dc files

1. Design Constraints
Written Report Format

2. Product Design Constraints and
Requirements
 Design Engineers must consider a multitude of technical,
economic, social, environmental, and political constraints
when they design products and processes.
 There must be clear evidence in your design project that
you have addressed the constraints that are relevant to your
project.

3. Effect of Constraints
Better Designs
Design Changes
Design
Changes
Constraint
Limits

4. Functional Constraints
• Overall Geometry – size, width, space, arrangement
• Motion of parts – type, direction, velocities, acceleration,
kinematics
• Forces involved – load direction, magnitude, load, impact
• Energy needed – heating, cooling, conversion, pressure
• Materials to be used – flow, transport, properties
• Control system – electrical, hydraulic, mechanical, pneumatic
• Information flow – inputs, outputs, form, display

5. Safety Constraints
• Operational – direct, indirect, hazard elimination
• Human – warnings, training
• Environmental – land, sea, air, noise, light, radiation,
reaction, transport

6. Quality Constraints
• Quality assurance – regulations, standards, codes
• Quality control – inspection, testing, labeling
• Reliability – design life, failures, statistics

7. Manufacturing Constraints
• Production of components – factory limitations, means of
production, wastes
• Purchase of components – supplier quality, reliability,
quality control, inspection
• Assembly – installation, foundations, bolting, welding
• Transport – material handling, clearance, packaging

8. Timing Constraints
• Design schedule – project planning, project control
• Development schedule – design detailing, compliance tests
• Production schedule – manufacture, assembly, packing,
transport
• Delivery schedule – delivery date, distribution network,
supply chains

9. Economic Constraints
• Marketing analysis – size of market, distribution, market segments
• Design costs – design team computing, information retrieval
• Development costs – design detailing, supplier costs, testing costs
• Manufacturing cost - tooling, labor, overhead, assembly, inspection
• Distribution costs - packing, transport, service centers, spare parts,
warranty
• Resources – time, budget, labor, capital, machines, material
$

10. Ergonomic Constraints
• User needs – type of operation, instructions, warnings
• Ergonomic design – man-machine relationships,
operation, height, layout, comfort, lighting
• Cybernetic design – controls, layout, clarity, interactions

11. Ecological Constraints
• General environmental impact – impact on natural
resources, social resources
• Sustainability – political and commercial consequences,
implications for following generations
• Material selection –solid, liquid, gas, stability, protection,
toxicity
• Working fluid selection – fluid, gas, flammability, toxicity

12. Aesthetic Constraints
• Customer appeal – shape, color, texture, form, feel, smell,
surprise and delight features
• Fashion – culture, history, trends
• Future expectations – rate of change in technology,
trends, product families

13. Life-Cycle Constraints
• Distribution – means of transport, nature and conditions of
dispatch, rules, regulations
• Operation – quietness, wear, special uses, working
environments
• Maintenance – servicing intervals, inspection, exchange and
repair, cleaning, diagnostics
• Disposal – recycle, scrap

14. Legal/Ethical Constraints
• Regulations – OSHA, FAA, FDA
• Ethics – public safety, health, welfare and integrity
• Intellectual Property – patents, trademarks, copyrights

15. Project Reports
• MidTerm report
• Oral report
• Final Report

16. MidTerm Report
• Should describe MidSemester progress
• Think of it as a start on your final report
• Introductory and background material and
project description material will remain the
same

17. Technical Communication Format
(MAE 451)
• “Double Five”
• Include technical discussion
• Include business topics as appropriate

18. Report Format
• Summary
• The Problem
• Scope and Goals
• Solution
• Results
• Conclusions
• References

19. Summary
• Summarize the project and your work
• Don’t summarize the report
• Briefly introduce the problem
• Summarize the solution and conclusions
• Typically half a page in length

20. The Problem (Introduction)
• Introduce the design problem here
• Background information on the company or
research/laboratory area
• What is the project?

21. The Problem (Introduction)
• Introduce the design problem here
• Background information on the company or
research/laboratory area
• What is the project?
• Why is it of interest?
• What are constraints or requirements that
the solution must satisfy
• Briefly highlight the contents of the report

22. Scope and Goals
• Very specific description of your design
project and expectations
• What specifically was to be accomplished?
• Are you part of a team?
• Are you continuing a project?
• What is needed to finish the project?

23. Solution
• Select Titles and Subtitles for your project
• This is the place to describe the details of your
work process and issues encountered
• Discuss constraints and your management of
them - a special subsection would be best
• Include figures, graphs and photos
• Large amounts of information should be in an
appendix at the end of the report

24. Results
• Describe the results of your work including
your resulting design
• Include figures, drawings etc. as
appropriate
• Comment on the quality of your technical
results and design

25. Conclusions
• Have you achieved the goals of your design?
• Is the problem completely solved?
• Is there continuation after the semester ends?
• Will the project have to be continued by
another group?
• If more work is needed, describe it carefully
and suggest a completion schedule.

26. References
• References make your work credible
• Back up all of your facts with references
• Indicate references for any previous work on
your design project
• Indicate references for similar projects by
others
• Use references for any technical approaches
used in your solution
• State your references completely

27. Report Format
• Summary
• The Problem
• Scope and Goals
• Solution
• Results
• Conclusions
• References

28. Comments on Figures
• Figures are best inserted directly in the text
• Insert figures right after they are discussed
• Clearly number each figure and be sure to
discuss the figure by number
• As an alternate - place all the figures
together at the end of the report

29. Just to Summarize
• Think about CONSTRAINTS and report on
their effect on your design
• Make your report professional
• Think of the MidTerm report as a start on
your final report
• Make use of the suggested report format