Cordless Drill Research Articles

104 Twelve-week provision of supplemental essential amino acids, fatty acids, and marine-based calcium does not impact horse hoof growth

Supplemental amino acids have improved muscle mass in horses and hoof structural formation in ruminants. Calcium supports sulfur crosslinks between hoof proteins, and fatty acids contribute to the periople, a barrier that sustains hoof horn quality. The objective was to test a hypothesis that a supplement containing essential amino acids lysine, threonine, methionine, fatty acids, and marine-based calcium would positively impact hoof growth and muscle mass in horses. A secondary objective was to develop a method for consistent measurement of hoof growth. The protocol was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. In a 24-wk crossover design, 12 horses aged 17 ± 7 yrs, 540 ± 65 kg BW, and 6.4 ± 0.8 BCS were fed prairie grass hay and 14% protein feed balanced to meet NRC requirements (CON), with or without 0.45 kg of added supplement (SUPPL), 6 horses on each diet per 12-wk period. Period 1 was Dec to Mar (winter), Period 2 Mar to Jun (spring). Horses were shod or trimmed throughout the trial and maintained in light to moderate work. To start, a cordless drill with 1.6 mm drill bit was used to mark the external horn of each front hoof, 20 mm below the coronary hairline and 2 mm in depth, deep enough to persist without any tissue damage. Every 2 wk, yellow Play-Doh was placed in the drill mark to improve visibility,and the distance between the coronary band and drill mark in each front hoof measured using a digital caliper (Penn Tool Co. Inc., Maplewood, NJ). Pictures of the caliper placement on each coronary band were taken on d 0 to provide consistent reference points for subsequent measurements. Photos for muscle mass scoring were taken at the end of each period, randomized, then scored post hoc by an observer blind to dietary treatment, with 1 = very little to 5 = significant muscle development, 3 = average. Data were analyzed using a mixed model with repeated measures (SAS Ver. 9.4). All horses consumed the supplement willingly with no feed refusals. The supplement did not impact hoof growth (16.7 ± 1.8 mm CON vs 15.9 ± 1.0 mm SUPPL; P = 0.21), BW (P = 0.76), or BCS (P = 0.64). Muscle mass scores were higher (P = 0.030) when horses were fed SUPPL (3.4 ± 0.2) vs CON (2.7 ± 0.2). Hoof growth was affected by season (P < 0.0001), greater in spring (20.3 ± 0.8 mm) vs winter (12.3 ± 0.8 mm). While 12-week provision of a supplement containing essential amino acids, fatty acids, and marine-based calcium did not impact hoof growth, muscle mass increased, and seasonal effects on hoof growth were noted.

Advanced Workflow for Taking High-Quality Increment Cores - New Techniques and Devices

In dendroecological research, precise dating of each single growth ring is a basic requirement for all studies, focusing on ring-width variations only, chemical or isotope analyses, or wood anatomical studies. Independent of the sampling strategy for a certain study (e.g., climatology, geomorphology), the way samples are taken is crucial for their successful preparation and analyses. Until recently, it was sufficient to use a (more or less) sharp increment corer to obtain core samples that could be sanded for further analyses. Since wood anatomical characteristics can be applied to long time series, the need to obtain high-quality increment cores has taken on a new meaning. Essentially, the corer needs to be sharp(ened) when used. When coring a tree by hand, there are some problems in handling the corer, resulting in the hidden occurrence of micro cracks along the entire core: When starting to drill by hand, the drill bit is strongly pressed against the bark and the outermost ring until the thread has fully entered the trunk. At the same time, the drill bit is moved up and down as well as sideward. Then, the corer is drilled all the way into the trunk; however, it is necessary to stop after each turn, change the grip, and turn again. All these movements, as well as the start/stop-coring, puts mechanical stress on the core. The resulting micro cracks make it impossible to create continuous micro sections, as they fall apart along all these cracks. We present a protocol to overcome these obstacles by applying a new technique using a cordless drill to minimize these problems when coring a tree, as well as its effect on the preparation of long micro sections. This protocol includes the preparation of long micro sections, as well as a procedure to sharpen corers in the field.

