Module 3

Design Communication (Languages of Engineering

Design):-Communicating Designs Graphically,
Communicating Designs Orally and in Writing. Mathematical
Modeling In Design, Prototyping and Proofing the Design.
 Communicating design graphically
• Drawing is very important in design because a lot of information is
created and transmitted in the drawing process.
• Design drawings include sketches, freehand drawings, and
computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) models that extend
from simple wire-frame drawings through elaborate solid models
Advantages of graphical drawing/sketches
•serve as a launching pad for a brand-new design;
• support the analysis of a design as it evolves;
• simulate the behavior or performance of a design;
• record the shape or geometry of a design;
• communicate design ideas among designers;
• ensure that a design is complete (as a drawing and its
associated marginalia may remind us of still-undone parts of
that design);
• communicate the final design to the manufacturing
specialists.
 SKETCHING
•Sketching is a powerful tool in design because it enables us to convey
our design ideas to others quickly and concisely.
Types are:
A. Orthographic sketches
lay out the front, right and top views of a part
B. Axonometric sketches
start with an axis, typically a vertical line with two lines 30 degree
from the horizontal.
C. Oblique sketches
The front view is blocked in roughly first, depth lines are then
added, and details such as rounded edges are added last.
A. Orthographic sketches
B. Axonometric sketches
C. Oblique sketches
D. Perspective sketches
THE SEVERAL FORMS OF ENGINEERING
DRAWINGS
•When we communicate design results to a manufacturer, we
must think very carefully about the fabrication specifications
that we are creating in drawings, as well as those we write.
• we must ensure that our drawings are both appropriate to
our design and prepared in accordance with relevant
engineering practices and standards.
DESIGN DRAWINGS
1)Layout drawings
• working drawings that show the major parts or components of a
device and their relationship
• They are usually drawn to scale, do not show tolerances, and are
subject to change as the design process evolves.
2) Detail drawings
• show the individual parts or components of a device and
their relationship
• These drawings must show tolerances, and they must also
specify materials and any special processing requirements.
• Detail drawings are drawn in conformance with existing
standards, and are changed only when a formal change order
provides authorization.
3) Assembly drawings
• show how the individual parts or components of a device fit
together.
An exploded view is commonly used to show such “fit”
relationships
 DETAIL DRAWINGS
• These drawings are used to communicate the details of our
design to the manufacturer or machinist.
• They must contain as much information as possible while
being both as clear and as uncluttered as possible.
• There are certain essential components that every drawing
must have to ensure that it is interpreted as it is intended
• standard drawing views
• standard symbols to indicate particular items
• clear lettering
• clear, steady lines
• appropriate notes, including specifications of materials
• a title on the drawing
• the designer’s initials and the date it was drawn
• dimensions and units
• permissible variations, or tolerances.
 CAD - MODELS
• Good for digital visualization
• The making of 3D models in computers software is called
geometric modelling
• Lots of CAD software are available depending on the application
• These software provide many features such as color rendering
shading texting etc. to communicate the design more close to the
reality
• The modelled part can be rotated, sectioned and zoomed so that
any Complex shape can be communicated to the another person
without confusion
CAD - MODELS
COMMUNICATING DESIGNS ORALLY AND IN WRITING

• REPORTING is an essential part of a design project

• We communicate final design results in several ways,

including oral presentations, final reports (that may include
design drawings and/or fabrication specifications), and
prototypes and models.

• The primary purpose of such communication is to inform

our client about the design, including explanations of how and
why this design was chosen over competing design
alternatives.
COMMUNICATING DESIGNS ORALLY AND IN WRITING
• It is most important that we convey the results of the design
process.

• we should ensure that final reports and presentations are not

narratives or chronologies of our work

• Rather, the presentations and reports should be lucid

descriptions of design outcomes, as well as the processes with
which those outcomes were achieved
GUIDELINES FOR TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION
1. Know your purpose.
2. Know your audience.
3. Choose and organize the content around your purpose and
your audience.
4. Write precisely and clearly.
5. Design your pages well.
6. Think visually.
7. Write ethically!
1. Know your purpose
• This is the writing analog of understanding objectives and
functions for a designed artifact.

