seanfraser Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 hey guys am a ford apprentice and we gotta either create a product, solve a problem with one or simply improve a product any ideas of things where u just said i wish i had a.... sean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
movistar Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 They pay engineers at Dunton to do that!!....Blimey there getting tight, getting apprentices to do over payed pen pushers jobs!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 I wish I had a...n ability to go online and get other people to do my job for me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsween Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 I wish I had a...n ability to go online and get other people to do my job for me? Bit harsh really. He's just looking for aditional input, no point him designing something that no-one else will ever use Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseys Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 I think they need to re-engineer the Fiesta or Ka. Bolt on a T88. I think it'd give an improvement. Oh or make nearly all fords RWD/4WD. FWD sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Isn't that the point of being a good designer, to come up with innovations yourself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsween Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 but you need to find out what people want designed first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Make indicators that flash orange for the direction you're turning, and a dim green on the other side, so people pulling out of side roads for example you know which way they are turning (and you know they're not just sitting there without indicating). Not a difficult project mind you, the Engineering involved is easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseys Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Isn't that the point of being a good designer, to come up with innovations yourself? but you need to find out what people want designed first I think the consumerism aspect of products being designed and marketed to people for a requirement/need they never knew they had previously is luckily tailing off (i.e. wtf was an electronic lollypop turner invented for). Something the recession is good for finally. Innovation's biggest drivers are war / survival of the fittest. Science/manufacturing has always been driven that way. If you're in an engineering role and you're stuck looking at what you already have and aren't constantly thinking of ways to better it generally then imho you're in the wrong sort of job or have the wrong mindset. Saying that being an engineer I have found the biggest hinderance generally are the accountants. You can come up with a whole range of ways to improve a product or creation of a good product then be bogged down by these trivial things like money Yes there are bits of creating a product or improving it to consumer demand, but generally an innovation in your product should be towards eliminating the competition and create that differential to bring the consumer to you. Consumers generally don't know what they want I think! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Oh and BTW, do you know Steve Bartlett? Or Vincent Wilson? Both work up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Make indicators that flash orange for the direction you're turning, and a dim green on the other side, so people pulling out of side roads for example you know which way they are turning (and you know they're not just sitting there without indicating). Not a difficult project mind you, the Engineering involved is easy. Actually thinking about it green isn't a good choice, maybe they just need to flash a different way, maybe staying on constant, or 2 quick flash then long pause or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnk Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 hey guys am a ford apprentice and we gotta either create a product, solve a problem with one or simply improve a product any ideas of things where u just said i wish i had a.... sean Can this be any product ? or has to be car related. I helped design a portable hammock a little while ago for university engineering project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
movistar Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 How about a gadget that brings on your brake lights when you decelerate hard using your gears and not you brakes. Anti jack device from an alarm or yaw rate sensor or something along those lines.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 I started a project about 9 years ago that was a 3rd brake light, that lit up more the harder you were braking. It used an accelerometer so it could be aftermarket but I'm sure there are better ways to do it if it's built into the car. I know some German cars have the lights getting brighter during hard braking, but I think it's more intuitive to have more lights coming on, so for example you could have an LED strip across the top of the screen that if you decelerate AT ALL (using gears for example) you get the 2 middle LEDs lit up, then a bit of braking gets 4 LEDs. If you slam the anchors on full you get the whole lot lit up (and hazards flashing for good measure). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistonbroke Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 For my Ford apprenticeship, I designed and made a brake pipe clamp. Simple twin thumbscrew with concave edges so as to not aggressively pinch the rubber brake pipes and cause damage. That was 13 years ago, and I still uise it Feel free to copy, about 6 other people in my class did the same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 What engineering areas does your apprenticeship cover? