chapter 13 creating solutions - g-w learning 13 creating solutions did you know? mechanical drawings...

Chapter 13CreatingSolutions

Did You Know?

� Mechanical drawings use symbolsthat help explain features of thedrawings. These symbols are stan-dard so everyone who looks at adrawing can understand it. Differ-ent types of drawings use differentsets of symbols.

� The symbols used in weldingdrawings explain how the partsshould be welded together. Somecommon welding symbols includethe following:

Seam

Weld “V” groove

Weld all around

Diameter

Drill through

Countersink

Door

Window

Symbols used in engineering draw-ings include the following:

Some common architectural sym-bols include the following:

ObjectivesThe information given in this chapterwill help you do the following:� Define ideation.

� Explain brainstorming, graphicorganizers, and questioning.

� Describe a rough sketch.� Describe a refined sketch.� Summarize the procedure for cre-

ating sketches.� Identify the difference between

shading and shadowing.� Create an isometric sketch.� Produce an oblique sketch.� Explain and create a perspective

sketch.

285

Key WordsThese words are used in this chapter. Do you knowwhat they mean?

boxbrainstormingconecylinderelements of designgraphic organizerideationisometric sketchoblique sketchorthographic drawingpictorial drawingpyramidquestioningrefined sketchrough sketchshadingshadowingsketchspherethumbnail sketch

The design process can be dividedinto two sections: problem seeking andproblem solving. The first two steps ofthe process are problem seeking. In stepone, the problem is identified, and adesign brief is created. The problem isthen researched in step two. Both ofthese steps deal with seeking informa-tion about the problem. Step three is thefirst step to involve solving the prob-lem. In this step, the designers begin tothink of ways the problem can besolved. They will develop many ideasand draw sketches for each of the ideas.See Figure 13-1. The sketches will helpto explain their ideas to others. Theideas and sketches developed will thenbe refined, modeled, and tested in thenext steps of the design process.

Exploring Ideas Some people may come to this step

and think they already know whattheir final solution will be. They might

feel that developing a number of solu-tions is a waste of time. This is thewrong attitude to have. Designersmust explore a number of ideas. Themore ideas explored, the better thedesign will be. Designers should gen-erate original and creative ideas. Theyhave to think broadly and develop awide variety of ideas. If designers usenarrow thinking, their designs will notbe unique. For example, imagine youare designing a telephone. You shouldexplore many different ideas (broadthinking). One idea may be a phonefitting in your ear like a hearing aid.Another idea could be a digital phonewith a computer video display. SeeFigure 13-2. These are two uniquesolutions to the problem of a new tele-phone. You would not want to createideas like a red desk phone and a blackdesk phone. That would be narrowthinking. These ideas are essentially

286 Section 3 Creating Technology

Figure 13-1. Sketches are ideas on paper.

Figure 13-2. Broad thinking leads to newsolutions to problems. (Motorola, Inc.)

the same thing, with only the color dif-fering. The small changes, like color,can be made later. It is important thatdesigners explore many ideas. Explor-ing ideas is called ideation.

Ideation Creating a number of new ideas to

solve a problem is ideation. Theprocess of ideation is creative andimaginative. See Figure 13-3. Creativ-ity leads to new ideas and solutions.The solutions created at this stepshould be simple and rough. Later inthe process, the solutions will berevised and refined. Ideation begins byreviewing the problem and designbrief. Remember, the solutions devel-oped must solve the problem. The solu-tion must also fit the criteria and

limitations. After reviewing the designbrief, the research conclusions must bereviewed. This review will help thedesigner understand what others havedone and what people want from thesolution.

Ideation is a free flowing activity.Ideas must be able to flow withoutothers shooting them down. Inideation, all ideas are good ideas.There are no right or wrong answers.It is important to record (sketch orwrite down) all ideas. Ideas seemingsilly or wild at first may make moresense later. If you do not record them,you may forget some good ideas.

