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OVERVIEW
A scientist studies what is, whereas an engineer creates what never was.
Theodore con Karman
Design is the process by which human intellect, creativity, and passion are translated into
useful artifacts. Engineering design is a subset of this broad design process in which performance
and quality objectives and the underlying science are particularly important. Engineering design
is a loosely structured, open-ended activity that includes problem definition, learning processes,
representation, and decision making.
Engineering designers attempt to create solutions to satisfy particular specifications while
complying with all constraints. When a satisfactory solution cannot be discerned, the designer
must create new options. The traditional design approach has been one of deterministic problem
solving, typically involving efforts to meet functional requirements subject to various technical
and economic constraints.
In seeking a logical and rigorous structure to aid in developing a satisfactory design, or one
that is acceptable to the customer or user of the product, a number of approaches have been
proposed to organize, guide, and facilitate the design process. Examples include Taguchi's theory
of robust design, Deming's principles of quality control, Quality Function Deployment, design for
manufacture, and concurrent engineering. In some cases these approaches can lead to different
and conflicting answers. It is important, therefore, that they be assessed individually and
collectively to determine both their strengths and limitations for particular applications. A
selection of these techniques is summarized in Chapter 4 and some of their limitations and
advantages are noted.
PRIOR STUDIES
is
The National Research Council study Improving Engineering Design (NRC, 1991) reported
that the best engineering design practices were not widely used in U.S. industry and that the key
role of engineering designers in the product realization process was often not well understood by
management. To reverse this trend the report recommended a complete rejuvenation of
engineering design practice, education, and research, involving intense cooperation among
industrial firms, universities, and government. The authors found that few of the
recommendations have been implemented.
The 1991 study was authored at a time when the United States was losing market leadership
to the "Asian tigers." It reflected pessimism about the ability of the United States to compete in
world markets and attributed some of the nation's problems to poor design practices. A short
decade later, the U.S. economy is leading the world, based in part on continuing annual
productivity increases. Many observers credit this dominance largely to the leading position of
the United States in the information age that has displaced the industrial age. Information
technologies clearly have had, and will continue to have, a large impact on engineering design.
1
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APPROACHES TO IMPROVE ENGINEERING DESIGN
It is logical to ask whether proficiency in engineering design matters in this new economy.
The authors' answer is a resounding yes! The globalization of the economy and the associated
competitive pressures to introduce new, better products faster and at lower cost make engineering
design even more important.
Recently, the importance of engineering design was re-emphasized by Wm A. Wulf,
president of the National Academy of Engineering (Wulf, 1998), and by the Accreditation Board
for Engineering and Technology in its standards (see Appendix A), which require an increased
emphasis on design in engineering curricula.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has been actively working to address various issues
in the engineering design area. In 1996, it sponsored a workshop entitled "Research Opportunities
in Engineering Design" to determine research priorities in engineering design by examining
industry and education needs and to formulate recommendations for the NSF's Engineering
Design Program (NSF, 1996~. The NSF funds an on-line decision-based design open workshop to
engage design theory researchers in a dialogue to establish a common foundation for research and
educational endeavors (~. The NSF also sponsored Gordon Research
Conferences in 1998 and 2000 on theoretical foundations for product design and manufacturing
(GRC, 1998, 2000~.
THE CHANGING NATURE OF ENGINEERING DESIGN
5
In the past it was too often sufficient to design, produce, and market designs based mostly on
lore, empiricisms, and extrapolations. Many industrial processes and products remained
essentially unchanged as long as the companies were profitable and the industries were
unchallenged.
In today's economy the globalization of business and markets, the changing nature of world
trade regulations and business operations, and the impacts of information technology on business
have fundamentally changed the economy and are having a profound effect on engineering
practice. To be competitive in today's global marketplace, incremental changes and empirical
methods are inadequate. Products must be developed and introduced to markets faster, with
unprecedented demands for high performance and low cost.
Strategic changes in existing industries are required to counter the salary differences between
the workers in this country who produce exports and those across the globe who produce imports.
Furthermore, new and unprecedented demands on the performance and operation of new and
emerging technologies and the major innovations required for industries to be competitive on a
global scale have surpassed the existing general knowledge from which such designs can be
made. There is little or no experience on which to base such technological advances. Thus, there
exists a chasm between existing empirically developed systems and possible innovations.
Engineers today do have extraordinary tools and resources including computers, remarkable
materials, and advanced engineering environments at their disposal. Much deeper understanding
of the industrial processes is required, however, before those resources can be put to good use.
The result, a new and essential toot for engineering practice also known as Research for Design
(R4D), can be used to develop knowledge bases that enable innovative, reliable, cost-effective,
and efficient designs. Design is a complex process involving aspects ranging from product quality
to life-cycle analysis, but first and foremost, the physicochemical phenomena or behavior of the
system elements, must be understood to make the innovations required and to assure functional
performance of the design.
The research in R4D is focused and directed to provide the designers the specific information
they require in real time. It differs from the R in R&D, which usually means basic scientific
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IMPLICA TIONS FOR EDUCA TION AND RESEARCH
research. R4D focuses on the people-made world to expand the knowledge base from which
advances in design and production can be made. It is often multi-disciplinary and addresses the
functional characteristics of large systems that consist of intricate components. Every company
must have an ever increasing, relevant engineering knowledge base and the technologies and the
people for translating that base into products rapidly and efficiently.
R4D requires researchers to be in continual contact with designers and systems engineers in
order to identify, define, and obtain the precise information required for the development of
cutting-edge technologies. Recent technological advances in distributed networking,
telecommunications, multi-user computer applications, and interactive virtual reality (called
"advanced engineering environments" tNRC, 19993) not only enable disparate communities to
interact in real time but also allow seamless integration of research, development, and application
cycles to bring about efficient interactions and rapid progress.
Major advances in engineering design are based on increased computational power and
communication (information technology). High-fidelity models of complex systems and
advanced visualization techniques, as reported in Advanced Engineering Environments:
Achieving the Vision, Phase I (NRC, 1999), provide powerful new tools to today's designers. But
stunning graphics and improved models are not sufficient to design increasingly complex
systems; methodologies to make sound design decisions are required.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
advanced engineering
