PRINCIPLES OF

ENGINEERING DESIGN
CUPE 125

LECTURER: ENG J. BAMHARE

[email protected]
 AXIOMATIC DESIGN
• Axioms are truths that cannot be derived but for which there are no counter-examples or
exceptions.
• A design process is a sequence of activities in which engineers or designers develop
and/or select the means to satisfy a set of objectives subject to constraints.
• The way that AD summarizes this is that designers map from “what do they want to do?”
to “how do they choose to do this?”.
• The AD design process consists of at least three activities: “problem formulation,”
“synthesis” (concept generation), and “analysis” (concept evaluation and making a
decision).
• The ultimate goal of Axiomatic Design is to establish a science base for design and to
improve design activities by providing the designer with a theoretical foundation based on
logical and rational thought processes and tools.
 DOMAINS AND MAPPING
• During the design process, the task which is being addressed can be divided into four
domains. The four domains are generalized as:
 The Customer Domain,
 The Functional Domain,
 The Physical Domain,
 and the Process Domain.

• Associated with each domain are the design elements it contains. AD terms these
Customer Attributes (CAs), Functional Requirements (FRs), Design Parameters (DPs),
and Process Variables (PVs).
• The design axioms are applied as designers map between domains. In addition to these
elements, constraints on the design task are not restricted to a particular domain, but
limit the choice of acceptable solutions.
 FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS
• Functional requirements are “defined to be the minimum set of independent
requirements that completely characterize the design objectives for a specific need”.

• A key observation by Suh is that these FRs must be specified in a “solution-neutral

environment” in terms of the functions to be achieved, not in terms of particular
solutions.

• Related to the solution neutrality requirement is the inherent independence of FRs.

That is, when FRs are defined in the functional domain, there is no pre-existing
interdependence between the FRs, and in principle it is possible to satisfy the FRs
independently.
 DESIGN PARAMETERS
• Design Parameters. Design parameters are defined as “the set of elements of the
design object that have been chosen to satisfy the FRs”.

• These can be items used in product design:

 Geometric Parameters,

 Material Properties,

 Part Features

 Assemblies, and so on.

• Beyond this, they can consist of intangible items: strategies, methods, software
classes, etc.
 PROCESS VARIABLES
• Process Variables include fabrication methods, resources, and implementation plans
to materialize the design parameters.

• In the axiomatic design process, a direct relationship exists between domains: CAs to
FRs, FRs to DPs, and DPs to PVs.

• This directed relationship is referred to as design mapping, in which the objectives

(the “What” elements) are mapped to the means of achieving them (the “How”
elements).
 GOOD PRACTICE
• The first fundamental principle in the axiomatic design theory is that a design task
must begin with carefully defining the goals and objectives of design.

• Only after they are clearly and explicitly stated, can the designers proceed to
conceive appropriate solutions to achieve them.

• While it sounds simple, our experiences and observations are abound with examples
where a design project suffers due to poorly and ambiguously defined requirements
or requirements that are constantly shifting during the design process.

• Also, many bad designs come about when designers mix “the what” and “the how”
in the same domain.
 HIERARCHIES
• The design process progresses from a system level, or a high level of abstraction, to
levels of more detail. The decisions about the design object are represented in three
of the domains with design hierarchies:
 an FR hierarchy,

 a DP hierarchy,

 and a PV hierarchy.
 ZIGZAGGING
• The designers go through a process in which they zigzag between domains in
decomposing the design problem.

• At a given level of the design hierarchy, a set of functional requirements exists. Before
these FRs can be decomposed, the corresponding design parameters must be selected.

• Once a functional requirement can be satisfied by a corresponding design parameter,

that FR can be decomposed into a set of sub-requirements, and the process is repeated.

• The designers follow the zigzag approach until they have decomposed the problem to a
point where the solutions to the remaining sub-problems are known.

•
 ZIGZAGGING
• This process requires that the
design parameters obtained
from the top level be used to
validate the FRs of the
following level, i.e. FRs from
level 1.1.1 are validated by
DPs from level 1.1
 DECISION MAKING IN AXIOMATIC
• Axiomatic design provides guidelines DESIGN
consisting of axioms, theorems, and corollaries
that specify the relationships that should exist between the FRs and the DPs of a
design.
 THE DESIGN AXIOMS
• Axiomatic design is defined as the use of axioms to identify good design. The two
design axioms are stated as follows:

• The Independence Axiom (First Axiom):

• Maintain the independence of functional requirements.

• The Information Axiom (Second Axiom):

• Minimize the information content of the design.

• These axioms were generalized from observations of good design decisions. They
establish the minimum acceptability for a design solution, and enable the
identification of the best among several proposed. In addition to the axioms, AD has
many theorems and corollaries that follow from the two axioms.
 SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE AND MODULARITY
• In addition to hierarchies, Suh has proposed definition of system modules according
to the design hierarchies combined with the relationships within the design
matrices.

• AD approach to modularity contrasts sharply with other approaches that focus on

defining modules based on DPs, rather than based on design matrices.
 MEASURES OF COUPLING
• Some measures of coupling have been tried. These include reangularity and
semangularity. Lee has proposed methods for understanding the value of removing
an off-diagonal term and for identifying an optimal strategy for eliminating coupling
terms from DM.
 EXAMPLES OF COUPLING
• The example shown illustrates
the meaning of a coupled
design and a decoupled design.

• The control of flow and the

control of temperature can be
coupled or decoupled.
 COMMON DESIGN MISTAKES
• Suh provides a list of common design mistakes that the Independence Axiom can
catch, as follows:
• Coupling due to insufficient number of DPs: When the number of DPs is less than that of FRs, a
coupled design always results. To avoid this, the number of FRs should be made equal to the number
of DPs.

• More DPs than FRs: This results in a redundant design and increased variability or decreased
robustness. To avoid this, the number of FRs should be equal to the number of DPs.

• Not recognizing a decoupled design: One must recognize the design is decoupled and then
determine (change) the DPs following the right sequence given by the triangular design matrix.
Otherwise, the design will be the same as a coupled design.

• Functionally coupled design to make a physical integration: Many designers confuse functional
independence with physical independence. Physical integration is desirable as long as the functional
requirements remain independent and uncoupled.
INFORMATION CONTENT
 APPLICATION OF METHOD
Functional Requirements Design Parameters

Lvl 1 To Receive and Contain Cobs for Shelling A Hopper

To Drive the System For Shelling A Drive Mechanism

To Distribute the Supplied Power A Transmission System

To Contain the Cobs during Shelling Machine Covers

To Separate the Kernels from the Cobs Shelling Mechanism

To Remove the Chaff, Sheaths and Cob A Threshing Mechanism

To House all Parts A Machine Stand/Structure

 APPLICATION OF METHOD (CONT.)
Functional Requirements Design Parameters

Lvl 2 To Receive and Contain Cobs for Shelling A Hopper

To Receive Adequate Cobs and Direct into A Chute

Machine
To Contain Adequate Cobs without Chocking A Container with Distributor
Machine
To Drive the System For Shelling A Drive Mechanism

To Provide Power A Power Supply

To Convert Power Source into Torque A Torque Generator

To Deliver Power to Distributor A Transmission System

•Discussion