Mechanical Engineering Design

Chapter 4
Embodiment Design
Firdaus Sukarman
Introduction
 Contents
4.1 Product architecture, Configuration Design
and Parametric Design
4.2 Design for Manufacture and Design for
Assembly
4.3 Design for Environment
4.4 Ergonomic and Human Factor Design
 4.1 Product architecture, Configuration
Design and Parametric Design

Product Configuration Parametric design

architecture design • Determine the exact
• Determining the • Design special values, dimensions
arrangement of the purpose parts and and tolerances of the
physical elements of the selection of components
the design into standard
groups components, like
pumps and motors
 4.1.1 Product architecture
• Arrangement of the physical elements of a
product to carry out its required functions.
• Define basic building blocks and interfaces to
establish product layout and architecture
• Process to establish product architecture6
1. Create a schematic diagram
2. Cluster the elements of the schematic
3. Create a rough geometric layout
4. Identify the interactions between modules
Product architecture example

Example:
Fully Automatic
Washing Machine

Retrieve from http://www.lg.com/my/washing-machines

i.) Create a schematic diagram

• List all components involved

• Connect elements to indicate flow of force or energy
(thin line) and signals (dashed line)
ii.)Cluster the elements of the schematic
diagram

• Divide into groups of elements (Ex. 4 Groups)

iii.) Create a rough geometric layout
Water in
Control
Panel
Electrical
Filter • Arrange components
supply positions regarding its size
and space availability
Water level • Consider any thermal and
sensor electrical interferences
Washing Drum
• Do some sketches until get
the final components layout

Belt

Pump

Motor Water out

iv.) Identify the interactions between
modules
1. Put electrical supply and control panel at the top ->
Prevent short-circuit in case the drum and piping
leaked unexpectedly
2. Water in at the top and water out located at the
bottom -> Use gravity for water filtering and assist
pump to flush water
3. Motor, drum pulley and pump are near to each
other -> Easier to transfer rotation to drum pulley
and pump using belt
4. Others
 4.1.2 Configuration Design
• Establish the shape and general dimensions of
components.
• The best way to start configuration design is by sketching
the part. Several sketches are required to determine all
available alternatives.
• Factors to be considered during sketches;
1. Function – Are the shapes able to execute the function
properly? (Ex: Connect two parts, hold the axle)
2. Material selection – Do the material able to withstand the
forces?
3. Manufacture method – How to manufacture the component?
Time required? Cost? (Ex: Drilling, cutting, molding)
 Example: L Bracket

Type

Function Connect two plates at 90° angle

Manufacture Bent from a Machined Bracket Cast bracket
process flat plate from a solid welded from
block three pieces

Which bracket suitable for your product component?

What are the considerations for selecting the right bracket?
 4.1.2 Configuration Design (cont.)
• Configuration design is continuous process of
refining and patching.
Refining – making an object less abstract and have
more detailed descriptions
Patching – Modification/improvement without
changing its function
Example: Progress of configuration design

Rough sketch 3D Modelling Detailed drawing

 Terminology
Commonly used terminologies:
• Component – Object that has no assembly operations in its
manufacture. It includes standard parts, special-purposed
parts, and standard assemblies
• Standard part – Part that has generic function,
manufactured routinely, readily available. Ex: Bolts, washers,
rivet, pipe, hollow square
• Special-purposed part – Part that is designed and
manufactured for specific purposes.
• Standard assembly – Assembly of parts that has generic
function. Ex: Motor, pumps and gearboxes
• Subassembly – Assembly that is included in other assembly
 4.1.3 Parametric design
• Determine the exact values, dimensions and
tolerances
Dimensions – Specify size, location and orientation
of features of the component
Tolerances – Permissible variation from the
specified dimension
• Objective : Set values for the design variables
that will produce the best possible design
considering performance and
manufacturability.
 4.1.3 Parametric design (cont.)
• Tighter tolerances
– Less play or chance for vibration in moving parts
– High manufacturing cost
• Larger tolerances
– Low manufacturing cost
– Easier to assemble the components
– Poorer system performance
Example: Shaft & bearing clearances and fit
Parametric design steps
From analysis: After considering axial
load, shaft material AISI 1006 hot-rolled 1. Understand the design problem
steel and factor of safety of 2, the shaft Shaft diameter should be above 9.5 mm
size required for a scooter should be to support the load. Shaft diameter =
inner diameter of the bearing.
above 9.5 mm.
2. Find alternative design
Consider available bearing size first
because bearing have their standard
part. Available bearing size: 10 mm.

