Product Design

MENG36030

2017/2018

Course notes (Part 1)

L1 The challenge of product design
L2 Design process models
L3 Design specification methods
L4 Conceptual design methods 1
L5 Conceptual design methods 2

Stuart Burgess

1
LECTURE 1
The challenge of Product Design
Stuart Burgess

CONTENTS
(1) Definitions
(2) Challenges
(3) Key future developments
(4) Engineering design consultancies
(5) Lecture plan
(6) Exam layout

2
(1) Definitions

What are products?

 Products: hairdryers - fridges – bicycles – cars – aeroplanes
 Systems: cars - aeroplanes – cities – rail infrastructure
 Projects: cities, railway infrastructure, power stations (more civil eng.)

Key terms:
 Technology readiness levels TRLs: defines maturity of a product
 Form: The shape of a product
 Function: The function of a product
 Ergonomics: Design for human use and interface
 Aesthetics: Design for beautiful appeal
 Product design: Engineering design + industrial design
 Industrial design: Aesthetics + ergonomics + safety + reliability

The course will include an overview of industrial design because:

 To teach the basics in that area
 To enable communication with industrial designers

Citreon C3 SUV

3
(2) Challenges
Challenge 1: Many stages required to develop a new product
Technology readiness levels TRLs

Notes:
 There are many different definitions – this is an EC example.
 It is common to have 9 levels.
 When a new product uses new technology (such as the Dyson
Supersonic hairdryer) then it needs to go through all the TRL levels.
 When a product uses existing technology then it might start at TRL 4.
 Is not normally sequential: level 2 may start before level 1 is finished etc.
 It can take many years and billions of $ to fully develop a product
 The time taken depends significantly on motivation and funding
 During World War 2 product development times were very short
 Universities tend to deal with levels 0-4.
 Industry tends to deal with 2-9.
 Hence Universities and industry need to collaborate.
Conclusion
To make decisions efficiently and effectively for complex products requires
systematic methods and procedures.

4
Challenge 2: Products are complicated
(a) Complexity of the product
 Designing a product like a car involves making a vast number of decisions
and specifying a vast amount of information.
 A car may contain 10,000 parts, each of which may involve 100 pieces of
precise design information (dimensions, material properties, manufacturing
details etc). The total information content may be at least 1 million pieces of
information.
 Each individual part represents a complex technology in itself, developed
over decades. For example, a tyre is a complex technology.
 There are known unknowns like true safety margins. Some safety margins
may be less than thought. There are also sometimes unknown unknowns
such as load cases that cannot be predicted.

(b) Complexity of organisations

 Designing a product like a car involves multiple companies with diverse
multi-disciplinary design teams consisting of thousands of people.
 A car may contain 100s of different suppliers in a hierarchical structure.
(c) Complexity of documentation
 Commercial products need verification and documentation (some industries
more than others). Each part must have a paper trail showing where the
materials came from and that the original supplier has quality control
methods and has carried out necessary test verifications.
 Company executives are liable to prosecution for false claims.
Conclusion
To make decisions efficiently and effectively for complex products requires
systematic methods and procedures.

5
Challenge 3: Products have multiple objectives
A car design is a compromise between at least eight major objectives.
Area Work by mechanical
engineers
Technical Vibration analysis
performance Strength design
Cost Materials selection
Lifecycle costing
Environment Life cycle analysis
Material selection
Ergonomics Liaise with industrial designer
OR: do ergonomics design
Aesthetics Liaise with industrial designer
OR: do industrial design
Reliability & Safety Liaise with reliability engineer
OR: do reliability modelling
Manufacturing Liaise with manufacturing eng.
OR: do manufacturing design
6
Methods
Materials selection
Life cycle costing
Life cycle analysis
Ergonomic modelling
(normal distribution)
Aesthetics guidelines
Colour selection
Reliability modelling
(exponential distribution)
Tolerance analysis
(normal distribution)
Multiple objectives

Technical Performance
 Drive: Speed, acceleration, range, stability, role, turning circle
 Size: Cabin space, number of seats, boot space
Cost
 Purchase cost: Initial tax
 Maintenance: MOT, servicing
 Running cost: Tax, insurance, fuel consumption
 Depreciation: Resale value
Ergonomics
 Space: Head room, distance to controls, seat sizes, etc
 Forces: Steering wheel force, pedal forces, door handle force, etc
 Comfort: Vibrations, noise, temperatures, humidity, surface finish, etc
 Man-machine-interface: Controls, displays, etc
Safety
 Crumple zones: To reduce impact forces
 Warning lights: Fuel, oil, battery; Warning sounds: Brake pads
 Braking systems: ABS
 Driver’s view: Obstruction from pillars etc
 Fail safe: Bolts facing upwards not downwards
Reliability
 Redundancy: Manual + central locking, extra bolts on engine head
 Fail safe: Bolts facing upwards not downwards
Luxury
 Comfort: Air conditioning, soft suspension, seat adjustment, luxury seats
 Convenience: Central locking, remote locking
 Entertainment: Stereo system, Sat Nav
Environment
 Emissions: CO2, CO, Particulate Matter
 Waste: Land fill, toxic waste
 Fuel consumption: mpg
Aesthetics
 External: Character lines, strengthening features, borders, curves
 Internal: Textures, colours, blending, patterns,
 General: Biomimetics (mimicking animal forms)

7
Challenge 4: High reliability
Customers expect products to be extremely reliable.
Case study – Toyota accelerator pedal problem
This case study illustrates how a leading car company with top designers can
experience problems due to some ‘unknown unknowns’ i.e. a scenario that
they did not know that they did not know about.
September 2009: Toyota announces the biggest recall in its history over fears
involving almost 4m vehicles in the US that accelerator pedals could become
trapped in floor mats and "may result in very high vehicle speeds and make it
difficult to stop the vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death".
3 February 2010: Toyota owners in the UK and US are advised by lawyers to
stop driving their cars immediately amid growing concern over the potentially
lethal accelerator fault.
Cause: It can occur when the mat gets dislodged and traps the pedal. It can
also occur when the pedal mechanism becomes worn and, in certain
conditions, the accelerator pedal may become harder to depress, slower to
return or, in the worst case, stuck in a partially depressed position.
Cost: The estimate cost of the recall was $2 billion
Solution (as previously described):
 The accelerator pedal will be shaved to reduce the risk of floor mat

entrapment.
 All-weather floor mats will be removed and replaced with a newly designed

mat.
 A brake override system, which cuts engine power if both the accelerator

and brake are detected as pressed, will be installed.

