Blog 5

Week 11: Material for Design

The first though that entered my mind when we were doing this week Topic was " Didn't we already have an entire module that teaches us on Material for Design which was literally named Material for Design CP5091, which make me wonder if this week topic is meaningless. However, after going through this week topic, I have to say, it was not meaningless... Sure it wasn't insightful and nothing taught was new, but it helps by recapping on knowledge that I am no longer completely sure of, such as modulus of elasticity and stiffness. In Year 1 Semester 1, I would be confident when I say the higher the young modulus, the stiffer it is, but I no longer am confident when I provide the same answer.

There are 3 steps when selecting Material. 

Step 1: Define Material requirement for design

Step 2: COWS

Step 3: Choose most economical material (or what I like to call choose cheapest material)

In step 1, we have to define requirement for the design. This is done by first defining the function of the design. In the case of a razor, the function of the blade is to trim hair, while the function of the handle is to hold the blade and allow people to hold. Next, we need to determine the constraints. For example, a razor blade need to be corrosion resistant. (other examples can be find in the table below. Lastly, we need to know the objective of the design, which is the most important constraint, in the case of the razor blade, its most important attribute is to be hard.


Razor

Body

Function

Trim hair off body 

Holds blade 

Acts as a handle


Constraint 

Corrosion resistant to water (razor blade will come into contact with water)

High Hardness (Prevent blade from deforming when used)

Excellent Sharpness (Easy to remove hair)

Non-toxic (does not bring harm user)

Stiff (Prevent blade from breaking)

Light-weight (Easy to handle)

Stiff (Prevent handle from breaking while shaving)

Objective

Needs to be Hard

Needs to be light 


In Step 2, we will have to perform COWS analysis. COWS stand for

Criteria
Option
Weightage
Score

Below is the COWS analysis for a razor

Materials selected: Brass, Stainless Steel 304 , Carbon steel



Criteria


Weightage

Options

Brass

Stainless steel 304

High-carbon steel

Hardness (Rockwell B)

35%

69.3

Score:2

70

Score:2

95.7

Score:3

Corrosion-resistant

10%

Good (B)

Score:2

Excellent (A)

Score:3

Poor (D)

Score:1

Non-toxic

25%

Non-toxic

Score:3

Non-toxic

Score:3

Non-toxic

Score:3

Stiffness (Modulus of elasticity,)

20%

106 GPa

Score:2

198 GPa

Score:3

200 GPa

Score:3

Cost

10%

$625/ton

Score:3

$2000/ton

Score:1

$500/ton

Score:2

Total

100%

235

245

270


Lastly, we need to choose the most economical material, However, as you can see, this step can be integrated to step 2 which my group did.

Overall, this week topic is good for recalling what we learnt in CP5091 MFD.

Week 12: Design for Material

If Material for design is choosing the most suitable material for a certain design, Design for Material would be creating a design for a material.

We started this topic by looking at the timeline of a hairdryer, from the first ever hairdryer created by Alexander-Ferdinand Godefroy that is immovable, to Handy Hannah which became portable, and finally the Hawkins Supreme which is made in plastic.


Next we went to the SP Library online material resource to find a material we like to perform Design for Material:

Name of material

Imago Frozen Fabric

Chemical Name

Fabric encapsulated in PTEG Resin

General Description

A sheet of material with interesting visual appearances

General Properties

Lighter than glass

High performance 

Subtle decoration

Scratch resistance 

Opportunities

Exuberant graphics and glass like surfaces while being safer and lighter than glass

Discuss among the group how this material can be used as a direct replacement to a material in an  existing product without any significant changes in the design


Blinds/Partitions/Privacy Windows. Imago frozen fabric can be used to replace the wood or any material to make blinds or partitions. This is because it is lighter than glass, scratch resistant and has a subtle decoration for aesthetics. It is also recyclable. 

Discuss among the group how this material can be used to enhance the functionality of an existing product through some changes in the design. 


Imago Frozen fabric can be used to replace glass bowls and bottles. Glass is not scratch resistant while imago frozen fabric is. It is also lighter than glass which makes bowls and bottles easier to hold. Due to it being inconsistent in impact strength, we decided to add handles onto the bowl and bottle thus it is less easy to drop.

Week 12: Sustainable Design

If I were to describe sustainable design, it would be pretending to care about the earth just because everyone is doing so and saying it is the right thing to do, in order for human to feel righteous even though it is human who created this issue in the first place. This topic have been gone through so much time that I doubt I need to further explain on it . tl;dr Changing the design so its more environmental friendly, such example include using rechargeable battery instead of disposable ones.

The following is my groups Sustainable Design Activity

Discuss and document the modification in design or substituting of certain parts of the product or  any other ideas that your team has made. You may include pictures and sketches to aid in the  explanation


Product Design: Coffee Maker

  1. Using solar panels to power the coffee maker instead of using batteries. However, using solar panels will be extremely costly and it will not fit our budget. It is also difficult to mount the solar panel onto the coffee maker. 


  1. Using rechargeable batteries instead of disposable ones. This way, less waste is produced and one can simply recharge the batteries instead of disposing them away after they run out.


  1. Using second hand materials to build the coffee maker. Lesser waste is produced and materials that cannot be recycled can be used for a longer period of time thus being more sustainable.


  1. Using glass to make the exterior of the coffee maker can make it more aesthetically pleasing, however, it can make the coffee maker much heavier and it can cause the heated water in the coffee maker to lose heat easily as glass is not a good insulator of heat.