4 1. INTRODUCTION TO RELIABILITY IN MECHANICAL DESIGN
Step 1: Decompose a design project into several subsystems or subunits according to their
functions. Any design project normally consists of several subsystems/subunits or several
different functions. It is very complicated to generate solutions for a unit with several
functions. However, it will be relatively easy to generate solutions for a subunit with only
one function. So, in this step, the design project will be decomposed into a lot of subsys-
tems/subunits, which have only one key function or performance.
Step 2: Develop a lot of possible options for each subsystem/subunit. A subsystem/subunit
with single function or performance can be abstracted into a general catalog, which will be
backed up by the whole engineering technique and knowledge. en, the project team can
generate many solutions for each subsystem/subunit. In this step, full information research
should be conducted. e good quality of these solutions will determine the quality of the
final design solution because the final design solution of the design project will be formed
from these solutions.
Step 3: Form a pool of alternatives for the design project. e combination of one option
from each subsystem/subunit will form one alternative for the design project. is combi-
nation will typically be a large quantity of possible alternative designs for the project. For
example, if there are six subsystems, and each subsystem has three solutions, the possible
alternatives for a design project will be equal to 3
6
D 729.
Step 4: Use personal experiences, judgment, or group discussion to choose several best
prospective alternatives for the design project. e project team does not have enough
time and money to build and test each possible alternative. It is also not necessary. So,
the project team will use personal experience, judgment, and group discussion to pick up
several best alternatives for further investigations in the next stage.
e outcome of Phase ree: Conceptual Design offers several best alternatives for the
design project, from which the final design solution will be selected.
1.1.4 PHASE FOUR: DETAILED DESIGN
e main tasks in Phase Four are: (1) create a virtual product and run the virtual experiments
on the virtual product; (2) choose the final design option for the design project; and (3) test and
modify the prototype and finalize the final design option for the design project.
In modern engineering society, lots of modern advanced tools are available for engineer-
ing design. For example, computer-aided design (CAD) software can be used to build a virtual
component (VC), virtual assembly (VA), and virtual product (VP). A VC has the same dimen-
sions, the same material, and the same behaviors of a real component. So, it looks like the real
component and behaves like the real component but is stored in a digital form. A VA is a digital
form of a real assembly. e VP is a digital form of a real product. Lots of engineering simula-
tion software such as Solidworks Simulation and ANSYS, which are commercial finite element
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