Engineering Design

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1.1 - The stages involved in design strategies

When designers are consulted about designing and manufacturing a new product. They need to consider the design strategies and decide which one is best to use for that type of new product.

A design strategy is a plan for how to design and manufacture a product.

There are many design strategies that can be used for different types of products

Linear Design

Linear design is a step-by-step method of designing and making products where one stage always follows another to produce a final product or products.

It often uses the following stages with the communication going one way only:

Problem →Brief → Research → Specification → Ideas → Prototype → Production Planning → Test → Evaluate

Iterative Design

The word iterative means a new version of something.

During iterative design, each iteration of the idea is modelled, tested, and evaluated

It then goes through the same process many times until a final design solution is reached.

Iterative design is one of the most popular design strategies and is used to design many products in lots of engineering sectors.

Inclusive Design

Inclusive design involves designing and making products, buildings or places that can be used by as many people as possible.

In public spaces, at work, or in school, inclusive design is used so everyone can access all areas and carry out all the tasks they need to do.

User-centered Design

User-centered design (UCD) puts the user at the centre of every design decision that is made.

Designers will talk to the user at every stage of the design process, and they will be involved in the development and testing of the product.

As well as physical products, this strategy is often used for phone apps, computer programs, and gaming where the user is very involved in the development of the product.

Ergonomic Design

Ergonomics is the interaction of humans with products or their environment.

It uses anthropometric data.

Ergonomic design is very similar to user-centered design because human interaction is the most important factor.

Comfort: The products or environments are comfortable for the user.

Ease-of-use: The products or environments are easy to understand and use.

Safety: The products or environments are totally safe and will not harm the user.

Sustainable Design

Sustainability and the environment are at the centre of a sustainable design strategy.

It is similar to a user-centered strategy in that sustainability is considered at every stage of the design process.

Sustainable design has become more important as people have become aware of the damage products and materials are having on the environment.

The 6Rs of sustainability are considered:

Reduce, Recycle, Reuse, Refuse, Rethink and Repair.

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2.1 - Types of criteria included in an engineering design product

Types of criteria

What types of criteria need to be included in the design specification?

How do manufacturing considerations affect the design?

How do market influences, standards, and environmental issues affect the design?

Needs and wants

A need is a characteristic that a product must have, i.e. the basic requirements for it to be fit for purpose. For example, a computer mouse must have finger controls and be able to communicate with a computer. This is a need as a mouse must interact with a computer.

A want is a characteristic that places some personal preference on what a product should have. For example, a computer mouse could be any colour. This is a want as the mouse could still be operated.

2.2 - How manufacturing considerations affect design

Scales of manufacture

One-off: Involves making one product at a time. This could be for a specific customer e.g., a supertanker for a shipping company or a sculpture to go in a town centre.

Batch: Involves making identical products in groups (batches). Many high street products are sold in batches such as furniture and shoes. The appearance and sizes can be changed and adapted between each different batch.

Mass: Involves making large quantities of identical products repeatedly. Screws, nuts and bolts, and cars are mass-produced on a production line.

Material availability and forms

Most materials are available in a range of different sizes, shapes, and form. For example, metal is available in standard sizes and some common sections are:

Designers will often adapt their designs so that they can use standard forms of material.

This is cheaper than having material specially made.

This will reduce the amount of waste material cut away, therefore saving money and reducing the environmental impact.