ME 362

Mechanical Engineering
Design
Part 5.2

Muhammad Ilyas
Gathering Information
Gathering Information

Remember we solved a problem related to the

building block machine!

There is a need of building block machine (4x6x12 in) in the

country from highly compacted soil. Your assignment is to
design a block-making machine with the capacity for
producing 600 blocks per day at a capital cost of less than Rs
20,000. Develop a need analysis, a problem statement and a
plan for the information that will be needed to complete the
design.
Gathering Information
Information needed:
Determination of the processing condition
What pressure must be generated?
Curing temperature and time
Effect of different soil cement mixtures on pressure
Mechanism for generating pressure
Human factors
Magnitude of force that can be produced by a human
Human fatigue
Materials handling
Materials for the machine, availability and their
properties
 emails
Data
YouTube
Growth of Data

google

tweets
facebook
Growth of Data over time
mobile
amazon
 Gathering Information

This influx of information : aids greatly in the generation

of new knowledge
On the other hand : more difficult to retrieve information
unless you have a plan to do so
 Gathering Information
Design Process : Need Identification is followed
by Gathering Information
Variety of information required for a new / existing
design
Customers data
Computer knowledge
CAD knowledge What will be the
Engineering knowledge strategy to collect
Modeling / analysis information?
Codes / Standards
Procurement / suppliers data
Manufacturing process(es)
Material(s)
 Gathering Information
Develop a personal plan for collecting information
Develop your own working files of technical and
business information that is important to your work
Be selective
Discard outdated materials by getting new information
To be up-to-date, you can take 3 approaches
Read the core journals related your area
Utilize the current awareness services (internet etc.)
Participate in selective programs (conferences,
technical meetings, group discussions etc.)
 Gathering Information

Develop a personal plan for collecting information

As a professional, try to allocate a small portion of your
resources / income for your technical library and your
professional growth, e.g.
Purchase of new textbooks : current or potential interest
Specialized monographs
Software
Membership in professional societies
Subscriptions to technical journals and magazines
 Gathering Information

Develop a personal plan for collecting

information
Every professional must read enough journals and
technical magazines to keep up with the technology
in the relevant field
Journals, which should be read on a monthly basis,
should come from three categories :
1. General scientific, technical, and economic (business) news.
(e.g. the monthly magazine of your main professional society)
2. Trade magazines in your area of interest or business
responsibility
3. Research-oriented journals in your area of interest
 Data, Information & Knowledge
Data: a set of facts and figures about something
specific, in discrete form
May be some experimental observations about the testing
of a new product, or
Data on sales that are part of a marketing study
Information is data that has been treated in some
way that it conveys a message
For example, the sales data analyzed statistically so as to
identify potential markets by customer income level
Knowledge is broader, deeper, and richer than
data or information
It is a mix of experience, values, contextual information, and
expert insight that provides a framework for evaluating and
incorporating new experiences and information
Data, Information & Knowledge

Applied: Id better stop the bike

Context: The traffic

light I am driving
towards, has turned red
Meaning: South
facing traffic light
facing GIKI gate has
turned red

Raw : Red
 Data, Information & Knowledge
Under this schema
Data :
A component
A specification
Material data sheet
Information :
A catalog of bearings : dimensions, performance data
Knowledge :
An article : calculation of failure life of bearings
Copyright and Copying

It is a legal right to publish a Tangible

Expression of Literary or Artistic work to
prevent unauthorized copying by any other of
that work
In United States, copyright is awarded for a
period of the life of the copyright holder plus
50 years.
It is not necessary to publish a copyright
notice for a work to be copyrighted
Unlike Patent, with a copyright there is no
extensive search to ensure the degree of
originality of the work
 Copyright and Copying

US Copyright law (1909-1978) : is broad enough for

written engineering specifications, sketches, drawings
and models
The revision in the law was made later on
Major motivation for revision was to make law compatible
with the technology of fast, inexpensive copying machines.
Can make one copy for personal use for criticism,
comment, news, reporting, teaching, scholarships or
research.
Sources of Information
Sources of Information Library
Hierarchy of Library Information Sources
Technical dictionaries
Encyclopedias
Handbooks
Textbooks
Bibliographies
Indexing and abstract services
Technical and professional journal
Translations
Technical reports
Patents
Catalogs and manufacturers brochures
 Sources of Information Library

Search information can

be visualized along the
path as shown