daily in the summer.
Develop design specifications using QFD and complete the HOQ chart. You need to identify
the customers and their requirements, benchmarks, and the engineering requirements and their
targets.
68 4. DESIGN REQUIREMENTS

Table 4.3: Information for Example 4.2

Customer Requirements Engineering Specifications

Light weight Weight is not more than 8 g
Jump over small objects Vertical jump height of 5 cm
Durable/reliable Last for 5 years
Small scale Leg height around 5 cm
Work in multiple environments Resistance to temperature/humidity and extremes
Has net lateral movement Minimum 1.5 m/s forward speed

Figure 4.8: The QFD chart.

 4.3. DESIGN JOURNEY STEPS 69
Solution:
Customers:
1. Student Interns
2. Transportation Department
3. Internship Companies in Athens area
4. Manufacturers
5. Athens Community/UGA

Table 4.4: Customer and engineering requirements along with targets following the QFD pro-
cess

# Customer Engineering Requirements Targets

Requirements
1 Functional Sustainable, HVAC 40–60 mph
2 Comfortable Space to acommodate five people with 10 ft2
enough leg/head room
3 Safe Safety seat belts, warning At least two features
signs
4 Inexpensive Low cost <$2,000
5 Durable Long lasting 7 years
6 Fast Reasonable travel speed At least 25 mph
7 Appearance/Aesthetic Multiple colors and cool design, recycled Modern, three colors
materials
8 Easy to handle and Steering/transmission and minimum main- Once a year
maintain tenance

Benchmarks:
1. Ford Ecoline—Competitor #1
2. GA Buses—Competitor #2
3. Golf cart—Competitor #3
The QFD chart is given Fig. 4.9.
70 4. DESIGN REQUIREMENTS

Figure 4.9: Table for QFD chart.

4.4 DESIGN REVIEW

Usually at the end of the design requirements step, a design project proposal is developed doc-
umenting the design need, customers/stakeholders and their requirements, and the engineering
requirements that need to be met. A review of feedback/comments from all stakeholders is
completed and once approved, the design team will move on to the next design step (conceptual
design). The design review template at this step is given in Table 4.5. At this stage of the design
journey, the outcome will be a project proposal and leading to the design as shown in Fig. 4.10.
Typical templates for design project scope as well as design project proposal are presented in the
next pages.
 4.4. DESIGN REVIEW 71
Table 4.5: Design requirements review template during the design journey process

Feature Comments/Feedback
Establish Design Need:
How are the needs identified and
from what sources? Who are the
stakeholders?
Design Objective:
What is the focus of the identified
need? Write a design statement re-
lated to the scope of the project.
Gathering Requirements:
How was the information gathered?
What resources were used to gather
different requirements? Have con-
straints (time, budget, etc.) been
identified?
Project Planning:
Does the design team have a project
schedule and plans for next design
steps?
Target Users:
Who are you designing for? Why are
they important? What
requirements need to be met? What
are the engineering requirements and
targets?
Research the Market Questions:
What key questions do you need to
answer through your research? Who
are your competitors/why is your de-
sign likely to be superior?
Next Steps:
Are there plans as to how the design
concepts will be developed?
72 4. DESIGN REQUIREMENTS

Need, Requirements, Design Project Design

and Planning Proposal Review

Figure 4.10: Overview of the design need and requirements step of design journey leading to
design project proposal and design review.

4.5 EXERCISES
4.1. What is the design journey process? Discuss/explain the steps.
4.2. Identify the steps in the design journey process for problems from everyday life (potato
peeler, flashlight, ballpoint pen, bicycle, toaster, or toy). Follow the project scope op-
portunity template given in the next page.
4.3. Find four examples of designs from various engineering disciplines and describe the
design journey process steps.
4.4. Develop the engineering specifications for designing a shelter for Hurricane Harvey
victims in Texas.
4.5. Develop a House of Quality (HOQ) for the following products.
(a) A backpack for elementary school kids.
(b) A water bottle for traveling in third world countries.
(c) A shelter for hurricane victims.
(d) A personal transporter to travel within a city.
 4.5. EXERCISES 73
Template for Design Project Scope
Start by thinking about your project theme in terms of opportunity, explore from broader
and narrower perspectives, and reasons and barriers for the opportunity.
You might refine your scope after discussion with your team/stakeholders.
Project Scope Opportunity

Broader
and
Narrower
Perspectives

Reasons
and
Barriers
74 4. DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
Template for Design Project Proposal
The design project proposal serves as a document for design specifications and for com-
munication within the team as well as all stakeholders.
 Project Description — What is the opportunity? Project scope and objective?

 Stakeholders (Voice of Customers) — Who are the customers/what do they need/why is

this important?

 Exploration Questions — Key questions through research; learn about stakeholders and
their likes/dislikes, beliefs, etc.

 Parameters/Constraints — What parameters/constraints related functional, perfor-

mance, cost, and environmental requirements are needed for the design?

 Existing/Current Design Solutions — Benchmarking/competitive designs/

shortcomings?

 Expected Outcomes (VALUE Creation) — What outcomes should the design solu-
tion/innovation accomplish?

 Project Plan and Schedule — Gantt chart?

 75

CHAPTER 5

Design Concepts
After reading this chapter, you will be able to:
• Generate alternate design concepts
• Evaluate various concepts
• List major techniques used in concept generation and evaluation

5.1 OVERVIEW
Potential and possible design solutions are identified during the conceptual design process and
are discussed in this Chapter. The concept generation techniques are explained and illustrated
with examples as needed, to facilitate real world implementation. Specific tools used for concepts
generation and evaluation are discussed. The design review at the end of this step of the design
journey is also presented.

5.2 DESIGN CONCEPTS – GENERATION

Based on a thorough understanding of the design problem using the QFD technique, sev-
eral concepts (ideas) are generated from which a specific concept will be developed into a
quality product. Figure 5.1 graphically illustrates the concept generation stage where many
ideas/concepts are conceived using convergent and divergent thinking processes using various
techniques in order to explore the complete design space.
Usually, the concepts come primarily from the designer’s own knowledge and experience,
but are usually enhanced through the use of the following methods.
• Brainstorming
• Using experts
• Patents
• Reference books and trade journals
It is important to mention that the design team should develop as many concepts as pos-
sible. In one of the student project, the design team generated as many as 15 concepts, out of
which they eliminated 14 of them and the remaining final concept was further refined.
76 5. DESIGN CONCEPTS

Ideass

Techniques: Brainstorming, SCAMPER, Mind Mapping,

Te
Analogies, Design Catalogs, Patents, Improv Games,
Wishful Thinking

Concept Generation
(Convergent and Divergent Thinking)

Figure 5.1: An overview of concept generation process.

Each of the developed concepts is evaluated based on the design specifications (customer
requirements) discussed. Sometimes the concepts are refined during the evaluation process to
generate more concepts. The procedure for concept generation and evaluation is iterative. The
concept evaluation stage is the decision-making stage of the design process where the team as
a whole, needs to select the best fit among the likely design choices for carrying out the design
project.
Several methods may be used in selecting the final concept. One method may be to simply
list the advantages and disadvantages of each of the concepts. A more sophisticated method
involves the use of a decision matrix method where the desired performance criteria and their
relative importance is listed. The decision matrix method is discussed in the next chapter under
tools and techniques. Optimization methods may also be used in the decision making process.
This phase of the design process concludes with identifying one or two concepts that are ready
to be produced or developed into quality products.

CONCEPT GENERATION METHODS

The idea behind concept generation is to develop new ideas to solve the design problem/need.
Concepts/ideas generated are subjected to further analysis during the concept generation phase
 5.2. DESIGN CONCEPTS – GENERATION 77
of the design process. Available time and money for generating prototypes, computer models, or
engineering drawings will need to be considered. Additionally, mathematical and engineering
principles may be used to estimate the reliability of the data for the design project, and meet
the form and function of the design. Some of the popular methods for concept generation are
briefly described below.

BRAIN STORMING TECHNIQUE

Brainstorming technique is one of the common method used for generating concepts during the
design journey process. In a brainstorming technique, all members of the design team should be
fully encouraged to share any and all possible ideas (silly, crazy, and wild) they have for carrying
out the design project. All ideas are equally considered and placed on Post-in notes or the white
board (as shown in Fig. 5.2) for further discussion.

Concept #2
Concept #1 Concept #3 Concept #N
…

Figure 5.2: Concepts on Post-in notes for discussion during brainstorming session.

Usually, brainstorming session involves starting off with a set of trigger or structured ques-
tions that vary in nature from familiar to open/proactive issues related to the design challenge.
Some typical questions include the following.
• How can we improve the idea?
• What is wrong with the idea?
• How can it be modified?
• Is it something we can adopt?
• How can we ensure every stakeholder is satisfied?

Example 5.1 Your design team is tasked with identifying possible uses for a grocery bag, as
shown in Fig. 5.3. Brainstorm with your team to come up with ideas for multiple uses of a
grocery bag.
78 5. DESIGN CONCEPTS

Figure 5.3: A grocery bag example for brainstorming.

Solution:
After brainstorming with the design team, the following possible uses for the grocery bag were
listed.

• Trash can

• Mask

• Wrapping paper

• Book cover

• To ripen fruit

• Storage containers

• Wallet

• Luminaries

SCAMPER TECHNIQUE
The SCAMPER brainstorming technique was introduced by Alex Osborn in 1996 in his book,
Applied Imagination. This technique was later adapted by Bob Eberle and is now used often as a
method for new idea generation. Each letter in the word SCAMPER serves as a prompt to the
design team to ask a specific question, as illustrated below.
 5.2. DESIGN CONCEPTS – GENERATION 79
Substitute (what other materials, objects, or methods can be substituted)
Combine (what other combinations of uses may be possible)
Adapt (what other purposes may this product serve)
Minimize/Magnify (what features can be shortened, which ones made stronger)
Put to other uses (what other markets exist for this product)
Eliminate (what parts can be removed or eliminated)
Reverse/Rearrange (what parts can be exchanged or reconfigured in a new pattern)
An example of using SCAMPER technique is presented below.