• Just as we want to understand what the designed object must

be and must do, we need to understand the goals of a report or
presentation.

• design documentation seeks to inform the client about the

features of a selected design
• design team may be trying to persuade a client that a design
is the best alternative.

• a designer may wish to report how a design operates to

users, whether beginners or highly experienced ones.
2. Know your audience

• When documenting a design, it is essential that a design

team structure its materials to its targeted audience.

• Taking time to understand the target audience will help

ensure that its members appreciate your documentation
3. Choose and organize the content around your purpose and
your audience
• The key element is to structure the presentation to best reach
the audience
• There are many different ways to organize information:
going from general concepts to specific details (analogous
to deduction in logic),
going from specific details to general concepts (analogous
to induction or inference),
describing devices or systems.
• Once an organizational pattern is chosen, no matter which
form is used, the design team should translate it into a written
outline
•This allows the team to develop a unified, coherent
document or presentation while avoiding needless repetition.
4. Write precisely and clearly
• Some specific elements that seem to occur in all good
writing and presentations.

• These include effective use of short paragraphs that have a

single common thesis or topic

• Direct sentences that contain a subject and a verb; and active

voice and action verbs that allow a reader to understand
directly what is being said or done.
• Opinions or viewpoints should be clearly identified as
such.

• As long as the designer remembers that the goals of both

technical and nontechnical communications remain the
same.
5. Design your pages well

• A long section divided into several subsections helps

readers to understand where the long section is going, and it
sustains their interest over the journey.

• Tables should be treated as a single figure and should not

be split over a page break.

• Simple and direct slides encourage readers to listen to the

speaker without being distracted visually
• Thus, text on a slide should present succinct concepts that
the presenter can amplify and describe in more detail. A slide
does not have to show every relevant thought.

• It is a mistake to fill slides with so many words (or other

content) that audiences have to choose between reading the
slide and listening to the speaker, because then the presenter’s
message will almost certainly be diluted or lost.
6. Think visually

• Just as designers often find that visual approaches are

helpful to them, audiences are helped by judicious use of
visual representation of information.

• Given the enormous capabilities of word processing and

presentation graphics software, there is no excuse for a team
not to use visual aids in its reports and presentations.
• A team should not allow their graphics’ capabilities to seduce
them into clouding their slides with artistic backgrounds that
make the words illegible.

• As it is with words, is to know your purpose and your

audience, and to use your medium appropriately.
7. Write ethically!

• All results or test outcomes, even those that are not

favorable, are presented and discussed.
• Ethical presentations also describe honestly and directly
any limitations of a design.
• It is also important to give full credit to others, such as
authors or previous researchers, where it is due.
 ORAL PRESENTATIONS
TELLING A CROWD WHAT’S BEEN DONE
• Most design projects call for a number of both formal and
informal presentations to clients, users, and technical
reviewers
• Because of the variety of presentations and briefings that a
team may be called upon to make, it is impossible to examine
each of them in detail.
• However, there are key elements common to most of them.
• Foremost among these needs to
1. Identify the audience
2. Outline the presentation
3. Develop appropriate supporting materials
4. Practice the presentation
 KNOWING THE AUDIENCE
• Who’s Listening?
• a team planning a briefing should consider factors such as
varying levels of interest, understanding, and technical skill,
as well as the available time.
• Once the audience has been identified, a team can tailor its
presentation to that audience.
• As with other deliverables, the presentation must be properly
organized and structured:
• The first step is to articulate a rough outline;
• The second is to formulate a detailed outline;
• The third is to prepare the proper supporting materials, such
as visual aids or physical models.
 THE PRESENTATION: OUTLINE
A clear structure –Logical and understandable

Presentation structure
1) A title slide : that identifies the client(s), the project, and
the design team or organization responsible for the work
being presented. This slide should include company logos.

2)A roadmap : for the presentation that shows the audience

the direction that the presentation will take. This can take the
form of an outline, a flowchart, a big picture slide, and so on.
3)A problem statement: which includes highlights of the
revised problem statement that the team produced after
research and consultation with the client.

