2.3 Technology and Cultural Changes Flashcards
What is socio-economics?
It provides understanding of how society and the economy interact, which enables designers to recognise more effectively the opportunities that exist for the successful development and marketing of products.
What are some demographic trends that affect demand for certain products?
1 couples starting families later in life than they did formerly
2 larger number of young people going to university
3 ageing population
When was the Bauhaus design school?
post first world war
1919-1932
What was the main beliefs in the Bauhaus design school?
They believed in uniting art and industrial designs, and had a revolutionary approach to designing, which dispended with the normal barriers surrounding different crafts and skills, and encouraged experimentation.
What is the significance of Marcel Breuer?
Marcel Breuer is the Bauhaus designer most associated with experimentation with the use of steel tubing for furniture.
How did the Second World War affect design?
It brought about a sever shortage of many goods. Rationing was therefore introduced in Britain to provide fair distribution of essentials such as furniture. The shortage of timber for furniture manufacture was further exacerbated by the destruction of many houses and their contents during bombing raids, and the switching of a great deal of manufacturing capacity towards the war effort.
What was the significance of Gordon Russell during the second world war?
Furniture rationing was accompanied by the setting up of a committee, led by the furniture designer Gordon Russell. His remit was to ensure that scarce resources were used in an optimal way by designing and manufacturing a range if appropriate items. The utility furniture scheme designed to ensure that basic, simply designed products were available in response to the shortages being experienced.
Who was Gordon Russell influenced by during the utility schemes?
He was influenced by William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. He welcomed the opportunity some of the ‘fitness to purpose’ ideas that he had admired in the designs promoted by Morris 40 years earlier.
What were products like in the aftermath of the Second World War?
Products designed in the aftermath of the Second World War bore the hallmarks of the utility programme, in that they were well made but lacked the excitement and the design ‘touches’ that people craved following a period of enforced drabness. However, in the USA, designers were beginning to incorporate new ideas into the design of their products, to appeal to an eager public.
What does COID stand for and what was its significance in the post second world war?
The Government was concerned that competition from other countries and the legacy of wartime utility design would result in Britain being left behind as a designing and manufacturing nation, so the Council of Industrial Design (COID) was set up in 1944, and was successful in introducing a programme of training, assessment and information to improve the standards of design.
Why didn’t British consumers like the idea of streamlining after WW2?
They were wary of the consumerism that was gaining momentum is the USA, and there still existed a desire to get back to pre-war normality.
What was the streamlining opportunity that arose after WW2?
A significance opportunity arose because of the potential market created by teenagers’ insatiable appetite for novel products and their willingness to embrace anything new. This included products such as miniaturised radios and record players.
What material was being used more in the 1940-50s and what effect did this have?
The rapid development of polymers and related moulding techniques gave designers new opportunities for product ideas that can be seen being adopted later in the output of designers such as Robin Day.
During the 1940-50s, what was the main influence to furniture design?
The influence of Scandinavian design at this time was very significant, so the Lovet table was made in 1956. This table, with simple removeable legs, was revolutionary as it was the first example of furniture that could be dismantled for each of transportation and storage.
What was the significance of Lundgren with furniture during 1940-50s?
Lundgren designed the Lovet table for Ikea and then went on to design the billy bookcase. This revolution in the furniture industry made it possible for consumers to buy reasonably priced, fashionable furniture without worrying about what they will do about replacing it when fashions change. This new approach to furniture offered consumers a more enjoyable and affordable experience and the opportunity to make changes as fashions came and went.
What is a thermionic valve and when was it invented?
It is the invention of the vacuum tube at the beginning of the 20th century that allowed electronics to take off. It could control and amplify the flow of an electric current.
What is the significance of semi-conducting devices?
The invention of the semi-conducting devices was pivotal to the development of the information technology on which we now rely. The discovered that the semi-conducting properties of materials such as silicone could be employed to create electronic switched and amplifiers, and this opened up a new world of miniaturisation that was given a major impetus by the development of integrated circuits in the 1950s.
Who invented semi-conducting devices and when?
William Shockley and his team at Bell Laboratories in the USA
What is one of the biggest major developments in technology?
Microelectronics
What did the developments in integrated circuits lead to?
The miniaturisation that ICs facilitate introduced the term microelectronics, since they made massive reductions to the size of components, circuits and products. This then led to ultra-large-scale-integration and has made it possible for computers and mobile devices to proliferate.
What does it mean by Moore’s Law with regard to microelectronics?
Moore’s Law correctly predicted in 1965 that every year, ICs would contain twice as many transistors as they had the year before. He changed his production in 11975 to a doubling of transistors to every 2 years. This may need to be considered by designers in planning future products, although developments in nanotechnology could become a significant factor.
What have been the impacts of microelectronics on designing and manufacturing techniques?
They have made it possible to incorporate powerful microprocessors ICs in CNC machines.
They have made the computers themselves capable of carrying out, at high speed, the millions of calculations required to manipulating designs in a CAD programme.
