AQA GCSE Product Design: 1.1 - New & Emerging Technologies
1.1 - New & Emerging Technologies:
Industry:
- 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
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Enterprise:
- 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
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Fairtrade:
- 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.
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Sustainability:
- 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.
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Changing Job Roles:
- CAD - * Computer aided design * Easier to design * You can visualise the product before creation * It is easy to share and collaborate with others. * Designs won’t be lost as easily * Ideas easily edited * Much quicker than conventional drawings
- CAM - * Computer-aided manufacturing * Reduces human error * Minimises waste
- Robots help efficiency and price but can make people lose their jobs.
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Culture
- 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)
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Production Techniques & Systems:
- 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
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How the Critical Evaluation of New and Emerging Technologies Informs Design Decisions:
- 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.
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