Concept+Design+Example

=Concept Design Example= To help you understand what is expected in the Concept Design Homework assignment, we will go through an example of each of the three methods covered on 8 July (TRIZ, Systems-Based Ideation, and Design by DNA). This page contains a description of the example problem.

Both this example and the Concept Design Homework assignment focus on //concept design//. The goal is to use each of three methods to generate as many concepts as possible for the example problem described below. Armed with the experience from this example, you should be able to understand the Concept Design Homework assignment better; and armed with experience from both these tasks, you should be able to come up with better concepts for the major design project.

Example: Design a Kettle
The goal is to design a kettle for use in middle-class homes. In keeping with Prof. Burns's work, we can prefer to say "design //a way to conveniently boil small quantities of water// in middle-class homes." :-) We'll call it a "kettle" for convenience, but it can be anything that serves the same //purpose// as a kettle. To evaluate concepts, you will need a reference design. This is provided below as well.

To do the concept design of a kettle properly, one needs a set of requirements and a system architecture. That information is provided below.

Requirements

 * 1) It must boil between 1 and 7 cups of water.
 * 2) It must be stable on typical kitchen surfaces, both when empty and when full.
 * 3) It must withstand boiling water.
 * 4) It must be usable by men and women, aged 14 and older, and sufficiently able-bodied.
 * 5) It must be an appropriate size (in terms of size and proportion).
 * 6) It must be easy to pick up when it is hot.
 * 7) It must be hard to let go of by mistake.
 * 8) It must be easy to store in the kitchen.
 * 9) It must be easy to empty.
 * 10) It must pour cleanly.
 * 11) It must keep the water as hot as possible for as long as possible.
 * 12) It must be affordable.
 * 13) It must withstand impacts without damage typical of impacts that may happen in a kitchen.
 * 14) It must be easy to clean on the outside.
 * 15) It must be easily manufactured.
 * 16) It must be easy to assemble.
 * 17) It must resist corrosion in typical kitchen environments.
 * 18) It must be easily kept free of interior scale.
 * 19) It must be easy to fill with water.
 * 20) It must remain affordable to boil small quantities of water, when it is not full.
 * 21) It must appeal to a market of sufficient size that economies of manufacturing scale keeps its price affordable.
 * 22) It must prevent empty/dry operation
 * 23) It must give warning if it is about to burn out.
 * 24) It must be recyclable.
 * 25) It must satisfy all necessary regulations.

Background Research
Here is a sample of kettles found on the web. You should always spend some time studying existing products before you start designing a new one.

To keep work consistent, this is the reference design for this exercise: the West Bend 53783 - 1 3/4 Qt. Cordless Water Kettle. Here is an image:

System Architecture
Assume this architecture is "good enough" for this initial stage of the design process.