Engineering SRD EDITION GeorRGE E. DIETER McGRAW-HILL INTERNATIONAL EDITIONS ‘Mechanical Engineering Seriesi THE PRODUCT DESIGN PROCESS 1d INTRODUCTION What is design? If you'search the literature for an answer to that question, you will find abotit as many definition’ as there are designs. Pethaps the reason is that the process of design is such a common human experience. Webster’s dictionary says that to design is “to fashion after a plan,” but that leaves out the essential fact that to'design is to create something that has never been. Certainly an'engincering designer practices design by that definition, but so does an artist, a sculptor, a composer, a playyyright, or many atiother creative member of our society. Thus, although engineers are not the only people who design things, it is true that the professional practice ‘of engineering is largely concerned with design: it is fre- quently said that design is the essence'of engineering. To design is to pull together something new or arrange existing things in'a new way to satisfy a’ recognized need of society. An elegant word for “pulling together” is synthesis. We shall adapt the fol- lowing formal definition of design:' “Design éstablishes and defines solution’ to and pertinent structures fot problems not solved befdre, or new sdlutionsto problems which have pieviously been solved in a different way.” The ability to design is both a science and ait art. The science can be learned thitougti techniques and itiethods tw be covered in this course, bur ‘the ait is best learned by doing design. It is for this reason that your design experience must involve some realistic project experience. ‘The emphasis that we have given to the creation of new things in’ our discussion of design should not unduly alarm you. To bécome proficient in design is a perféctly attainable’ goal for an engineering student, but its attainment requirés the guided expe- rience that we intend this cbiirse to provide. Design should not be confiised with dis- covery. Discovery is getting the first sight of, ot the first kniowledge of something; as 1. JF. Blumaich, Science, vol. 168, pp. 1551-1554, 1970. 12 ENGINEERING DESIGN when Columbus discovered America. We can discover what has already existed but has not been known before. But a design is the product of planning and work. We will present a structured design process to assist you in doing design in Sec. 1.5. We should note that a design may or may not involve invention, To obtain a legal patent on an invention requires that the design be a step beyond the limits of the exist- ing knowledge (beyond the state of the art). Some designs are truly inventive, but most are not. Good design requires both analysis and synthesis. Typically we approach com- plex problems like design by decomposing the problem into manageable parts. Because we need to understand how the part will perform in service we must be able to calculate as much about the part’s behavior as possible by using the appropriate disciplines of science and engineering science and the necessary computational tools. ‘This is called analysis. It usually involves the simplification of the real world through models. Synthesis involves the identification of the design elements that will comprise the product, its decomposition into parts, and the combination of the part solutions into a total workable system. ‘At your current stage in your engineering education you are much more familiar and comfortable with analysis, You have dealt with courses that were essentially dis- ciplinary. For example, you were not expected to use thermodynamics and fluid mechanics in a course in mechanics of materials. The problems you worked in the course were selected to illustrate and reinforce the principles. If you could construct. the appropriate model, you usually could solve the problem. Most of the input data and properties were given, and there usually was a correct answer to the problem. However, real-world problems rarely are that neat and circumscribed. The real prob- Jem that your design is, expected to solve may not be readily apparent. You may need to draw on many technical disciplines (solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, electro- magnetic theory, etc.) for the solution and usually on nonengineering disciplines as well (economics, finance, law, etc.). The, input data may be fragmentary at best, and the scope of the project may be so huge that no individual can follow it all. If that is not difficult enough, usually the design must proceed under severe constraints of time and/or money. There may be major societal constraints imposed by environmental or energy regulations. Finally, in the typical design you rarely have a way of knowing the correct answer. Hopefully, your design works, but is it the best, mosf efficient design that could have been achieved under the conditions? Only time will tell. ‘We hope that this has given you some idea of the design environment and the design process, One way to summarize the challenges presented by the design envi- ronment is to think of the four C’s of design. One thing that should be clear by now is how engineering design extends well beyond the boundaries of science. The expanded boundaries and responsibilities of engineering create almost unlimited opportunities for you. In your professional career you may have the. opportunity to create dozens of designs, and have the satisfaction.of seeing them become working realities, “A scientist will be lucky if he makes one creative addition to human. Anowl- edge in his whole life, and many never do so. A scientist can discover a new star but he cannot make one. He would have to ask an engineer to do it for him.”! 1. G.L. Glegg, “The Design of Design,” Cambridge University Press, New York, 1969.cuaprer 1: The Product Design Process 3 ‘of something that fas not Requires:makingchoices between-many possible solutions at al levels, + basic: concepts to smallest detail of'stiape. ate This long chapter is divided imto two parts. Part 1 is an introduction to the engi- neering design process, with emphasis on product design. It is intended to give you a broad appreciation of all of the elements of design and to orient you to what is cov- ered in much more detail in the subsequent chapters. Part 2 deals with technological innovation and the design process. It is intended to provide motivation for the course by showing the interplay between the advance of technology and what you can do in design. View it as the cultural aspect of this course. PRODUCT DESIGN PROCESS 12 IMPORTANCE OF PRODUCT DESIGN ‘The engineering design process can be applied to several different ends. One is the design of products, whether they be consumer goods and appliances or highly com- plex products such as missile systems or jet planes. Another is a complex engineered system such as an electric power generating station or a petrochemical plant, while yet another area is the design of a building or bridge. The principles and methodology of design can be usefully applied in each of these situations. However, the