 A replacement pedal with the same shape as the modified pedal would be

made available at a later date.

Conclusion: It is easy to criticize Toyota and say they should not have made
a mistake. But remember they made a million correct decisions. In
engineering, 99.99% correct decisions can still end with problems.

Recalls are expensive!

8
Challenge 5: Retaining knowledge
Case study: The Honda Accord and adaptive design
9 generations of design cycle over 50 years from 1976 to 2017

1st gen 1976-1981 (original design + 5 yrs of incremental design)

2nd gen 1981-85 Computer control fuel injection (adaptive design)

3rd gen 1985-89 – double wishbone suspension

4th gen 1989-1993 - all aluminium engine

5th gen 1993-97 dual airbags

6th gen 1997-2002 – lighter structures

7th gen – 2002-2007 - powerful turbo diesel engine

8th gen – 2007-2012 - improved fuel efficiency

9th gen, 2012- present

 The Honda Accord has gone through 9 lifecycles

 It has a vast design ‘heritage’
 It has become a ‘dominant design’
9
Challenge 6: Conflicts between form and function
Sometimes there is conflict between form and function. If form is selected
without full respect of the functions then product failure may result.

10
Challenge 7: Fast changing environmental conditions
Recent environmental news (things are changing fast)
 London's new additional £10 T-charge for older cars (October 2017)
 Higher UK diesel car taxes (November 2017)
 New European Air Quality Index (November 2017)
 Paris authorities plan to banish all petrol/diesel cars by 2030 (Oct 2017)
 Copenhagen plans to ban diesel cars from 2019 (October 2017)
 Oxford proposed banning non-electric cars from its centre (Oct 2017)
 Nearly 200 countries signed a U.N. resolution in Nairobi on Wednesday to
eliminate plastic pollution in the sea (December 2017)
 Britain is to ban all new petrol/diesel cars and vans from 2040 (July 2017)
 New car tax rules from 1 April 2017 (£2000 initial tax on the largest cars)
 UK proposed for ban on disposable cups by 2023 (Jan 2018)
 Proposed 25p levy on disposable cups before 2023 (Jan 2018)
Recent pressure dealing with plastic waste:

11 Jan 2018

Current challenge for car industry

EU given car industry a target of 95g/km CO2 emissions (fleet average)
Industry has invested in diesel technology to reach the target
But now governments are taxing diesels
This has hit sales of diesels and the industry is now less likely to meet targets
11
(3) Key future developments
(1) Electric cars
Electric car sales in 2017
1. Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (PLUG-IN HYBRID) - 7,464 registrations
2. BMW 3 Series 330e (PLUG-IN HYBRID) - 5,863 registrations
3. Nissan LEAF (ELECTRIC) - 5,639 registrations
4. BMW i3 (ELECTRIC & PLUG-IN HYBRID) - 3,493 registrations
5. Mercedes C-Class (PLUG-IN HYBRID) - 3,247 registrations
6. Volkswagen Golf GTE (PLUG-IN HYBRID) - 2,410 registrations
7. BMW 5 Series 530e (PLUG-IN HYBRID) - 1,980 registrations
8. Volvo XC90 (PLUG-IN HYBRID) - 1,794 registrations
9. Volkswagen Passat GTE (PLUG-IN HYBRID) - 1,443 registrations
10. Renault ZOE (ELECTRIC) - 1,166 registrations
James Dyson electric car
In an email to employees on Tuesday, founder Sir James Dyson said he
intended to invest £2 billion in the project, which will incorporate technology
from the company's vacuum cleaners, bladeless fans and supersonic
hairdryers. (Sept 2017)
(2) Robotics
There is a large growing mareket for medical robotics and other robotic
applications.

(3) Renewable energy

Wind turbines; tidal lagoons (Swansea bay); ground heat pumps; etc
(4) Domestic products
Dyson and others are continuing to develop new vacuum cleaners, heaters,
hair dryers, hand dryers etc

12
(4) Engineering design consultancy companies in the UK
 DCA design (Warwick)

 Cambridge Consultants

 PA Consulting Group

 Cambridge Medical Robotics

 Cambridge Design Partnership
 Industrial Design Consultancy
 Haughton Design Consultants
 Fraser Nash
 Trivista
 Ives Product Design
 Realise Product Design (Bristol)

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Biggest industry in the UK: automotive
 More than £77.5 billion turnover and £18.9 billion value added
 169,000 people employed directly in manufacturing
 814,000 across the wider automotive industry
 Accounts for 12.0% of total UK export of goods
 Invests £4 billion each year in automotive R&D.
 More than 30 manufacturers build over 70 models of vehicle in the UK
 Supported by 2,500 component providers
 Jaguar employ >40,000 people, mostly engineers

Jaguar F Pace SUV

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(5) Lecture plan
L1 The Challenges of Product Design
L2 Design Process Models
L3 Design Specification Methods
L4 Conceptual Design Methods 1
L5 Conceptual Design Methods 2
L6 Design for Cost and Environment 1
L7 Design for Cost and Environment 2
L8 Design for Cost and Environment 3
L9 Design for Aesthetics 1
L10 Design for Aesthetics 2
L11 Design for Ergonomics 1
L12 Design for Ergonomics 2
L13 Design for Reliability and Safety 1
L14 Design for Reliability and Safety 2
L15 Design for Manufacture 1
L16 Design for Manufacture 2

