Open University:An introduction to design
engineering
After this course, you should be able to:
1. understand the broad scope of design engineering
2. recognise the main drivers for design engineering
3. describe how human variation impacts on design engineering
4. apply some basic concepts and methods from design engineering to
explore creative solutions to clearly defined real world problems
5. demonstrate skills in communication, presentation, information handling
and numeracy through the completion of activities.
INTRODUCTION:
The realization of some truly remarkable change in our world
Benefits:
-Transform the environment
-Create incredible
-Help people travel to, and live in,space.
-Make people's lives easier:a disposable hypodermic needle; a transistor; Velcro
fastening material
-Develop many of the most important systems and services, from individual
right up to global and universal scales→ support radical scaling up of human
activity.- a standardized component system; a distribution and transport
system; a satellite navigation (satnav) system and service.
→ Design engineering is really important for the development of human life and society,
they are present in almost all fields.
Each field will have different benefits:
https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/business-benefits-design (business)
https://markforged.com/resources/blog/importance-of-dfm (Manufacturing)
*Design beginnings: Purpose: Theory and practice→ practical approach→ The
heart of design engineering.
1. Design is more than aesthetics and appearance: Good design brings
aesthetic and functional elements together→ the aesthetics are
pleasing because of the utility, and the function is expressed in the
appearance→ TV
2. Design is more than products and objects:term (product, specification,
process,service,System) → not only design the product but also design
other elements to make it more perfect→ solar power factory.
3. Design is not just for designers: all fields→ The smallest detail in a project
needs to be designed just as much as the overall project.
4. Design is much more than just solving a single problem:not only defining problems to
solve but also working out how those problems might be solved→ mobile
phone.
5. Design is about thinking around the object:the context, operation, repair, or
replacement.
According to the information below: DESIGN is not only about drawing and designing,
but also about feeling, sophistication and careful observation from all sides and every
perspective.
*Another purpose of design (overall and general view):Purposeful and intentional;User-
Centric;Balanced Composition;Innovative and Original.
→ CHARACTERISTICS OF DESIGN: design is a process,design makes use of
creative and analytical attitudes, approaches and skills,design has a purpose
and creates change. It is an inherently practical pursuit.
*Inspiring design engineering:creatively in different ways→ drive innovation.
1. My definition of design:depending on each person's way of thinking.
*In my opinion: Design is not simply when we pick up a pen to draw and think, but it is to
feel, see through, combine all aspects and sketch out unique works with certain
characteristics.
http://designstudies.vn/vi/vn-blog/2022/09/30/thiet-ke-la-gi-neu-nghi-do-la-tu-do-sang-
tao-thi-ban-da-nham/
2. Summary of Section 2:
*Design drivers:perfect the product→ car
1. Common design drivers:examples: to meet a need;to solve a problem;
to fulfill a desire or demand; to improve something; to respond to the
change, and “just because”→ Whenever you come across a problem in
real life, you have probably found a driver for design.
*Designing for people:
+People vary physically
+People have different preferences and thoughts
+People have a range of circumstances and contexts
+People have different experiences and knowledge
→Each individual is a separate individual, each has its own personality and
characteristics, so the design is for everyone→ different creative parts and
unique processes.
1. People and variation:depends on your point of view→ human suitability
(inconvenience in using the machine).
2. Practical variation: activities→ further demonstrate the transformation
of each design through people→ variation is also important for it to become
better.
3. Numerical variation:
+consider:missing data;Spurious precision;Dubious data;Coded
values;Constraints;the presence of outliers→ discrete data and Continuous
data.
→ is an important part that is linked to the design, it needs to be carefully considered
because of the possible connection between them.
*AVERAGE(dataset) → the connection between numbers→ to give the most
appropriate number in design engineering.
4. Using numbers to design:Numbers play an essential role in providing the most
detailed and accurate information in design. → anthropometric
(characteristics and measurements)
5. Visualizing numbers:Representing data using charts makes it easy to compare,
identify trends, and understand the meaning of data. (add examples)
6. Designing for people using numbers:Because each person has a different
perspective and characteristics about people, therefore, specifying them with
numbers can clearly show us the obvious differences. ( the height of each
people)
7. Summary of section 4:One way of approaching this is to design in order
to suit as many people as possible, or even for all people in any
population→ inclusive or universal design→new design driver.
→ This topic has shown us the correlation between humans and the constant change
represented by numbers, thus creating a new design motivation to best suit humans
(human-centered).
CONCLUSION: use of both creative and analytical thinking, taking human imagination
and creativity and making it a working reality.
—> Through this course, I have a completely different perspective on
technical design, it is not simple but an extremely complex process
and depends on different factors to create a complete product
+ One of the famous design engineers: Loenardo Da Vinci-conceptualized early
versions of flying machines and armored vehicles.
Note:
*personal thinking
*external data
