What are wastage and addition processes, and how are materials cut, drilled and joined?
Wastage and addition processes: removing material by cutting, sawing, drilling, milling, turning and laser cutting (wastage), and joining material by adhesives, fastenings and welding (addition), with suitable processes for each material category.
A focused answer to Eduqas GCSE Design and Technology (C600) on wastage and addition processes: cutting, drilling, milling, turning and laser cutting, and joining by adhesives, fastenings and welding, with processes suited to each material.
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What this dot point is asking
Eduqas C600 expects you to know wastage and addition processes: shaping a product by removing material (cutting, sawing, drilling, milling, turning, laser cutting) and by joining material (adhesives, fastenings, welding). You need processes suited to each material. In the written exam this is tested by explaining the difference between wastage and addition and by justifying a process for a named material such as acrylic.
Wastage processes
- Sawing: cutting to size by hand or machine (timber, metal, plastic).
- Drilling: making round holes.
- Milling and routing: cutting slots, profiles and pockets with a rotating cutter (often CNC).
- Turning (lathe): shaping a rotating workpiece to make cylindrical parts.
- Laser cutting: a CNC laser cuts intricate, accurate shapes from sheet (acrylic, card, thin wood) with a clean edge.
Addition processes
- Adhesives: glue or solvent cement bond surfaces (PVA for timber, solvent cement for acrylic, epoxy for many materials); usually a permanent joint.
- Mechanical fastenings: screws, nuts and bolts, rivets and knock-down (KD) fittings; screws and bolts give a temporary joint that can be undone (ideal for flat-pack).
- Welding and soldering: fusing metals together with heat; welding is a strong permanent metal joint, soldering joins electronic components and light metalwork.
The choice depends on whether the joint must be permanent or removable, how strong it must be, and the materials being joined.
Try this
Q1. State whether welding is a wastage or an addition process. [1 mark]
- Cue. Addition (it joins material together).
Q2. Give one reason a flat-pack product uses screws or KD fittings rather than glue. [1 mark]
- Cue. They give a temporary joint, so the product can be assembled (and taken apart) by the buyer.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Eduqas C600 20182 marksExplain the difference between a wastage process and an addition process, giving an example of each.Show worked answer →
A 2-mark question, one mark for each process defined with an example.
A wastage process removes material to shape a product, so it produces waste (offcuts, swarf, dust). Examples are sawing, drilling, milling, turning and laser cutting.
An addition process joins material together to build up a product. Examples are gluing with an adhesive, using a fastening such as a screw, or welding two metals.
Markers reward the distinction (wastage removes material and makes waste; addition joins material) with a valid example of each. Naming examples only, without the definition, caps the mark at one.
Eduqas C600 20214 marksA product is made from acrylic sheet. Explain why laser cutting is a suitable wastage process and why a permanent joint might use adhesive rather than a screw.Show worked answer →
A 4-mark Explain wants the laser-cut choice and the joint choice both justified.
Laser cutting suits acrylic because it cuts accurately and quickly from a CAD file, gives a clean, flame-polished edge with no tool marks, and can cut intricate shapes that a saw could not, all without touching (so no chipping). This makes it ideal for accurate, repeatable acrylic parts.
A permanent joint in acrylic often uses a solvent adhesive (acrylic cement) rather than a screw because the adhesive bonds the surfaces invisibly into one piece, looks neat with no visible fixing, and does not crack the brittle acrylic the way drilling for a screw might.
Markers reward: laser cutting is accurate, clean-edged and good for intricate shapes; adhesive gives a neat, permanent, invisible joint without cracking the acrylic. Generic answers with no link to acrylic lose marks.
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Sources & how we know this
- WJEC Eduqas GCSE (9-1) Design and Technology (C600) specification — WJEC Eduqas (2017)