Mechanical Design
Mechanical design can be described as the conception, the modelling and the subsequent design of mainly mechanical systems. It accelerates product development, since it is involved from the conceptualisation stage through to the detailed design stage in order to improve productivity.
This discipline is not so much concerned with the aerodynamic design of the fan blades in a building's heating system, but rather with the intricate detailing that sets out the basic calculations and plans from the conceptualisation stage of the entire system.
Certainly, the separate components of such a system need to be developed as well, and each one has to be designed by a mechanical engineer according to sound mechanical engineering principles to fulfil its intended task, but the mechanical designer is in charge of the synergy design of the system as a whole.
If we continue to use the example of the building's heating and ventilation system, the mechanical design process will include calculations of air volume, required heating ratio, fan strength, duct diameters, electrical demand, insulation requirements and air cooling rate. Likely temperature gradients between different parts of the system and between the interior and exterior must be ascertained in all weather extremes likely to be experienced.
Numerous additional detail considerations come to mind: distance and gauge of cabling required, system capacity, likely system operating levels, service requirements, fan motor and air conditioning unit placement and ease of servicing, filter location and replacement intervals, diagnostics console, troubleshooting procedures, access hatches, noise levels and operating costs.
Clearly, the mechanical design encompasses a vast array of factors associated with the effective functioning of the entire system. The challenge to the mechanical designer is to design an energy- and cost-effective system that performs silently and reliably between servicing intervals. The success of his design lies not in its perceived performance but in the way in can remain completely unobtrusive and unnoticed - once the building's occupants are comfortable and completely unaware of the ventilation system's existence, the mechanical designer can crack a smile.