kim
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discussion_3.docxI need 1 discussion post and 2 replies
Question:
The course material this week specifically talks about working the logistics and maintenance concepts early in the process so it can feed into design. In this discussion, I would like each of you to pick an example of a system, and then list as many maintenance and logistics concepts related to that system as you can, and how that could and would be a design input to the system. Simple example: Car requires oil changes, I have to design a removable plug to let oil out and make oil filter accessible for changing).
Each of you start your OWN thread on a system of your choice (try to pick different ones! See what others have done first - and PUT THE SYSTEM CHOICE IN THE TITLE OF THE THREAD) and then go to everyone else's thread and try to find concepts they missed, and suggest additions to their list.
1.
Matt
As a system must be designed with more than strictly performance in mind (Mastro, lecture), looking at and thinking the logistics and maintenance concepts of the system as design inputs can be very insightful. A bicycle is an interesting system to look at in this regard as it's purely mechanical. Some logistics and maintenance concepts are as follows:
· Replaceable tires and tire tubes as tires and tube will have leaks or rupture.
· A pressure-release valve for the tires, especially if no suspension system is present. This will greatly prolong the life of the tire.
· Replaceable wheels as the spokes may become bent or broken after prolonged use or an impact.
· An easily accessible derailleur in the event of the chain breaking and when it needs to be cleaned and oiled.
· Easily accessible points of attachement for the pedals, seat, brakes, and handlebars in the event that they need to be replaced.
The overbearing theme for all of these is modularity. A bicyle is a relatively simple and old system that users often tend to customize to their preference. Therefore, the biggest design concept is to make each necessary element of the bike accessible and replaceable. While specialists may be needed for obscure issues, the vast majority of problems in the system can be addressed by the user, especially in the internet age.
I'd be interested to hear if anyone has additional observations.
Among all those systems we interact with in everyday life, I would like to talk about laptops for this topic. Laptop is now becoming increasingly necessary to all of us as a result of the accessibility as well as its important role in learning, research, working, and gaming ---- even now I am typing on one. Laptop is still vulnerable in a sense that I believe everyone has had the terrible experience when you went around and ask for help in order to bring your laptop back online, no matter it was a software issue or a hardware one. The discussion will look into laptop as a system based on maintenance and logistics concepts.
When someone is using a laptop, a common issue is to have water or other liquid spilled on the keyboard. Once you find yourself in this situation, the first thing always to do is shutting down the power to prevent having short circuit. Users could shut down instantly with a long press on the power button. Besides, I would design removable keyboard cap to help air-dry the liquid. Removable keyboard cap also makes it easier to wipe out dust. The other thing is that laptop requires screen cleaning, so I need to design a glass layer which is friendly to detergent and wipers on the top of LED display layer. The laptop case requires resistance to scratch and stab, as a result an oxide layer is needed at the outside. Sometimes the adapter of charger breaks down, while the cord is still fine. Therefore, the charger is designed to be made up of an adapter and a detachable cord. All these maintenance issues listed above belong to organizational maintenance because they involved with operations taken place at consumer operational site, which is either a user’s residence or a retailer store. Maintenance at this level normally is limited to simple actions.
The next level of maintenance is intermediate maintenance. In this case it is service centers. Usually in a city a service center geographically covers an area in which serval retailers could be found. If a laptop suffers a problem that could not be settled in a store, such as a broken screen, it will be sent to a service center to be repaired by more skilled and professional technicians. Since laptop requires screen changes, I will design as fewer circuit board as possible that lay behind the screen. Battery also requires replacement, especially when a laptop has been using for a long period of time. Thus I will design a removable case for battery using screws and clip-on structure. Additionally, the battery case should be on the side of main board, so it has accessibility to power main board while doing battery change dose not easily touch the board. The last maintenance issue at this level that I could imagine is to have one or more jacks disabled. For sake of this I have to lay out the jacks away from other electronic components with certain distance then it is possible to replace a jack instead of changing the whole board.
If a laptop is seriously damaged, it will probably be sent back to producer/manufacturer. This comes to the supplier/depot maintenance. Maybe it is the mother board that is damaged by spilled water, or the laptop splits up into pieces. At this stage the factory will recycle whatever material that is still useful, and send the customer a new one. Since a laptop requires recycling, my design have to meet the environmental standards like lead free. Also, in order to facilitate the efficiency of recycling I will design and lay out the circuit by modules.
