Product design

Lecture Outline
• Design Process
• Rapid Prototyping and Concurrent Design
• Technology in Design
• Design Quality Reviews
• Design for Environment
• Quality Function Deployment
• Design for Robustness
Learning Objectives
• Explain product design process
• Calculate the reliability and availability of a product or service
• Understand the technologies involved in designing new products and
their related production processes
• Utilize techniques for analyzing design failures and eliminating
unnecessary design features
• Explain why and how each step of the product lifecycle can be
changed for improved environmental stewardship, and provide
examples of programs that support green efforts
• Use quality function deployment as a design tool
Key Questions
1. Is there a demand for it?
• Market size
• Demand profile
2. Can we do it?
• Manufacturability - the capability of an organization to produce an item at an
acceptable profit
• Serviceability - the capability of an organization to provide a service at an
acceptable cost or profit
Key Questions (contd.)
3. What level of quality is appropriate?
• Customer expectations
• Competitor quality
• Fit with current offering
4. Does it make sense from an economic standpoint?
• Liability issues, ethical considerations, sustainability issues, costs and profits
Design Process
1. Translate customer wants and needs into product and service requirements

2. Refine existing products and services

3. Develop new products and services

4. Formulate quality goals

5. Formulate cost targets

6. Construct and test prototypes

7. Document specifications

8. Translate product and service specifications into process specifications

Involve Inter-functional Collaboration
What user’s want?
• Conduct user interviews (Surveys) to understand the problems

• Observe the users as much as possible

**Don’t ask for the solutions.

Design Process
• Effective design can provide a competitive edge
• matches product or service characteristics with customer
requirements

• ensures that customer requirements are met in the

simplest and least costly manner

• reduces time required to design a new product or service

• minimizes revisions necessary to make a design workable

Reasons to Design or Re-Design
• The driving forces for product and service design or redesign are
market opportunities or threats:
• Economic
• Social and Demographic
• Political, Liability, or Legal
• Competitive
• Cost or Availability
• Technological
Designing a product

• What constitutes a good • Implications for

product? • Selection and rejection of
• Train coaches: they differ across • Raw material suppliers
service categories • Processes
• Have space for bikes
• In the seating cars have separate
seats for kids

• Experience at a restaurant
• Waiting time
• Quality of food

11
Design Process
Idea Generation
1. Supply-chain based
2. Competitor based
3. Research based
Idea Generation
• Company’s own R&D • Salespersons in the
department field

• Customer complaints or • Factory workers

suggestions
• New technological
• Marketing research developments

• Suppliers • Competitors
Idea Generation
• Perceptual Maps
• visual comparison of customer perceptions

• Benchmarking
• comparing product/process against best-in-class

• Reverse engineering
• dismantling competitor’s product to improve your own
product
Perceptual Map of Breakfast Cereals
Design Process
Feasibility Study
• Market analysis

• Economic analysis

• Technical/strategic analyses

• Performance specifications
Design Process
Rapid Prototyping and
Concurrent Design
• Testing and revising a preliminary design model
• Build a prototype
• form design
• functional design
• production design
• Test prototype
• Revise design
• Retest
Concurrent Design
Form and Functional Design
• Form Design
• how product will look?

• Functional Design
• how product will perform?
• reliability
• maintainability
• usability
Reliability
• Reliability
• The ability of a product, part, or system to perform its intended function
under a prescribed set of conditions
• Reliability is expressed as a probability:
• The probability that the product or system will function when activated
• The probability that the product or system will function for a given length of time
Reliability – Over Time
• In this case, reliabilities are determined relative to a
specified length of time.
• This is a common approach to viewing reliability when
establishing warranty periods
Cumulative
failure
curve over
time
Failure
rate
curve

Failure rate (λ) = number of failures/Total unit operating hours

= number of failures/(Units tested * number of hours tested)
The
Bathtub
Curve
Distribution and Length of Phase
• To properly identify the distribution and length of
each phase requires collecting and analyzing historical
data
• The mean time between failures (MTBF) in the infant
mortality phase can often be modeled using the
negative exponential distribution
Exponential Distribution
Exponential Distribution –
Formulae
P(no failure before T ) = e −T / MTBF
where
e = 2.7183...
T = Length of service before failure
MTBF = Mean time between failures
Example – Exponential Distribution
• A light bulb manufacturer has determined that its 150 watt bulbs have an
exponentially distributed mean time between failures of 2,000 hours.
What is the probability that one of these bulbs will fail before 2,000 hours
have passed?
Example – Exponential Distribution
• A light bulb manufacturer has determined that its 150 watt bulbs have an
exponentially distributed mean time between failures of 2,000 hours.
What is the probability that one of these bulbs will fail before 2,000 hours
have passed?

