12TH ASIAN FORUM ON GRAPHIC SCIENCE
9–12 AUGUST, 2019, KUNMING, CHINA©2019 AFGSDEVELOPMENT OF TRAINING METHOD AND MATERIALSFOR YOUNG DESIGNERS IN THREE-DIMENSIONALMECHANICAL DESIGN
Shigeo HIRANO 1, 2, Susumu KISE 2, Sozo SEKIGUCHI 2, Kazuya OKUSAKA 2
and Tsutomu ARAKI 3
1
Professor emeritus, Tokyo City University, Japan
2
Artner Co. Ltd, Osaka, Japan
3
Professor emeritus, Tsukuba University of Technology, Japan
ABSTRACT: Three-dimensional (3D) computer-aided design (CAD) is a mechanical design tooland helps designers embody their conceptual plan of a design to examine and realize it. It is possible
to save time and avoid confusion and establish a more efficient design method by effectively using a
3D mechanical design tool. It has been noted recently that young designers are unable to comprehend drawings. Also, customers have pointed out that young designers in our company lack theability to comprehend drawings. To solve this problem, the total period of technical training was
reduced by 5% and training in hand drawing was introduced in our company. During this training
in hand drawing, the young designers are required to model the shape of products three dimensionallyin their mind. This training in hand drawing includes tasks at which young designers are inept, andthey learn to understand ambiguous portions of blueprints, pictures, and drawings. In general,young designers rely on their intuition gained from 3D models. In the absence of 3D models, their
spatial imaginative power tends to decrease. In addition, their basic skills related to mechanicalsubjects decline because of the reduction in the contents of mechanical courses given at educational
institutions, leading to the decline in the ability to understand drawings and in the amount ofknowledge on materials, basic engineering, and kinematics. We have revised the educational contents to be compatible with both virtual and real spaces by analyzing the characteristics of 3D shapes.
We also aim to improve the quality of engineering education, including 3D printer prototyping aswell as designing and evaluation of prototypes. We first developed standard forms of training. By
thinking outside of the stereotypical concept based on drawings, we need to carry out a zero-based
review of new ideal methods of information transmission. To this end, we must clarify the information required for manufacturing and examine the method of conveying such information by using
the merit of 3D data. In this paper, we describe the ideal method of 3D mechanical design and thedevelopment of the training method and materials for beginners in mechanical design. (1) Fundamental knowledge of mechanical engineering is generally examined as a basis of 3D mechanicaldesigning. (2) The expected improvement in the skills of machine designers upon mastering theshape modeling technique using 3D CAD (design = shape determination = ambiguity reduction andshape formation) is examined. (3) We developed training materials to clarify the relationship between 2D and 3D drawings. (4) We developed a method for creating 2D drawings using model data
generated by 3D CAD to facilitate understanding of both data for functional design and those for
production design.
Keywords: Ability to Comprehend Drawings, Human skills, Technical skills, Design Techniqueand Know-How, Development of the Training Method
1. INTRODUCTION
3D CAD can realize, at a low cost, an environment in which accurate and complete production

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technical data is available for use when andwhere it is required by whoever needs it inthenecessary form. Namely, 3D CAD enablesaccurate and speedy communication.

placed on boundary areas, university students
have more to learn compared with students inthe past. It is also true that their basic academic
skills have declined.

However, partial optimization, such as the pursuit of modeling functions alone, often leads toresults that are far from the original purpose.

Conventionally, students who major in mechanical engineering have to learn four areas of dynamics, namely, mechanics, material mechanics,
fluid dynamics, and thermodynamics. Today,
they also have to learn quantum mechanics andbiological evolution. In addition, in whateverarea, they need to acquire the skills to present
their idea using a computer. Moreover, theyneed to understand the finite element method(FEM) in order to make use of the knowledge ofmaterial mechanics.

