1 Systematic Tools for Innovation: The Trimming Technique Jonathan Weaver UDM Mechanical Engineering Department [email protected].

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Systematic Tools for Innovation:The Trimming Technique

Jonathan WeaverUDM Mechanical Engineering Department

[email protected]

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References

• Presentation by David Verduyn, C2C Solutions, at the November, 2006 PDMA Meeting, Detroit Chapter, held at UDM; The trimming rules and the ideas for many of the examples were drawn from this presentation. To learn more about C2C’s systematic innovation techniques, visit www.c2c-solutions.com

• Others as noted within

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Lead In Example

• What was trimmed here?

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The Trimming Technique

• Most engineers tend to focus their innovative thoughts on more, more, more

• Sometimes there’s an easier way to innovate• The Trimming Technique involves systematically

exploring the various components/functions/systems in a product and looks for ways to trim some to generate new ideas

• The six rules on the following slide provide some direction when considering what might be trimmed

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Trimming Rules

• Rule 1: The function does not need to exist• Rule 2: The function can be performed by another

component or an element in the larger system• Rule 3: The recipient of the function can perform the

function itself• Rule 4: The recipient of the function can be eliminated• Rule 5: The function can be performed better by a

new/improved part providing enhanced performance or other benefits

• Rule 6: A new or niche market can be identified for the trimmed product

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Tape Recorder Example

• What are the major components and functions?

• Any ideas on what to trim?

• Rule 1: The function does not need to exist• Rule 2: The function can be performed by another component or an element

in the larger system• Rule 3: The recipient of the function can perform the function itself• Rule 4: The recipient of the function can be eliminated• Rule 5: The function can be performed better by a new/improved part

providing enhanced performance or other benefits• Rule 6: A new or niche market can be identified for the trimmed product

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Tape Recorder Example (Cont.)

• Applying Rule 1 (the function does not need to exist) – and trimming the record function, plus Applying Rule 5 (the function can be performed better by a new/improved part providing enhanced performance or other benefits) produces the Sony Walkman!

• Any further Ideas for trimming?

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Tape Recorder Example (Cont.)

• Applying Rule 5 again (the function can be performed better by a new/improved part providing enhanced performance or other benefits) – and replacing the tape with memory – yields the iPod!

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A Modern Analog to the Tape Recorder Example

• Applying Rule 1 (the function does not need to exist) and Rule 5 (a new or niche market can be identified for the trimmed product), what do we get?

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Toothbrush Example

• What are the major parts of a toothbrush?

• Any idea which might be trimmed and by what rule?

• Rule 1: The function does not need to exist• Rule 2: The function can be performed by another component or an element

in the larger system• Rule 3: The recipient of the function can perform the function itself• Rule 4: The recipient of the function can be eliminated• Rule 5: The function can be performed better by a new/improved part

providing enhanced performance or other benefits• Rule 6: A new or niche market can be identified for the trimmed product

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Toothbrush Example (Cont.)

• Applying Rule 2 (the function can be performed by another component or an element in the larger system) – the handle can be trimmed and replaced with your finger, resulting in DentalDots

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Another Toothbrushing Example

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZsvlpsJb8o

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Shower Curtain Example

• Any ideas what to trim?• What rule are you applying?

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Shower Curtain Example

• Applying Rule 3 (the recipient of the function can perform the function itself) – the hooks can be eliminated, and that function performed by the curtain itself

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Another Cell Phone Example

• A wristwatch that converts the signal received into vibration that is channeled through the user’s bones, and can be heard as voice when the user inserts their finger into their ear.

• Illustrates Rule 2, the function can be performed by another component in the larger system

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Wineglass Example

• What would you trim?• Riedel Crystal’s stemless

wineglasses maintain classic shapes to enhance the flavor of the wine while while improving storage efficiency, allowing easy fit in dishwashers, and minimizing accidental tippings

• As of 2006, stemless products made up over 25% of Riedel’s U.S. revenues [Business 2.0, June 2006]

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Toilet Paper Example

• What would you trim?• Applying Rule 3 (the recipient

of the function can perform the function itself) – the cardboard roll can be trimmed and that function performed by the paper itself

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Aircraft Example

• The Blended Wing Body design trims the fuselage and tail, in what amounts to a flying wing

• Efficiency improvements over conventional designs [http://oea.larc.nasa.gov/PAIS/BWB.html]

• Popular for military applications, but passengers want windows!