(6) Exam layout

4 from 5 questions
Q1 Design Process, Specification and Conceptual Design
Q2 Design for Cost and Environment
Q3 Design for Aesthetics and Ergonomics
Q4 Design for Reliability and Safety
Q5 Design for Manufacture

15
LECTURE 2
Design process models
Stuart Burgess

CONTENTS

(1) The need for a design process

(2) Three types of design

(3) The product lifecycle
(4) Design process models
(5) Prototype models and design reviews

16
(1) The need for a design process
A design process is needed to systematically co-ordinate the efforts of large
multi-disciplinary design teams.
Dyson supersonic hairdryer, 2016
Dyson reportedly invested around $100 million, employed over 100 engineers,
built 600 prototypes, and has over 100 patents pending on his hairdryer.

Dyson electric car, 2020

Dyson reportedly has a 400-strong team of engineers working on an electric
car and has been working on this since 2014 in Malmesbury, Wiltshire.

It is due for launch in 2020.

17
Airbus 380
An Airbus A380 has:
 Approximately 4 million parts
 2.5 million part numbers
 Produced by 1,500 companies from 30 countries including 800 from USA
 Final assembly in Toulouse
 5000 design engineers employed at peak of design.
 Aircraft seats are an example of a multi-objective design that has technical
requirements (10g crash load, static loads and mass constraints);
ergonomic requirements (seat width, seat height; adjustments; storage and
comfort) and aesthetics requirements (color, patterns, shape, texture, etc)
and entertainment systems.

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(2) Three types of design
In the book on Engineering Design, Pahl and Beitz describe three modes of
design:

(1) Incremental design

 Minor changes/improvements to an existing product

 Example: improve the windscreen material in a car

Incremental design is very common because it represents low-risk design. It

is particularly common in industries with mature products such as high-volume
cars, domestic appliances and most commercial aircraft.
Incremental design is enabled by new elements of technology such as new
materials and new manufacturing processes. It also happens when faults are
detected such as in the Toyota accelerator pedal example.

(2) Adaptive design

 Significant changes/improvements to whole sub-systems

 Example: introduction of airbags, crumple zones, ABS braking systems.

Adaptive design is common when significant new technologies come along

such as airbags or computer-controlled engines or crumple zones.

(3) Original design

 Major changes/improvements to whole sub-systems or systems

 Example: change from IC engine to hybrid drive train in a car

Original design is not common because it is risky. It tends to happen when

there is an acute need as with pollution and energy concerns with motor cars.

If a car requires 1 million pieces of information to be specified, it is extremely

hard to get an entire design to be error free. In contrast, incremental design
involves taking an existing proven car design and changing just a few
thousand details at a time.

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Case study: Hybrids and electric cars

2013 Hybrid Honda Accord (original design)

Tesla electric car (original design)

 Electric cars currently involve much original design.

 They are high risk projects but are possible because of government
incentives and legislation.

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(3) The product lifecycle
The product lifecycle given by BS 7000-2 (1997) is given below:

But design is almost always ‘iterative’

 Products go through many generations/ lifecycles
 Most products have significant design ‘heritage’
 Most cars have developed over many decades (adaptive design)
 Most fridges have developed over many decades (adaptive design)

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(4) Design process models

(a) The Pahl and Beitz model (1984)

(Note: Establish function structures. This involves breaking down the overall
function into sub-functions until the task becomes clear and simple. It is
recommended to model functions as energy, material and signals.)

 The design process should be broken down into distinct stages

 The Pahl & Beitz model (from Germany) is one of the most used.
 By having distinct stages the process is more manageable.
 The process can be divided into 4 main phases as shown on the right.
 It is a top-down process starting with abstract ideas and finishing with
complete details.
 Stages of design can sometimes be overlapped to reduce time
(concurrent engineering). Concurrent design is more suitable and
feasible for incremental design.

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(b) The double diamond process model (Design Council, 2007)

The double diamond process model encourages designers to see task

clarification as a major task involving significant research.

Discover: a divergent stage in which users and markets are researched in

order to understand the task. For example, if the goal is to produce an electric
car then the legislation and technology is researched as well as a wide range
of market opportunities.

Define: a convergent stage in which market and user information is aligned

with business objectives to define project goals. For example, a type of electric
car(s) could be selected that best fits in with the company.

Develop: a divergent stage in which a wide range of design solutions are

developed and iterated. For example, a range of solutions could be explored
for the electric car.

Deliver: a convergent approach is used to complete the product definition.

Benefits of the above process:

(i) breaks the tasks into stages with outputs.
(ii) it encourages the designers to clarify the specification.

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(c) The V-model (2014)

The V-model shows that the product lifecycle goes from top-down during the
design phase to bottom-up during the verification and delivery phase.

Advantage of top-down design

It is helpful to design top-down because you have to plan the system before
you can decide on the details. When designing a garden city it is best to
design the overall layout before designing the details. In the same way, when
designing a car it is best to start with systems design before carrying out
detailed design of individual parts.

Advantage of bottom-up testing

It is helpful to test bottom-up because there is no use testing the system if

individual components are not right.

24
(d) The stage-gate model
(Airbus A321)

The advantage of identifying stage gates:

 It emphasises that certain achievements are required before progress in

the design process can be made.
 Regular design reviews can be performed at set dates.
 The performance of the design can be defined and recorded at set
milestones.
 Key senior managers can ‘sign-off’ that they approve of progress.

25
(5) Prototype models and design reviews
PROTOTYPE MODELS
Physical testing of prototype models is very important because computer
models always have some limitations. If a designer is unaware of weakness in
a design they may not model it in the software (because they don’t understand
unknown unknowns).
In high-cost systems (like spacecraft), a series of prototype models are
designed and tested:
Breadboard model
Checking the broad feasibility of a technology such as hybrid cars
Engineering model
Physically verifying the main performance aspects of a design solution
Qualification model
Checking the entire performance of a product compared to requirements.
Often loads will go beyond performance to demonstrate safety margins.
The delivered model
Checking the actual product performance before delivery.