emphasis in this book is on product design because it is the area in which many engineers will apply their design skills. Moreover, examples taken from this area of design are eas- ier to grasp without extensive specialized knowledge. U.S. manufacturers began to lose their world domination of markets, gained after World War II, in the tate 1960s and 1970s as overseas producers entered the large attractive U.S. marketplace, Cameras, typewriters, electronic products (radios, elevi- sion sets, hi-fi sets), and copiers were the first products to be displaced, but as new products were developed (tape recorder and fax machine) a strong U.S. producer never emerged. Ih the 1980s Japanese automotive producers gained an appreciable share of the U.S. maiket, and German companies did the samnié for the-high end of the auto market. Initially the competitive advantage for foreign manufacturers ‘was the4 ENGINEERING DESIGN much lower manufacturing cost as a result of low local wage rates, so that products could be shipped to the United States and sold more cheaply than locally manufac- tured products. In addition, U.S. consumers found that in most cases the quality of product was as good as or better than locally made product. Gradually it became clear that we live in a giant global marketplace, where a computer assembled and sold by a US. producer may have had its integrated circuit chips made in Taiwan, its disk drive in Malaysia, and its monitor in Singapore. The initial response of progressive U.S. companies to the world invasion of their home market was to place renewed emphasis on reducing cost of manufacturing through automation and to move plants to lower labor cost regions. Many companies also focused on reducing product defects and enhancing customer acceptance by adopting a system of total quality management (TQM) methods. More recently, and stimulated by a major study of the National Research Council,! companies haye come to the realization that the real key to world-competitive products lies in high-quality product design. This has stimulated a rash of experimentation and sharing of results about better ways to do product design. What was once a fairly cut-and-dried engi- neering process has become one.of the cutting edges of engineering progress. This text aims at providing you with insight into the current best practices for doing prod- uct design. ‘The importance of design is nicely summed up in Fig. 1.1. This shows that only a small fraction of the cost to produce a product (~.5 percent) is involved with the product design process, while the other 95 percent of cost is consumed by the mate- rial, capital, and labor to manufacture the product. However, the design process con- sists of the accumalation of many decisions that result in design commitments that affect about 70 to 80 percent of the. manufactured cost of the product.” In other words, = development Manufacturing Percentage of product cost commited Time (noniinear). i FIGURE 1 Prodyet cost coinmitnient duringiphases of the design process. (Ajfer’ Ytlman:) 1, ing Engineering Desi "Na ional Academy Press, Washington, D.C, 1991. 2 wing Engineering Design,” op. cit.cHaPree 1: The Product Design Process 5 decisions made beyond the design phase, in manufacturing, can influence only about 25 percent of the final cost of the product, If the design proves to be faulty just before the product goes to market, it will cost a great deal of money to correct the problem, To summarize: Decisions made in the design process cost very little in terms of the overall product cost but have a major effect on the cost of the product. The second major impact of design is on product quality. The old concept of product quality was that it was achieved by inspecting the product as it came off the production line. Today we realize that true quality is designed into the product. Achieving quality through product design will be a theme that pervades this book. For now we point out-that one aspect of quality is to incorporate within the product the performance and features that are truly desired by the customer who purchases the product. In addition, the design must be carried out so that the product can be made without defect at a competitive cost. To summarize: Quality cannot be built into a product unless it is designed into it. The third area where product design determines product competitiveness is prod- uct cycle time. Cycle time refers to the development time required to bring a new product to market. In many consumer areas the product with the latest “bells and whistles” captures the: customers’ fancy. The use of new organizational methods, widespread use of computer-aided engineering, and rapid prototyping methods are contributing to reducing product cycle time. Not only. does reduced cycle time increase the marketability of a product, but it reduces the cost of product develop- ment. To summarize: The design process should be conducted so as to develop qual- ity cost-competitive products in the shortest time possible. 1.2.1 Static Products vs. Dynamic Products Some products are static, in that the chaniges in their design coitcept take place over a ong time period; rather, incremental changes occur at the subsystem and component levels. Examples of static products are automobiles and most consumer appliances like refrigerators and dishwashers. Others-are dynamic products, like telecommuni- cations systems and software, that change the basic design concept fairly frequently as the underlying technology changes. Static products exist in a market where the customer is not eager to change, and fashion or styling plays little role. These are markets characterized by a stable num- ber of large producers, with high price competition and little market research. There is a mature, stable technology, with competing products similar to each other. The users are generally familiar with the technology and do not demand’ significant improvement. Industry standards may even restrict change, and parts of the product are assembled from components made by others. Because of the importance of cost, emphasis if more on process research than on product research. With dynamic products, customers are willing to, and may even drive, change. The market is characterized'by many small producers, doing active market research and secking to reduce product cycle’ time. Companies actively-seek new’ products employing rapidly advancing technology. There is high product differentiation and low industry standardization, More emphasis is placed on product research than on process research. ‘6 ENGINEERING DESIGN A number of factors serve to protect a product from competition. A product which requires high capital investment to manufacture or which requires complex manufac- turing processes tends to be resistant to competition. At the other end of the product chain, the need for an extensive distribution system may be a barrier to entry. A strong patent position may keep out competition, as may strong brand identification and loy- alty on the part of the customer. 