Design Brief:
A major problem encountered within the local community is the continual vandalism of bus shelters. A request has been made for a new style of shelter which must meet specific requirements. Your task is to study the design brief, carry out a design audit and a manufacturing audit. You are then required to manufacture a scale model of your design using the materials and processes to be used in the final construction. This is then to be presented for evaluation together with your design portfolio.
Specification
The shelter will be manufactured in metal and should when erected, provide comfort for the waiting passengers and protection from the elements whilst enabling peripheral vision into the shelter and outwards in order to provide a greater feeling of security.
The shelter's framework must be easily erected and the designer should choose joining methods which allow for ease of construction, strength and transportability.
The panels of the shelter, because of the excessive breakages of previously manufactured glass units, must be of metal fabrication. In order for the surfaces to be resistant to damage, and in particular graffiti, the surface of the panels must be enameled.
The company logo should be represented on a main panel in the company colours and as a part of the enamel finish. This can be as a separately fixed enameled panel or within the enameling of the panel. Any decision to provide seating is left to the discretion of the designer. Seating should also be in metal and can be either fabricated or cast. Before beginning design work the pupil would benefit from studying the information provided in the following sections on:
- Designing sheet steel products.
- Designing cast metal products.
- Screen printing for vitreous enamel signs.
- The properties of vitreous enamels.
Design Audit
Researching the subject is important in order to have a clear understanding of the needs required by the customer who is both the client, in relation to sales, manufacturing and delivery, and the user who will be the general public.
In reality good research involves a mixture and variety of methods.
The two basic forms are passive methods, where the results of
the research are collected without the researcher being present
and active methods, where the researcher is actively involved
and collects the information through personal experience.
As a designer you will have to consider what the benefits of either are when researching and remember that good research is carefully planned to ensure that the responses are necessary and of value to help with the next stage of the design audit.
Questions and answers
Before writing the questions consider what you need to know.
Information about their car may be totally unnecessary in relation to a bus shelter but the fact that they have a young baby and would have a push chair with them whilst waiting for a bus is important.
If you are designing something that will be attractive to your Client then it would seem to make sense to collect information of that sort.
What sort of information can be used when designing something that must look appealing to the public?
Consider what information needs to be displayed within a bus shelter, how it might be displayed. How long might people have to wait in a shelter? The period could be as long as 30 minutes in rural areas but only two or three minutes in a town or city.
Useful information at the research stage can therefore be applied to the designing stage.
Results and presentation
These are the results that are recorded and are judged suitable by their usefulness towards solving the problem. They may be answers to questions or results of observations. A survey may have been used to compare several sources. Results need to be shown clearly so that they can be used in the design stage. Avoid bulky descriptions. List the relevant answers and indicate how they will be used.
Product Research
In reality, once a design brief has been given we have some idea of focusing our attention towards suitable information. A clearer guide however will ensure that what we do is better use of the limited time given. Browsing general information is likely to be time consuming and less productive.
What to look for
The Brief is used as the starting point. Decisions are to be made about the Shape/form, size, Material, Decoration, Finish and the processes to be used. Some of these may be decided for you, as for example enameling, and some will have been identified by your questions to the user and the client.
Where to find it
To find information that will help with the choice of Shape and form, start with the information gathered about the user. If they have indicated preferences, like for example "having somewhere to sit" because of longer periods of waiting or the need for room inside because of a pushchair then using this information is important. It may also lead towards a modular design which can be adapted for various scenarios.
Information about overall size would be solved by considering
what capacity is likely to pass through the shelter? This again
might lead towards a shelter which extends depending upon queue
sizes and frequency of use because of a number of buses using
the same shelter.
Look at existing or historic data which can be provided by your
local bus company or by a visual survey of local shelters over
a period of time. Set limits upon how long is spent and how many
different choices are collected.
Information about materials and processes are to be found in the section on Manufacturing audits. Further information can be found in specific information sources on the home page.. These important resources will show materials and their properties and how they can be used.
How to use it
The information collected here is used in the designing stage.
The variety of ideas and the knowledge of the materials and how they can be used will make it easier to show different ideas and proposals. More importantly, as ideas are made better, choices will be able to be made on the basis of that information. You can show the reasons why a choice has been made.
Results and presentation
The collected information is used to refer to when designing is taking place. Pages and pages of copied text or pictures will not be of value unless it is used in the designing stage. There is nothing wrong with showing a brief reference to a publication and stating what useful information is found there. Photocopies or tracings may be needed of sources that you intend to develop.
