Selecting appropriate tools, equipment and processes · Designing and making principles
Revision notes
Ensuring your own safety and that of others
Health and safety is everyone’s responsibility and employers have a duty of care to ensure that procedures are implemented to keep employees safe, and to prevent them from being harmed or becoming ill through work.
Employers should ensure
The workplace is safe and free from risks to health, such as use of extraction systems to remove harmful dust or fumes.
Welfare facilities such as first aid are provided.
Dangerous items and substances are used and stored safely, and removed from use if necessary.
Training, information and adequate supervision are provided as necessary.
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is provided.
Machinery has guards in place, is safe to use, maintained and in good working order.
Appropriate safety signage is provided.
Accident reporting systems are in place, RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, 2013).
Employees should ensure
Take reasonable care for their own health and safety, as well as that of those in the vicinity.
Use the personal protective equipment (PPE) provided.
Use machinery in accordance with the given training instructions.
Report any accidents, near miss or dangerous event.
General safe working practices
Do not operate any machinery or equipment unless you have been trained in its use.
PPE must be worn when using machinery.
All guards and safety measures should be utilised.
Work areas should be kept neat, clean and free of hazards. Spillages should be reported.
All persons must be aware of emergency procedures, such as fire evacuation routes, locations of fire extinguishers and emergency stops.
Walkways should be kept clear and free from trip hazards.
If a person becomes ill or injured or in the event of an accident, this should be reported to a supervisor or teacher.
Tool, equipment and process selection must match the material, operation, required accuracy and safety risk.Vacuum forming: a heated thermoplastic sheet is drawn over a former and held while it cools.Injection moulding: granules are melted and driven by a screw through a nozzle into a closed mould.Extrusion forces softened material through a shaped die to produce a continuous cross-section.Blow moulding: air expands a hot polymer parison against the inside of a mould.Rotational moulding coats the inside of a heated rotating mould before the hollow product cools.Compression moulding uses heat and pressure to form a measured charge inside a mould.A pattern forms a cavity in sand before molten metal is poured, cooled and removed.Die casting injects molten metal into a reusable metal die under pressure.Investment casting forms a ceramic mould around a sacrificial pattern for detailed components.MIG welding feeds a consumable wire electrode into a gas-shielded weld pool.TIG welding uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode and separate filler where required.Spot welding clamps sheet between electrodes and creates localised heat through electrical resistance.Steam softens lignin so timber can be bent around a former and held until dry.Thin veneers are glued and clamped around a former to create strong curved components.Flexography uses a relief plate and rollers to transfer ink to the substrate.Offset lithography transfers the image from plate to blanket cylinder and then to the substrate.Screen printing pushes ink through open areas of a mesh stencil onto the substrate.A focused laser follows a programmed path while assist gas helps clear the cut.Milling removes material with a rotating multi-point cutter while the work is accurately positioned.In turning, the workpiece rotates while a cutting tool removes material to create cylindrical forms.FEA divides a model into elements so stresses and deformation can be calculated.CFD predicts how fluids move around or through a product.A go/no-go gauge quickly checks whether a feature lies within its permitted tolerance.Vernier callipers measure external, internal and depth dimensions accurately.A micrometer uses a precision screw to measure small dimensions accurately.A tensile test records how a standard specimen responds as an increasing axial load is applied.Hardness tests compare resistance to permanent indentation under controlled conditions.Anthropometric data provides measured human dimensions for designing appropriate product sizes and clearances.Ergonomics applies knowledge of people to improve comfort, safety, usability and performance.Bauhaus design favoured functional forms, modern materials and design suited to industrial production.Art Deco is recognisable through geometric decoration, symmetry, luxury materials and machine-age influence.Memphis challenged restrained modernism with bold colour, pattern, geometry and playful forms.Arts and Crafts valued skilled making, natural inspiration, material honesty and resistance to poor-quality mass production.The life-cycle model helps explain how sales, competition and redesign priorities change over time.Sustainable design decisions should reduce resource use and keep products and materials useful for longer.
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