Engineering Design Process - Essay Example

Engineering Design Process Name: Course: Instructor: Institution: Date of Submission: The engineering design process is a procedure that designers and engineers use to solve problems while creating new products, environments, systems and building structures. The engineering process concerns a number steps, though the engineers do not have to follow the steps to the latter. The main two themes used in the engineering design process include teamwork and design. Following the steps ensures the users strengthen their understanding of the open-ended design process emphasizing on the practicality and creativity. On many situations, the steps of the engineering process ought to be often repeated before one can move to the next step. The engineering design processes will be presented to present how they assist in design making processes, to meet a certain set objective. The elements of the design process include the development of criteria and objectives, analysis, synthesis, construction, evaluation, and testing. The engineering design processes include identifying the problem, conducting a background research, specifying the requirements of the issues, brainstorming solutions, selecting the most appropriate solution, engaging in a development work, building a prototype, and lastly conducting a test and redesigning the structure. The study will introduce each step to present how it works and, used in designing and building a roof truss using Perspex. Figure 1: The Engineering Design Process Identifying the Problem To identify the problem one has to answer several questions such as; what is the need or problem that needs to be identified? Why is the problem important to be solved? Thus, to define the problem, one has to identify the problem first, and whom the problem affects. In this case, the problem is designing and building a roof truss. The individual that needs the roof truss to be designed is the owner by the general contractors/engineers that have been chosen. To define the problem one must ask what it is; the problem can also be a need. In the case of the project, the problem/need is designing and building a roof truss while considering all the design requirements that are necessary to guarantee the success of the project. To understand clearly the need, an analysis on how others have approached the issue will be analyzed, and the consideration of other constraints will be evaluated (Ertas & Jones, 1996). The constraints include the challenges that others have identified when dealing with the issues. It provides an overview of the problems that the engineers in the roof truss project should anticipate or try to manage to ensure efficiency in the design and building of the roof truss. Conducting a Background Research It involves researching the issue. Researching on the design and building of a roof truss. That is; research on the existing literature on the development and design of roof truss has to be conducted. The research will provide an analysis of the problems mainly associated with the work and factors that influence the success of the developments. More importantly, it will include an analysis of the solutions linked to the issue, costs, and other needs that must be considered. The sources of the research ought to be relevant and reliable, as the information provided will be considered in the project while considering the roof truss design and development. More importantly, the solutions provided in the literature will be used in anticipating some of the techniques to be used in the research (Dym & Little, 2009). The literature will derive from some of the successful and failed roof truss projects mainly using the Perspex materials. Other research will be conducted using the government documents available to ensure all legal requirements and procedures are met, vendor catalogs trade journals and the internet among other sources. Specifying the requirements of the issues The design requirements will be identified during the problem/ need definition sector. Specifying the design requirement include identifying ways in which the design project should be controlled through the engineering design process. The process includes identifying functions, specifications, and attributes of the design once the need of the project has been developed. Most of the common specifications the project will consider include maintainability, testability, and availability of the software and hardware parameters of the project (Eide, et al., 2002). Brainstorming solutions Brainstorming is a popular step and stage among many processes. The step involves thinking and developing of different ideas from different individuals, perspectives, and terms and using the ideas to perceived how the problem identified or need could be solved. The ideas developed are evaluated thoroughly to determine, which of the solutions brainstormed has the capacity of meeting the need effectively. During brainstorming, the team ought to focus on the quantity, not the quality of the ideas generated. That is; every idea is important, and the process of having few great solutions is achieved. The team ought to understand that all ideas are welcome, as the ideas may not benefit the project but be used someplace else where their impacts are perceived. All ideas generated must be recorded in the engineering sketchbooks available. Selecting the most appropriate solution To select the most appropriate solution, a concept evaluation process is developed. The approach is used by comparing and contrasting the weaknesses and strengths of each idea while proposing the possible alternatives. That is; the idea that has more strong points and weaknesses that could be effectively managed is selected. The selected option has to consider all areas of the project from the beginning to the end. The chosen solution must show the capability or the impact it will present at the end. The specifications to be also considered derive from the designer and owner of the project. It must have a high understanding of the restrictions it will probably face, among other possible design constraints. The team ought to understand their roles and goals to ensure they all work together to meet the target. The specifications include an analysis of the labor to be used, experience, budget, and resources among other factors. The most important factor is that demand and need of the project must be accomplished. Engaging in a development work The design group or designer in this stage has already evaluated different concepts with the capability of solving the need identified effectively. The designer has to choose among the prototypes developed the elegant solution that meets the needs of the project. The lessons learned or information gained from developing the prototypes is used to determine the concept that should be applied in building the roof truss. However, on many occasions, more than one prototype meets the needs of the project and the decision-making of the prototype to choose a challenge. However, to handle the decision-making when many elegant solutions are available, the designers ought to use a methodical approach. Votes cannot be used in engineering as they provide an unjustified opinion, which is not an option in engineering. Thus, the methodical approach involves building a consensus (such as a test) and use quantitative factors to justify either of the options. The method eliminates the attainment of stalemate situations as each concept is evaluated thoroughly and alternatives to determine the appropriate course of action. Building a prototype During the development of a prototype, the engineers will use some of the concepts or ideas chosen to develop a prototype of the structure using the designs. The purpose of the step is to identify how each function selected will interact and function when related to the actual environment. At this stage, the designer perceives the weaknesses and strengths of each concept more closely and makes their decision on which concept to use for the development based on the outcomes of the prototype. The prototypes developed must be functional for the designer to educate himself or herself using the prototypes on the best solution for the need identified. At this stage, the designer learns the benefits and analyzes each concept effectively while determining the concept design that suits the need identified (Dieter & Schmidt, 2007). Test and redesigning the structure Testing involves implementing the prototypes to evaluate their functionality in the environment. During the test process, the success factors are identified as well as those that require advancements and changes for more development. The processes using in the testing stage ought to be well documented for effective development and changes. The goal of testing is to determine whether the project met the specifications, or more advancements are needed. On the stipulation advancements are needed, the redesigning of the chosen concept is conducted. The redesigning of the structure occurs through changing and modifying the sections that need advancements to ensure the final implementation meets the goals of the project. Once the restructure has been redesigned through alternatives and tests, the appropriate design to be employed is developed. The design must meet all the specifications and demands identified in the previous steps. It involves ensuring the design meets the need of the project, which is designing the roof truss using the perplex materials. Redesigning involves making the concepts real while employing all details in the development. After an effective redesigning process, factors such as the user manuals, and design presentations among others are conducted. Once the selection has completely occurred, the designers implement the chosen factor as they start building the roof truss, using the designated materials. As perceived above, the engineering design process is a systematic process. To attain success in engineering the step must be followed and ensure that every step is covered thoroughly for the success of the final implementation. Every step is critical to determining the success of the final project. Some of the steps may appear minor, but all steps are important to the overall design and implementation of a final success factor. To solve any engineering problem, the steps must be followed. The steps begin with an identification of the problem or need to be solved and end with a solution developed to meet the need identified. The solution, as presented above is then implemented to present the final step of the engineering design process. References Dieter, G. & Schmidt, L., 2007. Engineering Design. New York: McGraw-Hill companies Inc.,. Dym, L. & Little, P., 2009. Engineering Design. 3 ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. Eide, A., Jenison, R., Mashaw, L. & Northup, L., 2002. Engineering: Fundamentals and Problem Solving. New York: McGraw-Hill companies Inc.. Ertas, A. & Jones, J., 1996. The Engineering Design Process. 2 ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Read More