Design and Technology: Product Design

General Course Description

This creative and thought-provoking qualification gives students the practical skills, theoretical knowledge and confidence to succeed in a number of careers. Especially those in the creative industries.

They will investigate historical, social, cultural, environmental and economic influences on design and technology, whilst enjoying opportunities to put their learning in to practice by producing prototypes of their choice.

Students will gain a real understanding of what it means to be a designer, alongside the knowledge and skills sought by higher education and employers.

We have a well-equipped department with 8 3D printers, polymer recycling facilities, metal water jet cutter and heat treatment and encourage a mix of both modern and traditional manufacturing skills and processes.

Product Design (H006) focuses on consumer products and applications and their analysis in respect of:

o Materials, components, process and their selection and uses in products and/or systems

o The selection and use of the above in industrial commercially viable products and practices.

The content covers the following topic areas:

• Identifying requirements

• Learning from existing products and practice

• Implications of wider issues

• Design thinking and communication

• Material and component considerations

• Technical understanding

• Manufacturing processes and techniques

• Viability of design solutions

• Health and safety.

Trips, visits and extra-curricular

In June of Year 12 we will be visiting the product design degree show at Sheffield Hallam University to help inform degree choices.

Sheffield has a strong history of making and we have links with a number of companies that we can help arrange work experience and visits with.

Financial Information

Free copy of Autodesk Fusion 360 to use at home.

Component 01: Principles of product Design

Examination: 80 marks 1 hour 30 mins 26.7%

Students:

• Analyse existing products

• Demonstrate applied mathematical skills

• Demonstrate their technical knowledge of materials, product functionality, manufacturing processes and techniques

• Undertake case studies to demonstrate their understanding of wider social, moral and environmental issues that impact on the design and manufacturing industries.

Component 02: Problem solving in Product design

Examination: 70 marks 1 hour 45mins 23.3%

Students:

• Apply their knowledge, understanding and skills of designing and manufacturing prototypes and products to given situations and problems

• Demonstrate their higher thinking skills to solve problems and evaluate situations and suitability of design solutions.

Component 03/04: Iterative design project

Coursework: 150 marks 65 hours 50%

Central to this non-examined assessment is the requirement for students to understand and apply processes of iterative designing in their design and technology practice: exploring needs, creating solutions and evaluating how well the needs have been met.

Students identify an engaging and challenging context of their own choice that offers design opportunity or problem to respond to in the development of a design solution. They create a chronological portfolio of evidence in real-time as they design, make and evaluate the project according to the iterative processes of explore, create and evaluate.

5 in Maths and 5 in Design and Technology, Art (if studied) or Merit at Level 2 Designing the Built Environment.

Progression Opportunities

University to study:

Product design, Industrial design, Engineering, Ergonomics, Interior Design.

Apprenticeships:

AMRC in Sheffield offers degree apprenticeships in a wide range of engineering fields with multinational employers such as Boeing, Rolls Royce and Maclaren.