While discussing when and how the qualities for3D mechanical design and manufacturing
evolve, there are various phenomena of interest
to be clarified. Here, “interest” is an important
keyword.
The cycle of interest, discovery, and enthrallment becomes a soft power that encourages us
to explore the reality of things. If you see abolt, you may want to unscrew it. If you see amachine, you may want to disassemble it.
Such a simple impulse is one of the most important qualities for design engineers who are at
the beginning of their career. Fundamental
knowledge of engineering as well as a flexible
mindset and creativity are required to nurture excellent design engineers.

As a result, the content of textbooks for eachsubject of mechanical engineering has been reduced. For example, up to now, the industrial
processing textbook had been like a handbook
containing sections with lists of names of machine tools and materials. Now, topics such as
cutting theory are absent from textbooks. Students do not even learn the difference between avertical milling machine and a horizontal milling machine.

In this paper, we describe the ideal method of 3D
mechanical design and the development of the
training method and materials for beginners inmechanical design.
(1) Fundamental knowledge of mechanical engineering is generally examined as a basis of 3D
mechanical designing.
(2) The expected improvement in the skills ofmachine designers upon mastering the shapemodeling technique using 3D CAD (design =shape determination = ambiguity reduction andshape formation) is examined.
(3) We developed training materials to clarify
the relationship between 2D and 3D drawings.
(4) We developed a method for creating 2D
drawings using model data generated by 3D
CAD to facilitate understanding of both data forfunctional design and those for production design.

For automation technology, there is not even an
academic discipline called “mechanization” or“automation”. It is often thought that all thatneed to be done for automation is to design thenecessary parts and couple them together to create a system. However, what is actually required is to determine how the target of mechanization or automation will act.
Academic subjects such as mechanics, kinematics, dynamics, control engineering, and systemengineering are related to the process of analyzing an action that humans are able to perform
well, extracting what appears to be the essenceof the action, and simulating the action by machine. Also, electronic engineering is needed
to develop the control elements and software engineering is needed to show how the machine
works. These subjects have been fully generalized.

2. EXAMINATION OF FUNDAMENTALKNOWLEDGE OF MACHANICALENGINEERING
Recently, with increasing importance being
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Therefore, it takes a considerable amount oftime and effort to apply academic knowledge topractical design processes. Through academic
subjects, students can understand that it is important to make fine, simple, and efficient“mechanisms”. However, it makes little sense
to provide students with automation techniques
for specific mechanisms. If students have fundamental engineering knowledge that can be applied to automation, no special education on automation is required.

education for young designers and new employees [1].
(1) They have a broad range of engineeringknowledge but lack true fundamental
knowledge.
(2) They have not received experience-based
education that leads to practical design.
(3) They lack knowledge of mechanical materials and machining methods.
(4) They are unable to construct mechanisms.
Regardless of the product, the structure becomescomplex as the number of functions increases.
Technologies from different areas are combinedin many aspects of the product. Overall, thecomplexity of the entire product increases.
The difficulty in design increases exponentiallyas the complexity of the product increases,
which results in a low probability of success.

On the other hand, an important task for automation engineers is to determine the mechanismthat satisfies functional specifications. Until
recently, the fun of automation was in understanding how the end of a link mechanism works,seeing the achievements of predecessors, anddiscovering a new mechanism on one’s own.
One could learn from the past as the old saying
says, “visit old, learn new”.

Under such circumstances, the skill to comprehend the design contents is required.
(1) Is the integrity of components ensured?
(2) Is the overall composition appropriate?
(3) Are safety and recovery features properly
incorporated into the product?

That is a lovely thought. However, when link
and cam mechanisms become things of the past,taking good old mechanisms as examples ismerely nostalgia. Young engineers will not go
into the world of automation if experienced engineers insist that things were better in the past.
The kind of fun that attracts young engineers resembles what they feel when they are pursuingtheir goal in video games.

