When you have a problem that is causing you pain every day, you may constantly be thinking of solutions on how to fix it. When engineers try to solve problems, they often try to think of as many solutions to the problem as possible. This way, they get their ideas written down on paper no matter how ridiculous they are. This is a process conducted with no judgment for the design ideas, this means that no idea is too ridiculous.
Once all of the solution ideas have been thought of, the judgment begins to happen to refine the ideas down to the feasible solutions to solve the problem. The refinement often happens when thinking about the project’s specific requirements and needs and also some outside factors related to general feasibility. 3 of these factors are designs that are too complex, unobtainable technology, and high development cost.
Difficult Designs That Sacrifice User Experience
Have you ever heard of a Rube Goldberg machine? These are contraptions that complete many intricate steps before the simple task gets completed. You can see one of these contraptions that a man is using to wipe his face with a napkin.
These kinds of contraptions aren’t feasible for everyday use because:
- They sacrifice ease of use for the end-user. (Imagine having to reset that contraption!)
- They are difficult to make.
- There might be an easier way to make the solution that is easier to manufacture.
Now your solution may not be a Rube Goldberg machine, but the same principles of them not being feasible apply to the refinement process. It’s important to make sure that your end-user likes to use the product and that the design is something that can realistically be made.
Unobtainable Technology
Sometimes solutions require the use of technology that isn’t realistic to include in the design. This technology could either be a part of the final product or something used during the manufacturing process.
This example of this is something you may relate to! Imagine trying to solve the problem of someone taking your sandwich out of the fridge at work. Your sandwich keeps getting taken and you’re sick of it! So you decide to make a secure lunch box that only you can open. You recently saw Mission Impossible and the scene where Tom Cruise gets his eyes scanned to open a door and you decided to put this technology in your lunchbox. Once you started trying to make the eye scanning lunchbox, you realized that implementing this technology was not realistic to create a feasible solution. This was due to the difficulty of getting the technology and expense of those parts.
High Development Cost
A very important factor when deciding feasibility is thinking about if the cost of development is worth it to get the solution made. Imagine if you think your solution will save you $100 in your life once developed. This is your return on investment. However, what if your investment for development cost was actually $200. This means that you are losing money by making a solution, rather than just continuing to live life with the problem.
Money isn’t the only cost to consider with this. Time, energy, emotional pain, and many other qualitative factors are involved in the process of deciding if the development cost is worth it.
All 3 of these factors are important to consider when thinking about if the solution you are building is feasible. This is something that our team is equipped and trained to consider when designing a solution to your problem. It is important to us that the solution fits your needs and is feasible. Not only feasible to manufacture, but also feasible for your end-use.
Tresca Can Help
Here at Tresca, we’re ready to help you with your next invention & engineering project. If you want to learn more about how our team can help you during the engineering process, please contact us today to discuss how we can work together.