The environment you use to createsolutions is very important. You mustbe able to concentrate on the problem.In front of the television at home maynot be the best place to focus on creat-ing ideas. Many designers find quietplaces to work. They may leave theiroffices and work outside or in alibrary. See Figure 13-4. The only

Chapter 13 Creating Solutions 287

Figure 13-3. Unique products are the resultsof creativity and imagination. (Patent No. 5,050,855, U.S. Patent and TrademarkOffice)

Figure 13-4. Designers often work best inquiet areas away from their offices anddesks. (Tony Gothard)

things needed to create ideas are apencil and paper. Ideation can be donealmost anywhere. When creatingideas, designers often flip throughmagazines or books. They may evenlisten to inspiring music. Designersoften see pictures or hear words,which spark ideas for solutions totheir own problems.

There are several different meth-ods of ideation. Some people find oneworks better for them than others.Three of the main methods are brain-storming, graphic organizers, andquestioning.

BrainstormingBrainstorming is a method used to

develop many ideas. It is useful insmall groups for coming up withunusual solutions. Brainstorming is aprocess beginning with the designproblem. The process has several steps.

In the first step, the small groupmust choose a leader and a recorder.The leader will start and end the brain-storming and make sure the groupstays on task. The recorder will be incharge of recording all the ideasshared. See Figure 13-5.

Next, the leader will set a timelimit. Brainstorming is done best whena time limit is set. The group memberswill stay more focused if they onlyhave a certain amount of time. At thispoint, the leader will share the designbrief with the group. The leader willmake sure everyone understands theproblem. The ideas generated mustsolve the problem. The group leaderwill also share the research conclusions.

It is important that the research is usedto come up with ideas.

Next, the members of the smallgroup all focus on the problem. Thegroup leader then asks for ideas. Thegroup members try to list as many cre-ative ideas as possible. Solutions canbecome very creative when people getideas from each other. One personmay present a new idea. The new ideamay spark an idea in your mind. Youmay have never thought of it withoutthe other person’s idea. Brainstormingworks well when the group membersuse each other’s ideas to add to theirown. In brainstorming, like otherforms of ideation, it is important thatthere is no criticism. If people are crit-icizing or making fun of ideas, peoplewill not want to share their thoughts.The best thoughts may not be sharedif people are afraid to give their ideas.

Throughout the whole session, therecorder makes notes of all the ideasdeveloped. When the time is up, theleader must stop the session. The


Figure 13-5. A typical brainstorming sessioncan generate many ideas. (ProductDevelopment Technologies, PDT)

leader may ask all of the group mem-bers for one final idea. Once the groupis done, the brainstorming is over. Thenotes will be reviewed later in thedesign process. The main purpose ofbrainstorming is to develop a list ofideas. It is not the purpose to choosethe final solution.

Graphic OrganizersA graphic organizer is another

method of developing ideas. It is a dia-gram that helps to organize thoughts.One person or a group of people cancreate a graphic organizer.

To create a graphic organizer,designers begin with a blank sheet ofpaper. They write the problem in themiddle of the sheet and circle it. Thenthey create branches from the circle. The branches are the major features orfunctions of the design. If the designproblem is to design a new camera, the

word camera goes in the middle circle.See Figure 13-6. The branches are fea-tures, such as type of camera, loadingthe film or media, focusing the picture,taking the picture, and changing thesettings. Below the branches, thedesigner lists the possible ways todesign the features or functions. Underthe taking the picture branch, the solu-tions might be a button on the top of thecamera, a voice activated control, anautomatic timer, and a handheld switch.

The graphic organizer helps tomake sure all the features of the prob-lem are considered. It is also helpfulbecause all the solutions are listed onthe same sheet of paper. It is easy tosee all the ideas you have developed.

QuestioningQuestioning is the third method of

ideation. It is done differently thanbrainstorming and graphic organizing.


Figure 13-6. Graphic organizers help generate ideas.

Loading film

Type Focusing picture

Changing settings Taking pictures

Voice activated

Timer

Handheld switch

Camera

Questioning is a process in which thedesigner asks the question “Why?” Itis done while working with existingproducts. See Figure 13-7. The designerasks why things are done the way theyare in the existing product. Imagineyou are designing a better way to toastbread. If you were using the question-ing method, you would locate a toasterand a loaf of bread. You would use thetoaster and ask yourself questions likethe following:� Why is the bread loaded from the

top?� Why do I push a lever to start the

toaster?� Why does a knob control the dark-

ness scale?

The key to questioning is that thequestions are written. Once the ques-tions are asked, they need to be solved.Designers often find creative solutionsto problems because they asked“Why?”

