3.

1 INTRODUCTION

- A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common
purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable

Differences between a working group and a team

Working Group Team
Strong, clearly focused leader Individual and mutual accountability
Group’s purpose is the same as the broader Specific team purpose that the team itself
organizational mission develops
Individual work products Collective work products
Runs efficient meetings Encourages open-ended discussion and active
problem-solving meetings
Measures its effectiveness indirectly by its Measures performance directly by assessing
influence on others collective work products
Discusses, decides, and delegates Discusses, decides, and does not read work
together

3. 2 WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN EFFECTIVE TEAM MEMBER

 Take responsibility for the success of the team

 Be a person who delivers on commitments
 Be a contributor to discussions
 Give your full attention to whomever is speaking and demonstrate this by asking helpful questions
 Develop techniques for getting your message across to the team
 Learn to give and receive useful feedback

Characteristics of an effective team

 Team goals are as important as individual goals
 The team understands the goals and is committed to achieving them
 Trust replaces fear and people feel comfortable taking risks.
 Respect, collaboration, and open-mindedness are prevalent.
 Team members communicate readily, diversity of opinions is encouraged.
 Decisions are made by consensus and have the acceptance and support of the members of the team

3.3 TEAM ROLES

 Team Sponsor – is the manager who has the need for the output of the team
 Team Leader – convenes and chairs the team meetings using effective meeting management practices

Three Styles of Leadership

- Traditional or autocratic leader
- Passive leader
- Facilitative leader

Traditional Leader Passive Leader Facilitative Leader

Directive and controlling Hands off Creates open environment
No questions – just do it Too much freedom Encourages suggestions
Retains all decision-making Lack of guidance and direction Provides guidance
authority
Nontrusting Extreme empowerment Embraces creativity
Ignores input Uninvolved Considers all ideas
Autocratic A figurehead Maintains focus; weighs goals
vs. criteria
  Facilitator – a person trained in group dynamics who assist the leader and the team in achieving its
objectives by coaching them in team skills and problem-solving tools, and assisting in data-collection
activities.

 Process observer – a member of the team appointed on a rotating basis to observe the process and
progress of the meeting

3.4 TEAM DYNAMICS

Student of team behavior have observed that most teams go through five stages of development.

1. Orientation (forming): The members are new to the team. They are probably both anxious and excited, yet
unclear about what is expected of them and the task they are to accomplish. This is a period of tentative
interactions and polite discourse, as team members undergo orientation and acquire and exchange information.

2. Dissatisfaction (storming): Now the challenges of forming a cohesive team become real. Differences in
personalities, working and learning styles, cultural backgrounds and available resources (time to meet, access to
and agreement on the meeting place, access to transportation, etc) begin to make themselves known.
Disagreement, even conflict, may break out in meetings. Meetings may be characterized by criticism, interruptions,
poor attendance, or even hostility.

3. Resolution (norming): The dissatisfaction abates when team members establish group norms, either spoken or
unspoken, to guide the process, resolve conflicts, and focus on common goals. The norms are given by rules of
procedure and the establishment of comfortable roles and relationships among team members. The arrival of the
resolution stage is characterized by greater consensus seeking and stronger commitment to help and support each
other.

4. Production (performing): This is the stage of team development we have worked for. The team is working
cooperatively with few disruptions. People are excited and have pride in their accomplishments, and team
activities are fun. There is high orientation toward the task, and demonstrable performance and productivity.

5. Termination (Adjourning): When the task is completed, the team prepares to disband. This is the time for joint
reflection on how well the team accomplished its task, and the reflection on the functioning of the team.

Psychosociological Conditions

 Safety.
 Inclusion.
 Appropriate level of interdependence
 Cohesiveness.
 Trust.
 Conflict Resolution.
 Influence.
 Accomplishment.

3.5 EFFECTIVE TEAM MEETINGS

 Effective meeting requires planning.

 The optimum time to retain all members’ concentration is 90 min.
 A meeting should have a written agenda, with the name of the designated person to present each topic
and an allotted time for discussion of the topic.
 The team leader directs but does not control discussion.
 Discussion begins only when it is clear that every participant understands what is intended to be
accomplished regarding that item.
 Decisions made by the team in this way should be consensus decisions.

Content of the Summary of Meetings

 a. when did the team meet
b. what were the issues discussed (in outline form)
c. decisions, agreements, or apparent consensus on issues
d. next meeting date and time
e. “homework” for next meeting
3.6 PROBLEMS WITH TEAMS

Characteristics of a Good Team Member

 Respect other team members without question

 Listens carefully to the other team members
 Participates but does not dominate
 Self-confident but not dogmatic
 Knowledgeable in his or her discipline
 Communicates effectively
 Disagrees but with good reason and in good taste

Characteristics of a Disruptive Team Member

 Shows lack of respect for others

 Tends to intimidate
 Stimulates confrontation
 Is a dominant personality type
 Talks all the time, but does not listen
 Does not communicate effectively
 Overly critical

3. 7 PROBLEM SOLVING TOOLS

Many strategies for problem solving have been proposed. The one that have been used and found effective is a
simple three-phase process.

 Problem definition
 Cause finding
 Solution finding and implementation

This table lists the tools which are most applicable in each phase of the problem-solving process.

