Chapter 1 - 6 Step Design Process

Product design and process development

ME3101 / ME3102Mechanical Systems DesignChapter 1:6 Step Design ProcessStep 1: Identification of customer needs and product requirements

Step 2: Concept Generation

Step 3: Concept Selection

Step 4: Concept Testing and Final Specifications

Step 5: Raw Material Acquisition for Prototyping

Step 6: Prototype DevelopmentThe 6 Step Design Process

Every industrial product design project goes through a standard process of development, beginning with identification of needs and the final production of a productThe First StepIdentification of customer needs and product requirements

#1 Identification of customer needs and product requirementsThe 1st step of the project would begin with the identification of the customer needs. The team might need to seek to understand profile of the industrial sponsor to begin off.

What industry is the companyinvolvedin?What is the aim of the company?What does the company hope to achieve with the launch of the product?What are the current capabilities of the company?Are they able to satisfy the full developmental budget requirement should the project be deemed feasible?Ask yourself these questions#1 Identification of customer needs and product requirementsThe product designed in question have to be relevant to the sponsor company involved.

Is the company a retail based company where end user opinions are extremely important?

Or are they in the tech industry where usability and functionality is priority?

#1 Identification of customer needs and product requirementsNext, we move on to the product itself,

Does the product have to include aesthetic or ergonomic designs?

Also, the aims of the company and the objective of the product have to be clearly defined.

Is the product meant to achieve any performance benchmarks, and what are the most important characteristics of the product to the company?

Once these have been clearly defined, the team would have to start drawing the boundaries on the project. Is there a budget that the team have to adhere to? Some sponsor companies can provide additional funds/facilities to aid the team in their developmental plan or manufacturing processes. The team might want to consult the industry contact for more additional information.

Aesthetics?Functionality?Ergonomics?#1 Identification of customer needs and product requirementsOnce these have been clearly defined, the team would have to start drawing the boundaries on the project.

Is there a budget that the team have to adhere to?

(Hint!)Some sponsor companies can provide additional funds/facilities to aid the team in their developmental plan or manufacturing processes. The team might want to consult the industry contact for more additional information.

#2 Concept Generation

#2 Concept GenerationThe second step of the developmental process is the generation of concepts, or also widely known as the brainstorming stage. At this stage, the team would brainstorm for different ideas. Each member of the team would bring a different proposal to the table for robust discussion within the team to encourage the generation of creative/innovative design. Many successful products in todays world are born only after being filtered down from a very long list of possibilities.

#2 Concept GenerationThe team might seek for inspiration through these methods Clarification of problem?

External/Internal search for existing solutions

Interview of end users

Consultation of experts

#2 Concept GenerationThe first thing that the team might want to answer when generating ideas is what is the purpose the product is supposed to serve? Is it meant to achieve a certain function?

Or is your product meant to improve the performance level of a existing product? Once the problem has been defined clearly, the team can move on to the search for ideas.

#2 Concept GenerationFor inspiration, the team can perform a search externally and internally.

For example, the team can develop ideas based on personal experiences and that of relatives and friends.

An external search can be done on the internet or an industry research on existing solutions to the defined problems and should these solutions be unable to provide a satisfactory answer, the team would either seek to pursue a completely new design or an improvement on the existing model.

#2 Concept Generation

At the end of the day, the team should not forget that the product is meant for usage by the end-users. For example, developing new tools have to take into consideration factors such as the education level of the users. Does it require extensive training before safe use? Is the tool bulky and inconvenient to use? What are the environmental factors in the field where the tool is deployed?Remember the end users#2 Concept GenerationLastly, to ensure relevance of the product, experts can be consulted for interviews.

An interview can be conducted offline or online with the prevalence of modern communication tools.

The team can consider an email interview with relevant experts, or should they deem it necessary, a face to face interview could be arranged.

The team can consult their project supervisor for contact references should they be unable to find a suitable expert.

#3 Concept SelectionThe concept generation phase of the project will wind up with the team having dozens of possible ideas on the table.

#3 Concept Selection

Once the team has filtered down the large list of possibilities to a select few, for example 3 possible ideas,

The team can move on to a very detailed and precise analysis of these ideas, which is one of the most critical phase of the project.#4 Concept Testing and Final Specifications

At the 4th step of the developmental process, the team would decide on the final specifications of the product.#4 Concept Testing and Final SpecificationsAt this phase, the team would further flesh out the 3 ideas that are selected.

The physical dimensions of the different components and its overall geometric layout would be decided upon.

It would also be a plus should the team be able to generate a 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) model of the proposed design using the available modelling softwares at the E2 computer labs.

#4 Concept Testing and Final SpecificationsPhysical prototype models would be generally be created in an industrial setting, as physical models makes it easier for designers to communicate their concepts.

For the purpose of this design project however, it would be realistic for the team to only focus on the development of a single working prototype, which would then be presented to the industry sponsor at the end of the module.Prototypes!

#4 Concept Testing and Final SpecificationsIt is suggested that the team further scrutinize the capabilities of each of the 3 selected models, with help of the 3D models:

Which would best satisfy the design requirements?

Do the different components come together?

Which design features lesser components? (This would be further discussed in a later topic, Design for Manufacturing/Assembly)

At the end of this phase, the team would then move on to further develop the prototype of the product.

For the purpose of the project, every team is allocated a sum of money for purchase of materials required to develop a working model of their product. It is expected that the teams keep within the allocated budget.

#5 Raw Material Component Acquisition for Prototyping#5 Raw Material Component Acquisition for PrototypingThe material acquisition process would be done through a centralized system . More information can be found on the module website.

Do perform a check on whether the company is registered through GEBIZ.

If they are notUnregistered vendors can be registered. Refer to the module website for more information#5 Raw Material Acquisition for PrototypingAt this stage of the developmental process, the team would go through the process of sourcing for the most affordable vendor for their raw materials.

Should the team decide that the list of registered vendors be unable to satisfy their selection criteria, the team might seek to source for alternative vendors externally.

Some external search suggestions are listed on the module website.#6 Prototype DevelopmentAt the final stage of the design project, the team would engage in the physical development of the prototype model.

As the amount of raw materials available to each team is limited, it is encouraged that the team consult with their existing 3D CAD models to confirm the physical dimensions demanded.

Should the team feel that they need further advice on the manufacturing processes, they can opt to consult the experienced lab technicians within the school.

Finally!!!#6 Prototype DevelopmentA list of available manufacturing labs within NUS is provided on the site for the students reference.

Some teams might however, encounter a situation where the facilities required are not available within the school itself.

The team can either consult their industry sponsor if they are able to support these operations.

They can also discuss with their project supervisors the feasibility of outsourcing the required manufacturing operations.Need to outsource?

#6 Prototype DevelopmentTeams areadvisedto develop a schedule to adhere to during this phase of the project, and to start as soon as possible due to the limited capacity of manufacturing labs.

Some manufacturing labs can only allow a maximum of 15personnelsat any point of time to ensure safety of the operators and users in the labs.Schedule it!

#6 Prototype DevelopmentSafety procedures are to be strictly followed and students are expected to attend acompulsorysafety briefing prior to their participation in any manufacturing activities.

Please be advised that students are discouraged to perform any experimental /manufacturing activities outside of the school compound for their own safety, and that such activities are to be strictly performed under supervision of an experienced lab technician to safeguard the well being of students.Safety first!!!