General Principles of Design

(General Studies & Engineering Aptitude)

-Anirudh Singh Rathore

 What is Engineering?
● The creative application of scientific principles to
design or develop structures, machines, apparatus, or
manufacturing processes, or works utilizing them
singly or in combination; or to construct or operate the
same with full cognizance of their design; or to forecast
their behavior under specific operating conditions; all
as respects an intended function, economics of
operation or safety to life and property.
 What is Engineering?
● Engineering is the use of science and math to design
or build things and to solve problems.
 What Engineers do?
● Engineers usually design or build things that are sold.
(Commercial Aspect of Engineering)

● There are different types of engineers that design

everything from computers and buildings to watches
and websites.
 ‘Engineers’ as ‘Inventors’
● The engineering creations that we see today did not just
magically appear from nowhere.

● They were first created in the minds of engineers, then

they were thought, researched, planned, designed,
tested and then were made.

● Engineers invented these creations and over the time

they took efforts to refine the previously existing designs
to make these products better.
 Design Problem v/s
Analysis Problem
● Design problems are more vaguely defined than analysis
problems.

● In analysis problems, the designed product is already

known. Engineers just test and calculate various
parameters related to the product.

● In Design problems, the product itself is unknown and

engineers have no idea how the product will look like or
how it will perform when completed.
 The Engineering Process
● To solve a design problem, the process or methodology
that all kinds of engineers adopt is called “The
Engineering process”.

● It is also called as “The Design Process” or “The

Engineering Design Process” or “The Technological
Design Process”.

● It is a series of sequential or methodical steps the

engineers follow to solve the design problems.
The Steps in Engineering Design
1.
Define the
Problem

5. 2.
Test and Gather
Implement the Pertinent
Solution Information

4. 3.
Analyze and Generate
Select a Multiple
Solution Solutions
1. Define the Problem
 1. Define the Problem
● To solve a problem, you must first know what the problem is.

● By defining the problem properly, you make it easier to solve,

which means saving time, money and resources.

● Finding or identifying a problem is sometimes even more

important than the solution itself. For example, Galileo
recognized the problem of needing to know the speed of
light, but did not come up with a solution. It took advances
in mathematics and science to solve this measurement
problem. Yet Galileo still received credit for finding the
problem.
2. Gather Pertinent Information
● Many people hate doing research and novice engineers
might skip this step to go directly to the third step.

● Gathering information or researching is important

because:
● It fills the knowledge gap of our vision of the problem
and the actual problem.
● The problem has existed for many years and we may
get to know what progress has already been done.
● We may find other solutions and which part of those
was successful and which part wasn’t.
2. Gather Pertinent Information
● Sometimes after researching though various sources
some facts are revealed which may require the initial
problem statement to be modified or redefined.

● Sources of research may include:

● Traditional publications or online journals.
● College libraries.
● Scientific encyclopedias and technical handbooks.
● Internet.
3. Generate Multiple Solutions
● This step depends upon the creativity of engineer in-
charge or engineering team as a whole.

● Engineers have to imagine multiple ways to to create new

solutions or to improve existing available solutions.

● This step is sometimes referred to as ‘brainstorming’

where the entire team of design engineers sit together
and brainstorm possible solutions.
3. Generate Multiple Solutions
● The key concept here is

● The more creative the design team is, the more ‘out the
box’ solutions will be generated.

● In this method, the ‘divergent thinking’ part of creativity

plays the major role.
4. Analyze and Select a Solution
● After the various solutions are generated, engineers need to
analyze those solutions on various parameters and then decide
the best solution among them.

● Each alternative solution has to be tested on following

parameters:
● Functional Analysis.
● Industrial design/Ergonomics.
● Mechanical/Strength Analysis.
● Electrical/Electromagnetic.
● Manufacturability.
● Product safety and liability.
● Economy and Market Analysis.
● Regulatory and Compliance.
4. Analyze and Select a Solution
1. Functional Failure:

➢ NASA’s space probe mission - Genesis - failed because

it failed to perform one of its function to deploy
parachutes upon entry into earth’s orbit.
4. Analyze and Select a Solution
2. Industrial Design/Ergonomics:
4. Analyze and Select a Solution
3. Product Safety and Liability:
➢ This is the area where designers, manufacturers and
distributers are held responsible for injuries caused by the
products.
➢ The designed product should be safe and its use should not
cause injuries to humans.
➢ There are three kinds of defects that might cause injury:
➢ Design defects: Present in the product from beginning,
even before manufacturing.
➢ M a n u f a c t u r i n g d e f e c t s : T h e s e o cc u r d u r i n g
manufacturing.
➢ Marketing Defects: Improper marketing, wrong
labelling, inadequate safety warnings, etc.
A Design Example
4. Analyze and Select a Solution
An example: Design a mouse trap.
➢ Design 1:
4. Analyze and Select a Solution
An example: Design a mouse trap.
➢ Design 2:
4. Analyze and Select a Solution
An example: Design a mouse trap.
➢ Design 3:
4. Analyze and Select a Solution
An example: Design a mouse trap.
➢ Design 4:
4. Analyze and Select a Solution
An example: Design a mouse trap.

➢ Six criteria are listed and and assigned weight to each.

➢ Safety - 30%
➢ Ease of use - 20%
➢ Painless to mouse - 20%
➢ Cost - 15%
➢ Aesthetics - 10%
➢ Portability - 5%
4. Analyze and Select a Solution
The Decision Matrix
5. Test and Implement the Solution
➢ This step involves testing, construction and
manufacturing of the solution to the design problem.

➢ Testing and Verification: These are very important

parts of the design process. Many a times the designed
solution won’t work after coming to testing stage and
designers have to find out what the flaw is.

➢ The new problem may arise and to solve this problem,

it may require engineers to start again from the first
step i.e. to define the (new) problem.
 Fundamentals of Design
● Occam’s Razor
● Simplicity vs Complexity
● Newton’s Laws
● Saint-Venant’s Principles
● Golden Rectangle
● Abbe’s Principle
● Self - Principles
Simplicity v/s Complexity
Simplicity v/s Complexity
Golden Ratio/Rectangle/Spiral
Golden Ratio/Rectangle/Spiral
Golden Ratio/Rectangle/Spiral
Golden Ratio/Rectangle/Spiral
Golden Ratio/Rectangle/Spiral
Golden Ratio/Rectangle/Spiral
Golden Ratio/Rectangle/Spiral
Golden Ratio/Rectangle/Spiral
Golden Ratio/Rectangle/Spiral
Golden Ratio/Rectangle/Spiral
Abbe’s Principle
Abbe’s Principle