Designers should be able to comprehend the design contents from various perspectives. Otherwise, high-quality design cannot be maintained. To this end, it is necessary to improvecreativity and design skills. The following are
the details of the required improvements in skills.

Automation engineers, therefore, should leave
nostalgia behind when talking about automation
while retaining mechanisms that stir interest.
Also, they should show young designers some
prototype mechanisms that are stored in a cornerof a prototype plant. When young designers
see skillfully built mechanisms that actually
move, they will be inspired to create such mechanisms on their own. We hope that young designers will create ingenious mechanisms in a
new way.

1) Broad view of design process
The term “design” may make us think of actualtasks such as calculating and drawing or testing
and measuring prototypes. In a narrow sense,
it is true that the design process is centeredaround such tasks. However, designers should
assume a broader view of the design process
when designing a product with a certain level ofcomplexity or when they are trying to improve
the quality of design.

3. IMPROVEMENT OF SKILLS OF
MECHANICAL DESIGNERS
The following was revealed through technical2) Following design procedures
In actual designing, the first thing to do is to de3

fine the requirements that the object to be designed (design object) must satisfy. Evaluation during the design process is helpful for preventing inappropriate design. Evaluation afterusing the product will contribute to the improvement of design quality in the long term.

TWO-DIMENSIONAL (2D) AND 3D
DRAWINGS AND THEIR OUTCOMES
4.1 Training material to provide experienceof workflow
It requires some ingenuity to turn a knowledgeoriented mindset into a hands-on mindset. To
this end, we developed training materials
through which young designers and new employees experience an ordinary workflow of observing, thinking, deciding, and yielding output
on their own responsibility.

When the design object is complex, high-quality
design results are not ensured without
fundamental engineering knowledge. Also,
design procedures need to be adjusted inaccordance with the design object. Design
procedures that worked well for one design
object do not necessarily work well for anotherdesign object. Designers are required to assess
the characteristics of the object they are going todesign.

One of the training materials is a practical exercise used for mechanical education, called the“disassembly” of a calligraphy machine named
Fude-R (Figure. 1). The structure of this machine has three axes, X, Y, and Z. The X- andY-axes are equipped with a stepping motor anda ball screw driving device, while the Z-axis isequipped with a push-pull solenoid. The task
for young designers and new employees is tocreate freehand drawings of parts from the assembly drawings of the calligraphy machine(Figure. 2) and the machine itself. This is acommon task in mechanical courses, and “comprehending and creating drawings” is one of thefundamental skills. Namely, young designers
or new employees must recognize the shapefrom the drawings and convert the information
received through the eyes into freehand drawings [1].

3) Exercising autonomy as designers
The nature of the design process is inconsistent
with control. While giving designers a certain
level of freedom, it is necessary to provide themwith a framework or direction of design by defining goals and requirements. Encouraging
each designer to exercise his/her autonomy andto show his/her ability to the fullest within thatframework is the best and realistic strategy.
While providing technical training to new employees, we found that, for example, young machine designers have little experience in reading,writing, drawing, and comprehending drawings.
To come up with an answer, they first run asearch, then retrieve and copy and paste the information. As a result, their answer is correct
but some of them are not able to explain the reason for their answer.
If one’s unlimited wisdom can be brought forththrough thinking and struggling, creating an idea
and visualizing it in rough sketches are theessence of the design process. There cannot be
improvement in mechanical design procedures
without taking these steps.
4. DEVELOPMENT OF TRAINING
MATERIALS TO CLAREFY THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

Figure 1: Calligraphy machine named
Fude-R
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Figure 2: Assembly drawings (Fude-R)
To create drawings, it is necessary to fully understand the mechanism. A vague understanding is not sufficient. If one knows mechanicaldrawing techniques but is not able to comprehend and create drawings, it is like knowing thestructure of a bicycle but not being able to ride
it. The knowledge obtained through memorybased learning alone is not enough to find solutions.

the part of both the instructors and the young designers and new employees.
The evaluation of drawings is based on whether
a product that meets the requirements can be
manufactured from the drawings. Drawings
are considered to be acceptable if young designers or new employees have defined the tolerance,
surface texture, and surface treatment on the basis of their own reasoning. The key is whether
their intention is conveyed in the drawings.
When they give an answer but are unable to explain the reasoning behind their answer, theirunderstanding is insufficient.

