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Engineering InnovationSuccessful Products

and Student Employment!



Frank Skinner, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte


Abstract
Engineering Innovation is a successful, rewarding course when it is linked to local
industries. UNC Charlotte has developed and implemented the Mechanical Innovations
course (www.innovations.uncc.edu) by linking this educational process to industry
through commercially manufactured products. Jim Kull, Application Engineering
Director at Stabilus, recently hired two UNCC students to complete their senior
innovation project within the Stabilus, North Carolina facility.

Student innovators exceed the corporate "risk of innovation" fears and give industry the
opportunity to observe and even generate critical abrasion at optimum times. Industry has
subsequently hired our student innovators to complete the product development and
manufacturing cycle. The Mechanical Innovations course developed at UNC Charlotte
has received donations from industry, UNC Charlotte has enhanced their student
innovation class work and innovative students have been hired directly into supporting
industries!

Introduction
According to the book When Sparks Fly, Igniting Creativity in Groups, an innovation is
the embodiment, combination and/or synthesis of knowledge in novel, relevant, valued
new products, processes or services. But could any of this possibly relate to engineering?
Could innovation be taught as a university course?

Frank Skinner believed that was the case and approached his department chairman, Dr.
Jay Raja, in the spring of 2004 with a course outline. He asked for Dr. Rajas support,
and received it. The first Mechanical Innovations course was taught in the fall of 2004.
An important part of this course was the textbook "The Mechanical Design Process" by
David G. Ullman where the author took a look at the mental processes that occur during a
creative design.

Establishing the Engineering Innovation Program
Mechanical Innovations Offered at the UNCC Lee College of Engineering
In Mechanical Innovations, Skinner used the creative side of the mechanical design
process and taught students how to design a product that met the demands of the new

global market. Marketing was emphasized. Then Skinner contacted John Chris Murphy
in the College of Business and asked him to lecture his engineering students on marketing
skills and strategy.


The industrial link has been shown to provide a path for classroom innovation.


Skinner taught Mechanical Innovations again in the fall semester of 2005 and linked this
course with the nearby headquarters of Irwin Industrial tools. Their Vice President, Matt
Popik, was fascinated by the fact that innovation was taught at the university. He was
anxious to evaluate the student projects. Simultaneously, one of Skinners teams had
designed and prototyped the Quick-Lock Adjustable Wrench. Popik expressed a strong
interest in the prototype project and took this to Irwin Tools for evaluation. He
recommended that these students keep up the good workand indeed they did. The
students built a working model and gave this to Irwin Tools at the time they submitted a
disclosure for a patent.

The opportunities and interest in Mechanical Innovations began to spread among the
students and this course grew in size to twenty students. Skinner continued his work as
the Director of Industrial Solutions at UNC Charlotte and visited many nearby
companies.

A limit of twenty-five students was set in the fall of 2006 for the Mechanical Innovations
class but UNC Charlotte had to accept twenty-eight. Many other students visited
Skinners office and requested that he teach a second course in Mechanical Innovations.
Therefore, in the spring of 2007, UNC Charlotte offered the fourth Mechanical
Innovations course. This course utilized valuable information from Irwin tools on their
interests and needs for tooling in the marketplace.

The student enrollment in Mechanical Innovations again increased dramatically and this
course was offered each semester. The students learned quality function deployment,
decision-making methods, concurrent engineering, design for assembly, and Taguchis
method for robust design. TRIZ, the Forty Inventive Principles, was covered as an
important tool for successful innovation. The Planned Innovation

approach to
Needs/Requirements research was also covered. Patents, agreements, trademarks, and
trade secrets were also explained, in detail, as a method for protecting an investment in
creativity and innovation.

Other companies joined Irwin in the Mechanical Innovations program last year.
Hargraves Technology Corporation had a need for a miniature pump and a rapid
assembly machine. Stabilus, of Gastonia, NC, wanted UNC Charlotte to invent a plastic
gas spring.