e-2000/2000 = e-1
e-1 = .3679
So, the probability one of these bulbs will fail before 2,000 hours is 1 -
.3679 = .6321
Consider an item having a reliability of 0.97 for 100 hours of normal
use. Determine the failure rate.
Failure rate = 0.0003 failure/hour

Cumulative fraction failing and surviving

Time, T Failures, F(T) Survivors, R(T)
10 0.003 0.997
20 0.006 0.994
30 0.009 0.991
40 0.012 0.988
50 0.015 0.985
60 0.018 0.982
70 0.021 0.979
80 0.024 0.976
90 0.027 0.973
100 0.030 0.970
Availability
• Availability
• The fraction of time a piece of equipment is expected to be
available for operation

MTBF
Availability =
MTBF + MTR
where
MTBF = Mean time between failures
MTR = Mean time to repair
Reliability
• Reliability
• The ability of a product, part, or system to perform its intended function
under a prescribed set of conditions
• Reliability is expressed as a probability:
• The probability that the product or system will function when activated
• The probability that the product or system will function for a given length of time
 Predicting System Reliability
Rule 1
If two or more events are independent and success is defined as the probability that all of the
events occur, then the probability of success is equal to the product of the probabilities of the
events

Components in series

0.90 0.90
Computing Reliability

Components in series

0.90 0.90 0.90 x 0.90 = 0.81

• Suppose that a two-component series system has failure rates of
0.004 and 0.001 per hour. Then the probability of survival for 100
hours would be?
• Suppose that a two-component series system has failure rates of
0.004 and 0.001 per hour. Then the probability of survival for 100
hours would be?

0.6065
 Predicting Reliability
Rule 2
If two events
are Components in parallel
independent
and success is
defined as the 0.90
probability that
at least one of R2
the events will
occur, the
probability of
success is equal 0.95
to the
probability of R1
either one plus
1.00 minus that
probability
multiplied by
the other
probability
Computing Reliability

Components in parallel

0.90
R2

0.95 0.95 + 0.90(1-0.95) = 0.995

R1
System Reliability

0.90

0.98 0.92 0.98

System Reliability

0.90

0.98 0.92 0.98

0.98 0.92+(1-0.92)(0.90)=0.99 0.98

0.98 x 0.99 x 0.98 = 0.951

Computing reliability
• A student takes three calculators (with reliabilities of .85, .80, and .75) to
her exam. Only one of them needs to function for her to be able to finish
• Rule 3 the exam. What is the probability that she will have a functioning
• If two or more calculator to use when taking her exam?
events are
involved and
success is
defined as the
probability that
at least one of
them occurs, the
probability of
success is 1 -
P(all fail).
Computing reliability
• A student takes three calculators (with reliabilities of .85, .80, and .75) to
her exam. Only one of them needs to function for her to be able to finish
• Rule 3 the exam. What is the probability that she will have a functioning
• If two or more calculator to use when taking her exam?
events are
involved and
success is P(any Calc.) = 1 − [(1 - P(Calc.1)  (1 − P(Calc. 2)  (1 − P(Calc. 3)]
defined as the
probability that = 1 − [(1 - .85)(1- .80)(1- .75)]
at least one of
them occurs, the = .9925
probability of
success is 1 -
P(all fail).
 System Availability

PROVIDER MTBF (HR) MTTR (HR)

A 60 4.0
B 36 2.0
C 24 1.0

SAA =
SAB =
SAC =
System Availability (SA)

MTBF
SA = MTBF + MTTR

where:
MTBF = mean time between failures
MTTR = mean time to repair
 System Availability

PROVIDER MTBF (HR) MTTR (HR)