DESIGN REVIEWS
Design reviews are very helpful because designers are forced to declare the
design status at milestone points and senior managers are forced to confirm if
they approve of progress or whether corrective action is required.
Preliminary design review
Review of concept design and breadboard models results
Engineering design review
Review of detailed design and engineering models results
Qualification design review
Review of qualification model performance
Final design review
Review of delivered model performance

26
The importance of test verification
Case study: The Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope had a serious problem due to wobble of the
solar array caused by inadequate thermal blankets during orbital sunrise and
sunset. The problem was not modelled because the designers did not know it
was an issue. Had they have physically tested the system more thoroughly it
would have been spotted.

27
LECTURE 3

DESIGN SPECIFICATION METHODS

Stuart Burgess

CONTENTS
(1) Terminology
(2) Solution-neutral problem statement
(3) Multidisciplinary checklist
(4) Function-means trees
(5) Worst-case loading
(6) Clarifying information

28
(1) Terminology
Problem statement
Example: develop a new distinctive 4x4 hybrid SUV.
Objectives
Example: attractive, efficient, reliable, comfortable, luxurious, safe, etc.

Metrics
It is helpful to define metrics that can be used during the design process to
monitor performance. For example:
 Cost (price)
 Mass (kg)
 Fuel consumption (litres per km)
 Reliability (probability of breakdown in first year)
Constraints
These are aspects that must be achieved. For example:
 Safety performance – NCAP
 Emissions – EES (European Emission Standards)
 Headlight beam directions
Hard and soft requirements
Hard requirements are non-negotiable. Soft requirements are desirable.
Hard requirements
 The car must meet safety standards.
 The car must meet pollution standards.
 The car must be a hybrid.
Soft requirements
 The car should have a range greater than 500 miles.
 The car should have a top-of-the-range music system.
 The car should have the best gear shift performance.
Man-machine interface
The man-machine interface is the interface between a human operator and a
machine such as a driver driving a car. The man-machine interface is a critical
part of a system and must be designed with great care.

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(2) Solution-neutral problem statement

A solution-neutral problem statement is often important because when a

particular solution is stated or implied this may discourage innovative solutions
that might turn out to be the best solutions.
Sometimes the customer needs to be advised not to state a particular solution
in their request.

Example A:
Which is better?
 Design a faster lift for this high-rise building.
 Modify the lift so that people feel satisfied with the speed of the lift.

Example B:
Which is better?
 Design a spoke bicycle wheel.
 Design a bicycle wheel.

Example C:
Which is better?
 Design a chassis for this car.
 Design a structural platform for this car.

30
(3) Multidisciplinary checklist
It can be helpful to go through a checklist of requirements in different areas:
 Technical performance
Maximum speed, acceleration, gear shift quality, turn radius
Size (H, W, L), boot size
Number of doors, number of seats
 Environment
Emissions: nitrogen oxide (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO),
hydrocarbons and particulate matter (PM)
Fuel consumption, recycling, noise
 Ergonomics
Steering ratio, driver visibility, dashboard clarity, controls
Seat comfort, seat adjustability, head rest, mirror adjustment
Parking sensors
 Luxury
Music system, air conditioning, phone, IT, seat heating, remote key
 Aesthetics
Body shape, body colour, interior design, wheels, door handles
 Safety
Crumple zones, airbags, anti-lock breaking system, warning lights
 Cost
Purchase cost, running cost, tax cost, insurance cost
 Regulations
European emission standards, NCAP, tyre design, spare tyre
 Maintenance
Design for maintenance
 Materials
No hazardous materials
 Reliability
Failure rate in first year (should be very low)

31
Design authorities
For any product it is important to check the relevant design regulations.
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
There are two main types of medical device each with its own regulations: (i)
general medical devices (ii) in vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVDs)
Aircraft design
FAA: The Federal Aviation Administration of the United States is a national
authority with powers to regulate all aspects of civil aviation

CAA: Civil Aviation authority

ICAO: The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a UN specialized

agency….to reach consensus on international civil aviation Standards.

European Car Safety

Euro NCAP provides consumer information on the safety of new cars

Eurocodes for structural design

 Eurocode: Basis of structural design
 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures
 Eurocode 2: Design of concrete structures
 Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures
 Eurocode 4: Design of composite steel and concrete structures
 Eurocode 5: Design of timber structures
 Eurocode 6: Design of masonry structures
 Eurocode 7: Geotechnical design
 Eurocode 8: Design of structures for earthquake resistance
 Eurocode 9: Design of aluminium structures
Electrical equipment
The design and manufacture of electrical equipment must comply with the
Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994.

Racing bicycles
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). Rules on minimum mass (6.8kg);
diamond frame concept; maximum section sizes; pedal floor clearance and
ban on fairings.
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(4) Function-means trees
(Sometimes called objective trees)
 Function-means trees help to convert abstract functions (or objectives)
into more specific sub-functions and eventually into concrete features.
 Going downward represents the “how” to fulfil the function.
 Going upward represents the “why” the features are necessary.
 This is sometimes called functional decomposition.
 Function-means trees help to identify requirements.
 Function-means trees can also be used for conceptual design.

Dyson vacuum cleaner example

↓ how ↑ why High performance vacuum cleaner

Healthy Attractive Ergonomic

Collect more dust Attractive Attractive Steerable Cordless Light Quiet

shape colour

Fine Powerful Slender Red Universal Use Light Quiet

filter motor highlights joint battery materials motor

Bright
colours

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Car environmental example

↓ how ↑ why Good environmental performance

Low emissions Low fuel consumption High recycling Low noise

Efficient Effective Low mass Feedback on Recyclable Ease of Exhaust

engine exhaust driver style materials disassembly muffler

Engine Catalytic High Information Non-

sensors converter strength on fuel permanent
materials consumption joints

Car air quality example

↓ how ↑ why Good air quality

Heating Air recycle Air cooling option Air direction control Air speed Indicate
option option control temp.

