Year 11 Design and Technology Revision

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering Year 11 Design and Technology concepts: metals, heat treatments, timber and manufactured boards, joints and KD fittings, adhesives, workshop tools, plastics, vacuum forming, CAM/CAD, and exam terminology.

Hardness

The resistance of a material to indentation or scratching.

Toughness

The ability of a material to absorb energy without fracturing.

Ductility

The ability of a material to be drawn out into a thin wire.

Mild steel

A tough, ductile, relatively low cost ferrous metal that is easy to weld and cut, but rusts without protection; commonly used for frames and brackets.

High carbon steel

A ferrous metal that can be hardened and is wear resistant, but becomes more brittle when hard; commonly used for cutting edges and punches.

Stainless steel

A corrosion resistant, tough ferrous alloy that is generally more costly than mild steel; commonly used for kitchen equipment.

Aluminium

A non-ferrous metal characterized by low density, ease of forming, and a self-protecting corrosion-resistant oxide layer; used for lightweight casings.

Copper

A ductile, non-ferrous metal that is an excellent electrical conductor; commonly used for electrical wire.

Brass

A corrosion-resistant alloy of copper and zinc that machines well and has an attractive appearance; used for handles and fittings.

Annealing

A heat treatment process where metal is heated appropriately and cooled slowly (or quenched for copper) to soften it, improve ductility, and relieve internal stresses for further working.

Hardening

A heat treatment process where high carbon steel is heated to bright red and quenched in oil or water to increase hardness and wear resistance, which also increases brittleness.

Tempering

A heat treatment where hardened steel is reheated gently below its hardening temperature and cooled to reduce brittleness and increase toughness, with some loss of hardness.

Case hardening

A heat treatment where carbon is introduced into the surface of low carbon steel at high temperature and then hardened, producing a wear-resistant surface with a tougher core.

Normalising

A heat treatment process used to relieve internal stress in metal.

Oak

A hardwood that is hard, strong, has an attractive grain, and is relatively expensive; used for furniture.

Pine

A lightweight softwood that is easy to work and relatively low cost, but dents easily; used for indoor shelving.

Plywood

A manufactured board composed of cross-laminated veneers that provide strength in different directions, with visible layered edges; used for cabinets.

MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard)

A manufactured board with a smooth, uniform surface that machines well and takes paint, but swells when wet and produces fine dust that requires extraction.

Chipboard

A relatively low-cost manufactured board often faced with melamine, prone to crumbling at the edges; commonly used in flat pack furniture.

Beech

A hard, close-grained, strong, and durable timber that takes a good finish and is safe for toys.

Seasoning

The process of reducing the moisture content of timber to help reduce subsequent shrinkage and distortion.

Butt joint

A quick, simple woodworking connection that has limited gluing area and is weak without reinforcement.

Dowel joint

A joint using hidden wooden locating pins to increase alignment and gluing area; requires accurately aligned holes.

Mortise and tenon

A strong frame joint commonly used in chair frames; requires accurate cutting and fitting of a peg into a corresponding cavity.

Dovetail joint

A joint featuring an interlocking fan-shaped profile that resists being pulled apart; takes skill and time to cut and is commonly used for drawers.

Housing joint

A joint that supports and locates a shelf within a machined groove, removing material from the supporting side.

Knock-down (KD) fittings

Mechanical hardware components that enable furniture to be transported flat and assembled or dismantled later without permanent glued joints.

Cam and dowel KD fitting

A knock-down fitting where a rotating cam locks onto a connecting pin or bolt to pull joints together; requires accurate drilling and can damage weak boards over repeated assembly.

Cross dowel and bolt KD fitting

A knock-down fitting where a bolt engages a threaded barrel nut to form a strong, removable connection; requires precise hole and barrel alignment.

Clearance hole

A hole drilled through the top piece of material that is slightly wider than the screw shank so the screw passes through freely.

Pilot hole

A hole drilled into the receiving piece of material that is narrower than the screw thread to guide the screw and prevent splitting.

Countersink

A cone-shaped recess cut at the top of a screw hole so that the head of a countersunk screw sits flush with the material surface.

PVA wood adhesive

A cheap, non-toxic, water-cleanup adhesive suitable for close-fitting timber joints that requires clamping while curing.

Contact adhesive

An adhesive applied as a thin coat to both surfaces, left until tacky, and pressed together to create an immediate, permanent bond without clamping.

Epoxy resin

A two-part adhesive mixed in the correct ratio that cures to join many mixed materials, including metals.

Solvent cement

A chemical bonding agent for compatible plastics (such as acrylic) that softens and fuses the mating surfaces together; requires ventilation.

Scriber

A pointed metalworking tool used with a steel rule to scratch fine layout lines onto a metal surface.

Centre punch

A pointed steel tool struck with a hammer to create a small indentation that locates and prevents a drill bit from wandering on metal.

Engineer’s square

A workshop measuring tool used to check squareness and mark perpendicular lines from a datum edge on metal at a $90^\circ$ angle.

Hacksaw

A hand cutting tool featuring a replaceable toothed blade held in a tension frame, used for cutting metal with controlled strokes.

Tenon saw

A woodworking saw with a stiffened back that supports straight, accurate joinery cuts.

Tin snips

Hand shears used to cut thin sheet metal.

File

A hand tool fitted with a handle used to remove small amounts of metal to shape an edge.

Smoothing plane

A woodworking tool used to smooth and level timber by cutting thin shavings along the grain.

Bevel edged chisel

A wood-cutting blade tool used by hand or struck with a mallet to remove waste timber when cutting joints and recesses.

Marking gauge

A woodworking tool with a sliding stock and pin used to scribe lines parallel to a datum face or edge.

Vernier or digital calipers

A precision instrument used to measure outside dimensions, inside dimensions, and depth.

Tap

A fluted cutting tool mounted in a tap wrench used to cut an internal screw thread into a pre-drilled hole.

Die

A hardened steel cutting tool held in a die stock used to cut an external screw thread onto a cylindrical metal rod.

Thermoplastics

A group of polymers that soften when heated and can be repeatedly reshaped and remelted, though overheating degrades them (e.g., HIPS, acrylic, polypropylene).

Thermosetting plastics

A group of polymers that cure into a permanently cross-linked molecular structure and cannot be remelted or reshaped upon reheating (e.g., epoxy resin, melamine formaldehyde).

Line bending

The thermoforming process of heating a plastic sheet along a narrow fold line using a strip heater, bending it over a former or jig, and holding it until cool.

Vacuum forming

A manufacturing method where a clamped sheet of thermoplastic is heated until soft, raised against a mould, and atmospheric pressure shapes it over the mould as a vacuum evacuates trapped air.

Draft angle

A slight taper on the vertical sides of a mould that prevents undercuts and allows the formed plastic part to be released easily.

CAD (Computer Aided Design)

Software used to create, modify, virtually test, and output digital 2D and 3D product designs.

CAM (Computer Aided Manufacture)

The use of computer-controlled machinery (such as CNC routers, laser cutters, and 3D printers) to produce physical parts from digital design data.

Planned obsolescence

A design strategy where a product is deliberately designed to last and function effectively for only a fixed period of time.

Describe (Command word)

An examination instruction requiring a step-by-step account of a process in the correct sequential order.