Better Product Development | Product Development Notebook

FEA: Saint-Venant’s principle

If you’ve done FEA, you know that you can get some funky results near boundary conditions. Fixing a face such that absolutely zero motion is allowed, for example, can create high stress concentrations that may not be real. However, thanks to Saint-Venant, we don’t usually have to care. Because… “… the difference between the effects [...]

Tagged as: Finite Element Analysis (FEA)

frequently held false beliefs in product design

I recently posed the following question on Quora What are the most frequent false beliefs in mechanical engineering and product design? I find the answers compelling and hope you do as well. Design doesn’t depend on context The designer knows more about the user than the user does The idea is the hard part The [...]

Tagged as: prototyping

video: quantum levitation

Came across this today. They even tease you with just enough of a physics explanation to get you curious. How it works According to the website, the ceramic, once brought down to a low enough temperature, becomes a superconductor (more like a super-duper conductor as they claim zero energy loss). Now that it is a superconductor, [...]

Tagged as: magnets, materials, physics

why I’m studying for the patent agent exam

Someone asked me the other day why I was studying for the patent agent exam. It’s a good question. Here, in no particular order, are my reasons As a design consultant, I regularly am exposed to the IP of my clients and their competitors. Understanding where the IP “white space” of a particular field is [...]

Tagged as: career development

badass trajpar equations

if you never use pro|e, stop reading lest you get a serious case of CAD envy. If you do use pro|e, yet of never heard of trajpar (short for “trajectory parameter”), it is a parameter that varies from 0 to 1 along the path of a sweep (0 at the start, 1 at the end). [...]

Tagged as: CAD, surfacing, trajpar

this has always bugged me.

In fact, 1 fl oz of water weighs 1.04 oz. (Full math at bowl of plenty)

Tagged as: conversion, units, water

design we love

I’m loving the design we love Board on Quora. This teaspoon in particular caught me eye.

Tagged as: product design

my sporadic obsessions

This one struck a chord. Via stuff no one told me.

Tagged as: education

some notes on nonlinear fea with contact

So I haven’t had an opportunity to be much cool FEA lately. Still, I’m pretty regularly in reviews where we are reviewing setup, discussing solving approaches, analyzing results etc. It seems lately that most of these analysis involve a fair amount of contact (the presence of which, I have mentioned before, is an indicator that [...]

Tagged as: analysis, Finite Element Analysis (FEA), nonlinear

protect IP PSA

I don’t usually (and don’t plan to often) use this blog as a medium for politics, but I feel strongly enough about the Protect IP act to share this. Essentially the bill would allow the entertainment industry to censor the internet; destructive in itself but perhaps setting an even more dangerous precedent. From fightforthefuture.org It’ll give the [...]

Tagged as: protect IP

why you should always prototype

Tagged as: prototyping

a common anthropometric fallacy

Anthropometric data can be tough to come by. This makes the numbers you do come by so tempting to implement. There they are; so precise and just waiting to be used to drive your design. Of course there are many concerns about those numbers. Are they representative of the population you are designing for? I [...]

Tagged as: anthropometry, human factors, statistics

Lo, my 100 subscribers, who are you?

So I recently checked my subscription statistics to find that over a hundred of you have subscribed to pdnotebook. First, thanks. Second, why do you subscribe? What content do you find valuable? What content do you find utterly worthless? Do you follow via email, RSS, twitter, maybe even Quora? I don’t have a master plan [...]

expert enough manifesto

I’m fond of the saying “expertise is relative”. We all know this is true at heart, otherwise there would only be one expert on anything. If you are trying to help someone on a particular topic, be it algebra, how to design a product, biomechanics, or how transcendalist literature relates to product design, you just need [...]

Tagged as: expertise, product design

how to design a product

I’m running out the door but I wanted to toss this up to the readership, as I feel you are uniquely qualified to add to it. Someone posted the following question on Quora: What is the process for developing and readying a product for manufacturing? I jumped on it, and answered. I’ve copied my answer below; [...]

Tagged as: process, product design, quora

the economics of AI and your job

Mostly on this site I write about product development; materials, process, manufacturing, design theory, sustainability, mechanics, and so on. Something else I spend a lot of time on is economics. I feel like it can only serve me well to understand at a macro level the general direction things are headed. Usually the economic things [...]

Tagged as: AI, economics, the future

what nobody tells people who are beginners

From NPR’s Ira Glass What nobody tells people who are beginners — and I really wish someone had told this to me… is that all of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, and it’s [...]