3. Analyze & evaluate

Check the tolerances of each part.
Determine whether the clearance is
acceptable by testing.
Max. clearance =
10.14 – 9.70 = 0.44 mm 4. Refine & Optimize
Min. clearance = Adjust if surface finishing is not suitable
10.00 – 9.90 = 0.10 mm for the application.
 4.2 Design for Manufacturing & Design for
Assembly
• Design for Manufacturing (DFM)
• Design for manufacturing (DFM) is based on
minimizing the cost of production including
minimizing the time to market while
maintaining a high standard of quality for the
product
• DFM provides guidance in the selection of
materials and processes and generates piece
part and tooling cost estimates at any stage of
product design
Design for Manufacturing (DFM) (Cont.)

• There are several methods that have been

used in DFM to assess in analysis such as
process-driven design, failure mode and effect
analysis (FMEA), Taguchi method, design of
experiment (DOE)
• FMEA – Methodology for determining all
possible ways that components can fail and
establishing the effect of failure on the system
 Design for Assembly (DFA)
• DESIGN FOR ASSEMBLY is the study of the ease of assembling
various parts and components into a final product
• A lower number of parts and an ease of assembly contribute
to reducing the overall cost of the product
• With DFA, every part has to be checked. It must be
determined if it is a necessary part or would it be better
integrated into other parts or be replaced by a similar
function part that is simpler and costs less
• Integrating both DFM and DFA helps contribute to the
competitive success of any given product by matching that
product’s demands to its manufacturability and assembly
capabilities
 4.3 Design for Environment
• Design for environment is often called green design,
environmentally conscious design, life-cycle design or
design for recyclability

• When a product’s useful life is over, one of three things

happens to its components
Disposed
Reused
Recycled
 Factors contributed to Design for
Environment
1) Economics
– It is less expensive to recycle some material than it is to pay the expense of
processing new raw materials
– Especially for the product that it is easily disassembled into components
made of single material

2) Customer Expectation
– Consumers are increasingly more environmentally
conscious and aware of the value of recycling
– Thus, company that produce the product that affect the
environment, are looked down by the public

3) Government Regulation
– Government regulation is forcing attention on the
environment
4.4 Ergonomic and Human Factor Design

• Ergonomic (Human factor) design is the design to

optimize human well-being and overall system
performance by understanding interactions
among human and designed products or
systems5.
• Creating a User-friendly design
• Fit the product to the users physical attributes
and knowledge
• Simplify tasks, simple to operate
4.4 Ergonomic and Human Factor Design

• Make the controls and functions obvious

• Make control reflect or map the operation and
easy to handle
• Utilize constraints to prevent incorrect actions
• Provide feedback and good display
• Anticipate human errors
• Avoid awkward and extreme motions
• Standardization
 References
1. G.E. Dieter and Linda C. Schmidt, Engineering Design, 4th
Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2009.
2. D. G. Ullman, The Mechanical Design Process, 3rd
edition, McGraw-Hill, 2003.
3. Richard G. Budynas, J. Keith Nisbett, Shigley’s Mechanical
Engineering Design, 9th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2011
4. S. Laguette, Lecture Notes, “Introduction to Mechanical
Engineering Design, ME 153” Spring 2010
5. International Ergonomics Association, “What is
ergonomics?”
6. Ullrich and Eppinger