13 ‘THE DESIGN PROCESS—A SIMPLIFIED APPROACH We frequently talk about “designing a system.” By a system we mean the entire com- bination of hardware, information, and people necessary to accomplish some speci- fied mission. A system may be an electric power distribution network for a region of the nation, a complex piece of machinery like a newspaper printing press, or a com- bination of production steps to produce automobile parts. A large system usually is divided into subsystems, which in turn are made up of components. There is no, single universally acclaimed sequence of steps that leads to a work- able design, Different writers or designers have outlined the design process in as few as 5 steps or as many as 25. One of the first to write introspectively about design was Morris Asimow.! He viewed the heart of the design process as consisting of the ele- ments shown in Fig. 1.2. As portrayed there, design is a sequential process consisting of many design operations. Examples of the operations might be (1) exploring the alternative systems that could satisfy the specified need, (2) formulating a mathemat- ical model of the best system concept, (3) specifying specific parts to, construct a component of a subsystem, and (4) selecting a material from which to manufacture & part, Each operation requires information, some of it general technical and business information that is expected of the trained professional and some of it very specifi¢ [Design operation t+ Ovicome ‘GOTO THE ' ae FIGURE 1:2 {oe i ai Basic: module in the design process. (After Asimow.) pee on cutie Fn 1. M. Asimow, “Introduction to Design,” Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NI, 1962:cttaprer 1; The Product Design Process 7 information that is needed to produce a successful outcome. An example of the last Kind of information might be (1) a manufacturer’s catalog on miniature bearings, (2) handbook data on high-temperature alloys, or (3) personal experience gained from a trip to observe a new manufacturing process. Acquisition of information is a vital and often very difficult step in the design process, but fortunately it is a step that usu- ally becomes easier with time. (We call this process experience.)! The importance of developing sources of information is considered more fully in Chap. 4. Once armed with the necessary information, the design engincer (or design team) carries out the design operation by using the appropriate technical knowledge and computational and/or experimental tools. At this stage it may be necessary to con- struct a mathematical model and conduct a simulation of the component's perfor- mance on a digital computer. Or it may be necessary to construct a full-size prototype model and test it to destruction at a proving ground. Whatever it is, the operation pro- duces a design outcome that, again, may take many forms. It can be a ream of com- puter printout, a rough sketch with ctitical dimensions established, or a complete set of engineering drawings. At this stage the design outcome must be evaluated, often by a tcam of impartial experts, to decide whether it is adequate to meet the need. If so, the designer may go on to the next step. If the evaluation uncovers deficiencies, then the design operation must be repeated. The information from the first design is fed back as input, together with new information that has been developed as a result of questions raised at the evaluation step. We call this iteration. The final result of the chain of design modules, each like Fig. 1.2, is a new work- ing object (ofien referred to as hardware) or a collection of objects that is a new sys- tem. However, many design projects do not have as an objective the creation of new hardware or systems. Instead, the objective may be the development of new informa- tion that can be used elsewhere in the organization. It should be realized that few sys- tem designs are carried through to completion; they are stopped because it has become clear that the objectives of the project are not technically and/or economically feasible. However, they create new information, which, if stored in retrievable form, has future value, since it represents experience. ‘The simple model shown in Fig. 1.2 illustrates a number of important aspects of the design process. First, even the most complex system can be broken down into a sequence of design objectives. Each objective requires evaluation, and it is common for the decision-making phase to involve repeated trials or iterations. The need to go back and try again should not be considered a personal failure or weakness. Design is a creative process, and all new creations of the mind are the result of trial and error. Of course, the more knowledge we have and can apply to the problem the faster we can artive at an acceptable solution. This iterative aspect of design miay take some get- ting used to. You will have to acquire a high tolerance for failure and the tenacity and determination to persevere and work the problem out one way or the other. The iterative nature of design provides an opportunity to improve the design gn the basis of a preceding outcome. That, in tum, leads to the search for the best possi- ble technical condition, e.g., maximum performance at minimum weight (or cost). 1, Bxperience has been defined, perhaps a bit ightheartedly, as just a sequence of nonfatal events.8 ENGINEERING DESIGN Many techniques for optimizing a design have been developed, and some of them are covered in Chap. 12. And although optimization methods are intellectually pleasing and technically interesting, they often have limited application in a complex design situation. In the usual situation the actual design parameters chosen by the engineer are a compromise among several alternatives. There may be too many variables to include all of them in the optimization, or nontechnical considerations like available time or legal constraints may have to be considered, so that trade-offs must be made. ‘The parameters chosen for the design are then close to but not at optimum values. We usually refer to them as optimal values, the best that can be achieved within the total constraints of the system. Jn your scientific and engineering education you may have heard reference to the scientific method, a logical progression of events that leads to the solution of scien- tific problems. Percy Hill! has diagramed the comparison between the scientific method and the design method (Fig. 1.3). “The scientific method starts with a body of existing knowledge. Scientists have curiosity that causes them to question these:laws of science; and as # result-of their questioning, they eventually formulate a hypothesis. The hypothesis is subjected to logical analysis that either confirms or denies it. Often the analysis reveals flaws or inconsistencies, so that the hypothesis must be changed in an iterative process. Existing Slate of the kaomtedge art Scientific |dentitication lg ay j 1 a | & [types & | conoumaten g 8 T i Logical Feasibility eee ae Proof Production ik Scientiie metnod Design method FIGURE 1.3 A Comparison between the scientifié method «ind the design method. (After Perey Hill.) Wolt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 1970. 