IB Design Technology

Ergonomics

Ergonomics

The process of designing and refining products to be best suited for human use

Anthropometrics

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

Static data

Human body measurements when the subject is still

Dynamic data

Human body measurements taken when the subject is in motion, related to range and reach of various body movements

Primary data

Data collected by a user for a specific purpose

Secondary data

Data collected by someone other than the user

Percentile range:

The proportion of a population with a given dimension at or less than a given value

Clearance:

The physical space between two objects

Reach

A range that a person can stretch to touch or grap an object from a specific position

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

Range of sizes

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

Psychological factor data

Human factor data related to psychological interpretations caused by light, smell, sound, taste, temperature and texture

Nominal scale

'by name', used to classify objects into categories

Ordinal scale

Data that exists on an arbitrary numerical scale where the exact numerical value has no significance other than to rank a set of data points

Interval scale

Data based on numeric scales where the order and exact difference between values is known

Ratio scale

A scale allowing comparison between numbers where the zero point is a true zero

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.

Phases of HIPS

Input - Sensory process - central process - motor process - output

Environmental factors

A set of psychological factors that can affect the performance of an individual that come from their surroundings

Perception

The way in which something is regarded, understood and interpreted

Alertness

The level of vigilance, readiness or caution of an individual

Physiological factor data

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

Fatigue

A state of reduced alertness and increased tiredness

Comfort

The degree to which someone finds their surroundings suitable and pleasing

Biomechanics

The research and analysis of the mechanics of living organisms

Renewable resource

A natural resource that can replenish with the passage of time or does not abate at all

Renewability

A resource that is inexhaustible and can replenish quickly

Non-renewable resource

A natural resource that does not replenish at a sustainable rate; a source that will run out if the rate of extraction is maintained

Reserve

A natural resource that has been identified in terms of quantity and quality

Re-use

Application of a product in the same context or in a different context.

Recycle

Using the materials from obsolete products to create other products

Repair

The reconstruction or renewal of any part of an existing structure or device

Recondition

Rebuilding a product so that it is in an "as new" condition

Re-engineer

A product has been significantly redesigned, with improved engineering, from its original form.

Pollution

The presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects

Waste

Material which is eliminated or discarded as no longer useful or required.

Dematerialisation

The reduction of total material and energy throughput of any product and service.

Product recovery strategies at end of life/disposal

The process of separating the component parts of a product to recover the parts and materials

Circular economy

An economy model in which resources remain in use for as long as possible, from which maximum value is extracted while in use, and the products and materials are recovered and regenerated at the end of the product life cycle.

Embodied energy

The total energy required to produce a product

National and international grid systems

An electrical supply distribution network that can be national or international. International grids allow electricity generated in one country to be used in another.

Local Combined Heat and Power

A system that simultaneously generates heat and electricity from either the combustion of fuel, or a solar heat collector

individual energy generation

The ability of an individual to use devices to create small amounts of energy to run low-energy products

Quantification of carbon emissions

Defining numerically the carbon emissions generated from a particular product

Battery

A device consisting of two or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy

Capacitor

An electronic component that temporally stores electrical energy

Capacity

The amount of electric charge that a batter can deliver (measured in amp-hours)

Hydrogen fuel cell (battery)

High cost, medium efficiency, low environmental impact

Lithium (battery)

Medium cost, high efficiency, low environmental impact

NiCad (battery)

High cost, medium efficiency, high environmental impact

Lead-acid (battery)

Low cost, low efficiency, high environmental impact

LiPo (battery)

High cost, high efficiency, low environmental impact

Drivers for cleaning up manufacturing

- Legislation
- Pressure from local community

Incremental solutions

Products which are improved and developed over time leading to new versions and generations

Radical solutions

Where a completely new product is devised after going back to the roots of a problem and thinking about a solution in a different way

End-of-pipe technologies

Technology that is used to reduce pollutants and waste at the end of a process.

System level solutions

Solutions that are implemented to deal with the whole system, rather than just components.

Clean technology

Products, services or processes that reduce waste and require the minimum amount of non-renewable resources

Green design

The designing of products to have a reduced environmental impact throughout their lifecycle

Design objectives for green product:

- Materials
- Energy
- Pollution and waste

The prevention principle

The avoidance or minimisation of producing waste in relation to the production, use and disposal of a product

The precautionary principle

The anticipation of potential problems in relation to the environmental impact of the production, use and disposal of a product

Eco-design

A design strategy that focusses on three broad environmental categories - materials, energy, and pollution/waste

Cradle to grave

A design philosophy that considers the environmental effects of a product all the way from the manufacture to disposal

Cradle to cradle

A design philosophy that aims to eliminate waste from production, use and disposal of a product.

Life Cycle Analysis

The assessment of the effect a product has on the environment through five stages of its life

LCA fige stages

Pre-production, production, distribution, utilisation, disposal

Design for the environment software

Software that allows designers to perform LCA on a product and asses its environmental impact

Product cycle

A cycle that every product goes through, from introduction to withdrawal or discontinuation

Converging technologies

The synergistic merging of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information and communication technologies and cognitive science

Conceptual model

A model that exists in the mind used to help us know and understand ideas

Graphical model

A visualisation of an idea, often created on paper or through software, in two or three dimensions

Physical model

The creation of a smaller or larger tangible version of an object that can be physically interacted with

Virtual model

Photorealistic CAD-based interactive models that use surface and solid modelling

Flow chart

A graphical representation of the progress of a system for the definition, analysis, or solution of a data-processing or manufacturing problem.

Oblong shape (flow chart)

start/stop

Arrow

Direction of a decision

Parallelogram

Input/output

Rectangle

Process

Diamond

Decision

System design

The process of defining the architecture, components, modules, interfaces and data for a system to satisfy specific requirements

Service design

Conceptual design which involves the activity of planning and organising people and infrastructure in order to improve the interaction involved with a service

Product design

The process of generating ideas and developing them into the final product to be sold to customers

Projection drawings

Drawings that are accurately drawn, being either isometric or orthographic

Working drawings

Drawings that are used to guide the production of a product, most commonly orthographical projection

Isometric drawing

Accurate3D presentation of a design

Orthographic drawing

Accurate 2D presentation of a drawing

Orthogonal drawing

Accurate visualisation showing all lines of the shape in a 3D format

Scale model

Models that are either smaller or larger than the actual design

Aesthetic model

A model developed to look and feel like the final product

Mockup

A to-scale representation of a product used to gain feedback from users

Prototype

A sample or model built to test a concept or process

Instrumental model

Prototypes that are equipped with the ability to take measurements for analysis

Surface model

A realistic picture of the final model, offering some machining data

Solid modelling

Solid models are clear representations of the final part

Top down design

The design originates as a concept and gradually evolves into a complete product

Bottom up design

Parts are created independently without modelling components together, before bringing parts together for the first time in assembly

Stereolithography

Hardening photosensitive resin in layers using a laser

Laminated object manufacturing (LOM)

A CAD model is sliced into layers, and each layer is then cut out and glued together individually

Fused deposition modelling (FDM)

Extrusion model melts layers onto a bed and prints them on an x, y and z axis