A 60 4.0
B 36 2.0
C 24 1.0

SAA = 60 / (60 + 4) = .9375 or 94%

SAB = 36 / (36 + 2) = .9473 or 95%
SAC = 24 / (24 + 1) = .96 or 96%
Usability
• Ease of use of a product or service
• ease of learning
• ease of use
• ease of remembering how to use
• frequency and severity of errors
• user satisfaction with experience
Production Design
• How the product will be made
• Simplification
• reducing number of parts, assemblies, or options in a product
• Standardization
• using commonly available and interchangeable parts
• Modular Design
• combining standardized building blocks, or modules, to create
unique finished products
• Design for Manufacture (DFM)
• Designing a product so that it can be produced easily and
economically
Design Simplification
Design Process
Final Design and Process Plans
• Final design
• detailed drawings and specifications for new product or
service
• Process plans
• workable instructions
• necessary equipment and tooling
• component sourcing recommendations
• job descriptions and procedures
• computer programs for automated machines
 Technology in Design
• Computer Aided Design (CAD)
• assists in creation, modification, and analysis of a design
• computer-aided engineering (CAE)
• tests and analyzes designs on computer screen
• computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM)
• ultimate design-to-manufacture connection
• product life cycle management (PLM)
• managing entire lifecycle of a product
• collaborative product design (CPD)
Collaborative Product Design (CPD)
• A software system for collaborative design and development
among trading partners
• With PLM, manages product data, sets up project
workspaces, and follows life cycle of the product
• Accelerates product development, helps to resolve product
launch issues, and improves quality of design
• Designers can
• conduct virtual review sessions
• test “what if” scenarios
• assign and track design issues
• communicate with multiple tiers of suppliers
• create, store, and manage project documents
Design Process
Design for Environment and
Extended Producer Responsibility
• Design for environment
• designing a product from material that can be recycled
• design from recycled material
• design for ease of repair
• minimize packaging
• minimize material and energy used during manufacture,
consumption and disposal
• Extended producer responsibility
• holds companies responsible for their product even after its
useful life
Design for Environment
 Mass customization
 A strategy of producing basically standardized goods or
services, but incorporating some degree of customization in
the final product or service
 Facilitating Techniques
 Delayed differentiation
 Modular design
 Delayed Differentiation
 The process of producing, but not quite completing, a
product or service until customer preferences are known
 It is a postponement tactic
 Produce a piece of furniture, but do not stain it; the customer
chooses the stain
 Modular Design
 A form of standardization in which component parts are grouped into
modules that are easily replaced or interchanged
 Advantages
 easier diagnosis and remedy of failures
 easier repair and replacement
 simplification of manufacturing and assembly
 training costs are relatively low
 Disadvantages
 Limited number of possible product configurations
 Limited ability to repair a faulty module; the entire module must often
be scrapped
Design for Robustness
• Robust product
• designed to withstand variations in environmental and
operating conditions
• Robust design
• yields a product or service designed to withstand variations
• Controllable factors
• design parameters such as material used, dimensions, and
form of processing
• Uncontrollable factors
• user’s control (length of use, maintenance, settings, etc.)
Design for Robustness
• Tolerance
• allowable ranges of variation in the dimension of a part
• Consistency
• consistent errors are easier to correct than random errors
• parts within tolerances may yield assemblies that are not
within limits
• consumers prefer product characteristics near their ideal
values
 Taguchi’s Quality Loss Function
• Quantifies customer
preferences toward quality
• Emphasizes that customer
preferences are strongly
oriented toward
consistency
• Design for Six Sigma (DFSS)

• Quadratic loss function

Design Quality Review
• Review designs to prevent failures and ensure value
• Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA)
• a systematic method of analyzing product failures
• Fault tree analysis (FTA)
• a visual method for analyzing interrelationships among failures
• Value analysis (VA)
• helps eliminate unnecessary features and functions
 FMEA for Potato Chips
Failure Cause of Effect of Corrective
Mode Failure Failure Action
Stale low moisture content tastes bad add moisture
expired shelf life won’t crunch  cure longer
poor packaging thrown out better package seal
lost sales shorter shelf life
Broken too thin can’t dip change recipe
too brittle poor display change process
rough handling injures mouth change packaging
rough use chocking
poor packaging perceived as old
lost sales
Too Salty outdated recipe eat less experiment with recipe
process not in control drink more experiment with process
uneven distribution of salt health hazard introduce low salt version
lost sales
Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)
Value Analysis (VA)
• Eliminate unnecessary features and functions
• Used by multifunctional design teams