Problem definition
 Brainstorming
 Affinity diagram
 Nominal group
technique
Problem-solving tools
Cause finding Solution planning and
Gathering data implementation
 Interviews  Brainstorming
 Focus groups  How-how diagram
 Surveys  Concept selection
Analyzing Data method
 Check sheet  Force field analysis
 Histogram  Implementation plan
Search for root causes
 Cause-and-effect diagram
 Why-why diagram
 Interrelationship digraph

Problem Definition
Brainstorming. Brainstorming is a group technique for generating ideas in a non-threatening, uninhibiting
atmosphere. It is a group activity in which the collective creativity of the group is tapped and enhanced. Its
objective is to generate the greatest number of alternative ideas from the uninhibited responses of the group. It is
most effective when it is applied to specific rather than general problems.

There are four fundamental brainstorming principles.

 Criticism is not allowed.

 Ideas brought forth should be picked up by the other people present.
 Participants should divulge all ideas entering their minds without any constraint.
 A key objective is to provide as many ideas as possible within a relatively short time.

An alternative form of brainstorming, called brainwriting, is sometimes used when the topic is so controversial or
emotionally charged that people will not speak out freely on a group.

Affinity diagram. The affinity diagram identifies the inherent similarity between items. It is used to organize ideas,
facts, and opinions into natural groupings.

As the team becomes more comfortable with the organization, create a header card that broadly describes the
content of the group. This often shows that an idea has been put in the incorrect group. This is a time when
discussion is allowed, and people may be called upon to defend their idea or where it is placed. When we do this
for the brainstorming exercise, we get:

 Time constraints
 Faculty issues
 Lack of interest
 Lack of information

Nominal group technique (NGT). The NGT is a method of group idea generation and decision making. The use of
the term “nominal” in this method comes from the fact that it often starts out with nominal, i.e., silent and
independent idea generation, group activity and independent evaluation by each team member.

Cause Finding

Pareto Chart. The results of the survey are best displayed by a Pareto chart. This is a bar chart used to prioritize
causes or issues, in which the cause with the highest frequency of occurrence is placed at the left, followed by the
cause with the next frequency of occurrence, and so on.

It is based on Pareto principle, which states that a few causes account for most of the problems, while many other
causes are relatively unimportant. This often stated as the 80/20 rule, that roughly 80 percent of the problem is
caused by only 20 percent of the cause.

A Pareto chart is a way of analysing the data that identifies the vital few in contrast to the trivial many.

Cause-and-effect diagram. The cause-and-effect diagram, also called the fish-bone diagram (after its appearance),
or the Ishikawa diagram (after its originator), is a powerful graphical way of identifying the factors that cause a
problem. It is used after the team has collected data about possible cause of the problem. It is often used in
conjunction with brainstorming to collect and organize all possible causes and converge on the most probable root
causes of the problem.

Why-why diagram. To delve deeper into root causes, we turn to the why-why diagram. This is a tree diagram,
which starts with the basic problem and asks “Why does this problem exist?” in order to develop a tree with a few
main branches and several smaller branches. The team continues to grow the tree by repeatedly asking “why”
until the patterns begin to show up. Root causes are identified by causes that begin to repeat themselves on
several branches of the why-why tree.

Interrelationship diagraph. This is a tool that explores the cause-and-effect relationships among issues and
identifies the root causes. The major causes identified by the cause-and-effect diagram are laid out in a large
circular pattern. The cause and influence relationships are identified by the team between each cause or factor in
turn.
Solution planning and implementation

How-how diagram. A technique that is useful for exposing gaps in the causal chain of action is the how-how
diagram. The how-how diagram is a tree diagram and it starts with a proposed solution and asks the question
“How do we do that?” The how-how diagram is best used after brainstorming has generated a set of solutions and
an evaluation method has narrowed them to a small set.

Force field analysis. It is a technique that identifies those forces that both help (drive) and hinder (restrain) the
implementation of the solution of a problem. In effect, it is a chart of the pros and cons of a solution, and as such,
it helps in developing strategies for implementation of the solution.

Implementation plan. The problem-solving process should end with the development of specific actions to
implement the solution. In doing this, think hard about maximizing the driving force and minimizing the restraining
forces.

Plan-do-check-act (PDCA). The idea behind PDCA is that once a solution is arrived at we try it out in a small way to
see how it works. This is the do stage. Everything that preceded it in problem solving is the plan stage. In the do
stage we collect data to compare with the pre-existing situation. In the check stage we compare the results with
the new solution with the old conditions (baseline date) to determine whether the change has produced the
intended improvement. If, indeed, the change is positive, then we act to standardize the change in appropriate
policies and procedures. If the change is not positive or if it is not as great as we need, then we return to the plan
stage. The PDCA cycle is a continuous process.

3.8 TIME MANAGEMENT

Time is an invaluable and irreplaceable commodity. An effective time-management is vital to help you
focus on your long-term and short-term goals.

3.9 PLANNING AND SCHEDULING

 Planning consists of identifying the key activities in a project and ordering them in the sequence in which
they should be performed.

 Scheduling consists of putting the plan into the time frame of the calendar.

The major decisions that are made over the life cycle of a project fall into four areas:

 Performance
 Time
 Cost
 Risk

3.9.1 Bar Chart

Bar or Gantt chart

─ The simplest scheduling tool.
─ The activities are listed in the vertical direction, and elapsed time is recorded horizontally

Slack- the time by which an activity can exceed its estimated duration before failure to complete the activity
becomes critical

3.9.2 Critical-Path Method

 Developed by Du Pont and Remington Rand

 Is a deterministic system that uses the best estimate of the time to complete a task
  Program evaluation and review technique (PERT) – developed for the U.S. Navy , uses probabilistic time
estimates

The basic tool of CPM

- An activity – time-consuming effort that is required to perform part of a project.

