An Innovative Approach to Mechanical Product Designs - A Case Study on Computer Cooling Fan Design

Abstract

With advances in various technologies, it is critical to create a product styling design that can trigger consumers’ willingness to buy. Various studies have been emphasizing on product styling designs that can grasp a consumer’s mind. Average people at this information age have higher demands toward product designs. When considering a purchase, people’s first consideration is whether a product is of high quality at a lower price. Product competitions on the market are affected interactively by globalization and localization and the awareness of humanization and personalization. The conventional black box design approach makes it difficult for a designer to meet consumer demands effectively. Via the framework of mechanical product innovation design approach in this study, patent specifications were reviewed and analyzed in order to decompose the essential elements and their corresponding functions. Correlation tables were built and product structural formula could be determined. More functions were included by replacing elements in order to achieve the completeness of the structural formula. For demonstrating the benefits of this approach, the design of computer cooling fan housing was chosen as a case study. The results indicated that the proposed design approach can effectively assist in the development of product innovative designs.