Brainstorming, graphic organizers,and questioning are all useful methodsof creating ideas. These approaches toideation all result in lists of solutions.Lists, however, are not always the bestway to describe solutions. Have youever tried to describe an idea you hadusing a list? It can be very difficult todo. Imagine if someone asked you todescribe how your bicycle works orwhat the White House looks like.Would these things be easy todescribe? They would probably be


Figure 13-7. Questioning relies on the written answers to the steps involved in the process.

hard to describe without drawing thegears of your bike or the front of theWhite House.

Sketching Using a sketch can make describ-

ing ideas much easier. The methods ofideation can be very helpful in com-ing up with ideas, but sketches areuseful for describing the ideas to otherpeople. See Figure 13-8. Sketches aretools that help designers communicatetheir ideas. They are a way to recordthe designers’ thoughts on paper. Asthoughts flash into the heads ofdesigners, the designers sketch themso others can see them. Sketching isusually done in two steps:� The first step is often called design,

preliminary, or rough sketching. Thesesketches are quick and simplesketches.

� The second step is often calledworking, final, or refined sketching.These sketches are more detailedand require more time to complete.

Rough SketchesDuring the design process, design-

ers always have ideas that “pop” intotheir heads. This is especially true dur-ing the ideation stage. Designers mayhave finished a brainstorming sessionand have an idea on the way home orduring dinner. For this reason, manydesigners carry sketchpads and note-books to record such ideas. Whendesigners forget their sketchbooks,you may see them make sketches onnapkins or small pieces of paper. Atthis point, it is not important whattype of paper or writing utensil thedesigner uses. All that matters is thatthe designer gets the ideas onto paper.The designers are not concerned withthe quality of the sketches. Gooddesigners try to capture as many ideasas they can.

These sketches are called roughsketches. See Figure 13-9. The wordrough may seem to suggest that thesketches are hard to understand. This,however, is not the case. Rough justmeans the sketches are in the earlystage of development. They are notcompletely thought out. Roughsketches are basic ideas showingshapes and outlines. They do notshow a great amount of detail.

Rough sketches can be ideas of acomplete solution, like an entire bicycle.The bicycle designer would createrough sketches of bicycles of different


Figure 13-8. Sketches are used to com-municate ideas between one person andanother. (Product Development Technologies,PDT)

sizes, shapes, and designs. Size andshape are two elements of designdeveloped using rough sketches. Thesketches can also be ideas of smal-ler parts of the whole solution. SeeFigure 13-10. In the bicycle example,the rough sketches could be differentideas for the brakes and gears of thebicycle.

These sketches are also known asthumbnail sketches because of theirsize. Most rough sketches are fairlysmall, with several rough sketches fit-ting on a sheet of paper. Good design-ers are able to create rough sketchesfairly quickly. These sketches maytake beginners a while to create. Thetime spent on creating rough sketches

is not what is most important. Theimportance of rough sketches is thatmany ideas are generated.


Figure 13-9. Rough sketches are early sketches showing the basic shapes and outlines. (FordMotor Company)

Figure 13-10. Some sketches show solutionsof only part of a design. (Design Central,design firm; Artromick International, client)

Refined SketchesAfter ideation, the designer should

have a large number of rough sketches.These sketches may contain many goodideas. There may be ideas on how tosolve the entire problem or how to solvesmall pieces of the larger problem. Thesketches are simply ideas on paper.They make up a library of solutions.The rough sketches need more workdone to them before they become pro-posed solutions to the problem. Fromthe rough sketches, the designer mustselect the most promising solutions.This is the first time in the entire designprocess the ideas may be reviewed. Inthe brainstorming and rough sketching

stages, all ideas were valid. No ideaswere criticized or discarded.

The designer now creates newsketches based on the best ideas from the rough sketches. The newsketches are called refined sketches.See Figure 13-11. A refined sketch mayfocus on one rough sketch. It may,however, combine parts of severalsketches to make one new idea. Thesketches combine the ideas ideationcreated. The purpose of the refinedsketch is to narrow down the designideas. The designer will create severaldifferent refined sketches. The bestsolutions will be chosen in the nextstep of the design process.