• Define essential functions of an item

• Determine the value of the functions
• Determine the cost of providing the functions
• Compute Value/Cost ratio
• Design team works to increase the ratio
Quality Function Deployment (QFD)
• Translates voice of customer into technical design
requirements
• Displays requirements in matrix diagrams
• first matrix called “house of quality”
• series of connected houses
Voice of Customer

Types of Customer Information and How to Collect It

Reproduced with permission from James L. Brossert, Quality Function Deployment—A Practitioner’s Approach (Milwaukee, WI:
ASQC Quality Press, 1991).
House of Quality
5

Importance
Trade-off matrix

3
Design
characteristics

1 4 2

Customer Relationship Competitive

requirements matrix assessment

6 Target values
Competitive Assessment
of Customer
Requirements
Competitive Assessment
Customer Requirements 1 2 3 4 5
Presses quickly 9 B A X
Removes wrinkles 8 AB X
Doesn’t stick to fabric 6 X BA
Irons
well
Provides enough steam 8 AB X
Doesn’t spot fabric 6 X AB
Doesn’t scorch fabric 9 A XB
Heats quickly 6 X B A
Automatic shut-off 3 ABX
safe to use
Easy and

Quick cool-down 3 X A B
Doesn’t break when dropped 5 AB X
Doesn’t burn when touched 5 AB X
Not too heavy 8 X A B
From Customer

Time required to reach 450º F

Time to go from 450º to 100º
Protective cover for soleplate
Material used in soleplate
Requirements

Flow of water from holes

Energy needed to press

Thickness of soleplate
to Design

Automatic shutoff
Size of soleplate

Number of holes
Weight of iron

Size of holes
Characteristics
Customer Requirements
Presses quickly - - + + + -
Removes wrinkles + + + + +
Doesn’t stick to fabric - + + + +
Irons
well

Provides enough steam + + + +

Doesn’t spot fabric + - - -
Doesn’t scorch fabric + + + - +
Heats quickly - - + -
Automatic shut-off +
safe to use
Easy and

Quick cool-down - - + +
Doesn’t break when dropped + + + +
Doesn’t burn when touched + + + +
Not too heavy + - - - + -
Energy needed to press
Weight of iron
-

Size of soleplate
+

Thickness of soleplate
Material used in soleplate
-

Number of holes
+
Tradeoff Matrix

Size of holes
Flow of water from holes
Time required to reach 450º
Time to go from 450º to 100º
Protective cover for soleplate
Automatic shutoff
 Targeted Changes in Design

Time to go from 450º to 100º

Protective cover for soleplate

Time required to reach 450º
Material used in soleplate

Flow of water from holes

Energy needed to press

Thickness of soleplate

Automatic shutoff
Size of soleplate

Number of holes
Weight of iron

Size of holes
Units of measure ft-lb lb in. cm ty ea mm oz/s sec sec Y/N Y/N
measures

Iron A
Objective

3 1.4 8x4 2 SS 27 15 0.5 45 500 N Y

Iron B 4 1.2 8x4 1 MG 27 15 0.3 35 350 N Y
Our Iron (X) 2 1.7 9x5 4 T 35 15 0.7 50 600 N Y
Estimated impact 3 4 4 4 5 4 3 2 5 5 3 0
Estimated cost 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 3 4 4 5 2
Target values 1.2 8x5 3 SS 30 30 500
Design changes * * * * * * *
Completed House
of Quality

SS = Silverstone
MG = Mirorrglide
T = Titanium
 A Series of Connected QFD Houses

Product
characteristics

requirements Part
Customer

A-1 characteristics

characteristics
Process
House A-2

Product
characteristics
of

characteristics
quality
Parts A-3 Operations
deployment

characteristics
Part
Process A-4

Process
planning

Operating
requirements
Quality Function Deployment (QFD)
• Translates voice of customer into technical design
requirements
• Displays requirements in matrix diagrams
• first matrix called “house of quality”
• series of connected houses
Benefits of QFD
• Promotes
• better understanding of customer demands
• better understanding of design interactions

• Involves manufacturing in design process

• Provides documentation of design process