How have technological developments changed products, manufacture and society?
The effects of technological developments on design and manufacture and on society, including new materials and smart materials, automation and robotics, the global marketplace and global manufacturing, the move to high-technology and digital production, and the social, economic and environmental consequences of technological change for producers and consumers.
A focused answer to the Edexcel 9DT0 content on the effects of technological developments, covering new and smart materials, automation and robotics, the global marketplace and global manufacturing, the shift to high-technology production, and the social, economic and environmental consequences.
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What this dot point is asking
Edexcel wants you to explain how technological developments, new and smart materials, automation and robotics, the global marketplace, and high-technology digital production, affect design, manufacture and society, weighing the social, economic and environmental consequences.
The answer
New and smart materials enable new products
Automation and robotics
Automation and robotics transform manufacture: machines and robots work continuously to fine tolerances without fatigue, so quality and consistency rise, output increases and the unit cost falls, keeping producers competitive. The cost is to the workforce: routine manual jobs are reduced, while different, higher-skilled roles appear in programming, maintenance and supervision, and production can relocate to wherever automation pays best.
The global marketplace and global manufacturing
For consumers this lowers prices, widens choice and spreads new products fast, but reduces transparency over how and where goods are made. For producers it opens huge markets and cheaper inputs, but brings fierce competition, thin margins, supply-chain risk and ethical scrutiny.
The shift to high-technology, digital production
Production is increasingly high-technology and digital: CAD/CAM, CNC, 3D printing, flexible and lean automation and data integration link design straight to manufacture. This speeds development, enables mass customisation, reduces waste and improves quality, but needs heavy investment and skilled staff and can deepen the divide between high-tech and traditional makers.
Weighing the consequences
Technological change is rarely all good or all bad. The exam reward is to weigh social (jobs, skills, access, working conditions), economic (cost, competitiveness, growth) and environmental (resource use, transport, waste, the chance to design more sustainably) consequences for both producers and consumers.
Examples in context
Carbon fibre and smart materials have produced lighter aircraft, responsive medical devices and self-tinting glasses that earlier technology could not. Car plants now run robot-rich automated lines that cut cost and raise quality while employing fewer assembly workers and more technicians. A smartphone is designed in one country, made from components sourced across several and assembled in another, then sold worldwide, lowering its price but raising questions about labour and carbon. Digital, data-driven factories let firms customise and update products quickly. Weighing these gains and costs for producers, consumers and the planet is exactly the discussion Edexcel rewards.
Try this
Q1. State one benefit and one drawback of automation in manufacturing. [2 marks]
- Cue. Benefit: higher consistency, speed and output with lower unit cost. Drawback: fewer routine manual jobs (though higher-skilled roles are created).
Q2. Explain one environmental concern raised by global manufacturing. [2 marks]
- Cue. Long international supply chains transport materials and goods huge distances, creating a large carbon footprint, on top of resource use and waste.
Q3. Give one way new materials have changed product design. [1 mark]
- Cue. Composites and smart materials enable lighter, stronger or responsive products (for example carbon-fibre frames or thermochromic warnings) not possible with older materials.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of Pearson Edexcel exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Edexcel 20204 marksExplain two effects of increased automation and robotics on manufacturing.Show worked answer →
Award one mark per effect and one for each developed consequence.
Effect one: automation and robotics raise consistency, speed and output while lowering the unit cost, because machines work continuously to fine tolerances without fatigue, improving quality and competitiveness.
Effect two: automation reduces the need for manual labour, cutting some traditional jobs while creating different, higher-skilled roles in programming, maintenance and oversight, and it can move production to where automation is cheapest.
Markers reward two distinct effects (improved quality and lower cost, and the change in the workforce) each developed with a consequence, ideally noting both a benefit and a drawback.
Edexcel 20226 marksDiscuss the impact of the global marketplace and global manufacturing on consumers and producers.Show worked answer →
Extended-response item marked on levels (balanced impacts on both groups and a judgement).
For consumers, global manufacturing lowers prices, widens choice and speeds the spread of new products, because companies source materials and make goods wherever it is cheapest and sell worldwide. But it can mean less transparency over working conditions and quality, and long supply chains with a large carbon footprint.
For producers, global markets open huge sales opportunities and access to cheaper labour and materials, but bring intense competition, pressure on margins, exposure to supply-chain disruption, and ethical scrutiny over outsourcing, pay and environmental impact.
A strong answer weighs benefits (lower prices, choice, growth) against costs (ethical concerns, environmental impact, vulnerability) for both consumers and producers, and reaches a judgement rather than listing points one-sidedly.
Related dot points
- The factors that influence the development of products, including user needs, wants and values, function and purpose, the relationship between form and function (form follows function and form over function), innovation and authenticity, market pull and technology push, fashion and trends, cost and quality, and how designers balance competing factors in a design specification.
A focused answer to the Edexcel 9DT0 content on the factors influencing product development, covering user needs and values, form versus function, innovation and authenticity, market pull and technology push, fashion, cost and quality, and how designers balance them.
- The role of computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacture (CAM) in modern design and production, including digital modelling and simulation, CNC machining, laser cutting, 3D printing and rapid prototyping, and the advantages and limitations of digital design and manufacture for accuracy, speed, cost and product development.
A focused answer to the Edexcel 9DT0 content on digital design and manufacture, covering CAD modelling and simulation, CAM with CNC machining, laser cutting, 3D printing and rapid prototyping, and the advantages and limitations for accuracy, speed and cost.
- The structure and selection of composite materials (matrix and reinforcement, for example GRP, CFRP, concrete, plywood), the behaviour of smart materials that respond reversibly to a stimulus (shape memory alloys, thermochromic and photochromic pigments, piezoelectric materials, electroluminescent and quantum tunnelling materials), and modern or technical materials developed for new functions (graphene, Kevlar, Gore-Tex, precious metal clay, nanomaterials, technical textiles).
A focused answer to the Edexcel 9DT0 content on composites, smart materials and modern or technical materials, covering matrix-and-reinforcement structure (GRP, CFRP), reversible smart behaviours (shape memory alloys, thermochromics, piezoelectrics) and modern materials such as graphene, Kevlar and Gore-Tex.
- The social, moral and ethical issues affecting design and manufacture, including fair trade and ethical sourcing, working conditions and labour in global supply chains, the social and ethical responsibilities of designers and companies, inclusive design and consumer protection, and the moral questions raised by consumption, waste and the use of scarce resources.
A focused answer to the Edexcel 9DT0 content on social, moral and ethical issues in design and manufacture, covering fair trade and ethical sourcing, working conditions in global supply chains, designer and company responsibility, inclusive design, and the ethics of consumption and waste.
Sources & how we know this
- Pearson Edexcel A-Level Design and Technology: Product Design (9DT0) specification — Pearson Edexcel (2017)