- An event – the end of one activity and the beginning of another. A point of accomplishment and/or
decision

GROUP 4 –

4.1 INFORMATION PROBLEM

The information needed for an engineering design is more diverse and less readily available than that
needed for conducting a research project, for which the published technical literature is the main source of
information.
Steps in gathering information:
 To become familiar with your local information sources.
 Develop a personal plan for coping with information.
 Develop your own working files of technical and business information that is important to your work.

Define Problem Gather Information Concept Generation Evaluation of

concepts
Problem statement Internets Brainstorming
Benchmarking Patent Functional Pugh Concept
QFD Trade decomposition Selection
PDS Literature Morphological chart Decision
Project Planning Matrices

Conceptual Design

Product Architecture Configuration Design Parametric Design Detail Design

Arrangement of Prelim,selection
Physical elements to Robust design Detailed drawings
matls,& mfg.
carry out function Tolerances and specifications
Modelling or sizing of
parts
Final Dimen.
DFM

Embodiment Design

Figure 4.1. Steps in design process, showing early placement of the gathering information step.

4.2 COPYRIGHT AND COPYING

A copyright is the exclusive legal right to publish a tangible expression of literary or artistic work, and it is
therefore the right to prevent the unauthorized copying by another of that work.
The present copyright law covers original works of authorship that are literally work as well as pictorial,
graphic, and sculptural work. Important for engineering design is the fact that the new law is broad enough to
cover for the first time written engineering specifications, sketches, drawing, and models.
Four Factors of U.S. Copyright Act:
 The purpose and character of the use-is it a commercial nature or for non profit educational purposes?
 The nature of the copyrighted work-is it a highly creative work or more routine document?
 The amount of the work used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole.
  The effect of the use on the potential market value of the copyrighted work. Usually this is the most
important of the factors.

4.3. HOW AND WHERE TO FIND IT

The search for information can be performed more efficiently if a little thought and planning are used at
the outset.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION FOR ENGINEERING DESIGN

 Public Sources
o Federal departments and agencies (Defense, commerce, energy, NASA etc.)
o State and local government ( highway department, departments dealing with land use,
consumer safety, building codes, etc.)
o Libraries (community, university, special)
o Universities, research institutions, museums
o Foreign governments (embassies, commercial attaches)
o Internet (much information is free. Some requires fees)
 Private sources
A. Non-profit organizations and services
 Professional societies
 Trade and labor associations
 Membership organizations (motorists, consumers, veterans, etc.)
B. Profit oriented organizations
 Vendors
 Other business contacts with manufacturers and competitors
 Consultants
C. Individuals
1. Direct conversation or correspondence
2. Personal friends, associates, “friends of friends”
3. Faculty
In reviewing this list you can divide the sources of information, into;
1. People who are paid to assist you e.g. the company librarian or consultant.
2. People who have a financial interest in helping you e.g. potential supplier of equipment of your project.
3. People who help you out of professional responsibility or friendship.
In seeking information from sources other than libraries, a direct approach is best. Whenever possible use
a phone call rather than a letter. A direct dialogue is vastly superior to the written word.
It is important to remember that information costs time and money.

4.4 LIBRARY SOURCES OF INFORMATION

The Library

 Repository of information that is published in the open or unclassified literature

Two parameters that describe the efficiency of your information search are:
 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑑
Precision =
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑑

𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑑

Recall =
𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

4.4.1 Dictionaries and Enyclopedias

o English language technical dictionaries usually give very detailed definitions and often very well
illustrated. Some useful references are:
o Encyclopedias give a broad overview about a subject. 4.4.2 Handbooks
o Handbooks are compendia of useful technical data. It also provides ample technical description of theory
and its application, so they are good refreshers of material once studied in greater detail.
4.4.3 Textbooks and Monographs
o Textbooks are manual instructions in any branch of study while monographs are detailed written studies
of a single specialized subject or an aspect of it.
o If you want to find out what books are available in a particular field consult “Books in Print,” available in
nearly every library or use an Internet book selling service such as amazon.com

4.4.4 Indexing and Abstracting Services

1. Indexing and abstracting services provide current information on periodical literature, and they also
provide a way to retrieve published literature.
2. Indexing service cites the article by title, author and bibliographic data while an abstracting service also
provides a summary of the contents of the article

4.4.5 Translations
o A translator typically can complete 5 pages a day and can be increased of about 15 pages using a machine
translator.

4.4.6 Catalogs, Brochures, and Business Information

 An important kind of design information is catalogs, brochures and manuals giving information on
materials and components that can be purchased from outside suppliers.

4,5 GOVERNMENT SOURCES OF INFORMATION

 The Government Printing Office (GPO) is the federal agency with the responsibility for reproducing and
distributing federal documents.
 National Technical Information Service (NTIS), a self-supporting agency through sale of information, is the
nation’s central clearinghouse for U.S and foreign technical reports, federal databases and software.
 In the Philippines, gov.ph is considered to be the official gazette of the Philippines available online.

