Importance of Product Design

1. Important for developed countries that cannot

compete in low cost labor for manufacturing

2. Most of the profit and wealth are generated

by new products
Design Considerations

How to minimize the risk and unnecessary reinvention

How to minimize cost?

How to shorten the time to market?

How to ensure product and service quality?

How to get Customer satisfaction?

How to ensure manufacturability?

How to take advantages of IT?

IE Methodologies for Prod Des & Dev

Benchmarking and reverse engineering

Rapid prototyping
Taguchi methods for robust design
Design For Manufacture/Assembly (DFM/A)
Ergonomics
Product styling
Concurrent Engineering
Quality function deployment (QFD)
Transportation logistics
Supply chain management
IT in Engineering:
CAD/CAM, solid modeling
Tolerance analysis and synthesis
Virtual engineering – simulation
Classifications of Product Design

1. Technology vs Market Driven

Technology driven:
arise out of a new technology or scientific discovery
small fraction of new products belong to this category

Examples
Air travel (invention of airplanes)
Light bulb (electricity and vacuum sealed bulbs)

Market driven:
arise out of market demand
involves modification of existing prod

Examples
PC  Laptop computer;
Electronic diary  PDA
Classifications of Product Design

2. Revolutionary vs. Evolutionary

Revolutionary: created by new technology.

May be technological breakthroughs, market driven, both.

Examples:
Semiconductor transistors (Shockley et al, 1956)
4-stroke IC engine (Nikolaus Otto, 1876)

Evolutionary: improve some aspect of an existing design, e.g.

Human factors, Using New Materials

Using New Manufacturing Techniques
New Design, Mass customization
Using New Clever Packaging
Examples:
Microsoft™ Internet Explorer
Pilot™ ball-point pens
Corporate Strategies

1. Pioneering: firms that want to be innovation leaders

- High R&D budget

Examples: Xerox PARC, (former) AT&T Bell Labs

2. Responsive: Respond to pioneering competitors

- Lower risk than pioneer;

- Main expense: improving the product
- May need to pay royalties, buy patents

Example: Microsoft™
Corporate Strategies

1. Traditional

- Companies that have fixed product and clients

- Low level, evolutionary improvements

Examples:
Electricity, Water supply

2. Dependent: Design done by partner (OEM companies)

- Low risk
- Low return (manufacturing margins are low)
Corporate Strategy comparison

Company priorities for different innovation strategies

[source: Baxter, p106-108]

R&D Innovative Time to Prn Engg Technical Patents

Design market Marketing

Pioneering *** *** ** ** *** ***

Responsive * *** *** ** - *

Traditional *** *

Dependent ***
 Example 1

Invention of airplanes  existence of air carriers/ air mail

Dec 17 1903, Wright Brothers make first Cover commemorating the fist airmail (18 Feb, 1911, French
powered flight (12 sec) in the world pilot Henri Pequet flew from Allahbad to Naini, 8 Km away,
in India, going 40 mph at 130 ft.)
Example 2

Vacuum tube  integrated circuit (IC)

 Example 3

Instant film (Polaroid Instant Camera)

Edwin Land founded Polaroid in 1937
Polarizing filters for cameras, sunglasses
Inspiration: daughter’s impatience

Polaroid Model 95 Land cam (’48)

Example 4

Keyboard (Evolutionary, HF)

Dell Comfort Belkin Microsoft

Example 5

Product Family (mass customization)

One computer  choice of mouse [standard, wireless, track ball]
 choice of drive
 choice of memory …
 Example 6

Hand copying  Photocopiers

Early 1800’s: Carbon paper Early 1900’s: Mimeographs (T.E. Edison)

Mid 1900’s: Xerox copier (C. Carlson)

Source: http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/23030.html
 Example 7

Textile Manufacture
(a) Hand-spinning  Spinning Jenny

Spinning jenny (James Hargreaves)

A carriage slowly draws out several threads
from cotton, and as the carriage returns,
Spinning wheel
each spun yarn is wound around its own
Manual device invented in ancient
spindle. This multiplied the productivity,
India to spin wool into yarn
and made way for automation.
 Example 7

Textile Manufacture
(b) Hand Loom  Flying shuttles  Power Looms

Hand loom with flying shuttle (John Kay)
The flying shuttle was the wooden ‘needle’
Ancient hand loom
pulled by a thread, to weave one row of the
cross-threads (wefts) through the array of
longitudinal yarns (warps).
Power looms (Edmund Cartwright)
Series of power looms set up in a large
production shop – these were the first
factories.
 Example 8
Different generations of computer chips (Evolutionary)
Intel Year Notes Image
processor
< 3000 transistors,
108 KHz clock
4004 1971

First chip that allowed PC to

have point-and-click
80486 1989 applications

42 million transistors, 0.18 

Pentium technology, 1.5G Hz
2000
IV
Example 8 contt.

First (GUI): Apple (based on GUI from Xerox PARC)

The Apple Lisa, 1983, Motorola 68000 cpu

5 MHz, 12” black-white monitor, mouse
Example 9

Soda-can opening-mechanism
 Example 10

Glass vs. plastic bottles (new materials)

Example 11

Tennis racquets (new materials)

Wood  Aluminum  Graphite
 Fiberglass  Titanium composite  Hyper-carbon

wood

Graphite+HyperCarbon+Ti+Cu
Graphite+kevlar (Slazenger)
Graphite+titanium (Head)
Graphite (Pro Kennex)

(Prince)
Example 12

Transparent case iMac computer

(New Packaging: marketing driven)
Example 13

Federal Express (New Service)

Example 14

Platform engineering:
Multiple different models used by multiple brands within a group of companies