Young designers or new employees gain a feeling of accomplishment when they find a reasonable solution to a problem on their own, which
gives them some confidence and a sense of fulfillment. It serves as a stepping stone to thenext step. This is what we aim to achieve.

4.2 Outcomes of using training materials
A common source of concern for designers at
the beginning of their careers is the factors thatneed to be determined on the basis of experienceand a sense of balance as designers. Such factors are no obstacle to experienced designers.
However, no matter how much young designers
think about those factors, they cannot arrive at
the solution. As a result, they can pose only

The lecture method is also well considered.
Corrections are marked in red. Only the typeand number of errors are given to young designers or new employees.
We encourage them tosolve the issues, giving them hints but not tellingthem the answers. This requires persistence on5very simple questions about such factors.
In design, young designers often encounter factors that cannot be determined from the standards or logical calculation. We are trying togive simple answers to their simple questions byusing analogies. If we can draw out “I get it”
from them, then they have acquired and assimilated a piece of knowledge.

2D Drawing
3D Drawing
Figure 5: Ginbal (Universal joint)

We have developed training materials that help
young designers understand how mechanisms
work. The training materials are based on abook entitled “Mechanism no Jiten (Encyclopedia of Mechanisms)” with all the original 2D
drawings in the book having been replaced with
3D drawings. Figures 3–15 show some ofthem [2].

2D Drawing
3D Drawing
Figure 6: 3 Ratchet wheel

2D Drawing
3D Drawing
Figure 3: Hirakawa parallel motion

2D Drawing

2D Drawing
3D Drawing
Figure 4: Parallel cranks cross compound

3D Drawing
Figure 7: Irregular formed gear6

2D Drawing

2D Drawing

3D Drawing
Figure 8: Friction-using apparatus

3D Drawing
Figure 10: Self-reversing motion

2D Drawing

2D Drawing

3D Drawing
Figure 9: Reduced form slider crank

3D Drawing
Figure 11: Running face ratchet
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2D Drawing
2D Drawing

3D Drawing
Figure 14: Differential gears
3D Drawing
Figure 12: Compound mechanism

2D Drawing
2D Drawing

3D Drawing
Figure 15: Steering equipment

3D Drawing
Figure 13: Capstan gear equipment
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The outcomes of using the training materials are
as follows.
1) Young designers understand design procedures (total flowchart).
2) They experience the problem resolution process (conceptual design and rough sketches)
keeping in mind that their design directly affects the manufacturing process (design =manufacturing).
3) They understand mechanisms on their own(solids and projection drawings).
4) They become able to choose appropriate materials (examples of application of new materials).
5) They become able to devise machining methods (how to manufacture products).
6) They become able to design existing instrments.

and 3D drawings, and using 3D CAD assembly,
we have established environmental facilities to
run interference checks and operation checks.
5.1 Measure to improve 3D spatial recognition ability
Even when young designers are able to operate
3D CAD software to some extent, their 3D spatial recognition ability may be insufficient. To
address this issue, they are given a hand drawing
lesson every morning in the form of an A4 assignment sheet.
5.2 Shape formation
In design, the requirements of products are often
satisfied by devising the shapes of the parts.
Taking this into consideration, we provide examples of shape formation to young designers
and advise them to refer to those examples when
they make decisions during a design process.

We are still at the trial stage and have achieved
no noteworthy outcomes. However, the questionnaire survey conducted after the training indicates positive changes in how young designers
approach a design process and a design object.

