Year 9 Design Technology Plan

Overview
The Year 9 scheme of work has been developed to enable students tofurther their capability in Design and Technology. Students are taughtto recognise and explore needs and wants that can be met through Designand Technology activity, develop ideas about how these might be met anddevelop marketable products that meet those needs. They will developand extend their repertoire of skills and knowledge in the followingareas:

  • Designing.
  • Making.
  • Knowledge of existing products that provide starting points.
  • Understanding of commercial production.
  • Knowledge of materials and components.
  • Knowledge of quality and Health and Safety.
  • Knowledge of smart and modern materials.

Teaching is based around three different projects.

Project 1. Decorative metal item.

Through this project, the following are developed:

  • Knowledge of the properties of metals including Copper, Brass, Aluminium and Mild Steel.
  • Forming and fabrication techniques applicable to sheet metal.
  • Fine finishing techniques - to produce a mirror finish.
  • Knowledge of decorative treatments incl. enamelling.

Project 2. M.P.3 Amplifier.

This builds upon project one, further developing Designing and Making skills and adds:

• Further skills in the use of Computer Aided Design (CAD).
• Outputting result of CAD to a Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) machine.
• Understanding of principles behind volume production.
• Understanding of commercial use of production aids - jigs and formers to give repeated accuracy and save time.
• Knowledge of the technique of vacuum forming.
• Understanding of the principles of a production line.

Project 3. Investigation of Smart materials.

This is a very short project that develops an understanding of how 'Smart' materials change in some way, in response to changes in temperature or light, e.g. forehead strip thermometer.