Engineering Design to Manufacture Through a Virtual Environment

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Engineering Design to Manufacture Through a
Virtual Environment

• Dr Brian Parkinson
• and Paul Hudson
• Manufacturing Systems Centre
• University of Hertfordshire
• England

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The University of HertfordshireHatfield, UK.
De Haviland Comet DH88 Left Mildenhall, Suffolk
on 20 Oct 1934 arriving in Melbourne 70 hrs 54
mins later
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Definition of engineering
Creative, practical, cost-effective
semi-empirical synthesis process with application
of science and technology to solve problems and
meet needs.

Dr John Parnaby
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Importance of engineering

• Engineering manufacturing industry generates 40
  of the UKs domestic product thro employing 3
  million out of a population of 55 million.
• 80 of manufactured products exported compared
  with 15 for service industry products.
• Engineering is a wealth creator.

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Engineering is...

• Not a science although utilises science and the
  scientific method
• Culturally seen as problem solving
• A multi-disciplinary and cross-functional
  activity
• Practised in a competitive customer and marketing
  environment

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Problems teaching design

• Considered as an isolated subject
• Solution centred, emphasis not placed upon
  understanding the problem
• Considered as producing something
• Teacher needs to be an expert in diverse
  subjects
• Students working simultaneously on different
  designs

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Student groups...

• Students often work in groups but..
• They are not domain specific experts
• They may not manage time wisely
• They do not necessarily communicate well
• The last minute dash design solution

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Design decision making...
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Design decisions...
1937 Hindenburg airship landing at Lakehurst
NJ of the 97 people on board, 36 were killed.
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Requirements of the system

• Experiential
• enable problem to be defined
• allow possible solutions to be tried
• determine an optimum solution
• manage manufacture of design
• determine if the design will work?
• Constraints
• budget allocated to system user
• time allowed to complete

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System structure
Virtual environment system database
Design facility specification concept
design detail design
Manufacturing facility stores processes pla
nning assembly
USER
Asking expert for advice
Comment and advice
Experts
critique each other
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The experts.
BLUEPRINT is a self contained and open-ended
system, the user being supported by 6 domain
specific experts
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The virtual environment
The user has an office containing all
necessary equipment
There are also manufacturing facilities
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A concurrent approach
Experts are available to assist the user
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A questioning approach...
Expert support is always available
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Design to manufacture...
Manufacturing is considered during design and
associated costs determined
The user must decide upon a process plan
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Testing the design.
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Supporting the designer.
Technical information
Catalogues of bought-out parts
Design considerations
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Conclusions...

• The BLUEPRINT system
• encourages concurrent design
• supports a questioning approach
• enables a fully detailed design
• requires manufacture of the design to be decided
  upon and organised
• provides a valuable information resource
• includes a simulated race to test the design
  produced

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Contact details

• The iDer web site can be found at
• http//www.ider.herts.ac.uk/