Reflection for Design Thinking     Frederic Singh 

 “ Visualization ”                                                                                                                                            10 - 18 - 2018 

 Challenge & Selection   " You know those linear actuators we need in 4 months ? They just went to 12 month lead time . I think   we have an alternate . " The Project Manager had n't been at my desk for more than 30 seconds and my   stomach already felt like I 'd checked a text as the driver took our car over an unexpected hill . In the   semiconductor manufacturing equipment company where I work as an engineer , supplier part delays   ( and substitutions ) in the recent booming economy are a common occurrence . Typically , it 's for a minor   component with several alternates of similar shape or " form factor " and handled by a single designer .   Think " all - weather " instead of " snow " tread for your car tires . This one , however , was more involved .   The linear actuator is a central part , a sliding component used as the backbone of a lifting robot , and the   one thing that everything else ( motor , brackets , sensors , base stand , etc ... ) attaches to . No , this was not   choosing a tire , this might be swapping wheels from 14 inch to 16 inch rims or maybe 6 lug to 5 lug nut   hole pattern ! This was going to require the " What is ? " and " What if ? " of Design Thinking , a design   review relying heavily on Visualization .       Application   Not surprisingly , in manufacturing engineering you use a wide variety of visual tools and resources . The   " back of the napkin " doodle is alive and well in industry . One also comes across technical diagrams on   supplier " datasheets " , color pictures in parts catalogs and designs 3D models and creates 2D   documentation ' prints ' using computer aided design ( CAD ) software . For this design review , we used all   of these and more .      A meeting was scheduled for the following week to review the details of the current design and   determine the feasibility of the alternate supplier 's replacement linear actuator . Design reviews in   manufacturing often include technical and semi - technical people . This design review was no exception .   Invited to the meeting were a couple of attendees from Purchasing , a mechanical engineer ( me ) , an   engineering technician , a couple of manufacturing technicians and the Project Manager .      I had booked a room with a digital projector and plenty of dry erase white boards for doodling . To be   sure we all got our hands dirty , both literally and figuratively , I brought an old ( greasy ) linear actuator   from the lab for " show and tell " around the table . Each seat received a printout of the old and new   datasheets / catalogs showing dimensions and technical information . I find it 's helpful to have printouts   in front of everyone for note taking , for reference and again for doodling .      At my company , many of us have to work remotely , so I had set up a WebEx emeeting and started off by   screen sharing a PowerPoint slide show with the Project Manager ( now traveling out of state on   business ) and with the people in the room via projector . After a short discussion of the slides and   challenge at hand , we went free form and handed off the presentation to the engineering technician   manning a CAD program called CREO . The following hour plus was spent determining the " What Is ? " and   some of our " What If ? " challenges and advantages of using the alternative actuator and its impact on   our current design and parts .             Insight & Approach   The design review was very productive due to Visualization used : WebEx and PowerPoint slides , video   projectors , CREO CAD models , samples , whiteboards and datasheet / catalog handouts . Visualization was   key here , since it communicates more than just language , where the technical terms may not be familiar   to all and the discussion revolves around shapes and fit between parts . The saying , " A picture speaks a   thousand words " , was very , very , true . 

 Reflection for Design Thinking     Frederic Singh 

 “ Visualization ”                                                                                                                                            10 - 18 - 2018 

 " Linear actuator ? ? " , say the Purchasing buyers . " Oh , it 's a ' SLIDE ' . Got it . " Seeing and understanding the   technical terms in use would help them know what to look for and communicate with the alternate   supplier(s ) .   The introduction PowerPoint slide show explained the situation to all the participants and   primed the discussion . The Project Manager was able to see and participate from offsite . Looking at the   CAD and catalog diagrams of the alternate linear actuator , the technicians and I identified its different   shaped features and drew on the white boards some basic design concepts to accommodate those   features .     The visual aids , especially the linear actuator sitting on the desk , spurred a lot of discussion of the " What   Is ? " and " What If ? " of the current designs . " The screws are larger … " and " That flange feature really is n't   needed on the original design and can actually go away … " and " What if we used their industry standard   motor mount and not our custom one ? " Participants often pointed to a feature on the physical part ,   then pointed out the significance of that feature in the " where - used " example CAD models on the   projector screen .   The engineering technician was able to rotate or explode the views in CAD projection   to show how parts connected and to better make the point .      The time constraints and scope for this first design review meeting did not allow it , but follow - up   meetings would continue the " What If ? " redesign with new concept parts modeled in CAD . Seeing the   engagement of having an actual , physical object on the table to see and touch , I want to use that as a   Visualization tool going forward . I might ask for a sample alternate linear actuator or buy one from the   supplier so that people can see and handle it . Also , our company just purchased a 3D printer , a Fusion3D   F410 , for rapid prototyping . It can " print " plastic mock - ups ( up to 14x14x12.4 inch ) from CAD of some of   our concept parts for hands on discussion and validation . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: Frederic Singh, Frederic Singh
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Reflection for Design Thinking     Frederic Singh 

