1554 Technology and Engineering. Dr. Laurence Anderson

Transcription

1 1554 Technology and Engineering Dr. Laurence Anderson

2 1.1. What is Engineering?

3 The Seven Engineering Wonders of the Ancient World The Great Pyramid of Giza The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus The Hanging Gardens of Babylon The Colossus of Rhodes The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus The Statue of Zeus at Olympia The Lighthouse of Alexandria

4 What is an Engineer? Middle English: ingineer One who builds and operates siege engines Latin root: ingeniare to contrive, devise Same root as for ingenious

5 What is an Engineer? Engineer: a person who uses math and science to improve or create new technologies to suit human needs or wants What? Why? How? Technology: everything that people make or do to change the natural world. Technology can be an object or a process (e.g. cooking food). Q: Can you name 5 technologies right now?

6 The Four Main Branches of Engineering Civil Engineering Buildings, bridges, dams, roads, tunnels Mechanical Engineering Engines, generators, automobiles, heating and cooling systems Aerospace Engineering air flight and space flight Electrical Engineering Electronics, electric power generation Computer Hardware Engineering Chemical Engineering Drugs, paints, pesticides, cosmetics, oil refining, paper, textiles Agricultural Engineering

7 How is an Engineer different from a Scientist or a Technician? Engineers: people who use science to create new technologies to suit human needs and wants (i.e. solve problems) Scientists: people who observe and investigate the natural world to determine how it functions Technicians: people who operate, repair and maintain equipment They all work together!

8 The Ages of Man are Identified by Technology The Stone Age stone tools, fire The Bronze Age copper smelting, canals, agriculture, cities The Iron Age iron and steel, roads, aqueducts The Middle Ages a slow down in technological advance! The Renaissance printing press, gunpowder The Industrial Revolution steam engine, factories The Information Age computers, satellites, the Internet Q: What will the next Age be called?

9 Technology Timelines Technology timelines are generally organized in terms of improvements made in meeting societal needs: Transportation Technology: canoe, wheeled cart, locomotive, airplane Communication Technology: ink, telegraph, television, cell phones Military Technology: bow, chariot, steel weapons, nuclear submarines Q: What are other human needs? The established strategy to develop new technologies is called the Engineering Design Process.

10 The Engineering Design Process 1. Identify the Problem 2. Research the Problem 3. Develop Possible Solutions 4. Select the Best Solution 5. Make a Prototype or Model 6. Test and Evaluate the Solution 7. Communicate the Solution 8. Redesign IDRE-DESE-MATE-CORE?

11 1. Identify the Need or Problem Many times, a client will come to an engineer with a problem that is only vaguely defined. With the client, through careful listening, questioning and interpretation, develop a Design Brief that clearly and in detail states the problem, the criteria and the constraints. Problem Statement: what the specific need or want is Criteria: what the product must do or have; the desired elements Constraints: what the product must not do; limitations, restrictions Typical constraints are maximum cost, time and size, and strength. If a product is to be shipped to or made in another country, another constraint is that it be an appropriate technology: a technology that can be manufactured, repaired and maintained with local resources.

12 An example Design Brief Client: Plymouth Valley Power Authority Designer: SHS Engineering Solutions, LLC Problem Statement: Criteria: Constraints: Power plant workers must handle low-level nuclear waste without risking direct contact with the objects. Design a hydraulic robotic arm than can pick up and move a ping-pong ball-sized object and drop it down a 1½ʺ tube week deadline 2. $100 budget 3. Fully-assembled, the solution must fit and operate in a 11ʺ 9ʺ 17ʺ space. 4. Must be able to be operated from at least 10ʹ away. The design brief serves as an agreement between the engineer and the client, and is used as a standard for assessing a solution s validity at any point in the development process.

13 2. Research the Need or Problem Research the current state of the problem: learn all you can about it Read the Internet, library books and periodicals; conduct personal interviews, make observations, even perform experiments Research on patents will tell you what has already been developed. You cannot make or sell something that someone else holds the patent to without their permission. Examine current solutions and their good points and bad points Including their impact on the environment See what solutions or components you can already purchase Find out the causes of the problem, and consider whether the solution should solve the causes of the problem or the problem itself E.g. polluted pond water Start recording all of your research, ideas and test results in an Engineer s Notebook! You ll want to refer to this later.