4.6 INFORMATION FROM THE INTERNET

o The Internet is a computer network interconnecting numerous computers or local computer networks.
o Worldwide, the number of host computers on the internet has increased from less than 100,000 in 1992
to over 18 million 5 years later.
 o Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol or the TCP/IP protocol suite is a set of common technical
protocols where computers are linked so that users in a Macintosh network can communicate with or use
the services located
o Packet-switching – breaks the data into small fragments
o File Transfer Protocol – where many of the public access files, databases and software on the internet
o Telnet – allows your computer to enter the files of another computer and the remote access of your
library’s public access catalog system
o Usenet – part of the internet devoted to on-line discussion groups or “newsgroups”
o World Wide Web – an enormous far-flung collection of colorful onscreen documents that are linked to
each other by highlighted words called hypertext and was initially developed to build a distributed
hypermedia system
 Hypermedia system – written in a hypertext language such as HTML (hypertext markup
language) which aims at giving global access to a universe of documents
o Locations on the internet are identified by universal resource locators (URL)
o There are tools that allowed users to search the Internet before the advent of the World Wide Web
 Archie – software designed to find computer files from Internet servers using FTP
 Gopher – menu-driven interface that allows users to access a huge electronic library of
documents on the internet and uses Veronica as search engine
o Search engine – used to search in World Wide Web. The most commonly used general-purpose search
engines are:
Web search engines
Name Web address Description
Alta Vista http://www.altavista.digital.com Huge database. Updated daily. Most
eclectic of search engines
Excite http://www.excite.com A search query on Excite searches the
entire Web for documents containing
related concepts, not just the keywords
HotBot http://www.hotbot.com A new addition among search engines.
Offers many advanced search features
InfoSeek http://infoseek.com One of the largest databases. Covers
www, Gopher, and FTP. One of the
largest followings among
science/engineering web sites
Lycos http://lycos.com One of the largest Web indexes.
Database updated frequently
Yahoo http://www.yahoo.com Attracts largest number of users.
Strong topical index of Web sites.
Provides jump points to other large
search engines.

4.6.1 Engineering URLs

Internet Starter Kit on Mechanical Design

Name and organization URL Description
Technical information:
WWW Virtual Library: http://CDR.stanford.edu/html/WWW- A good place to start. Provides
Mechanical Engineering at ME/home.html access to University ME
Stanford University departments, ME vendor pages
and a variety of on-line services
Machine Design magazine on- http://www.penton.com/md On-line version of Machine
line Design
Commercial and marketing
information:
Machine Design Product Locator http://www.pdem.net Product and manufacturers’
directory. Web address directory
Thomas Register http://thomasregister.com Allows search of 155,000
companies, 60,000 product and
service categories and 124,000
brand names. Requires
registration.
Industry Net http://www.industry.net Information on new products

o Information Handling Services Group (IHS Group) is a major international publisher of electronic
information databases for the technical and business markets.
o The IHS Group’s British affiliate ESDU provides electronically more than 200 volumes of validated
engineering design data containing more than 1200 design guides with supporting software
(http://www.esdu.com) which cover 20 subject areas in structural, mechanical, aeronautical, and
chemical engineering.

4.7 PATENT LITERATURE

1. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
- Protection of ideas with patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets.
 Trade Mark
a. Any name, word, symbol, or device that is used by a company to identify their goods or
services and distinguish them from those made or sold by others
b. Obtained by registration and extends indefinitely so long as the trade mark is used
 Trade Secret
a. Any formula, pattern, device, or compilation of information which is used in a business
to create an opportunity over competitors

2. PATENTS
“The congress shall have the power to promote progress in science and the useful arts by securing for
limited times to inventors the exclusive right to their discoveries.”
(Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States)

-protection begins on the date of the grant of the patent and ends 20 years after the fillung date of the
application (since 1995)

Types of Patents
 Utility Patents
-issued for a new useful machine, process, article of manufacture, or composition of
matter
 Design Patents
-issued for new ornamental designs
 Plant Patents
-granted on new varieties of plants
 General Criteria for Awarding a Patent
1. The invention must be new or novel
2. The invention must be useful
3. It must be nonobvious to a person in the art covered by the patent
Processes that are Not Patentable
 Methods of doing business or natural laws or phenomena
 Mathematical Equations and methods of solving them
Patent Awarding
-the one who can prove the earliest date of conception of the idea and can demonstrate
reasonable diligence in reducing the idea to practice is awarded with the patent

 TECHNOLOGY LICENSING
 The right to exclusive use of technology that is granted by a patent may be transferred to
another party through licensing agreement.
 License can be of: exclusive license or non-exclusive license

 THE PATENT LITERATURE

 Gazette of the U.S. Patent Office
- issued every Tuesday
- contains abstract of and selected figures from each patent
- very helpful for getting quick overview on the US patent literature
 Annual Index
- published each year with 2 volumes
- arranged alphabetically by patentees or by subject matter
- used to obtain the patent number
 Index to Classification
- a loose-leaf volume that lists the major subject heading into which patents have been divided
 Manual of Classification
- a loose-leaf volume that lists each class, with its subclasses, in numerical order
 CASSIS (Classification and Search Support Information System)
- display all its locations in the Patent Classification System (PCS)
- identify all classifications whose full titles contain designated key words
 Patentability Search
- determine whether an invention can be patented and what scope of the patent protection
would be
 Infringement Search
- exhaustive search of the patent literature to determine whether the idea is likely to infringe on
patents held by others
 Validity Search
- determine the validity of the patent in the courts if you find possible infringement with an
existing patent

