ME3101 / ME3102

Mechanical Systems Design

Chapter 1:
6 Step Design Process
Step 1: Identification of
customer needs and product
requirements

Step 2: Concept Generation

Step 3: Concept Selection

Step 4: Concept Testing and
Final Specifications

Step 5: Raw Material
Acquisition for Prototyping

Step 6: Prototype
Development
The 6 Step Design Process
Every industrial product
design project goes through a
standard process of
development, beginning with
identification of needs and the
final production of a product
The First Step
Identification of
customer needs and
product requirements
#1 Identification of customer needs
and product requirements
The 1st step of the
project would begin
with the
identification of the
customer needs. The
team might need to
seek to understand
profile of the
industrial sponsor to
begin off.
What industry is the company involved in?
What is the aim of the company?
What does the company hope to achieve
with the launch of the product?
What are the current capabilities of the
company?
Are they able to satisfy the full
developmental budget requirement should
the project be deemed feasible?
#1 Identification of customer needs
and product requirements
The product designed in question
have to be relevant to the sponsor
company involved.

Is the company a retail based
company where end user opinions
are extremely important?

Or are they in the tech industry
where usability and functionality is
priority?

#1 Identification of customer needs
and product requirements
Next, we move on to the product itself,

Does the product have to include aesthetic or
ergonomic designs?

Also, the aims of the company and the objective
of the product have to be clearly defined.

Is the product meant to achieve any performance
benchmarks, and what are the most important
characteristics of the product to the company?

Once these have been clearly defined, the team
would have to start drawing the boundaries on the
project. Is there a budget that the team have to
adhere to? Some sponsor companies can provide
additional funds/facilities to aid the team in their
developmental plan or manufacturing processes.
The team might want to consult the industry contact
for more additional information.
#1 Identification of customer needs
and product requirements
Once these have been clearly
defined, the team would have
to start drawing the boundaries
on the project.

Is there a budget that the team
have to adhere to?

(Hint!)
Some sponsor companies can
provide additional
funds/facilities to aid the team
in their developmental plan or
manufacturing processes. The
team might want to consult the
industry contact for more
additional information.
#2 Concept Generation
#2 Concept Generation
The second step of the developmental
process is the generation of concepts, or
also widely known as the brainstorming
stage. At this stage, the team would
brainstorm for different ideas. Each
member of the team would bring a
different proposal to the table for robust
discussion within the team to encourage
the generation of creative/innovative
design. Many successful products in
todays world are born only after being
filtered down from a very long list of
possibilities.
#2 Concept Generation
The team might seek for inspiration
through these methods

1. Clarification of problem?

2. External/Internal search for
existing solutions

3. Interview of end users

4. Consultation of experts

#2 Concept Generation
The first thing that the team
might want to answer when
generating ideas is what is the
purpose the product is
supposed to serve? Is it meant
to achieve a certain function?

Or is your product meant to
improve the performance
level of a existing product?
Once the problem has been
defined clearly, the team can
move on to the search for
ideas.
#2 Concept Generation
For inspiration, the team can
perform a search externally and
internally.

For example, the team can develop
ideas based on personal
experiences and that of relatives
and friends.

An external search can be done on
the internet or an industry research
on existing solutions to the defined
problems and should these solutions
be unable to provide a satisfactory
answer, the team would either seek
to pursue a completely new design or
an improvement on the existing
model.
#2 Concept Generation
At the end of the day, the team should not forget that the product is meant
for usage by the end-users. For example, developing new tools have to take
into consideration factors such as the education level of the users. Does it
require extensive training before safe use? Is the tool bulky and
inconvenient to use? What are the environmental factors in the field where
the tool is deployed?
#2 Concept Generation
Lastly, to ensure relevance of the
product, experts can be consulted for
interviews.

An interview can be conducted offline
or online with the prevalence of
modern communication tools.