Heater plus Vent design for Air Moisture Adjustable Multiple Fan control Therm-
fan recycling conditioner extraction air vents air vents ometer
system

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Car man-machine interface example

↓ how ↑ why Good man-machine interface

Good Good Good all-round driver visibility Clearly presented Clear foot
steering steering information on pedals
ratio wheel dashboard
position

Correct Adjustable Good driver Well- Well Good Good colour No

steering steering height designed positioned position for code interference
gearing wheel A-pillars mirrors eyesight with mat

Adjustable Slender & Memory No need to Red for Reliable

seat well adjustment move head danger mat clips
positioned Green for
A-pillars safe

Car safety example

↓ how ↑ why Good safety performance

Crash Airbags Safety information on dashboard Safe braking system

barriers

Front and Side and front Outside Oil level Tyre pressure Antilock Brake disc
rear crumple airbag temperature indicator indicator breaking wear indicator
zones compartments warnings system

Deformable Flash when Oil level Tyre pressure Wheel speed Noise when
materials and less than 3 sensor sensors sensor and disc is worn
geometry degrees brake
controller

35
(5) Worst-case loading
In general, worst-case loading should be calculated from ‘worst case possible’
and not ‘worst case normally expected’.
Example 1: For a 1-bedroom flat how many people could be on the balcony?
Incorrect answer: about 10 people (2 people plus 8 friends).
Correct answer: as many as can be squashed onto it – maybe 30 people.

Question: A waterslide is limited to two people at a time – what is the

maximum loading?
Correct answer: About 50 people x 80kg = 4 tonnes

Case study: Napa High Waterslide Accident – 1997

Example: What loading should the bench in the PLT be designed for?
Correct answer: as many people as you can get onto it!

36
(6) Clarifying information
It is important to question and clarify information from the customer.

37
Case study: Bristol Rovers main stand – Horfield, 1992
Customer requirements
 We want a covered stand.
 We want to have a function hall underneath (a raised) stand.

Outcome
 More than 50% of people got wet (due to the prevailing wind).
 The near touchline could not be seen.
What the designer said in court
 “The rugby club did not ask for spectators to be kept dry.”
 “The rugby club did not ask for spectators to see the whole pitch.”
Verdict
 The designers were found guilty of incompetence and fined £1 million.
 The stand was modifed – increased terrace angle and extended roof.

38
Case study: Challenger disaster 1986
NASA report: Disaster caused by failure in the joint between the two lower
segments of the right Solid Rocket Motor.

The specific failure was the destruction of the seals that are intended to
prevent hot gases from leaking through the joint during the propellant burn of
the rocket motor

A combustion gas leak through the right Solid Rocket Motor aft field joint
initiated at or shortly after ignition eventually weakened and/or penetrated the
External Tank initiating vehicle structural breakup and loss of the Space
Shuttle Challenger during STS Mission 51-L

The ambient temperature at time of launch was 36 degrees Fahrenheit (2 C),

or 15 degrees lower than the next coldest previous launch. The O rings were
not rated for use below 4C. The cold O rings were stiff and enable to keep the
gap closed on eth seal.

The failure could have been avoided by stating that launch should not go
ahead for temperatures less than 50 Fahrenheit (10 C).

Case study: Concorde disaster, 2000

Concorde – protection lining on fuel tank not adequate and not defined
properly in the specification.

39
Lecture 4

L4 CONCEPTUAL DESIGN METHODS 1

Stuart Burgess

CONTENTS
(1) Challenges of conceptual design
(2) Drivers of innovation
(3) Conceptual design methods

40
(1) Challenges of conceptual design
 Creating something completely original is inherently difficult:

“Scientists investigate that which already is; Engineers create that which
has never been.” Albert Einstein
 Not many people are naturally inventive like James Dyson
 Engineers are trained to be cautious and to follow rules in design.
This can sometimes inhibit creativity because it encourages engineers to
do things only by the rule book – sometimes discouraging adventure.
In contrast, industrial designers are trained to be creative & adventurous
Their whole training is usually project based.
James Dyson was trained as an industrial designer.
 People are used to doing things in 2D and this can inhibit creativity
 You cannot force inspiration
 Inspiration depends on mood. Even what you drink can affect your
creativity. (J Food Quality and Pref. Yan Huang, Peking Univ, 2018)

Example of assumed two-dimensional constraint:

You have 6 bars of equal length. How many complete (non-overlapping)
triangles can you make with the 6 bars?

People often try and work in 2 dimensions and cannot find more than two
triangles:

3D pyramid

By thinking in three-dimensions it is possible to get four triangles with a

trigonal pyramid:

This illustrates that thinking in 2D can inhibit creativity

Conclusion:
Design methods can help encourage creativity by giving a structured step-by-
step process to generating ideas.

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(2) Drivers of innovation
There are several different things that encourage companies to innovate.
Being aware of these things helps innovation.
(1) Legislation (reflecting public pressure)
Example legislation for cars that is driving changes in car design:
CO2 & CO limits; diesel particle limits; NCAP (new car assessment)
Car taxes (road tax, fuel tax and BIK benefit-in-kind tax for company cars)
Example legislation for plastics: New legislation proposed in 2018
(2) Customer wishes
All products: Reduce environmental impact
Cars: Latest fashion in aesthetics; customisation; luxury
Aircraft: Reduce pollution CO2 & O3; reduce noise; increase comfort
Appliances: Reduce eco impact; increase quality;
(3) Technology breakthroughs
Li ion batteries; New materials (ex. Graphene 2D carbon);
Artificial Intelligence (driverless cars)
(4) Innovators/entrepreneurs
Elon Musk: (Tesla cars, SpaceX)
Richard Branson (Space)
James Dyson (appliances)
Alex Moulton (folding bikes)
(5) Elite activities
Car: Formula 1
Bicycle: Olympics track and road racing
Aircraft: military aircraft
(6) Affluence
Affluence means that people will pay for higher performance products
Recent affluence has helped James Dyson to open new markets
Affluence in China and India is creating new opportunities
(7) Competition
Innovative products are necessary for survival.