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Piano Example

• Begin with a gutted piano• Add musicians armed with

fishing line (for bows), guitar picks, hammers, etc. expanding the sound a piano can make – all with great control

• Which rule(s) of trimming are illustrated?

[The Bowed Piano: Fishing for a New Sound By Tom Huizenga, NPR Morning Edition, Feb 8, 2008]

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GM Duramax 4.5L Diesel Example

• 70 parts trimmed vs traditional design

• Exhaust system flipped around to direct hot gases through short pipes toward turbo and catalytic converter positioned within the vee

• Intake manifold pipes eliminated; air flows through the cam covers

Popular Science Oct 2008

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Trimmed Bicycle

http://weburbanist.com/2009/03/03/futuristic-strange-concept-bicycles-designs/

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Trimmed TV

Source: www.emolabs.com

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Other Examples of Trimming

• IBM, in it’s ProPrinter, trimmed the speaker and sent a high frequency current to the motor to make it resonate different (error) tones

• Cirque du Soleil trimmed the animal acts but added theatrical content

• Smart elevators (Open http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?

storyId=6799860)

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More Examples

• Trimming the Staple

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When to use Trimming

• We have a commodity product and need to differentiate it or create a new market

• Our product or process is too complex and/or too costly• Our competitor has a patent we need to circumvent

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How to use Trimming

• Decompose existing product and diagram it by components and by functions

• Systematically consider each component and each function in the context of the six trimming rules to look for opportunities

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"You know you've achieved perfection in design, not when you have nothing more to add, but when you have nothing more to take away."

• Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French writer and aviator (1900-44) , real life hero who looked at adventure and danger with poet's eyes - sometimes from the viewpoint of a child. During World War II Saint-Exupéry served as a pilot. He was shot down on a mission over France in 1944.

• See Dave’s related Editor’s Note on next page

This Ideology Quote du Jour is brought to you by guest author Dave Verduyn, of C2C Solutions. Visit him at www.c2c-solutions.com

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• Editor's Note: Did you ever notice that great designs are ones that are simple and elegant. Are you, like most, locked into the mindset that you must add some feature or element to innovate? Try the opposite, that is, to subtract a feature or element. One of my favorite Systematic Innovation tools that mimic Antoine's mindset is called the Trimming Technique. It systematically guides your mind to purposefully trim (eliminate) parts of your design or process. This unique path will break your psychological inertia and generate novel ideas that can differentiate you from the competition. The more radical the trimming, the more radical the ideas.

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Here’s An Automotive Example

What’s this?How might we trim it?

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Another Automotive Example

• What’s this?• Could we trim it?

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Rule 1: The function does not need to existRule 2: The function can be performed by another component or an element in the larger systemRule 3: The recipient of the function can perform the function itself

Rule 4: The recipient of the function can be eliminatedRule 5: The function can be performed better by a new/improved part providing enhanced performance or other benefitsRule 6: A new or niche market can be identified for the trimmed product

32Rule 1: The function does not need to existRule 2: The function can be performed by another component or an element in the larger systemRule 3: The recipient of the function can perform the function itselfRule 4: The recipient of the function can be eliminatedRule 5: The function can be performed better by a new/improved part providing enhanced performance or other benefitsRule 6: A new or niche market can be identified for the trimmed product

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Rule 1: The function does not need to existRule 2: The function can be performed by another component or an element in the larger systemRule 3: The recipient of the function can perform the function itselfRule 4: The recipient of the function can be eliminatedRule 5: The function can be performed better by a new/improved part providing enhanced performance or other benefitsRule 6: A new or niche market can be identified for the trimmed product

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