 “ Visualization ”                                                                                                                                            10 - 18 - 2018 

 Challenge & Selection   " You know those linear actuators we need in 4 months ? They just went to 12 month lead time . I think   we have an alternate . " The Project Manager had n't been at my desk for more than 30 seconds and my   stomach already felt like I 'd checked a text as the driver took our car over an unexpected hill . In the   semiconductor manufacturing equipment company where I work as an engineer , supplier part delays   ( and substitutions ) in the recent booming economy are a common occurrence . Typically , it 's for a minor   component with several alternates of similar shape or " form factor " and handled by a single designer .   Think " all - weather " instead of " snow " tread for your car tires . This one , however , was more involved .   The linear actuator is a central part , a sliding component used as the backbone of a lifting robot , and the   one thing that everything else ( motor , brackets , sensors , base stand , etc ... ) attaches to . No , this was not   choosing a tire , this might be swapping wheels from 14 inch to 16 inch rims or maybe 6 lug to 5 lug nut   hole pattern ! This was going to require the " What is ? " and " What if ? " of Design Thinking , a design   review relying heavily on Visualization .       Application   Not surprisingly , in manufacturing engineering you use a wide variety of visual tools and resources . The   " back of the napkin " doodle is alive and well in industry . One also comes across technical diagrams on   supplier " datasheets " , color pictures in parts catalogs and designs 3D models and creates 2D   documentation ' prints ' using computer aided design ( CAD ) software . For this design review , we used all   of these and more .      A meeting was scheduled for the following week to review the details of the current design and   determine the feasibility of the alternate supplier 's replacement linear actuator . Design reviews in   manufacturing often include technical and semi - technical people . This design review was no exception .   Invited to the meeting were a couple of attendees from Purchasing , a mechanical engineer ( me ) , an   engineering technician , a couple of manufacturing technicians and the Project Manager .      I had booked a room with a digital projector and plenty of dry erase white boards for doodling . To be   sure we all got our hands dirty , both literally and figuratively , I brought an old ( greasy ) linear actuator   from the lab for " show and tell " around the table . Each seat received a printout of the old and new   datasheets / catalogs showing dimensions and technical information . I find it 's helpful to have printouts   in front of everyone for note taking , for reference and again for doodling .      At my company , many of us have to work remotely , so I had set up a WebEx emeeting and started off by   screen sharing a PowerPoint slide show with the Project Manager ( now traveling out of state on   business ) and with the people in the room via projector . After a short discussion of the slides and   challenge at hand , we went free form and handed off the presentation to the engineering technician   manning a CAD program called CREO . The following hour plus was spent determining the " What Is ? " and   some of our " What If ? " challenges and advantages of using the alternative actuator and its impact on   our current design and parts .             Insight & Approach   The design review was very productive due to Visualization used : WebEx and PowerPoint slides , video   projectors , CREO CAD models , samples , whiteboards and datasheet / catalog handouts . Visualization was   key here , since it communicates more than just language , where the technical terms may not be familiar   to all and the discussion revolves around shapes and fit between parts . The saying , " A picture speaks a   thousand words " , was very , very , true . 

 Reflection for Design Thinking     Frederic Singh 

 “ Visualization ”                                                                                                                                            10 - 18 - 2018 

 " Linear actuator ? ? " , say the Purchasing buyers . " Oh , it 's a ' SLIDE ' . Got it . " Seeing and understanding the   technical terms in use would help them know what to look for and communicate with the alternate   supplier(s ) .   The introduction PowerPoint slide show explained the situation to all the participants and   primed the discussion . The Project Manager was able to see and participate from offsite . Looking at the   CAD and catalog diagrams of the alternate linear actuator , the technicians and I identified its different   shaped features and drew on the white boards some basic design concepts to accommodate those   features .     The visual aids , especially the linear actuator sitting on the desk , spurred a lot of discussion of the " What   Is ? " and " What If ? " of the current designs . " The screws are larger … " and " That flange feature really is n't   needed on the original design and can actually go away … " and " What if we used their industry standard   motor mount and not our custom one ? " Participants often pointed to a feature on the physical part ,   then pointed out the significance of that feature in the " where - used " example CAD models on the   projector screen .   The engineering technician was able to rotate or explode the views in CAD projection   to show how parts connected and to better make the point .      The time constraints and scope for this first design review meeting did not allow it , but follow - up   meetings would continue the " What If ? " redesign with new concept parts modeled in CAD . Seeing the   engagement of having an actual , physical object on the table to see and touch , I want to use that as a   Visualization tool going forward . I might ask for a sample alternate linear actuator or buy one from the   supplier so that people can see and handle it . Also , our company just purchased a 3D printer , a Fusion3D   F410 , for rapid prototyping . It can " print " plastic mock - ups ( up to 14x14x12.4 inch ) from CAD of some of   our concept parts for hands on discussion and validation .
### Output: 