Mechanical Design

By

Ishaya M. Dagwa, PhD

Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Abuja
Abuja

Being a paper presented at a Workshop organised by Raw Materials Research and

Development Council (RMRDC) in collaboration with National Foundation of
Process Equipment Design (NAFPED) held at Centre for Management Development
(CMD) Shangisha, Ikeja, Lagos

8-9th December, 2009

 Introduction

Nigeria is blessed with abundant raw materials which can serve as industrial inputs for
optimal utilization. Equipment and machineries play a great role in the conversion of
these raw materials into useable products through the application of basic concepts in
engineering design. However, it has been observed that most of the locally fabricated
equipment and machinery in Nigeria, have deficiencies in terms of output, and in
particular, there are problems of engineering design, which could be due to lack of the
adoption of standard engineering design procedures in the design and manufacture of
locally fabricated equipment.

Engineering design can be defined as the creation of a product which satisfies a certain
need [1]. In particular, mechanical design is the design of things and systems that are
mechanical in nature- machines, products, structures, devices, and instruments. A good
design should be efficient, economical and safe to use. Mechanical Design has enormous
areas of applications in our modern day society, such as in the areas of transportation,
industrial machineries and process plants, communications, etc. And for any engineering
hardware to perform efficiently it is necessary to consider stress analysis, appropriate
materials selection and the appropriate manufacturing method. The manufactured goods
we may be enjoying today are the outcomes of industrial activities.

There are three main types of mechanical design [1]:

1. Development of existing products or design by introducing minor modifications in size,

shape or materials to overcome difficulties in production or performance.
2. Adaptation of an existing product or design to operate in a new environment or to
perform a different function.
3. Creation of a totally new design that has not been produced before.

Stages in Design Process

The design process is being carried out in stages or phases:

Stage 1 -Identification of Need:

Anywhere there are people, there is need for one thing or the other. Human needs are of different
kinds depending on the existing situation. Those needs that require mechanical engineering solutions
are the main focus of this presentation. The need could be for:

 an entirely new mechanical system or component

 changing an existing design; or improvement in an existing product.

At this stage therefore the purpose for the design should be established and focus provided for further
effort[2].

Stage 2- The Design Brief:

The purpose for the design brief is to document in clear terms and in a simple way what is required.
In other words it seeks to achieve a clear agreement on what the true design goals and constraints are.
To arrive at a design brief, questions such as the following could be asked:

 What does the client want?

 What does the client ‘really’ want?

 What are the real causes of the problem?

 What are the specific goals that the design solution must meet in order to completely solve the
problem of the client?

 What are the constraints within which the design solution must be achieved? These might include
budget, material and manufacturing resources, time, labour, skills, etc [2].

For example the problem could be; long distant travel in some commercial buses whose seats are
locally fabricated in Nigeria causes back and knee aches.

Design brief: Design commercial bus seats using anthropometric data of Nigerian adults for comfort
and safety.

Stage 3 -Carryout Research:

Seek for relevant information on the problem from literatures, internet, relevant professional bodies,
surveys, market studies, focus groups, observation studies and benchmarks.

Stage 4- Investigation:
 Write down all the information needed such as:

 Function – What exactly is the function or use of the article? A functional object should
solve the problem described in the brief.

 Appearance: How will the object look? The shape, colour and texture should make the
object attractive or appealing.

 Materials: What materials are available? Bear in mind the cost of these materials. Are
they affordable? Do they have the right physical properties, such as strength, rigidity,
colour and durability?

 Construction: will it be hard to make? Consider what methods you will need to cut,
shape, form, join and finish the material.

 Safety: The object you design must be safe to use. It should not cause accident.

Specification: Identify important features of the object (machine) under consideration. These may

include: weight, speed, efficiency, force, throughput capacity, cost, accuracy, power consumption and

other relevant factors [3].

Stage 5-Conceptual Design:

At this stage the designer(s) brainstorm on the ideas being generated to solve the problem.
Teamwork spirit is encouraged. No idea is to be condemned out rightly, hence, a conducive
atmosphere should be created for free thinking as much as possible, the possible solutions are
recorded; sketches are made for ease of communication and to guard against forgetfulness.

Ideation or concept generation depends on several factors such as experience, understanding, depth of
knowledge acquired, intuition, creativity, logical reasoning, etc. The ideas might be completely new
or innovative way of solving the problem.

To solve the design problems, they could be broken down into a collection of smaller sub-problems.
Conceptual ideas can then be generated for each of the sub-problems separately and later fused
together to solve the main problem. The designer should not be bothered with feasibility at this stage.
It is expected that at the end of this stage a few conceptual designs which may have the potential to
satisfy the design goals and constraints would have been achieved.
Stage 6- Select Preferred Solution:

To select the optimum design could be difficult since the choice must be based on such
diverse factors as size, weight, expected life, reliability under service conditions, energy
needs, maintenance requirements, operating costs, availability and cost of materials,
availability and cost of manufacturing processes, quality of production, available skilled
manpower, environmental requirement, expected delivery date,. Hence, the need for
decision making technique to be employed [1] as presented in the example below.

