Unit Four
Engineering Design
Big Events in Engineering?
Who are Engineers?
What is Engineering?
Engineering Design?
This material is based upon work supported by the national
science foundation under Grant No. 0402616. Any opinions,
findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in
this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Invention and Innovation
Tech 665
Tom Weber
Spring 2006
Big Events in the past 70 years
• What do Pearl Harbor attack, the Hiroshima
bomb, Sputnik and 9-11 attack effect
engineering?
• Research and development boomed in all fields of
science and technology after World War II, partly
because of the Cold War and the Sputnik.
• Engineering was also stimulated by new technologies.
Aerospace, microelectronics, computers, new means of
telecommunications from the Internet to cell phones.
• Turbojet and rocket engines propelled aeronautic
engineering into unseen height and spawned astronautic
engineering. Usage of atomic and nuclear power
brought nuclear engineering.
• Advanced materials with performance undreamed of
poured out from the laboratories of materials science
and engineering.
• Microelectronics, telecommunications, and computer
engineering joined force to cause the information
revolution in which intellectual jobs are increasingly
alleviated by machines.
• www.creatingtechnology.org/history3.htm
Who are Engineers?
• People who synthesize, solve
problems, and innovate...all big
words meaning that they make new
things and make old things better.
• What it Takes to be an Engineer (2.4
mb)
• Problem solvers for mankind.
• Engineers work to make things in our
lives more efficient – or faster, lighter,
bigger, smaller, cheaper or more
powerful.
• Engineers want to automate machine
to lower costs and to stop accidents.
How do I become an Engineer?
• How can I become an engineer?
In order to become an engineer, you need a college
degree. It helps to begin preparations for all this
at the middle school levels. Where possible,
choose a well-rounded mix of classes with
emphasis on math and science. Work with your
teachers, counselors, parents, and engineers in
your community to make a plan for your future
success.
• How long do engineers have to go to school?
Engineers need a minimum of a college Bachelor's
degree. That means they must finish high school
and typically four years of college. A few
engineering programs take five years. A college
degree could take longer if you only attend
college part time or perhaps attend during
evenings.
Types of Engineers
• Ten branches of engineering
• Engineering is divided into many
branches. Here are ten major ones:
• aeronautics and astronautics
• biological engineering
• chemical engineering
• civil engineering
• computer science & engineering
• electrical & electronic engineering
• environmental engineering
• mechanical engineering
• nuclear engineering
• systems engineering
Engineer hours and computers
• What hours do engineers work?
Most engineers work weekdays, Monday through Friday.
Typically they work from 8 to 10 hours per day. There are
some companies that have very flexible work schedules
such that their engineers come in for some 8-hour period
during the day (say from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.)! Sometimes
engineers work at a job site where something is
happening 24 hours a day and they work a 'shift'
schedule.
• Do engineers use computers?
Definitely! For everything from office work such as e-mail
and reports, to graphics, to serious number crunching. It's
usually a contest between the scientists and the engineers
as to who has the most computing horsepower at their
disposal and who has the coolest software.
Where to go to school? -NDSU, UND, U of M
Famous Engineers
• Douglas Engelbart - inventor of the mouse,
electrical engineer
• Judith Resnik - Challenger astronuat,
electrical engineer
• Ryan Newman - NASCAR driver,
mechanical engineer
• Annika Sorenstam, professional golfer,
studied engineering in college
• Joesph Strauss et al. - designers and builders
of the Golden Gate Bridge
• Herbert Hoover - 31st President of the United
States
• Neil Armstrong - astronaut, aeronautical
engineer
• No, Bill Gates is not an engineer!
Alice Tredwell, supervisor of the Bhore-Ghat Line of the Great India Peninsula
Railway from 1855.
What is engineering?
• "Engineering is the application of
math and science to create
something of value from our natural
resources."
• Theodore Von Karman, an aerospace
engineer, put it nicely when he said,
"Scientists discover the world that
exists; engineers create the world that
never was."
• http://www.discoverengineering.org/
downloads.asp Engineering of
Bicycles and More (10.1 mb)
Engineering Design
•The process for designing solutions to
technological or engineering problems.
A very defined way engineers use to
solve a problem.
1. Identify the problem
2. Define the problem (refine)
3. Gather information
4. Develop alternative solutions
5. Select and refine the best solution
6. Express the design. (Sketch or Drawing)
7. Build a model
8. Evaluate, revise and refine solution
9. Communicate the solution.
DESIGN
• Design involves a set of steps, which
can be performed in different
sequences and repeated as needed.
• Each design problem if different and
may require different procedures.
Engineers and designers also have
there preferences and problem
solving styles.
Brainstorming
• Brainstorming is a group problem
solving design process in which each
person in the group presents his or her
ideas in an open forum. In this
process, no person is allowed to
criticize anyone else ideas regardless
of how inane they may seem. All the
ideas are recorded and the group
selects the best one.
Modeling, testing, evaluating &
modifying
• This process is creating and testing
physical models. Models are
important for the design of large
items like cars, aircraft and
spacecraft.
• It is cheaper to analyze a model
before the final products and systems
are actually made.
• Evaluation is used to determine how
well the design meets the criteria of
the design.
Model Example
• In the town of Beulah North Dakota,
they have a coal fired power plant
which was built only after a model of
the plant was constructed.
• The Model cost $250,000 and helped
in the construction process. It is as
large as a two stall garage.
Antelope Valley Station
Standards and Benchmarks
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Standard 9: Students will develop an understanding of engineering design.
Design involves a set of steps, which can be performed in different sequences and
repeated as needed.
Brainstorming is a group problem-solving design process in which each person in
the group presents his or her ideas in an open forum.
Modeling, testing, evaluating, and modifying are used to transform ideas into
practical solutions.
Standard 11: Students will develop abilities to apply the design process.
Apply a design process to solve problems in and beyond the laboratory-classroom.
Specify criteria and constraints for the design.
Make two-dimensional and three-dimensional representations of the designed
solution.
Test and evaluate the design in relation to pre-established requirements, such as
criteria and constraints, and refine as needed.
Make a product or system and document the solution.
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Standard 12: Students will develop abilities to use and maintain
technological products and systems.
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Use information provided in manuals, protocols, or by experienced people to see and
understand how things work.
Use tolls, materials, and machine safely to diagnose, adjust, and repairs systems.
Use computers and calculations in various applications.
Operate and maintain systems in order to achieve a given purpose.
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This material is based upon work supported by the national science foundation
under Grant No. 0402616. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or
recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do
not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation (NSF).