Engineering Design Graphics: Sketching, Modeling, and Visualization, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 12

PRODUCT DISSECTION

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1 began with the observation that design is the central activity of the engineering profession. The chapter then attempted to describe the nature of engineering design: what it is, how it is done, and so on. Engineering design is truly about finding solutions to real-world problems. Good design calls for verbal (common sense, reasoning), graphical (sketching, CAD modeling), and social (communication, collaboration, teamwork) skills, as well as analytical (mathematical, scientific) skills focused on finding innovative solutions to open-ended problems.

Engineering design is difficult to master. There is no cookbook approach to design. Fortunately, the design truism “All design is redesign” provides another avenue for learning design, other than “Just do it.” Young engineers are frequently surprised (and perhaps disappointed) to find how rare original design is. Very few design projects start with a blank sheet of paper. Most design efforts begin with an existing design or product that serves as the basis for the new project. In recent years, given today's global market, this reality has become more evident. In order to remain competitive, modern manufacturing companies must roll out new products (e.g., digital cameras, computers, cell phones) with astonishing frequency.

The subject of this chapter is product dissection. The techniques ...