1. You are not alone!
Brian Russell

2. The examination room
• Surrounded by 160 other students
• Surrounded by good examples of design
• Surrounded by loads of materials and finishes
• Surrounded by standard components
• Surrounded by different examples of
manufacturing

3. Just a polo shirt?
• Designed by René Lacoste in 1926 and
originally known as the tennis shirt the design for
the polo shirt has been copied by manufacturers
throughout the world.
It’s a Design Classic
A Design Icon!

4. What else do we know?
• Made from piqué cotton jersey knit (which
means the fabric is knitted not woven)
• The logo is CNC embroidered in small batches
A great example of
batch production
because only small
quantities are needed.

5. And the sweatshirt?
• Also batch produced
• The fabric is a mixture of cotton and polyester
A good example of a
combined material

6. What else are you wearing?
• Just check out how many standard components
you are wearing
• It is usually cheaper to manufacture these in
large quantities in specialist factories rather than
for each manufacturer to make their own
• Repairs are much easier when standard
components are used
Standard components generally
help products to be considered
as environmentally better

7. Just a school chair?
• The school chair is based upon another Classic
Design by Robin Day “The Polypropylene Chair”
• Over 14 million of the original chairs have been
produced
• Loads of copies
A Design Icon because
it was so innovative
when first designed

8. Why so popular?
• Very cheap to produce in large quantities
• Ergonomically very good – fits almost everyone!
• Seat is flexible
• Stacks so easy to store/transport
Very easy to copy once Robin
day had done the hard work.
Copies are made under license
as the design is patented.

9. Design features
• Seat is injection moulded in one piece in polypropylene–
can you see the injection point?
• Legs are fabricated in mild steel – welded together then
powder coated
• Screwed to seat (an example of a standard component!)
Try feeling these
features when you
are sitting on the
chair!

10. The exam desk
• Made from mild steel tubing with a plywood or
MDF top
• Designed to stack for easy storage/transportation
Saving space is a vital as they are
only used for a few weeks a year

11. Ergonomics continues
• Designed to complement the school chair
• Correct working height
• Regulation size work area
Designed to fit the
5th
-95th
percentile

12. Materials and manufacturing
• The desk top is a good example of a
combined material
• Most are MDF with a veneer on top
• Some are plywood with a melamine
laminate on top
• The edges and the slot have been
routered
Using standard materials has helped
keep the cost down

13. Materials and manufacturing
• The frame has been fabricated from mild steel
tubing
• It has been welded together and powder coated
to give a hard durable finish
• The top is held in place using screws
The screws are a
standard component!

14. BIC pen
• László and George Bíró designed the first
ballpoint pen in 1931 and we continue to use the
word Biro to describe all ballpoint pens.
• In 1950 Marcel Bich bought from Bíró the patent
for the pen, which soon became the main
product of his BIC company.
Another Design Icon!

15. Safety
• Have a look at the pen top
• Most are now manufactured with a hole in them
• This is to prevent children choking to death if
they swallow them
This is a great example of
risk assessment!

16. Don’t take spectacles for granted
• They are a great example of flexible
manufacturing.
• The frames are mass produced (but adjusted
for each customer)
• The lenses are sometimes made as one-offs
• They are assembled using standard
components such as screws
Every pair built to match
your own prescription!

17. Human factors - adjustment
Designed to be adjusted to fit a range of sizes:
• Belts
• Watch straps
• Bras....

18. Even jewellery
• Jewellery is often constructed using standard
components. These are known as “findings”.
Using standard
components make it
much easier to repair
or replace lost parts

19. Watches as well
• Many watch parts are standard components
such as straps, hands etc.
Think about all of the
human factors which have
been taken account of

20. Keys
• The keys in your pocket are also a resource
• Standard blanks are manufactured in large
quantities
• They are usually cut in small batches
• Replacement keys are cut as one-offs
• Most commonly made from brass or nickel alloy
The blanks are usually forged
or stamped out

21. Key cutting
• Usually done with a grinding operation
• This is an example of the general manufacturing
group “wastage”
• It is easy to remember as the bits of metal that
are cut off the blank are waste materials
Grinding is a type of abrading

22. Water bottle
• Take a water bottle into the exam?
• Blow moulded from PET (think of it with a furry tail!)
• The top has been injection moulded from HIPS
• Every year over 50 billion plastic water bottles are sent to
landfill in this country
A great example of a product
which should be recycled or
reused!

23. The exam paper itself!
• The exam paper booklet has been printed using
offset lithography
• The colours are produced from 4 process
colours – yellow, cyan, magenta and black
• It is made from A3 paper which has been
creased and stapled
Staples are a standard
component!

24. Offset lithography
• Flat aluminium plates (specially
treated)
• Photographically exposed then
wrapped around roller
• Exposed parts attract water
• Non exposed parts allow ink to
stick
• Print onto plain roller to reverse
image
• Transfers to the paper
This is the correct
answer for any
printing question!

25. The exam room
• The doors are made from blockboard as they
need to be very strong
• The door furniture (handles etc.) are all standard
components
• The doors and frame are finished in gloss paint
• Walls eggshell paint on concrete block
• Climbing bars varnished
What other finishes can you
identify?
How many other components?

26. There is always a clock
• Made from standard components
• Clock mechanisms are now standard
components!
• Clock face screen printed
• Powered by battery
Batteries cause big
environmental problems!

27. Instruction board
• Usually a flip chart to record start and finish time
• Aluminium frame
• The whiteboard surface is melamine covered
chipboard or MDF and is a good example of a
combined material
Lots of human factors to consider –
size weight etc.

28. Feel better?
• No other exam has so many resources to assist
you
• But don’t turn around to look around!
You are being watched!