Senior Design
Fall 2005
Week 4
Lecture overview
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Course overview – where is this class heading.
What should you expect. Grade distribution.
Technical Presentations (brief overview)
New assignment
– Engineering Design Specification
– Written and ppt presentation
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Generating conceptual design alternatives
Discussion of last week’s assignment.
– Each group will present their customer attributes
– Specify what meeting times you have decided on
Groups
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Thanks to all that were willing to work
on projects that were not their first
pick.
Course overview
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Where is this class heading?
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What should you expect?
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Semester 1: Mostly overview of design methodology. Presentations. Design and
Reports.
Semester 2: Less lecturing. Some lecturing on manufacturing processes. Mostly
working on your designs. Presentations. Design and Manufacturing, reports, and
papers to symposia and conferences.
Grade distribution.
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Come up with a functional design and build it. Gain experience in design and
manufacturing, working with people.
Participation:
Project update presentations:
Design Specification:
Evaluation of Alternatives:
Preliminary Design Report:
Preliminary Design Presentation:
25 %
Project engineering with Dr. Campbell.
10
10
15
20
20
%
%
%
%
%
Course overview
Date
Topics
Due Dates
Wk 1
8/26
Overview
Wk 2
9/2
Project description and selection
Wk 3
9/9
The design process
Wk 4
9/16
Conceptual design / technical presentations (brief overview)
Wk 5
9/23
Conceptual design / Project update presentations
Wk 6
9/30
Configuration design
Wk 7
10/7
Project update presentations
Wk 8
10/14
Manufacturing and cost issues
Wk 9
10/21
Parametric deign
Wk 10
10/28
Technical writing and presentations
Wk 11
11/4
Ethics review and discussion
Wk 12
11/11
Wk 13
11/18
Wk 14
11/25
Wk 15
12/2
Design specification
Evaluation of alternative designs
Veteran’s Day Holiday
Preliminary Design Presentation
Thanksgiving Holiday
Preliminary Design Presentation
Preliminary design report and
Preliminary design
presentation
Technical Presentations overview
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Know your audience.
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– What are they interested
in?
– What do they know?
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Make sure all of the
members are up to speed.
Explain it from the starting
point.
Be organized.
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Outline
Objective
Method
Results
Conclusion
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Flashy ppt presentations
can be fun but often take
away from the important
points
Jokes are OK – but only if
they are appropriate and
add to the presentation.
Practice!
Sell your presentation.
New Assignments
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Group assignment
– Engineering Design Specification (10%
total)
– Type this up neatly (7 % of grade) – it
will become part of your semester report.
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Include a section on your customer attributes.
– 5 min presentation per group next week
(3 % of grade).
– Start creating a master report document.
Just a question…
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Don’t answer. Just think about the
answer.
If you had a third eye – where would
you place it?
Generating Conceptual
Design Alternatives
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Approaches to generating alternative
designs
– Function first decomposition
– Examining the potential use of alternative
physical laws and effects
– Use of one or more well known applied
techniques for creative idea generation
– Conducting an information search
Function First
Decomposition
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Discussed last week
Define the functions, sub functions, and
sub-sub functions of the product
Search for ways to meet the functions using
different physical principles an hardware
Search for ways to modify the functional
decomposition by (i) combining functions,
and (ii) separating functions into subfunctions
Function First
Decomposition
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Example: Define the functions, sub functions, and
sub-sub functions of the product
Space heater
Convey
energy to
unit
Provide
user onoff
control
Control
energy flow
Provide
temperat
ure
sensitive
on-off
Convert
electrical to
thermal
energy
Provide
safety off
control
Support
unit
above
floor
Distribute
energy to
room
Protect
humans
Enclose,
protect and
support the
unit and its
parts
Support all
internal
components
Function First
Decomposition
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Example: Search for ways to meet the functions
using different physical principles an hardware
– Using radiation instead of convection for the space
heater
– Support unit above floor by hanging it from the ceiling
Function First
Decomposition
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Example: Search for ways to modify the
functional decomposition by (i) combining
functions, and (ii) separating functions into subfunctions
– Combining functions:
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Original product: Sequential process of mixing
ingredients, kneading the mixture, allowing time for
rising, punching out entrapped air, forming into loaves,
and baking.
