ME-603-C Product Design - Jun 2025 Question Paper

Under each question, How to answer lists the points an answer should cover, outlined by CampusPrep from the syllabus. Check the details against your textbook.

1. 7 Marks
   aWhy is understanding the Product Life Cycle important for businesses?
   How to answer

   • Define Product Life Cycle stages: introduction, growth, maturity, decline
   • Link PLC understanding to business decisions on investment, marketing, and phase-out
   • Explain cost, profit and competition implications at each stage
   • Give example of product strategy change based on PLC stage
2. 7 Marks
   bWhat is the organization's process for resource allocation in product development and market introduction?
   How to answer

   • Define resource allocation in product development context
   • Describe stages: idea screening, development, testing, launch
   • Explain roles of management, finance and marketing in allocation
   • Link allocation to risk, time-to-market and market introduction success
3. 7 Marks
   aWhich factors do you deem most critical when assessing rival products?
   How to answer

   • List criteria for rival product assessment: function, cost, quality, aesthetics
   • Explain benchmarking and competitive analysis method
   • Discuss customer needs, patents and market share factors
   • Conclude most critical factors with justification
4. 7 Marks
   bWhat are examples of product design in sustainable products or eco-friendly packaging?
   How to answer

   • Define sustainable products and eco-friendly packaging
   • Give examples: biodegradable packaging, recycled materials, refill systems
   • Explain design features enabling sustainability
   • Mention benefits for environment and brand
5. 7 Marks
   aDescribe the concept of tertiary or superfluous functions in biological systems or system architecture. What role do these functions have in a system's overall performance?
   How to answer

   • Define tertiary/superfluous functions in systems/biology
   • Distinguish primary, secondary vs tertiary functions
   • Explain role in redundancy, adaptability and overall performance
   • Give biological or architectural example
6. 7 Marks
   bHow would you handle the possible difficulties in implementing FAST in automotive systems?
   How to answer

   • Define FAST and its purpose in value engineering
   • List difficulties in automotive systems: complexity, data, team coordination
   • Suggest steps: training, functional decomposition, cross-functional team
   • Explain handling with example
7. 7 Marks
   aHow can a design's manufacturing optimization be guaranteed using CAD? Talk about the function of DFM tools in CAD.
   How to answer

   • Define manufacturing optimization and DFM
   • Explain CAD-integrated DFM tools: draft analysis, tolerance, simulation
   • Describe workflow to guarantee manufacturability in CAD
   • Mention benefits: cost, defects reduction
8. 7 Marks
   bHow do the fundamental ideas of Design for Environment (DFE) affect the design of products?
   How to answer

   • Define Design for Environment (DFE) principles
   • Explain lifecycle thinking, material selection, disassembly
   • Show effect on product design decisions
   • Give example of DFE-driven product
9. 7 Marks
   aWhat challenges will need to be overcome in order to apply Robust Design in practical settings?
   How to answer

   • Define Robust Design and Taguchi concept
   • List challenges: noise factors, cost, experimental effort, organizational resistance
   • Explain variation control and parameter design difficulties
   • Suggest overcoming strategies
10. 7 Marks
    bWhich factors must be addressed when developing metallic objects for die casting and how does this differ from sand casting?
    How to answer

    • List die casting design factors: wall thickness, draft, fillets, gating
    • Explain thermal and pressure considerations
    • Compare with sand casting: mold, tolerance, surface, volume
    • Summarize differences in table form
11. 7 Marks
    aHow can mechanical loads, thermal loading and environmental elements like UV or chemical exposure be incorporated into the design of non-metallic products?
    How to answer

    • Identify loads: mechanical, thermal, UV, chemical exposure
    • Explain material selection for non-metals: polymers, composites
    • Describe design measures: UV stabilizers, wall thickness, coatings
    • Mention testing and standards
12. 7 Marks
    bHow can designs for various production processes be validated using prototyping and rapid prototyping technologies?
    How to answer

    • Define prototyping and rapid prototyping technologies
    • Explain validation process: form, fit, function testing
    • List RP methods: SLA, SLS, FDM for process validation
    • Discuss iteration and cost-time benefits
13. 7 Marks
    aWhat is the difference between SLA, LOM and SLS surface finishes, and how does this affect the finished product?
    How to answer

    • Define SLA, LOM, SLS processes briefly
    • Compare surface finish: roughness, accuracy, post-processing
    • Explain effect on dimensional accuracy and aesthetics
    • Conclude selection criteria for finished product
14. 7 Marks
    bHow is the powder material handled during the layer-by-layer construction of a part using the SLS process?
    How to answer

    • Describe SLS layer-by-layer powder process
    • Explain powder deposition, preheating, laser sintering steps
    • Discuss powder handling: recycling, sieving, atmosphere control
    • Mention safety and quality aspects
15. 14 Marks
    Write a short note on any Two:

    1. i)What role does innovation play in an organization's product policy?
    2. ii)Sustainability and eco-design.
    3. iii)Difference between 2D and 3D CAD modeling.
    4. iv)The quality of an injection-molded part.
    How to answer

    • Select any two topics for short notes
    • Define key terms and importance for each chosen topic
    • Explain main points with example/diagram where relevant
    • Conclude with application in product design