The main purpose of the Guides is to supplement the conventional, and more formal, design teaching, thus helping to make students' use of design project time more efficient. Three types of information are to be considered:
The main market for the Guides is intended to be the engineering student and thus the range of data is limited to that with which students might be expected to become familiar during their courses. In some Guides a degree of simplification has been applied where it has been in the students' interests and for concise presentation. The procedures presented should accord with current practice but, because of the simplifications, it cannot be anticipated that the resulting designs will necessarily be the optimum in terms of cost, ease of manufacture, life or performance.
METHOD OF USE
It is intended that the use of the Guides should be during engineering design project work. Projects throughout courses are a powerful mode of learning, used to supplement the more formal lectures and tutorials by applying engineering science principles and technology to open-ended requirements with skill and judgement.
SEED has been concerned for some time about the development of a Curriculum for Engineering Design and commissioned a report (1) that was published in 1985. This report has been widely accepted as a valuable contribution to engineering design education. The Design Procedural Guides should be used in the context of this Curriculum for Design, together with the series of Preparation Material for Design Teaching as part of a coordinated effort to improve design education. The Guides should not be regarded as a substitute for fundamental teaching but as an aid to the student in managing design coursework and in making acceptable decisions. They will apply the principles of engineering science and, as appropriate, supply limited (but real) manufacturers' information for the selection of components.
Reference:
1. Curriculum for Design - Engineering Undergraduate Courses SEED 1985