Product combining functions: at-home baking machine
Function First
Decomposition
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A variation to function first
decomposition
– Begin with a hardware decomposition and
then define the functions of each of those
sub-assemblies
– Perhaps less abstract approach
Examining the potential use of
alternative physical laws and effects
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It is important to have a
fundamental understanding
of physical laws in science
Example of some physical
laws
– Conservation laws
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Of energy
Mass
Momentum
– Newton’s laws
– Ohm’s law
– Thermodynamic laws
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First – conservation of
energy
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Second – entropy
increases, and work
potential decreases in
isolated systems;
efficiency of heat engine
is limited
Third – can’t reach
absolute zero temperature
– Archimedes principle
– Heat transfer
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Conduction law
Convection
Radiation
– Electro Magnetic Laws
– Periodic Table
Examining the potential use of
alternative physical laws and effects
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Selected physical
effects
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Absorption
Anisotropy
Buoyancy
Doppler
Friction
Photoelastic
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Thermal expansion
Surface tension
Stress-strain
Creep
Examining the potential use of
alternative physical laws and effects
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Example: How can a load be carried
over an open space
– Beam (load perpendicular to a long
slender structural member can be carried
by longitudinal bending stresses)
– Pontoons (buoyancy)
– Helium balloons (buoyancy)
Creative Idea Generation
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Brainstorming
Systematic search for new
combinations
Synectics
Creative Idea Generation
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Brainstorming
– Very useful for generating ideas for general technical
problems. Perhaps less useful in generating ideas for
highly technical or specialized problems.
– Generally used in a group but can be used by just one
person.
– In a comfortable setting generate as many solutions as
possible in a free and open way.
– The design team and the brainstorming group can include
different people
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Good to include people that are not knowledgeable about the
technical details (perhaps include technical people not on
your team, perhaps include marketing people)
Creative Idea Generation
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Brainstorming rules
– No criticism evaluation or comments about ideas expressed
– As many ideas as possible must be generated
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Speak out freely about the ideas without inhibitions
Let one idea lead into another
Don’t evaluate the ideas – this will be done later
– Wild, “off the wall”, unusual ideas are wanted
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Maybe the idea itself is not practical but it may lead into something
that is
Have a leader that keeps the brainstorming exercise on track
(ensure that no one evaluates ideas)
A brainstorming exercise
– How to separate green (unripe) tomatoes from ripe tomatoes
Creative Idea Generation
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Systematic search for new combinations
No of combinations = M1 x M2 x M3 x…x Mn
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M is the number of alternatives for a particular function
N is the number of functions
For 2 functions a matrix can be generated
For more functions a list (a long list) will be
generated
Example: 3 functions each with 3 alternatives would
generate 3*3*3=27 combinations
Perhaps one or more of these will be a practical
solution
Creative Idea Generation
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Systematic search for new
combinations. Example continued
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F1A1, F2A1, F3A1
F1A1, F2A1, F3A2
F1A1, F2A1, F3A3
F1A1, F2A2, F3A1
F1A1, F2A2, F3A2
F1A1, F2A2, F3A3
F1A1, F2A3, F3A1
F1A1, F2A3, F3A2
F1A1, F2A3, F3A3
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F1A2, F2A1, F3A1
F1A2, F2A1, F3A2
F1, F2, and F3 are the functions; A1, A2,
and A3 are the alternative solutions
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F1A2, F2A1, F3A3
F1A2, F2A2, F3A1
F1A2, F2A2, F3A2
F1A2, F2A2, F3A3
F1A2, F2A3, F3A1
F1A2, F2A3, F3A2
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F1A3, F2A3, F3A3
F1A3, F2A1, F3A1
F1A3, F2A1, F3A2
F1A3, F2A1, F3A3
F1A3, F2A2, F3A1
F1A3, F2A2, F3A2
F1A3, F2A2, F3A3
F1A3, F2A3, F3A1
F1A3, F2A3, F3A2
F1A3, F2A3, F3A3
Synetics
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A term coined to describe a set of four
techniques for idea creation that
includes
– Inversion
– Fantasy
– Analogy
– Empathy
Synetics
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Inversion
– Turn things inside-out, upside down, stop
moving parts, start stationary parts, …
– Helps in finding new decompositions and new