Example 5.2 A student’s backpack pockets were ripped and there is a need to develop pockets
for better organization with durable materials that are waterproof. How do you use SCAMPER
technique to improve the design of the backpack?

Solution:
Substitute – New pockets with more durable pocket material
Combine – Combine more pockets into the straps and to add straps to the book bag
Adapt – A protective space for the laptop
Modify – Smaller pocket sizes for better organization
Put to other use – Travel bag or hunting pack
Eliminate – Pencil slots are too small—get rid of them
Reverse – Rearrange the zipping configuration

MIND MAPPING TECHNIQUE

A mind map is a powerful graphical technique that provides a visual way to unlock the potential
of our brain and can be used as a first step in representing the design problem. This technique was
developed by Tony Buzan, a thinking guru who has written many books and is respected widely
in many countries. Mind maps are more compact and help to make associations easily. They
are also useful for consolidating information from multiple sources, thinking through complex
problems, and presenting in a format that gives a big overall picture of the problem.
The mind mapping process involves the following steps.

• Start in the center of page and draw a central image that represents the design topic.

• Write the main themes around the central image similar to the chapter headings of a book.

• Start to add a second level of thought which is linked to the main branch that triggered
them.
80 5. DESIGN CONCEPTS
• Add third, fourth, … levels of data as thoughts come to you.
• Add emphasis to important points on the map.
• Outline whole branches of the map as you see fit.
• Make your maps a little more beautiful, artistic, colorful, or imaginative.
• Include humor and have some fun with the mind maps.
There are many books and software that are available for mind mapping applications.
These include: Buzan’s iMindMap; MindManager; MindMapper; MindView; XMind Pro; and
others.
An example of mind mapping design problem is presented below.

Example 5.3 The hurricane/tropical storm Harvey in Houston/Florida caused lot of damage
to houses and the local community, and made some people homeless. Imagine that you are
working for a company that deals with disaster relief efforts. Consider the project of designing
a smart shelter for a small size family who may live in the shelter for a week. Identify the basic
problem-solving actions for designing and installing a smart shelter.

Solution:
Define the problem
• People are in a storm damaged location without access to food, water, and basic shelter.
• They cannot communicate with friends and family.
• They have lost everything and are in shock and disbelief.
• They might be injured.
• Everything is soaked.
Define the Conditions:
• Wet
• Foreign objects everywhere
• Electric lines down
• Septic tanks flood
• Underwater drainage floods
• Standing water
 5.2. DESIGN CONCEPTS – GENERATION 81
• Mud
• Humidity
• Hygiene
• Food storage and preparation
What are the primary necessities of life?
• Food
1. Define Food
(a) What foods will be needed for one week?
i. How do we obtain/store food?
• Water
1. Define Water
(a) How much water will be needed for one week?
i. How do we store water?
ii. If water does runs out, how do we provide proper direction for finding water?
• Shelter
1. Define Shelter
(a) What type of shelter is needed?
i. Protection from water and mosquitos
ii. Protection from wind and further rain/flooding
• Identify secondary necessities of life
1. Tools (to thermally regulate; heal wounds; navigate; communicate; stay in touch;
cleanse; prepare/store food; rebuild, etc.)
• Identify site-specific issues pertaining to shelter
1. Where will this go?
2. Who will be using this?
3. What size will this be?
4. How many people need to be in one unit?
The mind map resulting from design team exercise is shown in Fig. 5.4 to further illustrate
how mind mapping expands our thinking and understanding on the journey to find solutions.
82 5. DESIGN CONCEPTS
Location
Size
Materials
Accessibility
Features Emergency
Security communication
Safety Radio reception
Wi-fi Hot spot
Non-perishable Power generation
Family friendly Emergency plans well
Easy to store Shelter communicated to family
Easy to prepare with Practice drills
minimal requirements Food and Water
Determine needs Communications
and stock

Toileting
Storm Washing
Building Codes Hygiene
Shelter

Reinforcement
doors and hinges Medical
waterproofing Ventilation
Comforts
Locks
Safety
Considerations
Materials and
security Prescription medicine Entertainment Needs to have ventilation
Emergency medicine Blankets heating/air conditioning
First aid Pillows Able to seal off if necessary
Family friendly

Figure 5.4: Mind mapping of storm shelter example.

PATENT SEARCHES
Another good source for generating concepts (ideas) is the patent literature. Reviewing patents
usually takes time as there is a large body of literature on patents. All patents are organized
according to their class and subclass numbers. It is interesting to note that all design patent
numbers begin with the letter “D.” The manual of U.S. Patent classification lists all the classes
and subclasses. These also can be found in major public libraries and the following websites.

• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: http://www.uspto.gov

• IBM Patent: http://www.delphion.com/home

• European and other foreign patents: http://gb.espacenet.com/

 5.3. DESIGN CONCEPTS – EVALUATION 83
The following steps can be used as a guide to search patents based on a class or a subclass.
Step #1 -Identify the class or subclass of the area of interest.
Step #2 -Find the numbers of the specific patents that have been filed in the classes iden-
tified. This is done by using Classification And Search Support Information System (CASSIS),
a computer index to the patent numbers. (Number, Title, and Abstract.)
Step #3 -For a specific patent number, either search the patent or the official GAZETTE.
This is a weekly magazine that lists the abstract of each patent issued in an earlier week.

5.3 DESIGN CONCEPTS – EVALUATION

In order to identify a “good” concept that meets all the customer/stakeholders requirements,
robust concept evaluation methods are required. The goal for the concept evaluation is to find a
candidate concept that is customer focused, competitively designed, reduces time to production,
and has buy-in from multiple stakeholders. Listing all the advantages and disadvantages of var-
ious concepts can be helpful in identifying the best candidate concept. Also, several computer-
based optimization techniques are also available for evaluating concepts for complicated design
problems. Figure 5.5 shows an overview of concept evaluation as well as the techniques used
during this step of the design process.

Many
Ideas/Concepts
ts Final Concept

Techniques: Feasibility Judgement; Go/No-Go

Screening; Decision Matrix; Optimization; etc.

Concept Evaluation
(Decision Making)

Figure 5.5: An overview of concept evaluation process.

Also, it is important to note that the feasibility judgement and Go/No-Go techniques
provide an abstract comparison of concepts, whereas the decision matrix technique provides a
relative comparison of concepts, as shown in Fig. 5.5. These techniques are briefly described
below.
84 5. DESIGN CONCEPTS
FEASIBILITY JUDGMENT TECHNIQUE
The feasibility technique is an abstract method for evaluating the concepts and is briefly described
below.

• It is not feasible, it will never work.

Before discarding consider BRIEFLY from different viewpoints. Ask:

– Why is it not feasible?

– Is it because the technology will not work or the concept does not meet the customer
requirements?
– Or is it that it is just “different” or not popular?

• It might work if something else happens or changes

• It may be worth considering

GO/NO-GO SCREENING TECHNIQUE

This technique asks if a concept can achieve and satisfy each of the customer (or engineering)
requirements.
The answers should be:

• Go (yes or maybe) or no-go (NO).

• If a only a few no-go then consider modifying the concept to meet requirements.

DECISION MATRIX TECHNIQUE

The decision matrix technique is one of the methods used for evaluating the concepts generated
during the design process. An overview of the decision matrix method or Pugh’s method is
presented in Table 5.1. This technique rapidly identifies the strongest concept, helps foster new
concepts, and also helps improve understanding of customer requirements. The basic purpose
of the decision matrix method is to provide a quantitative score for comparing each alternate
concept relative to the other according to specified criteria (customer requirements). The steps
in this method are summarized below.
Step #1: Choose the criteria (customer requirements) for comparison.
Step #2: Develop relative importance weightings.
Step #3: Select alternatives (concepts are represented as sketches so that they are at the
same level of abstraction and in the same language) to be compared.
 5.3. DESIGN CONCEPTS – EVALUATION 85
Step #4: Evaluate alternatives using the following procedure.
Procedure:
• One of the concepts is selected as a datum or benchmark for comparison to others. The
datum is selected based on the designer’s choice (or favorite) or the existing design.
• Compare all other concepts with this datum by each one of the customer requirements.
• A score is given as follows.
1. If the concept meets the criterion better than the datum, it is given a C or C1 score.
2. If the concept meets the criterion as well as the datum (or there is some uncertainty),
it is given an S (same) or 0 score.
3. If the concept does not meet the criterion as well as the datum, it is given a or
1 score.

Step #5: Compute satisfaction (the total score)

After a concept is compared with the datum for each criterion, four scores are generated.
• The number of plus scores.
• The number of minus scores.
• The overall total that is equal to the difference between the number of plus scores and the
number of minus scores.
• The weighted total equal to the sum of each score multiplied by the importance weighting
where “C” is treated as C1, “ ” is treated as 1, and S is treated as 0.
The above scores can be interpreted in a number of ways.
- If a concept has a good overall total score, or a high “C” total score, it is important to iden-
tify what strengths it exhibits (i.e., notice which criteria it meets better than the datum).
- The grouping of “ ” scores shows which requirements are difficult to meet.
- If most concepts get the same score on a certain criterion, examine that criterion closely.
In fact:
– it may be necessary to develop more knowledge in the area of the criterion to generate
better concepts;
– it may be that the criterion is ambiguous; and
– it may be that different members of the design team interpret the criterion differently.
86 5. DESIGN CONCEPTS
There might be a need to repeat the comparison with the highest scoring concept used as
the new datum to further understand how the concepts compare to each other. This process of
comparison is continued repetitively until the best concept or concepts are clearly identified.
It is important to note that the decision-matrix method is most effective if each member
of the design team performs the evaluation independently and the individual results are then
compared (adopted from Ullman, 2015 [24]). The results of the comparison lead to a repetition
of the technique, with the iteration continuing until the team is satisfied with the results.

