The subject Machine Design is the creation of new and better
machines and improving the existing ones. A new or better machine
is one which is more economical in the overall cost of production and operation. The process of design is a long and time consuming one. From the study of existing ideas, a new idea has to be conceived. The idea is then studied keeping in mind its commercial success and given shape and form in the form of drawings. In the preparation of these drawings, care must be taken of the availability of resources in money, in men and in materials required for the successful completion of the new idea into an actual reality. In designing a machine component, it is necessary to have a good knowledge of many subjects such as Mathematics, Engineering Mechanics, Strength of Materials, Theory of Machines, Workshop Processes and Engineering Drawing. An iterative decision making process to conceive and implement optimum systems to solve societys problems and needs. Engineering design is practical in nature and must be concerned with physical realizability, or economic and financial feasibility. What is Mechanical Engineering Design Mechanical Engineering Design is defined as iterative decision making process to describe a machine or mechanical system to perform specific function with maximum economy and efficiency by using scientific principles, technical information, and imagination of the designer. Machine Design or mechanical design is primarily concerned with the systems by which the energy is converted into useful mechanical forms and of mechanisms required to convert the output of the machine to the desired form. The design may lead to an entirely new machine or an improvement on an existing one. Thus machine design is the production or creation of the right combination of correctly proportioned moving and stationary components so constructed and joined as to enable the liberation, transformation, and utilization of energy. Adaptive design. In most cases, the designers work is concerned with adaptation of existing designs. This type of design needs no special knowledge or skill and can be attempted by designers of ordinary technical training. The designer only makes minor alternation or modification in the existing designs of the product. This type of design needs considerable scientific training and design ability in order to modify the existing designs into a new idea by adopting a new material or different method of manufacture. In this case, though the designer starts from the existing design, but the final product may differ quite markedly from the original product This type of design needs lot of research, technical ability and creative thinking. Only those designers who have personal qualities of a sufficiently high order can take up the work of a new design. The designs, depending upon the methods used, may be classified as follows : (a) Rational design. This type of design depends upon mathematical formulae of principle of mechanics. (b) Empirical design. This type of design depends upon empirical formulae based on the practice and past experience. (c) Industrial design. This type of design depends upon the production aspects to manufacture any machine component in the industry. (d) Optimum design. It is the best design for the given objective function under the specified constraints. It may be achieved by minimising the undesirable effects. (e) System design. It is the design of any complex mechanical system like a motor car. (f) Element design. It is the design of any element of the mechanical system like piston, crankshaft, connecting rod, etc. (g) Computer aided design. This type of design depends upon the use of computer systems to assist in the creation, modification, analysis and optimisation of a design. To design machine element and devices, you must be competent in the design of individual elements that comprise the system. But you must also be able to integrate several components and devices into a coordinated, robust system that meets your customers need. Design of machine elements is an integral part of the larger and more general field of mechanical design. Designs and design engineering create devices or systems to satisfy specific needs. At the initial stages of machine design, we face a dilemma. The designer can not predict with accuracy what environmental loads the user will subject the machine to. The dilemma can be resolved only by iteration, which means to repeat, or to return to a previous state. We must assume some trial configuration for each part; use the mass properties of that trial configuration in dynamic force analysis to determine the forces, moments, and torques acting on the part, and then use the cross-sectional geometry of the trial design to calculate the resulting stresses. Most likely, on the first trial, we will find that our design fails because the materials cannot stand the levels of stresses presented. We must then redesign the part by changing shapes, size, materials, manufacturing processes, or other factors in order to reach an acceptable design. It is generally not possible to achieve a successful result without making several iterations through this design process. 1. Identification of need The chief objective of an enterprise that produces a product is to satisfy the customer. It is essential that you know your customers desires before beginning a product design 2. Background research background information is necessary to fully define and understand the problem. 3. Goal statement after background research it is possible to restate the goal in a more reasonable and realistic way than in the original problem statement. 4. Task specification task specification bound the problem and limit its scope 5. Synthesis as many alternative possible design approaches are sought, usually without regard for their values or quality. In this step, the largest possible number of creative solutions are generated. 