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General
Information
Conference Organised by
The Ad hoc Committee on 'Electronics Design'
Chairman: H. V. Beck, M.A., B.Sc.
J. L. Bliss,
E. F. Cranston, B.Sc.(Eng.),
Prof. M. W. Humphrey Davies, M.Sc.,
W. D. Mallinson, B.Sc.(Eng.), A.C.G.I.,
D. L. Marples, M.A.,
I. M. Ross, M.A., B.Sc.,
P. E. M. Sharp, B.Sc.(Eng.),
R. E. Young, B.Sc.(Eng.).
The Conference Office, at which all enquiries should be made, will be open from 9.00 a.m. on each day of the Conference.
All enquiries before the 7th February, should be addressed to the Conference Secretariat, Savoy Place, W.C.2. The telephone number is COVent Garden 1871.
Contents
The abstracts in this booklet are arranged in the order that they appear in the Conference programme.
Participation in Discussion
Participants wishing to be called upon by the Chairman to take part in any of the discussions at the Conference are asked to notify the Secretariat before or during the Conference, indicating the Session or Sessions in which they wish to be called.
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Programme
Session 1: 10.30 a.m. Monday, 8th February 1965
(Coffee will be served from 10.00 a.m.)
Chairman:
R. C. G. WILLIAMS, Ph.D., B.Sc.(Eng.), A.C.G.I.
OPENING ADDRESS BY
SIR WILLIS JACKSON, D.Sc., D.Eng., LL.D., F.R.S.
H. V. BECK, M.A., B.Sc.
`The work and aims of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Electronics Design'
R. E. YOUNG, B.Sc.(Eng.)
`The problem of definitions'
S. FEDIDA, B.Sc.(Eng.), A.C.G.I.
`The design engineer and equipment specifications'
Session 2: 2.00 p.m. Monday, 8th February 1965
Chairman: D. L. MARPLES, M.A.
T. J. ALLEN, S.M.,
`Studies of the problem solving process in engineer ing design'
W. D. MALLINSON, B.Sc.(Eng.), A.C.G.I.
`User and design environments'
J. L. BLISS
`The work of the B.B.C. Designs Department'
Session 3: 5.00 p.m. Monday, 8th February 1965
Chairman:
PROFESSOR M. W. HUMPHREY DAVIES, M.Sc.
PROFESSOR M. H. N. Potok, M.A., B.Sc., Ph.D.
Teaching users the principles of design'
A. R. OWENS, M.Sc.
'The teaching of electronics design'
COCKTAIL PARTY at Savoy Place
6.30 p.m.
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Session 4: 9.30 a.m. Tuesday, 9th February 1965
Chairman: G. MILLINGTON, M.A., B.Sc.
G. W. A. DUMMER, M.B.E.
`Future microelectronics techniques and their effect on design'
R. C. WINTON, B.Sc.(Eng.), A.C.G.I.
`Reliability in design'
Session 5: 11.00 a.m. Tuesday, 9th February 1965
Chairman: R. E. YOUNG, B.Sc.(Eng.)
D. L. MARPLES, M.A.
`Models of the design process'
H. V. BECK, M.A., B.Sc.
`Logical, random and creative elements in design processes'
L. BRUCE ARCHER
`Systematic methods in design'
Session 6: 2.00 p.m. Tuesday, 9th February 1965
Chairman: B. MARSDEN
P. E. M. SHARP, B.Sc.(Eng.)
`Appearance in electronics design'
E. J. MARSHALL
`The job of the industrial designer'
B. SHACKEL, M.A.
`Ergonomics in the design of electronic equipment'
S. C. DUNN, M.Sc.(Eng.)
`The role of the critic in electronics design'
Session 7: 5.00 p.m. Tuesday, 9th February 1965
Chairman: A. G. WRAY, M.A.
C. C. GEE
`The role of the technical Press in providing information for the
electronics designer'
S. A. WALES
`Circuit design information, its generation, communication and
significance to the design problem'
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The Work and Aims of the Ad Hoc Committee on Electronics Design by H. V. BECK
The circumstances leading up to the formation of the ad hoc Committee on Electronics Design will be briefly described, followed by an examination of the need to study fundamental processes used in electronics design.
