The authors refer to the weakest link in design as having a safety mechanism in place to minimize damage and protecting more important elements, for this reason a weak link is viewed as very important. There are two ways a weak link can function, it can be a passive design, meaning that it can shut down a system such as a fuse blowing out and protecting electrical circuits. It can be an active design, triggering another system to do something, such as the liquid filled cells in fire sprinkles, when they expand and break, they trigger the sprinkler system.
Lindwell, William, Kritina Holden, and Jill Elam. Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach through Design. Beverly, MA: Rockport Publishers, 2012.
Example from original source
https://media.digikey.com/Photos/Bel%20Photos/3AG%203.5-R.JPG
Example not cited by original source
Saw Stop- an electrical signal runs through a saw blade, when the signal is broken due to skin contact, it triggers an aluminum break and stops the saw immediately.
Example from real life
Impact sensors in an automobile activate in a sudden stop due to a car crash, they deploy an airbag in an automobile.
Weakest Link
http://sites.uci.edu/in4matx282f17/strategy-weakest-link-2/
I love the fact that you used the images of the fuse as an example of a weakest link. The fuse is an artifact that is used as the weakest link when designing systems such as electrical systems on purpose. In fact, the weakest link can also serve as the strongest link in instances of power outages where there is a power surge that would wipe out the electrical system if the fuse did not burn out first to save the system. For that instantaneous moment of the power surge, the fuse goes from the weakest link to the strongest. I love the irony of it.
Weakest Link
https://www.safaribooksonline.com/library/view/universal-principles-of/9781592535873/xhtml/ch125.html
Gilberto, this strategy is excellent. I agree with you that error handling is essential, in particular, when it related to safety mechanism, it should consider various situations.
I’d like to share “MagSafe” example of Apple.
MagSafe is a series of proprietary magnetically attached power connectors, originally introduced by Apple Inc. on January 10, 2006, in conjunction with the MacBook Pro at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco, California. The connector is held in place magnetically so that if it is tugged — for example, by someone tripping over the cord — it will pull out of the socket without damaging the connector or the computer power socket, and without pulling the computer off the surface on which it is located.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MagSafe