Category:GCSE Design and Technology
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Developing and writing a design brief
A design brief is a statement of the problem you are going to solve. This should be a complete description of everything to do with the problem but should avoid trying to give a solution. The brief is usually in words but may use photographs or diagrams to make things clearer.
provide a detailed description of the design, extract problems from verbal, visual and statistical information, identify the range of users and the market for which the product is intended, develop a design brief for a marketable product,
Drawing up a Specification
The specification is a description of your solution to the problem described in the brief. This will describe the functionality of your product and should be a bullet point list so that in your test phase you can test your product against the specification to ensure your end product does what it is supposed to do.
In writing your specification you use the knowledge you gain from your research to develop a workable and realistic solution to the problem. examine the intended purpose of the product, consider issues that affect planning, identify and evaluate how existing products fulfill the needs of their intended users, demonstrate an ability to express the results of research, consider the capability required to manufacture in batch quantity,
Generating Design Proposals
generate and record a range of design proposals, Although it is often the case that we have a good idea of what we might do to solve a problem we should as good designers try to consider a wide range of possibilities. Guided by our research, in fact mostly by our research into existing products, (remember that Design is not about inventing new materials etc, it is about using existing technology in exciting and appropriate ways). We should look at several different possible solutions to the design brief and our specification. it is often difficult to think of 10 ot 15 different ideas but we can easily expand our design thinking by looking at different ways in which we could make the various parts of our basic designs.
Remember that everything is made up of a collection of parts each part has to be designed to - fit together, do what it is supposed to do and finally the end product must work as well. in fact the end product is the sum of the individual parts. The failure of any part will mean that the end product will not work as well or indeed at all.
identify the resources needed for the solution to be realized, the research element of the project is essential. It is rare for anyone to be an expert in all areas. There will always be something that you need to look at in more detail. Often the most useful research is in the area of existing products that are the same or similar to the product you may be trying to design. Taking advantage of someones effort and experience makes sense. evaluate ideas against the specification and modify where necessary, the specification describes your solution to the problem described in the brief. it is important that you make sure that anything you design meets the requirements of that specification and brief. this process should be ongoing throughout your generation of ideas. consider whether ideas meet the original need, understand the relevance of function and aesthetics, use mock-up models to check on the idea feasibility, Often using drawings to examine ideas or designs is less than perfect. almost everyone at some point needs to have a 3D product in their hands they can look at and turn over and inspect. modelling all or part of your product is very valuable in learning about the size of things and how they will work together. identify, with reasons for selection/rejection for product development, You should justify, (say why), your designs at every stage. Think about the positive points and the negative points. use graphic techniques and ICT,
Written BY Bob
Product Development
conduct testing or trialing to make decisions on materials, production processess and selection, match materials and components with tools, equipment and processes, simulate production by developing a system to control the manufacture of a product individually and/or in batch quality, be flexible and adaptable in responding to changing circumstances and new opportunities, use graphic techniques and ICT to generate, develop, model and communicate a design proposal.,
Product Planning
produce and use a detailed plan of work against a realistic time schedule., a proposed work plan which sets realistic deadlines and identifies critical points., Use ICT to produce flow charts., [[prepare materials economically allowing for waste and fine finish and use premanufactured standard components appropriately.]], efficient material preparation.,
Tools and Equipment
proper procedures for the preparation of materials;, use of datum edges., correct use of marking-out, measuring and testing tools;, correct use of tools, equipment and components, safe working practices. personal protection and the safety of others., Use of drawing instruments, Use of drafting aids, Use of colouring media, Use of tools and equipment for model making,
Processes
work by wasting, work by deforming, work by fabricating, work by reforming, assemble and fit parts correctly, apply surface finishes, use appropriate industrial applications when working with familiar materials and processes.,
ICT Applications
understand how CAD/CAM is used in industrial manufacturing, recognise that computer systems can control machines and equipment, understand how CAD/CAM is used in the manufacture of single items and small batches, desk top publish, produce bar charts, pie charts, flowcharts from data, produce graphics, mould and size text, and/or graphics to suit requirements, CAM, CAD,
Industrial Applications
job production;, job production is typically a single craftsman working alone to design and produce the finished product. Examples include fashion designers, jewellery designers, Artists, and bespoke builders who are building houses as a commission for a specific client. batch production;, Batch production is a larger scale production process. producing 100's or 1000's of a product. A small production line may be employed with the use of Quality assurance techniques common. repetitive flow, continual flow process, cell production, in-line assembly, Henry Ford is credited with constructing the first assembly line, (this may be arguable), for the production of motor cars. He realised that many people had developed expertise in certain areas of the production process and that he could put the component parts of the car onto a moving line so that the assembly could be completed one stage at a time. The line never stopped so the speed of the line dictated how many units could be produced in a day. In many industries this process is followed but the workers have mainly been replaced by mechanical robots or machines. just in time, Just in time production (JIT) evolves as an extension to the Quality Assurance regime. Holding stock costs a manufacturer a lot of money. Where a manufacturer could trust a supplier to provide the goods on demand as required they could reduce stock to a minimum and simply demand new materials as they needed them. In order to make this work and provide an advantage for both manufacturer and supplier they manufacturer will inspect the suppliers workplace and usually expect them to operate good Quality Assurance practices to ensure the quality of their product and their supply logistics. In return the supplier gets sole rights to supply that manufacturer. understand the packaging, marketing, and advertising implications of a product, understand that control is a necessary part of production and marketing.,
