Institution news Raising the game
The New Year has been a momentous time for the IED: We have been granted a Royal Charter and IED Council was able to formally approve its adoption. This is something for which we can all be very proud. Receiving a Royal Charter is a confirmation of our status and professionalism – we have had support from a wide range of organisations including other professional engineering institutions. The charter gives the IED and our membership a pre-eminence and credibility in the UK and internationally.
It is the culmination of several years of hard work by a working party comprising members of Council. I would like to single out special praise for Jerome Poole (Councillor and a past Chairman) for his vision and perseverance throughout the journey, and Libby Brodhurst (CEO/Secretary) who has been tremendous in managing the very complex matters involved. Moreover, we are here because of the work over many years by current and past Councillors, the professional team of staff at Courtleigh, and also the few thousand engineering design professionals that makeup our membership.
The IEDs development plan includes establishing special interest groups (SIGs) in key ‘design themes’ of engineering design and product design engineering. These will provide a basis to offer improved services to members (journal articles, events, courses, etc) and provide comment, support and influence within the engineering professions, industry and society. SIGs will allow us to have much greater engagement with members of the institution on key developments impacting on design and the profession. We are organising an event to identify the key design themes. This has got me thinking about what these might be.
Get Involved
If you would like to contribute to any discussions write to David Maffin, Chairman, at The Institution of Engineering Designers, Courtleigh, Westbury Leigh, Westbury, Wiltshire BA13 3TA or email:
david@ied.org.uk
One such area is additive manufacturing and 3D printing. Wikipedia defines additive manufacturing as the ‘process of joining materials to make objects from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer, as opposed to subtractive manufacturing methodologies, such as traditional machining. It describes technologies which can be used anywhere throughout the product life cycle from pre-production (ie, rapid prototyping) to full scale production (also known as rapid manufacturing) and even for tooling applications or post production customisation’.
You can view a very good video, ‘A Primer on 3D Printing’ by Lisa Harouni at
www.ted.com (TED – Technology Entertainment Design
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– is a nonprofit organisation that promotes ‘sharing ideas worth spreading’ through its conferences and events which include talks by the ‘thought leaders’ in various fields). This is a technology that looks ‘disruptive’ and ‘game changing’. Businesses are already exploiting opportunities in consumer and industrial markets. However, two things strike me about this technology. First, from a design perspective, many of the traditional constraints pertaining to design for manufacture and assembly go out of the window. The designer has far greater freedom to develop optimal designs, involving intricate and complex objects, and using different materials. For example, in healthcare you can imagine products being designed uniquely for the patient. In consumer markets, the consumer can have the ability to configure product options, or even modify a design (such as sculptures, lamps, etc, used in the home).
Second, from a manufacturing and distribution perspective, 3D printing and additive manufacturing technology is advancing, and becoming affordable and more widely available. So many components, assemblies and products produced by traditional means and distributed globally, could be produced locally, even in the home! So distribution costs and the environmental impact are reduced. The possibilities for this technology are many.
What do you believe are the most important issues and developments in engineering design? If you are a member of the IED Linkedin Group you can join the discussion, or on Twitter message @InstEngDes using the #engineeringdesign discussion thread, or contact me at
david@ied.org.uk
David Maffin
Dr David Maffin PhD, BEng, CEng, MRINA, MIED, Chairman
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