Advanced Workflow for Taking High-Quality Increment Cores - New Techniques and Devices

In dendroecological research, precise dating of each single growth ring is a basic requirement for all studies, focusing on ring-width variations only, chemical or isotope analyses, or wood anatomical studies. Independent of the sampling strategy for a certain study (e.g., climatology, geomorphology), the way samples are taken is crucial for their successful preparation and analyses. Until recently, it was sufficient to use a (more or less) sharp increment corer to obtain core samples that could be sanded for further analyses. Since wood anatomical characteristics can be applied to long time series, the need to obtain high-quality increment cores has taken on a new meaning. Essentially, the corer needs to be sharp(ened) when used. When coring a tree by hand, there are some problems in handling the corer, resulting in the hidden occurrence of micro cracks along the entire core: When starting to drill by hand, the drill bit is strongly pressed against the bark and the outermost ring until the thread has fully entered the trunk. At the same time, the drill bit is moved up and down as well as sideward. Then, the corer is drilled all the way into the trunk; however, it is necessary to stop after each turn, change the grip, and turn again. All these movements, as well as the start/stop-coring, puts mechanical stress on the core. The resulting micro cracks make it impossible to create continuous micro sections, as they fall apart along all these cracks. We present a protocol to overcome these obstacles by applying a new technique using a cordless drill to minimize these problems when coring a tree, as well as its effect on the preparation of long micro sections. This protocol includes the preparation of long micro sections, as well as a procedure to sharpen corers in the field.

F1 Hand: A Versatile Fixed-Finger Gripper for Delicate Teleoperation and Autonomous Grasping

Teleoperation is often limited by the ability of an operator to react and predict the behavior of the robot as it interacts with the environment. For example, to grasp small objects on a table, the teleoperator needs to predict the position of the fingertips before the fingers are closed to avoid them hitting the table. For that reason, we developed the F1 hand, a single-motor gripper that facilitates teleoperation with the use of a fixed finger. The hand is capable of grasping objects as thin as a paper clip, and as heavy and large as a cordless drill. The applicability of the hand can be expanded by replacing the fixed finger with different shapes. This flexibility makes the hand highly versatile while being easy and cheap to develop. However, due to the atypical asymmetric structure and actuation of the hand usual grasping strategies no longer apply. Thus, we propose a controller that approximates actuation symmetry by using the motion of the whole arm. The F1 hand and its controller are compared side-by-side with the original Toyota Human Support Robot (HSR) gripper in teleoperation using 22 objects from the YCB dataset in addition to small objects. The grasping time and peak contact forces could be decreased by 20% and 70%, respectively while increasing success rates by 5%. Using an off-the-shelf grasp pose estimator for autonomous grasping, the system achieved similar success rates to the original HSR gripper, at the order of 80%.

Pediatric penoscrotal degloving injury by a cordless drill: A case report and literature review

To report a case of pediatric penoscrotal injury and review of the literature for similar cases to evaluate the prevalence, etiology of injuries, methods of reconstruction, surgical complications and end result

Pediatric penoscrotal degloving injury by a cordless drill: A case report and literature review

To report a case of pediatric penoscrotal injury and review of the literature for similar cases to evaluate the prevalence, etiology of injuries, methods of reconstruction, surgical complications and end result

Viability of Various Sources to Ignite A2L Refrigerants

Environmental considerations are motivating the adoption of low global warming potential refrigerants. Most of these are mildly flammable, i.e., A2L. Their susceptibility to ignition from various ignition sources is poorly understood, particularly for the stoichiometric and quiescent mixtures that are emphasized here. The viability of fifteen residential ignition sources to ignite four A2L refrigerants is considered. Tests are performed in a windowed chamber with a volume of 26 L. The refrigerants are R-32 (difluoromethane); R-452B (67% R-32, 26% R-1234yf, and 7% pentafluoroethane); R-1234yf (2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene); and R-1234ze (1,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene). Two types of ignition sources are confirmed here to be viable: a resistively heated wire at 740 °C and open flames. When the refrigerant concentration was increased slowly, candle flames and butane flames extinguished before initiating any large deflagrations. Eleven other sources were not viable: a smoldering cigarette, a butane lighter, friction sparks, a plug and receptacle, a light switch, a hand mixer, a cordless drill, a bread toaster, a hair dryer, a hot plate, and a space heater. The difficulty to ignite these refrigerants in air is attributed to their long quenching distances (up to 25 mm). Under some conditions the refrigerants were observed to act as flame suppressants.

Bovine Mammary Gland Biopsy Techniques.