1. PH, Hill, “The Science of Engineering DesiCHAPTER I: The Product Design Process 9 Finally, when the new idea is confirmed to the satisfaction of its originator, it must be accepted as proof by fellow scientists. Once accepted, it is communicated to the com- munity of scientists and it enlarges the. body of existing knowledge. The knowledge loop is completed. ‘The design method is very similar to the scientific method if we allow for differ- ences in viewpoint and philosophy. The design method starts with knowledge of the state of the art. That includes scientific knowledge, but it also includes devices, com- ponents, materials, manufacturing methods, and market and economic conditions. Rather than scientific curiosity, it is really the needs of society (usually expressed through economic factors) that provide the impetus. When a need is identified, it must be conceptualized as some kind of model. The design concept must be subjected to a feasibility analysis, almost always with iteration, until an acceptable product is pro- duced or the project is abandoned. When the design enters the production phase, it begins to compete in the world of technology. The design loop is closed when the product is accepted as part of the current technology and thereby advances the state of the art of the particular field. In the brief outline of the design method shown above, the identification of a need requires further elaboration. Needs are identified at many points in a business or agency. Most organizations have research or development components whose job it is to create ideas that are relevant to the goals. of the organization. A very important avenue for learning about needs is the customers for the product or services that the company sells. Managing this input is usually the job of the marketing organization of the company (see Sec. 1.8). Other needs are generated by government agencies, trade associations, or the attitudes or decisions of the general public. Needs usually arise from dissatisfaction with the existing situation, The need drivers may be to reduce cost, increase reliability or performance, or just change because the public has become bored with the product. 1.3.1 A Problem-Solving Methodology A problem-solving methodology that is useful in design consists of the following steps:! Definition of the problem Gathering of information Generation of alternative solutions Evaluation of aliématives ‘Communication of the results This problem-solving method can be used at any point in the design process, whether at the conception of a product or the detailed design of a component. 1, A similar process called the guided iteration tnethodology has been proposed by J. R. Dixon; see J. R. Dixon and C, Poli, “Engineering Design and Design for Manufacturing,” Field Stone Publishers, Conway, ‘MA, 1995. A different but very similar problem-solving approach using TQM tools is given in Sec. 3.7.10 ENGINEERING DESIGN Definition of the problem ‘The most critical step in the solution of a problem is the problem definition or for- mulation. The true problem is not always what it seems at first glance. Because this step seemingly requires such a small part of the total time to reach a solution, its importance is often overlooked. Figure 1.4 illustrates how the final design can differ greatly depending upon how the problem is defined. The formulation of the problem should start by writing down a problem state- ‘ment, This document should express as specifically as possible what the problem is. It should include objectives and goals, the current state of affairs and the desired state, any constraints placed on solution of the problem, and the definition of any special technical terms. The problem-definition step in a design project is covered in detail in Chap. 2. Gathering information Pethaps the greatest frustration you will encounter when you embark on your first design problem will be due to the dearth or plethora of information. No longer will your responsibility stop with the knowledge contained in a few chapters of a text. Your assigned problem may be in a technical area in which you have no previous back- ground, and you may not have even a single basic reference on the subject. At the other extreme you may be presented with a mountain of reports of previous work and ‘As proposed by the project sponsor As specified in the project roquest As designed by the senior designer tia a as — ee i vst : ‘As produoed by manitaéturing ‘As installed af the user's to ‘What tie user wanted FIGURE 1.4 Note how the design depends on the viewpoint of the individual who defines the problem.cltarrer 1: The Product Design Process i your task will be to keep from drowning in paper. Whatever the situation, the imme- diate task is to identify the needed pieces of information and find or develop that information. An important point to realize is that the information needed in design is different from that usually associated with an academic course. Textbooks and articles pub- lished in the scholarly technical journals usually are of lesser importance. The need often is for more specific and current information than is provided by those sources. Technical reports published as a result of government-sponsored R&D, company reports, trade journals, patents, catalogs, and handbooks and literature published by vendors and suppliers of material and equipment are important sources of informa- ion, The Internet is becoming a very useful resource, too. Often the missing piece of information can be supplied by a telephone call or an e-mail to a key supplier. Discussions with in-house experts (often in the corporate R&D center) and outside consultants may prove helpful. The following are some of the questions concerned with obtaining information: What do I need to find out? Where can I find it and how can I get it? How credible and accurate is the information? How should the information be interpreted for my specific need? When do T have enough information? What decisions result from the information? The topic of information gathering is discussed in Chap. 4. Generation of alternative solutions Generating alternative solutions involves the use of creativity stimulation meth- ods, the application of physical principles and qualitative reasoning, and the ability to find and use information. Of course, experience helps greatly in this task. The ability to ‘generate high-quality alternative solutions is vital to a successful design. This important subject is covered in Chap. 5. Evaluation of alternatives The evaluation of alternatives involves systematic methods for selecting the West among several designs, often in the face of incomplete information. Engineering analysis procedures provide the basis for making decisions about service perfor- mance. Cost estimation (Chap. 14) and design for manufacturing analyses (Chap. 9) provide other important information, Various ottier types‘of engineering analysis