3.1 Engineering Design Process 41
Engineers are problem solvers. In this chapter, we will introduce you to the engineer-
ing design process. As we discussed in Chapter 1, engineers apply physical and chem-
ical laws and principles and mathematics to design millions of products and services
that we use in our everyday lives. Here, we will look more closely at what the term
design means and learn more about how engineers go about designing these products
and services. We will discuss the basic steps that most engineers follow when design-
ing something. We will also introduce you to the economic considerations, material
selection, team work, project scheduling, and engineering standards and codes — all
an integral part of the design process and product and service development.
3.1 Engineering Design Process
Let us begin by emphasizing what we said in Chapter 1 about what engineers do. Engineers apply
physical laws, chemical laws and principles, and mathematics todesignmillions of products and ser-
vices that we use in our everyday lives. These products include cars, computers, aircrafts, clothing,
toys, home appliances, surgical equipment, heating and cooling equipment, health care devices,
tools and machines that make various products, and so on. Engineers consider important factors
such as cost, efficiency, reliability, sustainability, and safety when designing the products, and they
perform tests to make certain that the products they design withstand various loads and condi-
tions. Engineers are continuously searching for ways to improve already existing products as well.
Engineers alsodesignand supervise the construction of buildings, dams, highways, and mass tran-
sit systems. They alsodesignand supervise the construction of power plants that supply power to
manufacturing companies, homes, and offices. Engineers play a significant role in thedesignand
maintenance of nations’ infrastructures, including communication systems, utilities, and trans-
portation. They continuously develop new advanced materials to make products lighter and stron-
ger for different applications. Engineers are also responsible for findingsuitable waysanddesigning
the necessary equipment to extract petroleum, natural gas, and raw materials from the earth.
Let us now look more closely at what constitutes thedesign process. These are the basic steps
that engineers, regardless of their background, follow to arrive at solutions to problems. The
steps include: (1) recognizing the need for a product or a service, (2) defining and understand-
ing the problem (the need) completely, (3) doing preliminary research and preparation, (4) con-
ceptualizing ideas for possible solutions, (5) synthesizing the findings, (6) evaluating good ideas
in more detail, (7) optimizing solutions to arrive at the best possible solution, (8) and present-
ing the final solution.
Keep in mind that these steps, which we will discuss soon, are not independent of one
another and do not necessarily follow one another in the order in which they are presented here.
In fact, engineers often need to return to steps 1 and 2 when clients decide to change design
parameters. Quite often, engineers are also required to give oral and written progress reports on
a regular time basis. Therefore, be aware of the fact that even though we listed presentation of
the design process as step 8, it could well be an integral part of many other design steps. Let us
now take a closer look at each step, starting with the need for a product or a service.Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).圀圀圀⸀夀䄀娀䐀䄀一倀刀䔀匀匀⸀䌀伀䴀圀圀圀⸀夀䄀娀䐀䄀一倀刀䔀匀匀⸀䌀伀䴀