Bovine mammary gland biopsies allow researchers to collect tissue samples to study cell biology including gene expression, histological analysis, signaling pathways, and protein translation. This article describes two techniques for biopsy of the bovine mammary gland (MG). Three healthy Holstein dairy cows were the subjects. Before biopsies, cows were milked and subsequently restrained in a cattle chute. An analgesic (flunixin meglumine, 1.1 to 2.2 mg/kg of body weight) was administered via jugular intravenous [IV] injection 15-20 min prior to biopsy. For standing sedation, xylazine hydrochloride (0.01-0.05 mg/kg of body weight) was injected via the coccygeal vessels 5-10 min before the procedure. Once adequately sedated, the biopsy site was aseptically prepared and locally anaesthetized with 6 mL of 2% lidocaine hydrochloride via subcutaneous injection. Using aseptic technique, a 2 to 3 cm vertical incision was made using a number 10 scalpel. Core and needle biopsy tools were used. The core biopsy tool was attached to a cordless drill and inserted into the MG tissue through the incision using a clock-wise drill action. The needle biopsy tool was manually inserted into the incision site. Immediately after the procedure, an assistant applied pressure on the incision site for 20 to 25 min using a sterile towel to achieve hemostasis. Stainless steel surgical staples were used to oppose the skin incision. The staples were removed 10 days post-procedure. The main advantages of core and needle biopsies is that both approaches are minimally invasive procedures that can be safely performed in healthy cows. Milk yield following the biopsy was unaffected. These procedures require a short recovery time and result in fewer risks of complications. Specific limitations may include bleeding after the biopsy and infection on the biopsy site. Applications of these techniques include tissue collection for clinical diagnosis and research purposes, such as primary cell culture.

Burr Hole Making with Cordless Engineering Battery Drill in Neurosurgery

Burr Hole Making with Cordless Engineering Battery Drill in Neurosurgery

A simple and inexpensive physical lysis method for DNA and RNA extraction from freshwater microalgae

In this work, a simple and inexpensive physical lysis method using a cordless drill fitted with a plastic pellet pestle and 150mg of sterile sea sand was established for the extraction of DNA from six strains of freshwater microalgae. This lysis method was also tested for RNA extraction from two microalgal strains. Lysis duration between 15 and 120s using the cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) buffer significantly increased the yield of DNA from four microalgalstrains (Monoraphidium griffithii NS16, Scenedesmus sp. NS6, Scenedesmus sp. DPBC1 and Acutodesmus sp. DPBB10) compared to control. It was also found that grinding was not required to obtain DNA from two strains of microalgae (Choricystis sp. NPA14 and Chlamydomonas sp. BM3). The average DNA yield obtained using this lysis method was between 62.5 and 78.9ng/mg for M. griffithii NS16, 42.2-247.0ng/mg for Scenedesmus sp. NS6, 70.2-110.9ng/mg for Scenedesmus sp. DPBC1 and 142.8-164.8ng/mg for Acutodesmus sp. DPBB10. DNA obtained using this method was sufficiently pure for PCR amplification. Extraction of total RNA from M. griffithii NS16 and Mychonastes sp. NPD7 using this lysis method yielded high-quality RNA suitable for RT-PCR. This lysis method is simple, cheap and would enable rapid nucleic acid extraction from freshwater microalgae without requiring costly materials and equipment such as liquid nitrogen or beadbeaters, and would facilitate molecular studies on microalgae in general.

A Methodological Proposal for Collecting and Creating Macroscopic Photograph Collections of Tropical Woods with Potential for Use in Deep Learning

