IB Design Technology Exam Notes

Papers

  • Paper 1: Multiple Choice (20%), Topics 1-10
  • Paper 2: Section A (20%) - Database & Direct Qs, Section B (20%) - Answer one question, Topics 1-6
  • Paper 3: (HL Only) Section A (20%), Section B (20%), Topics 7-10
  • Internal Assessment: Criteria A, B, C, D + E, F (HL only) 40%

Topic 1: Human Factors and Ergonomics

  • Ergonomics: Science of human-object, system, environment relationships.
    • Anthropometrics, Psychological, Physiological
  • Anthropometrics: Body measurements (quantitative).
    • User Population: Defined by age, gender, ethnicity, physical condition.
    • Percentile Range: Population proportion with dimension at or less.
      • 5th percentile (Reach), 95th percentile (Fit), 50th percentile (Limitations)
    • Static/Structural: Body measurements at rest.
    • Dynamic/Functional: Body measurements in motion.
    • Sampling: Information gathering from potential users.
    • Clearance: Space between objects.
    • Reach: Range a person can touch/grasp.
    • Adjustability: Product's ability to change size.
  • Psychological Factors: Qualitative (person-dependent).
    • Data: Sound, Light, Smell, Texture, Taste, Temperature
    • Data Scales: Nominal (by name), Ordinal (by order), Interval (same scale), Ratio (true zero)
    • Human Information Processing: Input -> Sensory -> Central -> Motor -> Output
    • Environmental factors.
  • Physiological Factors: Physical characteristics, tolerance, fatigue, comfort.
    • Biomechanics: Force, repetition, duration, posture analysis.

Topic 2: Resource Management and Sustainable Production

  • Resources: Reserves and Resources.
    • Non-Renewable: Oil, Coal, Natural Gas.
    • Renewable: Solar, Wind, Hydroelectric.
  • Product Life Cycle: Pre-production -> Production -> Transportation -> Utilisation -> Disposal
  • Waste Mitigation Strategies:
    • Product Recovery: Reuse, Recycle, Repair, Recondition, Take Back Legislation.
    • Waste Reduction Methodologies: Re-engineering, Dematerialisation.
    • Circular Economy: Cradle-to-cradle, Design for Reuse/Disassembly, Bio-mimicry.
  • Embodied Energy: Total energy to produce a product (Cradle-to-gate).
  • Electric Vehicles (EVs): Battery-powered motors.
  • Local Combined Heat and Power (CHP): Close to end users.
  • Hydrogen Fuel Cell: Anode (-), Cathode (+).
  • Individual Energy Generation:
    • Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems (Silicone based).
    • Solar thermal panels.
    • Small-scale wind turbines.
    • Micro combined heat and power (CHP).
    • Biomass systems (biofuel systems).
    • Hydroelectric Systems.
  • Carbon Mitigation Strategies:
    • Renewable energy, avoid activity, reduce emissions, emission control, carbon capture.
  • Batteries (End-of-life Disposal):
    • Primary (single use): Alkaline, Lithium.
    • Secondary (rechargeable): Lead acid, Lithium ion (Li-Ion), Lithium ion polymer (LiPo), Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cad).
  • Capacitors:
    • Polarised (higher capacity).
    • Non-polarised (lower capacity).
  • Clean Technology: Less energy, less materials, less waste.
    • Drivers: Consumer pressure, legislation.
    • Legislation Reactions: Reactive (short run), Proactive (long run).
    • Changes: Incremental (End of pipe), Radical.
  • Green Design --> Eco-design --> Sustainable Design
    • Green Design Objectives: Efficiency, minimise harm, appropriate life, disposal effects, packaging, safety, minimise materials, labeling.
  • Strategies for Designing Green Products:
    • Prevention Principle
    • Precautionary principle
  • Eco Design:
    • Materials, energy, waste/pollution.
  • Sustainability:
    • Environmental, economic, social aspects.
  • Life Cycle Analysis (LCA):
    • Environmental effect assessment at all stages.
    • Major considerations: Water, soil, air, noise, energy, resources, ecosystems.
  • Environmental Impact Assessment Matrix: Targets high negative impact products.
  • Converging Technologies:
    • Advantages: Reduced materials, disassembly, energy, recyclability, portability.
    • Disadvantages: Disruptive innovation, initial quality.
  • During Production:
    • Clean technologies, recycled materials, design for materials/process/disassembly, dematerialisation, renewable resources, reduce embodied energy, less noise.
  • During Distribution:
    • Reduce packaging, recycled materials, minimise weight/size, recyclable materials.
  • During Utilisation:
    • Energy efficiency, easy repair, design for disassembly.
  • During Disposal:
    • Recyclable materials, take back legislation, label parts, standard parts for reuse.