Figure 13-11. Refined sketches are more detailed than rough sketches. (DaimlerChrysler)

The Sketching ProcessSketches are not always easy to cre-

ate. See Figure 13-12. Sketching is atechnique. There is a certain way tosketch. Sketching has several steps:1. Visualizing the object.2. Blocking out shapes.3. Adding an outline.4. Drawing design features.

Visualizing the ObjectThe technique of sketching begins

with visualizing the object. Visualiz-ing or seeing the object may seem likea simple thing. You may be able tolook at an object and sketch it. Inrough sketching, however, you maynot be able to look at something real.If you are creating a new and innova-tive product, there is no image atwhich to look. You may only have theidea in your mind and have to “see”the object in your imagination. Sketch-ing is often thought of as seeing andthinking with a pencil. Good design-ers can easily see their ideas and usepencils to recreate them. Seeing your

ideas takes practice. The more design-ers sketch, the better they become.

There are two ways designers seeobjects. They can either see objects intwo or three dimensions. When de-signers see in two dimensions, theysee the object in six different views.They see the front, top, left side, rightside, back, and bottom. Sketches madein two-dimensional views are calledorthographic sketches. See Figure 13-13.Orthographic drawings, which aremore precise than sketches, will bediscussed more in Chapter 17. People


Figure 13-12. Sketches help develop ideas. (General Motors)

Figure 13-13. Orthographic sketches showeach side as a separate view. (Keith Nelson)

who are not trained to read them mayfind orthographic sketches and draw-ings hard to understand. At this stagein the design process, it is easier fordesigners to see ideas in three dimen-sions. Three dimensions are the easi-est because that is how the eye seesthings. It is also best because almost allpeople can understand a drawing inthree dimensions. These types ofdrawings are called pictorial drawings.The three major types of pictorial draw-ings are isometric, oblique, and per-spective drawings, all of which will bediscussed later in this chapter.

Once the designers can see the idea,they begin by breaking down the object.Breaking down the idea requires thedesigners to divide their ideas into basicshapes. Some designers are able to seethe basic shapes easily. Other designersmust work harder to see the shapes. SeeFigure 13-14. All objects, however, canbe broken into one or more of thesebasic shapes:� Box. A box can be either a cube

or a prism. A cube is a three-dimensional square. All sides of thecube are the same length. A six-sided die is an example of a cube. Aprism is very similar to the cube.The difference is that a prism has atleast one side that is a differentlength. A cereal box is a prism.

� Cylinder. A cylinder is a roundshaft. The cylinder has one circle oneach end, like a tube. A soda popcan is an example of a cylinder.

� Sphere. A sphere is a perfectlyround object. Baseballs and basket-balls are spheres.

� Cone or pyramid. A cone is a shapethat is round at one end and comesto a point at the other. An ice creamcone is an example of a cone. Apyramid is like a cone because itcomes to a point at one end. Theother end of the pyramid, how-ever, is a square. The Egyptian pyr-amids are examples of this shape.

Blocking out ShapesAfter the object or idea has been

broken down into pieces, the sketchingbegins. The sketching starts by block-ing out shapes. Blocking out meansdrawing light lines where the basicshapes will be. These lines will serve asguidelines used to make the sketch.Blocking out is very important forbeginners. The more advanced design-ers are able to block out shapes veryquickly. Beginners must take their timeto make sure the shapes are correct.

To begin blocking out, the designerdraws a vertical line. Next, two linesare drawn at roughly 30°, startingfrom the bottom endpoint of the verti-cal line. These three lines are called theisometric axes. The intersection of theisometric axes will form the front cor-ner of the sketches. The shapes cannow be blocked into the sketch. Eachshape is blocked in a little differently.

BoxesThe box uses the three lines of the

isometric axis as its front corner. SeeFigure 13-15. The vertical line of theaxis should be drawn to the sameheight as the object. The line drawn tothe left should equal the length, and the


line to the right should equal the widthof the box. Once the axis is drawn, thedesigner will draw a line the samelength as the vertical line at the othertwo endpoints. Then the designer willconnect the three vertical lines. This

forms the front and right side of theobject. A line is drawn the same lengthas the two angled lines from the top andright side corners. This creates the topof the box. In a cube, all the lines drawnwould be the exact same size.


