5.Engineering design

An engineering design process is a process used by engineers to help develop products. the engineering design is defined as… the process of devising a system, component or process to meet desired needs. It is a decision-making process (often iterative), in which the basic sciences, mathematics, and engineering sciences are applied to convert resources optimally to meet a stated objective. Among the fundamental elements of the design process are the establishment of objectives and criteria, synthesis, analysis, construction, testing, and evaluation.

This process can be divided up into a ten-step process, which includes identifying a need, defining the problem, conducting research, narrowing the research, analyzing set criteria, finding alternative solutions, analyzing possible solutions, making a decision, presenting the product, and communicating and selling the product. This process is not universal for all engineers or all processes. Individuals utilize their personal knowledge and experiences to follow the path to design success

The engineers themselves often do not identify a need, but rather society discovers a need and then presents that need to the engineering firm. The term “need” is fairly vague, but often refers to desire or shortage of a good. This “need” can sometimes be considered a necessity to some people but a luxury for others (Eide). Identification of the need is a basic engineering design process, without which engineering design is incomplete.Most of a productive engineer’s time will be spent on research, locating, applying, and transferring information (Eide).

They first must be well acquainted with as much information possible, which in turn produce a better solution. Here the engineer asks many questions, such as, “What has been written about it? Is something already on the market that may solve the problem? What is wrong with the way it is being done? What is right with the way it is being done? Who manufactures the current ‘solution’? How much does it cost? Will people pay for a better one if it cost more? How much will they pay (or how bad is the problem)?” (Eide). All these questions will help the engineer get a better grasp on the problem at hand.