configurations
– Ex: things placed outside can be placed inside,
things on the left can be placed on the right or
in front, use plastics for metals
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Armor project (plastic gear from RPM instead of
Aluminum)
W. Lorenz (new design discussed location of the cam)
Synetics
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Fantasy
– Imagining or wishing that something is
possible
Sometimes impossible, but more importantly
– sometimes possible and sometimes the
ideas can be modified to be possible
 Airplane, car, Polaroid camera, Xerox
machine, telephone, …
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Synetics
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Analogy
– Analogy to other physical phenomena
– Think about the problem in general enough
terms so that the characteristics that it has with
other disciplines/situations become apparent
– Remember to think about the natural world
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Design in Nature
– The hinge and the shell of an oyster
Synetics
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Empathy
– Putting one’s self in another’s place
– Identifying physically and personally with the part, product, or process
that is to be created
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Body/mind must actually perform the function(s)
State how it feels and what we would need or do if we were to do the task
– Difficult for people that are inhibited in a group of people.
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Either trust that the members will be nice
Thick-skinned
Exercise: Improve the design of a 33 rpm records player. Problem is
that the payer would be too sensitive to vibrations in the dorm room.
Note that this example is not brainstorming as the people are
deliberately trying to use synetics techniques (analogy, fantasy,
empathy, and inversion)
Searching for Information
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Literature search
– Published data bases
– Trade Magazines (Mechanical
Engineering, Machine Design,
…)
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Machinery’s handbook (very
good!)
– Industry Manuals
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Gears, springs, motors,
belts,…
– Research Journals
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Full of advertisements
Articles
Should review on a regular
basis to build your basic
knowledge base (you also
need to stay on top of new
trends in the market)
– Handbooks
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Research in Engineering
Design
ASME Journal of Heat
Transfer
ASME Journal of Fluid
Mechanics
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Now most are available on
the web
Can search for a particular
topic, author, theory,…
UNF subscribes to numerous
data bases (many available
on line)
Learn how to use these data
bases if you haven’t already –
make an appointment with a
librarian
People as sources
– Your colleagues (do you know
anything about…, do you
know where I can find
information on, do you know
someone else that can help
– Vendors
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Thomas register (on line)
Yellow pages
Creativity Inhibitors
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Set
– Reluctance to change, habits, something worked
reasonably well in the past.
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Examples
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School busses
Time cards (punch cards)
Gasoline driven cars
Inches vs. mm
People may justify reasons why change is bad or no
needed.
– The competitors may be willing to change and
may develop superior products
Creativity Inhibitors
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Fear
– Afraid of making a mistake
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Often one person will not be blamed for a failure.
Hopefully the team will be able to evaluate all
suggestions and determine a good solution. The
pressure is off!
– Afraid of embarrassment
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Stupid or impractical ideas
– What is the opposite fear?
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What if the competitor comes up with your idea and
proceed while you are too afraid to act on it…
Creativity Inhibitors
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Pressure of time
– There may not be time to always explore
new ideas
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Important to have a Research and
Development team.
Lack of reward
Failure to patent
Long term enhancement
of personal creativity
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Subscribe to trade magazines
Keep a memory support book
– Also start creating your portfolios
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Practice curiosity
– How was the product designed? How was it
made? How can it be improved?
– Take things apart
– Children are often considered more creative than
adults – Where would you put a third eye?
Discussion of last week’s
assignment
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Customer attributes with priorities
Meeting times
Group leader
Status of spec discussion