4.9 EXPERT SYSTEM

 - also known as knowledge-based systems
- simulate the role of an expert in solving some problem using an information database provided by the
expert and decision rules for interpreting the data
- each system is an active area of the field of “artificial intelligence”
- acquires knowledge through knowledge-acquisition software tools from a trained specialist called a
knowledge engineer
- prime advantage: they capture the knowledge of experts that may otherwise be lost through death or
retirement

Two Major Divisions of an Expert System

1. Knowledge Base
 Unique to a particular domain but the interference engine may be common to many domains of
knowledge
 Knowledge Acquisition Facility
- component responsible for entering the knowledge into the database
0 acts as an editor;
 Assertion Component
- also called working memory or temporary data store
- contains the knowledge about the particular problem being solved
 Knowledge Relationships Component
- contains formula showing the relationship among several pieces of information
 “if-then” production rule
- most common relationship rule
- IF condition THEN action

2. Interference Engine
- contains the control mechanisms for the expert system
 Search Strategy
 Explanation Tracing – provided to retrace the chain of production
rules that led to the development of the system

GROUP 5

CONCEPT GENERATION AND EVALUATION

Human Sources of Ideas

Generating many ideas requires answering two questions.

o Who are the sources of our ideas?

o How do we get these sources to give ideas?

SOURCES OF IDEAS
  Product development team itself
This normally will have representatives who have made, used and been frustrated by the
existing products which we are trying to replace. They will be quick to see advantages and demerits of any
new concepts. Their professional careers depend on success, so have a large stake. They will be an
excellent source.

 Product potential customers

These customers are those who will directly benefit from the new product’s characteristics. The
most important customers are so-called “lead users”. These customers frequently will already
have tried to modify the product, improving its utility for their particular goals.

 Literature
The trade literature, and indeed trade shows, are the best sources of information about current
products beyond the product team and current customers.

 Experts
Experts are those with particular knowledge of the products that you want to make. Those
retired from your organization or from a competitor may especially helpful.

 Private Inventors
Private inventors can be an important resource, especially for innovations that go beyond the
boundaries of your current thinking.

 Consultants
Consultants are the most difficult group to characterize because they are so diverse. Those who
supply special services like schemes for product development or innovation encouragement,
seek to catalyze ideas from organization’s employees rather than produce ideas of their own.

COLLECTING THE IDEAS

 Use a common format

 Generate ideas freely
 Eschew ownership
 Encourage eccentricity

Four stimuli to keep going:

 Invite criticism of ideas generated by other routes

 List all assumptions made in specifications, then dismiss each in turn
 Use analogies
 Probe opposites

PROBLEM SOLVING STYLES

Two styles of intellectual development

 Adaptation – is problem solving that uses existing or closely related technology

 Innovation – is problem solving that uses apparently unrelated information

CHEMICAL SOURCES OF IDEAS

Chemical Methods

 Natural product screening – takes advantage of the rich variety of active chemical species present in
nature.
 Random molecular assembly - molecular fragments are reacted in plasma to see if the resulting tar
contains species which are, for example, pharmacologically active.
  Combinatorial chemistry – uses robotics to provide a first pass at screening thousands, even millions, of
compounds which may have the desired product properties.

Natural Product Screening

Three ways in which natural products may be used to produce active chemical species:

 If the active ingredient is expensive or impossible to synthesize, it may be isolated directly from an
organism.
 A precursor may be isolated from a natural product and then used as building block for a more complex
molecule.
 The active ingredient may be identified in a natural product, but then used as model for a chemical
synthesis of an identical or similar molecule.

Random Molecular Assembly

 Substitute brute force of free radical filled plasma for any chemical insight
 Chemical ideas found randomly
 Not thinking about chemical mechanism at all stick to chemical fragments together

Combinatorial Chemistry

 Identify possible active ingredients or molecular fragments and test all of them in all possible combination
 Particularly to biochemical problems
 Effective for catalyst screening
 Can identify active polypeptides and DNA sequences
 Significant role in positive and negative synergies in drug cocktail

Sorting Ideas

1. Sort, prune and eliminate unqualified ideas

a. Prepare a list of all ideas
b. Remove irrelevant, folly and redundant ideas
c. Organize the ideas into categories (“The Material Will Tell You”)
i. Use around five main headings with equal importance
ii. Give rarely more than four subheadings that is a special case for each main heading
d. Reduce gaps between headings and subheadings
e. Prune unpromising or politically impossible ideas
f. Acknowledge different patterns of thinking in different individuals
2. Matrix-screening

THE RULE OF THE TABLE

 Each heading is like the top of the table, covering everything under it
 The subheadings are like the table’s legs
 Four legs is the best number for a table

STRATEGIES FOR IDEA SCREENING

Factors:

 Scientific maturity. We will prefer designs based on scientific knowledge that we already have and
understand.
 Engineering ease. We will prefer designs that imply straightforward engineering like that already used in
established manufacturing.
 Minimum risk. We do not want to take unnecessary chances.
 Low cost. We may want a rough estimate of the relative cost of our ideas.
 Safety. We want to identify which products are inherently safer or more dangerous than our benchmark.
 Low environmental impact. We will tend to choose products that cause less pollution.
IMPROVING THE IDEA SCREENING PROCESS

- First, we urge a careful choice of the benchmark.

