FALL 2017

AME 410: ENGINEERING DESIGN

THEORY AND METHODOLOGY
Department of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering
University of Southern California

COURSE SYLLABUS

Instructor: Prof. Yan Jin

Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Office: Room 400D, Olin Hall of Engineering
Email: yjin@usc.edu
SkypeID: Prof.Yan.Jin
http://bcf.usc.edu/~yjin

Course Section: 28762R

Course Unit: 3 Units
Prerequisite: Junior Standing
Class Hours: Wednesdays 6:30pm – 9:10pm
Class Location: GFS-118
Office Hours: Wednesdays 11am-12pm
Hao Ji (haoji@usc.edu)
Teaching Assistant:
Office hours: Tuesdays, 2pm - 4pm, VHE 202

1
Course Description and Objectives:
Design is the most central activity that defines the engineering profession (Simon 1969)*.
To compete in today’s relentless market, an engineer must be able to identify market
needs, generate creative product ideas that meet the needs, and develop innovative
products that realize the ideas. During this process, systematic thinking and creativity play
key roles for success. In this course, engineering design is treated in a holistic process of
product development, starting from market analysis and product definition to conceptual
design and product design. Developing systematic thinking and fostering creativity are the
two general goals of this class. The specific objectives for this course are for students:
• To have a general and systematic understanding of how engineering design process is
carried out in practice and how it is described and prescribed in different design
models and methods. This general understanding of the basic concepts of design and
different types of design processes is important for students to have a general idea of
what is the state of knowledge of design practice and research.

• To understand specific issues of engineering design and the systematic methods to

deal with these issues. Engineering design is not carried out in a completely free space.
It must meet customer needs, conform to the principles of physics, deal with various
information uncertainties, and meet the limits of time and budget. Students will learn
how these issues will manifest themselves in the design process and what methods
can be applied to address them.

• To learn and master systematic approaches to solving various design problems. To

solve large and complex design problems, one needs to know how to approach the
problem and how to proceed when there are options. This course will teach a
systematic approach to design that is built on both practical design experiences and
fundamental physical and decision-making principles.

• To understand the value of design in a broader context. Engineering design can also
be viewed as part of a product development process that includes both design and
manufacturing. Furthermore, it is part of a business process that competes with other
business entities. To develop a competitive product for the market requires a good
sense of value of design. Students will learn such topics as design for manufacturing,
utility theory for design decision-making and other quality and efficiency related
topics.

• To practice learned methods through real design projects. Students will be given
small design problems as homework and relatively large design problems as term
projects. The design problems will be carefully selected to allow students practice
learned design theory and methods.

2
* Simon, H.A. (1969). The Sciences of the Artificial, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Course Structure:
The scope of this course covers four components, namely, market analysis, product
definition, conceptual design, product design and evaluation. To make the learning process
more effective and efficient, the course structure is designed to include the following
modules.
Part 1: Introduction to Design – Get to Know Design
The goal of this module is to introduce basic concepts of design, product and process in the
context of engineering design.
• What is design? What is not design? What does it take to do design?

• What is a product? What are possible and meaningful features of a product?

• What are general processes of problem solving, decision making, and inventing? And
how do they relate to design?

• What is design process? What are different phases and different kind of processes?

Part 2: Product Planning – Identify and Define Competitive Products

Product planning is a part of the design process that deals with generating competitive
product definitions based on company goals and market analysis.
• What are company’s goals, skills and capabilities?

• What is market? What is market situation? What product do you plan to make?

• What are market needs? What do people need, want, and desire?

• Who are your competitors? How well are they doing in satisfying market needs?

• What are your targets and plans in competing with others?

Part 3: Conceptual Design – Generate Creative & Marketable Product Concepts

Conceptual design is at the heart of engineering design process that determines what your
product should be.
• What are main functions and auxiliary functions of the product to be designed?

• How do these functions relate to each other?

• What are possible ways or means to achieve the functions identified? What are
desirable ones and best ones?

3
 • How can one become more creative and what are practicable creative design methods?

• How should one compose a product concept based on the possible partial solutions?

• How should one evaluate and select from possible product concepts?

Part 4: Product/Embodiment Design – Develop Effective & Efficient Physical

Realizations
Product design, also called embodiment design, is the process to create concrete physical
realizations for the design concepts generated at the conceptual design stage.
• What are the rules, principles, and guidelines that should be followed in realizing
design solutions?

• How should one deal with various constraints?

• What are the structural, material, manufacturing, and assembling factors that need to
be considered during product design?

• How can one predict the performance of the product and estimate the cost
breakdowns?

Course Work:
The course work includes class lectures, quizzes, homework, mid-term exam, mini-projects
and term project.
Classroom Lectures:
Weekly lectures will be offered on Wednesdays. Students are required to complete reading
assignments, indicated in the schedule page, before each lecture. Usually the weekly 3-hour
classroom lecture is divided into two parts. During the first 75 minutes, the instructor will
present and discuss the contents outlined in the schedule page. In the second 75 minutes,
students will work in groups to discuss the topics lectured and discussed by the instructor
and practice design methods by solving small design problems (in the first several weeks)
or their project design problems (as the course progresses). Active participation in
classroom discussion is strongly required for all students.
Quizzes:
Online quizzes will occur after each lecture, via Blackboard, and are due before the next
class session. Quizzes may cover the materials in each lecture, required readings, and class
presentations.