The team can consider an email
interview with relevant experts, or
should they deem it necessary, a face
to face interview could be arranged.

The team can consult their project
supervisor for contact references
should they be unable to find a
suitable expert.
#3 Concept Selection
The concept generation phase of the project will wind up with the
team having dozens of possible ideas on the table.
#3 Concept Selection
Once the team has filtered
down the large list of
possibilities to a select few, for
example 3 possible ideas,

The team can move on to a very
detailed and precise analysis of
these ideas, which is one of the
most critical phase of the
project.
#4 Concept Testing and Final
Specifications
At the 4th step of the
developmental
process, the team
would decide on the
final specifications of
the product.
#4 Concept Testing and Final
Specifications
At this phase, the team
would further flesh out the
3 ideas that are selected.

The physical dimensions
of the different components
and its overall geometric
layout would be decided
upon.

It would also be a plus
should the team be able to
generate a 3D Computer
Aided Design (CAD)
model of the proposed
design using the available
modelling softwares at the
E2 computer labs.
#4 Concept Testing and Final
Specifications
Physical prototype models
would be generally be created in
an industrial setting, as physical
models makes it easier for
designers to communicate their
concepts.

For the purpose of this design
project however, it would be
realistic for the team to only
focus on the development of a
single working prototype, which
would then be presented to the
industry sponsor at the end of
the module.
#4 Concept Testing and Final
Specifications
It is suggested that the team further scrutinize
the capabilities of each of the 3 selected
models, with help of the 3D models:

Which would best satisfy the design
requirements?

Do the different components come together?

Which design features lesser components?
(This would be further discussed in a later
topic, Design for Manufacturing/Assembly)

At the end of this phase, the team would then
move on to further develop the prototype of
the product.
For the purpose of the project, every team is allocated a sum of money for
purchase of materials required to develop a working model of their
product. It is expected that the teams keep within the allocated
budget.
#5 Raw Material Component
Acquisition for Prototyping
#5 Raw Material Component
Acquisition for Prototyping
The material acquisition process would be done through a
centralized system . More information can be found on the
module website.

Do perform a check on whether the company is registered
through GEBIZ.

If they are not
Unregistered vendors can be registered. Refer to the module
website for more information
#5 Raw Material Acquisition for
Prototyping
At this stage of the developmental process, the team would go
through the process of sourcing for the most affordable
vendor for their raw materials.

Should the team decide that the list of registered vendors be
unable to satisfy their selection criteria, the team might seek
to source for alternative vendors externally.

Some external search suggestions are listed on the module
website.
#6 Prototype Development
At the final stage of the design project,
the team would engage in the
physical development of the
prototype model.

As the amount of raw materials
available to each team is limited, it is
encouraged that the team consult
with their existing 3D CAD models to
confirm the physical dimensions
demanded.

Should the team feel that they need
further advice on the manufacturing
processes, they can opt to consult
the experienced lab technicians
within the school.
#6 Prototype Development
A list of available manufacturing
labs within NUS is provided on
the site for the students reference.

Some teams might however,
encounter a situation where the
facilities required are not available
within the school itself.

The team can either consult their
industry sponsor if they are able
to support these operations.

They can also discuss with their
project supervisors the feasibility of
outsourcing the required
manufacturing operations.
#6 Prototype Development
Teams are advised to
develop a schedule to
adhere to during this phase
of the project, and to start
as soon as possible due to
the limited capacity of
manufacturing labs.

Some manufacturing labs
can only allow a maximum
of 15 personnels at any
point of time to ensure
safety of the operators and
users in the labs.
#6 Prototype Development
Safety procedures are to be strictly
followed and students are expected
to attend a compulsory safety
briefing prior to their participation
in any manufacturing activities.

Please be advised that students are
discouraged to perform any
experimental /manufacturing
activities outside of the school
compound for their own safety, and
that such activities are to be strictly
performed under supervision of an
experienced lab technician to
safeguard the well being of students.