Design & Manufacturing Project I module (GA13005)
Develop skills in engineering design methodology, product design specifications, prototype building and testing, working in small multi-disciplinary teams
This project-based module develops your ability to work through an engineering design process from initial concept to physical prototype, collaborating in small multi-disciplinary teams.
You will gain a grounding in design methodologies — including Pugh, Pahl and Beitz, and Ulrich and Eppinger — alongside techniques for creativity and innovation, morphological analysis, concept selection using controlled convergence, and product costing methods such as Pareto analysis and value engineering.
The module covers the fundamentals of product design specifications, the impact of design decisions on cost and manufacturability, engineering communication between disciplines, and project planning and time management.
Teaching is primarily workshop-based and hands-on, with an emphasis on group collaboration. Assessment consists of a concept design project (40%), a design for manufacture and assembly/product costing task (20%), and a prototype build-and-test project (40%).
This module is delivered as part of a Graduate Apprenticeship, with teaching taking place one day a week on the Dundee's City Campus.
What you will learn
In this module, you will:
- Understand the effect that design decisions make on the cost and manufacturability of a product, and how product architecture affects its form.
- Write a Product Design Specification and apply creativity techniques, design methodologies and concept selection tools.
- Evaluate and select design concepts and formulate a simple costing model.
- Communicate design proposals and test results effectively.
- Perform a prototype test, critique results and evaluate findings.
- Work effectively as part of a team.
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
- Understand the effect that design decisions make on the cost and manufacturability of a product, and understand how the architecture of a product affects its form.
- Know how to write a simple Product Design Specification and apply creativity techniques, design methodologies and concept selection.
- Formulate a simple costing model for a design concept.
- Effectively communicate design proposals and test results.
- Perform a simple prototype test, critique and evaluate experimental results.
- Work effectively as part of a team.
Assignments / assessments
Concept Design Project — 40%
- A group project covering the design process from initial concept through to concept selection, applying design methodologies and creativity techniques.
Design for Manufacture and Assembly / Product Costing — 20%
- An assessment applying DFMA principles and product costing methods to evaluate the manufacturability and cost of a design concept.
Prototype Build and Test Project — 40%
- A group project involving the physical construction and testing of a prototype, with analysis and evaluation of results.
This module does not have a final exam.
Teaching methods / timetable
- Lectures covering design theory and methodologies
- Hands-on workshop sessions for design, building and testing activities