Product Design

Product Manufacture

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 Learning objectives
Learning objectives

To become familiar with the different forms of

commercial production (primary and secondary).
To understand wasting, deforming, reforming,
fabricating and finishing processes and be
familiar with the tools that are involved in each.

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Primary processing – paper

Primary processing involves turning raw materials into

usable products. In the case of paper, the raw material is
usually wood.
This is done in one of two ways.
By machine
The wood is physically
ground up. Paper made from
machined pulp is weaker and
turns yellow over time. It is
used for newspapers.
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In the first stage of
paper manufacture, the
wood is mashed up to
make wood pulp.
With chemicals
Wood chips are mixed with
chemicals that dissolve the
bonds between the fibres.
Chemical pulp is used for
writing and printing paper.
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Primary processing – paper

The wood pulp is then bleached to make it white, and fed

into a Fourdrinier machine. This machine makes the
pulp into paper.
Firstly, dyes and The pulp is then spread
other chemicals are onto a moving wire
added to the pulp. mesh conveyer belt.

The mesh passes through a series of metal rollers.

The second The calendar rollers
rollers are then smooth the
heated to dry paper and determine
The first rollers
the paper. the thickness.
squeeze out
the water.
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Primary processing – other materials
Find out about the primary processes for one of the
following materials:

Plastics Clay Metals

Fabrics Timbers
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Secondary processing

Product designers use secondary processing techniques to

turn standard stock materials into manufactured products.
There are five main secondary processing techniques:

Wasting

Fabricating Secondary Finishing

processing
techniques

Forming Deforming
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What are wasting processes?

Wasting refers to manufacturing processes that produce

waste material, i.e. dust, swarf or scraps.

What are the waste materials in these pictures?

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Wasting processes – drilling

Drilling is a wasting process because of the excess

material removed when a hole is created.
As the drill bit rotates, it is lowered into the material which is
then cut away and forced up the flutes of the drill.

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Wasting processes – milling

Milling machines use a rotating cutter which

removes waste material from a billet (block) of material.

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Wasting processes – filing

Filing removes waste material from the edge of a piece of

material.

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Wasting processes – wood and metal turning

Lathes are used for turning woods and metals, producing

cylindrical items.

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Other wasting processes
Other wasting processes include:

Countersinking
Boring

Routing Sanding

Find out about these wasting processes.

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What are deforming processes?

Deforming processes bring on a change in shape without

changing the material’s state.
Often they require heat to make the material ‘malleable’
(more workable) to enable the deforming process to take
place.
Thermoplastics can be bent or formed into shape once
they have been softened. This can be done in two ways:
locally (heated along a specific part of the sheet using a strip
heater) or entirely (heating the whole sheet in an oven).

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Deforming processes – thermoplastics

Strip heaters and vacuum formers are examples of

machines which perform deforming processes. Press play to
see a video of vacuum forming.

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Deforming processes – metals

Metals can be deformed with or without the application of

heat. This depends on the type and thickness of the
material and also the desired end product.

Using heat: A heat torch applies heat to a thin strip of a metal

bar, which is then placed on an anvil and beaten with a
hammer so that it bends through 90°.
Cold bending: A V-groove is filed along the metal
using a triangular file. The V-groove is then placed
across the edge of the anvil and beaten until it is at 90°.
Pressing: Presses require hydraulic rams which
exert large forces so that cold metal sheets can be
pressed into shape; radiators are an example.

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Other deforming processes

Pick one of the following deforming processes to

research and tell the rest of the class about.

Injection Blow
moulding moulding

Lost
Rotational pattern
moulding Extrusion casting

Drop
Compression
forging
moulding

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What are reforming processes?

When materials are reformed, they undergo a change in

state as well as a change in shape.
The change in state is usually from solid to liquid although
other changes are possible. The different states of H2O (ice,
water and steam) are good examples.

The process is made possible by the application of heat.

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Reforming processes – die casting
Die casting is used to make large quantities
of metal-based products.
A two part mould is used, into which
molten metal is forced via a hydraulic
ram.
The mould is water-cooled and the ram
maintains the pressure until the metal
has sufficiently cooled and hardened.
Common metals used are aluminium,
pewter, magnesium and zinc alloys
because of their lower melting
temperatures.

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Sand casting

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Reforming processes – food

There are lots of food products that can be moulded

(or reformed). Chocolate can be melted down in a
microwave or pan of water, poured into a mould
and left to set. There are strict rules that apply to
the manufacturing of foodstuffs. Any moulds made
from plastics must be virgin grade and not recycled.
Jelly comes in solid form but because it
contains gelatine it can be reformed to
enable it to be poured into a mould. The jelly
is heated in boiling water, stirred through,
then poured into a mould and left to set. As
the jelly mixture cools, it returns to its
original state but takes on the shape of the
mould. Once the jelly is cool, it can be
removed from the mould.
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Fabricating processes

Most products are made up from many parts or pieces.

Fabricating is the name given to the process of making a
product from different parts or components.

Can you identify the different parts and components

in the image above?
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Fabricating processes – wood joints

Why do you think that these joints have the names

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Fabricating processes – textiles

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Fabricating processes – metals
Metals can be joined in several ways.
These come in various sizes in both metric and imperial
measurements. Hexagonal nuts can be tightened with normal
spanners. Wing nuts can be tightened by hand.

Rivets are used to join metal together permanently. They are

quick, inexpensive and traditional.

Arc welding: A high temperature is

created by an electric arc between a
hand-held filler rod and the work piece.
The heat melts the metal surface
and the filler rod fills the joint.
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Fabricating processes – adhesives

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Finishing processes

Finishing processes are usually the final part of any assembly

or product manufacture. Product designers give careful thought
to the type of surface finish required.
Often, the product use or environment will determine the kind
of surface finish.
For example, children’s outdoor wooden play furniture must
be protected against the elements using an exterior
preservative. The same furniture indoors will require a
different type of surface treatment.
Paints are a very common surface finish and always sit on top
of the material to form a protective barrier. Different types of
paint are suitable for different purposes. Some examples are
oil, solvent, water and acrylic-based paints.
What sorts of properties should a finish for indoor
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Wood finishing processes

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Metal finishing processes

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Plenary

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Key points

Commercial production can be split into primary and

secondary processing techniques.
Wasting processes include using a drill, saw, plane,
Key points

chisel, pastry cutter, milling machine, file, lathe, router,

borer, sander and abrasive paper.
Deforming processes can be completed by a strip
heater, a vacuum former, a mould or a cast.
Reforming processes are helped by temperature
change and processes include slip casting, die casting,
moulding and sand casting.
Fabricating processes include joints (wood), sewing
(fabrics) and welding (metals).
Finishing processes include painting, varnishing and
polishing.
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