Example: Aluminium Can Crusher [4]

To ease the transportation of scrap aluminium cans, there is need to design a simple
device to crush aluminium cans. A design team may propose four solutions to the
problem. Hence, they require the use of a decision-making technique to enable them to
choose the best design option. To achieve this, six criteria that are important to a
successful design were developed. The team agrees on the most important criteria (or
desirable attributes) of the design and assigned weights as follows:
 Safety: 30 percent (30 points)
 Ease of use: 20 percent (20 points)
 Portability: 20 percent (20 points)
 Durability and strength:10 percent (10 points)
 Use of standard parts:10 percent (10 points)
 Cost:10 percent (10 points)
The team also proposes four alternative solutions to this problem, which are illustrated in
the Fig.1. They are:
 A spring-loaded crusher
 A foot-operated device
 A gravity-powered dead weight crusher
 An arm-powered lever arm crusher
Fig. 1. Aluminium Can Crusher design alternatives (IISME/Solectron/2005-Khandani[4])

After analyzing each solution against the six criteria, the team evaluates each design
alternative. A rating factor is assigned to each design alternative for each of the specified
criteria; thereafter, the team multiplies the rating factor by the value factor. The product
of the value and rating factors is then summed down the column for each design
alternative.
The total sum at the bottom of each column determines the best design alternative. The
results of this decision matrix are illustrated in the following Table.
IISME/Solectron/2005 Seyyed Khandani[4]

Although rating each design against the six stated criteria is subjective, the rating factor
for each design alternative is assigned according to the consensus of the design team. The
results of an analysis are used to evaluate and rate each design. The rating factor R is
assigned according to the following scale:
 Excellent 9-10
 Good 7-8
 Fair 5-6
 Poor 3-4
 Unsatisfactory 0-2
Design 4 was chosen the best design largely due to the rating assigned for safety, criterion
l. The team felt that the chances of human injury were negligible for this design. Since
safety is the most important factor (30% of the total weight), the high safety rating for
design 4 gives it the highest overall score (9 x 30, or 270).

The possible solutions generated in the preceding stage should be evaluated against the
goals and constraints of the project. Comparison with the original design brief will help
you to select the best. You might carry out some rough calculations and sketches to
establish feasibility of the design.

It is necessary to consider available skills, and materials required. Also, the time required
to build each solution and cost of each solution. Furthermore, the following factors
should be considered: these include; legal, human and environmental. The end result is
that one of the refined possible solutions which have a reasonable chance of success is
chosen. [2]

Stage 7- Detailed Design and Analysis:

The design team uses its analytical and scientific skills to transform the chosen possible
solution into reality. Various analytical tools may be used at this stage. These are: hand
calculators, computer-aided design, computer modeling and simulation and graphical
representation using, CAD/CAM software (Pro/E, Solidworks, CATIA) etc. Relevant
design standards and codes of practice are highly utilized at this stage to ensure
reliability, performance and safety. The codes and standards provide the relevant
formulae required in the design of a mechanical component which will guide design in
 component dimensions, materials properties and method of manufacture, testing and
inspection [1].

The balance between stress and strength of a mechanical component is very important
and it should be checked under different load conditions that the component is likely
going to be subjected to and appropriate factor of safety taken into consideration before
the final dimension is arrived at.

As analysis progresses, the need for design fine tuning or optimisation may arise several
times and the team may have to re-visit all of the previous design stages to improve its
design. All the components and sub-systems of the proposed design have to be given
specific sizes, dimensions, power rating, etc. Detailed design drawings of the components
and sub-systems should be carried out, which should include; overall dimensions, detailed
dimensions, material to be used, manufacturing method and the required surface finish.
Sensitivity analysis is usually performed in order to determine how the optimum solution
is affected by small changes in the original model. From these a model and later a
prototype could be made [2]. At the end of this stage a justification and documentation of
the proposed design in such a way that it can be manufactured or re-traced by another
team of designers would have been done. Materials are selected based on their properties,
availability, cost and manufacturability. Software such as Granta [5] ( Fig. 2) is a good aid
for material selection and manufacturing.
Fig 2a

Fig 2b
Fig. 2c
 Fig. 2d. GRANTA software for materials selection and manufacturing in modern design process.

Stage 8- Modeling and Prototyping:

Depending on the nature of the proposed project or solution, a model could first be made
and later a prototype or, you can go directly to making prototype. Industrial models fall
into numerous categories which may be broadly divided into: sales models, layout
models, aesthetic/ergonomic models and test models.

