VR Based Integration of Technical and Shape Design Processes in Product Development

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Brandt ◽  
Jörg Lemke
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Product Structure ◽  
Shape Design ◽  
Functional Design ◽  
Technical Design ◽  
Design Processes ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
Industrial Designers

Abstract The use of proven modules in engineering design is a common approach that can be understood as one of the key elements in engineering design helping to speed up product development. Today manufacturers have to be aware of the fact that there are tight links between a products shape, its functional design and the overall product structure. The “form follows function” paradigma is no longer valid for most modern products. It is obvious that there is a strong demand to reduce the expenses in technical design by supporting the communicational needs between the technical and industrial designers during the entire design process with the help of appropriate CAE tools. This paper presents an approach to integrate technical and shape design processes using advanced visualisation tools and VR technology.

Classification of Iteration in Engineering Design Processes

1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Safoutin ◽  
Robert P. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Design Automation ◽  
Automated Design ◽  
Design Processes ◽  
Standard Definition ◽  
Design Iteration ◽  
Formal Study ◽  
Poor Understanding

Abstract As engineering design is subjected to increasingly formal study, an informal attitude continues to surround the topic of iteration. Today there is no standard definition or typology of iteration, no grounding theory, few metrics, and a poor understanding of its role in the design process. Existing literature provides little guidance in investigating issues of design that might be best approached in terms of iteration. We review contributions of existing literature toward the understanding of iteration in design, develop a classification of design iteration, compare iterative aspects of human and automated design, and draw some conclusions concerning management of iteration and approaches to design automation.

Design for Manufacturability

1995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed A. Azam ◽  
William P. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Product Design ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Integrated Design ◽  
Concept Development ◽  
Concept Design ◽  
Process Selection ◽  
Cad System ◽  
Product Design Process ◽  
Industrial Designers

Abstract Research has been carried out at Coventry University Centre for Integrated Design on the concept design process and it is funded by the Coventry University Research Fund. An experiment, simulating product design in industry, was conducted by concept designers which were, in turn, acted by student industrial designers and student engineering designers. In general the product design process is a sequential process. The first part of the process is the conceptual phase. This is followed by the engineering design phases which include all the manufacturing information. In this case the downstream engineering design focuses on designs for manufacture and process selection. Information on the requirements of conceptual designers in these areas was collected from these experiments. The information is ultimately to be incorporated into rules in a knowledge base which can be readily accessed by the industrial designer during concept development via a CAD system.

Virtual Collaborative Design

2011 ◽  
pp. 482-486
Author(s):  
Aybüke Aurum ◽  
Oya Demirbilek
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Product Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Collaborative Design ◽  
End Users ◽  
Domestic Product ◽  
End User ◽  
Essential Aspect ◽  
Industrial Designers ◽  
The Right