What have been the impacts of microelectronics on products?
It has provided the essential components at the heart of a new generation of product that had either never previously exited or had been very inconvenient, bulky and energy intensive.
Also led to the development of wireless communication.
What is glulam?
Glulam is the use of several pieces of timber that are glued together to create strong, composite components for use in buildings, bridges and other structure. It is stringer than using solid timber because the careful choice of laminates enables the natural defects found in timber, such as knots and shakes, to be almost eliminated.
What are the 4 new materials that have been developed with advanced properties?
1 glulam
2 Kevlar
3 precious metal clay
4 nanomaterials
Why is glulam increasing in popularity?
1 It has better strength-to-weight ratio than steel due to the minimisation of defects
2 Ease of forming and shaping with lower energy costs
3 Variants such as cross laminated timber 0CLT) are more sheet-based and have strength in both direction and give great potential for imaginative designs
4 It is a sustainable resource
What is Kevlar?
It is a form of aromatic polyamide (a polymer with ring-like molecules connected in long chains) artificial fibre that has tremendous toughness and tensile strength due to the density and chemical bonds present in its molecular structure. It is woven into a variety of materials that are strong and light and these woven materials are combined with various resins into advanced composite materials.
What are the uses of Kevlar?
Bulletproof vests and puncture resistant tyres
Sophisticated aeronautical applications
What is precious metal clay?
It is a craft material that consist of microscopic particles of gold, silver and other materials that are bound together in a pliable medium so that they can be shapes into jewellery and other products.
How is precious metal clay manufactured?
When they have been shaped, a sintering process is carried out, which means raising the temperature of the clay until the particles fuse and the binging medium is burned off. The latest PMCs only need 10 minutes of heating at 700 degrees Celsius for this to happen, and will shrink in size by 10% in the process. Therefore this need to be carefully factored into the design of the design, particularly if it is a ring.
What is nanotechnology?
It involved the precise manipulation of nanomaterials, which are created using particles in the atomic and molecular size range of 1-100 nm.
Where is nanotechnology being used?
In the form of additives in sunscreen and cosmetics, and is also being investigated as a way of making more advanced ‘nanoelectronic’ devices, which would be far smaller and have greater capacity than current microelectronic devices. It also offers a way of coating materials and products and medical applications.
How are Samsung using nanomaterials in their batteries?
They are using graphene-coated anodes to extend the battery life. Graphene is a nanomaterial consisting of a 2D form of carbon with a honeycomb-like atomic structure. If it is rolled into a tubular form, it displays highly desirable levels of tensile strength and hardness, combined with heat resistance and high electrical conductivity. These carbon nanotubes are incredibly thin as well as hollow, and therefore they have the ability to be used in a range of medical applications, such as delivering drugs.
What are the disadvantages of using nanomaterials?
They lack recyclability and potential toxicity of some nanomaterials mean that caution will need to be exercises in their adoption.
What is electrohydraulic forming?
It is the single stage forming of complex sheet metal parts using a single sides former, by the action of a shockwave generated by an electrical spark in a tank of water.
What are the advantages of electrohydraulic forming?
1 it only needs a one sides former rather than 2 required for a conventional press
2 it can produce deep complex and fine detailed shapes
3 it can deal with a range of materials and thicknesses
4 it is a single stage process
5 it is very fast
6 material is evenly distributed, avoiding potential weak points
What does SLS stand for?
selective laser sintering
What does DMLS stand for?
direct metal laser sintering
What are the 5 new methods of manufacture?
1 electrohydraulic forming
2 advanced 3D printing of metals
3 fibre injection moulding
4 laser beam welding
5 physical vapour deposition
What is the process of direct metal laser sintering?
A laser is used to sinter (fuse) metal particles layer by layer, to build up the required form.
What are the advantages of direct metal laser sintering?
It is possible to create parts that are strong and lightweight.
It is possible to achieve complex internal features like undercuts and internal voids that are incompatible with conventional manufacturing techniques such as casting and machining.
What type of manufacturing of used for direct metal laser sintering?
It is particularly appropriate for making one-off prototypes and test parts.
What is fibre injection moulding?
It is a recent augmentation of the standard injection moulding process, in which pellets of glass or carbon fibre-filled polymers such as polyamide (nylon) are used. In the log fibre injection moulding variation of this process, reinforcing fibre roving (a number of slightly twisted strands on a continuous reel) is incorporated directly into the polymer being moulded.
Why is fibre injection moulding becoming more popular and in which industry?
These processes are becoming more popular in the automotive industry, because they are capable of producing parts that are very strong, stiff, lightweight and economical to mould. Some polyamides can be electroplated in the same way as ABS and metals to give the quality finish that is often required.
What is a big advantage of fibre injection moulding?
Fibre injection moulding techniques can also benefit by offering greater sustainability, because they facilitate the reuse of carbon-fibre fabric off cuts and waste left over from the conventional carbon-fibre reinforced resin manufacturing.
