National Year 10 Design and Technology
Chapters: 2
1. 3.1 Core technical principles
3.1.1 New and emerging technologies · 3.1.2 Energy generation and storage · 3.1.3 Developments in new materials · 3.1.4 Systems approach to designing · 3.1.5 Mechanical devices · 3.1.6 Materials and their working properties
- New and Emerging Technologies – New technologies change how products are designed, made, sold and thrown away. In industry: automation and robots, CAD/CAM, flexible manufacturing, just-in-time (JIT) and lean production. In enterprise: crowdfunding, virtual marketplaces, co-operatives and fair trade. For sustainability: finite vs non-finite resources, disposal of waste, the circular economy. For people and culture: jobs, inclusive design, fashion and trends, planned obsolescence. Good designers weigh the benefits against the costs to people, society and the environment.
- Minerals and Energy Resources – Minerals are natural substances found in rocks. They are metallic (ferrous or non-ferrous), non-metallic, or energy minerals. Energy comes from conventional sources like coal, petroleum, natural gas and electricity, and from non-conventional sources like sun, wind, nuclear, biogas, tides and heat from the Earth. Both minerals and energy must be conserved.
- Smart and Modern Materials – A smart material changes one of its properties (shape, colour, transparency or electrical output) when something in its surroundings changes, such as temperature, light, force or a voltage. The change is reversible. Key examples: shape-memory alloys like nitinol return to a remembered shape when heated; thermochromic pigments change colour with temperature; photochromic materials darken in UV light; piezoelectric crystals make a voltage when squeezed. Modern materials, which are not necessarily smart, include composites such as carbon-fibre and glass-fibre reinforced plastic, graphene and other nanomaterials, technical and smart textiles, liquid crystals and bio-based plastics. Engineers choose materials by their properties, cost and effect on the environment.
- Control Systems and Feedback – A control system makes a machine or process behave the way we want. Every system has input → process (controller) → output. In an open-loop system the controller does not check the result (a toaster on a timer). In a closed-loop system a sensor measures the output and feeds it back; the controller compares it with the set point and corrects the error (a thermostat, cruise control). Real systems are built from sensors, a controller (electronic circuit, microcontroller or PLC) and actuators (motors, heaters, valves, pneumatic cylinders). Many are now networked (IoT, SCADA) so they can be watched and controlled from far away.
- Mechanisms: How Machines Change Motion and Force – A mechanism takes an input motion and force and gives a different output motion and force. There are four kinds of motion: rotary, linear, reciprocating and oscillating. Levers turn on a fulcrum; mechanical advantage (MA) = load ÷ effort. Gears and pulleys pass on turning motion; gear ratio = driven teeth ÷ driver teeth, and output speed = input speed ÷ gear ratio. Meshing gears turn opposite ways; a belt keeps the same direction. Cams, cranks and sliders, and rack and pinion change rotary motion into linear or reciprocating motion. Mechanisms trade speed for force: you never get more work out than you put in.
- Materials and Their Properties: Why Things Are Made of What They Are – Every product is made from materials chosen for their properties. The main families are papers and boards, timbers, metals, polymers (plastics) and textiles. Physical properties describe what a material is like (density, conductivity, how it reacts to heat and water). Working properties describe how it behaves when we use or shape it (strength, hardness, toughness, elasticity, plasticity, malleability, ductility). Materials come from natural sources such as trees, ores and crude oil, and are sold in standard stock forms like sheets, bars, tubes and planks. A designer picks a material by matching its properties to the job, and also thinks about cost, availability, looks and the environment.
2. 3.2 Specialist technical principles
3.2.1 Selection of materials or components · 3.2.2 Forces and stresses · 3.2.3 Ecological and social footprint · 3.2.4 Sources and origins · 3.2.5 Using and working with materials · 3.2.6 Stock forms, types and sizes · 3.2.7 Scales of production · 3.2.8 Specialist techniques and processes · 3.2.9 Surface treatments and finishes
- Materials and Their Properties: Why Things Are Made of What They Are – Every product is made from materials chosen for their properties. The main families are papers and boards, timbers, metals, polymers (plastics) and textiles. Physical properties describe what a material is like (density, conductivity, how it reacts to heat and water). Working properties describe how it behaves when we use or shape it (strength, hardness, toughness, elasticity, plasticity, malleability, ductility). Materials come from natural sources such as trees, ores and crude oil, and are sold in standard stock forms like sheets, bars, tubes and planks. A designer picks a material by matching its properties to the job, and also thinks about cost, availability, looks and the environment.
- Forces and Stresses on Materials – Every product carries forces. Five kinds matter most: tension (pulling, gets longer), compression (pushing, gets shorter), bending (one side squashed, other side stretched), torsion (twisting) and shear (layers sliding across each other). Stress is force per area: σ = F ÷ A, in N/m² (pascal) or N/mm² (MPa). When a part is too weak or bendy we reinforce it: change its shape (fold, rib, corrugate, use an I-section or triangles) or combine layers (laminate, add webbing or interfacing).
- Sustainable Design: Products That Are Kind to People and Planet – Sustainable design means making products that meet our needs while harming nature and people as little as possible. Every product has a life cycle: materials, making, transport, use and end of life. A life cycle assessment adds up the ecological footprint (energy, CO₂, water, waste) at each stage. The social footprint is the effect on workers and communities: pay, safety, child labour, fair trade. Designers use the six Rs (rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, repair, recycle), design for maintenance, repair and disassembly, and avoid planned obsolescence. Ecodesign also weighs the economic side: a product must be affordable and profitable, so the best designs balance environment, society and economy.
- Production Methods – Firms choose how to make things by how many they need. One-off (job) production makes a single item to order; batch production makes a set of identical items, then switches; mass (flow) production makes huge numbers on a line; continuous production runs non-stop. Lean production and just-in-time cut waste and stock. Quality control checks products against a target size with a tolerance (for example 50 ± 0.5 mm), and quality assurance builds quality into every stage.
- Surface Treatments and Finishes – A finish is a coating or treatment applied to the surface of a material. Finishes do two jobs: protect (against rust, rot, water, UV light, wear, stains, fire) and improve looks or feel (colour, shine, texture). Woods are painted, varnished, oiled, waxed, stained or treated with preservatives. Metals are painted over a primer, powder coated, galvanised with zinc, electroplated or, for aluminium, anodised. Many polymers are self-finishing from the mould, but can be polished or printed. Papers and boards are laminated or varnished. Fabrics get chemical or mechanical finishes such as water-repellent, flame-retardant, anti-crease or brushed, and laminated membrane fabrics keep rain out while letting sweat vapour escape. Choosing a finish means matching it to the material, where the product is used, its cost, how it is applied and its environmental impact.