Table 5.1: Basic structure of a decision matrix technique for concept evaluation during the design
process (redrawn from Ullman 2015 [24])

Step 1 Step 2
Design Relative Alternatives
Step 3
Specifications Importance Alternative 1 Alternative 2 … Alternative m
Criterion 1 xx Evaluation 1-1 Evaluation 2-1 … Evaluation m-1
Criterion 2 yy Evaluation 1-2 Evaluation 2-2 … Evaluation m-2
… … … … Step 4
… … … …
Criterion n Evaluation 1-n Evaluation 2-n … Evaluation m-n
Satisfaction Score 1 Score 2 … Score m Step 5

Example 5.4 Hysterosalpingography (HS) is an outpatient procedure used to diagnose prob-

lems of both the uterus and fallopian tubes in women, which lead to infertility problems. Most
often, the procedure is done to see if a woman’s fallopian tubes are blocked or if the uterus has
any abnormalities such as tumors, scar tissue, and tears. Using a HS Catheter, contrast media
is injected into the uterus and fallopian tubes to highlight abnormalities such as size and shape.
Thus, a HS Catheter should allow for injection of contrast media, a way to seal off the uterus
from fluid leakage, and a mechanism to allow the physician to correctly form the shaft into
shape.

Solution:
As part the design of the HS Catheter, the design team at IUPUI came up with the four
design concepts, as shown in Fig. 5.6. The evaluation of the concepts using the decision matrix
is shown in Fig. 5.7.
 5.3. DESIGN CONCEPTS – EVALUATION 87
Closed Tip
Stopcock Closed Tip Non-Tapered
Female Luer

Stopcock
Tapered Female Luer Concept #1 Concept #3
Insert Molded Manifold with Preformed Thermally Glue Joint Preformed Thermally
Tapered Distal End Bonded Balloon Bonded Balloon

Non-Tapered
Female Luer Open Tip Closed Tip Stylet Insertion

Concept #2 Concept #4
Insert Molded Manifold Non-Preformable Balloon Mechanical Non-Tapered Female
(Non-Tapered Distal End) with Glue Joints Opening/Closing Luer for Injection of
Device Contrast Medium

Figure 5.6: Design concepts for the HS Catheter (courtesy of IUPUI students).

Figure 5.7: Evaluation of concepts for the HS Catheter using the decision matrix technique
(courtesy of IUPUI students).
88 5. DESIGN CONCEPTS
5.4 DESIGN REVIEW
Usually at the end of this concept design and evaluation process a design review takes place with
all customers/stakeholders to review various design concepts and the rationale for the final can-
didate concept. The conceptual design review is presented in Table 5.2. Once everyone involved
approves the final candidate concept, the design journey process will move on to the next design
phase/step. This is presented in Fig. 5.8.

Table 5.2: Concept design review template during the design journey process

Feature Comments/Feedback
Concept Generation:
What techniques were used to gener-
ate concepts?
Quality of Concepts:
Were all concepts generated with
quality to meet the requirements?
Are there enough concepts generated
spanning the design space?
Evaluation of Concepts:
How are the concepts evaluated? Did
the team use customer requirements
in their evaluation of concepts?
Final Concept:
Does the final concept meet all the
requirements? Are there possibilities
for concept refinement? Are there
any plans to realize the final concept?
Overall Innovation:
How does the overall concept gen-
eration/evaluation process lead to
innovation?

Also, in the conceptual design phase, there is a need to represent the geometry of a product
and evaluate its performance. For that purpose, geometric design tools such as AutoCAD or
SolidWorks or ProE or Inventor software can be utilized to create, visualize, and manipulate
the model through various modeling capabilities of the software.
 5.5. EXERCISES 89

Concepts –
Design Final Design
Generation and
Concepts Concept Review
Evaluation

Figure 5.8: Overview of the design concepts generation and evaluation leading to final concept
and design review.

5.5 EXERCISES
5.1. Consider a design project of a multifunction peeler for use in a modern kitchen. Develop
design concepts using various techniques.
5.2. Develop the engineering specifications for designing a shelter for hurricane victims.
5.3. For Problem 5.1, evaluate concepts using the decision matrix method.
5.4. Develop at least ten concepts for a shelter to hold five people affected by hurricanes
Harvey/Maria.
5.5. Evaluate the design concepts of Problem 5.4 using the techniques discussed in this
chapter.
90 5. DESIGN CONCEPTS

Design Activity Template – Conceptual Design

1. Write the design problem requirements.

2. Conceptual design. Brainstorm possible solutions.

3. Research the solution.

(Patents, review of literature, analyze the solution for feasibility, safety, and implications)

4. Evaluate generated concepts.

5. Prepare final design concept and conceptual/CAD drawings or sketches.

 91

CHAPTER 6

Detail Design
After reading this chapter, you will be able to:
• Understand the detail design process

• Be knowledgeable about designing for “X”

• Understand what design drawings are needed in the detail design

• Be knowledgeable about bill of materials

• Describe the CAE process for design analysis and evaluation

6.1 OVERVIEW
This chapter provides an introduction to the detail design process. Various computer tools avail-
able for design development and evaluation are introduced. Examples are also presented to better
illustrate the principles involved in the detail design process. Specific design tools discussed in
this chapter include detail design and evaluation, cost analysis, and CAE software tools.

6.2 DETAIL DESIGN

After design concepts have been generated and evaluated as discussed in the previous chapter,
the candidate/final concept should be refined into an actual product or final design. The detail
design and evaluation step emphasizes the importance of the concurrent design of the product
and the manufacturing process, as shown in Fig. 6.1.

Design Analysis—Stress, Failure

Form Generation and Dimension Synthesis
Design for Assembly and Manufacturing
Materials Selection
Detail Design
Design for Environment
Prototyping/Simulation
Economics—Cost Analysis
Safety

Figure 6.1: An overview of the detail design step of the design journey process.
92 6. DETAIL DESIGN
In this step, detailed designs are developed for the candidate concept using dimension
synthesis, mechanism analysis, design for assembly and manufacturing, material selection, stress
and failure analysis, documentation, and evaluation. The knowledge base for developing a de-
tailed product design comes from various courses in the engineering/design curriculum such as
manufacturing, materials, economics, engineering sciences, and systems design. Design/product
development is an iterative process. As products are generated they are evaluated for perfor-
mance, cost, and production. Based on this evaluation, changes/refinements might be added as
needed. Design evaluation may require that the design process return to developing engineer-
ing requirements or new concepts. Note that many design projects begin directly with product
development without the benefit of prior specification or concept development. Such a design
approach often leads to poor-quality products and in many cases causes costly changes late in
the design process. Some of the detailed design aspects are presented below.

DESIGN FOR X: MANUFACTURING, SAFETY, FAILURE, AND

ENVIRONMENT
When engineers design a product, they generally have to address several concerns such as cost,
safety, reliability, assembly, tolerances, or the environment. The term “Design for X” is commonly
used to refer to designing for these different concerns, with X representing specific attributes
such as marketability, robustness, etc. Each of these attributes or factors is comprehensively
addressed during different phases of the design process, and integrated under the “concurrent
engineering” approach discussed in Chapter 1. Customized design procedures and methods
available for addressing specific concerns such as manufacturing, safety, and environment are
briefly discussed below.

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURING

In Design for Manufacturing (DFM), the focus is on minimizing production costs and time to
market, while maintaining high quality. Several methods are used in DFM such as process-
driven decision making and CAD/CAM technology to provide the design team with quan-
titative information (i.e., cost estimates for materials, pieces, tools) that will enable them to
manufacture high quality products with minimum costs and in a shorter period of time.

DESIGNING FOR SAFETY

In Designing for Safety, the emphasis is on identifying and correcting potential process or product
failures before they occur. Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is a stepwise procedure
that systematically examines all the ways in which each part of a product may fail to perform as
intended (a screw may come loose or become corroded, or a hydraulic hose may develop a leak
for example). The procedure then provides an estimate of the adverse effects of these failures for
the product and the user. For example, an open switch (failure mode) may cause a refrigerator
to stop functioning, resulting in spoiled or wasted food (adverse effect). While some failures
 6.2. DETAIL DESIGN 93
may result in minimal adverse effect, others may cause catastrophic damage. Effects analysis is
therefore a very important tool that assists the designer in assessing and detecting the probability
that the established controls or inspection procedures will catch the failures before they reach
the customer. Calculations such as risk priority numbers are used to assess the part failure mode
in a given product. Risk priority numbers are quantitative metrics that range between 1 and 10,
with the smaller numbers denoting less risk of failure.
There are seven basic steps in the safety analysis process and are specified in a FMEA
worksheet where all the analysis information and evaluation is recorded. For example, typical
FMEA activities include the following:

• listing the system parts, boundaries, and requirements

• brainstorming potential failures

• using cause and effect diagrams to determine the effects of potential failures;

• identifying each component and its associated failure mode along with probability or fail-
ure rate for each failure mode

• reviewing and prioritizing failures to address based on factors such as safety, quality and
cost

• developing a plan for taking corrective measures

• implementing and monitoring progress on the plan

Additional details regarding the FMEA method may be found in Eggert (2005).

DESIGN FOR ENVIRONMENT

Design for Environment is a recent outgrowth of greater societal awareness and legislative actions
that place greater burdens on manufacturers to design eco-friendly and recyclable products.
There is now greater attention paid at the beginning of the design process in estimating the costs
associated with disposing or retiring products in a way that is not harmful to the environment
once they reach the end of their shelf life.

DESIGN STANDARDS
When designing, students need to be aware of various standards that need to be followed in
order for the design to be marketable and acceptable to customers. These standards many in-
volve rules, policies, and guidelines and are recognized by professional organizations and state
and federal governments agencies. A number of national and professional organizations require
implementing standards in the designs that are applied to specific applications. Some of these
include:
94 6. DETAIL DESIGN
• American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)

• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

• American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME)

• American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

• National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)

• US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

• American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)

DESIGN EVALUATION – COST ANALYSIS

As part of the design process, it is important to generate a cost estimate and compare with the
original cost requirements. Figure 6.2 shows the total cost (list price) for a product to reach the
customer. All costs can be grouped into direct costs and indirect costs. Direct costs are those
that can be specifically attributed to a specific component, assembly, or product. Indirect costs
are not differentiated but are spread out over the entire life cycle of a product and include such
things as overhead and marketing expenses. Examples of direct costs include costs for materials
purchased, wages and benefits for hired workers and costs for tools.

