Engineering Design I Chapter 1: Introduction

Richard Hornsey Departments of Computer Science & Physics Fall 2002

About Me
Ancient history
MA, MSc, DPhil, Oxford University Hitachi Central Research L b T k Hit hi C t l R h Labs, Tokyo Microelectronics Research Lab., Cambridge University

Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, 1994 - 2001 Research areas:
electronic materials, manufacture of microelectronic devices nanostructures thin-film electronics integrated sensors

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Outline of Introduction
What is an Engineer? What is Engineering? Where is Engineering going? Skills required by and Engineer Engineering Design g g g The design process Case study

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What is an Engineer?

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Isambard Kingdom Brunel

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Other Engineers
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William Gates
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Mechanical Engineering
Bombardiers snowmobile (1923)

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Brunels Clifton Suspension Bridge ( (designed 1830) g )

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Donald Smith and the last spike (1885)

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Religious Engineering

Pyramids (c. 2500BC)

Leaning tower of Pisa (1173)

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Stonehenge (c. 2500BC)

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Military Engineering
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Great Wall of China ( (200BC) )

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B-2 Stealth Bomber (1990s)

medieval trebuchet (1300s)

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Civil Engineering

CN Tower, Toronto (1976)

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Pont du Gard, France (20BC)

Petronas Towers Kuala Lumpur (1998)

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Intel Pentium 4
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Canadarm

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Confederation Bridge

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Newer Engineering

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What differences?
What are the differences between the traditional and the newer forms of engineering?

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So What is Engineering?
I fix things; thats what Engineers do.
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Chief Miles OBrien StarTrek Deep Space O Brien, Nine

Profession devoted to designing, constructing, and operating the structures, machines, and other devices of industry and everyday life Discipline dealing with the art or science of applying scientific knowledge to practical problems
better it implies a scientific basis while acknowledging that there is an artistic component and that engineers solve practical problems

Doing for seventy cents what any fool can do for a dollar
not precise, but sums up the economics
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Textbook Definitions
Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario (APEO)
any act of designing that involves third-party concerns and that requires the application of engineering principles principles

Professional Engineers Act, Ontario

1. any act of designing, composing, evaluating, advising, reporting, directing or supervising; 2. wherein the safeguarding of life, health, property or the public welfare is concerned, and 3. 3 that requires the application of engineering principles but does not principles, include practising as a natural scientist.

Textbook for this course

an innovative and methodical application of scientific knowledge and an technology to produce a device, system or process, which is intended to satisfy human need(s)

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Key Concepts
Engineering is a profession
what does it mean to be a professional?

Engineering is legally regulated E i i i l ll l t d

use of the title Engineer is restricted

Key words in these definitions

design third-party concerns; safety and public welfare innovative methodical scientific knowledge; technology produce device, system, or process

Engineers Act serves to protect the public

for more information on the Professional Engineers of Ontario ( g (PEO), ) see [Link]
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Engineering Designation
Canadian Council of Professional Engineers and Microsoft Corp. Agree on use of Engineer title Ottawa, Ont., May 11, 2001 After discussions with Canadas engineering profession, Microsoft Corp. will advise Canadian holders of its MCSE certification not to call themselves engineers or use the full title Microsoft Certified System Engineers. Microsofts decision should prevent Canadian holders of the MCSE certification from inadvertently breaking provincial and territorial laws, which protect the public by restricting the use of the titles engineer and engineering and the practice of engineering in Canada to licensed professional engineers. It should also ensure that the engineering professions licensing bodies will not be required to take enforcement action against MCSE holders who mistakenly use the title engineer or otherwise hold themselves out as having been qualified to practice engineering. We are very pleased by Microsofts decision, said Marie Lemay, [Link]., CEO of the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (CCPE). Microsoft has demonstrated corporate leadership by acting in the best interest of the MCSE community. Holders of the MCSE certification are not licensed or regulated by the engineering profession. If they mistakenly use the titles engineer and engineering the provincial or territorial engineering associations/order would have to take enforcement action against them. Its decision is good for the information technology industry, good for MCSE holders, and good for the engineering profession profession. The engineering profession, represented by CCPE and several provincial engineering regulatory associations, met with Microsoft in Seattle late last year to explain the legal issues surrounding the use of the title engineer in Canada, and to ask the corporation to stop referring to holders of the MCSE credential as engineers. Canadian MCSEs have received certification as Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers, which could lead them to mistakenly misuse the title engineer. We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with the engineering profession and to support it, said Anne Marie McSweeney, the acting Director of Microsoft Certification and Skills Assessment. It opens the door for closer cooperation among all organizations in the information technology industry and the engineering profession in Canada. As the Microsoft credentials continue to evolve, it is our goal to ensure they maintain the highest level of relevance to the industry and represent leaders in cutting-edge technology. Microsoft is currently researching alternatives for the MCSE credential worldwide, which could result in a new name for the credential later this year.
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Whither Engineering?
Based on out definitions, is this engineering?