The area at present being studied by the Committee, which could be described briefly as "optimising processes in the design of electronic equipment", will be set in the perspective of other aspects of electronics design and some work already carried out will be reviewed. Against this background, reference will be made to the organisational procedures and the information required for the design of electronic equipment and the problems of training electronics designers.
Some features which may distinguish design processes in the electronics field from corresponding processes in, say, the mechanical engineering field, will be put forward. At the same time, the use and supplementing of results of studies that have been made in other fields will be advocated.
Finally, the preliminary nature of the Conference and the need for further observation and experiment by electronics designers, teachers and managers will be stressed and some reference will be made to possible arrangements for sponsoring and co-ordinating such activities.
Mr. Beck is with Marconi Instruments Ltd.
The Problems of Definitions by R. E. YOUNG
Design appears to be capable of being defined in at least three ways:
(a) In its most limited form as derived from "dessiner" - modern French - "to draw". This is in line with the conception of Registered Design which is concerned essentially with appearance.
(b) In its own right as a process. Such an approach is in conformity with the usage of the word in the titles of courses, e.g. 'Electrical Machinery Design'.
It may be worth noting that design of this calibre can lead to a patentable invention, whereas that of (a) in general cannot.
(c) In terms of what is usually accepted as the end product of the design process. This end product is the complete and final specification of the equipment or system from which it is to be manufactured without further instructions having to be issued.
The Committee is concerned with design as a process and some working definitions have been proposed.
(i) Working Definition of Design—Design is the process of establishing relationships between all relevant characteristics of an equipment.
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(ii) Working Definition of Development - Development is the process of refinement by which the characteristics of an equipment may be changed without altering basic relationships.
(iii) Working Definition of Research - Research is the `course of critical investigation' undertaken to discover causes of behaviour or to determine values of physical parameters.
(iv) Working Definition of Engineering - Engineering is the art of designing and constructing (electronic) equipment and systems.
The implications of these terms will be discussed.
Mr. Young is a consultant.
The Design Engineer and Equipment Specifications by S. FEDIDA
The specification of an equipment which is being designed for production is of fundamental importance for several reasons.
The equipment has to meet a certain need (fulfil a certain function) and in the fulfilling of this need it must comply with a number of detailed provisions, such as safety, ease of use, maintainability. It also must operate in a certain environment.
The job of the designer is to draw up a detailed specification, starting from the broad requirements, which have been stated elsewhere. These detailed specifications serve as a guide to the design team, when design work begins.
Where equipment is to be assembled to make up a system, it is essential that the guiding specification given to the designer should be based on a typical system, and not just on the equipment. Similarly, the detailed target specification should cover typical systems as well as the component parts of these systems.
Mr. Fedida is with the Marconi Company Ltd.
Studies of the Problem Solving Process in Engineering Design by T. J. ALLEN
A number of instances have been discovered in which two or more engineering teams are performing the same task in parallel, under identical government contracts. The paper will present a methodology for the study of engineering design, a means for comparing approaches, design strategies and information sources of the design teams. Results will be presented from the first three project pairs studied. The three projects involve the design of a passive device for transfer of modulation between two coherent light beams; the design of a large and rather unique antenna system ; and the design of an unmanned roving vehicle whose purpose is to determine the composition of the moon's surface.
Mr. Allen is at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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User and Design Environments by W. D. MALLINSON
Suggestions are made as to which design characteristics must be emphasised in designing electronic equipment for various applications or User Environments.
The effect of the Design Environment (or circumstances in which equipment is designed) are then considered. The Design Environment is conditioned by three main influences, namely:
A. the designer's training, experience, outlook and natural ability.
B. the policies, resources, and attitudes of mind of the organisation in which the designer works.
C. the nature and form of the User's specification.
Mr. Mallinson is at the Admiralty Surface Weapons Establishment.
