Examples of translation

The following examples illustrate the translation step for a number of

problems,
starting with the lever for the corkscrew of Figure 3.3, then an example of
redesign.

A corkscrew lever
Figure 3.3 shows the lever for one of the corkscrews in the design case
study. In use it is loaded in bending. It must carry the bending moment
without deflecting to an awkward degree, it must not yield (though some
cheap corkscrews do) and it must be tough enough to withstand misuse.
Finally, it must not corrode in wine or water. The length of the lever is
specified, but the cross-section is not we are free to choose a section that
is sufficient to bear the use-loads. Given all these, the lever should be as
cheap as possible. Table 3.3 lists the translation. The design-limiting
properties are those directly relating to the constraints: modulus E, strength
y, fracture toughness K1c and corrosion resistance.
Redesign of a CD case
Music lovers will affirm that CDsthe best of themare divine. But the
cases they come in are the work of the devil (Figure 3.8). They arefor
reasons of their optical claritycalled jewel cases, but in performance they
are far from jewels. They are usually made of polystyrene (PS), chosen for
its low cost and water-clear transparency, and they are made by injection
molding and that, too, is cheap if you are making millions. Polystyrene can,
at least in principle, be recycled. But PS jewel cases crack easily, they jam
shut, the hinges break, and the corners of the case are hard and sharp
enough to inflict terminal damage on a CD. So there you have it. Decide on
the features you think really matter, and formulate
constraints, objective and free variables for the redesign of a CD case. The
way to tackle the problem is to seek a replacement material that retains the
good properties of the old one, but without the bad. Thus, we seek a
material that is optically transparent to allow the label to be read, is able to
be injection molded because this is the most economic way to make large
numbers, and is recyclable. But it must be tougher than polystyrene. Of the
materials that meet these constraints, we want the cheapest. Table 3.4
summarizes the translation. Potential design-limiting properties are optical
transparency, fracture toughness, K1c (must be better than PS), and the
ability to be injection molded and Recycled

Heat sinks for microchips

A microchip may only consume milliwatts, but this power is dissipated in a

tiny
volume, making the power density high. As chips shrink and clock speeds
grow,
overheating becomes a problem. The chip in your PC already reaches 85C,
requiring forced cooling. Multiple-chip modules (MCMs) pack as many as 130
chips on to a single substrate, and they get even hotterup to 180C.
Heating is
kept under control by attaching the chips to a heat sink (Figure 3.9), taking
pains to ensure good thermal contact between chip and sink. The heat sink
now
becomes a critical component, limiting further development of the
electronics.
How can its performance be maximized?
To prevent electrical coupling and stray capacitance between chip and heat
sink,
the heat sink must be a good electrical insulator. If it is to work with one
surface
at 180C, it must have a maximum service temperature (the temperature at
which
it can operate continuously without damage) that is at least as great as
180C.
These define the constraints. To drain heat away from the chip as fast as
possible,
it must also have the highest possible thermal conductivity, , defining the
objective.
The translation step is summarized in Table 3.5, where we assume that all
dimensions are constrained by other aspects of the design .

The design-limiting properties, clearly, are maximum service temperature

Tmax, electrical resistivity e and thermal conductivity .
HF transformer cores
An electrical transformer uses electromagnetic induction to convert one AC
voltage to another (Figure 3.10). To minimize energy loss the material must
be
a soft magnetone that is easy to magnetize and demagnetize (Chapter
15).
And to avoid eddy current losses at high frequencies it must also be an
electrical
insulator. The constraints of soft magnetic material and electrical
insulator
are very restrictivethey will screen out all but a small number of
candidates.
If the transformer is for an everyday product, the objective would be to
minimize
the cost. Table 3.6 lists the translation.

These translations are the first step in selection. In them we have identified
the
constraints; they will be used for screening. We have also identified the
objective;
it will be used for ranking. We will return to all four of these examples in
later
chapters when we know how to screen and rank.