What dies LBW stand for?
Laser beam welding
What is laser beam welding?
It is a technique that is increasingly adopted for applications such as automotive manufacture in which the intense heat of a laser beam is used to join multiple pieces of metal. Sometimes twin laser beams are used, and it can also be combined with other types of welding such as WIG and TIG, to increase their efficiency and speed.
What are the advantages of laser beam welding?
1 it welds a wide range of metals and is capable of welding dissimilar metals
2 the area affected by heat from the laser in narrow, therefore minimising distortion
3 the weld is smooth enough to require no further finishing processes
4 more accurate than other methods
5 unnecessary to use filler rods
6 small thin components can be welded with less likelihood of damage
What are the disadvantages of laser beam welding?
1 high capital cost
2 the need for a clean environment to protect the optics
3 additional health and safety considerations
What is physical vapour deposition?
It is a method of producing thin films of material or coating products with a finishing surface, as an alternative to methods such as electroplating.
When is physical vapour deposition used?
It is used for the production of semi-conductor components, food packaging, machine tool cutting tips and decorative products.
How does physical vapour deposition work?
It works by heating the base material so that it vaporises, when then passes through a vacuum to condense on the target material, depositing a thin layer of the required material.
What does IoT stand for?
Internet of things
What is the internet of things?
The connection of a range of devices to one another over networks such as wi-fi and the internet. It has massive potential for improving the way that manufacturing works, as well as more mundane domestic tasks.
What are the advantages of the internet of things?
If you scale up this idea, it is possible to visualise the machines that are used in a JiT manufacturing system being set up to automatically ensure that there is a prompt supply of parts when they are needed.
It facilitates a dynamic response to anything that change in the system, such as a machine fault resulting in the need to reorganise schedules.
It facilitates ‘predictive maintenance’, whereby sensors constantly monitor the condition of elements of a machine, the data collected would indicate when servicing, repair or replacement of various parts is needed, and this would be automatically scheduled by the system.
Why is the growth in the use of standardised file formats such as DXF and STL so beneficial in terms of advancements in CAD and CAM?
These file formats are used to connect CAD and CAM have an increasingly influential manufacturing role in technology. This is because the design files that are produced when products are design in CAD systems facilitate the generation of manufacturing files, which can then be used on a wide range of different machines. The need for skill in the operation of machines is reduced, since the codes generated by the manufacturing files automatically operate the CNC machines to make the part required.
What does it mean by integrated realisation with regard to advancements in CAD and CAM?
The dynamic use of design tools such as finite element analysis or computational fluid dynamics during the early stages of designing parts and assemblies, to calculate the impact of decisions being made at the design stage. This is preferable to having to wait until the end of the designing to carry out simulations because it considerably speeds up the whole process, and problems can be seen much earlier therefore modifications can be put in place to rectify these.
What is mass customisation and how can it be linked to advancements in CAD and CAM?
It is already offering customers options to personalise the products that they buy online, such as trainers sold by Nike. The next step in the development of this is likely to be towards a greater CAD input by customers, to provide more options for the personlisation of products.
How can VR be used with regard to advancements in CAD and CAM?
The use of VR is becoming more important in CAD, since it provides an environment where much more realism can be experienced through the use of devices such as gloves with haptic (sensory) feedback and 3D headsets. It is now being harnessed so that designers will be able to shape piece of virtual material with their hands and see the resulting form in a 3D environment, rather than relying on traditional keyboard and mouse to input their ideas and viewing the results on a flat 2D screen.
What are social issues?
Social issues are those such as environment, health, poverty, discrimination and unemployment that affect a significant number of people.
What are moral and ethical issues?
They are related to people’s beliefs, such as what they believe is right and wrong.
How did William Morris consider morality throughout his influential designs in the Arts and Crafts movement?
He saw the growth of machine-based manufacture evidenced by the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the consequent decline in crafts skills as being detrimental to the structure of society. Despite his efforts, the demand for mass-produced products grew, and this placed a great deal of power to shape society into the hands of designer and manufacturers. The power gained by large manufacturing companies became a target for the designer
What does CSR stand for?
Corporate social responsibility
What is corporate social responsibility?
It is a self-regulatory scheme which gives companies a framework for ensuring that their level of social responsibility and sustainability is optimised.
How was the company LEGO used corporate responsibility within their brand?
It has set a target of 100% renewable energy capacity and has made a commitment to reach a target of moving to sustainable raw materials as an alternative to those that are oil-based by 2030.
What effects do products designed and manufactured for military use have?
They are often criticised as having major detrimental social effects due to the negative aspects of conflict. However, It is worth the military requirements advanced the study and application of anthropometrics and ergonomics and led the developments of products that are regarded as having positive benefits such as the EpiPen.
What are some example of products that are used for military applications?
GPS navigation systems
Penicillin (WW2)
Drones
Jet engines