Fixed Cost Variable Cost Mfg. Cost Total Costs Selling Price
Direct Costs
Material þ þ þ þ
Purchased Parts þ þ þ þ
Labor þ þ þ þ
List Price

Tooling þ þ þ þ
Indirect Costs
Overhead þ þ þ þ
Selling Expenses þ þ
Profit þ
Discount

Figure 6.2: Overview of the product cost and its breakdown.

Another major category of costs commonly incurred are fixed vs. variable costs. Fixed costs
do not change with the rate of production of products and typically include: investment costs
(property taxes, insurance); overhead costs (general supplies, office personnel, rental charges);
 6.3. DESIGN DRAWINGS 95
management costs (costs payable to various staff from executive, legal, and research, and devel-
opment departments); and selling costs (delivery and warehouse, technical service staff ). Variable
costs change with the rate of production and typically include costs for materials, labor, main-
tenance, power and utilities, quality control staff, patent or royalty payments, packaging and
storage, and losses due to manufacturing defects. Cost estimation and analysis procedures are
highly specific to individual organizations and agencies.

6.3 DESIGN DRAWINGS

As a necessary part of the design process, detailed design documentation in the form of draw-
ings is the preferred method of communication among the design team members. Drawings
also form the basis for analysis, manufacturing, and assembly of the final product. Additionally,
the drawings may serve as means to simulate the operation of the product as well as checking
for completeness and storing and retrieving the design. The following section discusses the typ-
ical drawings required by the design teams, which are usually drawn using CAD tools such as
AutoCAD, SolidWorks, or Pro/E software.

LAYOUT DRAWING
This drawing defines the relationship of the developing assemblies and components. Layout
drawings are the working documents that support the development of major components of the
product design. The shape and size of the components, working space, and structural relationship
will be shown in the drawings. A typical layout drawing is shown in Fig. 6.3. Layout drawings
are drawn to scale using only important dimensions (spatial constraints). Tolerances are usually
not shown on layout drawings. Notes are used to explain the features of the design.

DETAIL DRAWINGS
These drawings provide all the necessary information for part fabrication. As the product evolves
(dimension synthesis) on the layout drawing, the details of individual components will emerge.
A typical detail drawing (see Fig. 6.4) showing all the dimensions and tolerances drawn using
standard ANSI Y14.5M, materials and manufacturing details is also presented in detailed draw-
ings. A signature block is a standard part of a detail drawing to be approved by the management.

ASSEMBLY DRAWINGS
These drawings show relative locations of the parts and how the components fit together. Or-
thographic view is the most common type, as shown in Fig. 6.5.
Assembly drawing is similar to layout drawing but, with its own features. Each compo-
nent is identified with a number or letter keyed to the bill of materials. Necessary detailed views
are included to convey information that is not clear in the major views (cutaway drawing). Ref-
96 6. DETAIL DESIGN

Figure 6.3: A sample layout drawing (courtesy of Evan Neblett).

 6.3. DESIGN DRAWINGS 97

Figure 6.4: A sample detail drawing.

98 6. DETAIL DESIGN

Figure 6.5: A sample assembly drawing.

 6.4. BILL OF MATERIALS 99
erences can be made to other drawings and specific assembly instructions for additional needed
information.

6.4 BILL OF MATERIALS

In the assembly drawing, the bill of materials (BOM) or parts list is included. The BOM is an
index of the parts that were used in the product. The following six pieces of information should
be included in a bill of materials, as shown in Table 6.1. A spreadsheet can be used to develop
a bill of materials:
• The item number or letter (which is a key to the components in the assembly drawing)
• The part number (which is used throughout the purchasing, manufacturing, and assembly
to identify the component)
• The quantity needed in the assembly
• The name or description of the components
• The material that will be used for the component
• The source of the component if it is purchased off the shelf

Table 6.1: Bill of materials

Item Part Quantity Name Material Source

1 Body 2 Device Body Metal Hewitt Manufacturing, Inc.
2 LED 6 LED Bulb Glass Home Depot
… … … … … …
… … … … … …
12 Spiral Pin 10 Spiral Pins Plastic Lowe’s

6.5 DESIGN ANALYSIS TOOLS

In the detail design and evaluation step, various analysis software and tools (ANSYS, ABAQUS,
COSMOS, NASTRAN, MATLAB, or FEMLAB, and others) may be used to simulate the
design analysis and evaluate stress and failure analysis for various material combinations. In ad-
dition, design optimization tools (DOT) coupled with design analysis tools are also available for
the designer to generate optimum solutions. As part of the evaluation process, the designer can
also generate bills of materials, specify tolerances, and perform cost analyses, while investigat-
ing the manufacturing tolerances of the design. Based on customer need for a specific product,
100 6. DETAIL DESIGN
the design team goes through the design process to come up with a design, which satisfies the
customer requirements.
The manufacturing aspect of the product deals with fabrication, assembly, and testing. The
manufacturing process also includes training, scheduling, and supervising production personnel
with significant coordination among the design team, production planning, and manufactur-
ing teams. Distribution activities include shipping the product to distribution centers located
throughout the country and the world, from which the product is shipped to retailers or cus-
tomers. Service activities are related to repair or replacement of products for customers. Disposal
activities include removal or elimination or recycling the product.

COMPUTER-AIDED-ENGINEERING (CAE)
CAE software can help perform some of the steps in the design process, especially related to
geometric modeling, analysis and synthesis. Table 6.2 shows the various CAE software tools
used during the design journey process. CAE is a technology that uses computers to analyze
CAD geometry, which allows the designer to simulate and study how the product will function
and behave so that the design can be refined and optimized.

Table 6.2: CAE software tools during the design process

Design Phase Goals Tools

Conceptual Design Geometric modeling, manipulation, SolidWorks, Pro/E, AutoCAD, etc.
visualization
Detailed Design Animation, assemblies SolidWorks, Pro/E, AutoCAD, etc.
Analysis Structural, thermal, etc. COSMOS, ANSYS, ABAQUS, etc.
Optimization Structural DOT, etc.
Evaluation Dimensioning, tolerances, bill of CAD/CAM tools, rapid
materials, NC prototyping, simulations tools
Communication Drafting, detailing, shading CAD tools

Figure 6.6 shows an overview of the CAE approach to product design. CAE tools/systems
are available for a wide range of analyses. These include dynamics analysis, finite element anal-
ysis, general purpose, and others. The dynamics analysis includes the kinematics of bodies that
deals with motion and forces. Several dynamics analysis packages such as ADAMS, DADS, and
Working Model can calculate the resultant motion of a design assembly having multiple mov-
ing parts by specifying the loads and using fundamental equations of dynamics and numerical
methods. These packages can be used for analysis of positions, velocities, accelerations, contacts
and collisions, joint forces, and relative motions. Then using CAD models, the motion can be
displayed.
 6.5. DESIGN ANALYSIS TOOLS 101

Concept

CAD

CAE

Product

Figure 6.6: CAE approach to product design modeling and synthesis (source: http://www.lo
zik.h1.ru/).

Finite element analysis (FEA) is a method that predicts the behavior of a product subjected
to loads. FEA is very popular and can find applications in the design analysis of mechanical,
aerospace, biomedical, civil, and electrical systems. In general, in FEA, the shape of the designed
part is broken down into smaller elements that are interconnected at nodes. In discretizing the
part, the entire product shape is filled with elements without any overlaps, and analyzed for
functional performance. To this end, the process begins with creating a geometric model of
the part using CAD software (SolidWorks) and importing to analysis software (ANSYS) using
*.iges file extension. The part is divided into a finite element mesh with smaller elements
connected at nodes. After applying loads and boundary conditions to the part, the finite element
equations are solved. Figure 6.7 shows the overall procedure for FEA and outlines the analysis
results used to redesign the part. The FEA can be used for many types of analysis including
102 6. DETAIL DESIGN

CAD Model SolidWorks *.sldprt

IGS Conversion SolidWorks *.igs

Mesh ANSYS Mesh *.db

Analysis
ANSYS Results

Redesign SolidWorks

Figure 6.7: Overall procedure for redesigning a part using FEA.

stress, heat transfer, fluid flow, buckling, and vibrations. The factor of safety against failure can
be predicted from the stress analysis. Figure 6.8 show examples of designs illustrating form,
kinetic structure, and model for discretization of strength for CAE analysis.
General purpose software such as MSWord, MathCAD, MSProject, Excel, and Power-
Point are computer applications for word processing, mathematics, project management, spread-
sheets, and oral presentations, respectively. Using the general purpose computer software, we can
carry out the daily tasks very efficiently.
Other CAE applications, specific to a task, include GRANTA (for material selection),
MATLAB Simulink (for systems simulation), DFMA (for applications involving design for
assembly and design for manufacture), and QFDCapture (for quality function deployment).
In engineering practice, CAD/CAM/CAE has been utilized in different ways by different
people to:
 6.6. FINAL DESIGN AND EVALUATION 103

Form Kinetic Structure Discretized for Strength

Form Kinetic Structure Discretized for Strength

Figure 6.8: Examples illustrating the discretization of a part/form for CAE analysis.

• Produce drawings and document designs

• Generate shaded images and animated displays (i.e., as a visual tool)
• Perform engineering analysis (e.g., FEA)
• Perform process planning and generate NC part programs
• A combination of the above

6.6 FINAL DESIGN AND EVALUATION

Once the final design is selected and evaluated, the next step will be to make sure that all stake-
holders (members of the design team, management, client, users, manufacturing, etc.) are pro-
vided sufficient details on the development and implementation aspects. The design process
104 6. DETAIL DESIGN
communication may be accomplished through oral presentations, face to face, or telephone con-
versations, progress reports, or formal project reports. Detailed documentation will need to be
provided on the costs, material specifications, technical drawings of components or assembly,
quality and reliability, and other design specifications as needed. Communication strategies and
documentation details are described further in the next chapter.