- The second way to improve this concept screening matrix is to check the core team’s scores against those
of other interested experts.
- The third way we should improve screening process is to make a sensitivity analysis of the weighting
factors.

GROUP 6

 INTRODUCTION

o Feasibility Design View – usually held to determine whether the resources should be committed to
develop the design further.
o Embodiment Design – the next stage of the design process. It is the stage where the design concept is
invested with physical form, where we “put meat on the bones”.
o The term embodiment design comes from Pahl and Beitz and has been adopted by most European and
British writers about design.
o The design process was divided into 3 phases – conceptual design, preliminary (embodiment) design, and
detail design.
o Embodiment design is also termed as analytical design because it is the design phase where most of the
detailed analysis and calculations occurs.
o Product Design – a broad phase of conceptual design
o Configuration Design – the selection of standard modules like pumps, or the design of special-purpose
parts, like short, stubby box beam.
o Parametric Design – the determination of the exact values, dimensions, or tolerances for the critical
design parameters.
o Parallel Design – the key to shortening the product development cycle time
o Routine Design – in this design, the attributes that define the design and the strategies and methods for
attaining them are well known
o Innovative Design – in this design, not all attributes that of the design may be known beforehand, but the
knowledge base for creating the design is known
o Creative Design – neither the attributes of the design nor the strategies for achieving them are known
ahead of time.

 PRODUCT ARCHITECTURE

o Product architecture – the arrangement of the physical elements of a product to carry out its required
functions.
o Ulrich and Eppinger – designate the physical building blocks that the product is organized into as chunks.
o The chunk is made up of a collection of components that carry out the functions
o There are two entirely opposite style of product architecture, namely; modular and integral.
o In a modular architecture, the chunks implement only one or a few functions and the interactions
between chunks are well defined. Example of this is oscilloscope.
o In an integral architecture, the implementation of functions uses only one or few chunks, leading to
poorly defined interaction between chunks.
o Interfaces – examples of interfaces are the crankshaft of an engine with a transmission or the connection
between the computer and the CPU. The interfaces should be designed so as to be as simple and stable as
possible. The personnel computer is an outstanding example of the use of standard interfaces, such that
PC’s can be customized, module by module, from parts supplied by many different suppliers.
o Component standardization – allows the component to be manufactured in higher quantities than would
otherwise be possible, with cost savings due to economy scale.
o Black & Decker rechargeable battery pack – widely used in many electrical hand tools and garden tools
o Integral Design – often adopted when constrains of weight, space, or cost require performance be
 maximized.
o Ulrich and Eppinger propose a four-step process for establishing the product architecture.
 Create a schematic diagram of the product
 Cluster the elements of the schematic
 Create a rough geometric layout
  Identify the fundamental and incidental interactions

6.3 CONFIGURATION DESIGN

In configuration design, we establish the shape and general dimensions of components

The term component is used in the generic sense to include special-purpose parts, standard parts, and
standard assemblies or modules.
A part is designed object that has no assembly operations in its manufacture
A standard part is one that has a generic function and is manufactured routinely without regard to a
particular product.
A special-purpose part is designed and manufactured for a specific purpose in a specific line
An assembly is a collection of two or more parts
A subassembly is an assembly that is included within another assembly or subassembly
A standard assembly or standard module is an assembly or subassembly which has generic function and
is manufactured routinely.
The form or configuration develops from the function Figure
(yung triangle)
In starting the configuration design, we should follow these steps.
 Review the product design specification and any specification developed for the particular
subassembly to which the component belongs
4. Establish the spatial constraints that pertain to the product or the subassembly being designed
o Create and refine the interfaces or connections between components
o In carrying out the design, it is important to maintain functional independence in the design of an
assembly or components.
 The best way to get started with configuration design is to just start sketching alternative configurations
of a part
 Drawings are essential for communicating ideas between design engineers and between designers and
manufacturing people.
 Sketches are an important aid in idea generation and a way for piecing together unconnected ideas into
design concepts
 The elements that comprise the configuration of a part are called features. Typical features in mechanical
design are:
o Solid elements such as rods, cubes, and spheres
o Walls of various kinds
o Add-ons to walls such as holes, bosses, notches, grooves, and ribs
a. Intersections between walls, add-ons, and elements
f. Weighted decision matrix or Pugh’s selection method (Sec.5.9). -These methods will point to aspects of
the design that may need improvement by a design iteration.
g. Ullman- characterizes configuration design as refining and patching.
Refining is the act of making an object less abstract. This is a natural process as we move through the
design process.
Patching is the activity of changing a design without changing its level of abstraction. Patching occurs
extensively in configuration design.
 SELECTION DESIGN
-A special but not infrequent type of situation in configuration design . By selection design we mean
choosing a component from a list of similar standard parts in a catalog. Examples: selection of bearings,
pumps and small motors.
6.4 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

CONFIGURATION DESIGN
-the emphasis was on starting with the product architecture and then working out the best form for each
component. Qualitative reasoning about physical principles and manufacturing processes played a major
role.
PARAMETRIC DESIGN
- the attributes of parts identified in configuration design become the design variables for parametric
design. Design variable is an attribute of a part whose value is under the control of the designer.
-Objective: setting the values for the design variables that will produce the best possible design
considering both performance and manufacturability.
Robustness
- means achieving excellent performance under the wide range of conditions that will be found in service.
All products function reasonably well under ideal (laboratory) conditions, but robust designs continue to
function well when the conditions to which they are exposed are from ideal.
Three ways to improve the robustness of a design:
 Improve the design concept that controls the function to be fixed.
 Change the value of a critical parameter to an obvious feasible limit
 Carry out a systematic optimization of the design variables
Computer-based optimization methods
-can be useful when the design variables are all numerical and continuous functions. -For the more
general case, statistically designed experiments, especially the Taguchi approach, have met with
increasing usage and success.

