Design and ManufactureQ&A by dot point

The design factors of aesthetics and ergonomics: the influences on the aesthetics of products, and ergonomics through anthropometrics, psychology and physiology, inclusive design and the use of ergonomic data.

Conflict resolution: the conflict and balance between design issues, between society, economics and the environment, and between consumers, designers and manufacturers, and the methods and activities used to resolve them.

Defining a design opportunity: the purpose of the design brief, why design opportunities occur, the purpose and effective use of primary and secondary research and its techniques, and the purpose and content of the product design, performance and technical specifications.

Overview of the Advanced Higher Design and Manufacture coursework assignment: a 120-mark candidate-led design folio that defines a design opportunity and develops a commercial-product proposal, applying design, materials and manufacture knowledge and producing a presentation model, marked against ten criteria.

The design factors of function, performance and safety: primary and secondary function, fitness for purpose, planned obsolescence, maintenance, value for money, and ensuring safety through certification, British Standards and kitemarks.

The use of graphics and modelling in the design process to generate and explore, test and refine, and communicate, including physical models (sketch, block, scale, test rigs, prototypes) and computer-generated models and simulations.

Idea-generation techniques: the use of idea generation in the design process and the key stages and activities of analogy (technology transfer and biomimicry), brainstorming and morphological analysis.

The market as a design factor: the product lifecycle (introduction, growth, maturity, decline), the influences on it, and product redesign, including incremental and radical change, branding, diversification and the reasons for commercial success or failure.

Product analysis: the information gathered from analysing commercial products, including identifying influences on performance, evaluating performance, analysing manufacture and assembly, and judging impact on society and the environment, as referenced in question 1 of the question paper.

Product evolution: the key stages in the historical evolution of a commercial product, the influences that drive change (materials, manufacturing, technology, society, designers, safety, economics, ergonomics), the changes products undergo, and their future evolution, as referenced in question 2 of the question paper.

Assembly methods used in the commercial manufacture of products: methods used to join materials, the issues that influence assembly, and simplifying assembly by limiting handling and operations, standardising parts and operations, limiting the number of parts, and using jigs.

Processes used in the commercial manufacture of products: the appropriate uses and features of moulding, casting, forging, forming and digital processes, and the issues that influence the selection of a process.

Designing for manufacture: mould and pattern design, wall thicknesses, split lines, injection and ejector points, draft angles, location pins, fillets and radius corners, undercuts, shrinkage and thinning, integrated assembly features, and the purpose of bosses, ribs and webs.

The impact of design and manufacturing technologies on society, the environment and the workforce: methods to limit a product's environmental impact, the effects of traditional and new technologies, and the economic and environmental sustainability of products.

Materials used in the commercial manufacture of products: the properties and uses of thermoplastics, thermosetting plastics, elastomers, bio-based plastics, ferrous and non-ferrous metals and alloys, timbers, boards and composites, and the issues that influence material selection.

The people who influence design and intellectual property rights: the roles and responsibilities of the design team, communication between members, in-house and sub-contracted teams, and the four intellectual property rights and their features.

Production and planning systems: one-off, batch and mass production, commercial production methods (automation, CAD/CAM, CNC, standard components, standardisation, just-in-time, flexible manufacturing, sub-contracting, Gantt and flow charts) and quality assurance.