A Level Design and Technology WJEC

This subject is broken down into 32 topics in 6 modules:

  1. Design and Technology in the 21st Century 6 topics
  2. Core Technical Principles 5 topics
  3. Application of Design and Technology 5 topics
  4. In-depth Study of Technical and Design Principles (Option A - Product Design) 6 topics
  5. In-depth Study of Technical and Design Principles (Option B - Engineering Design) 5 topics
  6. In-depth Study of Technical and Design Principles (Option C - Fashion and Textiles) 5 topics
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  • 6
    modules
  • 32
    topics
  • 12,476
    words of revision content
  • 1+
    hours of audio lessons

This page was last modified on 28 September 2024.

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Design and Technology

Design and Technology in the 21st Century

Design processes

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Design processes

Design Processes in the 21st Century

Design Briefs

  • Initial Brief: Marks the starting point for a new design, prepared by designers.
  • Design Interest: Designers should be interested in the design brief which influences design outcomes.
  • Design Constraints: Design briefs typically include these, they make limits that can enhance creativity.

Design Requirements

  • Design Requirements Matrix: A fundamental tool to articulate the specific needs for a new product.
  • Feasibility Studies: To test if the design requirements are practical and viable.

Generating Ideas

  • Brainstorming: A technique used to generate as many ideas as possible.
  • Morphological Analysis: Breaks down a product into its features, then alters and presents them in different combinations to create innovative designs.
  • Pugh Matrix: Used to compare ideas and rank them based on criteria, like cost, functionality, aesthetics.

Product Development

  • Prototyping: Testing and improving designs through the making of physical or virtual pre-production examples.
  • CAD: Computer-Aided Design allows for precise, easily modifiable representations of products.
  • CAM: Computer-Aided Manufacturing allows precision made parts to be produced from CAD files.

Evaluation and Testing

  • Functional: Analyses if the product can do what it is designed to do effectively.
  • User: Analyses how well the product meets the needs of its target user and how easy it is to use.
  • Market Acceptance: Determines how the product is accepted by potential customers.

Commercial Production

  • Materials and Components: Selection is crucial in mass production to satisfy factors like cost-effectiveness and suitability.
  • Quality Assurance: Ensures consistency, involving pre-set standards, sampling, spot-checks and regular maintenance.
  • Large and small scale production: Different scenarios demand different production scales. Considerations include quantities needed, machinery, and processes available, and the complexity of the product.

Sustainability and Future

  • Life Cycle Analysis: Identifies areas of environmental impact in a product’s life, from cradle to grave.
  • Product Disposal: Considerations for recycling and waste management, biodegradability and environmental impact.

This section provides an overview of key concepts that are integral to understanding design processes in the 21st century. It should be used as a starting point for revision, turbo-charging your understanding of how ideas are converted into saleable, viable products which meet the needs of consumers and respect the constraints of our world. Be sure to delve deeper into these topics to expand your understanding and interpretation.

Course material for Design and Technology, module Design and Technology in the 21st Century, topic Design processes

Design and Technology

In-depth Study of Technical and Design Principles (Option A - Product Design)

Materials and their properties

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Materials and their properties

Materials and their Properties

Basics of Material Properties

  • Understanding material properties is fundamental for successful product design and production.

  • Every material has specific characteristics that make it suitable or unsuitable for certain applications.

  • The four basic categories of material properties include physical, mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties.

Physical Properties

  • Physical properties determine a material's observable characteristics.

  • Include colour, density, size, and shape. An understanding of these properties is important when selecting materials for aesthetic or practical reasons.

  • Density is the mass per unit volume of a material. This property can significantly affect the weight and cost of a product.

Mechanical Properties

  • Mechanical properties define a material's behaviour under different stresses and strains, including hardness, tensile strength, and elasticity.

  • Hardness refers to the resistance of a material to indentation or abrasion. Hard materials are often used in products required to withstand wear and tear.

  • Tensile strength is the maximum amount of tensile stress a material can take before failure, such as breaking or permanent deformation.

  • Elasticity describes how much a material will return to its original shape after being deformed. Elastic materials like rubber can be stretched significantly without permanent deformation.

Electrical Properties

  • Electrical properties of materials like conductivity and resistivity dictate their usage in electrical applications.

  • Conductivity is a measure of a material’s ability to conduct electric current. Materials with high conductivity such as copper are often used in electric wires.

  • Resistivity, the inverse of conductivity, is a measure of how strongly a material opposes the flow of electric current. High-resistivity materials like plastic are used for insulation.

Thermal Properties

  • Thermal properties determine how a material responds to changes in temperature and heat, critical in many manufacturing processes.

  • Include thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, and coefficient of thermal expansion.

  • Thermal conductivity measures a material's ability to conduct heat. For example, metals generally have high thermal conductivity and are often used for heat sinks and cooking utensils.

  • Specific heat capacity is the measure of the energy required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by one degree Celsius. This property can be important in products that must resist changes in temperature.

  • The coefficient of thermal expansion describes how the size of a material changes with a change in temperature. Understanding this property is crucial for products that may be exposed to a range of temperatures.

Course material for Design and Technology, module In-depth Study of Technical and Design Principles (Option A - Product Design), topic Materials and their properties

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