Medical Product Design & Development

The process of product development has a series of stages that detail everything from the time the concept is conceived, to the time it is launched in the market. Engineers striving to work in the industry must have an established understanding of the product design and development stages, as well as how to develop a successful product. 

This week will cover 

• Fundamentals of product design 
• Overview of each design process and development stage 
• Products that have demonstrated social impact and economic success
• Reasons behind success of products

When developing a product, many engineering teams from different disciplines come together to provide their inputs on the project. The framework which facilitates this process is known as integrated product development. This is central to most product development projects, making it imperative for learners to understand the methodology.

This week will cover

• What Integrated Product Development (IPD) methodology is
• How design, market, and production are integrated in the process 
• Different phases of product design (with complexity and maturity)

Before a product is manufactured and actualized, engineers must carefully plan its development to meet customer demands. This helps engineers decide the features it should be developed with. It is important for learners to know the logistics involved in planning the development of a product.  

This week will cover 

• Methods for screening and identifying new product 
• How to choose the most compelling concept 
• Identifying customer needs 
• Key processes in the concept generation phase 
• How to plan for product development

A system-based design approach encompassess the development of individual components, architecture, and associated elements in a product. It also focuses on interfaces for that system in order to meet market and consumer requirements. This is a vital approach that learners must understand as it is widely required in the industry.   

This week will cover 

• Key aspects of systems engineering-based design approach 
• Defining operational concepts, requirements for subsystems 
• Verification and validation of software and hardware components 
• Systems integration

Product architecture details how the different parts of a product interface and interact with each other. This requires a schematic presentation to demonstrate the different elements involved. Learners must know about how each part in a product is designed and interfaced to develop the overall model. 

This week will cover

• Schematics of a product 
• Various functions and features 
• How each element influences final products 
• How function and form or products are integrated 
• Cost analysis of product development 
• Fundamentals of product architecture (modular and integral types)

Industrial design is the methodology concerned with developing products that are used by individuals on a daily basis, and therefore require mass production. As engineers working in the industry deal with industrial design on a daily basis, it is important to understand how a product can be developed successfully to meet market demands.

This week will cover 

• Key elements of successful industrial design 
• Role of industrial designers 
• Addressing key design challenges faced in
• Human interface 
• Aesthetics
• Physical ergonomics 
• Form and size 
• Social normal 
• Combination of functionality and art

Engineers work with computer aided design (CAD) tools to design and develop 2D and 3D models of their products. This is a hands on tool that engineers working on products must be well-versed in.

This week will cover 

• Use of CAD to create 3D models
• Use of CAD to draft engineering drawings 
• Use of CAD to perform finite element analysis in multi-physics domains.  
• Basics of popular software used in the industry

During the design process, products are developed to be reliable, available, and maintainable. They are put through a series of tests to ensure they are suitable for consumer use, and ensure design excellence. Engineers must have a strong hold on how to incorporate these considerations during the design process to ensure development of a successful product. 

This week will cover 

• Importance of design of reliability, availability, and maintainability for product design
• Failure mode effect analysis (FMEA) methodology to identify product risks 
• How to mitigate risks in the design and development stage 
• Different types of FMEAs

Reverse engineering is when a product is dismantled into its individual parts to understand its working. This provides insight on how the product works. Reverse engineering is commonly applied in the industry, making it a core methodology for engineers to understand. 

This week will cover 

• Reverse engineering 
• Procedures followed in reverse engineering (mechanical reverse engineering)
• Common 3D scanning techniques and the differences between them 
• Basics of reverse engineering software

To ensure a product is viable in the market, it must undergo the process of design for manufacturability. This ensures that the design of individual parts in a product, and the product as a whole can be manufactured with ease so that it is feasible to produce cost efficiently and in quantities required by the market. Learners must understand the principles and procedures followed to ensure a product is designed for manufacturability. 

This week will cover 

• Principles of design for manufacture and assembly (DFMA)
• Fundamental methodology for DFMA 
• Manufacturing readiness levels (MRL)
• Evaluate manufacturing maturity for each stage 
• Real-world examples of design modifications that improve manufacturing and assembly

Environmentally friendly products provide sustainable means of living. In fact, eco-friendly products are a growing trend in the industry as a focus on recycling increases. Understanding the design considerations to develop eco-friendly products is a vital skill for engineers.

This week will cover 

• Industrial trends of conscious product design (with focus on environmental safety and sustainability)
• Material sourcing 
• Process control and management 
• Product recycling stages and their impact on the environment

Before a product is launched on the market, a prototype can be developed to identify any limitations or modifications that need to be worked on. Once these modifications are made the product can be launched on a larger scale. Learners must understand the ins and outs of developing a product prototype using different methods followed in the industry.

This week will cover

• Industrial leading prototype method
• 3D printing 
• Additive manufacturing for design iterations 
• Advantages of each prototyping method 
• Methods of testing and validation

Product design and development requires an understanding of project management to oversee all dimensions of the process. This ensures that the product is successfully delivered to consumers. Learners must understand how project management breaks down the different aspects of product development.

This week will cover 

• Project management in product design 
• Product breakdown structure 
• Project schedule 
• Project budget 
• Risk registers 
• Project execution 
• Performance evaluation and feedback

Products must have a patent on them to ensure that other manufacturers do not replicate the design and sell it commercially. Patents offer rights on property for a development. It is important to know about the rights, and the process followed for putting a patent on a product. 

This week will cover 

• Patent and intellectual property (IP)
• Types of IP and their use cases 
• Formulate filing strategy 
• Prior art investigation
• Claim drafting 
• Claim refinements 
• Application procedure 
• Internationally protected patents

As the world progresses, new products are developed on a daily basis to meet advancements. Products must keep up with rapidly changing real-world requirements. Being up to date with modern trends in product design is important for budding engineers. 

This week will cover 

• Trends and popular methods used in the product development process 
• Real-world applications of the methods
• Industrial best practices for future product design