Topic 3: Modelling

  • Models: Illustrate design features.
  • Conceptual modelling: originates in the mind
  • Graphical modelling: Communicating design ideas
    • Free-hand, Isometric, Exploded, Perspective, Orthographic, Part/Assembly drawings
  • Physical Modelling:
    • Scale, Mock-up, Aesthetic, Prototypes, Instrumented models
  • CAD:
    • Surface, Solid Models
    • Bottom up, Top down
    • Finite Element Analysis (FEA):
      • CAD simulation (materials, joining, force)
    • Animation: Simulate motion.
    • Virtual Reality: Real situation simulation.
    • Haptic Technology: User influence via touch.
    • Digital Humans: Computer simulation of human body.
    • Motion Capture: Recording human/animal movements.
    • Virtual Prototyping (VP): Cheaper.
  • Rapid Prototyping:
    • Stereolithography (SLA): Photosensitive resin hardened by laser.
    • Select Laser Sintering (SLS): Heat fusible powder sinters by laser.
    • Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM): Molten material extrusion.
    • Laminated Object Manufacture (LOM): Sheet material cut by laser/plotter.
  • Steps: CAD design -> .stl -> 3D printer -> Virtual slicing.

Topic 4: Raw Materials to Final Product

  • Physical Properties:
    • Mass, Weight, Density (M/V)(M/V), Electrical Resistivity, Thermal Conductivity, Thermal Expansion, Hardness
  • Mechanical Properties:
    • Strength (Tensile, Compressive), Stiffness, Toughness, Ductility, Elasticity, Plasticity, Young's Modulus
    • High tensile = Low ductility
    • High ductility = Low tensile
  • Expansion Joints: Elastic material for structural expansion.
  • Aesthetic Properties: Appearance, Smell, Taste, Texture.
  • Smart Materials:
    • Piezoelectric: Electric current on impact.
    • Shape Memory Alloys (SMA):
      • Pseudo-elasticity: Return to shape after force removal.
      • Shape memory effect: Return to shape at trigger temperature.
    • Magnetic Rheostatic (MR): Liquid solidifies under magnetic field.
    • Electro Rheostatic (ER): Liquid solidifies under electric field.
    • Photochromicity: Darkens under UV light.
    • Thermoelectricity: Electricity from heat.
  • Materials:
    • Metals and Alloys: Ferrous, Non-ferrous.
      • Metallic Bond: Positive ions in free electrons.
    • Timber: Natural (Softwood/Hardwood), Man-made (MDF, Plywood).
    • Glass: Soda-Lime, Borosilicate, Toughened, Laminated.
    • Plastics:
      • Thermoplastics (Recyclable): LDPE, HDPE, PP, HIPS, ABS, PET, PVC, UPVC.
      • Thermosetting Plastics (Non-recyclable): Urea-formaldehyde, Melamine resin, Epoxy resin, Polyurethane.
        • Thermoplastics: Covalent bonds within the chain, Thermosetting: Covalent bonds between the chains and within the chains
    • Textiles: Natural (Wool, Cotton, Silk), Synthetic (Nylon, Polyester, Lycra).
    • Composites: Mixture with matrix, high variability.
  • Scales of Production:
    • Mass customisation, doesn't need a third-party because consumers buy from the manufacturer.
  • Manufacturing Techniques:
    • Adding, Wasting, Shaping, Joining.
  • Additive:
    • Paper based rapid prototyping, LOM, SLA, SLS, FDM
  • Subtractive:
    • Cutting, Machining, Turning, Abrading
  • One Off:
    • Advantages: Unique, skilled workers, flexible, low setup cost
    • Disadvantages: high unit cost, high labour cost, labour-intensive
  • Batch:
    • Advantages: Variety, lower unit cost, more flexible then mass
    • Disadvantages: Labor switch time, not unique
  • Mass and Continuous
    • Advantages: High production rate, low unit cost, automated
    • Disadvantages: Products aren't unique, High set up cost, not flexible
  • Shaping:
    • Casting, Moulding, Thermoforming, Lamination, Knitting, Weaving, Bending.
  • Joining:
    • Fusing, Fastening, Adhering, Stitching.
  • Fastening:
    • Temporary: Screws, bolts, knock down fittings.
    • Permanent: Rivets, nails, hinges.
  • Wood: PVA, Cascamite.
  • Thermoplastics: Tensol cement.
  • Water based adhesives are more environmentally friendly
  • G-code: CNC instructions (start, stop, speed, XYZ coordinates).
  • Design for Manufacture (DFM):
    • Materials, process, assembly, disassembly.
  • Production Systems:
    • Craft: Manual skills.
    • Mechanised: Machines controlled by man.
    • Automated: Machines controlled by computers (CNC, robots), Assembly line.
  • Industrial Robots:
    • Programmed end effectors (gripper, welding gun).
    • Work envelope, Load capacity (pay load).
  • Robot Generations:
    • First: Simple arm, repetitive, human supervision.
    • Second: Sensors, less supervision, control unit.
    • Third: Independent, intelligent, speech recognition.
  • Robot type:
    • Single task, multi task
  • Machine to Machine (M2M): Information transmission.
  • Automated Production Advantages and Disadvantages:
    • Advantages: Productivity, flexibility, accuracy, quality, hazardous work, reprogrammable.
    • Disadvantages: High setup cost, job loss, training requirements, maintenance.