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Or this?

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Top 10 Skills of an Engineer

From the text book:

1. Problem-solving skills 2. Effective 2 Eff ti communication skills i ti kill 3. Highly ethical and professional behaviour 4. Open mind and positive attitude 5. P fi i Proficiency i math and science in th d i 6. Technical skills 7. Motivation for lifelong learning 8. K Knowledge of b i l d f business strategies and management practices t t i d t ti 9. Computer literacy 10. Understanding of world affairs and cultures

Be good at everything! The engineering profession is changing

no longer do people stay with one company the above skills ensure that an engineer remains flexible
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Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)

Engineering programs must show that their graduates have:
an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering an ability t design and conduct experiments, as well as t analyse and bilit to d i d d t i t ll to l d interpret data an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility an ability to communicate effectively the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal context a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning a knowledge of contemporary issues an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.
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Half-life of Knowledge
Half-life is the time after which half of our (technical) knowledge is obsolete
~12 years in 1940 12 ~5 years in 2000 ~3 years for software professionals long half-life knowledge f f Fundamentals e.g. science & math, g communication, creativity, time process short half-life knowledge Application Specific e.g. software packages, exam cramming
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acquisition
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depreciation

time

What is Design?
From Oxford English Dictionary
to make the plans and drawings necessary for the construction of (a building, ship, machine, etc.), building ship machine etc ) which the workmen have to follow out from Latin, to mark out, from de- + signare to mark

Engineering Design
is the i th systematic, intelligent generation and evaluation of t ti i t lli t ti d l ti f specifications for artifacts whose form and function achieve stated objectives and satisfy specified constraints (Dym & Little) how is this different from the definition of engineering? engineering ?

Key words
systematic generation and evaluation specifications, stated objectives artifacts form and function constraints
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Engineering Design is a Process

The underlying philosophy of this course is that engineering design is a process that can be learned It i thi process that distinguishes an engineer from an is this th t di ti i h i f inventor
indeed, good professional practice requires that the appropriate process be followed

Such management practices are being standardised in such generic standards as ISO 9000
The ISO 9000 family of standards represents an international The consensus on good management practices with the aim of ensuring that the organization can time and time again deliver the product or services that meet the client's quality requirements. These good practices have been distilled into a set of standardized requirements for a quality management system, regardless of what your organization does, its size, or whether it's in the private, or public sector. sector this is not specifically for engineering, but the same idea applies
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Design Process Cycle

From textbook:
Needs assessment (Evaluation) Implementation

Problem formulation
1. Client Statement 2. P bl Problem D fi iti Definition 3. Conceptual Design 4. Preliminary Design 5. D t il d D i Detailed Design 6. Design Communication 7. Final Design

Abstraction and synthesis

Analysis

Other books use slightly different models, e.g. Dym & Little

Are these the same? Which do you prefer? The 6 steps in the cycle are well described in the text (1.2) R. Hornsey

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Needs Assessment
Identify the objectives and/or needs
may be supplied by the client may require d i education of th client ti f the li t

Who will benefit from the solution? How? What solutions, if any, already exist?
strengths and weaknesses?