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(3) Conceptual design methods
[1] Study the competition
Analyse the best designs of competitors and draw inspiration from them.
However, there are legal and ethical restrictions in copying designs which
have to be taken into account.
Automotive
Copying is common in the car industry:

Nissan QASHQAI Ford Edge Renault Captur

iPhones
Copying is common in phone design.

Samsung/Apple

On January 4, 2007, 4 days before the iPhone was introduced, Apple filed a
suite of 4 design patents covering the basic shape of the iPhone. These were
followed up in June with a filing of color design patents covering 193 screen
shots of various iPhone graphical user interfaces [from wiki].
In the spring of 2011, Apple began litigating against Samsung in patent
infringement suits. By July 2012, the two companies were involved in more
than 50 lawsuits around the globe, with billions of dollars in damages claimed
between them. While Apple won a ruling in its favor in the U.S., Samsung won
rulings in South Korea, Japan, and the UK.
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[2] Insight
Understanding the physics of the problem helps to produce effective ideas.
Example 1 Spline design: advantage of larger spines for given diameter
The shear strength of splines is approximately independent of the size of
spline for a given shaft diameter. However, the volume of splines increases in
proportion to height of spline. Therefore larger splines contain more volume
and therefore have greater wear life.

A smaller number of larger splines last longer

Example 2 – Large ships

Isambard Brunel pioneered large iron-hulled ships. He noticed that drag is
proportional to frontal area, whilst fuel capacity is proportional to volume and
that this therefore meant that range increased with increasing scale of ship.

Example 3 Large chainwheel on Team GB bikes at Rio Olympic

Larger chainwheels was one of the reasons why Team GB won 6 gold medals
London 2012 (52T) Rio 2016 (64T)

How insight was used to choose a large chain wheel

Friction in the pins  chain force (therefore larger chainwheel better)
Friction in the pins  number of links (therefore smaller chianwheel better)
Friction in the pins  angle of articulation (therefore larger chianwheel better)
Therefore overall – large chainwheel is better.
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Example 4 Rotary damper
Outward acceleration of rollers proportional to speed squared
Plastic cantilevers absorb energy by material damping
Damping increases with square of speed (this is ideal)

Table – key equations with example inisght.

PROPERTY EQUATION TERMS INSIGHT APPLICATION
Lift (aerofoil) FL = lift (N) Wing area and Design of
Aw= wing area (m2)
FL  Aw  mg mass critical aircraft
m = mass (kg) parameters
Inertial drag D = drag (N) Frontal area and Shape of cars
D = 0.5CdAfv 2 = density (kg/m3) drag coefficient and bikes
Cd = drag coefficient are critical
Af = frontal area (m2) parameters
v = velocity (m/s)
Viscous drag D = drag (N) Drag increases Shape of
D=Cul C = Constant with length underwater
u = velocity (m/s) systems
l = length (m)
 = dynamic viscosity
Conduction Q = heat transfer (W/K) Smaller surface Shape of houses
A = area (m2)
Q = A /t area has lower Shape of heat
 = conductivity (W/mK) heat loss exchangers
t = thickness (m)
Bending stress B = bending stress (Pa) Thin sections less Component
Ey E = Young’s modulus (Pa) stressed design
B  y = distance to NA (m)
R R = radius of curvature (m)
Bending stress B = bending stress (Pa) Deep sections Beam design
My FLy M = Bending moment (Nm) more efficient
B   12 3 y = distance to NA (m)
I bd I = 2nd moment area (m4)

Hoop stress H = hoop stress (Pa) Stress increases Shape of gas

PR
H  P = Pressure (Pa) with diameter of cylinders
2t R = radius (m) tube
t = thickness (m)
Buckling load PE = critical load (N) Buckling Support
E = Young’s modulus (Pa)
E In
2 2 sensitive to length columns at mid-
PE  I = 2nd moment area (m4) of column length
h2 n = boundary condition
h = height (m)

45
[3] Bio-inspiration
Be inspired by solutions found in the natural world. Bioinspiration is an
approach that is related to the method of studying the best designs of the
competition. However, instead of copying other man-made designs the
method involves studying designs found in nature.
Advantages
 Concepts that are proven to work very efficiently in harsh environments
 Very large range of concepts

Disadvantages
 Often extremely complex at micro level and difficult to copy in detail
 Not necessarily designed for long life (many insects have short lives)
 Some strategies in nature are brutal (many offspring die)

Recommendation
Bioinspiration (be inspired) is better than biomimetics (mimic exactly).

Examples of biomimetics
 Wright brothers control flap inspired by pigeons (control flaps to stabilize
turning)
 Velcro inspired by burrs of the burr plant (multiple hook and loop)
 Self-cleaning glass inspired by lotus leaf (micro roughness)
 Low drag swim suits inspired by shark skin (micro roughness)
 Pulsed fuel injection – inspired by bombardier beetle (high frequency
pulsed combustion)
 Self-healing composites inspired by vascular system (healing agent +
catalyst)
 Painless medical needle inspired by mosquito bite (vibrating serrated
shafts)
 Helmet design inspired by brain fluid
 Micro air vehicle inspired by insect fly wings (flapping and twisting) (see
next page)
 Inverted parallelogram 4-bar mechanism hinge joint inspired by the
human knee joint (see next page)

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Bio-inspired knee joint

Self-healing composite

47
[4] Technology transfer
There are many different types of products. There is huge scope to transfer
elements of technology from one product to another.