Topic 5: Innovation and Design

  • Invention: Discovering a principle.
  • Innovation: Commercial success of an invention.
  • Invention Drivers: Motivation, curiosity, discontent, money, helping.
  • Reasons Inventions Shelved:
    • Marketability, financial support, price, marketing, resistance, risk, safety.
  • Intellectual Property (IP):
    • Patents (inventions), Copyrights © (artistic), Registered Design (aesthetics), Marks (distinguish)
      • Trademark ™, Servicemark, Registered trademark ®
  • Types of Innovation:
    • Sustaining innovation: adding to an existing product to improve it and keep sales going
    • Disruptive innovation: when a product enters the market and affects existing products
    • Process innovation
  • Innovation Strategies for Design:
    • Incremental, architectural, modular, configurational.
  • Sustaining & Incremental innovation
  • Disruptive & Radical innovation
  • Innovation Strategies for Markets: Diffusion, Suppression.
  • Innovation Strategies: Act of insight, chance, analogy, adaptation, transfer, push, pull.
  • Stakeholders: Lone inventor, Product champion, Entrepreneur.
  • Obsolescence: Technological, Style, Functional.
  • Innovation Cycle: Idea -> Manufacturing -> Marketing -> Redesign.
  • Diffusion Elements: Innovation, communication, time, social system.
  • Innovation Characteristics: Trial-ability, relative advantages, compatibility, complexity, observability.
  • Consumer Categories: Innovators, early adopters, early/late majority, laggards.
  • Research Strategies: Literature, expert, user, trial, performance, field.

Topic 6: Classic Designs

  • Classic Designs:
    • Timeless, fashionable, standard-setting, recognizable, mass-produced, well-designed, copied, groundbreaking, impactful, continuous demand, ubiquitous.
  • Form vs. Function:
    • Balance is a challenge; consumers appreciate aesthetics.
  • Bauhaus Movement: Form follows function, mass-produced, simple lines.
  • Art Deco: French decorative art.
  • Retro-styling: Respect original form, change internal components.
  • Function:
    • Practical (quantifiable): performance, size, ease of use,
    • Psychological (subjective): emotions attached.

Topic 7: User-Centred Design

  • User Centred Design (UCD):
    • Attention to user needs in all design stages.
    • Associated with Usefulness, usability, desirability.
  • UCD Principles:
    • Understanding users, tasks, environments.
    • User involvement throughout.
    • Iterative, inclusive (Universal design).
    • Addresses whole user experience.
    • Multi-disciplinary teams.
  • Usability:
    • Extent product can be used effectively.
  • Usability Objectives:
    • Usefulness, learnability, effectiveness, efficiency, likability.
  • Good User-Product Interface:
    • Simplicity, intuitive logic, feedback, low memory burden, visibility, mapping, affordance, constraints.
  • Population Stereotypes: Widespread responses in user population.
  • User Research Strategies:
    • User population, classification (Personae, Secondary Personae, Anti - Personae), Use case
  • User-Centered Design Strategies:
    • Field research, methods of extreme, interviews, focus groups, observation, questionnaires, affinity diagramming, participatory design, prototype, usability testing sessions
  • Environment:
    • Natural, testing house, usability laboratory.
  • Designing for Pleasure and Emotion:
    • Pleasure Framework: Physio, Psycho, Socio, Ideo.
    • Emotional Design: Visceral, Behavioural, Reflective.
    • ACT Model: Attract, Converse, Transact.

