EXAM PREPARATION

PRODUCT DESIGN 2014

Condensed Revision Notes.
Websites, Apps & Revision Guides
Remember to use the
website created for you.
Use websites such as
www.technologystudent.co
m and
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize
Borrow revision books
from the department and
the LRC.
In the exam remember to be equipped!
You will need:
Blue or black pen (take a spare)
Pencil (take a sharpener)
Coloured pencils (a range)
300mm Rule
Eraser
If you forget to bring these on the day,
dont panic. You will be provided with
some equipment.
Pace yourself
Dont rush
Read the questions carefully
Spend approximately a minute per mark
Make a separate point for each mark
Consider using bullet points/listing.
Question 1 (section A) is worth 25% of the
paper!
Consider answering section A last.



What to design?
The preliminary material tells us that the context for the
designing question is: Promotional packaging for a drink
container.
If you look back at past questions like this candidates were
asked to design mainly using card.
Think about who the user might be - children, adults etc.
Think about how the drink bottle might be held in the
packaging, displayed, contained etc.
The functions of packaging

Protect
Inform
Contain
Transport
Preserve
Display

I PICT PD
If you can remember these you can write a design criteria, explain
the purposes or functions of packaging.
This will help you answer section A, question 1 (A).
Best answers?
Purposes/functions Reasons
Transport It will be important to be able to easily transport the food
from the shop to where you want to eat
Contain The food will need to be contained and may need to be
separated sweet and savoury for example
Preserve Keeping the food fresh and maintaining the correct
temperature will be important
This would be an ideal answer for section A, question 1 (A). This
question is worth 6 marks usually and therefore six minutes work.
Symbols
The FSC logo provides the
consumer with a guarantee
that the card board has
been made from timber
which has come from a
sustainable source.
The forest will have been
evaluated and certified as
being managed according
to agreed social,
economically viable and
environmental standards.

The German Green Dot,
has little environmental
significance. It only means
that the manufacturer has
paid a fee towards the
packaging recovery system
in Germany. On lunch
packaging this is usually
shown in a single colour
Offset lithography
Flat aluminium plates (specially
treated)
Photographically exposed then
wrapped around roller
Exposed parts attract water
Non exposed parts allow ink to stick
Print onto plain roller to reverse
image
Transfers to card or other materials
This is the best process
to specify for printing
your container if you are
using solid white board

Flexographic printing
Uses a printing plate made of rubber, plastic, or some other
flexible material.
Ink is applied to a raised image on the plate, which
transfers the image to the printing
Ink Trough
Impression cylinder
Paper
Fountain roller
Anilox roller
Printing cylinder
This might be the best process to
specify if you are printing simple
information onto Kraft board
Die-cutting
Die-cutting is the method cartons are cut out. In the
packaging industry the cutter is known as a cutting
frame. A rounded blade creases where the carton will
be folded.
Plywood
Foam layer
Card to be cut
Blade
Materials/components
Where do materials come from?
Are they renewable/non-renewable?
How are materials classified (grouped)?
What properties do different materials have?
What are components and why are they used?
Stock forms available?
Why materials are combined?
Surface finishes?


Paper and card compulsory
What you need to know:
Where it comes from
How it is made
Properties of different papers/cards
How products are cut from paper/card
How is it printed
Renewable Materials
Can be grown and cropped from plants, trees
and animals