Tom Chervenak, Engineering Director at Irwin Industrial Tools, spoke at the UNC
Charlotte Senior Design Breakfast and singled out the design of the Quick-Lock
Adjustable Wrench as a positive achievement. Product development is a key to being
competitive in the global marketplace, Chervenak said. Irwin has built a reputation for
innovation in past products such as quick action channel locks and pipe wrenches. Now,
these students have come up with a product improvement that could revolutionize the
tool market. This demonstrates the value of fresh thinking and new ideas. Through future
senior design projects, we plan to keep involving students in our innovation programs.
(Note: Irwin Tools did not fund Senior Design projects in 2007-2008. See Selling
Innovation at the University below.) Chervanak said that Irwin Tools will license the
invention and put it into production! Each student will earn a royalty and have a patent
number on his or her resume.


Industry has hired student innovators to complete product development.


During the 2006-2007 academic year, Mechanical Innovations was linked to a
multidisciplinary senior design course for both mechanical and electrical engineers. Irwin
tools contributed $17,000 to support these classes and the projects. Stabilus and
Hargraves each contributed $5,000 and the income to expand the program had begun.
One group of students, working on an Irwin tools project, developed and improved
version of the Vise-Grip pliers. Irwin is working with UNC Charlotte to obtain the patent
rights to this innovation and they have verbally committed to produce this product in high
volume mass production. At the same time, Stabilus was delighted to see that a group of
our students had developed a Quick Release Mechanism for their gas spring cylinders.
Stabilus hired two of these students and has committed to the production of tooling for
the Quick Release Mechanism. They are also seeking patent rights for this innovation.

How the Mechanical Innovations Course Works
Mechanical Innovations is a design course that encourages students to apply university
research to everyday industrial problems and create unique innovations. In his book The
Mechanical Design Process, David Ullman states that "Creative designers are people of
average intelligence; they are visualizers, hard workers, constructive nonconformists with
knowledge about the problem domain. Creativity takes hard work and can be aided by
good environment, practice, and design procedures. (Page 63)

Chapter seven of Ullman's book, Concept Generation, specifically focuses on the basic
methods of generating innovations. Brainstorming is mentioned as a source for ideas, but
other methods, including the 6-3-5 method, are explored in some detail. The 6-3-5
method is used to develop equal participation by all of the group members in Mechanical
Innovations. During one of their lab sessions, each student takes a clean sheet of paper
and divides it into three columns. Each team member writes three ideas at the top of each
column. In another lab session we use analogies to develop new solutions to the
problems. We also use extremes and inverses. For example, using the Boothroyd

principal, reduce a subassembly to one part. In another lab session, we use Boothroyds
original book, Mechanized Assembly, and consider the basic principles of design for
manufacture/assembly. The students are encouraged to find ideas in reference books and
trade journals. Our most successful communication has been the search engines on the
Internet. The students use key words to search for information that will develop a unique
solution to their problem. A patent search is also a valuable tool in the exercise.

The morphological method, quality function deployment and TRIZ, the 40 inventive
principles, are each available to the student groups and are utilized to develop a unique
product that meets the market needs.

In Chapter four, David Ullman explains that "about 80% of new product development is
market-driven. Without a customer for the product, there is no (immediate) way to
recover the costs of design and manufacture. Thus the most important part in
understanding the design problem lies in accessing the market, that is, establishing what
the customer wants in the product."

Ullman's collection of ideas for the creative design process are utilized by the Mechanical
Innovations teams throughout their course work. Students are trained to focus their
design processes on the needs from industry and frequently develop unique solutions to
market opportunity challenges. These students, of course, focus on the deadlines of the
semester and must have a successful innovation at the completion of this course.
Therefore, rapid prototyping is used to help the students produce a working model of
their innovation.

Finally, the students are presented the rewards that extend beyond their grade in this
class. First, they have the opportunity to produce a product that may be patented and
introduced into the global market. Second, they make their final presentation to the
corporation that submitted the opportunity market challenge. Another reward for
participating in the Mechanical Innovations course is the opportunity to network with
corporate officers. Students find that this dramatically helps their search for employment
with an innovative company.

