Subject Specific Vocabulary

Question 1

Automation

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Commercial Product

Answer 2

A product intended to make money.

Question 3

Co-operative

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Client

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Conceptual Stages (of design)

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Crowd funding

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Commercial Process

Answer 7

Manufacturing method used to produce products in quantity.

Question 8

Continuous improvement

Answer 8

The identification of improvements and subsequent evolution of products.

Question 9

Ecological

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Fabricate

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Ethics

Answer 11

Moral decisions when designing and manufacturing.

Question 12

Finite

Answer 12

A material or source which will one day run out.

Question 13

Iterative Design

Answer 13

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 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

Lean Manufacturing

Answer 16

Reducing and eliminating waste in a manufacturing process.

Question 17

Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs)

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Market Pull

Answer 18

Products developed to meet the needs of society or a specific section of the market.

Question 19

Mechanical Device

Answer 19

Mechanism which produces and/or changes movement.

Question 20

Nesting

Answer 20

The tessellation of shapes or nets on a material to minimise the amount of waste during manufacture.

Question 21

Physical properties

Answer 21

Properties that refer to the actual matter that forms the material (e.g. insulation, conductivity, fusibility, etc.).

Question 22

Primary Source (of material)

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Planned Obsolescence

Answer 23

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