4) Background material on the problem: including relevant

prior work and other materials developed through team
research. References should be included but may be placed in
a slide at the end of the presentation.
5)The key objectives of the client and users : as reflected in
the top level or two of the objectives tree.
The key constraints that the design must meet.
Functions that the design must perform : focusing on basic
functions, and means for achieving those functions.
6)Design alternatives : particularly those that were considered
at the evaluation stage, including diagrams and descriptions of
each.
7) Highlights of the evaluation procedure and outcomes:
including key metrics or objectives that bear heavily on the
outcome.
8)Final design: explaining why this design was chosen.
Features of the design : highlighting aspects that make it
superior to other alternatives and any novel or unique
features.
9) Proof-of-concept testing : especially for an audience of
technical professionals for whom this is likely to be of great
interest.
A demonstration of the prototype : assuming that a prototype
was developed and that it can be shown. Video or still photos
may also be appropriate here.
10)Conclusion(s): including the identification of any future
work that remains to be done, or suggested improvements to
the design.

11)Reference
 ORAL PRESENTATION
•Know the Ambience-visual aids-room size and
capacity,lighting,seating…
•Plan the time availability and number of slides
•Have backup of the presentation
•Introduce the team
•Highlight key points
•Make points clearly, directly and simple
•Choice of font size, colour,animation
•Rehearse the presentation
•Handling Q&A session
Written communication-Report writing
•Know the purpose and audience
•A clear structure –logical and understandable
•Presentation structure
1.Abstract
2.Executive summary-optional
3.Introduction
4.Problem statements and problem definition, including
relevant prior work or research
5.Design alternatives considered
Written communication-Report writing
6)Evaluation of design alternatives and basis for design
selection
7)Results of the alternatives analysis and design selection
8)Conclusions
9)Supporting materials as appendices, drawing and details
,fabrication specification, supporting calculations or modeling
results
Written communication
•For users and other stakeholders-user manual, safety
standards, assembly and packaging instructions…

•At different stages of design, designers have to convince

other team members about their ideas clearly
 PRESENTATIONS ARE VISUAL EVENTS
• At the earliest stages of the presentation planning, the design
team should find out what devices (e.g., overhead projectors,
computer connections, projectors, and whiteboards) are
available and the general setting of the room in which it will
be presenting.
Tips & pointers
• Limit the number of slides.
• Be sure to introduce yourself and your teammates on the title
slide.
• Beware of “clutter.” Slides should be used to highlight key
points; they are not a direct substitute for the reasoning of the
final report.
• Make points clearly, directly, and simply
• Use color skillfully
• Use animation appropriately
• Do not reproduce completed design tools
• Consider carefully the size and distance of the audience
 PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
• To be effective, speakers typically need to practice their
parts in a presentation alone, then in front of others, including
before an audience with at least some people who are not
familiar with the topic.
• we want to speak to an audience in their language, and that
we want to maintain a professional tone.
• Practice sessions, whether solitary or with others, should be
timed and done under conditions that come as close as
possible to the actual environment.
• While practicing its presentation, a team ought to prepare
for questions from its audience by:
• Generating a list of questions that might arise, and their
answers;
• Preparing supporting materials for points that are likely to
arise (e.g., backup slides that may include computer results,
statistical charts, and other data that may be needed to answer
anticipated questions)
• Preparing to say “I don’t know,” or “We didn’t consider
that.” This is very important: A team, that is, to be caught
pretending to know has undermined its credibility and invited
severe embarrassment
Q1) Graphically communicate the design of a thermos flask used to keep
hot coffee. Draw the detailed 2D drawings of the same with design
detailing, material selection, scale drawings, dimensions, tolerances, etc.
Use only hand sketches.
Material selection
Top cap:
• This section can also be used a cup for drinking coffee
• Since it has to withstand hot coffee, we must use a
high-quality plastic material which can support minimum
200degree Celsius on inside
• The plastic is coated with a low weight steel material
• The color of the material can be of three choices – Black, red
& steel color
Body:
• Body is the main part of the flask Which will keep the hot
coffee for long time.
• It contains an inner part and outer part
• Outer part is commonly used flask material which is a
weight less steel material Inner part is glass which is coated
with material which will not conduct temperature
• The inner section temperature should not affect the outer
part
Bottom cap
• The bottom carrier can be used as a biscuit carrier
• The material use for this carrier can be the same material as
flask is made
 DESIGN REPORT FORMAT
The following format should be followed for a design report .
The completed report should be bound with a cover.
1.Title Page: The title of the design project is to be in the center
of the page. Below it list the following items:
a)Date:
b)Course/Section:
c)Instructor:
d)Team Members:
2.Executive Summary:
a)The purpose of the executive summary is to provide key information
up-front, such that while reading the report, a reader has expectations
that are fulfilled on a continuous basis. Key to a good Summary is the
first sentence, which must contain the most essential information that
you wish to convey.
b)The summary is to be written as if the reader is totally uninformed
about your project and is not necessarily going to read the report itself.
c)It must include a short description of the project, the process and the
results.
d)The Executive Summary is to be one page or less with one figure
maximum.
3.Table of Contents: Include section titles and page numbers.

