Invention by Design: How Engineers Get from Thought to Thing

by Henry Petroski

Book Overview

Henry Petroski's previous bestsellers have delighted readers with intriguing stories about the engineering marvels around us, from the lowly pencil to the soaring suspension bridge. In this book, Petroski delves deeper into the mystery of invention, to explore what everyday artifacts and sophisticated networks can reveal about the way engineers solve problems.

Engineering entails more than knowing the way things work. What do economics and...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674463684
• ISBN13: 9780674463684
• Release Date: September 1996
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.82 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Basic and Inspiring

The information is presented in an easy-to-follow format and can give someone a solid basic understanding of the design process.

Very Detailed and Interesting

This book was very thought provoking and showed me the immense amount of time and revision it takes to create a simple, everyday product. It helped me realize how small and mostly overlooked items, are complex and wonderfully designed. A paper clip, for example, is only a small piece of wire, cut to the right length, and bent into the appropriate shape. Yet it took years of progress and revision to create the most cost effective and visually appealing product. The first metal paper clips were called "Gems". They were larger and required more metal to produce. Today, engineers have designed a smaller paper clip that only loses only 2% of its gripping ability, yet uses 1/3 less metal. Pencil lead is another example. It was originally so fragile that writing with it was almost useless. Different methods of cutting the lead and covering it with different materials have helped this problem. Lead will always break, but reducing the frequency helps to make writing with it more efficient and less frustrating. Zippers are another interesting invention that took a long time to develop but were very effective once used. Instead of having to button and button, tie and untie, or hook and unhook, zippers allow you to simply pull up to put together or pull down to take apart. Although there are shortcomings of this product, such as getting stuck or being uneven, they greatly changed how people think about fastening clothes or other items, such as plastic bags. These are only three examples. He continues on to inform about more complex products such as aluminum cans, airplanes, and bridges. Each of the topics he explains helps show how engineering plays such an important role in everyday lives. I recommend this book to whoever is interested in engineering or is interested how things around them came to be, have been improved, and now are incorporated into our everyday lives.

Well Worth Reading

The author of this book starts out by saying, "As simple as familiar objects may seem at first glance, their conception, development, manufacturing and marketing may pose great difficulties". He goes on to prove that this is true by citing the histories of some very familiar items. His first example is the ordinary paper clip. Literally hundreds of improvement patents have been issued, yet it is still not "perfected". The most common clip was given its present form by a company called Gem Ltd. in the last century and is still referred to in the industry as the "Gem" clip. Inventors are still trying to overcome its negative features. The author lists several shortcomings such as its tendency to tear paper, requiring its loops to be spread when clipping on, and its habit of slipping off thick stacks of paper. Next he considers the common wood-cased pencil. When wax was added to the lead for smoother writing and added to the wood for easier sharpening, the lead often separated from the wood and would break when the pencil was used or even when dropped. Etching the lead surface and coating it with a suitable chemical solved this problem. However, overcoming the BOPP (Broken-Off Pencil Point) problem has not been as easy. Understanding why points fracture as they do is far from as simple as you might think. His next case history is that of the zipper. In patent literature, they go back to 1851! The description of its evolution is fascinating. There is a great sketch of the tooling that applies the zipper teeth to the fabric. The author notes how ideas often come unexpectedly -- but usually to individuals who can see the idea's potential. He relates how de Mestral, after walking his dog in the Alpine woodlands, saw cockleburs on his trousers and on his dog's fur -- and saw the potential for what became Velcro. Yet another captivating case history is the section on plastic zippers. He details the story from an inventor in Denmark, to British investors, to refugees from Romania, to a Japanese inventor who extruded tubular film with grips -- which became the familiar Ziplock. The author notes how the acronym, MAYA, has become the buzz term for designers. It stands for Most Advanced Yet Acceptable. In other words, if your invention is too different from present designs, it may not find acceptance. The history of aluminum cans provides fodder for another exciting chapter. Here is a product that must use a very minimum of material and still safely resist 100 pounds per square inch of pressure. However, it must readily "fail" when the pop-top is actuated. Some 100 billion(!) beverage cans are made each year. Think what a design savings of a few percent of aluminum would be worth to the industry. The sketch of Alexander Bain's facsimile machine of 1843 will shake up those who think the fax machine is the latest thing in technology. In this rundown on the evolution of the fax, the author notes how consumers often decide the winning technology. He cite

Very Interesting, but a bit slow and drawn out.

Invention by design is a complex book written about simple everyday things we use. Things like paper clips, aluminum cans, mechanical pencils, zippers, airplanes, bridges, and more. The Author, Henry Petroski did a very good job on writing about all of these objects. The book goes on to explain the nature of the design, engineering, and concepts put behind the objects. Pros: Very Interesting Good information Very Descriptive Ideas and concepts never thought of to be use in the everyday items. Cons: Very Slow and Drawn out. At times can be a bit boring Overall Review: A- book. Many good facts and alot of useful information. A tiny bit slow, but overall, a good read. Recommendations: I would recommend this book to a friend who may be interested in any basic form of Engineering, like myself.

A very enjoyable and great teaching book!

Want to know the facts behind the everyday things we use? Invention by Design, by Henry Petroski, is a very interesting book. It explains how items used by people daily were thought of and created. This book explains how familiar items such as paper clips, aluminum cans, zippers, mechanical pencils, bridges, buildings, and more were constructed. Invention by Design also describes how certain inventions and constructions were improved though the years by different inventors and engineers. I thought this book was very good and interesting, especially since I enjoy studying and learning about mechanical, civil, and architectural engineering. I would recommend this book to anyone, but someone with no interest in engineering may not find this book to be very enjoyable. On a ten point scale I would give Invention by Design an eight. I give it an eight because some objects that Petroski describes are not very complex, and in my opinion not worth discussing. That made certain parts of this book a little boring.