Design Specification
When to do it
After all research and before attempting any design work.
Where to find the information
All the information that is needed will be contained in your previous research section.
How to write it
A Specification is a collection of brief sentences that show what the final product must do and what it must have. These can be listed in order of importance. The Brief is the first place to look at. The first specification statement would be " The final product must be for (who it is for). What might then follow?
How to use it
The Specification is used for two purposes. Firstly to ensure that you know quite clearly what you are going to design and make and secondly to refer to when you are evaluating the final product.
Results and presentation
Provide a title and a clear list of statements. They should be short and clear. The more statements that are given, the clearer you will be about what is to be done. In a commercial situation, Specifications can extend to many pages. Imagine what the Specification would be for "The London Eye".
Designing
When to do it
After the Specification has been checked.
What is to be done?
Basically it is in three parts. The first part is where ideas can be explored, visualised and commented upon with localised notation. The second is the part when the best of all ideas are pulled together creating a single proposal. Finally the proposal is detailed sufficiently so that if it was given to a different person, they would have enough information to make it.
How to do it
A mixture of drawing styles and notes. Select the drawing style that will communicate in the quickest way. Freehand drawings are ideal for seeing how something will be arranged or the way it will look but will not always provide the accuracy of measurement of a formal, instrument-drawn sheet. Drawings are as important a means of communicating as speech or written methods. Learn and practice the "grammar" of drawing as much as other communication methods.
Results and presentation
Guides about how the design section should be set out are usually provided by your Teacher. What they will be looking for is a variety of ideas that have notes against them saying why you think they are worthwhile or to be discarded. They would be arranged on the paper so that one would lead to another and the pages would be numbered and sub-titled.
Some pupils use ICT to create pages with borders, titles, names, page numbers and even Logos, so that they can be printed out and used for their design work. Separate pieces of paper can be bound or tied with coverings of slightly thicker coloured paper or card.
The section should read like a visual book with introductory ideas, development of the story, the final result and conclusion.
A book where the conclusion is thought of first is very difficult to write. The same applies to the investigation and designing process.
Making
Designing at this stage is finished although problems may continue. This is normally expected, so efforts should be made to reduce or anticipate problems of manufacture. However returning to your design for post manufacturing design amendments is important.
What is required
A step by step plan of action. This could be in tabulated form, (using a table), or by adding the tasks to be done on a time line. Doing this will help you plan the resources you need and activities to be carried out. Each stage should enable you to keep your working area uncluttered and organised for the best use of your time and access to equipment that may have to be shared. This approach to making has the added advantage of providing a safer working environment not only for you but also for your peers.
When should things be done
Some things are obviously required to be done before other activities, but there may be areas that are not so clear. Demonstrations and guide sheets given to you should help you to place them in the right order.
How should activities be done
The first guide is through the knowledge you have collected.
The second is by the guided observation of demonstrations. The
third is applying all your previous knowledge and doing it yourself.
If you have investigated the properties of a material then the
selection of the correct tool to carry out a task should be easier.
If your knowledge of tools or processes is appropriate to the
tasks that are to be carried out then you will be more likely
to succeed. If in doubt then ask.
When machinery or hot processes are involved then apply the following
guidelines.
Ensure that you have permission to use the equipment.
Before starting any machine it should be set up and checked.
Ensure all safety procedures are met and that you have any specific
safety equipment to wear.
To feel worried about using a machine is normal although the worry
is more likely to be lack of confidence and an acceptance that
the equipment is powerful and dangerous if misused. A healthy
respect for all tools and equipment will keep you safe and improve
the likelihood and quality of success.
Where is work done?
It may seem obvious but when you are making things, many activities are mixed together. Design Technology workshops vary in the way things are arranged but generally have places where activities are best done. Use clean areas for writing or drawing changes and dirty areas for manufacturing. If using metal, plastic or wood, use the appropriate area, tools or gripping devices. Don't put metal in a woodworking device.
Benches are often "multi-purpose" and used for all
bench work and materials. Work can be spoiled if bench surfaces
are not protected when drilling, painting, sawing or gluing takes
place.
Oil can ruin drawings and finishing processes. If what is to be
done may cause damage or deterioration then find something to
protect the surfaces.
Dusty areas are provided with safe extraction devices whereas heat processing will have the tools necessary in that area. Sometimes these areas are well defined but the best thing to do is to choose the appropriate area for the job to be done.