Figure 13-14. The basic shapes can be seen in many common objects. A—A file cabinet is abox shape. (Sauder Woodworking) B—The shape of a cylinder can be seen in a can. (TheCoca-Cola Company) C—Baseballs are spheres (American Baseball Company) D—Ice creamcones are a cone shape.

Cylinder

Cone

Box

Sphere

Shapes in Designs

A B

C D

CylindersThe cylinder is drawn using a

square at the axes. See Figure 13-16. Tobegin the cylinder, designers use theangled lines of the axes and draw asquare. They then draw an ellipse. Anellipse is an isometric circle. The ellipseis drawn through the midpoint of eachline of the square. This forms the bot-tom of the cylinder. To make the top ofthe cylinder, designers draw verticallines from the corners of the square.They then create a square positionedat the top of the cylinder. The design-ers draw an ellipse in the top square.

To finish the cylinder, they draw a hor-izontal line from one corner of the bot-tom square to the other corner. Twovertical lines are then drawn where theline crosses the ellipse. These create thesides of the cylinder.

SpheresSpheres are drawn by first creating

a cube. See Figure 13-17. The cube iscreated as described above. Once thecube is drawn, a circle is created insideof it. The circle is drawn so it touchesthe midpoint of the outside lines of the


Figure 13-15. Boxes are sketched usingthese four steps.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Isometric axes

Figure 13-16. Cylinders are sketched usingthese five steps.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

cube. When the sphere is drawn itlooks like a plain circle. In order forthe sphere to look three-dimensionalit must be shaded. Shading will be dis-cussed later in this chapter.

Cones and PyramidsThe cone and pyramid are drawn

using the rectangular box. The box isdrawn as shown in Figure 13-15. Next,an X is drawn on the top of the box.The center of the X is the center of thetop of the box. The center point is thepoint where the top of the cone andpyramid will come to. To draw thepyramid, the designer draws linesfrom the corners of the bottom squareto the center point. See Figure 13-18.

To draw the cone, an ellipse must bedrawn on the bottom square, just likecreating a cylinder. See Figure 13-19.Lines are then drawn from the sides ofthe ellipse to the top center point.

CombinationsUnless the designs are simple pro-

ducts like ice cream cones or basket-balls, the sketches created will havemore than one basic shape in them.Each of these shapes must be blockedout. You have learned how to block


Figure 13-18. Pyramids are sketched usingthese four steps.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Figure 13-17. Spheres are sketched usingthese three steps.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

out shapes using the isometric axes.Sketches with more than one shape willhave more than one set of axes. Imaginedesigning a guitar. See Figure 13-20.You would have several boxes makingthe shapes of cylinders and one longbox representing the neck of the guitar,and you would create the boxes lightlyso they could be erased. It may not lookmuch like a guitar at this stage. The lookof the guitar will come together in thenext stage, adding the outline.

Adding an OutlineThe blocked out sketch may not

look very much like the designer’s idea.It should be, however, the basic shapeand proportion of the idea. Thedesigner must add details to the shapesto make the shapes look the way theywant them to look. The first detailadded is an outline. Creating the out-line may include subtracting parts ofthe shapes. The guitar in the previousexample is several cylinders and boxes.To create the outline, a designer wouldsubtract parts of cylinders to make theguitar rounded. See Figure 13-21. It isimportant that the blocked out shapesare drawn lightly because they areguidelines. When the designers add the


Figure 13-19. Cones are sketched usingthese four steps.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Figure 13-20. A guitar would be blocked outusing boxes and cylinders.

outline, they will draw the lines darkerbecause these lines will not be removed.

Drawing Design FeaturesThe next details to be added are the

external features. The external featuresare objects not included in the outline,but ones that can be seen when look-ing at the design. The number pad ona telephone is an external feature.These features help in understandingthe sketch. The tuning knobs, frets, andsound hole are all external features ofa guitar. See Figure 13-22. External fea-tures also help to set designs apartfrom each other. A designer may havea number of sketches for a product thathave the same outline. The only differ-ences are the external features. Forrough sketches, after the external

features are added, the sketches arefinished. For refined sketches, addi-tional techniques can be used to addmore detail and “life” to the sketches.

