ME 362

Mechanical Engineering
Design
Part 8.1

Muhammad Ilyas
 Concept Evaluation

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 Concept Evaluation

After design concepts have been developed they must be reviewed

When evaluating concepts, it is recommended to start with many
concepts and then refine
Evaluation involves comparison followed by decision making
There could be two types of comparisons:
ABSOLUTE comparison, all the concepts are compared with some set of
requirements
RELATIVE comparison, all the concepts are compared with each other

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 Concept Evaluation

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 Methods for Concept Evaluation

Comparison Based on Absolute Criteria

Pughs Concept Selection Method
Measurement Scales
Weighted Decision Matrix
Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)

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 Pughs Concept Selection Method

This method compares each concept relative to a

reference datum concept.
Is it Better Than Worse Than or Same as
An Individual may be best to create an idea A small group
is better at selecting ideas

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 Pughs Concept Selection Method
Steps:
1. Choose the criteria by which the concepts will be evaluated
(e.g. QFD, or ask the group members to write some criteria
for evaluation)
2. Formulate the decision matrix : the criteria and the concepts
are written in rows and column
3. Clarify the design concepts : all the team members should
have a common understanding about each concept
4. Choose the datum concept : one concept is selected by the
team as a reference

Criterion Concept 1 Concept 2

DATUM concept
Cost
Opening /
Closing
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 Pughs Concept Selection Method

Steps :
5. Run the matrix : do comparative evaluation. If the concept is
Better give it (+), if Worse (), for Same (S)
6. Evaluate the ratings : the sum of (+), () and (S) is determined for
each concept. Reject the concept with high ()

Criterio DATUM Concept 1 Concept 2

n
Cost (minus) + (plus)
Opening/ S (same) (minus)
SUM of +
closing 3 2
SUM of 2 1
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 Pughs Concept Selection Method
e.g. : CD Casing Evaluation / Comparison of 5 concepts against the
standard CD casing using Pughs method

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 Pughs Concept Selection Method
e.g. : CD Casing Evaluation / Comparison of 5 concepts against the
standard CD casing using Pughs method

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 Weighted Decision Matrix Method
In this method, the concepts are evaluated by ranking the design
criteria with weighted factors

Scale / weights Scale / weights

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 Weighted Decision Matrix Method

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 Weighted Decision Matrix Method

Steps:
1. Identify the Design Selection
Criteria :
A. Material Cost
B. Manufacturing Cost
C. Repair Cost
D. Durability
E. Reliability
F. Time to produce

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 Weighted Decision Matrix Method
Steps :
2. Determine the weighting factor for each criteria:
A good way to proceed is to construct the hierarchical objective tree

Next we plan for the weights

Note: 0.6+0.4 = 1
Note: 0.3+0.5+0.2 = 1
Note: 0.6+0.3+0.1 = 1
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 Weighted Decision Matrix Method
Steps :
2. Determine the weighting factor for each criteria:
A good way to proceed is to construct the hierarchical objective tree

The weight factors are calculated as

For material cost: 0.3*0.6*1.0 = 0.18

For durability: 0.6*0.4*1.0 = 0.24
And so on

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 Weighted Decision Matrix Method
Steps :
3. Create the Weighted Decision Matrix

Known or from experience

Rating = weight factor * score
As defined previously e.g. 0.18 * 8 = 1.44
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 Weighted Decision Matrix Method
Steps :
3. Create the Weighted Decision Matrix

The Weighted Decision Matrix shows that the best overall

design concept would be Concept No. 2
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