Testing
This stage is where the specifications written earlier are checked against the final product. This is called "criterion-based" testing, the criteria being the specification statements. The statements can be re-listed and a comment about the testing of that statement can be written. Some tests may be totally successful; others may not. Admitting that some tests may have failed is the correct thing to do and will generally improve the quality of this section as long as the reasons are well explained and information is given to show what could be done to improve the situation. It is normal when making things for the first time, to find that some things go wrong or improvements may have to be made. Just think about some of the developments and problems that have happened in our commercial inventions.
The Design Audit, is the best method to use so that problems can be anticipated, our knowledge used in the best way and mistakes prevented.
Manufacturing Audit
The Processes of Making
Generally
Before the process of making can take place, the maker requires
a detailed plan of the object to make, a list of materials and
a step by step plan showing in what order things should be done.
Doing this has two advantages the information can be used to get
the resources ready at the time that they are needed and parts
can be identified from the drawing and checked for marking out
or what is to be done to them.
Selecting and checking
The material that is to be used needs to be selected for its suitability. The weight that it has to take or the finish that is required can determine whether or not one piece is suitable or should be replaced. Material size would require checking. A lot of preparation can be avoided if, at the design stage, the use of standard or stock sizes is considered.
Marking Out and Coding
One of the most crucial stages of making is to ensure that materials are accurately marked. It is a pointless exercise to continue with cutting or processing the material if the marking out is wrong. There is a craft saying; mark twice, cut once.
Jigs or Patterns are prepared and marked out at this stage.
The code marked on each piece is a helpful method of identifying each part and its relationship to others. Use the correct tools for marking. Avoid pen where possible as this may permanently stain some material surfaces. Ensure that each component has your name on it or is labelled. Small components can be sealed in a polythene bag. Apply a light coat of oil if there are ferrous metals included.
Processes of manufacture
Try to identify all materials that require the same process and organise your working area to carry that process out. If one part requires sawing then identify all the parts that need the same process and do them at the same time. If making is done in this way it ensures a more economic use of time and resources. It will follow that work surfaces do not get cluttered with unnecessary equipment and will lead to an improved and safe working environment.
When repetitive tasks are to be carried out, use jigs, patterns or measuring devices to check the quality and accuracy of the parts being made. If checks are made on a regular basis it will give confidence to things fitting properly rather than having to keep trying parts together.
The plan that you have produced before making will allow you to concentrate upon the manufacturing processes and avoid problems of sequence.
Working with other students there will be times when, because some machines and tools are in short supply, you could be kept waiting. Develop a plan that makes allowances for such circumstances and plan alternatives to overcome such difficulties. Specific time other than in lessons will be made available on a regular basis to accommodate reasonable needs and requests.
Whilst manufacturing, it is important to ensure that pieces are not lost, mislaid or suffer damage. Take personal responsibility for safely storing work. If parts need to be left overnight then ensure that they are put away at the beginning of the next day.
Finishes
Finishing processes can be time consuming. Watching glue, paint
or varnish dry is a comment often made to indicate poor organisation.
Try to anticipate these time consuming processes.
Preparation of material to receive its finish is a crucial stage
of making. The visual impression of a product is very important
and not hard to achieve if carried out correctly. This process
is not to be seen as only needing to be carried out at the point
where the product is completed. Some areas that would be difficult
to finish properly once assembled should have the finish applied
beforehand and care taken to protect those areas. Those awkward
corners can be more successfully finished before they are put
together.
Cleanliness when finishing is important. Putting a final finish
on your work when the environment is dusty will just cause further
work.
Testing
Adequate time must be allowed for the product to be tested (against the specification). Some tests may be needed whilst the work is in progress. Remember to make a diary of events, difficulties, how they were overcome, changes to plans, recording of tests and present them in your coursework folder presentation. Products are not only tested by consumers, but also during the process of design and manufacture.
Evaluation
Evaluations are mainly based upon the success of the final product and the processes that lead up to its final completion.
The specification set at the early stages of identifying the need is compared to what has been made. An evaluation should also contain comments relating to the time when it was being made and whether procedures, quality assurance, processes and organisation could be improved.
Additional Information
- Ceramic Chip Forge DS330 Specification
- Safety Tilt Crucible Furnace CM350 Specification
- Safety Tilt Crucible Furnace CM350PB Specification
- Forge/Brazing Hearth DS430 Specification
- Gas
Fired Kilns LM1000/2000 Specification.