Refining TechniquesThere are some techniques that can

be used on refined sketches to makethem appear more realistic. Shadingand shadowing are the two most com-mon techniques. Both of these tech-niques illustrate how the objects wouldlook when placed in light. They adddepth and dimension to flat sketches.

ShadingShading relies on a light source.

Most designed objects come in contactwith either sunlight or interior light-ing. Shading helps to show how the


Figure 13-22. Here is a guitar with theexternal features.

Figure 13-21. This is an example of theoutline of a guitar.

object will look in either of these twolight sources. Shading also allows thedesigner to see the shape and form ofthe object. To begin shading, thedesigner must determine from whichdirection the light source is coming.The direction of the light source willchange how the object is shaded. Thestandard is to imagine the light sourceis located over the designer’s leftshoulder.

There are several techniques usedin shading. The most common is usingdifferent tones to create the shadingeffects. A tone is a shade of color. Grayis a tone between black and white. Inthis method of shading, the area of theobject closest to the light source will bethe lightest tone. The area furthest fromthe light will be the darkest. This effectcan be created with the edge of a pencilor markers. When using a pencil, de-signers create the darker areas in one oftwo ways. They may either press harderin the darker areas or go over themseveral times. When using markers to

shade, the designer selects markers ofdifferent tones to create light and darkareas. See Figure 13-23.

Other shading techniques useeither dots or lines instead of differenttones of color. The dot method usesdifferent amounts of dots to showlight and dark areas. See Figure 13-24.The more dots an area has, the darkerit is. Pens are normally used for dotshading. Line shading is done withdifferent width lines. The darker areasare shaded with thicker lines. Both ofthese methods work well for shadinga rounded object.

ShadowingOnce the object is shaded, the

designer adds the shadow. Shadowingis normally done using a pencil. Theshadow is placed on the opposite sideof the light source. If the light is com-ing from the front left side of the object,the shadow would be placed on the


Figure 13-23. Shading and shadowing helpdesigners see the shape and form of theobject. (Design Central, design firm; Ingenico,client)

Figure 13-24. Drawings can also be shadeddots. (Keith Nelson)

back right side. The shadow should fol-low the rough shape of the object.Shading and shadowing take a lot ofpractice to perfect. The best way topractice shading and shadowing is tolook at objects around the room andsketch them. Examine the objects to seehow the light hits them. Then try to addshading and shadows to the sketches.

Types of SketchesThere are several ways sketches

can be drawn. The three most com-mon types of sketches are isometric,oblique, and perspective sketches.Any of these types of sketches can beused to create rough or refined sketches.All of these types are drawn using thesame basic process.

Isometric SketchesThe most popular type of pictorial

sketch is an isometric sketch. Isomet-ric drawings show the front, top, andsides of an object, just as the eye seesthem. Isometric sketches can bedrawn with great detail and accuracy,or they can be drawn in rough form.See Figure 13-25. Isometric sketchesuse the isometric axes described ear-lier in this chapter. The sketches arecreated using different shapes. Expe-rienced designers are able to createisometric sketches quickly and easily.

Oblique SketchesOblique sketches are similar to iso-

metric sketches. See Figure 13-26. Inisometric sketches, the front and sideare both at 30° angles. In oblique

sketches, only the side view is at anangle. The angle is usually 45°. It can,however, be any angle.

These sketches show the front viewin its true shape. Isometric sketches tendto distort shapes like circles and arcs. Inan isometric sketch, all circles are shownas ellipses. In oblique sketches, circlesin the front view are actual circles. Forthis reason, circular objects are betterdrawn as oblique sketches. Also, prod-ucts having one surface that is the mostimportant are drawn in an obliquesketch. For example, the front views ofstoves, radios, and televisions are whatmost people see. Therefore, oblique


Figure 13-25. Isometric sketches are angledto show three sides of the object. (DesignCentral, design firm; Artromick International,client).

sketches show these designs better thanisometric sketches do.

Oblique sketches are producedusing the same steps as isometricsketches. See Figure 13-27. Thedesigner begins by drawing the axes.In oblique drawings, the designer cre-ates the oblique axes. The oblique axes

are composed of one vertical line, onehorizontal line, and one 45° line. Thereare two types of oblique axes, rightand left oblique. In the right oblique,the 45° line is drawn back and to theright. In the left oblique, the line isdrawn back and to the left.