5.3 Example of reducing ambiguity during
design process
In 3D mechanical design, designers have to reduce ambiguity by themselves in order to advance the design process. With the aim of improving the skills of young designers, we provide them with examples of the basis for determining shapes.
5.4 Design skills and know-how
Hands-on education, in which young designers
can see, touch, and feel real products, is required.
To this end, we provide young designers withtraining using our originally developed mechanical training sheet and machine element library.
Through this training, young designers learn theweight, smoothness, hardness, movement, andmechanism of real products rather than virtual
products. Also, through the hands-on education based on know-how accumulated on-site,
young designers can be groomed into industryready human resources.

For example, the following comment was givenin the opinion column on the submitted answer
sheet: “All manufacturing processes or some ofthem, such as the examination of structure, thedetermination of shape and dimensions, theanalysis for functional verification, the realization of a shape by controlling the machine tools,
and the evaluation of the deliverable, can be reflected in the model. Now I clearly see theconnection between the processes through a 3D
environment, although they previously showed
little correlation.”
5. DEVELOPMENT OF MEASURES TO
PROMOTE MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN FUNCTIONALDESIGN AND PRODUCTION DESIGNThe use of 3D CAD models is a standard technique in designing automobile-related equipment and home-electric appliances. The design process is largely based on 3D CAD data.
By making the best use of the originally developed mechanical training sheet, as well as 2D

The transition from 2D mechanical design to 3D
mechanical design is difficult. To facilitate theproper procedures of 3D mechanical design, we
propose the following step-by-step approach rather than a single-step approach.
91) Learn the minimum necessary commands required in design.
2) Learn the procedures of modeling in 3D design.
3) Design products in a style similar to that usedin 2D CAD.
4) Consider the design style that can make fulluse of the functions of 3D CAD with a minimum amount of knowledge.
5) Use 3D CAD in actual design and then improve the productivity by utilizing the functions of CAD.
The key is how rapidly young designers canwork though steps 1) to 5).

It is important to develop and establish a work
process suitable for 3D mechanical design.
REFERENCES[1] Susumu KISE and Shigeo HIRANO.A Caseof New Employee Training in Business(About Technical Skills and Human Skills).
Journal of Japan Society for Design Engineering, 2019.3:163-169.
[2] Shigeru ITOU. Encyclopedia of Mechanisms. Ohmsha1983.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
1. Shigeo HIRANO Ph.D. Professor
emeritus Tokyo City University, Tokyo,
Japan. His research interests areTechnology Philosophy, Engineering
Ethics, Mechanical Design and Drawing,
CAD Design System Education andDevelopment of New Products for
Human Support Science.
He can be reached by e-mail:rs4775hirano@ybb.ne.jp
2. Susumu KISE, is a Ability Development
Section Supervisor in the Artner Co. Ltd.
e-mail:kise@artner.co.jp
3. Sozo SEKIGUCHI, is a President in the Artner Co. Ltd.
e-mail: sekiguchi @artner.co.jp
4. Kazuya OKUSAKA, is a Ability
Development Section General Manager inthe Artner Co. Ltd.
e-mail:okusaka@artner.co.jp
5. Tsutomu ARAKI
Professor emeritus Tsukuba University ofTechnology.
e-mail: tutaraki@yahoo.co.jp

6. CONCLUSIONS
Young designers must develop abilities to inventand design a product that they have never seen
before, seek ways to manufacture such a product,
and transform their idea into a product. In
other words, at the initial stage of design, theycreate rough sketches that describe the elements
and mechanisms of a product based on specifications. Also, they continuously try to findclues about the requests from clients for the
product and design, and incorporate such requests into the rough sketches. Such processes
are the starting point of mechanical design.
The passing on of intangible techniques fromone person to another and the conservation of
those techniques as permanent resources are difficult to accomplish through the efforts of one
academic group alone. A person supports another person. Experienced designers accept
young designers and back them up. Such relationships must underlie the technical support
system.

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