Tagged as: creativity, Ira Glass

TI-83 and the moon

Great fact from Quora (I’m sure only engineers will get the context) The guidance computer from the Apollo 11 mission ran at 1.024 MHz, about 1/6th of the processing power of a TI-83 calculator, and it took human beings to the moon.

why rectangles?

I suspect this post will be a touch more abstract than most. A few weeks ago I was at Trident Booksellers (wonderful place) and snatched Minimalism from the clearance rack. It’s a collection of images depicting minimalist attire, products, architecture etc. I was flipping through it for the first time and I found myself getting [...]

Tagged as: minimalism, Minimalism (book), rectangles, Universal Principles of Design

is your invention non-obvious? 35 USC 103 in plain english

This is one of a series of posts covering intellectual property. Specifically, my pursuit of translating US patent law into plain english as I study for the patent agent exam. (If you’re interested in doing the same, you would do well to check out the patent bar exam review questions I put together.) It is [...]

Tagged as: 35 USC 103, non-obviousness, obviousness, patent bar exam

crayon physics

Quite possibly the best thing ever. I saw this technology a few years ago (I think it was MIT… can’t find the link). It appears it’s been commercialized, and commercialized well.

Tagged as: physics

good design

Every design, no matter how small, has an impact on humanity. Good design, once all has been accounted for, is net positive.

Tagged as: minimalism, perfect product design, product design

restlessly producing

What if I want something more than the pale facsimile of fulfillment brought on by a parade of ever-fancier toys? To spend my life restlessly producing instead of sedately consuming? -xkcd

Tagged as: minimalism, product design

sustainable links

In the past two years in my role as a sustainability advocate, I have written repeatedly on the topic of sustainability in product design. Much of the writing has occurred on this site (check out the sustainability category), but I have also written on the topic elsewhere. Whether you are already sustainably inclined or [...]

Tagged as: product design, sustainable product design

You don’t need the new iPhone

I’m a big fan of mnmlist. A recent post touches on some things I’ve discussed regarding smartphones (are they good?), and I thought it was worth reposting here as a reminder that many of the things we consume (or create) are unnecessary. Here’s to creating things that are necessary. Many of you have seen the [...]

engineer vs. smart engineer

via xkcd

when in doubt…

A colleague of mine recently quoted a professor he had in school: When in doubt, make it stout, out of materials you know about. Great advice for mechanical engineers. Of course, the ideal is to not be in doubt (nonlinear fea can help with that), and know about a lot of materials(check out these materials [...]

how engineers + designers should use Evernote

They should use it like I do. Or, if you prefer more delicate wording: I am an engineer, I use Evernote and I like to think I use it well. For those who may not be familiar, Evernote (whose motto is ‘Remember Everything) is a freemium multi-platform note taking service that has been around for [...]

Tagged as: getting things done, productivity

notes on micromolding

A while back we had a visit from a top-flight micromolder. Below are my notes I probably should have put this up a while back, but it slipped. Truth be told, the only reason I’m putting it up now is as an example for how I use Evernote. Still, the information is wortwhile… MTD (Micro [...]

Tagged as: Injection Molding, manufacturing

flow in product design (with music to get you there)

Flow: a state of concentration or complete absorption with the activity at hand and the situation. It is a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter -Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience As designers and engineers, we are at our best in flow. Once we have fully [...]

Tagged as: product design, productivity

rubber material tradeoffs

Going through a rubber design guide I snagged from MN Rubber a while back, I saw this nifty chart. A great way of communicating information. Manufacturers looking to create a design guide (in addition to engineers for more obvious reasons) should definitely check out this. The GE injection molding design guide doesn’t suck either.

Tagged as: product design, rubber

on Quirky

About a year ago I wrote about Quirky. I had a few criticisms (with some lauding sprinkled in), primarily that they were just a generic design firm with a sales funnel that took advantage of people’s ideas while giving them only token involvement. Well apparently Quirky has a TV show. The TV show itself isn’t [...]

Tagged as: product design, quirky

engineering sets the pace

This is in regards to continuous deployment of software projects, but it’s enough to make you drool if you imagine being able to do this with physical products… engineering sets the pace. We get shit done, we get it done fast, it goes into production within 15 minutes of pushing it to master (feels like [...]

Tagged as: agile, product design

Reaction Injection Molding (RIM) design guide

I’ve written before about reaction injection molding as it pertains to memory foam. Recently I’ve had occasion to dive back into it, and have found the following design guide to be pretty helpful. (notify me if the link ever breaks, I’ve got the PDF locally). Much of it is really basic (i.e. outside corner of the [...]