Example 1 Cyclone vacuum cleaner

James Dyson transferred cyclone technology from a
factory application to vacuum cleaner
In 1974 Dyson noticed his Hoover became
clogged and lost suction over time.
During a visit to a local sawmill, Dyson noticed
how the sawdust was removed from the air by
large industrial cyclones.
Dyson hypothesized the same principle might
work, on a smaller scale, in a vacuum cleaner.
He removed the bag from the Hoover Junior and
fitted it with a cardboard cyclone.
On cleaning the room with it, he found it picked
up more dirt than his bag machine.

Example 2 Ball barrow

Dyson transferred a ball concept to the wheel barrow to produce a wheel
barrow that is easier to steer.

Example 3 Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is currently being applied to many areas (ex. robotics,

cars, phones and buildings) to improve the design of products and systems.

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[5] Functional decomposition
Identify the individual sub-functions of the product and then consider
feasible/ideal combinations of sub-solutions.
When sub-functions and sub-solutions are put into a table it is called a
morphological chart.
Morphological chart for a sports car

Sub Sub-solutions
functions

Body shape micro mini coupe hatch estate sedan

Engine IC Micro Hybrid Mild hybrid Full hybrid Plug in hybrid Electric

Gearbox Manual 5g Automatic Auto CVT Man + Auto Manual 6g

Drive Front wheel Rear wheel 4 wheel drive 2 or 4 wheel

Suspension McPherson Double Horizontal Active

wishbone pushrod

Wheels Steel Alloy Wide steel Wide alum

Tyres Standard Run flat All terrain Small section

height

Fuel Deisel Petrol Electric D + battery P + battery

Battery Lead acid Lithium

Body Steel Aluminium CFRP

material

Chassis Body on Unibody

frame (monocoque)

Bumpers Steel Aluminium Plastic CFRP

Doors 4 door 4 door hatch 2 door 2 door hatch

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[6] Backwards design
Identify an idealistic solution and then work backwards to make it work. For
example, an engineer might imagine that an ideal train would float on rails and
then work out a way to achieve this in practice—e.g. by using magnetic
levitation.

Case study: Double-action worm gear-set for spacecraft:

This gearbox can act like a rack and pinion gear to absorb launch vibrations as
well as a normal worm gearbox for deployment of the solar array.
The device was invented by imagining a gearbox that could absorb enforced
displacements and then working out how that could be achieved.

Reference
Burgess, SC, A backwards design process for Mechanical Design, Journal
of Mechanical Design, ASME, Vol 134, 031002, pp 1-10, March 2012.

50
LECTURE 5 CONCEPTUAL DESIGN METHODS 2

[7] Prototyping
Prototyping can be a powerful method in conceptual design.
Advantages
 Gives feedback on form and function very quickly
 Good for 3-D visualisations
 Can be cheaper than computer modelling
 You learn things that computer models don’t tell you
(you only model what you understand)
 There may be no off-the-shelf computer models for novel products
 Aids team work
 Aids selling to investors

James Dyson
James Dyson makes hundreds of prototypes to develop new products
There were >600 prototypes of the bladeless fan air blower
There were >5000 prototypes of his first vacuum cleaner

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[8] Brainstorming
Brainstorming is the uninhibited idea creation by a team of people bouncing
ideas off each other. Often a team is made up of people with different
backgrounds such as design engineers, manufacturing engineers and
materials scientists to stimulate a diverse range of ideas. To encourage
creativity, criticism of ideas is not allowed.

NOTE
As previously mentioned engineering education can sometimes make an
engineer conservative and not adventurous. Engineering education is often
about getting exact answers as opposed to trying adventurous ideas.

Dyson quote:
We’re taught to do things the right way. But if you want to discover
something that other people haven’t, you need to do things the wrong
way. Initiate a failure by doing something that’s very silly, unthinkable,
naughty, dangerous. Watching why that fails can take you on a
completely different path. It’s exciting, actually.

[9] Structured questioning

Create a set of questions that considers what can and cannot be done to solve
a problem.
TRAINS: Is it allowable to have much longer trains or multi-deck trains. This is
done in other countries.
LORRIES: Is it OK to join several lorries on a motorway. This has been done
in Australia
L.E.D. LIGHTS: How do they fail? Is it possible to overcome this failure: Dyson
asked these questions – he found failure was by overheating and he found a
way of cooling and therefore extending the life significantly.
BIKES: Is it possible to fold bikes in a convenient way?
TUBE TRANSPORT: Is it possible to have super high speed transport inside a
low pressure tube? Is it possible to bury such a tube in the ground?

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[10] Inversion
Investigate whether an existing design can be done another way around.
Sometimes a new design can be generated by inverting some part of an
existing design. The advantage of this method is that it starts with a working
design.
Innovations which could have involved doing things a different way around:
 Push rod suspension horizontal instead of vertical to allow low car profile
 Helicopters: have rotating wings instead of static wings
 Maximise size of sprocket instead of minimising
 Have building services on the outside of a building instead of inside
 See-through covers instead of coloured covers (vacuum cleaners).
 Caterpillar tracks instead of wheels
 Power from overhead power line instead of coming from train
 Transverse versus in-line engine layout

[11] Technology opportunities

Use the latest technological breakthroughs to design new products.
Technological breakthroughs can create great scope for invention. Examples
include:
 Artificial Intelligence: use for driverless cars
 Magnetic levitation: use on trains
 Graphene: use for soft robotics
 Smart materials: use on clothing
 Sensors: use to make smart buildings
 More powerful batteries for phones or cars
 CFRP on bicycles and aircraft
 Voice recognition for phones and cars

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[12] Sketching
Advantages
 Easy to focus on the essential parts
 Quick to produce
 Good for 3 D visualisation
 Can record notes
 Good for team work
 Impressionist not exact
 Can record design options

Alec Issigonis

Dyson engineers

Leonardo Da Vinci
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3-point perpective is good for tall buildings

2-point perspective is good for realistic views of cars

Isometric
(The angles do not have to be 30 + 30 degrees)

Oblique is one of the easiest forms of sketch

(The angle does not have to be 45 degrees)

55
(3) Innovators
Some people have a flair for innovation.

