Design: Unit 1 Paper 1

Anthropometric Data

The aspect of ergonomics that deals with body measurements, particularly those of size, strength and physical capacity.

**Static** **data**

Human body measurements when the subject is still.

**Dynamic** **data**

Human body measurements taken when the subject is in motion related to range and reach of various body movements. 

Primary data

Data collected by a user for a specific purpose.

*Secondary data*

Data collected by someone other than the user.

Percentile range

That proportion of a population with a dimension at or less than a given value.

Clearance

The physical space between two objects

Reach

A range that a person can stretch to touch or grasp an object from a specified position

Adjustability

The ability of a product to be changed in size, commonly used to increase the range of percentiles that a product is appropriate for. 

Range of sizes

A selection of sizes a product is made in that caters for the majority of a market.

Human factor data

data related to psychological interpretations caused by light, smell, sound, taste, temperature and texture

Nominal scale

Data in named categories, something you can count, won’t tell you anything more than one object is different from another (yes or no questions)

Ordinal scale

more subjective, data in ranked order but distance between ranks is not fixed (ranking something in order of importance/appeal, placements in competitions, alphabetical order)

Interval scale

data on a scale with fixed intervals, something on a spectrum, can go below zero (rating your mood, temperature)

Ratio scale

something in comparison to something else, same as interval scale but can’t go below zero (ruler)

Qualitative Data

Descriptive data used to find out the way people think/feel, their perception, useful for research on a small specific group

Quantitative Data

Data that can be measured and recorded using numbers. Examples include height, shoe size, and fingernail length.

Human information processing system

An automatic system that a person uses to interpret information and react. It is normally comprised of inputs, processes (which can be sensory, central and motor), and outputs.

Environmental factors

A set of psychological factors that can affect the performance of an individual that come from the environment that the individual is situated.

Biomechanics

the research and analysis of the mechanics of living organisms.

reserves

natural resource that can be identified in terms of quality and quantity

re-engineering

significantly redesigning a product with improved engineering

pollution

contaminants in the natural environment that cause change

waste

unwanted or unusable materials that are disregarded after primary use or worthless

Dematerialization

reduction of total material and energy output of any product

Product recovery strategies at end of life

process of separating component parts to recover the parts and materials

Embodied energy

total energy used to produce a product

National and International grid systems

as electrical supply distribution network

Local combined heat and power (CHP)

a system that simultaneously generates heat and electricity

Capacitor

electronic component that temporarily stores energy

Legislation

laws considered collectively to adress a certain topic

Incremental solutions

products that are improved and developed over time leading to new versions and generations

radical solutions

where a completely new product is devised by going back to the roots of a problem

End-of-pipe technologies

used to reduce pollutants at the end of a product’s life cycle

System-level solutions

implemented to deal with the whole system rather than just components

Clean technology

products, services that reduce waste and require the minimum amount of non-renewable resources

prevention principle

the avoidance of producing waste with the production, use and disposal

precautionary principle

the anticipation of potential problems with the environmental impact of the product

Eco-design

focuses on environmentally friendly materials, energy, pollution/waste

“design for the environment” (DfE) software

allows designers to perform life cycle analysis (LCA) on a product to assess its environmental impact

conceptual model

a model that exists in the mind used to help us understand ideas

graphical models

models in the form of charts and drawings

Formal drawing techniques

have fixed rules, most commonly isometric projection or perspective drawing

Working drawings

guide the production of the product, most commonly used in orthographic projection, section drawings, part drawings and plan drawings

Part drawings

orthographic drawings of the components of an assembly containing details only about a specific component

section drawings

cut the parts down the middle like a cake so you can see the inside

Scale drawings

drawings that are bigger or smaller than the real product, but exactly in proportion

projection drawings

systems of drawings that are accurately drawn (isometric, orthographic)

Exploited sketching

shows a product with multiple details and breaks it down.

Assembly sketching

diagram that shows how components fit together

physical models

models such as scale and prototype, tangible

Flow charts

allows a designer to map out the route a user might follow when using a product

Aesthetic models

developed to look and feel like the final product, don’t work like the final product

Instrumented models

equipped with the ability to take measurements and provide accurate quantitive feedback for analysis

Render

takes the model and allows you to create shots with realistic lighting and materials

Visual prototyping/digital mockup

involves the use of surface and solid modeling to develop photo-realistic interactive models

Surface models

realistic images of the product

animation

the ability to link graphic screens together to simulate motion

haptic technology

interfaces the user via sense of touch

Digital humans

computer simulations of a variety of mechanical and biological aspects of the human body.

Bottom-up modeling

a designer creates part geometry independent of the assembly or any other component. Components are brought together the first time during assembly

Top-down modeling

a product developing process obtained through 3D, parametric and associative CAD systems. Designs starts with a concept and is broken down later.

Data modeling

model that determines the structure of data

Finite element analysis (FEA)

the calculation and simulation of factors in products using CAD systems. A digital simulation of unknown factors to test a product.

Stereolithography (SLA)

3D printing process