EDITOR’S COMMENT
CCOHANNSTGAENT
IT IS A key tenet of engineering that,
however much the tools and processes
may change, the underlying principles
do not. While true, however, what this
perhaps overlooks is the way in which
changes in tools and methodology can
and do recon gure the design process.
An example of this can be seen with
additive manufacturing technologies. By
allowing geometries to be produced that
are either impossible or impractical using
traditional subtraction techniques, these
have forced designers to think di erently
about what shape the nal product may be.
Another example is generative design.
For those unfamiliar with the concept,
this essentially involves engineers input
design goals into the generative design
software, along with parameters such
as performance or spatial requirements,
materials, manufacturing methods, and
cost constraints. The software explores all
the possible permutations of a solution and
generates design alternatives. It tests and
learns from each iteration what works.
By this method, a design is arrived
at that meets the given goals, without
the constraints imposed by traditional
aesthetics or manufacturing techniques.
This can mean some designs challenge the
idea of what such a product ‘should’ look
like and can even – depending on the criteria
– dispense with such apparent design
fundamentals as symmetry!
This can seem jarring to the traditional
engineering mentality. Designers have long
had to be concerned as much with the ‘how’
of a design as the ‘what’ and have shaped
their products accordingly. No longer
having those constraints can be liberating,
but also bewildering.
So, while fundamental engineering
principles are unchanging, the rules
whereby they are applied are not. Indeed,
for design engineers, it is safe to assume
that change will be a constant.
Paul Fanning, Editor
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