Lesson 2:System Design and Development

Draft – Review Version May 2012

Unit 3: Technological System Interaction

Lesson 2:System Design and Development

Student Resource 3.2.5: Design Brief

Designing and Building a System for Multiple Applications

The Problem:Your Engineering Design team has been assigned to develop an adaptation or an existing product. Once it has been adapted, it must be applied to another setting.

Using the knowledge that each member of your team has, develop a system to meet these criteria for design.

Design Constraints: You have limited time and a small budget to develop the idea, but if the idea is successful, full production in a state-of-the-art facility will be possible.

Things to Consider: All members of the Engineering Design Team bring different strengths to the group. What can you do to make the most of these strengths?

Will you choose a simple or complicated system to adapt? There are pros and cons to both choices. A more complicated system gives you a variety of materials and components to work with, but a simple system may be easier to model and apply to a new situation.

If you have chosen a very small product or system to adapt, your Engineering Design Team may want to make a larger scale model to demonstrate the function and application that you are trying to achieve.

Always use appropriate safety equipment.

Materials:

When building your prototype, you will likely not have the same materials available as you would want to use in actually manufacturing your system. Use the materials available to demonstrate your concept, paying attention to function and scale rather than the true materials.

Simulate the true materials when possible, using something of the correct shape or structural qualities as the planned material for production. For example, a section of a wooden dowel could simulate a steel rod in the prototype.

Available Materials: Engineering Design Journals or blank paper, graph paper, rulers, scissors, X-Acto knives, coping saws, gift wrap tape, masking tape, school glue, holt melt glue guns and sticks, Paper fasteners (brads), balsa wood, construction paper, sandpaper, balsa wood cutters, file folders, corrugated cardboard, empty plastic containers, and Styrofoam. Other materials may be used – consult your teacher.

The Prototype: The prototype built by your Engineering Design Team should demonstrate the proof of concept, meaning that it shows that your design will do what you intend for it to do. Use care in building the prototype and test it prior to your presentation.

The Presentation: When presenting your system, describe your development process, the plans that your Engineering Design Team has for the system, successes and failures in the design and how each team member was involved throughout the process.