A model is a full-size or small scale simulation of an object. Models communicate ideas

better than description in words or by sketches. This is because it is easier to understand
an idea when seen in three dimensional forms.

A prototype is the first functional version of the designer’s preferred solution. It is

generally a one-off production. During the construction of the prototype the chosen
materials for the manufacture and the manufacturing processes will be followed. The
parts produced or bought are thereafter assembled into sub-units and the complete
assemblage is subsequently made.

Special jigs and fixtures might be required during the production of the object. Usually
the unit cost of producing a prototype is more than the unit cost of commercial cost of the
final product. This stage may involve the required documentation (perhaps for a patent)
and/ or development of a marketing strategy. At the end, the following would have been
accomplished: working drawings, and documentation of manufacturing processes,
development of marketing strategy and a functional prototype.

Stage 9-Testing and Evaluation:

This is the last stage in the design. During this stage the following fundamental questions
will need to be answered:

 Does it function?

 Does it meet the design brief?

 Does it meet ergonomic consideration?

  Are modifications required to improve the performance?

In some cases data is captured during the testing and evaluation with the view to
analyzing the result which will lead to an informed decision during modification.
Depending on the outcome of the testing and evaluation of the project, there may be need
to go back to any of the stages considered earlier. Product users are final judges.

Report Writing:

It is important for designers to have good oral, written and graphical communication
skills as they meet with clients, interview users, run focus groups, and present design
reviews [6] A complete report is written at the end of the design process. A
comprehensive technical report is communicated to the customer or the organization as
the case may be. These should include all the relevant information such as; design
specification, engineering drawing, selected materials, operating conditions, etc.

Summarily, mechanical design can be divided into four phases [7]:

Phase I - Preliminary Design - Basic calculation and sketches.

Phase II - Detailed Mechanical Design – Application of code and standards, literature

review, formula, tables, graphs, stress analysis.

Phase III - Detailed and Assembly Drawings – part drawings, material, surface finish,
weights etc.

Phase IV -Complete Equipment Specification – Bill of engineering materials and

measurement, overall dimensions and weight for transportation and installation.

Case Study- Highlights of Shaft Design and Manufacture using Pro/E Software

A shaft is a rotating machine element which is used to transmit power from one place to
another. Shafts are usually cylindrical, but may be square or cross-shaped in section.
They may be solid or hollow in cross-section. In other words we may say that a shaft is
used for the transmission of torque and bending moments.
 Depending on the nature of forces acting on the shaft, shear stresses, bending stresses and
stresses due to combined torsional and bending loads may arise. The shaft may be
designed based on strength and rigidity. It can be subjected to torque, bending moment,
combined twisting and bending, depending on the nature of the moments appropriate
formula is used in determining the shaft diameter and type of material most suitable.
Also, bearing in mind the environment in which it will be used.

 To arrive at the best design option some decision making techniques are used e.g.
comparison chart, category weighting decision network, morphological analysis of
decision making (MADM), etc.

Shaft diameter could be increased or a higher strength material used.

Von Mises maximum stress is compared to the yield strength of the material [8]

Sensitivity analysis and optimization are thereafter carried out to arrive at a suitable
shaft diameter as demonstrated by the use of Pro/E in Figs. 3-6 as follows:

Fig. 3 Pro/E modeling of the shaft

Fig. 4 Material selected, load applied and constraint assigned to the shaft

Fig. 5 Stress distribution and deformation of shaft within elastic limit

 Fig. 6 CAM operation using Pro/E manufacturing

Specification of Design Requirements for Mechanical Components and Systems:

 Is there a market?
 Is the design suitable?
 Is the manufacturing process right?
 Is the quality acceptable?

General Considerations in Machine Design [ 9]

Functional requirements, type of load (dead or steady load, live or variable load, shock loads) and
stresses (tensile, compressive, shear modulus, working stress, thermal stresses, impact stress, torsion
and bending stresses, fluctuating or fatigue stress.

 Motion of the parts e.g. unidirectional, reciprocating motion, simple harmonic, oscillating, etc.
  Selection of materials is usually based on their properties. Some important materials
characteristics include: strength, durability, flexibility, weight, resistance to heat and corrosion
ability to cast weld or hardened machinability, etc.

 Form and size of parts to be determined through design.

 Frictional resistance and lubrication – to be considered for parts that move whether in rotational,
sliding or rolling bearings needs to be lubricated to reduce friction.

 Convenient and economical factors. The operating features of the machine should be carefully
located on the basis of convenient handling for starting, controlling, and stopping levers.

Additionally, there should be easy access for maintenance and adjustment for wear and alignment
of parts should be preserved.

