Structural Standards

Last updated August 26, 1997

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Outline

• The concept of the structural standard
• How to build standards
• Examples
• Exercises
• Further reading

The concept of the structural standard

For example:
- (bicycle) frame
- supports
- wheel

Standards or predictions are structural transformations of a simple engineering system.
Transformations are based on the evolution trends. So standards combine two effective
toolkits: function analysis and evolution trends. Trends becom more easy to apply.

Letīs insert the standards into the Two Pluses Matrix:

System	Feature 1	Feature 2
Object 1 Function Object 2	...	...
...	...	...
Ideal system	+	+

Standards show directly the way to the ideal final result.

How to build standards?

Her weīll only demonstrate how standards can be built. An understanding the principle helps to
use software.

For example, an evolution line mono-bi-poly as applied to the system tool-product:
multiplication of the tool or/and the product.

Segmentation. The tool or/and the product can evolve from solid substance to granules,
liquid, gas, field. The tool or/and product can evolve to moro porous object: void,
many voids, porous system, dynamic pores.

The tool or/and product can be dynamized: the rigid system (solid), one hinge, many hinges,
elastic substance, liquid/gas, fields.

The coordination between the tool and instrument can be improved: continuous action,
vibration, resonance, standing waves, etc.

Classes of standard solutions. Prediction module in IMLb or TechOptimizer
software program uses the following classification of standards:

• Additives
  • New Substances
  • Modified Substancies
  • Voids
  • Fields, Forces
• Boosted interactions
  • Segmenting
  • Dynamization
  • Structurization
  • Coordinating
• Trimmed interactions
• Multiplied interactions
  • Multiplying
  • Multiplying and connecting
  • Multiplying and differing
  • Multiplying and combining
  • Redistributing features

• Using marks
  • Using new substances
  • Using modified substances
• Roundabout

Examples

The fixing problem. A hollow tool, porous tool, "dynamic" pores.

Exercises

Exercise 1. Describe your own system by a function model: - Tool:
- Action:
- Product:
Then transform the model by evolution trends.

Exercise 2. Examine the results of the exercise 1. How cost-efficiency
can be improved? How the quality and competiveness can be improved?

Computer Support

Software gives several examples: : "driven disk", "orienting non-magnetic parts", "removing
allergens",
Letīs try to add new examples:
- Substance with bad smell is added into oxygen for detecting hazardous leaks (Odorox of AGA)
- Magnetic additive in the road for orienting and steering of vehicles
- Fibres and particles in composite materials

Maybe you can add yet some examples?

Exercise 3. Study Prediction module. List new examples.

Example from Prediction module, as well as examples we have collected ourselves, we can
use to develope engineering system. We have studied "by hand" the system "frame-wheel".
Letīs now look at Prediction. A structural or function model:
- Object 1 (tool): frame
- Action (function): supports
- Object 2 (product): wheel

The first proposal: introducing new substance into frame. Button "new substance" gives a
list of possible substances. Excerpts:

• solid substance
• elastic substance
• granules
• particles
• powder
• porous substance
• liquid
• gel
• foam
• gas
• heat-generating substance
• heat-absorbing substance
• heat-accumulationg substance
• substance changing its color
• etc.

• vacuum
• foam
• capillaries (porous)
• gas-filled structure
• some less dense media
• etc.

The same way we can add substance or void into wheel, between frame and wheel, and onto frame
and wheel. Software allows to remember and use many new possibilities. Now the frame is built
from metal tubes. Can we use more for instance foamlike or porous structures, which are common
in many other branches?

The example of a fixing problem. Using Prediction one can find many times more ideas to transform
the gripper than working "by hand". Different additives are only one of branches in the tree.
It is interesting to look at, for instance, segmenting standards. We get roposals:

• segmenting into parts
• segmenting down to particles
• segmenting into porous objects

Exercise 4. Study your own system. Seek from Prediction module
standard solutions which you can use to improve the system

Further reading

This TRIZ Page.