Design and Technology (Product Design)

Course summary

Year 12: 1. Material, Components and Application The following topics will be covered: the physical and mechanical properties in a broad range of materials and components; the broader issues for the designer including the environmental sustainability of products and their manufacture; methods in which materials and components can be manipulated to manufacture products; Health and Safety issues relevant to working with materials; computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacture (CAM); ergonomics and anthropometrics, inclusive design, and consumer safety, and the life cycle of products including manufacture, use and functional aspects and final disposal. 2. Learning Through Designing and Making Students will apply the theory by completing a number of mini-practical projects. Year 13: 3. Design and Manufacture The following topics will be covered: classifying materials and identifying, testing and comparing their application to product manufacture; the implications of Health and Safety as an element of design activity; examination of alternative designs and redesigning existing products; use of natural resources, materials utilisation, conservation, waste disposal/management, pollution, recycling; the use of CAM for industrial production; moral, economic, social and environmental responsibilities of the designer and planning production procedures and methods. 4. Non-exam assessment (NEA) Students will complete a substantial design and make a project.