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Chapter 3 Engineering Design 41
positive attitude toward solving problems, be
persistent, let the facts drive decisions, follow
procedures, be creative and open to new ideas,
and adhere to the engineering design process.
Teamwork
Engineering design is often done in teams.
Many team members with diverse backgrounds
and varying skill sets are brought together to
solve problems. It is important that you learn to be
a good team member. Working as a team member
to solve problems is very much like working as
a team member to win a soccer game. You need
to respect your team members, learn to be an
effective communicator, recognize the individual
strengths of each team member, work hard, and
show commitment to the team. The quality of the
fi nal solution will depend on the skills and the
cooperation of the design team.
Not only will good teamwork skills help you
solve problems, they will help you get hired as
an engineer. Employers are looking for engineers
who have the necessary skills to work as effective
members of diverse teams. Every time you work
on a cooperative activity, focus on honing your
teamwork skills.
History
Engineering Design in History
Modern incandescent bulbs use a tungsten
filament surrounded by an inert gas inside a globe.
Electrical current flows through the filament, heating
it, and causing it to glow and create light. The gas is
used to replace the oxygen in the air because the
filament would burn up if oxygen was present.
Thomas Edison is often credited with inventing
the incandescent lightbulb. He did not actually invent
the lightbulb, but rather improved the lightbulb that
had been invented long before.
Problem Definition
There were two types of lights at the time: the
electric arc and the incandescent. The electric arc
lamp created light using an electric arc, but it was far
too bright for most indoor applications. The incandes-
cent light of the day had a very low resistance and,
therefore, used too much electricity.
Idea Generation
Edison determined that he needed to design a
filament that would glow when current was passed
through it and had a high resistance so it would use
less electricity than the bulbs that were currently
available. It also had to last for an acceptable period
of time. Edison developed literally thousands of ideas.
Solution Creation
Edison sorted through his ideas and picked the
most promising one before moving on to the test-
ing step. He did not know if an idea would meet his
needs until he tested it.
Testing/Analysis
Edison tried thousands of filaments and evalu-
ated their performance. This process went on for
years until he found a material that made sufficient
light, had a high resistance, and lasted for an accept-
able period of time. He had materials shipped to him
from all over the world so he could experiment with
them as filaments. Each time an idea failed, he had
to return to the idea generation step and start over.
His persistence and patience led to his success.
Final Solution or Output
When an idea passed the testing step, it became
a final solution. Edison’s lightbulbs were later sold as
electric lighting became more widely used.
Design Improvement
Each time he had a successful test, Edison
started over trying to find a filament that was even
better. He continued to improve on his own success.