CASE STUDY: Sir James Dyson

Sir James Dyson is a graduate of two of the UK’s most prestigious design
schools (Saint Martin’s College of Art & Design and The Royal College of Art).
He is a graduate of an ‘Industrial Design’ degree.

Dyson has successfully used analogies & prototyping in concept design

James Dyson found that the wheel of his

wheelbarrows sank into the mud.

In 1974 Dyson made a fibreglass prototype of a

barrow with a ball instead of a wheel

Dyson went on to design many other products

Dyson company statistics

Type Private company
Key people James Dyson (Chief engineer) Max Conze (CEO)
Products Vacuum cleaners, hand dryers, desk fans, hair dryers
Revenue £1.74 billion (2015)
Profit £448 million (2015)
Employees 7000

56
CASE STUDY: Elon Musk

Elon Musk has an ambitious strategy of using new technologies to leap-frog

current technologies. Ex. his aim is to replace IC engine cars with electric cars.
Elon Musk (born 1971) studied business and physics at the University of
Pennsylvania. He graduated with an undergraduate degree in economics and
stayed for a second bachelor’s degree in physics. Elon Musk founded X.com
in 1999 (later became PayPal), SpaceX in 2002 and Tesla Motors in 2003.
SpaceX
In May 2012, SpaceX launched a rocket that would send the first commercial
vehicle to the International Space Station.
Solar City
He purchased SolarCity in 2016. SolarCity Corporation is a subsidiary of
Tesla, Inc. that specializes in solar energy services and is headquartered in
San Mateo, California. SolarCity markets, manufactures, and installs
residential and commercial solar panels in the US.
Tesla cars
Elon Musk is the co-founder, CEO and product architect at Tesla Motors, a
company dedicated to producing affordable, mass-market electric cars as well
as battery products and solar roofs. Musk oversees all product development,
engineering and design of the company's products. Five years after its
formation, in 2008, the company unveiled the Roadster, a sports car capable
of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, as well traveling nearly 250
miles between charges of its lithium ion battery. With a stake in the company
taken by Daimler and a strategic partnership with Toyota, Tesla Motors
launched its initial public offering in June 2010, raising $226 million.
Hyperloop
In August 2013, Elon Musk released a concept for a new form of
transportation called the "Hyperloop," an invention that would foster
commuting between major cities while severely cutting travel time. Ideally
resistant to weather and powered by renewable energy, the Hyperloop would
propel riders in pods through a network of low-pressure tubes at speeds
reaching more than 700 mph. Musk noted that the Hyperloop could take from
seven to 10 years to be built and ready for use.

57
(4) TRIZ
Genrich Altshuller created TRIZ in the Soviet Union in the 1970s.
 ‘Ideality’ is a key concept of TRIZ. The ideal state of the system is where
all its functions are achieved without causing any problem. The
knowledge of the ideal system helps to improve an existing system.
 Features are improved gradually to achieve the best design.

Method:
 There is a ‘Contradiction’ checklist of 39 features that can be improved.
 Contradictions are improved by using a list of 40 design principles.
 A Contradiction Matrix is created with improving and worsening features
which contains numbers from the solution principles matrix (next page).

58
40 Principles for improving
These are known potential strategies for overcoming contradictions

Example guidelines for “1. Segmentation”

This could potentially have inspired the design of the quick-release bicycle
wheel

TRIZ combines several concept design methods into one:

 ‘Ideality’ is similar to the ‘Backwards’ design method
 The checklists are similar to the structured questions method
 Notice [13] ‘the other way around’. This is like the ‘inversion’ method
 Notice several principles encourage use of physical insight,
for example: 15, 18, 19, 29, 37

59
Decision making
Pugh matrix for an aircraft seat
Criteria Weighting Baseline Concept 1 Concept 2 Concept 3
design

Strength 5 0 + 0 0
Reliability 4 0 0 + 0

Aesthetics 3 0 + 0 +
Ergonomics 3 0 - 0 +

Durability 3 0 0 0 -
+ 8 4 6

- 3 0 3

Net score 5 4 3
Rank 1 2 3

Weighted matrix for an aircraft seat

Concept 1 Concept 2 Concept 3

Criteria Weighting Score wt Score wt Score wt

Strength 5 8 40 6 30 6 30

Reliability 4 6 24 8 32 6 24

Aesthetics 3 8 24 6 18 8 24

Ergonomics 3 2 6 6 18 8 24

Durability 3 6 18 6 18 4 12

112 116 114

Rank 3 1 2

Notice the two methods can give different ranking.

60
Example exam question
(i) Explain the design process as described by Pahl and Beitz. (4 marks)
(ii) Describe the conceptual design methods of “brainstorming” and
“inversion” and explain their advantages. Give examples of what
“inversion” could produce. (4 marks)
(iii) Discuss the drivers of innovation in the car industry. (6 marks)
(iv) Draw a function-means tree for a “high quality hair dryer”. (6 marks)

Example exam question

(i) A local Council want a new iconic bridge to span a river in a city. Why
is the following problem statement not ideal: “Design a cable stay
bridge for the river”. What would be a better problem statement? (2
marks)
(ii) Explain the V-model design process and state advantages of this
process. (4 marks)
(iii) Describe the conceptual design method of bio-inspired design
explaining the advantages and disadvantages. Sketch how self-
healing composites work. (4 marks)
(iv) Give a checklist of factors that would be used to produce a design
specification for ergonomics and safety aspects of a family car. (4
marks)
(v) Draw a function-means tree for the objective of “good environmental
performance of a motorbike”. (6 marks)

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