2.4 Project

• Identifying a community problem that metalwork skills can solve
• Designing an item to solve the problem using local materials
• Fabricating the item in the workshop
• Evaluating the finished project

• identify a community problem that metal-technology skills can solve
• suggest and design an item to solve the problem using locally available materials
• fabricate the identified item in the workshop
• appreciate the use of tools and equipment in fabrication

“How can metal-technology skills be used to solve real problems?”

The titles are open to everyone. Reading a lesson needs an account — sign in or create one.

1. What a design-and-make project is
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   The five stages every project runs through - problem, design, plan, make, evaluate - and why the thinking at each stage is marked as heavily as the finished item.
2. Finding real problems around you
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   How to run a problem walk around the school and shopping centre, and how to write down what you find so that it can become a design brief.
3. Choosing which problem to solve
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Scoring candidate problems on need, skills, materials and time, so that the project chosen is one the class can actually finish this term.
4. Writing the design brief
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Turning the chosen problem into a five-part brief that states the problem, who it affects, what must be made, where it goes and the limits on cost, time and tools.
5. From brief to specification
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Turning each requirement into a statement that can be measured or checked, so that the finished item can be tested honestly at the end.
6. Sketching three different ideas
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Producing three genuinely different solutions to the same brief, sketched quickly and annotated with their strengths and weaknesses.
7. Choosing the best idea
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Scoring the three sketched ideas against the written specification, reading what the matrix says about risk, and recording why the winner won.
8. The working drawing
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Turning the winning sketch into a dimensioned drawing that carries every size the maker needs, in one consistent unit.
9. Choosing the metal for each part
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Matching the properties of ferrous and non-ferrous metals to the job each part must do, and defending each choice with a reason.
10. Using local and recycled material
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Where usable scrap metal comes from, how to check a reclaimed piece before designing around it, and why reuse is both cheaper and better for the environment.
11. The bill of materials and costing
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Listing every item, size, quantity and price so the project has a shopping list and a budget, and comparing the total against the limit in the brief.
12. Planning the order of operations
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Working out the sequence of operations with the tools and time each needs, and recognising the steps whose order cannot be changed.
13. Planning for safety
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Writing a risk assessment for the project: naming each hazard, who could be hurt, how serious it is, and the control measure that will actually be carried out.
14. Marking out the project
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Marking every length from one datum so errors cannot accumulate, and punching hole centres before drilling.
15. Cutting and shaping the parts
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Cutting on the waste side of the line, filing back to it, and bending the ring cold on a former.
16. Joining the parts
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Making bolted joints that can be undone, why two bolts are needed where one would seem enough, and checking the assembly for square before tightening.
17. Cleaning and protecting the item
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    The four finishing stages in order - deburr, clean, prime, top coat - and what goes wrong when one is skipped.
18. Testing and evaluating the project
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Testing the finished item against every specification point, reporting failures honestly, and writing an evaluation that gives evidence and a specific improvement.