Abstract
This paper proposes an efficient method for selecting alternative designs using approximate calculations of the influence these alternatives have on performance properties. During the design of machine products, design parameters such as the shapes, dimensions, materials and other properties of each part often need to be altered to accommodate requirements and such alterations to the present design state usually cause large changes in values of performance properties. In such cases, in order to achieve accurate results, the values of the performance properties must be calculated using altered design parameters, but after such alterations, accurate calculation of the performance property values is inefficient. When calculations must be made after altering a given set of design parameters, designers want to obtain quick and useful estimates of the effects resulting from adopting each of a number of alternatives. Using the method presented in this paper, designers can rapidly obtain estimates that clarify the differences between the present design and various design alternatives.