IMPLEMENTING THE DESIGN DECISION

Before implementing a full-scale version of the final design, it may be helpful to develop and
test a pilot model through rapid prototyping or working prototype or simulation to further iden-
tify technical specifications required to generate the best solution. Design projects being im-
plemented in this day and age are increasingly requiring multidisciplinary interactions between
engineers from various fields (e.g., business, electrical and computer engineering, chemical engi-
neering, biomedical engineering). It is therefore important to keep in mind that communication
skills are just as important to the success of a project as are technical skills.

VERIFYING AND EVALUATING THE DESIGN

The last step in the design process involves evaluating whether the design project met the re-
quired design specifications and performance criteria. A variety of methods including focus
groups and satisfaction surveys may be used along with sampling or testing the product, process
or system to ensure achievement of the optimum design. Typically, modifications and further
refinement of the design will be required before the optimum design can be achieved. The clos-
ing step of the design process often marks the start of a new design process in search of the next
generation of products, processes, and systems because technology changes so rapidly. New de-
signs may be motivated with improved manufacturing processes and techniques, substitution
of better materials with superior properties, or designs better able to satisfy the latest market
requirements.

DESIGN STRATEGY
Due to the complexity in product design and conflicting requirements, the final product design
needs to be selected based on tradeoffs among various requirements such as performance, cost,
weight, robustness, manufacturing, implementation, aesthetics, etc. Different tradeoffs will lead
to a variety of designs.

6.7 DESIGN REVIEW

Usually at the end of this step in the design journey process a design review takes place with
all customers/stakeholders to review final design before releasing it to production, as shown in
Fig. 6.9. The detail design review template is presented in Table 6.3.
 6.7. DESIGN REVIEW 105

Table 6.3: Template for detail design review step of the design journey process

Feature Comments/Feedback
Detail Design:
What aspects of detail design are in-
vestigated?
What types of model/simulation and
analysis techniques were used?
What are the key features/function
of the final design? How are they
evaluated?
How are the simulations/prototyp-
ing/testing being conducted to evalu-
ate the engineering requirements?
How will the design solution be
realized?
What steps in terms of manufactur-
ing/materials will be adopted?
Are there any design strategies fol-
lowed for trade off among various
criteria?
How will the final design solution be
implemented?
Are there any risks/failure modes that
affect the safety of the design?
Design Innovation:
How will the final design lead to in-
novation?
106 6. DETAIL DESIGN

Detail Design
Final Design
and Production
Concept Review
Evaluation

Figure 6.9: Design review after detail design and evaluation before the production.

6.8 EXERCISES
6.1. Explain the detail design process.
6.2. Conduct a cost analysis for a tiny house (200 square feet) for a family of two people.
6.3. What types of drawings are required as part of the detail design for a product?
6.4. Describe the process of creating a prototype from a CAD model.
6.5. List various types of prototypes for design evaluation.
 107

CHAPTER 7

Design Communication
After reading this chapter, you will be able to:
• Understand the design reviews

• Understand the design documentation required

• Write a good design project report

• Make professional design project presentations

7.1 OVERVIEW
This chapter introduces the design reviews, tools, and techniques for documentation that are
an integral part of the design journey process. Specifically, design reviews, documentation, and
project report formats are presented. Based on the techniques discussed in this chapter, stu-
dents should be able to effectively communicate and document the materials required during
the design journey process.

7.2 DESIGN REVIEWS

At critical steps of the design journey process, design reviews are conducted with all stakeholders
to ensure the design meets all the requirements related to the project. Usually, the design reviews
are comprehensive and document processes intended to evaluate the design from multiple stake-
holder’s perspective and at the same time to identify any potential problems/risks. Detection of
errors early in the design process may prevent unnecessary costs, failures, and the associate time
spent on the projects. Usually, the regulatory agencies such as the American Society for Testing
of Materials (ASTM) International and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducts
periodic design reviews that are very rigorous to make sure the design meets the requirements
as well as appeal to consumers/users.
The number of design reviews depends on the complexity and scope of the design project.
It is usually recommended that, at a minimum, design reviews should take place after at the
end of design requirements, conceptual design, and detail design (as shown in Fig. 7.1) before
releasing the design to production. Depending on the feedback received from various stakehold-
ers, the design team may require to repeat previous design steps. Conducting the design reviews
yields several benefits including the design team advancing to next step of the design process,
108 7. DESIGN COMMUNICATION
providing meaningful feedback and guiding design improvements, and documenting the design
processes checked for adequacy and validation.

Feedback

Feedback Feedback
Final Design
Design Requirements Concept Solution
Stakeholders
Defined Defined Defined Defined
and
Design Team

Establish Design Conceptual Detail

Need Requirements Design Design

Design Design Design

Review Review Review

Figure 7.1: Design reviews at critical steps of the design journey process.

The design review templates for design requirements, conceptual design, and detail design
steps of the design journey process presented earlier, in Sections 4.4, 5.4, and 6.7, can be used
as a guide to seek feedback from all stakeholders as well as peers to further guide the design
project.

7.3 DESIGN COMMUNICATION AND DOCUMENTATION

One of the key features of concurrent engineering is ongoing communication among the team
members and communicating the right information to the right people at the right time. Fig-
ure 7.2 humorously illustrates the importance of communication during the design process. The
following techniques may be used to foster communication among the team members during
the design process.

1. Design records

A design note book is usually kept to track the ideas developed and the design decisions
made during the design process. The design notebook is a diary of the design. It should
contain all the information including sketches, notes, and calculations that concern the
design. Design records can be used for future reference to prove originality of patent ap-
plication, and demonstration of the professional design procedures in case of law suits.
 7.3. DESIGN COMMUNICATION AND DOCUMENTATION 109

As proposed by the project As specified in project As designed by senior

manager request designer

As manufactured As installed at user’s site As the user wanted

Figure 7.2: Importance of communication and documentation during the design process (re-
drawn from unknown source).

2. Documents
During the design process, periodic presentations to managers, customers, and other team
members will be made. These presentations are usually called design reviews, and usually
include both written and audio/video materials.

3. Documents communicating the final design

Final design documentation should include drawings (or computer files) of individual
components (detail drawings) and of assemblies required to move the product to the man-
ufacturing stage. Written documentation to guide manufacturing, assembly, inspection,
installation and maintenance, and quality control aspects should also be maintained in
this section.
110 7. DESIGN COMMUNICATION
7.4 DESIGN REPORT AND PRESENTATION
Communication skills, both written and oral, are very important in the engineering and scientific
profession. The designers and the design team should be able to clearly communicate with all
stakeholders as well as management or manufacturing teams, or clients or vendors following the
development of a quality design. The following is a suggested format for student design reports.

PROJECT REPORT FORMAT

The outline of a typical project report is as follows.
Cover Page – Project Title, Names of Design Group, Address, and Date.

1. Abstract (or Summary) – Describe the goals or objectives of the design, the product de-
veloped, and its applications. Summarize the project’s accomplishments.

2. Introduction – Summarize relevant background information including the need for the
project. Clarify the technical design requirements and cost benefit analyses. State the
project’s objectives.

3. Design – Review the engineering specifications and targets; summarize and evaluate exist-
ing benchmarks with particular emphasis on any gaps which the project is intended to fill;
discuss the concept generation and evaluation aspects of the project, followed by justifica-
tion for developing the final product; provide a detailed description of the procedures used
for product evaluation; and share the details of analysis, experiment, or field test results.

4. Design for X – Discuss how the product addresses a number of factors (X) such as cost,
safety, sustainability, impact on the environment, and society.

5. Conclusions – Provide empirical evidence to support major project accomplishments and

to demonstrate that the project has satisfied critical engineering specifications.

6. Recommendations – Discuss any recommendations you may have for extend-

ing/improving the design in the future.

7. References – Use appropriate professional style and language in citing sources (internet,
books, journals, etc.) used in the design project. Provide an alphabetized bibliography of
references at the end of the design report.

8. Appendices – Attach supplementary materials such as drawings (layout drawings, detail

drawings, assembly drawings), design analysis results (stress contours, failure plots), prod-
uct development plans, etc.
 7.5. EXERCISES 111
DESIGN REVIEW PRESENTATIONS
Keep these simple guidelines in mind when preparing design review presentations to managers,
clients, and others involved in the design project.
1. Tailor your report to your audience—make it understandable to the recipient.
2. Carefully consider the order of presentation—present the whole concept, describe the
main parts of the design, and tie all parts together into the whole design.
3. Be prepared with quality materials—use visual aids and written documentation, follow an
agenda, and be ready for questions.

7.5 EXERCISES
7.1. What are the various design reviews during the design journey process?
7.2. Why do we have to conduct design reviews?
7.3. What kind of documentation is required during the design journey process?
7.4. What items should be considered for effective design project presentation?
7.5. Develop a design report for one of your projects from the previous chapter.
 113

CHAPTER 8

Design Realization
After reading this chapter, you will be able to:

• Understand the design/product realization process

• Be knowledgeable about CAD/CAM

• Be knowledgeable about prototyping and testing

• Explain product data management

• Explain virtual engineering

8.1 OVERVIEW
This chapter provides an introduction to the design/product realization process. Various com-
puter tools available for product development are introduced. The need for building and testing
prototypes are discussed along with CAD/CAM tools for design process. CAD/CAM/CAE
integration through a database using product data management as well as virtual engineering is
also discussed.