According to Ullman in The Mechanical Design Process, "To summarize, the creative
designer is generally a visualizer, a hard worker, and a constructive nonconformist with
knowledge about the domain, the ability to dissect things in his or her head. Even
designers who do not have a strong natural ability can develop creative methods by using
good problem-solving techniques to help decompose the problem in ways that maximize
the potential for understanding it, for generating good solutions, for evaluating the
solutions, for deciding which solution is best, and for deciding what to do next."


Industries often do not have the time or money (especially today!) to develop a product
for a market.



Selling Innovation Education to Industry
Industry in the United States faces global competition. Innovation is one of the few
remaining advantages American industries have over their global competitors. Most
companies are looking for innovative products to help them expand their product lines.
However, "not invented here" or NIH, is still a challenge to face when approaching a
firm.

The second challenge is the ownership of intellectual property. Today's corporations, in
America, have sharpened their pencils very well. They take a look at any innovation and
immediately attach a profit-loss statement onto it.


Mechanical Innovations removes the risk of innovation and gives industry the chance
to generate critical abrasion.


Universities have an opportunity to sell innovation education to industry. The first step in
building an alliance requires the establishment of communication contacts within
industry. Today's universities have three communication paths to follow, the alumni
association, the job placement department and the faculty consultants to industry. A good
place to start is contacting the alumni association. They can provide a list of student
graduates that are working at nearby industries. Identifying the innovative corporations
(contact us for further information on this subject) will provide an initial communication
door that is partway opened. Alumni graduates will be anxious to help start a program
with their company, especially when they identify the capabilities and match these with
their industrial needs.

The job placement department can provide a list of nearby industries that are
interviewing students. The innovative industries on this list (again we can help) will be
interested in the program and the connections with graduating seniors. This program has
the ability to improve job placement, so everyone gains.

Faculty members at the university often do consulting work with nearby industries. This
communication pipeline is also very valuable. The faculty consultant can link this
program with people in the industry that are interested in solving problems and
developing markets.

Once the communications window has been opened, it is necessary to meet with
industries in person and sell the engineering innovation program with a list of strong
successes. This is the most critical marketing challenge. Consider designing a
presentation around successful applications at other industries. Explain the details about
the program and emphasize the means for making a profit at their industry. Once this
sales program begins with industry, it may encounter the traditional opposition to the

expense of outside ideas. A cost effective solution is to simply run a test program with
this new industry. Don't charge initially; dont ask for fees other than basic material costs.
Take their industrial problem back to an engineering innovation class and introduce this
to the students during the next semester.

Some personal innovation skills are necessary to enhance the industrial program and
motivate the students. Identifying an opportunity, isolating the correct challenges, and
beginning to seek a novel solution will help the students, the university and the industry.
The person that successfully starts this program must have good innovation,
communication and marketing skills.

Working with the College of Business will expand the marketing and sales skills. For
example, at UNC Charlotte, the Mechanical Innovations course was linked with the
entrepreneurship course. Thus student teams had members from both colleges. Together
they developed unique solutions to problems with the entrepreneurship and marketing
skills of both colleges.


Universities receive donations from industries to become linked with innovation.


Success!






IRWIN Industrial Tools Locking Adjustable Wrench


IRWIN Industrial Tools, a company that manufactures and distributes professional grade
hand tools and power tool accessories worldwide, was impressed with the Locking
Adjustable Wrench that students invented in Mechanical Innovations. It was designed
and prototyped as a significant improvement on the adjustable wrench. The locking
mechanism can be manually engaged by the operator to adjust and lock the position of
the moveable jaw relative to the wrench body. This locking process eliminates the drift in
adjustment that otherwise occurs. The locking adjustable wrench accommodates any size
of bolt or nut, within the range of the wrench, and is independent of the number of
parallel faces on the bolt or nut. The locking adjustable wrench will accommodate metric,
English or any other size bolt, nut or object to be gripped.