The designer uses the oblique axesto block out the shapes. The samebasic shapes are used in obliquesketches. The box, cone, pyramid, andsphere are all created the same way asin the isometric sketches. The cylinderis the only shape created differently.The cylinder is created by first draw-ing a box. A circle is then drawn in thefront square, instead of an ellipse.

Once the shapes are blocked out,the designer adds the details. Thedesigner again adds the outline andexternal features. The last details to beadded to refined sketches are shadingand shadowing. These details help tomake the sketch appear more real.

Perspective SketchesThe third type of pictorial sketch

is a perspective sketch. Perspectivesketches are often used in makingrefined sketches. They are used toshow how objects look to the eye.Imagine yourself standing in themiddle of a road. As you look downthe road, the buildings get smaller. Itlooks as though all the buildings andeven the road narrow down to onepoint. This is what perspective draw-ings look like.


Figure 13-26. A—Oblique drawings show thefront view directly and the side at a 45° angle.B—Isometric drawings are drawn with boththe front and side views at 30° angles.

When you look down the road, theroad and the buildings seem to comefrom a single point. This point is calledthe vanishing point. See Figure 13-28.The line where the sky meets the roadis the horizon line. Vanishing pointsare always located on the horizon line.The ground line is the line formed atthe front of the sketch along the bot-tom of the objects.

There are several types of perspec-tive sketches. See Figure 13-29. Themost common are one-, two-, andthree-point perspective sketches. Thetwo-point perspective sketch is onethat has many applications and is usedregularly. See Figure 13-30. To create atwo-point perspective sketch, thedesigner follows these steps:


Figure 13-28. Perspective drawings havethree basic elements.

Vanishing point

Horizon line

Ground line

Figure 13-27. Oblique drawings are drawn with these four steps.

Obliqueaxis

Step 1

Step 2Block out shape

Step 3Add outline shape

Step 4Add external features

1. Draw the horizon line and theground line.

2. Add the vanishing points.3. Sketch a vertical line from the

ground line the height of theobject.

4. Sketch perspective lines from thevanishing points to the top andbottom of the vertical line. Theseperspective lines will form the leftand right sides of the sketch.


Figure 13-29. There are three main types ofperspective drawings.

One-pointperspective

Two-pointperspective

Three-pointperspective

Figure 13-30. Perspective drawings are easyand fun to draw.

Draw horizon, ground, vertical height, and vanishing points.

Add lines to form the sides of the object.

Add vertical lines the width of the object.

Block out the shape.

Add details.


5. Sketch vertical lines the width ofthe object.

6. Block out the shape.7. Add details.8. Shade the drawing.

One-point perspective sketches arecreated almost the same way as thetwo-point perspectives are created.The difference is that all lines areeither vertical or angled to the vanish-ing point. In the three-point perspec-tive, all the lines are drawn from one

of the three vanishing points. Thereare no vertical lines in a three-pointperspective.

Summary The process of creating solutions

begins with ideation. Designers usebrainstorming, graphic organizers,and questioning to develop as manyideas as possible. It is important thatall ideas are taken seriously during

Complex products anddevices surround us. Many ofthese have all kinds of frills andlittle add-ons designersthought were necessary. Manyof these add-ons, however,complicate the designs andmake the products hard to use.

The opposite of this is theproduct meeting a need in thesimplest and most effective way.Engineers call these elegantsolutions. These solutionsshould be the goal of every de-signer of technological artifacts.

Think of an adhesive ban-dage, commonly known as theBand-Aid® bandage. It is de-signed to hold gauze over asmall cut or scratch. Can youthink of a better solution? Overthe years, no one has thought ofone, and therefore, the Band-Aidbandage is an elegant solution.

Another commonplace prod-uct is the paper clip, Figure A.It temporarily holds sheets ofpapers together. Everyoneuses paper clips, and no onehas improved on them. Again,this is an elegant solution.

Think of a number of otherdevices that work so well thatimproving them is a challenge.These devices include the zip-per, safety pin, stapler, ballpointpen, pipe cleaner, and thong

Technology Explained

elegant solution: A productmeeting a human need inthe simplest, most directway.

Figure A. The paper clip is anexample of an elegant solution.


ideation. No idea is wrong when thedesigners are developing ideas.