As we enter the third millennium, many organizations are forced to constantly pursue new strategies to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Examples include offering customers streams of new products and services, as well as continuously seeking to improve productivity, services and the effectiveness of product design, development and manufacturing processes. Consequently, new concepts, approaches and tools are emerging quickly as the globalization trend expands across the world. Product complexity, pressures to reduce production cycle time, the need for stakeholders’ contributions and multinational company as well as consumer requirements create the demand for sophisticated multi-designer collaborative virtual environments where product design can be shared and acted upon (Kunz, Christiansen, Cohen, Jin, & Levitt, 1998; Ragusa & Bochanek, 2001; Anderson, Esser & Interrante, 2003). Thus, researchers and practitioners recognize that collaboration is an essential aspect of contemporary, professional product design and development activities. The design process is collaborative by nature. Collaborative design fosters participation of stakeholders in any form during the design process. The design of a successful product is dependent on integrating information and experiences from a number of different knowledge domains. These domains include consumer (end-user) requirements, industrial designers’ professional design skills as well as manufacturers’ needs. This results in a product that performs at a functional as well as aesthetic level and that can be manufactured by the right process at the right price. End-user involvement is essential to product design, since products that do not achieve consumer satisfaction or meet consumer needs are doomed to fail (Schultz, 2001). Accurate understanding of user needs is an essential aspect in developing commercially successful products (Achilladelis, 1971). Hence, it is very important for industrial designers to gather the end-users’ needs and incorporate them into their designs. The involvement of manufacturers in the initial stages of the domestic product design process can lead to a dramatic reduction in a product’s development lifecycle time, also facilitating the coordination of the purchasing and engineering functions (Bochanek & Ragusa, 2001; Demirbilek, 2001). The increasing complexity of artifacts and the globalization of product development are changing research methodologies and techniques. A prime example of this includes the application of a virtual collaborative design environment (VCDE) for product design and manufacturing. This article focuses on the concept of virtual collaborative design. It describes a research effort to investigate cross-cultural collaboration in product development using online applications for domestic product design. The aim of this research is to investigate issues related to the virtual collaborative design (VCD) process, and to bring an understanding of stakeholder needs during the collaborative design process as well as to improve the relationships between end-users, designers and manufacturers. The article presents findings based on a survey study conducted with four different potential stakeholders: representatives of consumers, software designers, industrial designers and manufacturers.

How the Design of a 3D Printer Bridged Engineering Design Processes and the Agile Software Manifesto

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Lindberg ◽  
Matthew I. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Limited Resources ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Design Processes ◽  
The Past ◽  
Engineering Design Process ◽  
Agile Software ◽  
Scale Design

Abstract Individual engineering design projects face different challenges depending on their scale. Instead of dealing with problems of complex multidisciplinary systems, small scale design must overcome issues of limited resources. The philosophy of agile software development has been highly successful in addressing similar issues in the software engineering realm over the past two decades. Through the design and prototyping of a low-budget desktop stereolithography printer, the application of agile principles to engineering design process is explored. The printer’s design is discussed in detail to provide examples of successes and failures when these agile principles are put into practice. The paper concludes with a discussion of how agile principles could be leveraged in engineering design. The approach taken in this paper is more of a longitudinal study of a single design process over a twelve-month period as opposed to rigorous experiments that engage multiple users in short design scenarios. Nonetheless, this case study demonstrates how the application of agile principles can inform, improve, and complement traditional engineering design processes.

scholarly journals ENGINEERING DESIGN VS. ARTISTIC DESIGN – A DISCUSSION

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Ernst Eder
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Industrial Design ◽  
Design Science ◽  
Design Engineering ◽  
Design Processes ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Engineering Sciences ◽  
Technical Systems ◽  
Industrial Designers

‘Design’ can be a noun, or a verb. Six paths for research into engineering design (as verb) are identified, they must be co-ordinated for internal consistency and plausibility. Design Research tries to clarify design processes and their underlying theories – designing in general, and particular forms, e.g. design engineering. Theories are a basis for deriving theory- based design methods. Design engineering and artistic forms of designing, industrial design, have much in common, but also differences. For an attractive and user-friendly product, its form (observable shape) is important – a task for industrial designers, architects, etc. ‘Conceptualizing’ consists of preliminary sketches, a direct entry to hardware – industrial designers work ‘outside inwards’. For a product that should work and fulfill a purpose, perform a transformation process, its functioning and operation are important – a task for engineering designers. Anticipating and analyzing a capability for operation is a role of the engineering sciences. The outcome of design engineering is a set of manufacturing instructions, and analytical verification of anticipated performance. Design engineering is more constrained than industrial design, but in contrast has available a theory of technical systems and its associated engineering design science, with several abstract models and representations of structures. Engineering designers tend to be primary for technical systems, and their operational and manufacturing processes – they work ‘inside outwards’. Hubka’s theory, and consequently design metho- dology, includes consideration of tasks of a technical system, typical life cycle, duty cycle, classes of properties (and requirements), mode of action, development in time, and other items of interest for engineering design processes. Hubka’s methodology is demonstrated by several case examples.

