Postgraduate in Product Development

The Postgraduate Degree in Product Development focuses on providing solid knowledge on the latest manufacturing technologies offered by the industry, the tools of simulation and rendering of a product and the different materials available in the market, in order to develop the product in the simplest, most efficient and economical way possible.

The postgraduate degree is aimed at specializing and updating professionals and postgraduates from different sectors, especially professionals in the field of design and product development engineering. Most of the professionals who collaborate in teaching the postgraduate degree come from these areas.

One of the key points of the success of the Postgraduate Degree in Product Development is the relationship with the companies that collaborate with the course, since they carry out continuous monitoring and assessment of the group of students, in order to develop the briefing of the proposed project. The visits to technological centers and companies allow a very direct contact with the current professional reality. Some of the companies, which have their own design and production, and with which we have been collaborating since they started or are currently collaborating, are: Play, Hewlett Packard, Cosmic, Roca Sanitario, Santa&Cole, Simon, Figueras, Valira, Lamp Lighting, Educa Borras, Laken, El Naturalista, Teck-Rock, Zobele Group, Esportiva Aksa, Pando, IMC Toys, Taurus, Solac, Crevin, Signes, FujiFilm, Cata y Madel.

The Postgraduate Degree in Product Developmentprovides the necessary tools and technical knowledge for carrying out in a decisive and efficient way a product engineering project. It is necessary to know the current CAD and CAE technologies, the method for selecting the most adequate materials, the different existing fabrication processes and the possible mechanisms for assembling the pieces of a product. In this way and from the requirements of the project briefing, a technological viable project will be successfully carried out.

A global approach of all the process is essential for taking the best decisions in each one of the stages of the process for developing a new product.

Tecnologies CAD/CAE

In this module the students will learn to model any 3D product using CAD tools and to apply boundary conditions to a particular piece ant to the whole for analyzing its structural and thermal behaviour. In this way, the redesign and optimization of the product will be carried out with technical justifications. The presentation of the product through renders, a video of the assembly and a video of the mechanisms will be keys to the success of the project

• CAD: Design of solids, assemblies and mechanisms
  • Creation of 3D solids.
  • Creation of assemblies. Restrictions in the assembly of parts.
  • Strategies for the design of complex parts and assemblies.
  • Cinematic simulation and mechanisms dynamic.
  • Mechanism description and selection criteria.
  • Advanced CAD representation techniques.
  • Render of images and videos
  • Creation of an animation sequence of a product assembly.
     
• CAE: Structural and thermal stimulation
  • Structural assembly simulation. Analysis and interpretation of results.
  • Introduction to the finite elements: mesh and convergence.
  • Materials mechanics characteristics. Material fail criteria.
  • Idealisations: shells, beams.
  • Advanced simulations: tiredness and compound materials analysis.
  • Redesign of the parts: Optimisation.
  • Thermal simulation.

Materials and fabrication processes

In this module, we will learn to analyze and select the different kinds of materials that exist in the market, taking into account their mechanical, thermal, electric, optic characteristics. We will address the current application of technical ceramics, metals, compounded materials, polymers, active and intelligent materials.

We will explain with a practical approach the fabrication aspects that provide a piece of plastic or metal in an ideal way, according to the transformation process. Knowing the dimensional tolerance and the union systems will be key factors for a good design of the final product.

• Materials selection
  • Classification and properties of the materials
  • Consultation databases
  • Tools for selecting materials.
  • Recyclability of the materials. Sustainable materials.
  • Criteria for selecting materials according to the design function and functionality.
  • Applications of intelligent materials.
     
• Transformation and design of plastic and metal pieces
  • Characteristics of the different transformation processes
  • Characteristics of the process versus characteristics of the pieces.
  • Basic characteristics of the plastic pieces design.
  • Most common faults in plastic pieces and how to avoid them
  • Union systems between pieces.
  • Selection of fabrication technologies.
  • Trends of the production advanced technologies.
  • Fast obtaining of prototypes: Rapid Prototyping.
  • Additive manufacturing.

Companies projects

One of the key points of the Postgraduate Diploma in Product Development is the relationship with the companies which collaborate in the programme. The briefs of the projects proposed are supervised weekly by the collaborating companies. The various postgraduate professionals also collaborate by tutoring the parts of the Final Projects they are experts in.

Another main aspect is that the student work groups consist of designers and engineers. This factor helps students to gain the experience of working in a group, and it enables the professionals taking part in the product design and development phases to exchange know-how effectively. This methodology leads to top quality product development projects, proved by the interest shown by the companies collaborating in the postgraduate programme’s final projects. The programme has had agreements with SIMON, FIGUERAS, SANTA&COLE and PLAY.

• Presentation of companies and presentation of the project briefing.
• Analysis of the different needs of the company and the market.
• Market study. Against briefing.
• Stages of product development and technical requirements. Tutorship.
• Study and selection of technical solutions.
• Presentation of the project in the company.
   

Workshops and visits to companies

Knowledge of the various manufacture technologies, onsite visits to the various companies, foundations, and technology centres which collaborate in the postgraduate degree framework. These visits enable students to discover first-hand the current professional situation. Visits to: PLAY, LAMP, Fundació CIM, ASCAMM Technological Centrer, MATER, etc.

• Enhance the initial phase of the design process by:
  • The application of creativity techniques
  • User-centered design resources
  • Methods of Experimental Design
• Know the current situation of product design, through the designers participating in the course from the most relevant agencies and studios in the sector.
• Experience the knowledge acquired through the realization of real projects with companies. These companies are producers and have their headquarters in Spain. We collaborate with representative firms of various sectors of the industrial product.
• Provide solid knowledge about the latest technologies in the industry and the different materials that the market offers, in order to develop the product in the most simple, effective and economical way.
• Learn about the technological viability and the production costs of a project to take the best decisions in the course of its development.
• Study and assess the concrete decisions that are taken on a product development project through the exhibition and discussion of real projects carried out by companies.
• Learn to use different CAD (Computer Aided Design) / CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) tools that allow to represent, visualize and simulate the behavior of a product to guarantee the viability and the correct operation of the final product