4.Introduction

5.Design problem and objectives: Give a clear and concise

definition of the problem and the intended objectives. Outline
the design constraints and cost implications.
a)Include appropriate background on the project for the
reader to be able to put the information provided in context.
b)The final project objectives must also be presented in the
form of a set of technical specifications.
6.Detailed design documentation:
Show all elements of your design including an explanation of
a)Assumptions made, making sure to justify your design
decisions.
b)Function of the System
c)Ability of meet Engineering Specifications
d)Prototypes developed, their testing and results relative to
Engineering Specifications
e)Cost analysis
f)Manufacturing processes used
g)DFX results
h)Human factors considered
i)All diagrams, figures and tables should be accurately and
clearly labeled with meaningful names and/or titles. When
there are numerous pages of computer-generated data, it is
preferable to put this information in an appendix with an
explanation in the report narrative.
7.Laboratory test plans and results for all portions of the
system that you built and tested.
Write a narrative description of test plan(s).
Use tables, graphs, and wherever possible to show your
results.
Also, include a description of how you plan to test the final
system, and any features you will include in the design to
facilitate this testing.
This section forms the written record of the performance of
your design against specifications.
8.Ethical Consideration:
Provide information on any ethical considerations that govern
the product specifications you have developed or that need to
be taken into account in potentially marketing the product.

9.Safety: Provide a statement of the safety consideration in

your proposed design to the extent that is relevant.

10.Conclusions: Provide a reasoned listing of only the most

significant results.
11.Acknowledgments: List individuals and/or companies that
provided support in the way of equipment, advice, money,
samples, etc.
12.References: Including books, technical journals, patents.
13.Appendices: As needed for the following types of
information:
a)Detailed computations and computer generated data.
b)Manufacturers' specifications.
c)Original laboratory data.
University questions
1) Design a foldable steel table. Draw the detailed 2D drawings of the
same with design detailing, scale drawings and dimensions. Use only
hand sketches.(14)
2) Prepare a technical report for a newly designed website for online
training of students with neat diagrams for presenting to a client.(14)
3) Design an office chair and communicate your design using
sketches with design detailing, material selection, scale drawings and
dimensions(14)
4) Describe the role of mathematical modelling in design engineering
citing an Example(14)
 5)Design an integrated water bottle with lunch box. Draw
the detailed 2D drawings of the same with design detailing,
material selection and dimensions. Use only hand
sketches.(14)
6)Prepare a technical report for a newly designed portable
ladder with neat sketches for presenting to a client.
MATHEMATICAL MODELING IN DESIGN
•MATHEMATICAL MODELS are central to design because
we have to be able to predict the behavior of the devices or
systems that we are designing.

• How do we create mathematical models?

• How do we validate such models?
•How do we use them? And, are there any limits on their use.
• Basic Principles of Mathematical Modeling
Why do we need a model?
For what will we use the model?
What do we want to find with this model?
What data are we given?
What can we assume?
How should we develop this model, that is, what are the appropriate
physical principles we need to apply?
What will our model predict?
Can we verify the model’s predictions (i.e., are our calculations
correct?)
Are the predictions valid (i.e., do our predictions conform to what we
observe?)
Can we improve the model?
•Mathematical model are central to Engineering design.

•A mathematical model is a description of a product, system,

process using mathematical concept and language.

•The process of developing a mathematical model is termed

mathematical modelling.

•Physics and mathematics –key to mathematical modelling

•Models built on assumptions.