8.2 DESIGN REALIZATION PROCESS

In previous chapters, we discussed how engineering design activities translate customer needs
into a quality design following the design process. But, how is the quality design turned into
a realized product? In today’s modern design and manufacturing environment, most designed
parts and components are mass produced. Design/product realization is a methodology by which
both design and manufacturing processes are utilized to develop a product that meets customer
needs. Figure 8.1 shows an overview of the product realization process. During the product
realization process, original/redesigned or modified products are conceived, designed, manufac-
tured, brought to market, and after they are in service for the designed life, they are disposed of
or recycled.
To compete in today’s market, products should be developed with quality, lower cost, and
with shorter time to market. With the assistance of computer and information technologies, and
rapid prototyping, industries make use of such capabilities as speed, memory, and graphics to
automate product design and development. Computer-aided design (CAD), Computer-aided
114 8. DESIGN REALIZATION

CAD/CAE CAM
Design Manufacturing Distribution, Service,
Design Process
Need Process Disposal/Recycle

Product Realization Process (Product Life Cycle)

Figure 8.1: An overview of the product/design realization process.

manufacturing (CAM), and computer-aided engineering (CAE) are the technologies commonly
used in the design/product realization process. Computer-aided engineering refers to computer
software and hardware systems which are utilized to evaluate the functional performance of en-
gineering designs. Sometimes computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided engineering
(CAE) are easily interchanged. Prototyping and testing, product data management, business
plan, and the virtual engineering are briefly described in the next sections.

8.3 COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN (CAD) AND

COMPUTER-AIDED MANUFACTURING (CAM)
Computer aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) processes and tools
are commonly used in many engineering tasks including the design and development of a prod-
uct based on consumer needs and market demands. CAD processes are typically defined as
a subset of the product design process, while CAM is a subset of the product manufacturing
process. Geometric modeling, computer graphics, and design form the three core disciplines
contributing to CAD systems, while manufacturing, automation, and CAD contribute largely
to CAM systems. The various tasks in CAD and CAM are shown in Fig. 8.2.
CAD systems consist of both hardware (computer and mouse) and software (computer
programs usually written in C or C++) components, and add to the complexity of CAD/CAM
system applications. CAD/CAM systems can be used to create the geometry of a product, run
8.3. COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN (CAD) AND COMPUTER-AIDED MANUFACTURING (CAM) 115
analyses, or perform selected computations. CAD/CAM software typically has a GUI (graphical
user interface) that enables users to interact easily with menus and icons to perform engineering
design tasks across all platforms and operating systems including UNIX, Linux, Windows, and
Apple. You can purchase software that is compatible with your particular operating system.

Manufacturing Process

Design Process

Production Planning

Design Specifications

Conceptual Design
Procurement of Tools

Order Materials
Design Analysis and
Optimization CNC, NC
Design Evaluation

Design Documentation
Production
CAD/CAE

Quality Control

Packaging and Shipping

CAM

Figure 8.2: Various tasks involved in CAD/CAE and CAM processes.

116 8. DESIGN REALIZATION
CAD is the technology that uses computer systems to create, modify, analyze, and do
the optimization to redesign the product. Various geometric modeling schemes can be used to
develop a design and prepare 2D and 3D drawings of product parts and assemblies. CAM is the
technology that uses computer systems to plan, manage, and control manufacturing operations
and connects them with production plant resources. One of the primary functions of CAM is to
generate the operations required to control a machine for milling, grinding, cutting, bending, or
turning a raw stock into a finished product through an NC or CNC machine. The CAM software
can generate the instructions for the machine through a CAD database plus the machine code.
Usually, CAM operations are based on 2D geometry extracted from the 3D solid model. The
extracted 2D geometry is stored in a *.dxf file that can be read by the CAM software. The CAM
software will generate the CNC code for the CNC mill/lathe. Once a CNC code is generated,
then the tool path will be created from which the part/design is produced through the CNC
machine.

CAD/CAM TOOLS
Table 8.1 shows the CAD tools (geometric modeling and graphics) and the CAM tools (geo-
metric and CAD, NC programs, robotics) required to support the design and manufacturing
processes during product realization.

Table 8.1: CAD/CAM tools required to support product realization process

Design Phase Required CAD Tool(s)

Conceptual design Geometric modeling techniques, graphics aids, manipula-
tions, and visualization
Design modeling and simulation Same as above, animation, assemblies, special modeling
packages
Design analysis Analysis packages, customized programs, and packages
Design optimization Customized application, structural optimization
Design evaluation Dimensioning, tolerances, bill of materials, NC
Design communication and Drafting and detailing, shaded images
documentation
Manufacturing Phase Required CAM Tool(s)
Process planning Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP) techniques, cost
analysis, material, and tooling specification
Part programming NC programming
Inspection Inspection software
Assembly Robotics simulation and programming
 8.4. PROTOTYPING AND TESTING 117
8.4 PROTOTYPING AND TESTING
Prototypes are generally classified according to the degree to which they are physical replicas or
models of the product vs. analytical or mathematical models and how many attributes or dimen-
sions of the product they represent (full-scale or comprehensive models vs. focused prototypes
that examine only selected attributes). Companies therefore spend a lot of time and money in
defining what prototypes to build and test in response to specific questions about form, fit, and
function of their products.
Engineers prototype a design, industrial designers prototype their concepts, and software
developers write prototype programs. The rapid prototyping process produces scaled physical
prototypes of CAD designed parts. Rapid prototyping reduces the time and expense involved
with the tooling to make designed parts.
Building and testing prototypes of concepts, designs, and programs is an integral part of
new product development. Prototypes are the closest or best approximations of the actual prod-
uct to be launched on the market, and are useful tools for testing the product’s form (appearance,
style), fit (parts of the product mesh easily in a user friendly manner), and function (meet per-
formance requirements as specified with minimum wear and tear). Using prototypes to answer
these questions early in the product development cycle is vital to the economic and technical
success of the new product.
Prototypes can be used for learning (will it work or meet the customer needs?), to assist the
product development team in gaining new knowledge regarding issues related to the product’s
manufacturability and performance, improve communication at all levels of the design team
(management, vendors, engineers, customers, etc.), and serve as milestones for demonstrating
the level of functionality of a given product.
The overall rapid prototyping (RP) process is shown in Fig. 8.3. It begins with the creation
of a virtual part using 3D solid modeling computer techniques. The part shape is stored as a data
file with *.STL file extension in the computer. All the surfaces of the part are converted to very
small triangular facets. The converted *.STL file is read by a computer program specific to a
rapid prototyping machine, such as 3D Systems or CNC machine. The RP machine processes
the *.STL file by creating sliced layers of the model. The physical model is created by processing
one layer at a time.

RAPID PROTOTYPING – ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

The advantages of RP include time savings (compared to a physical prototype), duplication ease
and low costs (duplicate prototypes can be fabricated quickly with less expense), flexibility (to
changes during next iteration in designs) and rapid tooling (for production and facilities planning
and communication for tooling due to data stored in electronic form). The disadvantages of RP
are the initial costs of purchasing and setting it up, and the cost of the prototyping materials.
118 8. DESIGN REALIZATION

CAD Model SolidWorks *.sldprt

STL Conversion SolidWorks *.stl

Create Supports 3D Lightyear *.bff

Build BuildStation Real part

Figure 8.3: Prototype building starting from a CAD model.

TESTING PROTOTYPES
A design-build-test strategy is commonly used in new product development and particularly
with prototypes that can answer questions about the product’s form, fit, and function. Pro-
totypes are subjected to specific tests to answer questions about mechanical modes of failure,
manufacturability, operation/maintenance, safety and environmental impact. A test plan docu-
ment is also developed that details the types of tests to be performed along with the timelines
for completion, and the resources required. This document should include at a minimum, infor-
mation related to the objectives of the testing program, the scope of the work to be completed,
the budget, and a timeline schedule. A template for design evaluation of prototype testing is
presented in Table 8.2.
 8.5. PRODUCT DATA MANAGEMENT 119
Table 8.2: Feedback from prototyping on the design evaluation

User:

What worked?

What didn’t work?

Which of your needs

did the prototype meet?

Is the prototype useful?

What would you

change, if anything?

Other feedback?

8.5 PRODUCT DATA MANAGEMENT

Computer systems designed to manage both product and process information related to a spe-
cific product are referred to as Product Data Management (PDM) systems. PDM’s are database
programs that manage documents and files (PDF, CAD files, FEA files, and CAM files), store
product structure, design history, and processes in a database environment (see Fig. 8.4). PDM’s
support the activities of product teams with techniques such as concurrent engineering, and can
be used by cross-functional teams to manage product-related data and development processes.
PDM is organized by product and it manages specifications, part information, Numerical Con-
trol (NC) programs, CAD, models, spreadsheets, test results, electronic images, and paper doc-
uments throughout the life cycle of the product. In general, PDM may help to reduce the time
and cost of new products as well as improve the quality of products and services.

8.6 BUSINESS PLAN

The first step on the path to the successful product or business requires creating a business plan.
A business plan is also necessary for entrepreneurs who are just starting out or need funding
or to monitor the product development business. The various elements of the business plan are
briefly described below.
1. Executive Summary
2. The Company
120 8. DESIGN REALIZATION
CAD Models for Analysis
CAE FEA Fles of Analysis and Results
Design Evaluation

CAD Database CAM

Producdt Planning
Procurement of Tools
Design Drawings
CNC Programs
CAD Models
Manufacturing Process Plans
Conceptual Designs
Bill of Materials
Design Documentation
Quality Control
Packaging

Figure 8.4: Product data management integrating CAD/CAE/CAM through a database.

3. The Market (size, growth, trends, and competition)

4. The Product (description, customer benefit, potential product limitations, present state of
the product, manufacturing, warranty)
5. Sales/promotion (marketing plans, product pricing, advertising and promotion)
6. Financials
7. Appendix
More details about each of the elements can be found in business books; for example,
see Anatomy of a Business Plan: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Business and Securing Your
Company’s Future by Linda Pinson and Jerry Jinnett [21].

