Here's how you can embark on creative projects as a mechanical engineer.

I think you should let ideas find you. What hooks you? I mean, like really grabs you? On the other end of the spectrum, what frustrates the hell out of you? These are the sources of inspiration that really last, versus a passing fancy. Get interested in the world around you and how it works. You'll have no shortage of ideas.

Depending on the type of creative project, a simple checklist will likely do. Early on, it's probably best to be light touch on the plan, unless you know exactly what you're making. Most creative projects require flexibility and soft time that might be uncomfortable for engineers used to rigorous process. I am currently writing a book, and use Asana to track that project right alongside all my other engineering consulting projects, however the tasks and timelines look very different. Do what works for you, and don't get lost in the trap of productivity tools that feel like work, rather than enable work.

Research and Development (R&D) Engineering is crucial for any project: ? Conduct research to explore new ideas and technologies while benchmarking with the existing ones if any. ? Perform tests to validate concepts. ? Develop new products or improve existing ones. ? Redesign components or systems for better performance. ? Before kick off of any project conduct R&D as well this can be done during implementation phase for improvement.

I utilize a three-phase design review process which is fairly standard in industry: Conceptual Design (30%), Preliminary Design (60%), and Critical Design (90%). This is the process I walk every client through. Note that there is no CAD allowed at the concept stage -- only PowerPoint shapes and hand sketches. This keeps the design loose and prevents boxing in our thinking. We may do some light "looks like" CAD for Preliminary Design, but it's not until the Critical Design that we define everything in CAD tightly. You want to ensure the requirements and constraints are properly set at each stage to allow the best solution to emerge.

Depending on what you're making a prototype might be a great idea (can be mocked up in clay, or with fast 3D printing) or a terrible idea (requires lots of CNC machining and validation in an expensive TVAC chamber, for instance). For the former, prototype as much as you can and learn. For the latter, spend more time on analysis and design, finding ways to cheaply prototype some features before spending the capex on a real, test prototype. It's easy to burn budget on hardware prototypes.

Después de haber obtenido un dise?o de producto competente, funcional y que cumple los estándares esperados, es importante que consideres la metodología que tu producto y tu equipo deben de seguir en su desarrollo para obtener un buen resultado desde la fabricación hasta ser utilizado por el usuario final.