all glossary terms IB DP DT

Adjustability

The ability of a product to be changed in size, commonly used to increase the range of percentiles that a product is appropriate for.

Alertness

The level of vigilance, readiness or caution of an individual.

Anthropometrics

The aspect of ergonomics that deals with body measurements, particularly those of size, strength and physical capacity.

Biomechanics

The research and analysis of the mechanics of living organisms. For human factors this includes the research and analysis of the mechanics (operation of our muscles, joints, tendons, etc.) of our human body. It also includes Force (impact on user's joints), Repetition, Duration and Posture.

Clearance

The physical space between two objects.

Cognitive ergonomics

How mental processes, (memory, reasoning, motor response and perception), affect the interactions between users and other components of a system.

Comfort

A person's sense of physical or psychological ease.

Dynamic data

Human body measurements taken when the subject is in motion related to range and reach of various body movements. E.g. crawling height, overhead reach and the range of upper body movements.

Environmental factors

A set of psychological factors that can affect the performance of an individual that come from the environment that the individual is situated.

Ergonomics

The application of scientific information concerning the relationship between human beings and the design of products, systems and environments.

Fatigue

A person's sense of physical or psychological tiredness.

Functional data

Data that includes dynamic data measurements while performing a required task e.g. reaching abilities, manoeuvring and aspects of space and equipment use.

Human error

Mistakes made by users, some of which can result in catastrophic consequences for people, property and the environment, as they are considered key contributors to major accidents.

Human factors

A scientific discipline concerned with understanding how humans interact with elements of a system. It can also be considered the practice of designing products, systems or processes to take account of the interaction between them and their users. It is also known as comfort design, functional design and user-friendly systems.

Human information processing system

An automatic system that a person uses to interpret information and react. It is normally comprised of inputs, processes (which can be sensory, central and motor), and outputs.

Interval data

Data based on numeric scales in which we know the order and the exact difference between the values. Organised into even divisions or intervals, and intervals are of equal size.

Nominal data scale

Used in the classification or division of objects into discrete groups. Each of which is identified with a name e.g. category of cars, and the scale does not provide any measurement within or between categories.

Ordinal data

A statistical data type that exists on an arbitrary numerical scale where the exact numerical value has no significance other than to rank a set of data points. Deals with the order or position of items such as words, letters, symbols or numbers arranged in a hierarchical order. Quantitative assessment cannot be made.

Percentile range

That proportion of a population with a dimension at or less than a given value. For a given demographic (gender, race, age), the 50th is the average.

Perception

The way in which something is regarded, understood or interpreted.

Physiological factor data

Human factor data related to the user's safety, health, comfort and performance.

Primary data

Data collected by a user for a specific purpose.

Psychological factor data

Human factor data related to light, smell, sound, taste, temperature and texture.

Qualitative data

Typically descriptive data used to find out in depth the way people think or feel - their perception. Useful for research at the individual or small (focus) group level.

Quantitative data

Data that can be measured and recorded using numbers. Examples include height, shoe size, and reach.

Range of sizes

A selection of sizes a product is made in that caters for the majority of a market.

Ratio data scale

A system that allows you to compare differences between numbers. For example, use a scale of 1-10 to evaluate user responses.

Reach

A range that a person can stretch to touch or grasp an object from a specified position.

Secondary data

Data collected by someone other than the user.

Static data

Human body measurements when the subject is still.

Structural data

Refers to measurements taken while the subject is in a fixed or standard position, e.g. height, arm length.

Workplace environmental factors

These can be considered to maximise the performance of a user in a role, and reduce the risk of accidents.

Absorbed moisture

The moisture within timber that is contained in the cells walls.

Additive techniques

Manufacturing techniques that add material in order to create it.

Aesthetic appeal

Favourable in terms of appearance.

Aesthetic characteristics

Aspects of a product that relate to taste, texture, smell and appearance.

Air-drying

The stacking of sawn timber in the open or in large sheds, hence there is little control over the drying process.

Alloy

A mixture that contains at least one metal. This can be a mixture of metals or a mixture of metals and non-metals.

Assembly line production

A volume production process where products and components are moved continuously along a conveyor. As the product goes from one work station to another, components are added until the final product is assembled.

Automated production

A volume production process involving machines controlled by computers

Batch production

Limited volume production (a set number of items to be produced).

Bio-compatibility

The product ensures the continued health of a biological environment.

Bowing

A warp along the length of the face of the wood.

Brittle

Breaks into numerous sharp shards.

Chemically inert

Lack of reactivity with other materials.

Composite

A material comprised of two or more constituent materials that have different properties.

Compressive strength

The ability of a material to withstand being pushed or squashed.

Computer numerical control (CNC)

Refers specifically to the computer control of machines for the purpose of manufacturing complex parts in metals and other materials. Machines are controlled by a program commonly called a "G code". Each code is assigned to a particular operation or process. The codes control X, Y, Z movements and feed speeds.

Continuous flow

A production method used to manufacture, produce or process materials without interruption.

Craft production

A small-scale production process centred on manual skills.

