This document provides an overview of engineering design approaches and concepts. It discusses: - The role of engineering in society and how technology impacts society. Engineers must consider societal needs and challenges. - Key design phases including conceptual design, embodiment design, configuration design. Embodiment design establishes the product architecture and layout. - Product architecture styles of modular vs integral. Modular is more adaptable but integral may be necessary for performance reasons. - Configuration design determines the shape and dimensions of components based on interfaces and connections between parts. Standard and special purpose parts are considered. - An activity is described to have students practice the design process through a paper tower building challenge focused on goals of height,

1. Module3:
Engineering Design
Approaches

2. Professional and societal Context of
Design
2
• It is important to understand the role of engineering within our society.
• What is a society : A group of humans broadly distinguished from other groups by
mutual interests, participation in characteristic relationships, distinct cultural patterns,
shared institution, and a common cultural identity.
• As a society, we often take technology for granted. However, we must always be
aware of its value and shortcomings.

3. Engineering, Technology and Society
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• Engineers are the members of society that are engaged in “systematic development of
technology, and application of that technology to the benefit of society.”
• Your engineering activities can have profound impact on society.
• What are the challenges : By the year 2020 the world’s population will approach 8
billion.
 Effective use of resources.
 Healthcare accessible to different society as per their need.
 The Youth Bulge and Security Implications.

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5. Professionalism
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6. Types of Design

7. Conceptual Design and Embodiment
Design
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Embodiment design is also called
preliminary design/ system-level
Design.
The term embodiment design
comes from Pahland and Beitz
and has been adopted by most
European and British writers
about design.

8. Product Architecture
8
• Product architecture is the arrangement of the physical elements of a product to
carry out its required functions.
• The product architecture begins to emerge in the conceptual design phase from
such things as diagrams of functions, rough sketches of concepts, and perhaps
a proof-of-concept model.
• However, it is in the embodiment design phase that the layout and architecture
of the product must be established by defining the basic building blocks of the
product and their interfaces.
• The physical building blocks that the product is organized into are usually called
modules (often called subsystem, subassembly, cluster, or chunk).
• Each module is made up of a collection of components that carry out functions.

9. Product Architecture
9
• There are two entirely opposite
styles of product architecture:
modular and integral.
• In a modular architecture, each
module implements only one
or a few functions, and the
interactions between modules
are well defined.
• In an integral architecture the
implementation of functions is
accomplished by only one or a
few modules.

10. Modular vs Integral
10
• A modular architecture makes it easier to evolve the design over time.
• It can be adapted to the needs of different customers by adding or deleting
modules.
• Integral product architecture is often adopted when constraints of weight, space,
or cost make it difficult to achieve required performance.

11. Types of Modular Design
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• There are three types of modular architectures defined by the type of interface
used: slot, bus, and sectional

12. Configuration Design
12
• In configuration design the shape and general dimensions of components are
established. In configuration design the shape and general dimensions of
components are established.
• The term component is used in the generic sense to include special-purpose
parts, standard parts, and standard assemblies.
• The arrangement of features includes both the location and orientation of the
geometric features
Four possible physical
configurations for a
component (right-angle
bracket) whose purpose is
to connect two plates at
right angles to each other

13. Configuration Design
13
• A standard part is one that has a generic function and is manufactured routinely
without regard to a particular product.
• A special-purpose part is designed and manufactured for a specific purpose in a
specific product line.

14. Configuration Design
14
• An assembly is a collection of two or more parts.
• A subassembly is an assembly that is included within
another assembly or subassembly.
• A standard assembly is an assembly or subassembly
that has a generic function and is manufactured
routinely
Example: electric motors, pumps, and gearboxes

15. Configuration Design Steps
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Review the product design specification and any specifications developed for the particular
subassembly to which the component belongs.
Establish the spatial constraints that pertain to the product or the subassembly being
designed (product architecture).
Create and refine the interfaces or connections between components. (product architecture).
Much design effort occurs at the connections between components.
Before spending much time on the design, answer the following questions: Can the part be
eliminated or combined with another part? Studies of design for manufacture (DFM) show
that it is almost always less costly to make and assemble fewer, more complex parts than it
is to design with a higher part count.
Can a standard part or subassembly be used? While a standard part is generally less costly
than a special-purpose part, two standard parts may not be less costly than one special-
purpose part that replaces them.

16. Alternative Configurations
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As in conceptual design, generally the first attempt at a configuration design does not yield
the best that you can do, so it is important to generate a number of alternatives for each
component or subassembly.
Ullman characterizes configuration design as refining and patching.
Refining is a natural activity as we move through the design process in which we develop
more specificity about the object as we move from an abstract to a highly detailed
description.
Patching is the activity of changing a design without changing its level of abstraction.

17. Activity: Paper Tower Design and
Construction
17
Materials Required: Paper and tape
Goal: to practice the design process, including planning, predicting performance, and
teamwork to achieve the same goal.
Performance Score = 10H - 67N - Z( T – 300 )
where H is the height of the tower in inches, N is the number of sheets of paper used,
T is the construction time in seconds, and Z is a weighting factor.
For example, Z = 0 if the construction time is less than 5 minutes, Z = 3 if the
construction time is between 3 and 10 minutes, and Z = 15 if the construction time is
greater than 10 minutes.

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