Why Did They Make It That Way?

Design and Engineering

Harley Davidson Birth of the V Rod Worksheet

1. What was the problem Harley Davidson faced in this video?

2. Was brainstorming used in the making of the new V-Rod?

3. List some examples of the research conducted as they tried to build the new V-Rod:

Harley Davidson Birth of the V Rod Worksheet

4. List some problems encountered in the making of the V-Rod prototype:

5. What manufacturing process is used to form the V-Rod frame?

6. How was information about the new motorcycle communicated?

7. How long did it take to develop the new motorcycle?

Look at this photograph of some common items.

Table for items in photograph1-Cosmetic brush

2-Hair clip

3-Clothespin

4-Cotton glove

5-Marshmallow

6-Craft stick

7-Wood toothpick

8-Foam paintbrush

9-Nail file

10-Crayon

11-Foam ear plugs

12-Breath mint

13-Safety pin

14-Pencil

15-Philips head screwdriver

Design and Engineering• Why do you think these items were made the way they were?• Why were they thought up in the first place?• Why are some made out of metal, or plastic, or wood, or

fabric?• Why aren’t they larger or smaller than this?• Have you used some of these items?• Are there things you like about them?• Things that you did not like?• Design and Engineering helped create the many things we

used every day.

Vocabulary

•Design: The process of identifying a want or need and find a way to satisfy it.•Engineering: The business of studying everything around us so we can create designs to make our world better.

•Sometimes things that are designed and engineered create problems such as pollution and waste. However, most designed and engineered products have helped people live better, healthier, happier lives. Also, design and engineering take a lot of time and effort. For example, how many steps do you think it would take to create a vitamin pill? Would you believe over fifty?!

•Here are some actual names of steps used in making coated vitamin pills: material extraction; pulverization; powder dispensing; binding; granulation; screening; lubrication; dry milling; mixing; compression; liquefaction, etc.

The Design Process•Because the design and engineering process

can be very complicated, engineers follow rules to make sure they don’t waste time or money.• Even worse, some failed designs could be

dangerous to people.• The rules that help engineers turn designs into

usable products are called the Design Process.

Example of a Design Process1.Identify a problem2.Ask why the problem exists3.Come up with a solution to the problem4.Try out the solution to make sure it

works5.If it did not work, go back to finding

another answer6.If it did work, share it with others who

need that problem solved, too

Directions:

•Follow the Design Process steps in the table provided to see if you can create a better design for any of the 15 items in the photograph shown earlier.• Identify a problem in step 1 and continue to write your solution ideas in the remaining steps.

Sketching•An Engineer Notebook is simply a notebook or journal of notes, sketches, ideas, and thoughts an engineer has while he or she is in the process of designing. • If you were to make a sketch (simple drawing) of an improved version of the item you chose in the Design Process chart, what would it look like?

Example of a triple-thick breath mint to make it last longer

•Sketch your idea in the graph provided as if it were a page in your own engineer notebook. •You can use a pencil or a pen. •Don’t worry too much about a perfect drawing. Sketches are just to get the ideas on paper to begin with.

Reverse Engineering

•Reverse Engineering is when designers and engineers look at all the different parts of something one at a time to see how it was made.• That way it can be studied in detail to see if

there is a way to make it even better through the design process. Here is an example of a reverse engineered wooden clothespin:

Reverse Engineering

• If you were a designer, what would you do to make this better? •Think of anything about its shape, color, size, weight, number of pieces, types of materials used etc. •Pick one of those attributes about the clothespin and write on your paper how you would make it better