What is involved in the Design of Mechanical Systems?

Any product design involves the following process:

1. Need identification
2. Concept Generation
3. Embodiment
4. Detailing
5. Manufacturing
6. Marketing and
7. Feed-back study

• The scope of the Design of Mechanical Systems is limited to the processes from 1-4, The need identification, as we will see later involves the identification of major objective/(s) and constraints. Objectives could be often conflicting in nature for example, there may be need for the design of a light weight panel along with high stiffness. The constraints, in general, are of two types: qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative constraints like the transparency, colour, texture etc. play significant role in the context of product design.
  
• The Concept generation involves the development of multiple techniques/systems to meet the same objective. For example, to design an enclosure one can use shells, shells with stiffeners or a structure which is a combination of trusses and panels.
  
• Embodiment refers to simple model building, assumption of initial materials, approximate analysis and simulation.
  
• More sophisticated analyses are carried out during the Detailing. CAD tools and FE modelling are used at this stage. This also involves a final choice of materials.
  
• Sequence 4 to 7 are often iterated during the life span od a product-brand.