AQA GCSE Product Design: 1.1 - New & Emerging Technologies

1.1 - New & Emerging Technologies:

Industrial Revolution -
- The late 1700s
- Due to the development of emerging technology (steam power)
- Before this, products were made in home workshops
- Now, new technologies allow for products to be made faster and more economically in factories
Modern factories usually have access to transportation methods, e.g. good roads, railways and seaports
- Easy to get raw materials
- Easy to transport products
Shops - splitting industries into areas in factories
Car manufacturing shops -
- Pressing shop
- Axle shop
- Body shop
- Paint shop
- Plastics shop
- Casting shop

Crowdfunding -
- Funding a project by raising money from large numbers of people
- Uses the internet, e.g. social media, websites
- People donate small amounts
- Donations - people give money for believing in the cause
- Equity - the money buys shares in the business
- Debt - the money is loaned and paid back with interest
Co-operatives -
- A business that is owned and self-managed by its workers
- Workers set production schedules and determine working conditions
- Usually have higher productivity than conventional companies
- Usually, all shares are held by the workforce with no outside or consumer owners

A movement that aims to achieve fair and better trading conditions and opportunities that promote sustainability for developing countries
Prevents an unfair balance of power among corporations
Farmers have to fight against unfair larger farms which can sell for less money
Allows equality and income stability
Millions of dollars reinvested.
70% of the world's food is grown on small farms.
Social media promotes it.

Meeting present-day needs without compromising the needs of future generations.
Finite Resources -
- A resource that does not renew itself quickly enough to meet the needs of future generations, e.g. coal, natural gas and oil.
- There is no natural way to bring them back when they are gone.
Non-Finite Resources -
- A resource that can replenish itself quickly enough to meet our needs, e.g. water, and plants. Also, we are using renewable energy sources e.g. solar, geothermal and wind.
Manufacturers need to think about the life cycle of a product and how this will affect the environment.

The values, beliefs, customs and behaviours used by groups and societies to interact with one another and the world
We can choose some (political) cultures but are born into some others (religion)

FMS -
- Flexible manufacturing system
- Productive, efficient conveyor-like system
One-off production -
- Where only 1 of these products is made. It’s custom-made and you cannot find another one the same.
CNC -
- Computer numerically controlled
- Efficient automation, saving time, effort and money.
JIT -
- Just-in-time production
- Companies create products when requested because they aren’t commonly requested
Lean manufacturing -
- Focusing on the reduction of waste during manufacturing.
- Save on storage (less space needed)
- A smaller amount of unused stock
- Less waste

Planned Obsolescence -
- Where a product has been planned so it cannot be fixed so you buy more, making money for companies.
Design Maintenance -
- Functions that help a product keep working correctly throughout its life
- e.g. changing batteries, changing components
Ethics -
- Low costs usually mean that they have come from abroad meaning local jobs are lost
Environment -
- Designers need to consider how to reduce their impact on the environment
End of Life Disposal -
- Disposal can impact the environment
- Recycling is good as it can be reused instead of being buried or burnt.
- Aluminium cans are recycled by a re-melt process into ingots to be made into more cans
- Glass bottles are reused by being sterilised and then reused.
Biodegradable -
- The materials naturally break down quickly when in landfill to naturally occurring substances
- Supermarkets make us pay for plastic bags to encourage us to reuse our bags, saving the environment.