Creep

The slow, permanent deformation of a solid material under the influence of a mechanical stress.

Creosote

A material that penetrates the timber fibres protecting the integrity of the wood from attack from borer, wood lice and fungal attack.

Cupping

A warp across the width of the face of wood, in which the edges are higher or lower than the centre.

Density

The mass per unit volume of a material.

Design for assembly

Designing taking account the assembly of the product at various levels, such as component to component, components into sub-assemblies and subassemblies into complete products.

Design for disassembly

Designing a product so that when it becomes obsolete it can easily and economically be taken apart, the components reused or repaired, and the materials recycled.

Design for manufacture

Designing specifically for optimum use of existing manufacturing capability.

Design for materials

Designing with the aim of reducing the quantity of material required.

Design for process

Designing to enable the product to be manufactured using a specific manufacturing process, for example, injection moulding.

Dry rot

When timber is subject to decay and attack by fungus.

Ductility

The ability of a material to be drawn or extruded into a wire or other extended shape.

Elasticity

The extent to which a material will return to its original shape after being deformed.

Electrical insulator

Reduces transmission of electric charge.

Electrical resistivity

The measure of a material's ability to conduct electricity. A material with low resistivity will conduct electricity well.

Electro-rheostatic

This smart property relates to a fluid that can undergo a dramatic change in its viscosity when exposed to an electric field.

Equilibrium Moisture Content (EMC)

The value at which the moisture content of wood achieves an equilibrium with the environment (which can be affected by humidity and temperature).

Felting

A method for converting yarn into fabric by matting the fibres together.

First generation robots

A simple mechanical arm that has the ability to make precise motions at high speed. They need constant supervision by a human operator.

Free moisture

The moisture within timber that is contained within the cell cavities and intercellular spaces.

Glass

A hard, brittle and typically transparent amorphous solid made by rapidly cooling a fusion of sand, soda and lime.

Grain size (metals)

Metals are crystalline structures comprised of individual grains. The grain size can vary and be determined by heat treatment, particularly how quickly a metal is cooled. Quick cooling results in small grains, slow cooling results in large grains. Grain size in metals can affect the density, tensile strength and flexibility.

Hardness

The resistance a material offers to penetration or scratching.

Hardwood

The wood from a deciduous (broadleaved) tree.

Joining techniques

Methods that are used to join two similar or dissimilar materials together.

Kiln drying

Placing stacks of sawn timber in a kiln to reduce the moisture content in wood. Heat, air circulation, and humidity are closely controlled.

Kiln seasoning

Thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, which produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes.

Knitting

A method for converting a yarn into fabric by creating consecutive rows of interlocking loops of yarn.

Knots

Imperfections in timber, caused by the growth of branches in the tree that reduces its strength.

Lacemaking

A method for creating a decorative fabric that is woven into symmetrical patterns and figures.

Laminated boards

Sheets of material made from layers of veneers (e.g. plywood).

Lamination

Covering the surface of a material with a thin sheet of another material typically for protection, preservation or aesthetic reasons.

Load capacity (Robots)

The weight a robot can manipulate.

Machine to machine (M2M)

Wired and wireless communication between similar devices.

Magneto-rheostatic

This smart property relates to a fluid that can undergo a dramatic change in its viscosity when exposed to a magnetic field.

Man-made timber

Also known as engineered wood or composite wood, these are wood products that are made by binding or fixing strands, particles of fibres, veneers of boards of wood together with adhesives or other fixing methods to create composite materials. Typical examples include MDF, plywood and chipboard.

Mass

Relates to the amount of matter that is contained with a specific material. It is often confused with weight as we use Kg to measure both. Mass is a constant whereas weight may vary depending upon gravitational pull (where it is being measured).

Mass customization

A sophisticated CIM system that manufactures products to individual customer orders. The benefits of economy of scale are gained whether the order is for a single item or for thousands.

Mass production

The production of large amounts of standardized products on production lines, permitting very high rates of production per worker.

Material selection charts

A chart used to identify appropriate materials based on the desired properties.

Mechanical properties

Properties of a material that involve the relationship between stress and strain or a reaction to an applied force.

Mechanized production

A volume production process involving machines controlled by humans.

Multi task robots

A type of robot that can perform more than one task in a manufacturing environment.

Natural fibres

Materials produced by plants or animals that can be spun into a thread, rope or filament.

Non-toxic

Absence of toxic breakdown products/lack of reactivity.

One-off production

An individual (often craft-produced) article or a prototype for larger-scale production.

Oxidization resistance

A property of a metal that means that it does not readily react with oxygen and degrade.

Paper-based rapid prototyping

Often the first step in a rapid prototyping process, paper prototyping is widely used in UCD for designing and testing interfaces.

Particle boards

A material made from different sizes of wood chips and joined with glue.

Photochromicity

A property of a smart material. The material changes colour in response to an increase in light. When the light source is removed, it returns to its original colour.

Physical properties

Any property that is measurable that describes a state of materials, for example, mass, weight, volume and density. These properties tend to be the characteristic of materials that can be identified through non-destructive testing (although some deformation is required to test hardness).