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Table of Contents
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Step 1. Prepare the List of Metrics
The table below presents the metrics, or engineering specifications, that will be used by the team to design against.
| Metric No. | Metric | Importance | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reduce Straw Load Time | 3 | Sec. |
| 2 | Increase Output of Cut Straws by X% | 9 | Number of straws |
| 3 | Cost of Blade or Blade Replacement Shall not Exceed $X | 3 | $ |
| 4 | Straw Cut Shall be Complete (all the way through) For 100% of Straws | 9 | Quality of Finished Straws |
| 5 | Straw Cut Shall be Perpendicular to Straw length within a tolerance of ±X degrees | 3 | degrees |
| 6 | Operations Required to Cut Straws shall not Exceed 10 seconds | 3 | Seconds |
| 7 | Operations Required to Replace Blade shall not Exceed 10 Minutes | 3 | Minutes |
| 8 | Operations Required to Change Straw Cut Length shall not Exceed 5 minutes | 3 | Minutes |
| 9 | Cut Straws Shall Be Cut to Desired Length Within a Tolerance of ±1/16'' | 9 | Inches |
| 10 | Any Buttons or Switches shall be clearly and properly labeled | 1 | Binary |
| 11 | Maximum Dimensions of Device Shall not Exceed That of the specified Table | 3 | Feet |
| 12 | Device must remain upright on table | 3 | Capable or not after a vibration test |
| 13 | Machine will cut 8-12 Straws at once | 9 | Binary Test |
| 14 | Minimal scrap, (< 3 pieces will be loose at work station) | 3 | Number of Pieces |
|+ Customer Needs as Related to Engineering Metrics Matrix
Customer Needs as Related to Engineering Metrics Matrix.xls
Step 2. Collect Competitive Benchmarking Information
Relatively few Sr. design projects start from a clean sheet of paper. In most cases, there are some baseline solutions or products that could meet the vast majority of the customer's needs.
Write one or two paragraphs about each benchmark solution from the market place. Include a picture of the product, preferably illustrating the product in use or operation.
- Benchmark 1
- Manual Straw Cutter
- Currently one of the methods in use to cut the plastic straws to length is a manual chop cutter device which can only cut one straw at a time. As can be expected this process is both time consuming and labor intensive. Due to its highly repetitive nature this process can result in injuries to the operator over time. The current model only produces 200 straws per hour. One advantage to this device however is that because it is manually operated there are very few partially cut straws.
- Benchmark 2
- Automatic Straw Cutter
- the other method currently in use to cut the straws to their desired length is an automatic, multi-straw cutting scissor like device. This device currently cuts 750 straws per hour and is minimally labor intensive. the operator is required to load the straws, activate the device via a two hand tie down switch, and check for then remove partially cut straws. The main problem with this device is that it frequently results in partially cut straws which have to be manually removed from the device and finished by hand. This greatly reduces the effectiveness of the machine and reduces the overall production rate.
Use this table below to compare how pre-existing solutions should compare against the design team's efforts. See the example Table 5-6 on Page 80 of the text by Ulrich and Eppinger.
| Metric No. | Need Nos. | Metric | Importance | Units | Manual Cutter Value | Automatic Cutter Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Need 1,3 | Reduce Straw Load Time | 3 | Sec | ||
| 2 | Need 2,6 | Increase Output of Cut Straws by X% | 9 | Number of Straws | 200 | 700 |
| 3 | Need 1,3 | Cost of Blade | 3 | $ | ||
| 4 | Need 1,3 | Straw Cut Shall be Complete (all the way through) For 100% of Straws | 9 | Quality of Finished Straws | ||
| 5 | Need 4 | Straw Cut Shall be Perpendicular to Straw Length Within a Tolerance of +/-X Degrees | 3 | Degrees | ||
| 6 | Need 4 | Operation Required to Cut Straws Shall not Exceed 10 Seconds | 3 | Seconds | ||
| 7 | Need 4 | Operations Required to Replace Blade Shall not Exceed 10 Minutes | 3 | Minutes | ||
| 8 | Need 4 | Operation required to Change Straw Cut Length Shall Not Exceed 5 Minutes | 3 | Minutes | ||
| 9 | Need 4 | Cut Straws Shall Be Cut to Desired Length Within a Tolerance of +/- .02" | 9 | Inches | ||
| 10 | Need 4 | Any Buttons or Switches Shall be Clearly and Properly Labeled | 1 | Binary | ||
| 11 | Need 4 | Maximum Dimensions of Device Shall Not Exceed That Of The table | 3 | Feet | ||
| 12 | Need 4 | Device must remain Upright after a Vibration Test | 3 | Capable or not after a vibration test | ||
| 13 | Need 4 | Machine Will Cut 8-12 Straws at Once | 9 | Binary Test | 10 | 1 |
| 14 | Need 5 | Minimal Scrap, (<3 Pieces will be loose at work station) | 3 | Number of Pieces |
Step 3. Set Ideal and Marginally Acceptable Target Values
Given the customer needs, awareness of the marketplace, and resource limitations of the current project, assign preliminary engineering specifications on each of the metrics. In addition to setting the nominal or target value or each specification, provide guidance to the team on the ideal value or direction that the team should strive for, once the nominal target values have been realized.
| Metric No. | Need Nos. | Metric | Importance | Units | Marginal Value | Ideal Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Need 1,3 | Reduce Straw Load Time | 3 | Sec | ||
| 2 | Need 2,6 | Increase Output of Cut Straws by X% | 9 | Number of Straws | ||
| 3 | Need 1,3 | Cost of Blade | 3 | $ | ||
| 4 | Need 1,3 | Straw Cut Shall be Complete (all the way through) For 100% of Straws | 9 | Quality of Finished Straws | ||
| 5 | Need 4 | Straw Cut Shall be Perpendicular to Straw Length Within a Tolerance of +/-X Degrees | 3 | Degrees | ||
| 6 | Need 4 | Operation Required to Cut Straws Shall not Exceed 10 Seconds | 3 | Seconds | ||
| 7 | Need 4 | Operations Required to Replace Blade Shall not Exceed 10 Minutes | 3 | Minutes | ||
| 8 | Need 4 | Operation required to Change Straw Cut Length Shall Not Exceed 5 Minutes | 3 | Minutes | ||
| 9 | Need 4 | Cut Straws Shall Be Cut to Desired Length Within a Tolerance of +/- 1/16 | 9 | Inches | ||
| 10 | Need 4 | Any Buttons or Switches Shall be Clearly and Properly Labeled | 1 | Binary | ||
| 11 | Need 4 | Maximum Dimensions of Device Shall Not Exceed That Of The table | 3 | Feet | ||
| 12 | Need 4 | Device must remain Upright after a Vibration Test | 3 | Capable or not after a vibration test | ||
| 13 | Need 4 | Machine Will Cut 8-12 Straws at Once | 9 | Binary Test | ||
| 14 | Need 5 | Minimal Scrap, (<3 Pieces will be loose at work station) | 3 | Number of Pieces |
Files From ArcWorks
Step 4. Reflect on the Results and the Process
- Viewing the latest revision
- Node updated 2011-01-26 14:09 by mme4801