DT Core

• Scales of production


  • Batch
  • One-off
  • Mass
  • Continuous
• Batch production


  • Consistent products
  • Maintaining quality
  • Products include doming, baked goods, newspapers
  • Large batches reduce overall cost per item
  • Machinery may need to be stopped between batches causing downtime
• One-off production


  • Manufacture of a custom or bespoke item
  • Focus on craftsmanship and quality
  • Price would be high
  • Products include cruise wear, jewellery, handmade wedding dresses
• Mass production


  • Standardised products in large quantities
  • Products include vehicles, soft drinks, mobile phones
  • Automation is used to ensure efficient manufacture
  • Producing high volumes means costs are spread, reducing per item cost
• Continuous production


  • Takes place 24/7
  • Products include chemicals, cement, power stations
  • Very expensive to run
  • Highly automated with small workforce
  • Produces large volumes of one item
• Prototype


  Representation of a product before it is produced in any quantity
• Sustainability


  • Finite resources (limited supply, being used more quickly than can be replaced, use should be avoided or only used in small amounts)
  • Non-finite resources (abundant supply, unlikely to be exhausted at the same rate as grown, examples include solar and wind energy)
  • Waste disposal (can be reused as alternative parts and products, cost or materials can be recouped through selling, recyclable waste, energy used can be from waste materials such as biomass)
• Life Cycle Assessment


  1. Extraction and processing

  2. Manufacturing and production

  3. Distribution

  4. Use

  5. End of life
• The Six R's of Sustainability

  • Refuse (avoid using materials that are environmentally unacceptable)
  • Reduce (make durable products, reduce energy)
  • Reuse (may be used again by another person or for a different use)
  • Repair (where possible, not replace)
  • Recycle (convert parts into usable materials once again)
  • Rethink (better way to produce)
• Textiles in the fashion industry can cause lots of pollution, the 3 main pollutors are landfill, water pollution from waste water, and ocean pollution
• Fast fashion is generally made from synthetic materials and sold at a low price to be only used/worn a couple of times
• To reduce fashion industry impacts, buy new clothes less, buy from sustainable companies, and repurpose clothes
• Biodegradable


  Capable of being broken down rapidly by the action of microorganisms
• Sustainable


  Little or no impact/damage on the environment
• Finite


  Non-renewable resources (materials that can not be replaced)
• Non-finite


  Renewable resources (materials that can be replaced/regrown)
• Carbon footprint


  The volume of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere when making, using or disposing of something
• Planned obsolescence


  Decline in a product's lifespan that is planned by the manufacturer
• Business enterprise


  Any endeavour where the main motive is profit in the activity of providing goods and services
• Business enterprise opportunities


  • Fairtrade foundation
  • Co-op
  • Kickstarter
• Business improvements


  • Computer technology (small designers have access to leading design tools)
  • Production technology (products can be made on demand with no held stock)
  • Communications technology (big teams can work in different places on the same project)
  • Social media (easy access to large audiences with minimal costs)
  • Crowdfunding (provides opportunity for business to get investment from supporting customers)
• Automation


  Use of machines to manufacture a product
• Entrepreneur


  A person who creates a business opportunity
• Crowdfunding


  A method of raising money to fund a project and run by the people who work for it
• Cooperative


  A business which are owned by the members
• Enterprise


  Any endeavour where the primary motive is profit
• Smart materials


  • Shape memory alloys (revert back to original shape after being deformed, used for glasses, braces, vascular surgery)
  • Thermochromic pigments (temperature sensitive, used for temperature indicators, inks)
  • Photochromic pigments (UV sensitive, change colour according to UV level, used for sunglasses, printing inks)
• Composite materials


  • Glass reinforced polymer (polyester materials reinforced with glass fibre, strong and lightweight used for boat hulls)
  • Carbon fibre reinforced polymer (high strength to weight ratio, very rigid used for running blades for parachutes)
• Modern materials


  • Graphene (single layer of carbon atoms, thinnest material known to man and very strong, conductive to heat and electricity, used for sports equipment, mobile phones, batteries)
  • Titanium (form of an alloy with high strength and corrosion resistance, used in missiles, aircraft, artificial joints)
  • Coated metals (helps protect metal from rust and corrosion, used to galvanise steel and in plastic coatings and thermoplastics)
• Technical fabrics


  • Kevlar (heat resistant, very hard wearing and lightweight, used for body armour and bulletproof vests)
  • Fire resistant fabric (withstand heat which is lightweight, used for firefighters)
• CAD (Computer Aided Design)


  More precise than hand drawn, can draw in 3D, design can be sent to different countries
• CAM (Computer Aided Manufacture)

  Very precise, faster than humans making it, examples include laser cutters, 3D printers, CNC and some robots
• Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS)


  • Easy to adapt - new machines added/layout, automated, made by machines, example digital personal IT calendars
• Just in Time


  Reduces the amount of space needed to store products, saves money, cannot return faulty goods, example office furniture
• Lean


  Japanese approach which reduces amount of resources and waste, minimises costs and maximises efficiency, examples are some cars (especially in Japan)
• Types of design


  • Design for disassembly (designed to take apart when it becomes unusable)
  • Design for maintenance (designed to be durable and repaired)
  • Planned obsolescence (designed to fail after a certain amount of uses or time)
• Quality control


  • Colour bars (used to measure various aspects of a printed item such as ink density, overprinting and mis-alignment)
  • Registration marks (printed on the edge of a commercially printed item, used to check if the printing is accurate and overlaps precisely)
• Ergonomics


  The process of designing products and workplaces to fit the people who use them, improves human interaction and minimises risk of injury
• Percentile graph


  Products are often designed to fit the majority of the market, there will be a small number of people who will fall outside the average range
• Anthropometric data


  The study of the human body, its measurements and proportions, collected from a large variety of people of different sizes