Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
56 Engineering Fundamentals
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Summary
• All human-made things around us have
been designed to meet some need or want.
• Engineering design is the creative
application of technology to design systems,
products, and processes to solve problems.
• Engineers create solutions to problems using
the engineering design process.
• Engineers must use all steps of the design
process, but can also go back to any step and
start over if the need arises.
• Defi ning the problem is the fi rst step in the
engineering design process. Resources can
be wasted when the problem is not properly
identifi ed.
• Constraints must be defi ned after the
problem has been identifi ed.
• Ideation techniques include brainstorming
and researching.
• Evaluating designs is the fi rst step in
creating solutions.
• In the solution creation step, solutions are
communicated through renderings, detail
drawings, and 3-D models.
• Solutions can be tested using computer
simulations and prototypes.
• Final design ideas are communicated using
mechanical drawings, pictorial drawings,
orthographic drawings, and specifi cations.
• All designs can be improved in some way.
Products are constantly being redesigned to
be cheaper, safer, more effective, or to meet
some other need.
• Reverse engineering examines existing
products or processes to gain information
about that product or process.
• Keeping an engineering notebook is an
effective way to record all the information
from the design process in one place, in case
you need to access it in the future.
Online Activities
Expand your learning with additional online
resources:
Posttest. Now that you have fi nished this
chapter, see what you learned by taking the
chapter posttest.
Career Activity. Learn about engineering
careers by completing the online activity.
Test Your Knowledge
Answer the following questions using the information
provided in this chapter.
1. Who creates design problems?
2. _______ involves fi nding not just a solution,
but the best possible solution given a
specifi c problem and criteria.
3. What are the six steps of the engineering
design process?
4. _______ is arguably the most important step
in the design process. Large amounts of time
and money are wasted if mistakes are made
at this step.
A. Solution creation
B. Idea generation
C. Final solution
D. Problem defi nition
5. The _______ outlines the problem in clear
terms.
6. What information is included in a design
brief?
7. Brainstorming is most effective when done
_______.
8. In the _______ step, all ideas are evaluated
and the best one is chosen to move forward.
A. solution creation
B. idea generation
C. fi nal solution
D. testing/analysis