20400_ch00_fm1.qxd 11/25/03 12:42 PM Page i ENGINEERING BY DESIGN Second Edition GERARD VOLAND I n d i a n a U n i v e r s i t y – P u r d u e U n i v e r s i t y F o r t W a y n e Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Frontmatter1 7/12/04 9:07 AM Page ii Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on File Vice President and Editorial Director, Production Editor: Rebecca Homiski ECS: Marcia J. Horton Director of Creative Services: Executive Editor: Eric Svendsen Paul Belfanti Associate Editor: Dee Bernhard Art Director: Jayne Conte Vice President and Director of Cover Designer: Bruce Kenselaar Production and Manufacturing, Art Editor: Greg Dulles ESM: David W. Riccardi Manufacturing Manager: Executive Managing Editor: Trudy Pisciotti Vince O’Brien Manufacturing Buyer: Lynda Castillo Managing Editor: David A. George Marketing Manager: Holly Stark © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson Prentice Hall Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 All rights reserved. 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Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 20400_ch00_fm1.qxd 11/25/03 12:42 PM Page iii I dedicate this work to my mother and father, Eleanor and Norman Voland, and to all those who have made the world a better place. 20400_ch00_fm1.qxd 11/25/03 12:42 PM Page iv 20400_ch00_fm2.qxd 11/25/03 12:44 PM Page v CONTENTS Preface xix Acknowledgments xxix ONE Engineering Design 1 Objectives 1 1.1 Definitions of Engineering 2 1.2 The Engineering Design Process 5 1.3 N th-Generation Designs 8 1.4 Current Practices in Engineering Design 9 1.5 Writing Technical Reports 12 1.5.1 • The Need to Communicate Effectively 12 1.5.2 • Technical Reports 14 1.5.3 • Cover Letters 16 1.6 Teamwork 18 1.6.1 • Common Goals 18 1.6.2 • Equitable Workloads 18 1.6.3 • Mutual Accountability 20 1.6.4 • Collegial Environment 20 1.6.5 • Being Effective as a Team Member 22 1.6.6 • Being Effective as a Team Leader 22 1.6.7 • Successful Meetings 23 1.6.8 • Maintaining Strong Communication Linkages 24 20400_ch00_fm2.qxd 11/25/03 12:44 PM Page vi vi Contents 1.7 The Value of Perseverance in Design 24 The Moso Plant: Patience and a Strong Foundation Lead to Success 25 Summary 26 Problems 27 ADDITIONAL CASE HISTORIES 1.1 • Incomplete Design: The Early Quest for Manned Flight 29 1.2 • Methodical Engineering Design: The Wright Brothers’ Success in Manned Flight 34 1.3 • Nth-Generation Design: Refining the Typewriter (1867–Present) 48 1.4 • Single-Use Cameras 51 TWO Needs Assessment 53 Objectives 53 2.1 Establishing Need 54 2.1.1 • Safety and Quality of Life 55 A Typewriter for the Blind 55 2.1.2 • Improving an Existing Product or System 56 The DC Heart Defribrillator 56 2.1.3 • Commercial Incentives 56 The Kwik-Lok Closure 57 2.1.4 • Personal Experiences 57 The Quick-Release Ski Binding 58 2.1.5 • Opportunities from Scientific Advances 58 How Color Printing Led to Air Conditioning 58 2.2 Service to Humanity 59 2.3 Types of Problems: Prediction, Explanation, Invention 59 2.4 Focusing on Others: The Key to Success 60 2.5 The Design Proposal 62 Summary 67 Problems 67 ADDITIONAL CASE HISTORIES 2.1 • Kidney Dialysis Treatment 68 2.2 • Credit Cards for the Blind 70 2.3 • Cleaning Up Oil Spills 70 20400_ch00_fm2.qxd 11/25/03 12:44 PM Page vii Contents vii 2.4 • Durable Pants for Miners 71 2.5 • Garrett Morgan’s “Safety Hood” and Traffic Signal 72 2.6 • Lake Peigneur Goes Down the Drain 74 2.7 • The Flixborough Explosion 76 2.8 • Maintenance Procedure Leads to the Crash of a DC-10 79 2.9 • Bhopal: Simultaneous Failures Lead to Disaster 81 2.10 • Rushing to Fill the Teton Dam Leads to Its Collapse 85 THREE Structuring the Search for the Problem 87 Objectives 87 3.1 Focus on Function 88 Designing a Better Ink Pen 89 Lawnmowers and Yo-Yos 89 3.2 Formulating the Real Problem 90 3.2.1 • The Dangers of Misdirected Search 90 Reentry of Space Capsules 91 3.2.2 • The Statement-Restatement Technique 92 3.2.3 • Determine the Source and the Cause: Why-Why Diagrams 95 3.2.4 • The Revision Method 95 3.2.5 • Present State and Desired State via Duncker Diagrams 97 Matching PS and DS Statements 97 Duncker Diagrams: General, Functional, and Specific Solutions 98 3.2.6 • What’s Wrong with It? 100 3.2.7 • Benchmarking and Best Practices: Investigate Existing Solutions 100 3.2.8 • Fresh Eye Approach 101 3.3 Kepner-Tregoe Situation Analysis 101 3.3.1 • Situation Analysis 102 The Water Tank Disaster 102 3.3.2 • Problem Analysis 105 The Airplane Rash 106 Summary 108 Problems 108 ADDITIONAL CASE HISTORIES 3.1 • The Tylenol Case 109 3.2 • Blowing in the Wind: Boston’s John Hancock Tower 110 3.3 • Apollo 13: Preventing a Tragedy 113 20400_ch00_fm2.qxd 11/25/03 12:44 PM Page viii viii Contents FOUR Structuring the Search for a Solution: Design Goals and Specifications 115 Objectives 115 4.1 The Need to Structure Your Search for a Solution 117 4.2 Designing the Search Strategy 117 4.2.1 • Eliminating Impossible Solution Paths 118 Twelve Coins and a Scale: The Easy Version 118 4.2.2 • Extracting the Most Useful Information 119 Twelve Coins and a Scale: The Difficult Version, Part I 120 4.2.3 • Evaluating the Final Solution State 120 Twelve Coins and a Scale: The Difficult Version, Part II 120 4.3 Subdividing the Problem into Design Goals 122 4.3.1 • General Design Goals 123 Safety 123 Laminated Glass for Automobile Windshields 123 Environmental Protection 124 Environmentally Safe Batteries 124 Public Acceptance 125 Shopping Cart Security Systems 126 Reliability 126 Performance 126 Ease of Operation (Operating Conditions) 127 Childproof Caps for Older Adults 127 The DC-8 Crash 128 Durability 128 Use of Standard Parts 128 Minimum Cost 129 The Hubble Space Telescope Failure 129 Unexpected Costs in Diapers 130 Minimum Maintenance and Ease of Maintenance 131 The Mianus River Bridge Collapse 131 Satisfying Multiple Goals 133 Coca-Cola’s BreakMate 133 4.3.2 • Specific Design Goals 134 Duplicating Human Capabilities: The Voice Synthesizer 134 Reseeding Forests 135 4.3.3 • Continuously Re-evaluating the Goal List 136 4.4 Working within Quantitative Constraints: Design Specs 136 Mars Climate Orbiter 136 Pulse Oximetry: Measuring the Oxygen Content in Blood 138 20400_ch00_fm2.qxd 11/25/03 12:44 PM Page ix Contents ix 4.5 Ergonomic Constraints in Design 138 The Sinking Boat 139 4.5.1 • Anthropometry 140 4.5.2 • Human Capabilities and Limitations 142 4.5.3 • Ergonomic Impact on Input Data and Displays 147 Jungle Landing 147 4.5.4 • Natural Design and Feedback 148 Summary 149 Problems 149 ADDITIONAL CASE HISTORIES 4.1 • Improper Waste Disposal at Love Canal and Times Beach 150 4.2 • The Collapse of the Baldwin Dam 153 4.3 • Perrier Water 156 4.4 • The Pentium Computer Chip 158 4.5 • Two Routes to Simplicity: Camcorder Redesigns 159 4.6 • O-Rings and the Challenger Disaster 159 4.7 • Fax Machines 162 4.8 • The Development of Band-Aids 163 4.9 • The Ergonomically Designed Lounge Chair 164 FIVE Acquiring, Applying, and Protecting Technical Knowledge 169 Objectives 169 5.1 Science: The Foundation of Technical Knowledge 171 Coin Testers 172 5.1.1 • Inclined Planes, Levers, and Counterweights 172 Elevators 174 Shadoofs 175 Block and Tackle Systems 175 Tower Cranes and Climbing Frames 177 5.1.2 • Wave Phenomena 178 Touchscreen Monitors 178 One-Way Mirrors 179 Eyeglasses 182 Refracting Telescopes 184 Acoustical Design of Concert Halls 184 5.1.3 • Piezoelectricity 185 Quartz Watches 185 20400_ch00_fm2.qxd 11/25/03 12:44 PM Page x x Contents 5.1.4 • The Joule Effect 186 Incandescent Electric Lights 187 5.1.5 • Sublimation 187 Freeze-Dried Coffee 188 5.1.6 • Magnetism 188 Electric Motors 188 5.1.7 • Pressure 189 Airspeed Indicators (Anemometers): A Bit of Tape Leads to Disaster 189 Siphons and Anti-Siphon Valves 190 5.1.8 • Binary Notation 190 Computers and Cryptography 191 5.1.9 • Summary 192 5.2 Sources of Technical Knowledge 194 5.3 Protection of Intellectual Property 195 5.3.1 • Trade Secrets 196 5.3.2 • Trademarks 197 Uneeda Biscuits’ Slicker Boy 198 Elmer’s Glue 198 The AT&T Blue Bell 199 5.3.3 • Copyrights 200 5.3.4 • Patents 200 Abraham Lincoln’s Buoying Design 202 5.4 Patents 205 5.4.1 • Types of Patents 205 5.4.2 • Criteria for Utility Patents 206 5.4.3 • Patent Disclosures 209 5.4.4 • Claims 210 5.4.5 • Conducting a Patent Search 211 Multiple-Effect Evaporation Process 211 Summary 212 Problems 213 ADDITIONAL CASE HISTORIES 5.1 • A Special Mix of Experience Leads to Photocopying 215 5.2 • Technical Knowledge and Quick Thinking Save a Life