Basics of TRIZ - Problem Solving For Design Engineers

Explore segmentation, the first TRIZ principle, and see how breaking a complex system into smaller modules—such as modular vehicle design or segmented rotors—facilitates design, maintenance, and replaceable parts.

Explore the TRIZ extraction principle, which isolates or removes a property from a system to solve problems and reduce inefficiencies, with examples like material extraction and heat or vibration isolation.

Apply the third TRIZ principle of local quality by locally improving a single element. See how adaptive suspension, case hardening of gears, and variable valve timing demonstrate local quality.

Explore how asymmetry in design, via asymmetric tyre tread patterns and aerofoil shapes, enhances performance, safety, and assembly efficiency across mechanical design applications.

Explore universality, where one object performs multiple unique functions, as seen in smartphones, Swiss Army knives, and multifunctional car components that merge power and control into a single system.

Master the nesting principle, placing one object inside another to boost compactness and space efficiency in design, with examples like a telescopic antenna, stackable chairs, and retractable landing gears.

Explore the eighth TRIZ principle of counterweight, using opposing forces to offset loads and improve stability, from elevators and cranes to wheel balancing and submarine ballast systems.

Prior counter action means designing in advance to counteract adverse effects during operation. Examples include seismic dampers, abs systems, crush zones, and anti-roll bars.

Prior action means performing required changes ahead of time to achieve smoother, more efficient operations, such as pre-assembly, pre-processing, preheating metals, and using simulations before prototyping.

Explore cushion in advance, a backup plan that activates emergency measures to handle failures, with examples like run-flat tires, backup battery systems, aircraft emergency braking, airbag systems, and safety valves.

Apply equipotentiality by directing work to leverage natural forces and existing potentials, reducing energy use through gravity-assisted conveyors, gravity-driven drainage, and counterweight-based elevators.

Explore inversion, doing something in reverse to reimagine functions and roles across systems. See examples from regenerative braking, inverted pendulum balancing, inverted slider crank mechanisms, and treadmill concepts.

Apply curvature to replace linear features and motion with curved forms, arch structures, rolling elements, and spherical shapes to improve function, reduce friction, and enhance durability and ergonomics.

Explore dynamicity by designing systems that are adaptable and adjustable to changing conditions, using examples like adjustable steering wheels, active suspension, variable geometry turbochargers, and adaptive robotic arms.

Explore the 16th principle of partial or overdone action, using examples like zoned heating, stencil spray painting, and a partial throttle to meet goals when 100% is impractical.

Explore moving to a new dimension in design engineering, from two-dimensional to three-dimensional and from planar to spatial mechanisms, including three-dimensional printing and swiveling headlights.

Apply the 18th TRIZ principle, mechanical vibration, to perform or enhance functions using resonance and piezoelectric conversion, as seen in ultrasonic welding and industrial vibrating screens.

Break continuous processes into periodic, high-intensity pulses to boost performance. Examples include anti-lock braking systems, jackhammers, periodic combustion with pulse-type fuel injection, and intermittent windshield wipers.

Explore continuity of useful action, replacing periodic with continuous motion, and examine flywheels, rolling mills, cooling systems, and turbines that rely on uninterrupted operation for steady momentum.

Master the 21st TRIZ principle rushing through, applying rapid action to avoid adverse effects in hazardous operations, illustrated by laser cutting, sheet metal pressing, microwave curing, and fast curing concrete.

Convert harmful effects into beneficial energy and efficiency, highlighting regenerative braking, exhaust heat recovery, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) with turbochargers, and plastic recycling to reduce waste and fuel use.

Explore the 23rd Triz inventive principle, feedback, a loop that monitors output and adjusts input in real time to improve performance in engines, hydraulics, and vehicle dynamics.

Harness mediators to connect components and enable smooth power transfer. Examples include couplings, lubricants, torque converters, surgical robots, and electrical insulators to reduce friction and misalignment.

Copying uses simplified replicas and virtual models to study and optimize large systems through computer aided engineering, CAD models, digital twins, and scale or clay prototypes.

Replace expensive durable parts with cheap, non-durable alternatives when functionality remains sufficient, using consumables and intermediaries like plastic components, 3d printed parts, or sacrificial elements.

Replace mechanical systems with electrical, optical, thermal, acoustic, chemical, or magnetic alternatives to solve problems and enhance function, with examples like electric steering and laser measurement.

Explore how pneumatics and hydraulics replace traditional mechanical systems by using compressed air or incompressible fluids to perform functions, cushion movement, and power automation across automotive, industrial, and tooling applications.

Demonstrate the 30th TRIZ principle by replacing rigid constructions with flexible membranes and thin films to enhance performance in solar cells, diaphragm valves, soft robotics, coatings, flexible electronics, and stents.