•Help us to understand the behaviour of the designed system.

•Example:

•Guided Missile operation-projectile motion with its own

propulsion.

•Water distribution system-drip irrigation-equivalence

• Q2) Describe the role of mathematical modelling in design engineering.
Show how mathematics and physics play a role in designing a lifting
mechanism to raise 100 kg of weight to a floor at a height of 10 meters in a
construction site.
• Task is to move the 100kg of weight to 10-meter height
• We can pull the weight using pullies to the requires height
• The given data
Weight of the item – 100kg
Height/displacement to be move – 10 meters
•some basic physics principle for the particular job.
•To lift the weight we need to know how much power used for this
job
To calculate the power let us use the basic equation of power
expression

P=W/T
Where
W = work done
T = Time
The expression for work done is

W=F*S
Where
F = Force
S = displacement
•From the given diagram we can see that using physics
principle the and technique can reduce the power to pull the
weight.

•So we can conclude that the physics and mathematical

principle can aid the engineering design.
PROTOTYPING AND PROOFING THE DESIGN

•Focus on how to translate our design ideas into models and

prototypes that can be used to test our design concepts and
communicate our ideas to the client.

• Often the first step in such a process involves sketching or

drawing our design, we can use these representations to create
the prototype or model
3D representation
an input to a computational modeling program to simulate
the design’s performance under specified conditions;
as an input into a variety of rapid prototyping technologies,
such as 3D printing;
•to generate detailed engineering drawings of the design;
• to guide
•the tool path in computer numerical-controlled (CNC)
machining
•How to predict whether the design will function well or
not?
PROTOTYPES
•“original models on which something is patterned.” They are
also defined as the “first full-scale and usually functional
forms of a new type or design of a construction

• prototypes are working models of designed artifacts.

• They are tested in the same operating environments in which

they're expected to function as final products.
 MODEL
• “a miniature representation of something,” or a “pattern of something to
be made,” or “an example for imitation or emulation.”

• We use models to represent some devices or processes.

• They may be paper models or computer models or physical models.

• We use them to illustrate certain behaviors or phenomena as we try to

verify the validity of an underlying (predictive) theory.

• Models are usually smaller and made of different materials than are the
original artifacts they represent, and they are typically tested in a laboratory
or in some other controlled environment to validate their expected
behavior.
PROOF OF CONCEPT
• Refers to a model of some part of a design that is used
specifically to test whether a particular concept will actually
work as proposed.

• Doing proof-of-concept tests means doing controlled

experiments to prove or disprove a concept
WHEN DO WE BUILD A PROTOTYPE?
• “It depends.”

• The size and type of the design space,

• The costs of building a prototype,

• The ease of building that prototype,

• The role that a full-size prototype might play in ensuring the

widespread acceptance of a new design,
•The number of copies of the final artifact that are expected to be
made or built.

• There is no obvious correlation between the size and cost of

prototyping—or the decision to build a prototype—and the size and
type of the design space.

• It is that the project schedule and budget should reflect plans for
building them
BUILDING MODELS AND PROTOTYPES
The important questions we must ask are:

• What do we want to learn from the model or prototype?

• Who is going to make it?

• What parts or components can be bought?

• How, and from what, is it going to be made?

• How much will it cost?

There are many options for constructing prototypes and
models
• Mock-ups:
One option for making basic models or prototypes is to
construct a mockup of a 3D part from 2D cutouts.
These 2D parts can be made using a vinyl cutter or a laser
cutter, and parts are then assembled into 3D mock-ups of a
design.
Materials used for these mock-ups might be foam, thin
plastic, or wood.
•Machining:

We may have the option of machining parts or all of our

prototypes ourselves in a machine shop.
•Rapid prototyping technologies:
•Rapid prototyping technologies have emerged in recent
years as relatively fast and cheap ways to fabricate
prototypes that would otherwise need to be injection
molded.
•Rapid prototyping techniques use 3D CAD models as
inputs, and convert these 3D files into thin 2D layers to
build the 3D part.
•Rapid prototyping technologies include stereo-lithography
and selective laser sintering, which involve using a laser to
harden either a resin bath or a polymer powder in a
particular configuration to build each layer