14 3. Develop Possible Solutions Brainstorm possible solutions with a team (Fun!) Come up with as many creative solutions as you can, only considering the criteria and without considering the constraints Sketch the possible solutions in 2-D and 3-D Teamwork is important! Every person has different experiences, skills and point of view. A team may consist of different types of engineers and nonengineers. Make sure even the quiet team members provide input. Refine the details of the possible solutions Apply science and math to evaluate if a solution will work CAD (Computer-aided Design): 3-D drawings made on a computer FEA (Finite Element Analysis): Testing the CAD designs with simulated physics Consider different variants, e.g. the same design but made from different materials Consider constraints and questions that need to be answered Think about any possible negative impacts on the environment or in case of a malfunction; You don t want to create problems! Incorporate safety features.

15 4. Select the Best Possible Solution(s) Determine which solution(s) best meets the original need, criteria and constraints Team members may vote on what they think is the best solution, or compute a total score from a decision matrix: Solution Fewest moving parts Complexity Structural Stability Environmental impact Efficiency Idea # Idea # Idea # Idea # =best; 1=worst Total Score The client should also participate in the selection process

16 The Engineering Design Process 1. Identify the Problem 2. Research the Problem 3. Develop Possible Solutions 4. Select the Best Solution 5. Make a Prototype or Model 6. Test and Evaluate the Solution 7. Communicate the Solution 8. Redesign

17 5. Make a Prototype Construct a Prototype: a first full-scale working version, to be used for testing purposes (beta version) Sometimes it is not possible to make a full-scale prototype (e.g. the Hoover Dam), or it may be cost-effective and faster to make and test a reduced-scale 3-D model Model: a simplified or reduced-scale version that contains the essential characteristics A model may be an equation, a drawing, or a 3-D object; but the term model indicates it is an approximation, not the exact item Models can be used for testing if they will respond the same as a full-scale version Mock-up: a rough 3-D model (often made of the wrong material!) Alternatively, prototypes may be made for certain components e.g. the turbines in the Hoover Dam

18 6. Test and Evaluate the Prototype(s) Did it work? Does it meet all the design criteria and constraints? Conduct relevant tests: How does it wear out over time? How much pressure can it withstand? Is it too fast or too slow? Does it need more power, or could it run on less power? Make adjustments or modifications, if necessary. You may need to go back to Step 2, 3, 4 or 5; refer to your Engineer s Notebook. Failure is common and not a total loss: you will learning something essential to the design that you didn t know before, perhaps even something that nobody else knows! Knowing this new information will bring you closer to the final solution.

19 7. Communicate the Solution(s) Give an written report, a presentation (typically in Powerpoint) and a demonstration to your client to explain your solution, including how it meets the design criteria and constraints Discuss any (positive or negative) societal or environmental impact of the solution, and the tradeoffs of different solutions Determine whether this is what the client wants. Success? If permissible, communicate the solution to other potential clients (companies or consumers) Create a website, write an article What else could you do? Communication is critical: an unused technology is no better than an unavailable technology!

20 Patent your New Technology A patent is a document issued by the government that gives an inventor the sole right to make, distribute, or sell a particular invention for a certain number of years. The patent system ensures that inventors get appropriate credit and compensation for their work (i.e. for the time and money they invested). A company will typically ask you to sign over all patent rights to them in exchange for the time and money they invest in you! If you have lots of ideas, you may want to eventually start your own company. To obtain a patent, the inventor must submit detailed documentation, including an engineer s notebook with signed and dated entries. So keep a detailed notebook!

21 8. Redesign If the solution is not satisfactory during the presentation, overhaul the solution based on the feedback gathered. If the solution is satisfactory, produce the final product. People using the new technology will usually quickly find weaknesses or think of ways to improve it further. Start collecting feedback about what is needed in Version 2.0! The Engineering Design Process is a cycle of continual improvement and advancement.

22 The Engineering Design Process 1. Identify the Problem 2. Research the Problem 3. Develop Possible Solutions 4. Select the Best Solution 5. Make a Prototype or Model 6. Test and Evaluate the Solution 7. Communicate the Solution 8. Redesign IDRE-DESE-MATE-CORE?

23 Summary Know these definitions: Engineer Appropriate technology Scientist Prototype Technician Model Technology Mock-up Criteria Constraint The Elements of a Design Brief Four Main Branches of Engineering Eight Steps of the Engineering Design Process

24 End

25 Additional Material 1. Identify the problem: 1. Identify if it is to be a one-of-a-kind item, or to be mass-produced. That is, is the manufacturing process part of the design problem? 2. Research the problem: Market research will tell you what consumers may be willing to pay for a product E.g. How many consumers pay $20,000 or more for a motorcycle each year? In a large company, market research is typically done by the Marketing Department; however in a small company, you may be the CEO, Engineer and Marketing all in one!