Design Philosophy
Week 1

Course Objective
• The course focuses on the fundamentals and principles of basic
mechanical elements, the manufacturing considerations and
the product design processes .
• The goal of this course is to understand the very basic
principles of these processes without dealing with
mathematical equations.

By the end of this course the student should be able to
 Understand the principles of design, and the design processes.
 Classify the main types of mechanical design.
 Identify the different types of machine tool elements, and recognize the
pros and cons of each element.
 Get an overview of the manufacturing considerations.
 Identify the product design process and its considerations.
 Interact with the engineering world by applying the previously studied
principles in a case study.

We will discuss in this week the following
• Design Philosophy
• Design Process
• Design Levels
• Types of Mechanical Design
• How to be Successful Designer

What is Design anyway ?
• Engineering Design is the process of devising a system,
component, or process to meet desired needs.
• It is a decision-making process (often iterative), in which the
basic sciences, mathematics, and engineering sciences are
applied to optimally convert resources to meet a stated
objective.

Design is everywhere
• Design is in everything around us, choose anything you see even if you choose the
universe, you will discover that it’s well designed.
• As an example you will find that you have a fashion designer who design your cloth
and its size.
• Interior decorative designer who made the art in your home. A machine designer
who made the equipment that you use in your factory, also furniture, electronics,
buildings, food products; as an example; each of it has an independent person who
creates of develop that product which is called a designer and the process of
creation is called Design.

The Design Process Paradox
Throughout the solution
process knowledge about the
problem and its potential
solutions is gained and,
conversely, design freedom is
lost.
The more you learn the less
freedom you have to use what
you know.

Design Levels
Adaptive Design
Development Design
New Design

Types of Mechanical Design
Before beginning, we must realize that most design situations are a mix of various types of problems.
Traditionally, we decompose mechanical engineering by discipline: fluids, thermodynamics,
mechanics, and so on

Types of Mechanical Design
• Selection Design
• Configuration Design
• Parametric Design
• Original Design
• Redesign

• Selection design involves choosing one item(or maybe more) from a list of similar
items.
• We do this type of design every time we choose an item from a catalog.
Selection Design
To solve a selection problem we must start with a clear need

Configuration Design
• In this type of problem, all the components have been designed and the problem is
how to assemble them into the completed product.

Parametric Design
• Parametric design involves finding values for the features that characterize the
object being studied.
consider a very simple example.
We want to design a cylindrical storage tank that must hold 4𝑚3
of liquid. This tank is
described by the parameters r, its radius, and l, its length and its volume is determined
by V = π r ∗2
𝐿

Original Design
• We use it Any time the design problem requires the development of a process, assembly, or
component not previously in existence .
• In many ways the other types of design problems—selection, configuration, and parametric are
simply constrained subsets of an original design
• Example Design a machine element with based on it’s standard
Spur Gear on AGMA
(American Gear Manufacturing Association) Standard

Redesign
• Most design problems solved in industry are for the redesign of an existing product.
• Or in other words the modification of an existing product to meet new
requirements.

How to be Successful Designer
First you need to be in the shoe of 3 persons
• Product Manager
• Product Designer
• Manufacturing Manager

Mechanical Design Languages
• Many “languages” or representations can be used to describe a mechanical object
Skilled Designer Speaks Many Languages
Graphical
Analytical
Physical

Thank You