6. Analysis the possible solution from the previous step are analyzed and either accepted, rejected, or modified. 7. Selection the most promising solution is selected. 8. Detailed design once an acceptable design is selected, the detailed design can be done in which all the loose end are tied up, complete engineering drawing made, manufacturing specification defined etc. 9. Prototyping and testing the actual construction of the working design is first done as a prototype 10. Production finally in quantity in production note that iteration is require within the entire process, moving any step back to any previous step, in all possible combinations, and doing this repeatedly Once upon a time there were no standards or even uniformity among the same products, for example, bolts, nuts and screw threads. Finding a replacement was not an easy task. This lack of standards and uniformity was costly and ineffective for a great variety of reasons. Standardization is the term applied to the obligatory norms to which various indices of a product should correspond. These indices are types, grades, parameters (dimensions), and quality characteristics, test methods, rules of marking, packing and storage of products, raw materials and semi-manufactured goods. Standardisation is the key to cost effectiveness and quality. Standardisations of specifications for machine elements promote their quality and increase their service life. It curtails the time needed for their designing, quickens their entry into service and simplifies repairs as new standard ones easily replace worn or damaged parts. An important feature of standardization, in present day mechanical engineering is the principle of interchangeability without which lot and mass production is impossible. A standard is a set of specifications for part, materials, or processes intended to achieve uniformity, efficiency and a specified quality. One of the important purposes of a standard is to place a limit on the number of items in the specifications so as to provide a reasonable inventory of tooling, sizes, shapes and varieties. Code: A code is a set of specifications for the analysis, design, manufacture and construction of something. The purpose of a code is to achieve a specified degree of safety, efficiency, and performance or quality. Interchangeability is the property of machine parts or units making it possible to utilize them in assembly (or replace them during repair/service) without any additional machining (fitting) while preserving the technical requirements for the given unit, mechanism or machine functioning. For parts to be interchangeable their dimensions need not ideally coincide. It is enough that the actual size of each part lies within the assigned limits. In mechanical engineering the following is standardized: Designation of general engineering quantities, rules for construction of drawings; series of numbers applied to linear dimensions. Structural elements of the majority of machine components, bar, beams, angle, channels, plates rounds etc. Accuracy (Fits and tolerances) and surface finish of parts. Materials, their chemical compositions, basic mechanical properties and heat treatment Shape, size of most common parts and units: bolts, screws, studs, nuts, washers, cotton pins, rivets, dowels, keys, forms and dimensions of spline joints etc. Belts chains, diameter and width of pulleys; couplings and clutches and antifriction bearings. Modules of gears and worm wheels etc. Essence of machine design is to define and calculate motions, forces, and changes in energy in order to determine the size, shape, and materials needed for each of machine element. Engineers responsibility is to calculate and predict the mode and conditions of failure for each element and then design it to prevent that failure. A good design engineer would provide a foolproof solution to a problem, obtained at an economical cost and comprising of minimum number of parts. To be a successful designer, the engineer must use the best available scientific understanding together with empirical information, a good judgement and often a degree of imagination or ingenuity. Then only best products suitable to a welfare society and marketable in a competitive economy could be turned out. In approaching a design, the designer should establish criteria that will guide the decision-making processes inherent in any project. Because each design problem has many alternative solutions, each can be evaluated in terms of the list of criteria. There may not be a single best design, but designers should work toward an optimum design, that is design should maximize benefits and minimize disadvantages. The following are general criteria for machine design Safety Performance (the degree to which the design meets or exceeds the design objectives) Reliability (a high probability that the device will reach or exceed its design life) Ease of manufacture Ease of service or replacement of components Ease of operation Low initial cost Low operating and maintenance costs Small size and low weight Low noise and vibration, smooth operation Use of readily available materials and purchased components Prudent use of both uniquely designed parts and commercially available components Appearance that is attractive and appropriate to the application. technical drawing and CAD properties of materials manufacturing processes statics, dynamics, and strength of materials kinematics and mechanisms Building on these skills, and using this book, you should now be ready to learn design of machine element and mechanical design. Springs Fasteners Bearings Machined Universal Shafts Joint Coiled Gears Finite Element Analysis Design Optimization Biomechanics Nanotechnology Fracture Mechanics Mechanical Material Properties Composite Materials Designing for Manufacturing Welding