Designing for Manufacture

 

Aidan Hammond
Head of Design Technology

Great joy can come from creating something ourselves. Earlier this year Grade 11 DP Design Technology students experienced this sense of accomplishment through researching, engineering, and manufacturing a stool out of plywood.  This project was a model for the steps they will soon take in their internal assessment (IA). 

Students explored the concept of Design for Manufacture (DfM), a way of designing with the materials and processes in mind. students looked at flatpack furniture, like IKEA, for inspiration and studied how the design of this kind of furniture is influenced greatly by the materials and processes used in manufacture. The form, joints, and aesthetics of this type of furniture reflect the processes and materials used.

The creation of their designs involved many steps. Students began by choosing an existing design and reverse-engineering it. They had to develop a scale model with correct proportions and considerations of the user’s needs. After creating a scale model out of cardboard and the laser cutter, they developed a CAD (computer aided Design) model in our engineering software, Fusion 360. Using this digital model, we then manufactured the stools using our CNC router, a computer controlled machine that can cut wood. Then the hard part came - assembling and finishing the project.  This is the step where students discovered if their planning and design was accurate enough.

Throughout this project students showed resilience and perseverance as they worked through the different stages of design and manufacturing. Students responded to unexpected changes, fixed errors on the fly, and iterated their designs. This was a good model for how engineering and manufacturing of prototypes happens.

A great moment came at the end of the unit when everyone was testing and evaluating each other’s projects. Everyone was gathered around their stools, sitting on them and talking about their process.  It was wonderful to see the look of pride and satisfaction on our students’ faces as they admired their work.