Costa Rica is one of the countries with highest species biodiversity density in the world. More than 2,000 tree species have already been identified, many of which are used in the building, furniture, and packaging industries (Grayum et al. 2003). This rich diversity makes the correct identification of tree species very difficult. As a result, it is common to see in the national market that species are commercialized with mistaken identifications, which makes quality control particularly challenging. In addition, because 90 timber tree species have been classified as “threatened” in Costa Rica, correct identifications are indispensable for law-enforcement. The traditional system for tree species identification is based on macro and microscopic evaluations of the anatomy of the wood. It entails assesing anatomical features such as patterns of vessels, parenchymas, and fibers. Typically, 7.7 x 10 cm pieces of wood cuts are used to identify the tree species (Pan and Kudo 2011, Yusof et al. 2013). However, assessing these features is extremely difficult for taxonomists because properties of the wood can vary considerably due to environmental conditions and intra-specific genetic variability. Deep learning techniques have recently been used to identify plant species (Carranza-Rojas et al. 2017a, Carranza-Rojas et al. 2017b) and are potentially useful to detect subtle differences in patterns of vessels, parenchyma, and other anatomical features of wood. However, it is necessary to have a large collection of macroscopic photographs of individuals from various parts of the country (Pan and Kudo 2011). As a first step in the application of deep learning techniques, we have defined a formal, standard protocol for collecting wood samples, physically processing them, taking pictures, performing data augmentation, and using metadata to provide the primary data necessary for deep learning applications. Unlike traditional xylotheque sampling methods that destroy trees or use wood from fallen trees, we propose a method that extracts small size samples with sufficient quality for anatomical characterization but does not affect the growth and survival of the individual. This study has been developed in three forest permanent plots in Costa Rica, all of which are sites with historical growth data over the last 20 years. We have so far evaluated 40 species (10 individuals per species) with diameters greater than 20 cm. From each individual, a cylindrical sample of 12 mm diameter and 7.5 cm in length was extracted with a cordless drill. Each sample is then cut into five of 8 x 8 x 8 mm cubes and further processed to result in curated xylotheque samples, a dataset with all relevant metadata and original images, and a dataset with images obtained by performing data augmentation on the original images.

Short communication: Repeated mammary tissue collections during lactation do not alter subsequent milk yield or composition

Mammary biopsy collection (MB) is a valuable approach for studying mammary gland biology, but it is unclear if repeated MB impair the performance of lactating dairy cows. The objective of this trial was to examine the effect of repeated MB during lactation on udder health, dry matter intake (DMI), and lactation performance of lactating dairy cows. Sixty-four multiparous, mid-lactation Holstein cows were enrolled in a 29-wk trial, and 32 cows were randomly selected for repeated MB. The MB and non-MB (NMB) cows had similar parity (2.6 ± 0.9) and days in milk (96.5 ± 56.3 d) at enrollment. All animals were housed in the same barn and managed in the same manner. Cows were milked 3 times daily with milk yield recorded at each milking. Milk composition was measured weekly and DMI recorded daily. Three MB were performed per cow: 1 wk after enrollment and at 15 and 24 wk. The first and third MB were performed on the left rear quarter, whereas the second MB was on the right rear quarter. The MB were performed based on previously described procedures using a rotating stainless steel cannula with a retractable blade connected to a cordless drill, with appropriate sedation and antiseptic treatment after each MB. After MB, udder health, surgical wound healing, and presence of blood in milk were visually examined at each milking. Blood was cleared from milk 3.86 ± 2.0 d after MB. During the experiment, 4 rear quarters of MB cows and 5 rear quarters from NMB cows were diagnosed and treated for clinical mastitis. No differences were observed in DMI, milk yield, somatic cell score, or milk concentration and yields of fat, protein, lactose, and solids-not-fat between MB and NMB. In conclusion, lactating cows recover rapidly from MB, and repeated MB have no long-term effects on DMI, milk yield and composition, or udder health of lactating dairy cows.

Survey Based Assessment of Tethered Tool Usage in the Power Generation Industry and US Coast Guard

Abstract Background: Struck-by injuries and death caused by dropped objects continue to be a prevalent problem in industries where work is conducted at height. Securing objects from height with tethers, especially hand tools used to conduct work, and an increase in regulatory oversight would reduce these incidences. Currently no research on the multifaceted impact of tethered tool use exists, but they are necessary to maintaining safety while working at heights. Methods and findings: Due to the lack of information on tethered tool usage, it was necessary to develop and distribute a survey to gather data on tethered tool usage patterns, tool carrying methods, drop history and perceived risks while working at height. The survey was administered online for selected Wind Power Generation utilities as well as US Coast Guard employees. The majority (72.5%) of respondents used tethered tools as a general practice, while 27.5% of respondents did not. The frequency of usage was found to be correlated to the employee providing a tethered option for the tool. Other factors associated with increased tethered tool usage were: years of experience, increased perception of injury risk and having a history of dropping tools. Among two dozen tools identified by the users in both industries, the wrench, cordless drill, screwdriver, hammer and pliers were most frequently used and were also recommended for a tethered option while using them at heights. Conclusion: Employers and employees must be trained to understand the safety benefits of using tethered tools, and tool designers must fabricate tools to facilitate comfort and ease of use during work, without causing interference to worker performance. In addition, developing appropriate tether attachment points on commonly worn tool-carrying methods, such as vests, backpacks and tool belts is another consideration in tethered tool design. Ultimately, regulatory development on tethered tool standards should be undertaken to increase usage in the field.