The Work of the B.B.C. Designs Department by J. L. BLISS
The B.B.C. Designs Department is one of a group of specialist departments which serve the Operations and Maintenance departments of the Engineering Division. Its task is to advance the techniques of broadcasting by critical reviews of current practices, and by evaluating new ideas emerging within itself or elsewhere. Promising ideas are taken through the stages of breadboard experiment and field trials with prototypes to the production of final designs for service use. This work is greatly facilitated by access to a working broadcasting system, and by continuing contacts with users and other specialist departments. A typical feature of this kind of design work is that it usually begins without a detailed specification, which emerges as the project proceeds.
Mr. Bliss is with the B.B.C. Designs Department.
Teaching Users the Principles of Design by PROFESSOR M. H. N. POTOK
This contribution deals with one of the practices at the Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham, where officers trained for technical staff duties which require some knowledge of electronics spend a proportion of their time designing and building a piece of equipment to a given specification.
The students work in small teams under a nominated student leader and have to keep to a closely defined time-table. The solution is entirely their own but they are encouraged to take advice from a nominated academic consultant and may ask for limited practical help from a nominated Experimental Officer and a Workshop Officer.
The group reports at frequent intervals to a director of studies on whose experience in staff work they rely to advise them on external contacts and visits which they may find useful and on reporting procedures.
Some weeks before the end of the course the teams have to produce reports on their projects and by way of
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a graduation ceremony at the end of the course they present their equipment and demonstrate its performance to a" audience, drawn from the Services, R & D Establishments, Industry and the Universities, which is invited and does express criticism and ask questions.
Professor Potok is at the Royal Military College of Science.
The Teaching of Electronics Design by A. R. OWENS
Electronics Design includes a knowledge of facts (device characteristics, standard configurations of circuits, etc.) and also an attitude which enables this body of knowledge to be put to use.
Teaching the subject involves not only the presentation of factual material, but also the engendering of a philosophy of design which will result in efficient use of these facts.
A design philosophy in turn determines in part which facts are considered necessary—for example, how much should a transistor circuit designer know of basic semiconductor theory or of details of device manufacturing processes? The designer's attitude itself decides the final answer. A teaching course must therefore make available a broad range of seemingly relevant background material. Although circuit theory has in the past been conveniently divided into analysis teaching and synthesis (design), the present emphasis on precision circuits and reliable and predictable designs has blurred the defining line—a circuit cannot be designed unless it has been completely understood; the aim of any designer should ideally be to know precisely the movement of electrons in all parts of his circuit!
A healthy design outlook can be developed by means of the project type of practical work, where a student, in solving his problems, learns for himself the relative importance of the masses of facts which he has acquired, and learns to select the knowledge which is relevant to his current problem. At the same time he finds that any design rules are only guides, and that he has to exercise his own judgment, so that design of a high standard still embraces a factor which is personal to him and reflects his own design philosophy.
Mr. Owens is at the University College of N. Wales.
Future Microelectronics Techniques and their effect on Design by G. W. A. DUMMER
Thin film and semiconductor integrated technology is now reasonably established in the field of low power electronics. While the reduction in size is important, it considerably affects both constructional and high density packaging techniques, particularly as regards interconnections which must be ultra-closely spaced. The importance of multi-layer printed circuit boards and improved connection techniques is stressed.
The reliability of microelectronic assemblies of various types is examined, it being noted that gains in reliability are now established as being from 10-50
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times that of equivalent conventional components. The effect on unit assembly size and replacement policy is discussed.
The future of electron beam technology, now in the research stage, will be considered, i e. the application of electron and ion beams for cutting, selective etching, welding, and metal and dielectric deposition. Future packing densities may possibly be two orders greater than at present.
Mr. Dummer is at the Royal Radar Establishment.
Reliability in Design by R. C. WINTON
Reliability is not just statistical quality control, but includes operability, maintainability, and total cost. The initial design must also take account of the system reliability.
After a design is completed, the designer should still state the residual causes of failure. This, together with a study of the failures in use, provide starting points for improving reliability further.