also provide information, Simulation of performance with computer models is finding wide usage (Sec. 7.8). Simulated service testing of an experimental model arid testing of full-sized prototypes often provide eritical data. Without this quantitative informa- tion, it is not possible to make valid évaluations. vs Several methods for evaluating design concepts, or any other problem solution, are given inChap.5. | F An important consideration at every step in the design,” bit Uspietially’ ai the design nears completion, is checking, In general, there are two types of checks that cant be"itiade: mathemiatieal cliecks and engineeting-sénse ‘checks. Matliéitiatical checks afe concerined with checking the arithmetic and the equations uséd in the'ana: lytical model. Incidentally, the frequency of careless math errors is a good reason why12 ENGINEERING DESIGN you should adopt the practice of making all your design calculations in a bound note- book. In that way you won't be missing a vital calculation when you are forced by an error to go back and check things out. Just draw a line through the part in error and continue, It is of special importance to ensure that every equation is dimensionally consistent. Engineering-sense checks have to do with whether the answers “feel right.” Even though the reliability of your feeling of rightness increases with experience, you can now develop the habit of staring at your answer for a full minute, rather than rushing ‘on to do the next calculation. If the calculated stress is 10° psi, you know something went wrong! Limit checks are a good form of engineering-sense check, Let a critical parameter in your design approach some limit (zero, infinity, ete.), and observe whether the equation behaves properly. We have stressed the iterative nature of design. An optimization technique aimed at producing a robust design that is resistant to environmental influences (water vapor, temperature, vibration, etc.) most likely will be employed to select the best values of key design parameters (see Chap. 12).'The management decision as to when to “freeze the design” will be dictated chiefly by considerations of time and money. Communication of the results It must always be kept in mind that the purpose of the design is to satisfy the needs of a customer or client, Therefore, the finalized design must be properly com- municated, or it may lose much of its impact or significance. The communication is usually by oral presentation to the sponsor as well as by a written design report. A recent survey showed that design engineers spend.60 percent of their time in dis- cussing designs and preparing written documentation of designs, while only 40 per- cent of the time is spent in analyzing designs and doing the designing. Detailed engi- neering drawings, computer programs, and working models are frequently part of the “deliverables” to the customer. It hardly needs to be emphasized that communication is not a one-time occurrence to be carried out at the end of the project, In well-run design project there is continual oral and written dialog between the project manager and the customer. This extremely important subject is considered in greater depth in Chap. 17. a easter CONSIDERATIONS OF A GOOD. DESIGN Design is a multifaceted process. To gain a broader understanding of engineering design, we group various considerations in good design into three, categories: (J) design requirements, (2) life-cycle issues, and (3) regulatory and social issues. 1.4.1, Design Requirements It is abyious that to be satisfactory the design must, demonstrate the required per- formance, Acceptable performance is the first, put;far from only, design requirement.cHaPrER 1: The Product Design Process 1B Performance measures both function and behavior of the design, ie., how well the device does what it is designed to do. Performance requirements can be divided into functional performance requirements and complementary performance requirements. Functional requirements address such capacity measures as forces, strength, energy or material flows, power, and deflection. They also are concerned with the efficiency of the design, its accuracy and sensitivity. Complementary performance requirements are concerned with the useful life.of the design, its robustness to factors in the service environment (see Chap. 11), its reliability (see Chap. 12), and ease, economy, and safety of maintenance. Issues such as built-in safety features and the noise level in operation must be considered. Finally, the design must conform to all legal require- ments and design codes (see Chap. 15). A variety of analysis techniques must be employed in arriving at the features of a component in the design. By feature we mean specific physical attributes, such as shape, dimensions, or material properties. The digital computer has had a major impact in this area by providing powerful analytical tools based on finite-element analysis and finite difference. Calculations-of stress, temperature, and other field- dependent variables can be made rather handily for complex geometry and loading conditions. When these analytical methods are coupled with interactive computer graphics, we have the exciting capability known as computer-aided engineering (CAE); see Sec. 1.9. Next to performance requirements we have physical requirements. These pertain to such issues as size, weight, shape, and surface finish. Environmental requirements deal with two separate aspects. The first concerns the service conditions under which the product must operate. The extremes of tem- perature, humidity, corrosive conditions, dirt, vibration, noise, etc., must be predicted and allowed for in the design. The second aspect of environmental requirements per- tains to how the product will behave with regard to maintaining a safe and clean envi- ronment, i., green design, Among these issues is the disposal of the product when it reaches its useful life. Aesthetic requirements refer to “the sense of the beautiful.” They are concerned with how the product is perceived by a customer because of its shape, color, surface texture, and also such factors as balance, unity, and interest. This aspect of design usu- ally is the responsibility of the industrial designer, as contrasted with the engineering designer. The industrial designer is an applied artist. Decisions concerning the appear- ance of the product should be an integral-part of the initial design concept. Manufacturing technology must be intimately connected: with product design. There may’ be restrictions on the manufacturing processes that can be used, because of either selection of material or availability of equipment within the company. ‘The final major design:requirement is cost: Every design has.requirements of an economic nature. These include such issues as product development cost; initial prod- uuct cost, life cycle product cost, tooling cost, and retum on investment. In many cases cost is the most’important design requirement, for if preliminaty estimates of product cost look unfavorable, the design project may never