scholarly journals Engineering and Industrial Design: An Integrated Interdisciplinary Design Theory

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander N. Brezing ◽  
Manuel Lo¨wer
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Industrial Design ◽  
Product Model ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Interdisciplinary Design ◽  
Industrial Designers ◽  
The One

It is generally accepted that superior products result from a balanced consideration of both “technology” and “aesthetic design”. Nonetheless, the gap between the two professions of the “design engineer” and the “industrial designer” has not been bridged since their origination in the course of industrialization [7]. One possible approach to enhance the collaboration of both disciplines is to teach the basics of the respective other’s. In Germany, the main work following this approach of trying to prepare engineers for design collaborations is the VDI guideline 2424 (“The Industrial Design Process”) [21], which was worked out and released in three parts from 1984 to 1988 by a group of engineering design researchers and industrial designers. As no accepted industrial design theory could be identified at that time, the authors of the guideline tried to apply some of engineering design methodology’s proven methods taken from the VDI guideline 2221 [19] that seemed to fit to industrial design. That approach ultimately failed, as the authors of the guideline had to conclude themselves in the opening remarks of its last part [21]. Even if the guideline is still officially in use for the lack of a replacement, it is hardly used in engineering education. Since then however, accepted theoretical approaches have been produced by industrial design research that allow for the definition of an interdisciplinary theory on product development. This paper introduces these approaches and arranges them together with models of engineering design methodology to serve as a basis for a design theory that explains both domains’ competences and responsibilities. A function-oriented product model is set up that illustrates existing interdependencies by classifying a technical product/project according to the relative importance of its technical function (engineering’s competence) on the one hand and its semiotic functions (industrial design’s competence) on the other. The realization of industrial design’s competence as signification and the organization of its devices according to the model of semiotic functions explain existing organizational problems of interdisciplinary design practice. It is demonstrated why industrial design cannot proceed according a purely technical design process such as the one defined in the VDI guideline 2221 and what implications that has on interdisciplinary design projects.

scholarly journals Adapting Engineering Design Tools to Include Human Factors

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Lynn Village ◽  
Michael Greig ◽  
Saeed Zolfaghari ◽  
Filippo A. Salustri ◽  
W. P. Neumann
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Participatory Development ◽  
Design Tools ◽  
Design Environment ◽  
Design Processes ◽  
Assembly Design ◽  
Business Goals

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS In a longitudinal collaboration with engineers and human factors specialists at an electronics manufacturer, five engineering design tools were adapted to include human factors. The tools, many with required human factors targets, were integrated at each stage of assembly design to increase the proactive application of human factors. This article describes the process of adapting the five tools within the collaborating organization. Findings suggest 12 key features of human factors tools, most importantly that they “fit” with engineering processes, language, and tools; directly address business goals and influence key metrics; and are quantifiable and can demonstrate change. To be effective in an engineering design environment, it is suggested that human factors specialists increase their understanding of their organization’s design process, learn which tools are commonly used in engineering, focus on important metrics for the business goals, and incorporate human factors into engineering-based tools and worksystem design practices in their organizations. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Rationale: Design engineers use diverse tools in design, but few incorporate human factors, even though optimizing human performance can further improve operational performance. There is a need for practical tools to help engineers integrate human factors into production design processes. Purpose: This article demonstrates how five engineering design tools were adapted to include human factors and were integrated into design processes within the case study organization. It also provides features of an effective human factors tool and recommendations for practitioners. Method: A longitudinal collaboration with engineers and human factors specialists in a large electronics manufacturing organization allowed in vivo adaptation and testing of various tools in an action research methodology. Qualitative data were recorded from multiple sources, then transcribed and analyzed over a 3-year period. Results: The adapted tools integrated into each stage of the design process included the human factors process failure mode effects analysis, human factors design for assembly, human factors design for fixtures, workstation efficiency evaluator, and human factors kaizens. Each tool had a unique participatory development process; 12 features are recommended for effective human factors tools based on the findings herein. Most importantly, tools should “fit” with existing engineering processes, language, and tools; directly address business goals and influence key metrics; and be quantifiable and demonstrate change. Conclusions: Engineers and management responded positively to the five tools adapted for human factors because they were designed to help improve assembly design and achieve their business goals. Several of the human factors tools became required targets within the design process, ensuring that human factors considerations are built into all future design processes. Adapting engineering tools, rather than using human factors tools, required a shift for human factors specialists, who needed to expand their knowledge of engineering processes, tools, techniques, language, metrics, and goals.