Karena Chapman: X-ray Manipulator

Figuring out how complex materials work—and then making them work better—often requires exposing the chemical secrets hidden deep inside. Getting a close view of a material’s atomic structure helps scientists see how a drug hits its target, reveal how a lobster’s shell forms, or learn about the super-fast chemical reactions inside a cordless drill battery. But the ability to capture that level of detail is extremely rare. Not only can Karena Chapman do it, she helps other scientists do it too. She is in charge of the high-energy X-ray beamline at Argonne National Laboratory and has spent the past decade developing its capabilities. Researchers from around the globe bring their samples—zeolites, battery electrodes, nanoparticles, and pharmaceuticals—to the world-class synchrotron facility at Argonne to learn how, when, and where atomic bonds form and how chemical reactions proceed under real-world pressures and temperatures. Answering those questions is worth traveling for. As a

Here Is Where

Here Is Where Cate Kennedy (bio) Jim Carlyle drove down Glenmore’s main street looking for a parking spot in a manner that suggested he’d never burned out a clutch in sixty years of driving and wasn’t about to start now. He found a place and swung the Utility’s wheel so that he rolled in perfectly against the kerb. Nothing wrong with his reflexes. He just drove at a speed that let him count steers in a paddock or check where a branch might have dropped over the fence. Always had. Never put a car into a ditch, never lost control on some back road, not in sixty years. Sixty-three, more like. He didn’t even have to wear a seat belt now—that was the new thing the doctors had worked out for him when he’d had the stent put in, after that little scare he’d had. Not a stroke exactly. They’d explained it to him, drawn a diagram. A small bleed, so that his brain had taken a while to repatch its circuits and relearn the old connections. Wearing a seat belt might have put pressure on his carotid artery, so he was exempt. Had a sticker on his license and all. He’d driven around for a while half hoping one of these young coppers in town would pull him over and try to book him so he could bring out that sticker, but to his secret disappointment, so far nobody had. He paused a few moments after turning off the ignition, just watching a mother herding her kids into the library. He’d been at the opening of that library. Good few years back now. He still liked the architecture. That had been a good era; the biscuit-coloured bricks with the square banks of windows, things crisp and clean and full of no-nonsense right angles, which suggested that tasks were being sorted and accomplished inside. Jim had been on council when they approved the new chamber of commerce too and still had a book at home showcasing towns of the district with a black-and-white photo of that chamber taken the year it was finished. The chairs all squared up round the table. What had that table been? Danish wood, maybe. Or teak, back when Malaysia was still Malaya. The caption. Give him a second. “State-of-the-art style in Council Chambers just completed in Glenmore” and by God, he could have put his hand on that book right now if you asked him; he could see it on the hallway shelf exactly where it was, stacked on top of all the [End Page 91] lp records the kids had left behind, all the hardcovers tidily together, and as he sat there he could smell that hallway, the faint dust in the hall runner and Margie’s little bowl of rose potpourri scenting the air. Jim had one of the faint foundering moments he sometimes had, a burring, churning minute where something in the calibrations seemed to lift and judder. A short blank hole he needed to rouse himself from, but easy to ignore, apart from bracing for the jagged little spurt of nausea that followed. Half a block back to the hardware. Yes. He’d have a poke through the bolts and find one that would do the job for the gate at the stockyards, a job that would need predrilling first, so he might get Jack onto that because something about that new cordless drill, the grip and pressure you needed on it, just didn’t suit him anymore, he couldn’t get a firm enough grasp. Some bolts and maybe a length of chain, if they had something that wasn’t from China. He eased himself out of the cabin, countering the nausea with a calculation of how many years it had been since the day he’d walked into the hardware store to find Vince had started there. 1964, so fifty years. Vincenzo Geroni. His English hadn’t been good and hadn’t he been made to feel it, standing there fresh off the boat, 1964 and the country full of...