Renewable Materials
These include:
Timbers
Paper/cardboard
Cotton
Linen
Silk
Leather
All food products.....
Non-renewable materials
Dug out of the ground as ores, minerals, oil etc. prior to
processing
Once consumed they are lost forever
These include:
All metals
Most plastics (made from oil)
Stone
Ceramics
Jewels...
Smart materials
Smart materials are ones which react and change
their properties in response to an input such as
electrical current, heat, light etc.
Specs may remind you
Two different smart materials are sometimes used in
spectacles
Photochromic materials
These materials change colour in
response to changes in light.
Some spectacles have reactive lenses
which become darker as the light
increases
Shape memory alloys
Shape memory alloys are used in some spectacle
frames and these superelastic alloys can be
squashed beyond the point other frames would snap
and will return to their original shape at room
temperature.
Thermochromic materials
These materials change colour in response to
changes in temperature.
Kettles and baby feeding products are just two
applications where it is useful to have a built in
thermometer.
The Six Rs
Recycle and reprocess the materials
Re-use materials/components/products for another
purpose
Reduce the amount of energy and resources used
throughout the whole product life cycle
Repair products/design them to be easily repaired
Rethink our current lifestyles and the way we
design and make
Refuse products which are unnecessary or
wastefully use resources
Best choices
Re-use the product without further processing
Repair the product to return to original standard
Recycle the materials and components
Environmental issues - labelling
A general recycling symbol which means the
product can be recycled or it is made from
recycled materials. Found mainly on packaging
Means that the product cannot be placed in a
normal bin and needs specialist recycling
facilities. Usually found on electrical products
and batteries
Environmental issues - labelling
Provides specific information on the type of plastic material.
This example is High Density Polyethylene. Found on some
carrier bags, milk crates, buckets etc.
Symbols which show specific material information to enable consumers to
separate materials for recycling:
Aluminium, steel and glass. In all cases, take to recycling bins.
Carbon Footprint
Can you:
Explain the issues which relate to the
carbon footprint of everyday products?
Explain ways of reducing the carbon
footprint of everyday products?
A measure of the impact
human activities have on
the environment in terms of
the amount of green house
gases produced, measured
in units of carbon dioxide
Product miles
How many miles does the product travel?
Source material to primary processor
Material to factory
Product to distributor
Distributor to retail outlet
Retail outlet to home
How much energy is consumed just through transporting
materials, components and products?
Sustainability
Use resources carefully
Avoid solving your problem if you create another
problem for someone else
Improve your environment do not damage it
Plant filled air purifiers
Social issues
Environmental:
Product life cycles
Cradle to grave
Circular economy
Throw-away products
Designed obsolescence
Manufacturing in quantity
Best answers are usually chocolate moulding or
pewter casting because there are lots of stages
and the work can be shared
Manufacturing in quantity
Worst answer is laser cutting as there are not
enough stages and you only need one person to
manufacture the batch
Manufacturing in quantity
If designing a shape for manufacturing in
quantity keep it simple. Mould any
decoration by designing different layers.



Chocolate - the material to use *even though you are
a product design student not a food tech.
Best answers include:
Melts at a low temperature so easy to mould in
school
Cheap to produce large quantities
Chocolate is popular so likely to sell well

Manufacturing in quantity
Break stages to
match the marks
Uses notes and
sketches
Think about the
correct order of
work before you
start
This
student
gained
maximum
marks in
their
answer.
Pewter - the material to use
Best answers include:
Melts at a low temperature so easy to
mould in school
Easy to drill, file and polish
Cheaper than silver but has similar look

Break it down into stages
1
2
3
5
6
4
7
Health & safety
Consider:
Your own safety when making
What would you wear to protect you?
The users safety
Organising manufacturing
Some jobs, such as filling chocolate moulds, need
more workers.
Some workers may need to do more than one job
Manufacturing in quantity
If drawing a
flowchart, use the
correct symbols

Make sure you show
where it is necessary
to make checks
Star and stop
The individual task
Where you
need to check
Feedback loop
if you need to go
back a stage to
sort out a fault.
Commercial manufacturing
Materials are processed using:
Moulding/casting
Forming
Wastage/separation
Conditioning
Assembling
Finishing
Manufacturing issues
Preparation of materials
Industrial manufacturing processes
Use of labour
Quality Assurance/Quality Control
Implications of ICT
Scales of production

Quality assurance
It does not just focus on the finished product
Often involves self-checking by workers of their own quality
against agreed standards.

Puts more emphasis on prevention of poor quality rather than
checking for poor quality
Establishes quality standards and targets for each stage of
production

Materials and components checked on delivery not at end of
process
System can be used to trace back quality problems to the stage
in production where problem might have occurred.
Quality assurance
Fitness for purpose (the product should be suitable
for the intended purpose)
Right first time every time (mistakes should be
eliminated).
Tolerances
Acceptable range of difference from standard
Sometimes measured in plus/minus
No product manufactured
in quantity can be
considered to be perfect in
every detail.
Quality assurance
How could you ensure that each of the following
products are manufactured to the same quality?
Quality assurance
Manufacturing methods such as moulds, formers,
die-cutting tools ensure that parts are identical.
Control checks are made at various stages
Samples of the correct standard are given to the
customer
Rigorous testing takes place
Testing
Consider how you would fully test a product
How can this be done without destroying the
product?
How can you ensure that the product is fit for
purpose?
Testing
Quantitative Testing (measurable)
Qualitative Testing (opinions)
Sensory Testing (opinions)
Testing is done using several difference methods:
Standards
BSI Kite Marks are awarded to
products which satisfy strict
standards for safety

The British Standards Institute are
an independent testing organisation
Standards?
Simply means that the product has
been approved for sale in the
European Union.
Meets basic requirements but may
not have been tested against
specific criteria
The letters 'CE' on a product are the
manufacturer's claim that the
product meets the requirements of
all relevant European Directives.