Frequently the designer blames production for unreliability, forgetting that it is he who specifies the production processes and that it is his responsibility to assess whether production is capable of using a given technique successfully.
Failures are often classified by symptoms whereas production has to deal with causes.
Is it part of the designer's responsibility to ensure that the manufactured item is in accordance with his design? If not whose responsibility is it ?
In the right circumstances designs could be improved by employing a reliability engineer.
Mr. Winton is with Mallards Ltd.
Models of the Design Process by D. L. MARPLES
A variety of models have been evolved to describe the processes of human problem solving; some of them have been developed from observations of the activities of design teams. They draw attention to features such as the hierarchical nature of the decisions, the effect of variation in the number of feasible solutions, the importance of information and methods of simulation, the frequency of iterative processes and the variety in the classes of sub-problems encountered in any problem of consequence. The models are described and the interaction of decision, logic, fact and explanation is briefly explored.
Mr. Marples is at the University of Cambridge, Engineering Laboratory.
Logical, Random and Creative Elements in Design Processes by H. V. BECK
We are probably at the stage in understanding design corresponding to that of the ancient Greeks in understanding matter. We should postulate elements of design and check their validity. They may turn
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out to be like earth, air, fire and water, proposed by Empedocles as the constituents of matter or they may correspond to the atomistic approach of Anaximander.
Three elements in design processes are proposed on a heuristic basis:
1. A logical element. If the design processes were made up of this element alone, all the required information would be available and a perfect plan could be made to reach a fully known objective.
2. A random element. Design consisting wholly of this element would take the form of arbitrarily combining characteristics and techniques against unknown needs with a very low but finite probability of satisfying one.
3. A creative element. Perfectly creative (or intuitive) design would result in a requirement being satisfied without fore-knowledge of the requirement or of the characteristics and techniques necessary to satisfy it.
Design in practice consists of a mixture of these elements. The "mix" for electronic equipment may differ considerably from that for other types of equipment. Examples will be given of the role of these elements in the design of electronic equipment.
Mr. Beck is with Marconi Instruments Ltd.
Systematic Methods in Design by L. BRUCE ARCHER
There is a class of design problems in which a major pre-occupation of the designer is to weigh the significance of imponderable factors, such as aesthetics, ethics and preference, against ponderables such as cost, strength, weight, etc. The author's main preoccupation is with a sub-set, the design of hospital equipment. It is characteristic of the whole class that limitations in means (design for production, properties of materials, etc.) are no longer dominant. When materials of almost any desired properties are available and where almost any desired shape can be made economically, the designer is deprived of easy rules of thumb and must turn to the analysis of real functional and user needs. Hence the recent growth of interest in the application of systematic methods to design.
However, a design decision theory which is to accommodate these imponderables is not as easy to develop as it might be in some other design areas. Attempts to do so have brought design methodologists into intimate contact with the work of applied experimental psychologists and system engineers. The use of computers both as tools and as models has become established.
At the same time, electronics engineers and system engineers have similarly broken through the means barrier, and have had to come to grips with problems arising from the limitations of human perception, judgment, motivation and preference. On this common ground a generalised design discipline for man-machine systems is emerging.
Mr. Bruce Archer is at the Royal College of Art.
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Appearance in Electronics Design by P. E. M. SHARP
The relative importance of appearance of electronic equipment will relate to the market in which it is sold. The equipment will vary from domestic, where appearance may be a prime factor (i.e. radio, television, telephone), to one of pieces of research equipment. It should not, however, as so often happens, be ignored, or considered after other aspects of design have been completed. It is only by consideration of appearance and the user environment in the initial stages that the best overall optimum result is obtained.
The importance of a progressive approach to appearance in world markets is becoming more essential in the competitive environment in which electronic equipment is sold. In this context the use of an industrial designer in the design team is advocated to ensure that modern methods (not necessarily in electronics) are considered. Appearance must also be considered in the more general aspect of the Company's 'image' or 'house style' so that all industrial design (i.e. architecture, print and packaging, publicity) are co-ordinated to make the maximum impact on the potential buyer.
Illustrations show a wide field of approach to the problems of appearance.