8.7 VIRTUAL ENGINEERING

Virtual engineering is a simulation based approach used to help engineers make decisions about
real systems by simulating the geometric and physical properties. Virtual engineering extends
over the entire product realization process and includes simulation of various engineering ac-
tivities, the design and manufacturing process, operation, inspection and evaluation. Virtual
engineering encompasses a range of engineering activities from simple geometric modeling to
simulation of production systems, and building of virtual prototypes or virtual products. Some
of the major applications of virtual engineering are listed below.
 8.7. VIRTUAL ENGINEERING 121
VIRTUAL DESIGN
Engineering design assisted by visual simulation of product performance provides a creative and
intuitive approach to the design process. It is a top-down design approach that takes into ac-
count global functional requirements and then proceeds to detailed component designs. Virtual
design allows engineers to be more creative and interactively immerse themselves in the concep-
tual design process. Digital simulation and virtual prototyping allow the development of virtual
products that can be assembled even in cases where complete details of the component parts
are not available. Design optimization is achieved more effectively with virtual prototyping as
compared to the costs and time involved in building physical models.

VIRTUAL MANUFACTURING
Quantitative as well as qualitative assessments of manufacturability can be made with virtual
engineering. Quantitative assessments would provide information about such factors as pro-
cessing times, cycle times, costs, product quality, set up times, run times, and labor costs, while
qualitative assessments provide a rating for the ease of manufacturability. Virtual engineering
supports both types of manufacturability assessments and assists in identifying, characterizing,
and modifying potential quantitative and qualitative design attributes that interfere with man-
ufacturability.

VIRTUAL PROTOTYPING
Virtual prototyping eliminates the need for costly and time consuming methods involved in
building physical prototypes. It allows visualization of the assembly of parts in a system through
geometric modeling of a virtual prototype. The virtual prototype is also referred to as a digital
mockup or digital preassembly. An accurate virtual prototype assists the design engineer in de-
tecting and repairing any design flaws and establishing the feasibility of an assembling operation.
Design optimization is gradually achieved through increasingly refined iterations of the virtual
prototype until it has the comprehensive characteristics of a physical prototype.

COLLABORATIVE ENGINEERING AND CUSTOMER INTERFACE

Virtual engineering facilitates timely and cost-effective interfacing of information between key
stakeholders in the design and product development phases. Digital product information can
be shared quickly and cost effectively between engineers, designers, and customers, and this
feedback can be used to rapidly develop a quality product. This collaborative process also en-
hances key relationships in product development between producers, suppliers, and customers
for example.
122 8. DESIGN REALIZATION
KNOWLEDGE DATABASE
The knowledge base on product design and development can be systematically stored and ana-
lyzed in virtual engineering databases. This information has the potential to be very valuable in
guiding future product design and modification teams.

8.8 EXERCISES
8.1. Explain the product realization process.
8.2. What analysis CAD/CAM tools are available during the design process?
8.3. Describe the CAE process for product design evaluation.
8.4. What is product data management? Describe its use in design.
8.5. Describe virtual engineering.
8.6. Discuss the applications of virtual engineering.
 123

CHAPTER 9

Sample Design Projects

After reading this chapter, you will be able to:
• Better understand and implement the design process
• Carry out the design steps for selected design problems
• Appreciate the effort and fun involved in creating designs to help society

9.1 OVERVIEW
This chapter introduces sample design projects to provide the reader with additional real life
examples of product design projects. These sample projects further illustrate how the systematic
design process is followed in order to achieve a good design. Several professional organizations
(ASME, SAE, NASA, and IAT) conduct annual design competitions to challenge students to
test their design and manufacturing skills, and appreciate the team work and fun involved in
engineering projects. Two of the projects discussed are based on the annual design competitions
hosted by NASA and IAT. A brief list of design projects previously assigned by the author is
also presented.

9.2 BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATING IN THE DESIGN

COMPETITIONS
Engineering product design competitions provide students with the following learning objec-
tives and outcomes.
• applying the design process starting from concept to final product design
• applying creativity, imagination, and problem solving skills
• working with fellow students on a common goal and learning from others
• finally, acquiring skills in real-world design

9.3 SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECT #1 – DESIGN OF AN

AUTOMATIC MUSIC BOOK PAGE TURNER
A student group from IUPUI designed and prototyped an automatic music book page turner
and the sequence of design and prototyping steps is presented below.
124 9. SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECTS
NEED
Every musician would like to have an automatic music book page turner to leave his/her hands
free for playing an instrument.

OBJECTIVE
Design and build an automatic music book page turner which will allow musicians to turn pages
of a music book without using their hands.

CUSTOMER AND ENGINEERING REQUIREMENTS

Following a QFD process of the design need, the customer and engineering requirements ob-
tained are presented in Table 9.1.

Table 9.1: Customer requirements and engineering specifications

Customer Requirements Engineering Specifications

Produce very little blocking of page view Not block view of music page for more than
3 seconds
Operate quietly Operate at no more than 15 dB
Work with different book types and number Length and width should be adjustable for
of pages different sized music books with a maximum
open book size of 17"x 11"
Able to advance pages forwards and Able to accommodate music books with 5–300
reverse pages and advance pages in the forward and
reverse directions with input from the user
Operate on a standard music stand Sharp edge of the cutting blade can be
adjusted for right‐ or left‐handed people
Require little or no maintenance No regular maintenance from user for lifetime
of product
Portable and easy to use Physical dimensions of the device should be
within 25"x15"x4"

CONCEPTUAL DESIGN AND EVALUATION

The automatic music page turner design team developed three concepts after eliminating the
obvious ones. The three concepts generated are shown in Fig. 9.1.
Using the decision matrix method, the automatic music page turner design group identi-
fied the candidate concept which is presented in Table 9.2.
9.3. SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECT #1 – DESIGN OF AN AUTOMATIC MUSIC BOOK PAGE TURNER 125

Concept I – Mechanized Arm Concept

Concept II – Rotational Deformable Arm Concept

Concept III – Linear Track Concept

Figure 9.1: Conceptual designs generated for the automatic music page turner.
126 9. SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECTS
Table 9.2: Concept evaluation of automatic book page turner using the decision matrix method

CAD MODELING AND ANALYSIS

The automatic music page turner design teams carried out CAD modeling and design analysis
using finite element analysis in order to make sure the stresses are within the limits of material
chosen and to identify potential failure modes in the design. Figures 9.2–9.4 show the results of
the CAD modeling, assembly, and design analysis.

PROTOTYPING THE FINAL DESIGN CONCEPT

A prototype of the developed automatic music book page turner example is shown in Fig. 9.5.
9.3. SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECT #1 – DESIGN OF AN AUTOMATIC MUSIC BOOK PAGE TURNER 127

Figure 9.2: CAD modeling of the various components (belt, gear, picker arm, base, push bar,
and gear drive bar) of the final design concept for the automatic music page turner example.

Figure 9.3: CAD assembly of the various components shown different views (solid model, wire
frame model, and 2D drawings) for the automatic music page turner example.
128 9. SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECTS

Figure 9.4: CAE analysis of the design concept for the automatic music page turner example.

Figure 9.5: A prototype of the final design concept of the automatic music page turner.
 9.4. SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECT #2 – DESIGN OF AN OBLIQUE FLYING WING 129
EVALUATING THE FINAL DESIGN AGAINST ENGINEERING
REQUIREMENTS
The automatic music page turner design team evaluated their design to see if their design met the
engineering requirements. Table 9.3 shows the design evaluation of the example of the automatic
music page turner.

Table 9.3: Evaluation of final design requirements of the automatic music page turner

Engineering Requirements Does Design Meet

Requirements?
Device should not block view of music page for more than 3 s Yes
Device should operate at no more than 15 dB Unknown
Device length and width should be adjustable for different sized music Yes
books with a maximum open book size of 17" × 11"
Device should be able to accommodate music books with 5–300 pages Yes
Device should be able to advance pages in the forward and reverse Yes
directions with input from the user
Device should be able to operate on a standard music stand Yes
Device should require no regular maintenance from user for lifetime of Yes
product
The physical dimensions of the device should be within 25" × 15" × 4" Yes

9.4 SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECT #2 – DESIGN OF AN

OBLIQUE FLYING WING
One student group designed and built a remote-controlled oblique flying wing capable of flying
under subsonic conditions. The sequence of design and prototyping steps is presented below.

OBJECTIVE
The main objective of this design project is to design and build a controllable subsonic oblique
flying wing aircraft. The customers for this project are the individuals who are interested in flying
for fun and the manufacturers of remotely controlled aircrafts.
130 9. SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECTS
CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
Due to the complexity of the design objective, hand drawings along with the construction of a
small simple wooden glider were utilized during the conceptual design phase. The final concept
is shown in Fig. 9.6.

Figure 9.6: Conceptual design of the oblique flying wing.

CAD MODELING AND ANALYSIS

Using the conceptual design, the overall configuration was modeled in a CAD environment.
Several modifications were made during the analysis so that the final concept satisfied the design
objective. Figure 9.7 shows the CAD model and drawings of the final design concept. Airfoil
and plan form analysis were performed with computer simulations to make sure once again that
the design objectives were met.

PROTOTYPING AND OPTIMIZATION OF THE FINAL CONCEPT

A simple small scale “technology demonstrator” was manufactured to validate the design con-
cept and further evaluate the design. Based on results from the prototype model and analysis,
modifications were made and the final product was designed. Figure 9.8 shows the different
views of the prototype model.

FINAL PRODUCT
Figure 9.9 shows the final product after few iterations based on the prototype model and opti-
mization analysis.
 9.4. SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECT #2 – DESIGN OF AN OBLIQUE FLYING WING 131

Figure 9.7: CAD model of the final design concept.

132 9. SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECTS

Figure 9.8: Prototype model of the final design concept.

 9.5. SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECT #3 – NASA MOONBUGGY DESIGN 133

Figure 9.9: Final product of the oblique flying wing aircraft (courtesy of Evan Neblett).

9.5 SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECT #3 – NASA MOONBUGGY

DESIGN

The NASA Space and Rocket Center at Huntsville, Alabama has been organizing the Great
Moonbuggy Race competition since 1994 to encourage and challenge students to be involved
in the design of the moonbuggy vehicle and compete nationally. Students are required to design
a vehicle that addresses a series of engineering problems that are similar to problems faced by
the original moonbuggy team.