Parametric design is about setting dimensions and tolerances so as to maximize quality and performance
and minimize cost. Designing to maximize performance and quality involves the following design procedures.

 Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA)

a. FAILURE- is any aspect of the design or manufacturing process that renders a component, or system
incapable of performing its intended function.
b. FMEA - is a methodology for determining all possible ways that components can fail and establishing the
effect of failure on the system.
 Design for Reliability
- RELIABILITY - is a measurement of the capacity of a system to operate without failure in the service
environment. It is expressed as the probability of performing for a given time without failure.

6.4.3 ROBUST DESIGN

One of the chef ways of assuring high quality in products is to :
 reduce the variability in performance and
 manufacture over a wide range of operating conditions.
A process of robust design, as defined by Taguchi, has the following steps:
1. System design
-This corresponds to what we have called product architecture where engineering principles are used to
determine the basic configuration of the system.

2. Parameter design
-Statistical methods are used to set nominal values of design variables that minimize variability from
uncontrollable variables in the environment.
3. Tolerance design
-Further statistical methods are used to set the widest possible tolerances on the design variables without
increasing variability.

6.4.4 TOLERANCES
A small tolerance results in greater ease of interchangeability of parts and less play or chance for
vibrations in moving parts. However, this is achieved at an increased cost of manufacture.
 Dimensions -are used to specify size and location of features in a part.
 Tolerance -is the acceptable variation to the ideal or nominal dimension.
  Clearance or allowance - is the minimum space between mating parts.

Within this standard, tolerance is defined for geometric characteristics of form (straightness, perpendicularity,
parallelism), location tolerances (position, concentricity) and runout.

o BEST PRACTICES
It is much more difficult to give a prescribed set of methods for embodiment design than for conceptual
design, because of the variety of issues that enter into the development of the configuration and performance of
components.
General objective of the embodiment phase of design :
 fulfillment of the required technical function, at a cost that is economically feasible,
 and in a way that ensures safety to the user and to the environment.
Basic guidelines for embodiment design (According to Pahl and Beitz)
3. Clarity of function -pertains to an unambiguous relationship between the various functions and the
appropriate inputs and outputs of energy, material, and information flow.
4. Simplicity -refers to a design that is not complex and is easily understood and readily produced.
5. Safety -should be guaranteed by direct design, not by secondary methods such as
guards or warning labels.
Two important aspects of design that have been identified by French are :
 Matching- refers to creating the proper interface between the separate components so that they can
perform as an optimized system.
 Disposition- is concerned with parceling out some constrained attribute, often space, between a number
of functions in the best way.

FORCE TRANSMISSION
4. In mechanical systems the function of many components is to transmit forces and moments between
two points. In general, the force should be accommodated in such a way as to produce a uniformly
distributed stress on the cross section.
5. You should be aware that stiffness (resistance to deflection) more than stress determines the size of
most components. Lack of rigidity or stiffness can cause interference between mating parts, produce
misalignment of parts, and lead to
undesirable wear.
To achieve maximum stiffness, use the shortest and most direct force-transmission path possible. Avoid
bending stresses by favoring geometries that result in symmetrical loading.

Self-help
-concerns the improvement of a function by the way in which the components interact with each other.
Self-reinforcing element -required effect increases with increasing need for the effect Self-protecting
element- designed to survive in the event of an overload
Stability
-concerned with whether the system will recover appropriately from a disturbance to the system

6.6 INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Industrial Design
-also called Product Design
-concerned with the visual appearance of the product and the way it interfaces with the customer
 -dealt chiefly with the function of the design
-deals chiefly with the aspects of a product that relate to the user

Aesthetics
-deal with the interaction of the product with the human senses-how it looks, feels, smells, or sounds
Ergonomics or Stability
-this activity deals with the user interactions with the product and making use that it is easy to use and
maintain
INDUSTRIAL DESIGNERS
o work from the outside in. They start with a concept of a complete product as it would be used by
a customer and work back into the details needed to make the concept work.
o often work in independent consulting firms, although large companies may have their own in-
house staff.

 VISUAL AESTHETICS
-can be considered as a hierarchy of human responses to visual stimuli.
-Aesthetics relate to our emotions. Since aesthetic emotions are spontaneous and develop beneath our
level of consciousness, they satisfy one of our basic human needs.
 BOTTOM LEVEL- order of visual forms, their simplicity and clarity. These values are
related to our need to recognize and understand objects
Visual perception
-is enhanced by the repetition of visual elements related by the similarity of the shape, position, color
(rhythm).
- Another visual characteristic to enhance perception is homogeneity, or the standardization of shapes.

