Paper format. National Exams, May 2017 — 16-Mec-B5 Product Design and Development. Three hours, OPEN BOOK, one of two calculators (Casio or Sharp). Question 1 is compulsory and carries 40 marks; four of the six remaining questions are chosen at 15 marks each, for 100 marks. The paper states that most answers are expected in essay form or as tables, figures and charts, and that clarity and organisation are marked. All seven questions are solved here.
Reference texts (22-Mec-B5).
- Ulrich, K. T. and Eppinger, S. D., Product Design and Development, 6th ed., McGraw-Hill — the framework text for this subject (Ch. 2 development processes, Ch. 5 identifying customer needs, Ch. 6 product specifications, Ch. 7–8 concept generation and selection, Ch. 11 design for manufacturing, Ch. 16 patents and intellectual property).
- Dieter, G. E. and Schmidt, L. C., Engineering Design, 5th ed., McGraw-Hill (Ch. 3 problem definition, Ch. 8 embodiment design, Ch. 11 materials selection, Ch. 13 risk and reliability).
- Pahl, G., Beitz, W., Feldhusen, J. and Grote, K.-H., Engineering Design: A Systematic Approach, 3rd ed., Springer (systematic conceptual and embodiment design).
- Boothroyd, G., Dewhurst, P. and Knight, W. A., Product Design for Manufacture and Assembly, 3rd ed., CRC Press (DFA index, part-count minimisation).
- Ashby, M. F., Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 5th ed., Butterworth-Heinemann (material indices, the translate–screen–rank–document method).
- Kalpakjian, S. and Schmid, S. R., Manufacturing Engineering and Technology, 8th ed., Pearson (process selection and process economics).
- Canadian frame: CSA/ANSI B651-18 Accessible design for the built environment (operating-force ceilings), CAN/CSA-C22.2 appliance safety, the Patent Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. P-4) as administered by CIPO, and CCOHS noise-exposure guidance (3 dB exchange rate, 85 dBA criterion).
Check — engineering assumptions declared once for the whole paper. The exam gives no product data, so every number below is a stated design assumption chosen to be representative of the product class, not a measurement: blender motor 1200 W input at 62 % electromechanical efficiency; 85 % of shaft power dissipated in the charge as viscous work; interlock collar breakaway torque 2.6 N·m; door-lock Weibull shape 2.3 and characteristic life 180 000 cycles; injection-mould tooling CAD 85 000. Each assumption is flagged where it is used, and every conclusion is stated as a consequence of it. A real design would replace each with a measurement or a supplier quotation before release.
