Learning objectives
Knowledge and ability to understand: through the lectures held during the course, the student will acquire the methods and knowledge necessary to understand the principles of industrial design, from the generation of concepts to the detailed design of products and components; will learn to apply the tools for virtual design profitably and to calculate the costs of production and processing.
Applying knowledge and understanding: Through practical exercises in the classroom related to some topics of the program, students will learn how to apply the knowledge acquired in a real context of design, as well as in multidisciplinary or non-family. In particular, the student must apply the knowledge acquired to the design and industrialisation of a product / component, starting from the feasibility study, defining the best production structure and its management, evaluating the possibility of resorting to automated operations in place of manual and reflecting on the process of assembling / disassembling and reusing / recycling of materials in the perspective of the circular economy.
Making judgments: at the end of the course the student will be able to understand and critically evaluate the main methods of design and design in the industrial world (conceptual and detailed design, choice of materials, CAD tools, LCA analysis, green design, value analysis and engineering); using the acquired knowledge will have to analyse existing systems and products by evaluating the performance and adequacy, assessing the impact on the environment and the life cycle, and will have to develop its own solution concepts.
Communication skills: Through the lectures and the comparison with the teacher, the student will acquire the specific vocabulary related to specific terminology, virtual help systems, product lifecycle management. It is expected that, at the end of the course, the student is able to transmit, in oral and written form, the main contents of the course, such as ideas, engineering problems and related solutions. The student must communicate his knowledge with appropriate means, therefore for the resolution of numerical problems we expect the use of tools commonly used in the sector, such as tables, plant diagrams, flow charts, numerical spreadsheets.
Learning skills: The student who has attended the course will be able to deepen their knowledge on the generation of conceptual products and components, implementation, resources used, environmental impact, through the independent consultation of specialised texts, scientific or popular magazines, also outside of the subjects dealt with strictly in class, in order to effectively face integration into the world of work or undertake further training courses.
Prerequisites
Anyone mandatory, however the basic knowledge of mechanical drawing and of strength of materials is suggested.
Course unit content
1- Concepts and methods of industrial design, criteria of mechanical, conceptual and detailed design, concepts of stress and resistance of a structural material (metallic or polymeric) will be recalled; the main tools and methods of mechanical assisted design will be introduced, the concepts of Design for assembly, Green Design and circular economy, and durability, quality control, design for quality and TQM; life cycle analysis (LCA) and oriented design (Design for X); the design for the cost and the recent Value Analysis and Engineering will be introduced.
2- The development of a product and a process, where the phases of the development process will be recalled, the stage and gate model, the types and planning of new products; Conjoint Analysis will also be discussed and elements of Industrial Design will be provided.
3 - Business case studies: There are concrete contacts with companies in the manufacturing, engineering and mechatronics sectors, process leader, automation and product management, to develop application cases and projects on issues of mutual interest.
Full programme
Methods of industrial and structural design
- Main criteria of mechanical design;
- Conceptual design and detailed design;
- Concepts of solicitation and resistance;
- Choice of materials and processes / technologies;
- Mechanical assisted design: main tools and methods;
- Durability, quality control, design for quality and TQM;
- Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and Oriented Design (Design for X);
- Design for assembly;
- Concepts of Green Design and circular economy;
- Design for the cost;
- Value Analysis and Engineering.
The development of products and processes
- Phases of the development process;
- The stage and gate model;
- Types and planning of new products;
- Analysis of customer needs;
- Technical specifications;
- Product concept and test;
- Conjoint Analysis;
- Elements of Industrial Design;
- Technical architecture of the product;
- House of quality;
- Economic and organizational aspects in product development;
- Virtual Product Development;
- Some case studies in collaboration with companies in the sector.
Business case studies
Concrete contacts are planned with companies in the manufacturing, engineering and mechatronic sectors, process leader, automation and product management, to develop application cases and projects on subjects of mutual interest.
Bibliography
- Slides of lessons;
- H.C. Crabb - The Virtual Engineer: 21st Century Product Development;
- Lawrence D. Miles. Techniques of Value Analysis and Engineering: 3rd Edition
- Ulrich K.T., Eppinger S.D., Product design and development, McGraw-Hill, 5° Ed., 2011.
- H. E. Trucks, Gordon Lewis. Designing for Economical Production
- Sim Van der Ryn, Stuart Cowan. Ecological Design, Tenth Anniversary Edition
- Walter Klöpffer, Birgit Grahl. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): A Guide to Best Practice.
Teaching methods
The course has a weight of 9 CFU, which corresponds to 72 hours of classroom lectures. The didactic activities will be carried out by giving priority to classroom lectures alternated with practical exercises and exposition / discussion of practical cases. During the lectures will be addressed the topics of the course from a theoretical-design point of view, in order to promote a deep understanding of the issues and bring out any preconceptions on the issues in question by the students. During class exercises, during which it is possible to use personal calculation tools such as computers, students will be required to apply the theory to an exercise, a real case study or a project developed according to the methodological criteria illustrated in the lessons and bibliographic and didactic material. Complementing the teaching methods presented so far, if the conditions allow it, seminars are organised by managers of multinational companies that report concrete experiences gained in real case studies. The slides and the notes used to support the lessons will be loaded at the beginning of the course on the dedicated platform (ELLY). The notes, transparencies, spreadsheets, tables and all the shared material is considered an integral part of the teaching material. Non-attending students are reminded to check the available teaching materials and the indications provided by the teacher through the Elly platform, the only communication tool used for direct teacher / student contact. On
this platform, day by day, shows the topics covered in class that will then constitute the index of contents in preparation for the final exam.
Assessment methods and criteria
The assessment of learning includes a written test based on open-ended questions with answers lasting 2 hours. The test normally consists of 4/5 questions that may relate to theoretical content, demonstrations, exercises covered during the course; demonstrations, short closed-answer questions, and theoretical treatises have a weight of 1.0; technical drawings and drawings weight 1.5; exercises weight 1.8. The final vote is calculated by assigning to each question an evaluation from 0 to 30 and making the weighted average of the individual evaluations, with final rounding up; the test is passed if it reaches a score of at least 18 points. The praise is assigned in the case of reaching the maximum score on each item to which is added the mastery of the disciplinary lexicon.
Depending on the number of the course, activities for the development of personal projects will be foreseen, which will be discussed at the end of the year by means of a presentation. The project will replace the written test and will be awarded the vote in 30ths.
Other information
Class is highly recommended.