6.6.2 THE PROCESS OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

There are two general situations: (1) the industrial designer is part of the integrated product development (IPDT)
from its inception and (2) industrial designers are brought in during embodiment design to provide styling and to
ensure that human factors are given proper consideration.
3. Determine the customer needs. Since industrial design are skilled in recognizing issues involving user
interaction , they can play a crucial role here.
4. Product Conceptualization. Industrial designers will concentrate on creating the products form and user
interfaces. Close coordination is needed to match these design concepts of the engineer.
5. Preliminary Refinement - As concepts are being evaluated it is important to have three-dimensional soft
models made from plastic foam of foam-core board.
6. Final Concept Selection – Before the final product concept selection is made, it is usual to
construct three-dimensional hard models made from metal or plastic and painted and textured to
be close to the real product.
7. Control Drawings – The completion of the industrial design process is the making of control drawings of
the final concept. Control drawings document functionality, features, sizes, colors, surface finishes, and
critical dimensions.
6.7 HUMAN FACTORS DESIGN

Human factors is the study of the interactions between people and the products and systems they use and the
environments in which they work and live. This field also is described by the terms human factors engineering
and ergonomics.

There are four ways that a human interacts with a product:

o As an occupant of workspace – the cab of a tractor or a chair before a computer

o As a power source – usually muscle power
o As a sensor – looking for a warning light
o As a controller – determining how much “pedal” to give beat the red light with your car

 Creating a User-Friendly Design

1. Fit the product to the user’s physical attributes and knowledge

2. Simplify tasks

3. Make the controls and their functions obvious.

Controls are the parts of the product such as knobs, levers, buttons, and slides that change the operational
mode.

3. Use mapping – Make the control reflect, or map, the operation of the mechanism. The goal should be
to make the operation clear enough that it is not necessary to refer to nameplates, stickers, or the
operation manual.
4. Utilize constraints to prevent incorrect action – Do not depend on the user always doing the correct
thing. Controls should be designed so than an incorrect movement or sequence is not possible.
5. Provide feedback – The product must provide the user with a clear, immediate response to any
actions taken. This feedback can be provided by a light, a sound, or displayed information.
6. Provide good displays – The sensing characteristic of the human involves such physiology factors as the
visual, tactile and auditory senses. Most human-machine interfaces require that the human sense the
state of the system and then control it based on the information received.
7. Make controls easy to handle – Shape knobs and handles controls differently so they are distinguishable
by look and by touch. Organize and group them to avoid complexity.
8. Anticipate human errors – Human errors are unavoidable. The designer must anticipate
possible errors to minimize them.
9. Avoid awkward and extreme motions for the user of the product – Design the product so that
twisting or lengthy arm movements, bending and movements of spine are not required, particularly if
these motions will be repetitive.
10. Standardize – It pays to standardize on the arrangement and operation of controls because it
increases the user knowledge.
6.7.2 Design for Serviceability

Serviceability is concerned with the ease with which maintenance can be performed on a product. Many
products require some form of maintenance or service to keep them functioning properly.

 Preventive Maintenance – is the service that must take place after some failure or decline in
function has occurred.
 Breakdown Maintenance – is the service that must take place after some failure or decline in
function has occurred.

Testability is concerned with the ease with which faults can be isolated in defective components and
subassemblies.

6.8 DESIGN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Protection of the Earth’s environment is high on the value scale of most citizens’ of the world’s developed
countries. A large proportion of our environmental problems are linked to the selection and use of particular
technologies without previous adequate regard for the environmental consequences.

There is variety of design strategies to extend a product’s useful life.

 Design for durability – Durability is the amount of one gets from a product before it breaks down
and replacement is preferable to repair.
 Design for reliability – Reliability is the ability of a product to neither malfunction nor fail within a
specified time period.
 Create an adaptable design – A modular design allows for continuous improvement of the various
functions.
 Repair – Feasibility of replacing nonfunctioning components to attain specified performance.
 Remanufacture – Worn parts are restored to like-new condition to attain specified performance.
 Reuse – Find additional use for the product or its components after the product has been retired
from its original service.
 Recyclability – Reprocessing of the product to recover some or all of the materials from which it is made.
 Disposability – All materials that are not recycled can be legally and safely disposed of.

The accepted way of assessing the effects that products and processes have on the environment is
with life-assessment. Life-cycle assessment proceeds in three stages:

 Inventory analysis – The flows of energy and materials to and from the product during its life are
determined quantitatively.
 Impact analysis – Consideration of all potential environmental consequences of the flows cataloged
above.
 Improvements analysis – Results of the above two steps are translated into specific action that
reduce the impact of the product or the process on the environment.
6.8.1 Design for Environment

We can divide DFE practices into two broad categories: those involving material recycling and remanufacture,
and those avoiding the use of or production of hazardous substances.

 Design for material recovery and reuse

 Design for reassembly: Provide for easy access and removal of components. Avoid embedding a part in an
incompatible material. Minimize the use of adhesives and welds.
 Design for product waste minimization: Minimize the amount of material used by avoiding
overdesign. This also saves cost.
 Design for waste recovery and reuse in processing: Since the selection of the material for a part is
intimately associated with how it be manufactured, consider as a part of this decision process the
environmental implications for manufacturing.
 Design for packaging recovery: Be alert for changes in industrial packaging that re allowing for the
recovery, recycling and reuse of packaging
 Avoid the use of hazardous or undesirable materials: Keep up on changes on government regulations
and list of hazardous materials. Avoid all of these if possible.
 Consider the environmental hazards of production workers: The overall design should consider the
people who work on the production line to make the product.
 Design for noise reduction: Design the system so that the noise does not exceed a preset threshold and
insulate the source of the noise by enclosing it or by designing the foundation so that the noise does not
escape to the environment.

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