Good Working Practice
produce process and block diagrams, produce time plans and work schedules, carry out testing, evaluation and modification of products.,
Product Evaluation
Fully evaluate product and production,
Materials and Pre-manufactured Standard Components
Metals
Know how to shape and join various types of metals in a variety of forms, Know how materials can be combined and processed to create more useful properties, Know how to prepare for manufacture ensuring economical use of material, Have an awareness of the importance of self-finishing and applied finishing, [[Understand that to achieve the best use of materials and components the interrelationship between material, form and manufacturing processes must be considered carefully]], Understand the use of pre-manufactured standard components,
Wood and Wood Based Materials
Know how to shape and join various types of timber in a variety of forms including carcase, stool, frame and slab constructions, Know how materials can be combined and processed to create more useful properties, Know how to prepare for manufacture ensuring economical use of material, Have an awareness of the importance of self-finishing and applied finishing [[Understand that to achieve the best use of materials and components the interrelationship between material, form and manufacturing processes are considered carefully]], Understand the use of pre-manufactured standard components,
Plastics and Composites
Know how to shape and join various types of plastics in a variety of forms Know how materials can be combined and processed to create more useful properties Know how to prepare for manufacture ensuring economical use of material Have an awareness of the importance of self-finishing and applied finishing Understand that to achieve the best use of material and understand the use of pre-manufactured standard components,
‘Smart’ and Modern Materials
[[Know that some ‘Smart’ materials respond in a certain way to changes in temperature, light, or pressure]], Know how materials can be combined and processed to create more useful properties, Be aware of other ‘Smart’ and modern materials as they become commercially available.,
Systems and Control
Technically speaking in today's world a control system can be analysed to show it has at least 3 elements:
An input section ------A process section ---------An Output section
- In a process control system:
The input section is generally driven by the signals from sensors and usually consists of some sort of signal conditioning to make the input suitable for the process. BUT we have to realise that the sensor and/or the process could be mechanical but that will not changes what they do.
The process section makes some sort of decision based on the signals it receives from the input section.
The output section makes those signals suitable to change some output device in the "real world" environment. The output devices will be a light of some kind, a motor of some kind, a sound maker, etc.
This may be best seen with a couple of examples:
A mechanical thermostat driven by a bi metal strip - The input area is some kind of mechanical setup to allow the heat that is required to be measured to warm up the bi metal strip.
The process is a mechanical process where the bending of the bi metal strip will open or close a contact at a given temperature. This is often adjustable mechanically to change the decision point of the process (often called the set point).
The output section is created by using the contact between the bi metal strip and the adjustable contact as a switch - in some cases this may actually be a micro switch. The switch controls a suitable voltage to turn the heater, motor, etc on or off.
- In an electronic system:
The input device will be some kind of sensor and there are many - for heat it will often be a thermistor, This changes its resistance in response to changes in it's temperature. The input section provides a potential divider so that the resistance change can be transformed into a voltage changed that can be processed.
The process compares the actual voltage (real temperature) with a reference voltage (set point) and if they are different either turn the output on or off depending on how it has been arranged. This process is often based these days on a microprocessor because they are so cheap (less than £0.10p each at commercial quantities) and they can serve a multitude of requirements by changing their programme.
The output section takes the small signal voltage produced by the processor (often 5 volts for modern electronics) and makes it large enough to drive the required output device - This could for example be a relay (an electromechanical switch).
BUT let's not forget hat the essential principal applies to any control system - that cold be a paper based system to control finance, an access system, a security system, a hunting trap - They a breakdown into the 3 main sections when analysed.
[[a mechanism that transforms an input motion and force into a desired output motion and force
required changes and control movement]],
linear motion in mechanical systems,
reciprocating motion in mechanical systems,
rotary motion in mechanical systems,
oscillating motion in mechanical systems,
mechanisms that turn motion through a right angle i.e bevel gear, worm and wormwheel;,
mechanisms that reverse the direction of motion i.e. marked spur gears,geartrain;,
mechanisms that change linear motion into rotary motion i.e. rack and pinion;,
mechanisms that change rotary motion into reciprocating motion i.e. cam, crank.,
Products and Applications =
Carry out a product analysis of commercially manufactured products,
Quality
Quality Control: Quality control are those actions you take that prove that the parts you have made are correct. This may require the use of various measuring instruments and usually you are checking the component against the drawings for that part. This is an expensive process because if you find a fault that part must be re-worked or re-made.
Quality Assurance:
As far back as 1950 the Japanese realised that there must be a better way to control quality and they developed Quality Assurance. This was a system whereby you could ensure that everything you made was the same and provided you made some provision to ensure that the production process produced the correct item then everything would be satisfactory and usable. This reduced quality control activities to sampling checks only.
Typically the quality assurance activities we operate in school are:
The production of templates to aid marking out - a template is a premanufactured outline that the operator can draw round to mark out the part to be made. This removes any possibility of miss-measurement. The use of Jigs to aid cutting out or drilling holes. The use of jigs to aid assembly or production e.g. bending material to shape. The use of patterns or moulds in casting or forming materials. The use of CAD/CAM to design and produce parts.
procedures that could be set during production to ensure quality, how far existing products satisfy their needs and fulfill their purpose, the importance of accuracy when assembling products, appropriate use of resources and materials in manufacture and maintenance, how the product meets manufacturability and maintenance requirements, social, moral, economic, environmental and aesthetic implications,
Health and Safety
As designers and consumers, As workers within the production environment, Personal safety, Risk assessment, Environmental effects:,
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