Design World

  • Home
  • Technologies
    • 3D CAD
    • Electronics • electrical
    • Fastening & Joining
    • Factory automation
    • Linear Motion
    • Motion Control
    • Test & Measurement
    • Sensors
    • Fluid power
  • Learn
    • Ebooks / Tech Tips
    • Engineering Week
    • Future of Design Engineering
    • MC² Motion Control Classrooms
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
  • LEAP AWARDS
  • Leadership
    • 2022 Voting
    • 2021 Winners
  • Design Guide Library
  • Resources
    • Subscribe!
    • 3D Cad Models
      • PARTsolutions
      • TraceParts
    • Digital Issues
      • Design World
      • EE World
    • Women in Engineering
  • Supplier Listings

An Engineer’s Greatest Design Challenges: Part 1

By atesmeh | January 28, 2013

Share

In late 2012, Product Design & Development (PD&D) conducted its annual Time-to-Market survey. Each year, the data is collected from hundreds of individuals to help gauge the ever-changing role of the design engineer in the marketplace.

As in years past, time-to-market was noted as one of the greatest challenges design engineers face, however, and perhaps as a result of the volatile global economy, time-to-market pressures only made it into the top three. In 2012, both controlling costs (35.3% of respondents) and project management (30.9%) eclipsed improving time-to-market (19.1%) as the most significant challenge.

Component selection was a distant fourth (10.3%), with a few engineers noting corporate bureaucracy (which I’d lump in with project management) as their top challenge. Others added “innovation” as a top challenge, while another engineer bemoaned the pains of “product performance assurance.”

Read: An Engineer’s Greatest Design Challenges: Part 2

In 2011, 30% of PD&D readers tapped testing as the top time-to-market obstacle during the design and development process. In 2012, testing remained in the top three (20.6%), but reader perspective shifted toward initial concept design (26.5%) as the most troubling stage of the development process. Initial concept design was up 4.5% from 2011.

Readying for production (23.5%) came in second and experienced an 8.5% jump from 2011. Prototyping (16.2%) overcame internal review (7.4%) for the fourth spot on the list. Prototyping saw a 4.2% jump, while internal review was nearly cut in half, affecting 13% in 2011.

It should also be noted that component specification was selected by 4% of respondents in 2011, while not a single engineer noted it in 2012.

Perhaps a representation of continuously shrinking staffs, a lack of personnel resources (27.9% of respondents) was selected as the greatest obstacle to accelerating time-to-market, up 5.9% from last year.
In 2011, documentation (34%) was the design engineer’s greatest obstacle. That figure plummeted in 2012, dropping to 11.8%.

While most categories remained consistent, customer approval (16.2%) jumped 12.2% from 2011.

Lumped into the “other” category, here are a few samples from engineers who had more specific obstacles:

  • A clear definition of what is needed [in a design], and having the definition change often.
  • Software development.
  • Optimizing features, costs, and manufacturability tradeoffs.
  • Test verification.
  • Unforeseen problems.

 

When it comes to new software features that render all others as “lesser than”, simulation capabilities (30.9% of respondents) took the top spot as the one software feature that had the greatest impact on improving development times. While the category only gained a meager 2.9% since 2011, its new reign over other features resulted from the precipitous drop-off in better CAD functionality (42% in 2011, 20.6% in 2012).

Read An Engineer’s Greatest Design Challenges: Part 2 to view more survey results.


Filed Under: Aerospace + defense

 

Related Articles Read More >

Mars helicopter receives Collier Trophy
Flexible rotary shafts to power Delta Airlines’ engines powering their first Airbus A321neo aircraft
Ontic acquires Servotek and Westcon product lines from Marsh Bellofram
Flexible rotary shafts support thrust reverser on 150 LEAP 1-A turbofan engines

DESIGN GUIDE LIBRARY

“motion

Enews Sign Up

Motion Control Classroom

Design World Digital Edition

cover

Browse the most current issue of Design World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading design engineering magazine today.

EDABoard the Forum for Electronics

Top global problem solving EE forum covering Microcontrollers, DSP, Networking, Analog and Digital Design, RF, Power Electronics, PCB Routing and much more

EDABoard: Forum for electronics

Sponsored Content

  • Industrial disc pack couplings
  • Pushing performance: Adding functionality to terminal blocks
  • Get to Know Würth Industrial Division
  • Renishaw next-generation FORTiS™ enclosed linear encoders offer enhanced metrology and reliability for machine tools
  • WAGO’s smartDESIGNER Online Provides Seamless Progression for Projects
  • Epoxy Certified for UL 1203 Standard

Design World Podcasts

July 26, 2022
Tech Tuesdays: Sorbothane marks 40 years of shock and vibration innovation
See More >
Engineering Exchange

The Engineering Exchange is a global educational networking community for engineers.

Connect, share, and learn today »

Design World
  • Advertising
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Manage your Design World Subscription
  • Subscribe
  • Design World Digital Network
  • Engineering White Papers
  • LEAP AWARDS

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search Design World

  • Home
  • Technologies
    • 3D CAD
    • Electronics • electrical
    • Fastening & Joining
    • Factory automation
    • Linear Motion
    • Motion Control
    • Test & Measurement
    • Sensors
    • Fluid power
  • Learn
    • Ebooks / Tech Tips
    • Engineering Week
    • Future of Design Engineering
    • MC² Motion Control Classrooms
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
  • LEAP AWARDS
  • Leadership
    • 2022 Voting
    • 2021 Winners
  • Design Guide Library
  • Resources
    • Subscribe!
    • 3D Cad Models
      • PARTsolutions
      • TraceParts
    • Digital Issues
      • Design World
      • EE World
    • Women in Engineering
  • Supplier Listings