Explore the 31st TRIZ principle of porosity, using porous materials to enable flow and improve function through filters and catalytic converters.

Explore how the TRIZ 32nd principle uses color to enhance function, safety, and usability, with examples like thermochromic paints, color-coded fasteners, and safety indicators in assembly.

Apply homogeneity to ensure uniform materials across connections and components, preventing galvanic corrosion and differential expansion while improving fatigue resistance in bolts, welds, PCBs, and rotating machinery.

Explore the 34th Triz principle of rejecting and regenerating paths, illustrating how spent fuel stages, dissolvable 3D print supports, detachable modules, and replaceable cartridges streamline systems and enable self-healing materials.

Change engineering parameters to improve performance by altering material, geometry, or orientation; hot versus cold working, hollow shafts, and beam orientation boost stiffness and reduce stress.

Explore how phase transitions change material properties to meet goals, from superconductors enabling magnetic levitation and Meissner effect to refrigeration cycles and dry ice sublimation.

Explore the 37th principle of TRIZ: thermal expansion, where heating expands metals and cooling contracts them, powering thermostats, thermal expansion valves, and mercury thermometers.

Explore how strong oxidants and oxygen accelerate propulsion, welding, catalytic converters, and water treatment, illustrating positive oxidation in rockets, oxyacetylene flames, ozone, and nitrox diving.

Create an inert atmosphere around a product or process to prevent oxidation. Use in tungsten inert gas welding, heat treatment, and metal additive manufacturing, plus semiconductor and battery production.

Explore the 40th TRIZ principle of composite materials, using lightweight designs to enhance performance. See Kevlar body armor, reinforced concrete, and carbon or fiberglass composites in automotive and marine applications.

Uncover the 39 engineering parameters that define a system’s functional performance in TRIZ, and learn how moving versus non-moving objects create contradictions guiding design problem solving.

Define and apply engineering parameters such as weight, length, area, volume, speed, and force for moving and non-moving objects, illustrated with engine and piston examples.

Define stress, pressure, and tension, and distinguish internal stress from external pressure. Explain how shape, stability, strength, and duration of action determine functional performance.

Discover TRIZ engineering parameters, including temperature, energy spent by moving and non-moving objects, power, and waste of energy and substance, with practical examples from solar energy, electric vehicles, and manufacturing.

Explore engineering parameters such as loss of information, waste of time, amount of substance (material and parts), and reliability, with real-world examples from aircraft sensors like the pitot tube.

Improve measurement and manufacturing accuracy by managing tolerances to match design intent; design for manufacturing and assembly reduces external harm and enhances ease of use.

Explore repairability, adaptability and versatility, complexity, difficulty in measurement, detection and control, level of automation, and productivity as key engineering parameters.

Explore how contradictions between engineering parameters drive design problems and how the 40 trees principles guide solutions, with examples of weight versus speed, area versus strength, and temperature versus performance.

Explore the weight–speed contradiction in moving designs and learn how TRIZ principles address it by varying torque and power, applying curvature for aerodynamics, and improving local quality with low-resistance tires.

Explore contradiction number two in TRIZ, where reducing load bearing area weakens strength, and learn segmentation, curvature, stronger materials, and asymmetrical geometry to distribute load.

Tackle contradiction #3 by using segmentation or modularity to redistribute frame weight and preserve stability. Use prior counter action through suspension design and dynamicity with feedback control systems.

Raising the car’s frontal area increases aerodynamic drag, a TRIZ contradiction. Improve front curvature to reduce drag, apply local quality tweaks, remove obstructing features, and use the third dimension to divert airflow.

Explore how changing a component's shape can hinder ease of manufacture and learn TRIZ solutions such as segmentation, asymmetry, local quality, and preliminary action for easier fabrication and assembly.

Explore contradiction #6 in TRIZ by balancing larger piston area with maintained hydraulic pressure using pressure amplifiers, counterweights, segmentation, and local quality to explore design options.

Explore contradiction seven in Triz design, addressing hand-held weight to enhance ergonomics by applying asymmetry, equipotentiality, intermediaries, curvature, extra dimensions, and parameter changes to improve usability.

Address contradiction #8 by applying segmentation and modularity to divide the system into modules, reducing complexity. Apply merging, dynamicity, local quality, and nesting to simplify designs without adding parts.

Explore strategies to maintain motor temperature while increasing power, using composite materials with superior thermal properties, three-dimensional fins and heat sinks, and air or water cooling.

Apply the trees framework to understand the problem, break it into subproblems, and map design contradictions to suitable inventive principles. Generate concepts, then prototype, test, and refine solutions using TRIZ.