IRWIN Industrial Tools - One Hand Adjustment for
Locking Pliers


After the success of the Locking Adjustable Wrench, IRWIN Industrial Tools presented
us with a valuable need in the tool marketplace, specifically an improved version of the
classic Vise-Grip pliers that can be operated completely (both clamp and release) with
one hand. The tool we invented functioned in the same manner as traditional Vise-Grip
pliers but released quickly and conveniently. Thus, the operator could hold various parts
or pieces with his second hand, effectively increasing his work skills and productivity.
The student team utilized some valuable tools to optimize the design, including Design
For Manufacture/Assembly. They learned about many of the tool designs that made
manufacture of certain US products successful in the world economy. This was an ideal
project for mechanical engineering seniors who also studied MEGR 3090 Mechanical
Innovations. The creativity processes emphasized in Mechanical Innovations assisted the
team in solving this design challenge.








STABILUS - Quick Disconnect End Fittings for Gas
Springs

STABILUS is a manufacturer of hydro-pneumatic adjustment elements (gas springs).
They have customers that use gas springs in an outside environment, for example,
tonneau covers for trucks. Often these customers would like to remove the gas spring
quickly without tools. The students improved the basic plastic quick disconnect end
fitting, and toughened it for consumer use. It was easy to use, corrosion resistant, price
competitive and simple in design.

Industrial Solutions has been a beneficial two-way street. One direction allows the
university to work on real world problems for industries and increase their technology.
On the other side of this street, industry actively supports academic programs that
combine science, technology, and business. Industry is very interested in graduates who
have been trained at the intersection of various disciplines. Further, industry is pleased
with graduates who have participated in alternating academic and work programs.
Traditionally these students develop team skills, gain leadership skills, and benefit from

real-life experiences that simply cannot be gained in the brief classroom or lab sessions
alone.

The students that expand into the workplace by hiring on with their industry sponsor
provide an important technology bridge between the university and industry. They fuel
the Engineering Innovation program with new projects and implement the solutions
provided.

Industry supports the university, the university identifies and enhances innovative
students, and the students are hired directly into these industries.


Selling Innovation at the University
NIH (not invented here) also applies at any university! Almost every university has an
innovation emphasis in place. At Georgia Tech, for example, there is an innovations web
page (www.gatech.edu/innovations/) that features an innovations spotlight where robotic
percussionists, Nanotube formation, tumor-targeting Nanogels, and other projects are
marketed. Georgia Tech is actively working on these projects, supported by industry, to
get their technology into the marketplace. MIT has an innovation club that was founded
to celebrate over 130 years of MIT innovation. According to their web site, "The club
helps its members generate innovative ideas, commercialize new technologies, and
develop the skills that can make a difference between success and failure in a start-up or
an established company." They are "the club" that is very much about "where ideas come
from." The resistance is beginning to dissolve at the university level. Many universities,
like Stanford, have had IDEO programs in place for years that link innovation and
engineering with industrial needs.

The biggest challenge remains in the intellectual property domain and it is often linked
with a technology transfer program. Many universities view the patent rights from
industry-supported programs as a source of income. True, but industry reacts from the
exact opposite direction. For example, "Why should we fund a university project, give
them our proprietary market information, suggest an optimum product design and then
pay them a royalty on this innovation? Then they come back at us with a non-exclusive
license!" (Anonymous quotation from a vice president at a very innovative corporation in
the US.)

Intellectual property is a complex situation that is beyond the scope of this paper.
However, the authors would like to offer, as a reference, an excellent program at The
University of California at Berkeley
(http://research.chance.berkeley.edu/main.cfm?id=6). They have developed the Office of
Intellectual Property and Industry Research Alliances, comprised of two divisions. The
Office of Technology Licensing handles the patenting and licensing of intellectual
property generated by Berkeley research. This work is typically done under NSF grants
and other government supported research. The Industry Alliances Office is responsible

for negotiating contracts and grants with industrial partners. Industry collaboration
agreements, industry sponsored research agreements, material transfer agreements, patent
and copyright licenses, intellectual property issues and outreach to industry are all
effectively covered in the Berkeley program. If any university has a similar program in
place, they are a giant step ahead. They can create the engineering innovation program
and achieve successful results in a very few years. If not, they may wish to contact this
office (fskinner@uncc.edu).