OBJECTIVE
The main objective of this competition is to design, build, and race a human-powered vehicle
able to conquer typical obstacles that a moon rover might encounter.

DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS
Design requirements as specified by the rules and regulations of the Great Moonbuggy Race
Competition by NASA (www.nasa.gov/~education) are as follows:
134 9. SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECTS
1. Moonbuggy Teams – Each moonbuggy must be the work of a student team of a high
school or an accredited institution of higher learning. A group of high schools may also
work in collaboration toward building a moonbuggy entry.

2. Propulsion System – Human-powered (one or two passengers); energy storage devices—

such as springs, flywheels, or others—are not allowed.

3. Un-Assembled Dimensions – Prior to course testing, assembly judging is conducted the

morning of the race, prior to the first run. The un-assembled vehicle must fit (or be col-
lapsible) to fit in a volume of maximum dimension 40  40 . A container of this dimension
will be placed over the collapsed or un-assembled moonbuggy for verification.

4. Weight – The vehicle must be lifted and carried 200 by the two passengers, without aid of
any sort (e.g., no wheels) in the unassembled 40  40 volume.

5. Assembled Dimensions – The maximum width of the assembled vehicle is 40 , including

wheels. There are no constraints for height and length of the assembled vehicle.

6. Other than the stated configuration requirements, no constraints are imposed regarding
materials and design.

7. Vehicles, or parts of vehicles, not constructed by the entering team are not acceptable. Ve-
hicles that have been previously entered should contain major modifications that attempt
to improve on design and performance. Students are expected to build their own buggies,
and the course drivers, chosen from each team, must also be builders of the vehicle.

8. No constraints are imposed in the means of contact between the buggy and the simulated
lunar surface. We encourage creativity and participants are open to using wheels, belts,
treads, etc.

9. No body part of either passenger may be closer than 1500 to the flat surface on which the
vehicle is supported.

10. The vehicle must have a turning radius of 200 or less.

11. For safety reasons, it is recommended that the center of gravity of the “vehicle plus pas-
sengers” be low enough to safely handle slopes of 30 degrees forward and sideways. Any
moonbuggy exhibiting handling characteristics or other vehicle dynamics that are deemed
unsafe or unstable by the judges will be disqualified from the competition. This determi-
nation will be made by inspection of the assembled moonbuggies prior to course testing.

12. Each vehicle must have seat restraints for each of the two passengers. The restraints must
be worn during runs of the course.
 9.6. SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECT #4 – DESIGN OF A LOW-COST AMBULANCE 135
13. All sharp edges and protrusions must be eliminated (i.e., padded) or guarded as necessary
to the satisfaction of the judges.

14. The vehicle must be equipped with the following elements: simulated TV camera (approx-
imately 200  300  600 ), simulated high gain antenna (minimum diameter of reflector: 2’),
two simulated batteries (each approximately 400  600  800 ), moon dust abatement devices,
simulated electronic controls—radio and display console (total combined minimum size 1
cubic foot) and U.S. flag. A university pennant is optional. These items (and their sizes)
will be checked prior to, and after, each course run.

15. Backing up is not required, but may be useful.

16. Vehicles that do not satisfy the intent of the moonbuggy competition can be disqualified.

17. Only vehicles registered for the competition will be allowed in the pits area.

Figure 9.10 shows the moonbuggy design by VCU students in Mechanical Engineering
that completed the competition.

Figure 9.10: Moonbuggy design by the students of Mechanical Engineering at the Virginia
Commonwealth University.

9.6 SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECT #4 – DESIGN OF A

LOW-COST AMBULANCE
The Institute for Affordable Transportation (IAT) provides sponsorship for designing vehicles
that enable people in rural areas of developing countries to expand their micro-businesses. IAT
136 9. SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECTS
seeks to promote trade and reduce poverty by creating a low-cost utility vehicle that provides
mobility, freedom, and economic hope to people. Basic Utility Vehicles (BUVs) fill the gap
between the motorcycle and the automobile.
The Institute for Affordable Transportation (IAT), Indianapolis, Indiana (www.drivebuv
.org) has been organizing the Basic Utility Vehicle (BUV) Design competition since 2000 to
encourage and challenge college students to design, build, and participate in the competition.
The basic utility vehicle is intended for use in remote parts of the world to improve standards
of living by providing simple, cost effective transportation with all-terrain capabilities. Due to
this consideration, the design should be versatile and have an almost unlimited amount of uses.
Additional BUV design considerations include designing a product that is compatible with ex-
isting production components, is reliable, is gender friendly, has sufficient safety devices, and
requires little maintenance. In addition to providing basic transportation, the BUV should be
able to carry goods to improve local commerce and productivity of the community. Figure 9.11
shows a low-cost ambulance designed by a group of mechanical engineering students at VCU
for use in third world countries using the local resources as well as provides employment in the
community.

Figure 9.11: Low-cost ambulance designed by the students of Mechanical Engineering at VCU
for use in developing countries.
 9.7. EXAMPLE PROJECTS/DESIGN PROBLEMS 137
9.7 EXAMPLE PROJECTS/DESIGN PROBLEMS
The following is a brief list of design projects assigned by the author to his students.

• Design of a foot orthosis

• Design of an electro-mechanical toy

• Design of a showcase to illustrate the Mechanical Engineering discipline

• Stamping machine design for recycling aluminum cans

• Battery thermal management system design

• Pressure-activated sensor design

• Design of an adaptive device to assist a disabled person to shred papers

• Design of a patient conveyer device

• Design of a microkeratome for cornea refractive surgery

• Trephination handle design

• Fault detection system design

• Design of an intelligent microprocessor-based device for faults/defects quantification

• Modular eating aid devices for the disabled

• Pressure activated vibration device for orthotic braces

• Design of a device to visualize the radial artery in infants

• Design of an interactive interface for rhinoceros

• Design of a hysterosalpingography catheter

• Design of an adaptable device to water skis for ventilator dependent quadriplegics

• Redesign of a product based on ASHRAE standards

• Moonbuggy steering/suspension re-design

138 9. SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECTS
9.8 POSSIBLE DESIGN PROJECTS
The following is a brief list of possible design projects that can be explored.
1. Look into your community and identify a product/item that needs to be designed or re-
designed. You should be creative in identifying a product from everyday life.
2. Design a modular eating aid device that can fit to a person sitting in a wheel chair and
help the person eat comfortably. There are millions of disabled people who have limited or
no arm movement due to conditions such as cerebral palsy. These people require assistance
with eating. Some of the eating aid devices include coffee/pop drinking aid, fork-knife-
spoon using aid, etc. Since eating is such a fundamental need for everyone, these devices
will help enormously.
3. To show the young children that science and engineering and designing is fun, the Virginia
Science Museum is interested in developing an exhibit that illustrates various mechanical
elements (links, gears, cams, etc.) and how they can be used to transmit motion. Design
a device that places a ball in a basket when a known weight is placed. The initial step
is to place a known weight and the final step will lead to placing a ball in a basket. The
device should have at least eight steps involving motion transfer among various mechanical
elements.
4. Toys can help teach people of all ages—growing babies and young children at different
stages of their development, older kids, tweens or teens, and adults. For example, there
are many things infants need to know to get around in the world. Select a stage (like
infant, toddler, preschooler). Think about the things they need to learn: talking, color
recognition, crawling, walking. How will your toy teach them? Your team’s creation might
also help older students, or even adults learn a subject, or acquire skills that will help them
in everyday life.
5. Insects are very capable of agile flight on a small scale (micro- and nano-scale). If a man-
made machines can be built that can fly like an insect, it would have important industrial,
civil, and military applications. Design a novel mechanism that can produce flapping mo-
tion as well as twisting motion, and is light weight and compact. The designed mechanism
can be used in micro-air vehicles and can be easily prototyped using rapid prototype ma-
chines.
6. Create a sporty toy that gets you off the couch and on your feet! Think of outdoor sports,
water sports, and extreme sports. Your mission is to create a toy that would make you want
to skip, run, jump, climb, swing, throw, swim, or another way to be active.
7. Your team is working in the product design and engineering department of a small com-
pany, which specializes in small electrical consumer products. During the last strategic
 9.8. POSSIBLE DESIGN PROJECTS 139
meeting, the board of directors recognized the market potential and approved research
and development (R&D) funding for a newly designed electric toothbrush. Design an
electric toothbrush for kids as well as adults.
8. Musicians must constantly remove a hand from their instrument to turn the pages of a
music book. Some paralyzed people also have difficulty turning the pages of a book due to
loss of motion in their hands. Design a mechanism to automatically turn pages of a book,
one page at a time, in response to a switch operated by foot. The mechanism should be safe
and simple to operate, accommodate a wide range of book sizes, and should not damage
the book.
9. The objective of the project is to explore the basic design principles the nature was used to
create many different systems. Conduct a case study by selecting a natural design and de-
velop engineering design analysis and drawings through the use of design process method-
ology.
10. The objective of the project is to bring out the parallels and differences between art and
engineering. Conduct a case study by selecting an artistic design and engineering design.
11. Use origami design techniques to design a pop-up toy or a book.
 141

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39
 143

Author’s Biography
RAMANA M. PIDAPARTI
Ramana M. Pidaparti is a professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College
of Engineering at the University of Georgia. He received his Ph.D. in Aeronautics and As-
tronautics from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. He previously taught at Virginia
Commonwealth University and the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology (IUPUI).
He taught design courses emphasizing multidisciplinary designs, and encouraged students to
participate in design competitions. He won several design awards and presented papers at vari-
ous conferences based on the student design projects. He is a Fellow of ASME (American So-
ciety of Mechanical Engineers), Fellow of American Association for Advancement of Science
(AAAS), Fellow of Royal Aeronautical Society, and Associate Fellow of AIAA (American Insti-
tute for Aeronautics and Astronautics). His current research interests include multidisciplinary
design innovation, STEM education, bioinspired materials and structures, and computational
mechanics.