The Mechanical Design Process

The third edition of The Mechanical Design Process combines a practical overview of the design process with case material and real-life engineering insights. Ullman's work as an innovative designer comes through consistently, and has made this book a favorite with readers.

This book conveys the "flavor" of design, addressing both traditional engineering topics as well as real-world issues like creative thinking, synthesis of ideas, visualization, teamwork, sense of customer needs and product success factors, and the financial aspects of design alternatives, in a practical and motivating manner. Its ongoing use of a bicycle design case brings the design stages and concepts to life, and shows the actual steps taken to generate design ideas and bring them to fruition. Approaches to concept generation, including TRIZ and axiomatic design, are given strong coverage.

This text is appropriate primarily for the Senior Design course taken by mechanical engineering students, though it can also be used in design courses offered earlier in the curriculum. Working engineers also find it to be a readable, practical overview of the modern design process.

David G. Ullman is an active product designer who has taught, researched, and written about design for over thirty years. He is president of Robust Decisions, Inc., a supplier of software products and training for product development and decision support. He is Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Design at Oregon State University. He has professionally designed fluid/thermal, control, and transportation systems. He has published over twenty papers focused on understanding the mechanical product design process and the development of tools to support it. He is founder of the American Society Mechanical Engineers (ASME)-Design Theory and Methodology Committee and is a Fellow in the ASME. He holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Ohio State University.