Many new universities have established an industrial senior design program and UNC
Charlotte is no exception. "Accidental innovation" often comes from these programs
through the work of the students as they take a fresh look at an existing product line or
market challenge. These innovations are great loss leaders in the overall university
donations program and administration must recognize and support Engineering
Innovation courses as a valuable marketing tool!


The Future of Engineering Innovation
The future will see engineering innovation classes that are linked to the traditional senior
design class. In the current program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte,
Mechanical Innovations is taught during the final semester of the junior year. The
students are encouraged to develop an innovative project that is useful to a nearby
industry that supports this work. During the summer break, the Mechanical Innovationss
projects are presented to industry. Favorable projects are scheduled for introduction as a
senior design project. Financial support and intellectual property rights are secured at this
time. This engineering innovation-senior design program is directly analogous to the
industrial flow of ideas from business innovation through product engineering.

Engineering innovation will dramatically increase the number of successful ideas that
flow from the university and into industry. Therefore, in an effort to increase the flow of
productive ideas, industry will provide political and financial support back to the
university. Strong bonds will be established between the university and its industries,
assuring favorable employment of student graduates that work on these projects.

Universities will create the position of Director of Industrial Solutions and charge
him/her with the responsibility of establishing technological links with industry.

The Director of Industrial Solutions will input project opportunities and market needs
from industry into the various departmental innovation programs, such as Mechanical
Innovations at UNC Charlotte. A talented Director of Industrial Solutions will be able to
take an industrial challenge and break it down into innovation opportunities by adding
his/her own innovation talents and writing a positive project description. A good project
description will carry the seeds of innovation and they will often grow into a
manufacturable product.


A valuable Director of Industrial Solutions will be an engineer with good marketing skills
and a disciplinary background that occurs naturally to him/her because of his/her
extensive experience and knowledge in mechanical and electrical systems.

The liberal license of patents and other intellectual property will become a success
indicator for universities and this will be used to market their many programs. Patents
that evolve into a manufactured product will become case histories that will motivate
industry to support the university that has a synergistic patent policy. Large donations
will be given to this university by the supporting industries to encourage further work and
dedication to their industrial product lines.

Research and innovation will help control the flow of the global economy. Countries that
recognize this trend will be in the prime position. Engineering Innovation, a form of
application engineering that is often applied to pure research, will encourage research
grants and industrial support to the university. Programmable automation (robotics,
tombstone CNC manufacturing centers, etc.) will reduce the labor costs in the
manufacturing process and tax benefits will be granted to encourage manufacturing.
Research, innovation and manufacturing will find a favorable operating climate in a well-
educated country with strong patent protection and the ability to retain trade secrets.
Engineering students will follow this flow and achieve successful careers where there is
outstanding university-industry bonding.

Conclusion
The Mechanical Innovations course at UNC Charlotte has successfully demonstrated that:

Innovation can be taught as a college course.
Undergraduates can make real world contributions in innovation.
Patentable ideas can be generated in an innovation class.
Industry support, including financial support, can be obtained.
Student employment can result directly from class innovations.
A successful mechanical innovation program can be established in two years.

This program plan can be followed at other universities to improve student job placement
and enhance relations with industries. A website (www.innovation.uncc.edu), and the
Inventors Council have linked innovation with industry throughout the United States.










Sources
Ullman, David G.: The Mechanical Design Process, McGraw Hill, New York, NY, Third
Edition, 2003.

Carter, D. E. and Baker, B. S.: Concurrent Engineering: The Product Development
Environment for the 1990s, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1992

Klawe, Maria: Getting the University-Industry Partnership Right . . . Or Not, from
Futures Forum 2004, pages 29 32.

Anon.: University/Industry Relations, http://research.chance.berkeley.edu/main.cfm?id=6
.

Leonard, D. and Swap, W.: When Sparks Fly, Igniting Creativity in Groups, Harvard
Business School Press, Boston, MA, 1999.

Boothroyd, G. and Redford, A. H.: Mechanized Assembly, McGraw Hill, Maidenhead,
Berkshire, London, 1968.

Bacon, Frank R. and Butler, Thomas W.: Achieving PLANNED INNOVATION, The
Free Press, New York, NY, 1998.

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