Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
Fall 2005
Week 4
Lecture overview
Course overview – where is this class heading.
What should you expect. Grade distribution.
Technical Presentations (brief overview)
New assignment
– Engineering Design Specification
– Written and ppt presentation
Generating conceptual design alternatives
Discussion of last week’s assignment.
– Each group will present their customer attributes
– Specify what meeting times you have decided on
Groups
Group assignment
– Engineering Design Specification (10%
total)
– Type this up neatly (7 % of grade) – it
will become part of your semester report.
Include a section on your customer attributes.
– 5 min presentation per group next week
(3 % of grade).
– Start creating a master report document.
Just a question…
Brainstorming
Systematic search for new
combinations
Synectics
Creative Idea Generation
Brainstorming
– Very useful for generating ideas for general technical
problems. Perhaps less useful in generating ideas for
highly technical or specialized problems.
– Generally used in a group but can be used by just one
person.
– In a comfortable setting generate as many solutions as
possible in a free and open way.
– The design team and the brainstorming group can include
different people
Good to include people that are not knowledgeable about the
technical details (perhaps include technical people not on
your team, perhaps include marketing people)
Creative Idea Generation
Brainstorming rules
– No criticism evaluation or comments about ideas expressed
– As many ideas as possible must be generated
Speak out freely about the ideas without inhibitions
Let one idea lead into another
Don’t evaluate the ideas – this will be done later
– Wild, “off the wall”, unusual ideas are wanted
Maybe the idea itself is not practical but it may lead into something
that is
– Have a leader that keeps the brainstorming exercise on track
(ensure that no one evaluates ideas)
A brainstorming exercise
– How to separate green (unripe) tomatoes from ripe tomatoes
Creative Idea Generation
Systematic search for new combinations
No of combinations = M1 x M2 x M3 x…x Mn
– M is the number of alternatives for a particular function
– N is the number of functions
Fantasy
– Imagining or wishing that something is
possible
Sometimes impossible, but more importantly
– sometimes possible and sometimes the
ideas can be modified to be possible
Airplane, car, Polaroid camera, Xerox
machine, telephone, …
Synetics
Analogy
– Analogy to other physical phenomena
– Think about the problem in general enough
terms so that the characteristics that it has with
other disciplines/situations become apparent
– Remember to think about the natural world
Design in Nature
– The hinge and the shell of an oyster
Synetics
Empathy
– Putting one’s self in another’s place
– Identifying physically and personally with the part, product, or process
that is to be created
Body/mind must actually perform the function(s)
State how it feels and what we would need or do if we were to do the task
– Difficult for people that are inhibited in a group of people.
Either trust that the members will be nice
Thick-skinned
Exercise: Improve the design of a 33 rpm records player. Problem is
that the payer would be too sensitive to vibrations in the dorm room.
Note that this example is not brainstorming as the people are
deliberately trying to use synetics techniques (analogy, fantasy,
empathy, and inversion)
Searching for Information
Literature search – Published data bases
– Trade Magazines (Mechanical Now most are available on
Engineering, Machine Design, the web
…) Can search for a particular
topic, author, theory,…
Full of advertisements
UNF subscribes to numerous
Articles data bases (many available
Should review on a regular on line)
basis to build your basic Learn how to use these data
knowledge base (you also bases if you haven’t already –
need to stay on top of new make an appointment with a
trends in the market) librarian
– Handbooks People as sources
Machinery’s handbook (very
good!) – Your colleagues (do you know
– Industry Manuals anything about…, do you
know where I can find
Gears, springs, motors, information on, do you know
belts,…
someone else that can help
– Research Journals
– Vendors
Research in Engineering
Design Thomas register (on line)
ASME Journal of Heat Yellow pages
Transfer
ASME Journal of Fluid
Mechanics
Creativity Inhibitors
Set
– Reluctance to change, habits, something worked
reasonably well in the past.
Examples
– School busses
– Time cards (punch cards)
– Gasoline driven cars
– Inches vs. mm
People may justify reasons why change is bad or no
needed.
– The competitors may be willing to change and
may develop superior products
Creativity Inhibitors
Fear
– Afraid of making a mistake
Often one person will not be blamed for a failure.
Hopefully the team will be able to evaluate all
suggestions and determine a good solution. The
pressure is off!
– Afraid of embarrassment
Stupid or impractical ideas
– What is the opposite fear?
What if the competitor comes up with your idea and
proceed while you are too afraid to act on it…
Creativity Inhibitors
Pressure of time
– There may not be time to always explore
new ideas
Important to have a Research and
Development team.
Lack of reward
Failure to patent
Long term enhancement
of personal creativity
Subscribe to trade magazines
Keep a memory support book
– Also start creating your portfolios
Practice curiosity
– How was the product designed? How was it
made? How can it be improved?
– Take things apart
– Children are often considered more creative than
adults – Where would you put a third eye?
Discussion of last week’s
assignment
Customer attributes with priorities
Meeting times
Group leader
Status of spec discussion