Tagged as: foam, Injection Molding, RIM

the myth of the sole inventor

I wrote recently about the current debate on the efficacy of our patent system in “When Patents Attack“. It was a good listen in and of itself, but the Economist followed up with a strong article you can find here. From the article: [S]urveys of hundreds of significant new technologies show that almost all of [...]

Tagged as: IP

international patents (MPEP 1801)

(If you are considering studying for the patent bar exam checking out my patent bar review exam questions) The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT): Lets you file a single international application that counts as a ‘normal’ patent in all treaty-participating states (USPTO uses the term “Contracting States“) Typically, you would file a domestic patent first. Then [...]

Tagged as: IP

beware clever designs

If you think something is clever and sophisticated, beware; it is probably self-indulgence. -Donald Norman

Tagged as: Donald Norman, product design

what you’re reading is important

It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it -Oscar Wilde

aristotle on brainstorming

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. -Aristotle

Tagged as: brainstorming, product design

when to use nonlinear finite element analysis

Dig even a little bit into the different fea packages out there and you will notice a distinction between linear and nonlinear analysis. You might then wonder under what circumstances to use linear analysis and what circumstances to use nonlinear analysis? First off, let me say that mechanically speaking, there is no such thing as [...]

Tagged as: CAD, Finite Element Analysis (FEA)

why design > marketing

The greatest thing to be achieved in advertising, in my opinion, is believability, and nothing is more believable than the product itself. -Leo Burnett

Tagged as: product design

when patents attack, and more IP stuff

I’m about 20 minutes deep into ‘When Patents Attack’ on This American Life. It’s a pretty compelling story about how the IP system works or (especially in the case of software) doesn’t work. An interesting listen, regardless of your interest in patents. If the radio story piques your interest, check out what Fred Wilson and [...]

Tagged as: patent law

FEA insights

Bob Ketelhohn (a colleague of mine) put together a pretty swell writeup over at Farm on FEA. Some of my favorite nuggets: FEA is a prototype reducing tool. It does not eliminate the need for real prototypes. Trust your gut. If it looks wrong, it probably is. Comparative analysis is your best friend. Mesh density [...]

Tagged as: Finite Element Analysis (FEA), product design

sins of minimalist design

Applying a minimalist aesthetic to something someone doesn’t need Choosing a aesthetic minimalism over environmental minimalism Designing redundant minimalist products (each product consist of less than the one before it) Ignoring nature… nothing is more minimalist. If it’s not laterally recyclable, it’s accumulative. Accumulative is maximalist. If you are having difficulty with a UI, [...]

Tagged as: Letters from a Stoic, minimalism, Walden

gaussian and mean curvature

So I’ve been doing some fancy surfacing lately and spent a few minutes digging into the math behind the surface tools. The math itself is a little esoteric, but I also came across a really nice, digestible description of gaussian and mean curvature. These are the types of curvature (along with maximum curvature) that CAD packages like [...]

Tagged as: CAD, curvature, Pro Engineer, product design, SolidWorks

tips for recyclable designs

A colleague of mine recently took a plastic design class at UMass Lowell, and was kind enough to let me flip through the notes. There is a lot of really great stuff in there, not least of which are some thoughts on what a product designer should consider when designing for recyclability. Just because something [...]

Tagged as: product design, recycle, recycling

pro|engineer (or creo, or whatever): a few more things

A bit over a year ago I wrote about problems I was having with pro|engineer (now creo) and SolidWorks. It was one of my more popular posts and inspired some passionate responses. (I also copied the image from that post even though I’m primarily going to talk about pro|engineer…lazy) Well I’ve been doing some heavy [...]

Tagged as: CAD, Pro Engineer, SolidWorks

robust CAD models

I’ve been thinking lately about what makes a robust CAD database. I considered writing down a checklist, but as projects differ I find the checklist to be overkill or incomplete, both of which render it useless. Instead I asked myself: What principles are always true when building a CAD model? Take note of my use [...]

Tagged as: CAD, Pro Engineer, product design, SolidWorks, Unigraphics

video:curvature continuity between splines in sketcher

This was birthed out of a conversation that started over at mcadcentral. The inital problem was trying to make two splines curvature continuous to each other (which this video shows how to do in a particular context), but I also end up showing the differences in C0, C1, and C2 continuity. note: it occurs to [...]

Tagged as: CAD, curavture continuity, Pro Engineer

black chromium: black hard anodizing for stainless steel

You can’t hard anodize stainless steel, I know this. But today I wished I could. I was looking for a black, low friction, wear resistant, corrosion resistant coating to put on a stainless steel part. So I looked around for a while, and came up with something similar (as far as I can tell): Black Chromium. [...]

Tagged as: black chrome, finishing, guns, plating

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