4
Homework:
For the first half of the course, there will be weekly homework assignments. Each
homework assignment has 2-3 short questions and/or one small design problem intended
to help students (1) assimilate the reading material and organize their thoughts about it,
and (2) digest key concepts learned from the lectures. Thoughtfulness, clarity, conciseness
and incisiveness are required.
Mid-term Exam:
After the “Part 3: Conceptual Design” module is completed, there will be a mid-term exam.
The exam will be open-book and open-note. Questions of the exam will be similar to, but
more comprehensive than, the homework questions and design problems. Students will be
asked to answer questions and solve small design problems.
Mini-Design Projects:
Two mini design projects will be given. Each will be completed over the course of 1 to 2
weeks, and give the student an opportunity to design and build a small machine. One
design project will occur during the first week, and the second will occur in the second to
last week. The students shall implement the design methods learned in class on the second
mini-design project.
Term Design Project:
This course is Project-Based. The term project will be carried out throughout the course by
student teams of 5-6 members. Each team will propose a design project, or bid for one, and
develop a specific design solution for their design project problem. By doing the project,
students will digest and apply the theory and methods learned from the class, enhance
their creativity, and develop the experience of solving close-to-real engineering design
problems. Students should form project teams after the very first lecture. Project Teams
will give multiple Project Briefings to the whole class, and will submit two Project Progress
Reports and a Final Project Report.

Course Materials:
There are required and optional textbooks for this course. Additional handouts and reading
materials will be provided on the Course Blackboard Website when needed.
Required Textbook:
• David Ullman," The Mechanical Design Process", 5th Edition

NOTE: You must finish reading the assigned pages before the class of the assigned date.

5
Optional Textbook:
• Pahl, G. & Beitz, W.: "Engineering Design - A Systematic Approach", 2nd Ed. Springer

• Suh, N.P.: "Axiomatic Design - Advances and Applications", Oxford University Press

• Terninko, J. “Step-by-Step QFD – Customer-Driven Product Design”, 2nd Ed., St. Lucie
Press, A CRC Press Company.

Grading Requirements:
Students will be graded according to the following grading scheme:
Quizzes: 10%
A total of twelve (12) quizzes will constitute 10% of the overall grade. Online quizzes will
occur after each lecture, via Blackboard, and are due before the next class session at
4:30pm.
Homework: 25%
Total five (5) homework assignments will constitute 25% of the overall grade, with each
amounting to 5%. Each homework assignment has 2-3 short questions and/or one small
design problem. Questions are usually open-ended. Thoughtfulness, clarity, conciseness
and incisiveness are required.
Midterm exam: 25%
Midterm exam is open-book and open-note, limited to the materials that have been
discussed in classroom lectures, quizzes, homework assignments, and design team projects.
Questions will be similar to, but more comprehensive than, the homework questions and
design problems. There will be query questions and small design problems involved.
Mini-Design Project: 10%
Two (2) mini design projects will be given constitute 10% of the students grade, with each
worth 5%. Grade will be determined by how well the project performs compared to
metrics which will be given in the project assignment sheet.
Term project: 30%
Note that 30% of your semester grade is based on the results of your design project, which
is a team effort. All project work done by a team is first given a team grade. This team grade
is then weighted for each student, based on confidential peer-evaluations by all team
members at the end of the semester according to the following scheme.

6
Each student will be asked to fill out a questionnaire, which rate every team member
(including him/herself) for the percentage participation to the team project, from 0 (no
participation) to 10 (100% participation). The evaluations are averaged in order to find
each student’s participation. The project grade of each student of a team will be weighted
based on his or her percentage of participation.

Academic Integrity:
"The Viterbi School of Engineering adheres to the University's policies and procedures
governing academic integrity as described in SCampus. Students are expected to be aware
of and to observe the academic integrity standards described in SCampus, and to expect
those standards to be enforced in this course."

Students with Disabilities:

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to
register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification
for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is
delivered to the instructor as early in the semester as possible.

7
Course Schedule:
Quiz
# Date Lecture Project Readings Assignment Due
Due
Course Introduction & Intro Mini-Proj#1 Assigned Textbook:
1 8/23
to Engineering Design Project Topics Intro pp.1-19
Engineering Design: Concepts Textbook: MP#1: Test
2 8/30 Mini-Project #1 Test Qz1
and Processes pp.21-45 PW#1: Proj Bid
Overview of Engineering Textbook:
3 9/6 Projects Assigned Qz2 HW#1
Design Process pp.81-138
Product Planning and Textbook:
4 9/13 Qz3 HW#2
Specification pp:141-172
Progress Report I Textbook:
5 9/20 Functional Design Qz4 HW#3
assigned pp.175-195
Briefing1: Task PW#2: Task Plan
Textbook:
6 9/27 Generate Design Concepts Planning & Qz5 & Product
pp.195-226
Specification Specification
Textbook:
7 10/4 Evaluate Design Concepts Qz6 HW#4
pp.229-257
Handout#1
Axiomatic Design & Briefing2: Concept
8 10/11 Textbook & Qz7 HW#5
Conceptual Design Recap Generation
Course notes
9 10/18 Mid-term Exam

Product Generation: Prep & Progress Report II Textbook: PW#3: Progress

10 10/25
Example Assigned pp.259-294 Report-1
Textbook:
Embodiment Final Report assigned
11 11/1 pp.259-294 Qz8 HW#6
Design Guidelines Mini-Proj 2 Assigned
Handout#2
Textbook: PW#4: Embodi-
12 11/8 Product Evaluation Qz9
pp.297-335 ment Design
Textbook:
Design for X and Lifecycle Briefing3: Product Qz PW#5: Progress
13 11/15 pp.337-397
Engineering (FMEA’s) Generation 10 Report-2
Handout#3
14 11/22 Thanksgiving University Holiday. No class
Textbook & Qz MP#2: Test &
15 11/29 Engineering Design: Recap Mini-Project 2 Test
Course Notes 11 Design Log
16 12/6 Final project presentation PW#6: Final Project Report (PDF file)

HW=Homework; PW=Project Work; MP=Mini-project, Qz=Quiz