be initiated. Cost enters into every aspect of the design process. Therefore, we have considered the subject of economic decision making (engineering economics) in some detail in‘Chap. 13. Procedures for estimating costs are considered in Chap. 14.14 ENGINEERING DESIGN 1.4.2 Total Life Cycle The total life cycle of a part starts with the conception of a need and ends with the retirement and disposal of the product. Material selection is a key element in the total life cycle (see Chap. 8). In select- ing materials for a given application, the first step is evaluation of the service condi- tions. Next, the properties of materials that relate most directly to the service require- ments must be determined. Except in almost trivial conditions, there is never a simple relation between service performance and material properties. The design may start with the consideration of static yield strength, but properties that are more difficult to evaluate, such as fatigue, creep, toughness, ductility, and corrosion resistance, may have to be considered. We need to know whether the material is stable under the envi- ronmental conditions. Does the microstructure change with temperature? Does the material corrode slowly or wear at an unacceptable rate? Material selection cannot be separated from producibility (see Chap. 9). There is an intimate connection between design and material selection and the production processes. The objective in this area is a trade-off between the opposing factors of minimum cost and maximum durability. Durability is concerned with the number of cycles of possible operation, i.e., the useful life of the product. Current societal issues of energy conservation, material conservation, and pro- tection of the environment result in new pressures in selection of materials and man- ufacturing processes. Energy costs, once nearly totally ignored in design, are now among the most prominent design considerations. Design for materials recycling also is becoming an important consideration. 1.4.3 Regulatory and Social Issues Specifications and standards have an important influence on design practice (see Chap. 4). The standards produced by such societies as ASTM and ASME represent voluntary agreement among many elements (users and producers) of industry: As such, they often represent minimum or Jeast-common-denominator standards. When good design requires more than that, it may be necessary to develop your own com- pany or agency standards:-On the other hand, because of the general nature of most standards, a standard sometimes requires a producer to meet a requirement that is not essential to the particular function of the design. The code of ethics of all professional engineering societies requires’ the engincer to protect public health and safety: Increasingly, legislation‘has been passed to require federal agencies to regulate many aspects of safety’and:health. The requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration:(OSHA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and the Environmental Protection: Agency (EPA) place direct constraints on the designer. Several aspects of the CPSC: regulations have far- reaching influence on produict design. Although the interided purpose of a particular product nérmally is quite clear; the unintended uses of that product are not always obvious. Under the CPSC regulations, the designer has the obligation to foresee as many unintended uses as possible, then develop the designin such a.way.as:to pre-cuapTer 1: The Product Design Process 4s vent hazardous use of the product in an unintended but foreseeable manner. When unintended use cannot be prevented by functional design, clear, complete, unambigu- ous warnings must be permanently attached to the product. In addition, the designer must be cognizant of all advertising material, owner’s manuals, and operating instruc- tions that relate to the product to ensure that the contents of the material are consis- tent with safe operating procedures and do not promise performance characteristics that are beyond the capability of the design. An important design consideration is adequate attention to human factors engi- neering, which uses the sciences of biomechanics, ergonomics, and engineering psy- chology to assure that the design can be operated efficiently by humans. It applies physiological and anthropometric data to such design features as visual and auditory display of instruments and control systems. It is also concerned with human muscle power and response times. For further information, see Sec. 6.7. 15 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DESIGN PROCESS Morris Asimow! was among the first to give a detailed description of the complete design process in what he called the morphology of design. His seven phases of design are described below, with slight changes of terminology to conform to current practice. 1.5.1 Phase I, Conceptual Design Conceptual design is the process by which the design is initiated, carried to the point of creating a number of possible solutions, and narrowed down to a single best con- cept. It is sometimes called the feasibility study. Conceptual design is the phase which requires the greatest creativity, involves the most uncertainty, and requires coordina- tion among many functions in the business organization, The following are the-dis- crete activities that we consider under conceptual design. © Identification of customer needs: The goal of this activity is to completely under- stand the customers’ needs and to communicate them to the design team. + Problem definition: The goal of this activity is to create a statement that describes what has to be accomplished to satisfy the needs of the customer, This involves analysis of competitive products, the establishment of target specifications, and the listing of constraints and trade-offs. Quality function deployment (QFD) is a valu- able tool for linking customer needs with design requirements. A detailed listing of the product requirements is called a product design specification (PDS). Problem definition, in its full scope, is treated in Chap. 2. * Gathering information: Engineering design presents special requirements over engineering research in the need to acquire a broad spectrum of information. This subject is ‘covered in'Chap, 4. “Introduction to Design,” Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ; 1962. ‘16 ENGINEERING DESIGN * Conceptualization: Concept generation is involved with creating a broad set of concepts that potentially satisfy the problem statement. Team-based creativity methods, combined with efficient information gathering, are the key activities. This, subject is covered in Chap. 5. © Concept selection: Evaluation of the design concepts, modifying and evolving into a single preferred concept, are the activities in this step. The process usually requires several iterations, This is covered in Chap. 5. * Refinement of the PDS: The product design specification is revisited after the concept has been selected, The design team must commit to achieving certain critical values of design parameters and to living with trade-offs between cost and performance. + Design review: Before committing funds to move to the next design phase, a design review will be held. The design review will assure that the design is physically realizable and that it is economically worthwhile. It will also look at a detailed product-development schedule. This is needed so as to devise a strategy to mini- mize product cycle time and to identify the resources in people, equipment, and money needed to complete the project. 