Example Draft Engineering Design Specifications for a Coffeemaker

Title: New Coffee Maker for Smart Kitchens, Inc., May 2009

Introduction

• Design problem: home kitchen coffeemaker

• Intended purpose or use: brew and warm coffee

Customer Requirements

Functional performance

• Water should be heated to temperatures between 135 °F and 175 °F

• Brewing time should be less than 6 minutes
• Drip brewing method is required than percolation
• Input electricity must be 110–120 volts AC, less than 400 watts

Operating environment

• Residential temperatures 50 °F–125 °F and humidity 10–100%

• Pot and basket should be dishwasher safe

Economic

• Should have economic life of more than 5 years

• Should not require costly factory servicing

Geometric limitations

• Height, width, and depth less than 15 inch by 10 inch by 10 inch

• Pot must contain a minimum of 48 oz (eight 6-oz cups) of brewed beverage
• Brew chamber should accommodate up to 4 cubic inch of coffee grounds

Maintenance, repair, retirement

• The coffeemaker casing should be easy to clean

• No repairs should be required during economic life
• No special disposal efforts should be required

Reliability, robustness

• No failure should occur during economic life

• Will accommodate variations in water, coffee grounds, supply voltage

Safety

• Will not burn, electrocute, or otherwise endanger user

Pollution

• Will not create noise > 30 db

Ease of use

• Simple to fill water, add/remove grounds, and filter paper

• One switch to turn on/off, with indicator light
• Simple to remove basket and place in dishwasher

Human factors

• No large forces and torques required to operate

• Pot handle to fit 5-95th percentile females and males
• Switch to have obvious mode of operation
• Removable parts should be graspable and not slippery

Appearance

• Colour and shape scheme to match current appliance trends

• Surface finish should be smooth to facilitate cleaning

Company Requirements

Marketing

• Retail price should be less than $ 30

Manufacturing

• Production run quantity is estimated at about 25 000 units

• A beta prototype should be ready for testing in 12 months
• Components must be made with injection-moulding processes at current plant

Financial

• Development costs should be paid back in three years

Other

• Production prototype must be UL-approved

Appendices

• Site visit data

• Sales/Marketing data
• House of Quality
Customer Satisfaction Curves

1.
0
Satisfaction

0.
0
2 4 6
Brewing time
(min)
Figure 1 - Customer satisfaction versus brewing time in minutes for
example coffeemaker.

1.0
Satisfaction

0.0
7.5 8 8.5
Maximum pot volume (cups)

Figure 2 - Customer satisfaction versus maximum pot volume (in 6-oz cups)
for example coffeemaker.

1.0
Satisfaction

0.0
135 175
Temperature (°F)

Figure 3 - Customer satisfaction versus beverage brewing temperature (in

degrees Fahrenheit) for the example coffeemaker.
Customer Importance Weights

Table 1 - Customer importance weights for selected engineering characteristics of

the example coffee maker.

Engineering Characteristics Importance Weights

Brewing time 0.20
Maximum pot volume 0.30
Beverage temperature 0.50
Total 1.00

References

Eggert, R. J. (2010). Engineering Design. 2a Ed. USA: High Peak Press.