Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
40 Engineering Fundamentals
As you look around, everything you see that
is human-made has been designed. The chair you
are sitting in, the school you attend, and your
favorite electronic device are all results of engi-
neering design. Engineering design comes as a
result of a need. Engineers do not invent needs;
needs originate from society, and engineers design
solutions that meet those needs. Think of the
hybrid car. As fuel prices increase, worldwide oil
deposits decrease, and we understand more about
climate change, society has identifi ed the need for
a vehicle that could move people from one place
to another while using the least possible fuel and,
therefore, creating the least possible emissions.
Hybrid cars were designed to use an electric motor
and batteries to work with the gasoline engine. See
Figure 3-1. The result is a highly effi cient vehicle
that uses much less fuel and creates far fewer emis-
sions compared to conventional vehicles.
Engineering Design
Engineering design is the creative applica-
tion of technology to design a system, product,
or process to solve a given problem or meet a
given need. Engineering design is very open-
ended because there are often many solutions to
problems rather than simply one correct answer.
Engineering design involves fi nding not simply
a solution, but the best possible solution given a
specifi c problem and design criteria.
Engineering design is essential in all disci-
plines of engineering. Whether you plan to become
a mechanical, electrical, aerospace, or other engi-
neer, you will be called on to solve complex engi-
neering design problems throughout your career.
See Figure 3-2. To solve these types of problems,
engineers must keep an open mind, maintain a
Figure 3-1. 
Hybrid cars were designed
by engineers to fulfill a
need.
hfng/Shutterstock.com
yuyangc/Shutterstock.com
Figure 3-2. 
The creation of this gearbox required an engineer to use
the engineering design process.