Free VCE Product Design and Technologies Flashcard Review

Making a single, unique product (or a very small number) to an individual client's requirements, such as a commissioned piece of furniture or a prototype. Unit costs are high because design and set-up are spread over one item, but the product can be fully customised.

Making a limited quantity of identical or similar products in a batch, then changing equipment over for the next batch, for example 50 chairs in one timber finish. Flexible equipment and jigs keep set-up costs manageable for small, varied runs.

Making large quantities of identical products on dedicated, highly automated equipment such as injection moulding machines or assembly lines. High tooling costs are spread over many units, giving a low unit cost but little flexibility to change the design.

Production that runs non-stop, often 24 hours a day, to make a standardised product in very large quantities, such as paper, steel sheet, glass bottles or bulk polymer. Stopping is expensive, so plants are highly automated and dedicated to one product.

As volume rises, fixed costs (tooling, set-up, programming) are spread over more units, so the cost of each unit falls (economies of scale). One-off items therefore cost the most per unit and continuous production the least.

A jig holds and guides work so each part is cut, drilled or assembled in the same position. In batch production it gives repeatable accuracy quickly without measuring every piece, and it can be swapped when the batch changes.

Hand and power tools, skilled craftspeople, and digital tools that need no tooling, such as 3D printers, laser cutters and small CNC routers driven directly from CAD. They allow a single unique item to be made economically.

Dedicated tooling and automation: injection moulds, press tools, conveyors, robotic assembly and automated inspection. The equipment is expensive and inflexible but very fast and consistent.

The amount of output produced for a given input of time, labour, materials or energy. Technologies such as CNC machining or robotic assembly raise productivity by making more units, faster and with fewer defects, for the same input.

Whether a technology is practical and worth using in a particular setting: its cost, the volume and variety of products, available skills, space and maintenance. For example, a robotic welding cell is viable for 100,000 car parts but not for 20 custom gates.

A production approach, developed from the Toyota Production System, that identifies and removes waste so every step adds value for the customer. Practices include just-in-time supply, continuous improvement (kaizen), standardised work and error-proofing.

Overproduction, waiting, unnecessary transport, over-processing, excess inventory, unnecessary motion, defects and unused worker skills. Removing them cuts cost, space and environmental impact.

A lean practice in which materials and parts arrive, and products are made, only when they are needed for an order. It reduces storage space, stock costs and the risk of unsold goods becoming waste, but relies on reliable suppliers.

Continuous improvement: the lean practice of making frequent small improvements to processes, usually suggested by the workers who do the job. It gradually removes waste and improves quality and safety.

Designing a process or jig so that a mistake is impossible or immediately obvious, for example a fixture that only accepts a part the right way round. It reduces defects, rework and wasted material.

Manufacturing that can quickly change what it makes, or how much, in response to customer orders and market changes, using reconfigurable equipment, digital data and skilled teams. It enables customised products with short lead times.

Producing goods that are tailored to individual customers at close to mass-production efficiency, using flexible, digitally driven manufacturing (for example custom-fit shoes from a foot scan). It is an outcome of flexible and responsive manufacturing.

Both make to real demand rather than to stock, reducing overproduction and inventory. Lean focuses on removing waste from a stable process; flexible manufacturing focuses on rapid change of product or volume. They are often combined.

Make to order produces a product only after a customer orders it (low stock, longer wait); make to stock produces products in advance and sells from inventory (fast supply, risk of unsold stock). Lean and flexible approaches favour making to order.

Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Repair: a framework of strategies that designers and consumers use to lower the environmental impact of products across their life.