Abstract
This paper presents a taxonomy that provides a basis for characterizing mechanical design methods and theories. The taxonomy has three primary divisions: the environment, the problem, and the process. Each of these factors is further subdivided into its important characteristics. For example, the process is divided into plan, processing action, effect, and failure action. This paper discusses the options for each characteristic. An overview of the proposed taxonomy is given in section 2 of this paper. Section 3 describes details of the design environment; section 4 gives details on the description of the design problem itself; and section 5 provides details on the design process. In section 6, the taxonomy is applied in two ways: it is first used to clarify the meaning of differing, commonly used design terms, such as selection design, configurational design, parametric design, and redesign; and, second, the taxonomy is used to classify a representative sample of design process research efforts.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Brown, D.C. and Chandrasekaran, B., “An Approach to Expert Systems for Mechanical Design,”Proceedings of the IEEE Trends and Applications Conference, 1983, pp. 173–180
Bucciarelli, L.L., “An Ethnographic Perspective on Engineering Design,”Design Studies Vol. 9, No. 3, July 1988, pp. 159–168
Cognition, “Computers in Conceptual Design,”Computer-Aided Engineering, May 1986
Dixon, J.R., Duffey, M.R., Irani, R.K., Meunier, K.L. and Orelup, M.F., “A Proposed Taxonomy of Mechanical Design Problems,”Proceedings of the 1988 International Computers in Engineering Conference, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, San Francisco, CA, July 31–August 3, 1988, pp. 41–46
“Light Duty V-Belt Drive Design Model,” Technical Report Publication 18565, Gates Rubber Company, 1977
Hales, C.,Analysis of the Engineering Design Process in an Industrial Context PhD dissertation, University of Cambridge, UK, December 1986
Hubka, V.,Principles of Engineering Design Butterworth Scientific, London, 1982
R.C. Johnson,Mechanical Design, Synthesis-Creative Design, and Optimization 2nd edition, Robert Krieger Publishing, New York, New York, 1978
Jones, J.C.,Design Methods: Seeds of Human Futures 2nd edition, Wiley-Interscience, London, 1981
Juvinall, R.C.,Fundamentals of Machine Component Design John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1983
Pahl, G. and Beitz, W.,Engineering Design The Design Council, Springer-Verlag, London, 1984
Papalambros, P.Y., “Notes on the Operational Utility of Monotonicity in Optimization,”Journal of Mechanisms, Transmission and Automation in Design Vol. 105, 1983, pp. 174–180
Shigley, J.E. and Mitchell, L.D.,Mechanical Engineering Design 4th edition, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1983
Stauffer, L.A., Ullman, D.G. and Dietterich, T.G., “Protocol Analysis of Mechanical Engineering Design,”Proceedings of the 1987 International Conference on Engineering Design ICED 87, Eder, W.E., ed., American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Cambridge, MA, August 1987, pp. 74–85
Taguchi, G.,Introduction to Quality Engineering UNIPUB-Kraus International, White Plains, NY, 1986
Tang, J.C., “A Framework for Understanding the Workspace Activity for Design Teams,” Technical Report P88-00074, Xerox PARC, 1988
Ullman, D.G, Dietterich, T.G. and Stauffer, L.A., “A Model of the Mechanical Design Process Based on Empirical Data,”AI-EDAM Vol. 2, No. 1, 1988, pp. 33–52
(Verein Deutscher Ingenieur), “Systematic Approach to the Design of Technical Systems and Products,” Düsseldorf: VDI-Verlag, Translation of the German edition 11/1986, 1987
Waldron, K.J. and Waldron, M.B., “Conceptual CAD Tools for Mechanical Designers,”Proceedings of the ASME Computers in Engineering Conference, 1988, pp. 203–209
COLAB Group, “Experiments in Computer Support for Teamwork: Interim Report by the COLAB Group at Xerox PARC,” video tape, 1988
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ullman, D.G. A taxonomy for mechanical design. Research in Engineering Design 3, 179–189 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01580519
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01580519