Development of a Low Cost, Easily Constructed Drill Dynamometer Laboratory

This paper presents the development of a Drill Dynamometer laboratory using cordless drills. This particular setup was chosen as it allows students to be introduced to topics such as: motor torque and power curves, power bands, current and efficiency curves; all at a relatively low and safe power level. The setup consists of a cordless drill coupled to a hex shaft mounted friction spool. The spool and pillow block bearing mounts are Rapid Prototyped from ABS plastic. Students apply tension to a belt wrapped around the spool and brake tension is measured using a spring scale. Motor RPM is measured by means of a modified bicycle computer. The batteries on the drill are replaced with an external battery pack with voltage and current meters. Student measurements show a high degree of precision for the linear speed vs. torque curves and the parabolic power vs. torque curves. The kit is made from easily obtainable materials and supplies and was constructed quickly for less than $200 a kit.

Early problems identification in collaborative engineering with different product data modelling standards

Since activities during collaborative projects in global engineering teams depend greatly on efficient exchange of current and accurate data, establishing procedures for successful data exchange is needed for effective product design and realisation projects. The work found in this study benefits a collaborative engineering strategy for testing available software applications, and their neutral exchange file types, which will be used in a bigger project among stakeholders in the product design or manufacturing phase. A collaborative methodology for future larger scale projects that would be done with a team, who has access to different software, has been tested on a smaller example in this study using a cordless hand drill reverse engineering project. This research aimed to establish a model for the start-up and testing of a virtual collaborative tool set-up for a future engineering collaboration on product design and realisation projects. A real case study was considered in this project to simulate a real situation, not uncommon for modern design and manufacturing projects, especially while collaborators are from mid-sized companies and working for a larger supplier. The proposed approach is a possible solution to accelerate the identification of possible problems in data conversion as early as in the design phase.

A multi-criteria assessment tool for screening preliminary product platform concepts

Platform concept evaluation is a more challenging task than evaluating a single product concept since a platform must effectively support multiple product variants over a prolonged period of time. Existing platform methods develop specific criteria in depth, yet an evaluation of alternative platforms should be based on a broad set of criteria. Based on expert interviews, personal experience, and a literature search we propose a platform assessment tool consisting of 19 criteria for platform evaluation. The criteria are group into six categories: customer satisfaction, variety, after-sale, organization, flexibility, and complexity. The tool is focused on the early platform architecture phase, before proof-of-concept prototyping. However, it can also be used subsequently for platform refinement when more data becomes available. We demonstrate our platform assessment tool through an example with a cordless drill platform.

A Flexible-Input, Desired-Output Motor Controller for Engineering Design Classes

The flexible-input, desired-output (FIDO) motor controller is a robust wireless motor controller specifically designed for engineering design classes where students design and build radio-controlled devices that are typically featured in an end-of-semester celebration or competition. The controller receives bidirectional control signals from a standard 72-MHz band hobby radio transmitter and proportionally drives four motors with up to 3 A of current in each. The controller is designed to accommodate changes to the battery voltage as well as motors with different voltage ratings. It is also designed to be built easily by teaching assistants and can be reused year after year. These capabilities are designed to lower the cost of running this type of class and reduce the organizational work load required of the instructors. Specifically, this motor controller enables the use of commercial cordless drill batteries as inexpensive, portable sources to power motors at a wide range of voltage ratings. The drills are also used during the class as construction tools and can be used by the student after the class. The FIDO motor controller has been successfully tested in the 2.007-Design and Manufacturing classes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Cambridge, and its utility and acceptance are confirmed by a class survey. Detailed circuit schematics are provided in the Appendix.

Interactive Product Design Selection With an Implicit Value Function

We present a new method to aid a decision maker (DM) in selecting the “most preferred” from a set of design alternatives. The method is deterministic and assumes that the DM’s preferences reflect an implicit value function that is quasi-concave. The method is interactive, with the DM stating preferences in the form of attribute tradeoffs at a series of trial designs, each a specific design under consideration. The method is iterative and uses the gradient of the value function obtained from the preferences of the DM to eliminate lower value designs at each trial design. We present an approach for finding a new trial design at each iteration. We provide an example, the design selection for a cordless electric drill, to demonstrate the method. We provide results showing that (within the limit of our experimentation) our method needs only a few iterations to find the most preferred design alternative. Finally we extend our deterministic selection method to account for uncertainty in the attributes when the probability distributions governing the uncertainty are known.