Major Project Reports (PDR, CDR, FDR) Guide

MECH 350 – Engineering Design I Spring Term 2016
MECH 350
Major Design Project Reports – Guide/Format
This document serves as a guide for the preparation of the Major Design Project reports. These three
reports are:
1) PDR (Preliminary Design Report)
2) CDR (Conceptual Design Report)
3) FDR (Final Design Report)
Purpose of the Major Design Project:

(i) Applying and implementing the design lessons/techniques learned during the lectures,
(ii) Hands-on learning by working with a team to design and build a working prototype within a
set timeframe,
(iii) Designing a device to solve a ‘real world’ problem based on real needs,
(iv) Developing professional-level communication skills by preparing three professional reports
(preliminary, conceptual and final) and delivering a formal presentation.
Overall Milestones/Activities during the Major Design Project:

• Understand the Client Request, and translate it into a Need statement and a Goal statement for
your design project.
• Define the people/stakeholders who are affected by the design project.
• Conduct an extensive Information Gathering search to find and review competing devices that
presently attempt to address the same or a similar Need.
• Develop a set of Design Objectives and Design Constraints that will guide your design
activities. Use your information gathering activities to justify your Design Objectives and
Constraints.
• Generate at least three Conceptual Design Alternatives, and document the process to create
these ideas, along with sketches and descriptions of the conceptual designs.
• Perform a Preliminary Design Analysis of your conceptual designs.
• Use a logical Design Selection Methodology to select your design approach, from amongst the
three conceptual design alternatives from the previous step.
• Perform a Detailed Design of your chosen design. This includes activities such as:
o Engineering analysis (i.e, calculate expected outcomes for your Design Objectives, for
example: speed, weight, workspace, force, torque, stress, etc…)
o Project work plan, and timeline
o Cost estimate for producing/manufacturing your design (i.e. production labor + mater.)
o Bill of materials (BOM) for the design project
o Detailed engineering drawings
• Construct a Functioning Prototype to demonstrate the operation of the design. This working
prototype should be cleanly constructed
• Test and Evaluate the Prototype to demonstrate that the design meets or exceeds the Design
Objectives and Constraints.
• Presentation and Demonstration of the functioning prototype to the class.
• Documentation and Reporting the design process and activities of the design via three reports,
which are the PDR, CDR and FDR.
Page 1 of 3
Major Design Reporting and Documentation:

Three main reports are required for the Major Design Project. Each group must document the
development of their design at three stages of the design process corresponding to: problem definition,
conceptual design, and final design. The documentation for each stage consists of the following:
Preliminary Design Report (8%): This report identifies the current problem/need, and outlines the
proposed design project to be undertaken. The PDR must include the following: Introduction
describing purpose of work and client request, Background info for reader to understand the report,
Literature Search to find and review similar devices/systems that presently exist that address the same
or a similar Need, Need statement and Goal statement for design activity, proposed Design Objectives
and Constraints for the project, rationale and justification for your Objectives and Constraints (use
literature search to justify need, goals and objectives), and the project work plan (plan of activities and
graphical timeline for the project). Also, the first peer-evaluation form from each member of the team
is due with the PDR.
Conceptual Design Report (12%): The CDR is a mid-term report for your project, and must include
the following: An up-to-date PDR (with appropriate corrections/changes from marking feedback),
where the first dozen or so pages of the CDR will be the updated PDR. Next, three different
Conceptual Design Alternatives that have been generated by your team, including hand-drawn
sketches and descriptions for each concept. Sketches should be clear, labeled, and of good quality.
Descriptions should clearly explain how each concept works. Preliminary Design Analysis (as needed)
for each design alternative, which provides rough calculations to substantiate/validate your concepts,
or estimate the values of the design objectives for each design alternative. Use of a logical Design
Selection Methodology to select the final design concept (process described in Lec 7, pp 14-29). A
clear statement of the selected design concept with written rational for choice (justify by showing it
meets the Design Objectives and Need/Goal. Originality and feasibility of the selected design concept
should be noted. A modified work plan and timeline for the remainder of the project must be included.
Additionally, the second peer-evaluation form from each member of the team is due with the CDR.
Final Design Report (15%): The final design must be documented with a professional report
providing a description of the overall design process used, from start to finish. This includes most
information from the updated PDR and updated CDR (with appropriate corrections/changes from
marking feedback), as described above. In addition, the FDR must include: Detailed Design
description of your chosen design which includes: Clear pictures of your design (both computer
graphic, and actual photographs all clearly labeled). A clear description of how design works (optional:
some groups make a 3-4 page operating/user manual for client and put in appendix). Detailed
engineering analysis (as needed, to calculate some values for the performance of your design and
compare to Design Objectives, for example: speed, weight, energy use, force, stress, etc…). Updated
project work plan and final timeline. Cost estimation for production if design is to be manufactured,
along with BOM. Testing and Evaluation of prototype with table of results compared to Design
Objectives, and discussion of test results. Conclusion statement and list of future work
recommendations. Detailed engineering drawings. The third peer-evaluation form from each member
of the team is also due.
Page 2 of 3
Final Presentation & Prototype Demonstration (20%):

Prepare and deliver a professional presentation of the project, to the clients and the class. Your team
will be given 12-14 minutes in total, to present and demonstrate your design. It is recommended you
prepare your presentation slides in PowerPoint, Keynote, or other electronic presentation format. It is
recommended you use 2-4 minutes to physically demonstrate your prototype (or show a pre-recorded 2
minute video of your prototype working). There will be 3-4 minutes of Q&A at the end of your
presentation by instructor, clients and the class. It is recommended your slides contain the following
information: Title page, Introduction describing purpose with Need/Goal, 1 page Literature Review for
most similar/relevant products, Design Objectives in table format with performance targets, Detailed
Design description with good pictures of final design (includes the operational principle, physical
demonstration of prototype or video demonstration of prototype), Testing Process and Testing Data
and Results with comparison to original Design Objectives, Discussion of test results,
Recommendations for Future, and Conclusion.
Page 3 of 3

Major Project Reports (PDR, CDR, FDR) Guide

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MECH 350 – Engineering Design I Spring Term 2016

Purpose of the Major Design Project:

Overall Milestones/Activities during the Major Design Project:

Major Design Reporting and Documentation:

Final Presentation & Prototype Demonstration (20%):

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