While the designers are creatingideas, they begin to sketch. Sketching isthe process of putting ideas onto paper.The ideas begin as rough sketches. The rough sketches are simple quicksketches that help to communicate thedesigner’s ideas. Designers generate asmany rough sketches as possible.

The designers then review all theirrough sketches. The ideas comingfrom the review are then drawn as

refined sketches. These sketches aremore detailed and better than therough sketches. The refined sketchesare the best ideas developed throughideation and rough sketches.

Isometric, oblique, and perspectivesketches are all popular pictorialsketches. They are helpful and allowothers to understand the thoughts ofthe designer. These pictorial drawingsare all used in creating solutions. Therefined sketches will be taken to thenext step of the design process.

sandal. Small details maychange, such as the types ofmaterials used, but the basicdesign remains the same. Ele-gant solutions do not, however,have to be simple products.There are many examples ofcomplex technological productsthat elegantly solve problems.

Consider the Apollo space-craft, Figure B. It carried threemen into space and back withrelative ease. Its complex sys-tems propelled and navigatedthe capsule. The spacecraftprovided heat, light, and freshair for the three astronautsinside. The capsule alsoprotected the astronauts fromthe outside environment.

Elegant solutions are every-where. Have you ever tried to

read and record large volumesof numerical data? It is a time-consuming process and oneprone to error. A bar codereader, such as the one shownin Figure C, makes this task

quick and accurate. The unitshown is the size of a hand-held calculator. Despite itssmall size, the device effi-ciently reads and processesthe information coded in thebars. Bar code readers arewidely used to take inventory in retail stores.

Figure B. The Apollo spacecraft isan example of an elegant solution.Complex devices can also beelegant solutions.

Figure C. The bar code reader isan elegant solution to a modernproblem.


Curricular Connections Language Arts

Science

Activities

1. Use a method of ideation to develop ideas about how the layout ofyour school could be made better.

2. Find and cut out images from magazines and newspapers show-ing isometric, oblique, and perspective sketches and drawings.Create a poster board showing the different types of pictorialsketches.

3. Use the design brief and the research gathered in the last twochapters to develop ideas and create sketches of possible solutions.

Examine the methods of ideation used in creative writing.

Mathematics

Measure several simple objects. Use isometric grid paper to draw anisometric sketch of the different objects.

Study the difference in mass and volume of different shapes.


Test Your Knowledge Do not write in this book. Place your answers to this test on a separate sheet of paper.

1. The process of exploring ideas is called _____.2. A diagram that helps to organize thoughts is known as a(n) _____.3. A thumbnail sketch is larger and more detailed than a rough sketch. True or

false.4. A refined sketch uses the ideas from ideation, rough sketches, and the ele-

ments and principles of design to create a possible solution. True or false.5. Give two examples of types of pictorial drawings.6. _____ is the technique used to show how light hits an object.7. The process used to show how light hits the space around an object is called

_____.8. Draw an isometric sketch of each of the following:

A. A box.B. A cone.

9. Create an oblique sketch of each of the following:A. A rectangular box.B. A pyramid.

10. Paraphrase an explanation of a perspective sketch.

Architects

The Job: Architects arelicensed professionals who aretrained to design buildings.They identify a client’s needs,develop building concepts tomeet these needs, and prepare

plans for the building. Archi-tects design the overall look ofbuildings and develop plansand specifications that con-struction personnel will use inerecting the structure. Theymust be able to communicatetheir vision and plans to clientsand construction managers.

Working Conditions: Theseprofessionals spend a greatdeal of their time in offices,consulting with clients anddeveloping drawings. In addi-tion, they spend time visitingconstruction sites to reviewprojects under construction.

Education and Training: Allarchitects must be licensed

before they contract to providearchitectural services. Manyarchitecture school graduateswork for another architect,however, while they are in theprocess of becoming licensed. Inmost states, obtaining a licenserequires a degree in architecturefrom an accredited universityprogram. Most of these pro-grams are five-year bachelor ofarchitecture programs.Typically,architecture programs havecourses in architectural history,building design, structures, andconstruction methods.They alsorequire several professionalpractice, mathematics, science,and liberal arts classes.

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chapter 13 creating solutions - g-w learning 13 creating solutions did you know? mechanical drawings...

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