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanfraser Posted March 4, 2010 Author Share Posted March 4, 2010 [quote name=I designed and made a brake pipe clamp. Simple twin thumbscrew with concave edges so as to not aggressively pinch the rubber brake pipes and cause damage. That was 13 years ago, and I still uise it Feel free to copy, about 6 other people in my class did the same [/quote] any pics or info you can message me?? 3rd brake light idea sounded good too. i can do any product, automotive; household etc hasnt got to be too involved, jus a simple idea of problem and solution, maybe a simple protoytype for the presentation only in my 2nd year at the moment, i have met steve though through placement, i relocate to dunton in april Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevins Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 How about this for an idea as I know this problem really annoys me when working on cars. How about a socket that can be knocked on to a rounded nut or bolt, that has some form of cutting surface that bites in, but angled so that when un done it does not slip. As I am well and truly annoyed with my sockets all starting to round from knocking over rounded nuts and bolts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 How about this for an idea as I know this problem really annoys me when working on cars. How about a socket that can be knocked on to a rounded nut or bolt, that has some form of cutting surface that bites in, but angled so that when un done it does not slip. As I am well and truly annoyed with my sockets all starting to round from knocking over rounded nuts and bolts. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Irwin-Bolt-Grip-Remover-Expansion/dp/B000QW6K8I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 All depends? What is the budget and who pays for the bits? What about a ford KA with a forklift motor in it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevins Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Irwin-Bolt-Grip-Remover-Expansion/dp/B000QW6K8I Lmao, got it on order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Do yourself a favour and don't copy someone else's idea. As demonstrated above you'll probably find that most good ideas have been thought up already and some bright spark in your presentation might say "what makes your product better than the competition". If you are trying to invent something new it would pay you to spend a few hours Googling to make sure someone else hasn't already got there before you. If you are stuck for inspiration, I'd pick something that annoys you but you "put up with" regularly and try to make it better. Alternatively you could pick something that you have come across already from your apprenceship and try to improve on that, either to make it simpler or cheaper to make, or pick a well known fault on a car and fix that. There are so many aspects to engineering, and that's why I asked what areas your apprenticeship covers. If you are going to end up wielding a spanner in a workshop then there's little point in doing months of market research to identify a gap in the market for a new commercial product. It might be more relevant to come up with a service tool to speed up a regular routine task. If your are design-biased you could change the design of an existing part or system to make it simpler to work on. You would be amazed at how seemingly insignificant features can become massive arguments, like having more than one hex head size fastener on a single component for example. The means that the guy on the production line has to stop and change tools (wasting time) during assembly. The flipside is that maybe to commonise hex sizes you have to replace a standard bolt with a special, which will add cost to each and every car or engine you make. Try to decide what you want to end up doing after your apprenticeship and angle your project towards that to demostrate that you have the "right stuff". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
movistar Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Do yourself a favour and don't copy someone else's idea. As demonstrated above you'll probably find that most good ideas have been thought up already and some bright spark in your presentation might say "what makes your product better than the competition". If you are trying to invent something new it would pay you to spend a few hours Googling to make sure someone else hasn't already got there before you. If you are stuck for inspiration, I'd pick something that annoys you but you "put up with" regularly and try to make it better. Alternatively you could pick something that you have come across already from your apprenceship and try to improve on that, either to make it simpler or cheaper to make, or pick a well known fault on a car and fix that. There are so many aspects to engineering, and that's why I asked what areas your apprenticeship covers. If you are going to end up wielding a spanner in a workshop then there's little point in doing months of market research to identify a gap in the market for a new commercial product. It might be more relevant to come up with a service tool to speed up a regular routine task. If your are design-biased you could change the design of an existing part or system to make it simpler to work on. You would be amazed at how seemingly insignificant features can become massive arguments, like having more than one hex head size fastener on a single component for example. The means that the guy on the production line has to stop and change tools (wasting time) during assembly. The flipside is that maybe to commonise hex sizes you have to replace a standard bolt with a special, which will add cost to each and every car or engine you make. Try to decide what you want to end up doing after your apprenticeship and angle your project towards that to demostrate that you have the "right stuff". Like it "wise words":) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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