Materials and Components: resources to help students excel
High school Design and Technology students are required to have a detailed understanding of the properties, stock forms, costs, availability of materials used in the manufacture of products – gaining an understanding of why these materials are used in different circumstances.
Students should be familiar with:
- 3D Modelling Materials: including Styrofoam, balsawood, polymorph, and Plaster of Paris;
- Papers and Boards: including common papers, cardboards, and mounting boards, foamboard, and laminated card;
- Wood: including softwood, hardwood, and manufactured composite timber boards;
- Metal: including ferrous and non-ferrous metals and their alloys;
- Smart Materials: those that change their properties in response to external conditions or stimuli;
- Modern Materials: those that have been engineered to have improved properties.
Students should also be able to recognise composite materials (those that combine two or more materials with different properties) and understand biodegradable materials and their environmental implications.
A Level Students should also have an understanding of various material enhancement processes.
The collection of articles below provides more information about these topics.