 Use of standard parts is aimed at minimizing cost. For example; gears, pulleys, bearings, screws,
nuts,

 Ergonomics, safety and environmental requirement

 Available workshop facilities for manufacturing

 Number of machines to be manufactured

 Cost of construction

 Assembly

 Marketing and aesthetic parameters

Economics of Design[ ]

Mechanical design can be expensive in nature. However, there are methods through which a thoughtful
design may reduce the overall product cost. These include:

 Economic choice of manufacturing process

 Economic choice of raw materials

 Economic choice of design form or shape

 Avoid excessive machining and close tolerance

  Avoid material wastage

 Consideration for size of the product

 Efficient use of standard components and bought-out items

 Design to aid packaging

 Use of computer- aided- techniques

Necessity for Environmental Consideration in Mechanical Design

Designing products that have minimum impact on the environment is becoming increasingly important
over the years. It is therefore reasonable that mechanical designers incorporate principles which promote
resource conservation, pollution prevention and environmental friendliness in their designs [10]. Hence,
the design for environment (DfE) encompasses product life cycle (Fig.7) and factors that are considered
in the DfE paradigms (Fig.8), which can facilitate the production of a “greener product”.

Reuse

A Assembly Consumer Service Recycle

Manufacture

Disposal
Raw
Materials

Environmental Impact

Fig.7 Product Life Cycle

 Design for
service De Design for
Design for Use
Remanufacturing
and Reuse

Design for environment

D Design for D Design for

Materials Recycling

Design for
Assembly and
Disassembly

Fig.8 Design for Environment Paradigms

Challenges

 Materials- limited information on the readily available materials such as scraps, which
have no specifications and materials composition. There are limited types of materials
that are locally available at our disposal for suitable selection during design and
manufacture.
 Lack of appreciable exposure to modern engineering design and manufacturing softwares
such as CATIA, Pro/E.

 Lack of modern manufacturing facilities

 Low quality consciousness amongst local fabricators

Recommendations and Conclusion

The role of high quality mechanical design in the performance in service of spare parts,
components and process plants cannot be overemphasized. This will enhance the
development and growth of small and medium scale industries which will engender a lot
of economic activities and create job opportunities as well as ensure effective utilization
of local raw materials as inputs to industries. For the products to satisfy the customer,
effective mechanical design will also require appropriate manufacturing that will produce
high quality products
Recommendations:
There is need to:

 review the curriculum for Mechanical Design courses which will expose students
to the use of modern design tools such as Pro/E, CAD/CAM, CATIA, etc.

 conduct train-the-trainer workshop for lecturers teaching design courses on the use
of modern tools in design.

 upgrade manufacturing process facilities to ensure the production of high quality

components.

 improve quality standard consciousness of the local fabricators of mechanical

components and systems in areas such as fabrication process, surface finish,
required quality, accuracy, etc.

 develop standards for process equipment and other fabricated products to meet
customers’ aspirations by the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON).

 have functional raw materials processing plants to ease the supply of

relevant materials to manufacturers.

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING

Question(s)
 References
[1] Farag,M.M. (1989) Selection of Materials and Manufacturing Processes for Engineering,

Prentice Hall International (UK), London.

[2] The Design Process- http//www.bargan.org/technology/problem.html

[3] Kwaya, E.I. (2006) Mechanical Engineering Design, A paper presented at the Nigerian

Society of Engineers, Mechanical Division of the Abuja Chapter’s Bi-Monthly Technical

Session held at NSE Secretariat, Abuja on 26th April 06.

[4] Seyyed Khandani (2005),Engineering Design Process, IISME/Solectron/2005

www.iisme.org/etp/HS%20Engineering%20Engineering[1].pdf
[5] GRANTA ICES 2008
[6]Hirsch, P.L.; Shwom,B.L.; Yarnoff,C.; Anderson, J. C.; Kelso, D. M.; Olson, G.B.; and

Colgate, J.E. (2001) Engineering Design and Communication: The Case for

Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Int. J. Engineering Ed. Vol.17 Nos 4 and 5 pp 342-348.

[7] Maduka, G. C. (2007) Mechanical Design of Process Equipment, Eds. Kuye, A. and Ayo,

D.B., Basic Concept in Process Equipment and Plant Design, A Publication of Raw

Materials Research and Development Council, Federal Ministry of Science and

Technology, Abuja.

[8] Shigley, J. E; Mischeke, C.R.; Budynas, R. G. and Nisbett, K.J. (2008) Shigley’s
Mechanical Engineering Design, 8th Edition, Tata McGraw-Hill publishing Co. Ltd. New
Delhi.

[9] Kurmi, R. S. and Gupta, J.K. (2005) A textbook of Machine Design, Eurasia Publishing
House (PVT) Ltd, Ram Nagar, New Delhi.

[10] Dunmade, I. (2005) Designing Agricultural Machinery for Environment. Paper written

for presentation at The Canadian Society for Engineering in Agricultural, Food, and

Biological systems, 2005 Meeting. Paper No.05-066.