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Design and ManufactureQ&A by dot point
A short Q&A bank for every Scotland Design and Manufacture syllabus dot point. Each question and answer is drawn directly from our worked dot-point page, so you can scan key concepts before opening the long-form answer.
Design
- Overview of the Higher Design and Manufacture coursework assignment: a candidate-led design, make and test task that applies the design process and knowledge of materials and manufacture to produce and evaluate a design proposal and outcome.3Q&A pairs
- The design factors a product must satisfy: function and performance, aesthetics, ergonomics and anthropometrics, the market, economics and cost, ease of manufacture, durability and safety, and how they are balanced and prioritised.10Q&A pairs
- The design process and the iterative design, make and test cycle: the brief, research, specification, idea generation, development, prototyping, evaluation and the feedback loops that link them.3Q&A pairs
- Evaluation techniques used through the design process: evaluating ideas and products against the specification, user trialling and testing, comparison and selection methods, and using the results to refine the design.3Q&A pairs
- Graphic techniques and modelling used through the design process: freehand sketching, pictorial and orthographic working drawings, CAD, and physical models and prototypes, and the role of each in generating, developing, testing and communicating a design.7Q&A pairs
Materials and Manufacture
- Surface finishes and methods of joining: finishes applied to timbers, metals and polymers and why they are used, and permanent and temporary fixings and fittings, including knock-down fittings.6Q&A pairs
- The impact of design and manufacturing technologies on society, the environment and the workforce: sustainability and the six Rs, resource use and waste, planned obsolescence, and the effects of automation and global manufacture on workers.3Q&A pairs
- Manufacturing processes for shaping materials: moulding and forming processes for polymers, casting and forming processes for metals, and cutting, shaping and joining for timbers, and matching a process to the material, form and scale of production.6Q&A pairs
- Metals used in product design: ferrous and non-ferrous metals and alloys, their key properties (strength, hardness, ductility, malleability, conductivity, corrosion resistance, cost) and how those properties guide material choice.6Q&A pairs
- Polymers used in product design: thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics, their key properties (formability, strength, toughness, durability, finish, cost) and how those properties guide material choice.3Q&A pairs
- Scales of production and manufacturing systems: one-off (job), batch and mass or continuous production, and the systems that support them - standardisation, tolerance, jigs and templates, and CAD/CAM.6Q&A pairs
- Timbers used in product design: natural hardwoods and softwoods and manufactured boards, their key properties (strength, hardness, durability, workability, finish, cost) and how those properties guide material choice.6Q&A pairs