What are the constraints?

may be apparent or hidden

How will you know if the needs have been met?

testability, design for test verification manufacturability

For example, we are asked to build an aeroplane

(based loosely on case studies of the Wright brothers in Ch 1 of text) Ch.1 it must be capable of powered flight
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Unanticipated Constraints - Challenger

An unanticipated constraint in the Chellenger design

O-ring seals do not seal effectively at low temperatures
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Problem Formulation
Define the real problem
re-interpret the objectives in the light of what is possible

The Th goal is to break down the problem into a set of design li t b kd th bl i t t fd i objectives which can lead to a full solution
check that the sum of the parts still equals the whole, i.e. the individual steps together solve the original problem

For our aeroplane

require enough lift must overcome drag t d need a low-mass engine must have enough control (pitch, roll, yaw)

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Abstraction and Synthesis

Develop general methods for solving the problems, including alternatives Each f the E h of th problems must b tackled methodically, based on bl t be t kl d th di ll b d
experience technical knowledge creativity i i input from others

If necessary, additional knowledge should be gained from published material or from experimentation/theory bli h d t i l f i t ti /th For example
determine how the the drag and lift are affected by the shape and area of the wing, hence propose appropriate wing geometries find someone to build a lightweight engine to your specifications test a number of control strategies on un-powered gliders before designing the final d i i th fi l version i
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Approximations
The world is not an ideal place
non-idealities lead to very complex and not necessarily solvable calculations l l i even ideal situations have no straightforward solution e.g. the motion of a pendulum with just one extra joint is chaotic

However, engineers must find a workable solution Sometimes a brute-force approach is used, such as numerical simulation
but this is still only as good as the knowledge used to construct the simulator

Typically, the skill of an engineer is to determine which approximations to use in order to reach an acceptable solution e.g. Sydney Opera House
the architect originally wanted parabolic roofs but the stress calculations were so complex that engineers eventually substituted arcs of circles
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Analysis
Determine which of your designs is best
technically economically i ll ethically, environmentally to manufacture (linked to economics) for f product life cycle d t lif l for human factors satisfies the customer

Construct prototypes to evaluate close contenders

the Wright brothers made numerous revisions and modifications to their gliders based on trials of the prototypes

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Implementation and Evaluation

Build it and sell it! Typically, pre-production models will be tested before fullscale manufacture l f t
by the customer by focus groups by interest groups, e.g. b b i beta testing of software i f f

The design process is iterative

i.e. it repeats continuously, (hopefully) approaching the optimum solution l ti

How do we know that the solution is getting more optimal?

evaluation, feedback from customers, litigation for mass produced products, there is more feedback, but the consequences of an error are larger e.g. recent Bridgestone-Firestone tire recall

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It i I is very expensive if it is the customer who finds the fault in i i i h h fi d h f l i your product
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Flaws in Evaluation
The Pentium Bug
a subtle fault which appeared in 1994 that could produce significant errors in mathematical calculations Intel initially responded that only people doing serious math would get a replacement company eventually gave in under intense pressure and offered replacements for everyone

New Intel slogans

Q: How many Pentium designers does it take to screw in a light bulb? A: 1.99995827903, but that's close enough for non-technical people. At Intel, quality is job 0.999999998.
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Law of ten
cost of catching a mistake increases tenfold at each stage concept, schematic, layout, manufacture, packaging, verification, customer
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Summary
Engineers are highly skilled and versatile professionals
with understanding both of the technical theory and the methods for solving problems

Problem solving is structured

several different methodologies are possible but the outcome is similar

This Thi combination makes the professional engineer different bi ti k th f i l i diff t from both the technologist and the inventor We concluded this introduction with a brief overview of each of the stages of the design process f th t f th d i These stages will be examined in detail in the remainder of the term

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Other Books to Read

C.L. Dym & P. Little, "Engineering Design: A Project-Based Approach", Wiley, 2000, ISBN 0-471-28296-0 P. Dominick t l "T l P D i i k et. al., "Tools and Tactics of Design", Wiley, 2001 d T ti f D i " Wil 2001, ISBM 0-471-38648-0. M. Horenstein, "Design Concepts for Engineers, Prentice Hall, 1999 H ll 1999, ISBN 0 13 081369 9 0-13-081369-9 C. Fleddermann, "Engineering Ethics", Prentice Hall, 1999 ISBN 0-13-784224-4

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Homework
Read and understand the section on report writing in textbook (1.5) Read th R d the case studies at th end of Ch 1 t di t the d f Ch.1 Chapter 1 problems

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