1.5.2 Phase I. Embodiment Design In this phase a structured development of the design concept takes place. It is the place where flesh is placed on the skeleton of the design concept. An embodiment of all the main functions that must be performed by the product must be undertaken. Its in this design phase that decisions are made on strength, material selection, size, shape, and spatial compatibility. Beyond this design phase major changes become very expen- sive. This design phase is sometimes called preliminary design. Embodiment design is concerned with three major tasks—product architecture, configuration design, and parametric design. © Product architecture: Product architecture is concerned with dividing thé overall design system into subsystems or modules. In this step it is decided how the phys ical components of the design arc to be arranged and combined to carry. out the functional duties of the design. * Configuration design of parts and components: Parts are made up of features like holes, ribs, splines, and curves. Configuring a part means to determine what fea- tures will be present and how those features are to be arranged-in space-telative to each other. While modeling and simulation may be performed in this:stage to check out function and spatial constraints, only approximate sizes are determined to. assure that ‘the-part satisfies the PDS. Also, more specificity about materials and manufacturing is given here. The generation of a physical model of the:part.with rapid prototyping processes may be appropriate. « Parametric design of parts, and.components: Parametric design starts, with infor- mation on the configuration of the part and aims to establish its exact dimensions and tolerances. Final decisions on the material and manufacturing processes are also established if this has not been done previously. An important aspect of para- metric design is to.examine.the part, assembly,'and, system for design robustness. Robustness refers to how consistently a component performs under variable condi- aa agcuAPrER I: The Product Design Process 7 tions in its service environment. The methods developed by Dr. Genichi Taguchi for achieving robustness and establishing the optimum tolerance are discussed in Chap. 12. Parametric design also deals with determining the aspects of the design that could lead to failure (see Chap. 11). Another important consideration in para- metric design is to design in such a way that manufacturability is enhanced (see Chap. 9). 1.5.3 Phase III. Detail Design In this phase the design is brought to the stage of a complete engineering description of a tested and producible product. Missing information is added on the arrangement, form, dimensions, tolerances, surface properties, materials, and manufacturing processes of each part. This results in a specification for each special-purpose part and for each standard part to be purchased from suppliers. Detailed engineering drawings suitable for manufacturing are prepared. Frequently these are computer-generated drawings and may include three-dimensional solid models. Assembly drawings and assembly instructions will also be determined. Detail design often includes the build- ing and testing of several preproduction versions of the product. Finally, detail design concludes with a design review before the information is passed on to manufacturing. The activities described above are displayed in Fig. 1.5. This eight-step process is our representation of the basic design process. The purpose of this graphic is to remind you of the logical sequence of activities that leads from problem definition to the detail design. It constitutes the primary design. As we consider various aspects of Define Gather Concept Evaluation problem information generation of concepts. Problem statement Internet Brainstorming Pugh concopt Benchmarking [-*) Patents F-*] Functional «| -*} selection ‘QFD Trade decomposition Decision Pos. erature ‘Morphological matrices Project planning chart Conceptual design Product Configuration Parametrie Detail architecture design design design Arrangement of Prelim. selection Robistéésin |_| Dotaied physical elements [>] mattis, & mfg. [>] Tolerances: ‘drawings to-cany out Modeting/szing Final dimen, and function ofpane DFM specifications Embodiment design FIGURE 15 Discrete steps in engineering design process from problem definition to detail design, The. chief tools or techniques applicable in cach step are given, :18 ENGINEERING DESIGN this design process in much more detail as you progress through this text, we shall display this graphic to remind you of where you are in this process. However, remember that design does not normally proceed in a straight-line fashion. Many iter- ations or branching back (see Fig. 1.1) will be necessary and can be expected for final success. Phases I, Il, and III take the design from the realm of possibility to probability to the real world of practicality. However, the design process is not finished with the delivery of a set of detailed engineering drawings and specifications. Many other technical and business decisions must be made that are really part of the design process. A great deal of thought and planning must go into how the design will be manufactured, how it will be marketed, how it will be maintained during use, and finally, how it will be retired from service and replaced by a new, improved design. Generally these phases of design are carried out elsewhere in the organization than in the engineering department or product development department. As the project pro- ceeds into the new phases, the expenditure of money and personnel time increases greatly. 