Engineering methods

overview, product design

specification
BE 4290
September 1, 2009

Engineering design definitions

The

strategy for causing the best change in a

poorly understood or uncertain situation within
the available means
The engineering method is the use of
engineering heuristics to cause the best change
in a poorly understood situation within the
available resources
Engineering design establishes and defines
solutions to and pertinent structures for
problems not solved before, or problems which
have previously been solved in a different way.
(J. Blumrich)

The Four Cs of design

Creativity

Complexity

Requires decisions on many variables and parameters

Choice

Requires creation of something that has not existed before or

not existed in the designers mind before

Requires making choices between many possible solutions at all

levels, from basic concepts to smallest detail of shape

Compromise

Requires balancing multiple and sometimes conflicting

requirements

Engineering design methods

Definition:

Engineering design methods

are any identifiable way of working within
the context of designing (procedures,
techniques, aids or tools).
Most common design method: design by
drawing

Other common design methods

Define

problem

Gathering

information from customers

Benchmarking
Quality Function Deployment (QFD) pg. 98
Product Design Specification (PDS) pg.109

Other common design methods

Gather

information

Books
Journals
experts
Internet
Patents
trade

literature
Standards
etc.

Other common design methods

Concept

generation

Brainstorming
Conceptual

decomposition
Morphological chart
Evaluation
Pugh

of concepts

concept selection method

Decision matricies

Info on methods
The

methods listed under the define

problem are contained in Dieter, Chapter
3
Gathering information from customers ,
clients, and/or community partners can be
done through interviews, focus groups,
customer surveys, and analysis of
customer complaints and concerns.

Defining the problem

Benchmarking

is a method for measuring

a companys operations against the best
companies inside and outside the industry.
You search for industry best practices
that lead to superior performance
The benchmark is a reference point from
which to make comparisons

Benchmarking method

Select the product, process or functional area of the company that

is to be benchmarked
Identify key performance metrics that will be measured and used
for comparison (number of parts produced, estimated product cost,
rate of return, customer satisfaction, etc)
Identify the best in class companies for each product or process to
be benchmarked. A best in class company is one that performs the
process at the lowest cost and highest degree of customer
satisfaction, or has the largest market share of product type.
Search is broad, should include companies in same industry be may
be different industries.
Compare the best in class products or processes with the in house
equivalent using the performance metrics (identify gaps)
Specify programs or actions to meet and exceed competition.
Requires definitive action plan with suitable resource commitment
and a schedule of milestones for achieving goals.

In groups
Use

the process just explained to start

benchmarking your design or a
component of your design
Be prepared to report back in 5 minutes!

 QFD

and PDS: see Dieter, pp. 98 and 109

respectively for details
Both are critical for defining the problem; go over
the example in chapter 3;
Gathering information. You have already been
trained in these areas in prior classes with the
exception of patent searches and possibly
finding standards. See Chapter 5, Dieter for
more information.

Concept generation
Brainstorming
Carefully

define problem/concept to be
brainstormed on at start of project
Allow 5 minutes for each person to think
about ideas
Team exercise: Write ideas on post it notes
and place on wall
Once youve exhausted ideas, try using the
SCAMPER checklist to generate more ideas:

SCAMPER
Substitute
Combine
Adapt
Modify, magnify, minify
Put

to other uses
Eliminate
Rearrange, reverse

Concept generation
A final

brainstorming method: random

output. Randomly select a word from a
book or dictionary (or randomly select an
object) and see if any you can find any
connection between the word/object and
the design problem.

Conceptual decomposition
The

process of decomposing a problem into

smaller parts that are easier to manage.
Two major approaches:
Decomposition

in the physical domain (physical

decomposition): product or subassembly is broken
down into its physical components
Functional decomposition: product or subassembly is
broken down into its functional components. Method:
identify the subfunctions needed to achieve overall
function, and then identify the embodiments/methods
to achieve each subfunction. See Dieter, pp. 222

Morphological chart
Morphology:

study of shape and form.

This is a method for creating new shapes
and forms (design concepts). Dieter, pp.
235.
Arranges functions and subfunctions in
logical order, and for each subfunction,
lists the possible hows

Evaluation of concepts
Pughs concept

selection method: pp. 277

Dieter
Decision matrices
Weighted

decision matrix, pp 282

Analytic hierarchy process (AHP): pp. 285

What I want you to do as a group:

Read

Dieter and make sure you understand

QFD
PDS
Functional

decomposition
Morphological chart
Pughs selection method
Decision matricies
Come

to class and ask questions on these

methods if you need to! I will go over each of
these briefly but will expect that you know them
for the exam!

Oral presentation #1
The

title of your project

The problem statement
Background information
PDS (preliminary)
Initial ideas for your design
Everyone

speaks; 10-12 min total

Two important methods in defining

the problem
PDS:

product design specification

QFD: quality function deployment
Each

should be an appendix in your final

design report for BE 4290 and 4292
These establish your design road map

Product Design Specification

The

major descriptive document for the

design and manufacture of your product,
process, or system
Describes in writing the product that is
intended to be manufactured and
marketed

This document
Contains

all facts related to the outcome

of product development
Contains the constraints involved in the
design
Finalizes the process of establishing
customer needs and wants, prioritizing
them, and putting them into a technical
framework

Sections of the PDS

In-use

purposes and market

Functional requirements
Corporate constraints
Social, political, and legal requirements

In-use purposes and market

Product

title
Purpose or function product performs
Unintended uses
Special features
Types of products that your product will compete
with (who makes them?)
Intended market
Why is there a need for this product?
Anticipated market demand
Target selling price and estimated retail price

Functional requirements

Functional performance

Physical requirements

Range of temp, pressure, wind, rain, salt, dirt, dust, corrosion,

shock, vibration, noise, abuse, insect/bird damage, shelf life

Lifecycle issues

Size, weight, shape, finish

Service environment

Energy, materials, accuracy, etc.

Reliability (mean time to failure), maintainablity, installability,

retirement, cost of operation, etc.

Human factors

Aesthetics, ergonomics, user training

Corporate constraints
Time

to market
Manufacturing requirements
Suppliers
Trademark, logo, brand name
Financial performance (minimum ROI?)
Corporate ethics

Social, political, and legal

requirements
Safety
List

and environmental regulations

all that will be used

Standards
List

all that will be used

Safety

and product liability

Documentation

throughout design process,

careful design of warning labels

Patents
Avoid

and intellectual property

infringement