Labelling
Key information found on labelling includes:
Product name
Description
Safety information
Contents
Storage/maintenance information
Environmental information
Design protection
P
C
Copyright

Registered Design
(often used with trade marks)

Trade Mark

Patents
T M
R
Product analysis
Make sure you can comment on:
Materials used their properties
Function strengths and
weaknesses
Human factors ease of use
Style aesthetics
Manufacturing - processes used
Target user who would use?
Product evolution
Why do products change over time?
New materials
New manufacturing methods
New technologies
Social changes
Fashions/trends
Legislation
Social changes
Consider the changes in the way we purchase products
Made to last or changes in fashions/trends?
Legislation/regulation
New rules to keep you safe
New guidance to save the planet.....
Human factors
Anthropometrics
Ergonomics
Senses
Colours
Improving comfort
Working triangles
Special groups
Adjustment for different sizes
Specific markets
Access

Anthropometrics
Issues the designers should have considered include:
Size of handle (length and circumference)
Size of buttons
Length of cable....

Anthropometrics is the study of human measurements
5
th
-95
th
percentile
Ignore the extremes
Top 5% and bottom 5% taken out
Consider the rest as a normal range
Be selective tallest for doors, shortest for chairs?
Ergonomics
The position of buttons
Hand grips/texture
Comfort
Weight and balance
Temperature
Length of flex
The angle and size of the handle
Noise
Safety



Ergonomics is generally concerned with how easy and
efficient products are to understand and use:
Adjustment
Cycles
Car seats
Office chairs
Clothing

Many products need to adjust to different
sizes:

Inclusive design
We are all disabled at some times in our lives
Consider how products need to be changed to
make them accessible to all.
Partially sighted
Large buttons, voice activated dialling, large displays
Hearing impaired
Variable volume/frequency, induction loop technology,
blue tooth, vibrator pads, flashing lights
Disabled Access
A major factor when designing public
transportation systems and buildings
Wheelchairs
Increased wheel camber, lighter materials electric
powered, vertical lift, better seat, wider tyres
Designing new products
Research methods
Market research
Product Analysis
Questionnaires
Consumer trials
Modelling and testing
Mock-ups/prototypes
Specifications (design, product, manufacturing)
Evaluation
Sony
900
9
2
0
9
10
On/Off
Technology push
Research and development in science is a major
factor why products change.
New materials and new technologies are two areas
where science has provided the basis for designers
to create new products
Market pull
Environmental concerns
Latest technologies
Price
Exploitation of workers
Fair Trade
Energy costs......
The power of the consumer is forcing continual
changes with needs and wants such as:
Continuous improvement
Manufacturers need to keep improving their
products to stay competitive or to meet changing
regulation/legislation.



Consumer/retailer feedback
Maintenance engineers
Production staff
Pressure groups (environment)
Financial savings.

Continuous improvement
Key questions:
How can products be made more sustainable?
Can you make links to the 6 Rs?
Are continuous improvements a good or bad
thing for the environment?

In the written examination these questions allow
you to discuss issues and give opinions
Product information
Symbols found on a range of products and
their packaging/labelling
Maintenance schedules
Assembly instructions
Handling instructions
Storage instructions

Product maintenance
Key areas:
Cleaning is most common maintenance task
Checking for wear in parts replace/adjust
Checking for damage repair/replace
Electrical safety checks PAT tests
Lubrication

Brand identity
More than just a logo
A brand identity represents the company's values,
services, ideas and personality
Often considered as brand values
Advertising
Where would be the best places to advertise a
new Apple product?

TV?
Magazines?
Web?
Billboards?
Using ICT to develop products
Computer Aided Design
Computer Aided Manufacture
Computer Numerical Control
Advantages:
Sharing information
Accuracy
Repeatability
Flexibility (ease of making changes)
Speed

Computer Aided Design
Modelling
Simulations
Analysing and testing
Costing....
Computer Aided Manufacture
Modelling and making prototypes
Printers
Vinyl cutters
Milling/engraving machines
Routers
Lathes
Laser-cutters
Embroidery machines
Rapid prototyping
Just in Time
Shared information systems
Reduced lead times
Less finance tied up in stock
Products are bar-coded
Automation
Numerous interlinked sub-systems centrally
controlled
Use of robots for repetitive/dangerous tasks
Monitoring/measuring
Logistics

Flexible Manufacturing
Benefits of one-off production at mass production
prices
Only possible with ICT
Materials handling
Reduced storage costs