Mr. Sharp is with Intertherm Ltd.
The Job of the Industrial Designer by E. J. MARSHALL
The job of an Industrial Designer, whether employed as a consultant or as a staff designer, must be to design objects which are more saleable and which add to the prestige of the respective company. Although the designer responsible for the product may be a specialist, he and other designers should nevertheless be involved in all the visual manifestations of the company's activities. In this connection design consultant organisations employing several specialists have something particular to offer.
The speaker intends laying stress on the importance of an adequate design budget, a planned design programme, a board interest and close liaison between design, engineering and sales. In short, the company's design policy with the emphasis on corporate imagery.
Mr. Marshall is with Eric Marshall Associates Ltd.
Ergonomics in the Design of Electronic Equipment by B. SHACKEL
Ergonomics is the study of the relation between man and the environment in which he works, particularly the application of anatomical, physiological and psychological knowledge to the problems arising therefrom. In the design of equipment Ergonomics, or Human Factors (the title used in the U.S.A.), places major emphasis upon efficiency, as measured by the speed and accuracy of human performance, in the use and operation of .equipment; allied with efficiency are the safety and comfort of the
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operator. It is suggested that the most important question is not "Will the equipment work ?" but "Will the average operator, easily and without error, be able to make it work as efficiently as its designer can ?"
In this paper a brief review is given of why and how Ergonomic knowledge can help to improve the design of equipment. The relevant biological sciences and their kind of contribution are outlined. The field of work is described in terms of an analysis into three sectors of interaction between the operator and his work, namely Man-Machine, Man-Workspace and Man-Environment sectors. Examples of Ergonomic research and its application to the design of specific machines are given ip all three sectors.
Mr. Shackel is with E.M.I. Electronics Ltd.
The Role of the Critic in Electronics Design by S. C. DUNN
The several activities which contribute to the design of electronic equipment involve decisions which may be criticised in the same way as a work of art. But whereas art criticism begins when the work is finished the work of an engineering designer should be under continual review. The central problem is how to allow the designer enough freedom to make the highly individual choices which distinguish the best design and at the same time curb his activities to what is possible with limited money, time, space and labour.
Criticism cannot begin too early. The client's wants must be distinguished from his needs. Criticism must be made from many points of view, promptly and in a manner which commands respect.
An account is given of experience in criticism, together with proposals for making it more effective.
Mr. Dunn is with B.A.C. (Operating) Ltd.
The Role of the Technical Press in providing Information for the Electronics Designer by C. C. GEE
In the world network of scientific, technical and commercial information, the technical periodical publisher plays a key role. His task is to select from vast incoming sources of information and data, material considered to be of direct and immediate value to different groups of readers.
The basic information needs of the electronics designer are for (1) design ideas stimulation; (2) specific information and data on new products and services; (3) comparative data to help him in his selection; (4) ready means for obtaining quickly additional information direct from source; and (5) the correlation and interpretation of information indicating design trends. In addition there is an increasing need among electronic designers to have ready access to sources of commercial information, i.e. product availability, delivery, price, market trends, user needs etc.
Mr. Gee is with Heywood and Co., Ltd.
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Circuit Design Information, its Generation, Communication and Significance to the Design Problem by S. A. WALES
Methods by which electronics circuit design engineers obtain data to enable them to design functional circuits and systems are discussed. Results of acceptance testing and field experience are considered to be the most important in the establishment of design information.
Particular emphasis is given to the effect of such informatio" on costs and achieved reliability. Several examples are chosen which illustrate the degree of assurance with which component parts can be obtained for, and designed into, functional circuits.
Two features which affect the practical usefulness of circuit design data are its significance and method of presentation. Various methods that can be used to assess and to communicate details of the performance of component parts are discussed and recommendations are made particularly for the need for cooperative efforts. Other data, such as dimensional details which indirectly affect circuit design performance is mentioned only with regard to the need for standardisation of presentation methods.
Mr. Wales is with Miniature Electronic Components Ltd.
C.Baldwin, Ltd., Tunbridge Wells 187/65
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