TRIZ Tutorial #4

Alla Zusman and Boris Zlotin
Ideation International Inc.

RESOURCES -- A PATHWAY TO IDEALITY

Although people usually appreciate elegant (i.e., close to ideal) inventions, they are often somewhat disappointed: it looks so simple, even obvious – what is so special about this invention? In such cases people are confusing the simplicity of the solution with the simplicity of the problem. In contrast, the most successful American designers know that:

• Parts not present in a machine never wear.
• It is easy to make something simple; it is difficult to make simple things.
• Intelligence is not enough to design simple things.

Similarly, the designer of the famous Russian tank T-34, Alexander Morosov, noted in his memoirs that the most successful principle his group of designers applied was the following: "The most reliable, indestructible, lightest and cheapest part is a part that is not there."

Designing with the principle of ideality in mind is quite helpful, but the principle alone is not enough to produce reliable and repeatable results. For this purpose, TRIZ provides two general approaches for achieving close-to-ideal solutions:

• Use of resources
• Use of physical, chemical, geometrical and other effects

A resource in TRIZ is:

• any substance (including waste) available in the system or its environment
• an energy reserve
• free time
• unoccupied space
• the ability to jointly perform additional functions
• information
• etc.

Let us analyze some of the inventions (including some from previous tutorials) that illustrate how ideality can be increased through the utilization of resources.

Testing a material’s resistance to aggressive mediums (acids) is usually performed by submerging a cube-shaped sample of the material in an acid. The acid is held at a fixed temperature for a predetermined length of time, after which the sample is rinsed, dried, and weighed to determine its loss in mass. Such tests are usually conducted in platinum vessels because platinum is very resistant to acids. Platinum is expensive, however, and thus most testing facilities have only one test vessel. As a result, testing must be performed sequentially -- a time-consuming process.

To improve the situation, it was suggested that the test sample itself should hold the acid, making the chamber unnecessary.

In this case, the sample material served as a resource for holding the acid; the vessel became unnecessary.

As mentioned above, any kind of substance (i.e., material) available within a system or its environment can be regarded as a resources, including waste:

A mold for casting thermoplastic parts includes runners that convey the plastic into the mold. The runners become filled with solidified plastic, which must then be removed and recycled. The runners themselves can be made in the shapes of useful items -- letters of the alphabet, for example. As a result, less waste material remains.

Raw materials and even products themselves can be utilized as resources, as in the following illustration:

Invention 26. Filtering with gravel

When porous clay is produced, it is washed with water to remove small particles. If the water is reused, these particles clog the filters in the water system. The clogging can be eliminated by filtering the recirculated water through wells filled with porous clay. The unwanted particles will remain in the wells when the water passes through.

The next invention illustrates the utilization of resources from the environment:

One of the dangers in coal pits is the possibility of coal-dust explosions. To prevent explosions in northern coal pits, snow is blown into the area. The snow accumulates, then slowly melts and cools the air.

When you need energy, don’t rush to buy a power supply. Instead, try using the power you already have:

Invention 28. Jet-powered brush

The hulls of ships at sea slowly become encrusted with barnacles and other undesirable marine growth, which must be periodically removed by divers equipped with rotating brushes. It is difficult, however, for the divers to forcefully press the brushes against the hulls, since there is no external means of support or stabilization.

To provide adequate pressure against the hull, the shaft of the brush drives a small propeller which creates a "jet" of water from the back of the brush, forcing the brush toward the hull.

Glass-lined metallic pipes are used extensively in the chemical industry. Pipes with circular cross section are lined using a centrifugal method, whereby melted glass in a heated, rotating pipe is spread evenly along the inside surface of the pipe by centrifugal forces. How can glass-lined pipes having a square cross section be manufactured?

To accomplish this, a glass pipe of desired wall thickness, which is soldered at both sides, is placed inside the pipe to be lined. This "compound" pipe is then placed in the furnace. The glass softens as it heats, and the expanded air inside the pipe presses the melted glass to the steel pipe walls. After cooling, the result is a square pipe lined with glass.

Needed energy might be borrowed from the environment, as is the case with gravity in the invention Braking of an automatic welder drum.

Automatic welding machines use a steel wire unreeled from a rotating drum as an electrode. A special motor in the welding head pulls the wire during the welding process. When welding stops the motor stops, but the drum continues to rotate under its own momentum and the wire becomes entangled as a result.

The drum's rotary shaft can be fixed, with movement only allowed along a groove cut at an angle of 1 to 3 degrees with the horizontal plane. When the drum is not subject to the pulling force of the wire, its shaft is in the lowermost position, and the drum's side surfaces are pressed to the brake plates under its own weight. When the wire is under tension, the drum shaft moves along the groove and away from the brake plates.

One of the most effective resources is the capability to perform additional functions:

Plant insecticides can pollute farm soil and ground water.

To apply the insecticide with greater accuracy and minimize pollution, the insecticide can be placed on the deck of a beehive. The bees will deliver it directly to flowers in the field.

Invention 31. Manufacturing bushes without micro-cracks

The procedure for manufacturing a steel bush includes turning the bush from a rod, drilling a hole in it, and quenching the surface. During quenching, the bush compresses due to stress. As a result, micro-cracks often form on the internal surface.

This can be prevented by changing the order of operations: First, turn the external surface; next, quench the surface; and last, drill the hole. Since the stresses are removed together with the drilled material, cracks will not form.

Often when solving problems with TRIZ an added benefit is obtained from the system in the way of additional useful functions. This is called a "super effect."

The most important point being made with these illustrations is that an elegant (close-to-ideal) solution can be developed without introducing external materials, energy, etc. into the system by achieving the necessary effects through the utilization of resources. Indeed, numerous inventions have resulted when inventors realized they could make use of unused energy, vacant space, idle time, etc.

The greatest difficulty in utilizing resources is to reveal useful resources that are hidden in or around the system. Imagine, for example, that you are in your office and want to punch a hole in a piece of paper, but there is no hole punch available. You could use a nail, of course, but what if you can’t find one? There is likely a nail holding a picture on the wall – such hidden resources are difficult to "see."

Sometimes creativity is just as necessary to discover a resource as it is to solve a problem. A systematic approach can be of great help in such cases. To conduct a thorough search of a crime scene, the area is divided into small sections and each section is carefully searched. We do something similar when looking for resources by using a special set of check lists:

Space resources

ASSIGNMENT 1

Find ways to use resources to solve the following problems. Consider this three-step process:

1. Create an ideal vision of the solution.
2. Identify what is required to realize this vision.
3. Using the above checklists, identify a resource(s) that can provide the necessary results.

Problem 8. Protecting bunker walls

When storing powdered materials in a bunker, the sections of the bunker walls that contact the material as it is unloaded wear quickly, especially near the outlet. How can the walls be protected from wear?

Problem 9. Removing piles

Problem 10. Drying motor windings

To inspect and repair a motor that has been immersed in water, the windings must be dried. This is normally done with a jet of hot air. Is there an easier way?

Look for examples of the utilization of various resources, in your work and everyday life.

© 2004 Ideation International Inc.