KD5080 - Electrical Product Development

This module is workshop based, with supporting material is available on elp. Weekly workshops offer you the opportunity to provide a weekly review to staff supervising and to discuss plans for future development and review timescales. Each team will be given atleast 20 minutes of directly supervised session in these workshops each week to monitor progress and provide appropriate support towards completion of planned tasks.

You will form into teams of four or five students, mimicking the functioning of a start-up company. Each team will develop an electrical/electronic engineering product. You will take on a particular role within your team, for example, team leader, circuit designer, mechanical designer etc., thus simulating the activity of a small industrial company.

You will be required to learn to work as part of a team, ensuring completion of timely individual deliverables aligning with the deliverables and the progress of the team. Discussions in the weekly workshops are recorded and kept by the students to provide feedback and suggestions for future work. Team meetings outside of the scheduled workshops will be required to tackle directed and independent project development aspects including timely progress and completion of deliverables.

Each team will submit a Group Product Design Review report containing all aspects of research, design, development, analysis, and conclusion to develop report writing skills. At the end of the semester, you will undergo an ‘investor pitch’ to pitch your product in a 3-minute presentation. The presentation will be followed by an individual viva to evaluate an individual’s contribution and understanding towards the product development process. Self and peer assessment will be incorporated into the marking of the final report to enable you to have an input to the mark obtained for your own performance and other group members.

Module content is delivered by lecture with additional support and appropriate links via the e-LP
The weekly workshops provide an essential forum for discussion of project progress with staff, allowing staff to provide advice, and to enable the groups to receive documented up to date feedback. Each team will be given at least 20 minutes of directly supervised session in these workshops each week to monitor progress and provide appropriate support towards completion of planned tasks.

You will be directed to Library facilities, specifically Skills+ . Researching online databases will be demonstrated in lectures as will the use of Endnote, to assist in the development of reference sections and the citation of references in reports.

You will use industry standard software and hardware tools, such for PCB design and simulation, mechanical design softwares and 3D printers. You will also use necessary hardware development tools, such as microcontroller boards, electronic components, oscilloscopes and meters, to practically test developed circuits in the laboratory.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

Knowledge & Understanding:
1. Investigate an engineering design problem to develop product solutions taking into account, customer and business needs considering constraints including environmental, societal, cultural, ethical, accessibility, safety, sustainability and legal issues. This will include considering aspects of product life cycle, cost drivers, health and safety and equality, diversity and inclusion in product and process design. (AHEP4 C5, C7, C8, C11, M5, M5,M8,M11)
Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
2. Formulate and analyse complex problems in context of developing a product based on given specification guidelines, while evaluating existing commercial products (AHEP4 C2, C4, C5).
3. Apply key engineering principles using integrated or systems approach to solve engineering problems using appropriate theory, methods, practical implementation, and IT tools, while undergoing a critical evaluation of the methods used (AHEP4 C6, C12, C13, M6, M12, M13)
Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
4. Work effectively as a team to manage the engineering design process and evaluate outcomes. Develop as an individual to self-manage tasks and responsibilities toward product development considering ethical values and evaluate self and peer performance periodically (AHEP4 C8, C11, C16, M8, M11, M16)
5. Communicate technical and non-technical information about product development process by written report and oral presentation (AHEP4 C17)
6. Plan and record your professional skill development while learning and managing individual and team tasks towards product development (AHEP4 C18, M18)

The module assessment is based on the product developed by the group.

Formative assessment is made throughout the scheduled lab time where each team has 1-2-1 discussions with the tutor about the work completed and next steps, while maintaining a weekly progress log for the project. The feedback received from the tutor will aid the team’s product development through a critical review of their work and time management. All LOs will be assessed through this assessment.

Summative assignment comprises of four components:
1. Coursework (CW – 70%): This is a group report which details information regarding the product design, background literature, environmental and social aspects and commercial aspects. The report will also contain project management details about time and work distribution through Gantt charts and responsibility matrices. The report contains a section on individual contributions and individual reflection of each team member. Feedback will be provided in electronic form via the eLP. (Assessed LOs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6).

2.Presentation (PRE – 30%): A group product presentation. Each team will provide 20 minute presentation providing an overview of their project with contributions from each team member. Feedback will be provided in electronic form via the eLP. (Assesed LO 5)

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In this module you will develop an electrical/electronic product with guideline specifications as a start-up company comprising of a group of 4-5 students. You will be exposed to an open-ended product development process while addressing the design cycle of an electrical/electronic product incorporating market evaluation, detailed specification development, electronic circuit design, mechanical design, use of simulation tools, PCB development, end of life considerations, ethical design and societal considerations.

While working in a team you will also develop skills in project management by managing your and your team’s tasks and responsibilities. Each member of the group will be allocated specific tasks to enable the product to be completed within the required timeframe. You will also take part in an ‘investor pitch’ of your product as a 3-minute presentation along with a preparing a group design report. You will also have an input in the marking through peer and self-assessment.