Engineering process by khang tran

Understand the need: What is the problem? What do we want to accomplish? What are the project requirements? What are the limitations? Who is the customer? What is our goal? Gather information and conduct research - talking to people from many different backgrounds. Brainstorm different designs: Imagine and brainstorm ideas. Be creative; build upon the wild and crazy ideas of others. Investigate existing technologies and methods to use. Explore, compare and analyze many possible solutions. Select a design: Based on the needs identified, select the most promising idea. Plan: Draw a diagram of your idea. How will it work? What environmental and cultural considerations will you evaluate? What materials and tools are needed? What analyses must you do? How will you test it to make sure it works? Create: Assign team tasks. Build a prototype and test it against your design objectives. Push yourself for creativity, imagination and excellence in design. Does it work? Analyze and talk about what works, what doesn't and what could be improved. Improve: Discuss how you could improve your product. Make revisions. Draw new designs. Iterate your design to make your product the best it can be Engineers use their science and math knowledge to explore all possible options and compare many design ideas. This is called open-ended design because when you start to solve a problem, you don't know what the best solution will be to meet the requirements. The process is cyclical and may begin at, and return to, any step Engineers select the solution that best uses the available resources and best meets the project's requirements. They consider many factors before they implement a design: Cost to make and use, quality, reliability, environmental consideration, safety, functionality, ease of use, aesthetics, ethics, social and cultural impact, maintainability, testability, ease/cost of construction and manufacturability. They also consider sustainability - how the development, use and ultimate disposal of the product might impact people and our planet http://www.teachengineering.org/engrdesignprocess.php Engineering Design Process The engineering design process involves a series of steps that lead to the development of a new product or system. In this design challenge, students are to complete each step and document their work as they develop their lunar plant growth chamber. The students should be able to do the following: http://twosidesserenity.blogspot.com/2011/03/eliminate-questionmark.html

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STEP 1: Identify the Problem -- Students should state the challenge problem in their own words. Example: How can I design a __________ that will __________?

STEP 2: Identify Criteria and Constraints -- Students should specify the design requirements (criteria). Example: Our growth chamber must have a growing surface of 10 square feet and have a delivery volume of 3 cubic feet or less. Students should list the limits on the design due to available resources and the environment (constraints). Example: Our growth chamber must be accessible to astronauts without the need for leaving the spacecraft.

STEP 3: Brainstorm Possible Solutions -- Each student in the group should sketch his or her own ideas as the group discusses ways to solve the problem. Labels and arrows should be included to identify parts and how they might move. These drawings should be quick and brief.

STEP 4: Generate Ideas -- In this step, each student should develop two or three ideas more thoroughly. Students should create new drawings that are orthographic projections (multiple views showing the top, front and one side) and isometric drawings (three-dimensional depiction). These are to be drawn neatly, using rulers to draw straight lines and to make parts proportional. Parts and measurements should be labeled clearly.

STEP 5: Explore Possibilities -- The developed ideas should be shared and discussed among the team members. Students should record pros and cons of each design idea directly on the paper next to the drawings.

STEP 6: Select an Approach -- Students should work in teams and identify the design that appears to solve the problem the best. Students should write a statement that describes why they chose the solution. This should include some reference to the criteria and constraints identified above.

STEP 7: Build a Model or Prototype -- Students will construct a full-size or scale model based on their drawings. The teacher will help identify and acquire appropriate modeling materials and tools. See the design brief for a sample list.

STEP 8: Refine the Design -- Students will examine and evaluate their prototypes or designs based on the criteria and constraints. Groups may enlist students from other groups to review the solution and help identify changes that need to be made. Based on criteria and constraints, teams must identify any problems and proposed solutions. http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/plantgrowth/reference/Eng_Design_5-12.html The engineering design process is the set of steps that a designer takes to go from first, identifying a problem or need to, at the end, creating and developing a solution that solves the problem or meets the need. The steps of the engineering design process are to: Define the Problem Do Background Research Specify Requirements Create Alternative Solutions Choose the Best Solution Do Development Work Build a Prototype Test and Redesign During the engineering design process, designers frequently jump back and forth between steps. Going back to earlier steps is common. This way of working is called iteration, and it is likely that your process will do the same! While engineers create new things, such as products, websites, environments, and experiences, scientists study how nature works. If your project involves making observations and doing experiments, your project might better fit the Steps of the Scientific Method. If you are not sure if your project is a scientific or engineering project, you should read Comparing the Engineering Design Process and the Scientific Method.

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