1.5.4 Phase IV. Planning for Manufacture A great deal of detailed planning must be done to provide for the production of the design. A method of manufacture must be established for each component in the sys- tem. As a usual first step, a process sheet is established; it contains a sequential list of mannfacturing operations that must be performed on the componerit. Also, it specifies the form and condition of the material and the tooling and production machines that will be used. The information on the process sheet makes possible the estimation of the production cost of the component.! High costs may indicate the need for a change in material or a basic change in the design, Close interaction with manufacturing, industrial, materials, and mechanical engineers is important at this step. This topic is discussed more fully in Chap. 9. The other important tasks performed in phase IV are the following: Designing specialized tools and fixtures Specifying the production plant that will be used (or designing a new plant) and laying out the production lines Planning the work schedules and inventory controls (production control) Planning the quality assurance system Establishing the standard time and labor costs for each operation Establishing the system of information flow. necessary, to control the manufactur- ing operation Re aay All of these tasks are generally considered to fall within industrial or manufacturing engineering, \ 1. Precise calculation of manufacturing cost cannot be made until the process sheet is known. However, reasonable part-bost estimiites are'maie in’ Conceptual and'embodiment design. These ae important elé- ‘ments for decision making at early stages’of design. For tiore detailon costs, see Chap: 14.cuarrer 1: The Product Design Process 19 1.5.5 Phase V. Planning for Distribution Important technical and business decisions must be made to provide for the effective distribution to the consumer of the systems that have been produced. In the strict realm of design, the shipping package may be critical. Concepts such as shelf life may also be critical and may need to be addressed in the earlier stages of the design process. A system of warehouses for distributing the product may have to be designed if none exists. ‘The economic success of the design often depends on the skill exercised in mar- keting the product. If the product is of the consuier type, the marketing effort is con- centrated on advertising and news media techniques, but highly technical products may require that the marketing step be a technical activity supported by specialized sales brochures and performance test data. 1.5.6 Phase VI. Planning for Use The use of the design by the consumer is all-important, and considerations’of how the consumer will react to the product pervade all steps of the design process. The fol- lowing specific topics can be identified as being important user-oriented concerns in the design process: ease of maintenance, reliability, product safety, convenience in use (human factors engineering), aesthetic appeal, economy of operation, and duration of service. Obviously, these consumer-oriented issues must be introduced into the design process at the very begitining. Phase VI of design is less well defined than the others, but it is becoming increasingly important with the advent of consumer protection and product safety legislation. More strict interpretation of product liability laws'is hav- ing a major impact on design. ‘An important phase VI activity is the acquisition of reliable data on failures, ser- vice lives, ‘and consumer complaints and attitudes to provide a basis for product improvement in the next design. 1.5.7 Phase VIL. Planning for Retirement of the Product. The final step in the’design process is the disposal of the product whet it has reached. the end ‘of its useful life. Useful life may be determined by actual deterioration and wear to the point at which the design can no longer function, of it may bé determined by technological obsolescence, in'which a competing design performs the function either better ot cheaper In consumer products, it may come about through changes in fashion or taste. Tn the past;'little attention has been given in the design process to product retire? niént: This is rapidly changing, as people the world over are becoming concerned about envitonmental issites. There is concern with depletion of mineral and energy resources, and with pollution of the air, water, and land as a result of manufacturing and technol- ogy advancement. This bas led to a formal. area of study called industrial ecology. Design for the environment, also called green design, is becoming an important20 ENGINEERING Dj GN consideration in design (Sec. 6.8). As a result, the design of a product should include a plan for either its disposal in an environmentally safe way or, better, the recycling of its materials or the remanufacture or reuse of its components. 1.6 MARKETING Marketing is a somewhat foreign concept to many engineers. However, it should whet your appetite to learn more about this mysterious thing called marketing when you earn that inadequate understanding of the market in which they will compete is the number one cause of new product failure. There are two different aspects of market- ing. The first, to which we give major attention, deals with the identification of cus- tomer needs, product opportunities, and an understanding of market segments. Acquiring this information is often called market research. The second aspect of mar- keting deals with the introduction of the product into the marketplace and the devel- opment of an ongoing relationship with the customer. The marketing department in a company creates and manages the company’s relationship with its customers.' It is the company’s window on the world with its cus- tomers. It translates customer needs into requirements for products and influences the creation of services that support the product and the customer. It is about understand- ing how people make buying decisions and using this information in the design, build- ing, and selling of products. Marketing does not make sales: that is the responsibility of the sales department, What is this thing we call the market? Simply stated, a market is a collection of people who refer to each other about their buying decisions. The amount of interaction that occurs will depend on the degree of risk that the buyer perceives in the product. For many purchases we depend on advertising or word of mouth recommendations from friends. For the purchase of major appliances, we may consult references like Consumer Reports, but if we are purchasing a major computer system, upon which storage of all company records will depend, we would make a major study, and talk with existing users of the product. In this case the market (users group) would be peo- ple who use the product to run the same kinds of applications that we expect to run. The marketing department can be expected to, do a,number of tasks: First is a pre- liminary marketing assessment, a quick scoping of the potential sales, competition, and market share at the very early stages of the product development. Then they will do a detailed market study. This involves, face-to-face interviews with potential cus- tomers to determine their needs, wants, preferences, likes, and dislikes. This will be done before detailed product development is carried out. A common method for doing this is the focus group, In this method a group of people with a prescribed knowledge about a product or service is gathered around a table and asked their feelings and att tudes about the product under study. If the group is well selected and the leader is experienced, the sponsor can éxpect to receive a wealth of opinions. and attitudes which can be used to determing important attributes of a potential product. In a vari- 1. RD. Hitich and M. P Peters, “Marketing a New Product,” Benjaniit/Cummins Pub. Co., 1984.