scholarly journals A Tool for Systematically Accessing the Level of Readiness of Engineering Design in Product Development

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Behdinan ◽  
M. Fahimian ◽  
R. Pop-Iliev
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Product Design ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Technical Point ◽  
Design Project ◽  
Engineering Approach ◽  
Readiness Level

 Abstract – This paper introduces a top down, system-engineering approach to develop a quantifiable and systematic tool, referred to as Design Readiness Level (DRL), to gauge design at each stage of product development. It is developed to facilitate communication between different stockholders of a design project and to address the complexities arising during all the phases of product design, from initiation to completion. The design process as one of the pillars of DRL has been studied thoroughly and is categorized into nine stages to reflect the technical flow in product development. The design stages are iterative at any level from 1 to 9 and have distinctive deliverables at the end of each stage. The deliverables simplify and characterize the assessment of the design from the technical point of view. Developing a comprehensive DRL metrics that encompasses all the stockholders’ perspectives in a design is a work in progress.

scholarly journals STUDENTS LEARNING TO LEARN THROUGH DESIGN

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Tallman
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Creative Activity ◽  
Learning To Learn ◽  
Design Processes ◽  
Limited Ability ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
Capstone Design

Research being conducted in an engineering capstone design course analyzes student creativity and its connection to metacognition. Data collected from questionnaires, video recordings, and interviews willattempt to show that creativity in the design process and metacognitive understanding of creative activity are important factors in successful engineering design.Motivation for this research comes from the observation that undergraduate engineering students, including those in senior years, have difficulty explaining their design processes. They often have limited understanding of their creative accomplishments as well as a limited ability to explain what makes their approach distinctive or effective.Future research will build on the methodology described here, including a more explicit framework for identifying and assessing creativity in engineering design.

scholarly journals An ergonomics action research demonstration: integrating human factors into assembly design processes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Lynn Village ◽  
M. Greig ◽  
Filippo A. Salustri ◽  
Saeed Zolfaghari ◽  
W. P. Neumann
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Electronics Manufacturing ◽  
Manufacturing Firm ◽  
Design Processes ◽  
Assembly Design ◽  
Engineering Design Process

In action research (AR), the researcher participates ‘in’ the actions in an organisation, while simultaneously reflecting ‘on’ the actions to promote learning for both the organisation and the researchers. This paper demonstrates a longitudinal AR collaboration with an electronics manufacturing firm where the goal was to improve the organisation’s ability to integrate human factors (HF) proactively into their design processes. During the three-year collaboration, all meetings, workshops, interviews and reflections were digitally recorded and qualitatively analysed to inform new ‘actions’. By the end of the collaboration, HF tools with targets and sign-off by the HF specialist were integrated into several stages of the design process, and engineers were held accountable for meeting the HF targets. We conclude that the AR approach combined with targeting multiple initiatives at different stages of the design process helped the organisation find ways to integrate HF into their processes in a sustainable way. Practitioner Summary: Researchers acted as a catalyst to help integrate HF into the engineering design process in a sustainable way. This paper demonstrates how an AR approach can help achieve HF integration, the benefits of using a reflective stance and one method for reporting an AR study.

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