Topic 8: Sustainability

  • Sustainable Development: Meets present needs without compromising future generations.
  • Triple Bottom Line: Economic (Profit), Environmental (Planet), Social (People).
  • Economic: Growth, development, productivity.
  • Environmental: Resources, nature, pollution, waste.
  • Social: Identity, empowerment, equity, stability.
  • Coupling: Two items that decrease/increase together
  • Decoupling: Economic growth separate from environmental impact.
  • International Laws: Rio (1992), Kyoto Protocol.
  • Sustainability Reporting: Economic, environmental, social, governance.
  • Advantages of Sustainability Reporting:
    • Governments: Assessment, transparency.
    • Manufacturers: Vision, strengths/weaknesses, reputation, compatibility, trust, Attraction.
    • Consumers: Trust, understanding, decision making.
  • Product Stewardship: Responsibility for minimising environmental impact at all stages.
  • Examples: Organic foods, genetically modified food, green cotton, forest stewardship, plastics.
  • Sustainable Consumption: Minimal environmental impact, social equity, economic viability; consuming differently.
  • Attitudes:
    • Eco-warriors, eco-champions, eco-fans, eco-phobes.
  • Labelling:
    • Eco Labelling: Voluntary ,better for the environment.
    • Energy Labelling: Legal, energy efficient.
  • Market: Pricing considerations, stimulating demand, education.
  • Pressure Groups: Influence using media.
  • Consumerism: Lifestyle, ethical.
  • Sustainable Design: Triple Bottom Line, cradle to cradle, long timescale.
  • Datschefski’s Principles: Cyclic, solar, safe, efficient, social.
  • Cyclic, Solar, Safe, Efficient and Social.
  • Sustainable Innovation: Stakeholder cooperation, long implementation
    • Bottom up/Top down
  • Government Role in Innovation: Regulation, education, taxes, subsidies.
  • Energy Sustainability: Macro, Micro
  • Energy Security: Uninterrupted availability at affordable price.

Topic 9: Innovation and Markets

  • Corporate Strategies:
    • Pioneering, imitative, penetration, development, diversification, hybrid.
  • Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Self-regulation.
  • Market Sectors: Geographical, client-based.
  • Market Segments: Income, profession, age, gender, family, values, behaviour.
  • Product: Family, Versioning.
  • Marketing Mix:
    • Product:Aesthetics, Packaging, Quality, Technology, Standardisation, Trigger/Incremental Products
    • Place: Distribution, point of sale
    • Price: Cost-Plus, Demand, Competition, Line, Psychological
    • Promotion: Above/Below the line.
  • Marketing Research: Information gathering to create product ideas, develop ideas into products, technology trends
  • Consumers reaction to technology: Technophile, Technocautious, Technophobe
  • Brand:
    • Name/symbol to identify a company's product from another company.
    • Branding: Creating an image.
      • Brand awareness, Brand loyalty, Brand image.

Topic 10: Commercial Production

  • Commercial Production
  • Just in case (JIC): Keeping a stock of components or products, in case of a rush order.
  • Just in time (JIT): A situation where a firm does not allocate space to the storage of components or completed items, items that are not ordered are not made
  • Kanaban: Notifying supplier when parts are out.
  • Lean Production: Eliminating waste, maximizing value.
    • Characteristics of Lean Production: Low Inventory, Highly trained workers, Quality Control ,Getting it Right, JIT
  • Lean Production advantages
  • Eliminating Waste, Maximising Flow, Zero Waste; Partners with Suppliers, Designing for Rapid Changeover
  • Value stream mapping (VSM): Identifying waste.
  • Workflow analysis: Reviewing processes for improvements.
  • Lead Time = No value lead time = adds value
  • 5S: Sorting, Stabilising, Shining, Standardising, Sustaining.
  • 7 Wastes: Transporting, Inventory, Motion, Over productions and Defects
  • Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM): Computerized manufacturing system.
  • Quality Management(QM): Eliminating waste and defects by meeting a consistent and specified standards
    • Quality control (QC): During production, it detects defects
    • Statistical process control (SPC): During production, it allows us to see if the products are deviating from the set of standards, it detects the defects
    • Quality assurance (QA): From every aspect related to the product, it prevents defects
  • A comprehensive quality management is key to reduced costs, increased sales, brand loyalty and premium pricing.
  • Economic Viability: Cost effectiveness, value for money.
  • Pricing Strategies: Cost plus pricing
    Unit price = (TFC+TVC+Profit)/Quantity(TFC + TVC + Profit) / Quantity
  • Return on Investment (ROI): (Revenue−Costofgoodssold)/costofgoodssold(Revenue - Cost of goods sold) / cost of goods sold