Technical Summary
The task was to determine the ideal material to be used in the production of a recreational kayak based on the needs of a theoretical client, Lucky Wu’s Handymen who values high profit margins and a low starting budget.
Having determined the technical and client’s needs of a material for a kayak. Ashby plots were used to select a material which was easily manufactured, low cost, and had suitable mechanical properties. To increase profit margins, a material which has a higher perceived value than the original value was selected using semantic differential scales.
The figures of merit used for selection included tensile strength, price per unit mass, young's modulus, elongation, density, and durability in water and aqueous solutions.
It was found that plywood was the best material due to its moderate performance, relatively low cost and high perceived value.
Skills Used
1. Material selection based on desired material properties using Ashby Plots in CES Edupack.
2. Material selection based on perceived value using Semantic Differential Scales.
