keywords

Question 1

What is automation?

Answer 1

The use of control systems for operating equipment such as machinery and processes in factories; this reduces human input.

Question 2

Client

Answer 2

The person/people/audience being designed for and whose needs are being met.

Question 3

Commercial process

Answer 3

Manufacturing method used to produce products in quantity.

Question 4

Commercial product

Answer 4

A product intended to make money.

Question 5

Conceptual stages (of design)

Answer 5

The use of models, sketches and computer aided design (CAD) to show the design of a product as it develops.

Question 6

Continuous improvement

Answer 6

The identification of improvements and subsequent evolution of the products.

Question 7

Co-operative

Answer 7

A group of people united to meet common social, economic or cultural need through a jointly-owned business.

Question 8

Crowd funding

Answer 8

A large number of people who raise money for a project or venture.

Question 9

Ecological

Answer 9

The consideration of the environment and the impact the design could have on it.

Question 10

Ethics

Answer 10

Moral decisions when designing and manufacturing.

Question 11

Ergonomics

Answer 11

How a product is designed for efficiency and/or comfort.

Question 12

Fabricate

Answer 12

Using processes such as cutting, bending, joining and assembly to produce products.

Question 13

Finite

Answer 13

A material or resouce that will eventually run out.

Question 14

Functionality

Answer 14

How well a product carries out its purpose.

Question 15

Fusibility

Answer 15

How well a material is converted by heat into a molten or liquid state dependent on its melting point.

Question 16

Iterative design

Answer 16

Design methodology based on a cyclical process of analysing, prototyping and testing to refine a product. Each iteration and result starts the process again.

Question 17

Lean manufacturing

Answer 17

Reducing and eliminating waste in a manufacturing process.

Question 18

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA’s)

Answer 18

A technique used to assess the environmental impact of a product at all stages of its raw materials, transportation, manufacture, use and disposal.

Question 19

Mechanical device

Answer 19

Mechanism which produces and/or changes movement.

Question 20

Market pull

Answer 20

Products developed to meet the needs of society/people in a specific section of the market.

Question 21

Nesting

Answer 21

The tessellation (an area covered with no gaps or overlaps) of shapes or nets on a material to minimise the amount of waste during manufacture.

Question 22

Physical properties

Answer 22

Properties that refer to the actual matter that forms the material (eg: insulation, conductivity, fusibilty)

Question 23

Planned obsolescence

Answer 23

Deliberately designing the lifecycle of a product to be short, forcing the user to update their products quickly.

Question 24

Primary source

Answer 24

Research collected first-hand by a designer to develop a product or idea.

Question 25

Primary source (of materials)

Answer 25

Where materials originate from (polymers from oil etc) and the raw material that needs to be converted into a workable form.

Question 26

Product

Answer 26

Item or artefact developed for an intended audience to solve a problem or meet a need.

Question 27

Prototype

Answer 27

An early model or sample of a product used to test a concept.

Question 28

Schematic diagram

Answer 28

Graphic symbols or simplistic diagrams used to convey a system (eg an undergroung map)

Question 29

Social footprint

Answer 29

The impact a product or individual has on society.

Question 30

Social responsibility

Answer 30

The idea that the designer needs to evaluate the impact their product could have on society and take action to make this better.

Question 31

Stock form

Answer 31

The standard shape and size of materials as they are bought.

Question 32

Technology push

Answer 32

Technological discoveries used to drive the development of a product.

Question 33

Tolerance

Answer 33

The minimum and the maximum measurements that can be accepted when manufacturing.

Question 34

User

Answer 34

The person/people who make use of the product that has been developed by a designer.

Question 35

User centered design

Answer 35

Design development with the user at the centre of the focus. The designer tries to visualise how the product will actually be used, as opposed to focusing on other areas such as cost.

Question 36

Working properties

Answer 36

How a material reacts to external forces.