Lesson video

Hello, thank you for joining me for the design and technology lesson.

My name is Mrs. Conway and I will be guiding you through your learning today.

So today's lesson outcome is I can manufacture accurately and to a high quality.

And these are our keywords.

We have manufacture, quality assurance, quality control, accuracy and tolerance.

We'll go through each one of these in more detail as we work through the lesson.

So the first thing we're going to look at then is quality assurance and quality control.

Now, when we design and manufacture products, it's really important to make sure they are safe, reliable, and made to a high standard.

To manufacture something is the process of making products from raw materials, using machines or labor.

Now, to ensure products are made to a high standard, designers and manufacturers use quality assurance, QA, and quality control, QC.

Quality assurance and quality control checks are done throughout the manufacturing process, not just at the end of the process.

And this ensures that quality is consistent throughout.

Quality assurance is about checking and planning processes.

It focuses on preventing problems before they happen.

Quality control is about checking the product to make sure it meets the required standard.

Quick check for understanding on that then.

Why are quality assurance and quality control used in the manufacturing of products? A: to speed up the delivery of products to customers, B: to reduce the number of workers needed on the production line, or C: to ensure products are made to a high standard? Pause the video here just to take a moment to think about your answer.

And the correct answer.

It was C.

So quality assurance and quality control used in the manufacturing products to ensure the products are made to a high standard.

Well done if you got that right.

So let's look at a little bit more detail at the difference between quality assurance and quality control.

So quality assurance happens before and during the process and it actually checks the processes that are happening.

If we compare that then to quality control.

Quality control takes place during and afterwards and it checks the product.

So there are some key differences between these two.

Now, a way to remember which one is which.

Quality assurance is avoiding problems, quality control is to catch problems. Quick check for understanding on that then.

Please fill in the missing words here.

Quality assurance is about checking the something and processes.

It focuses on something problems before they happen.

Pause the video here to have a go at filling out to those missing words.

Let's look at the answers then.

Quality assurance is about checking the planning and processes.

It focuses on preventing problems before they happen.

Well done if you got that right.

Now, quality assurance can include: planning and checking designs, tool and equipment checks, material inspection, health and safety procedures, and using templates or jigs as well as following step-by-step instructions.

Quality control can include: measuring finished parts, visual inspections, function testing, fit and assembly check, product testing by user, or using a go/no go gauge.

When quality assurance and quality control checks take place, they are ensuring accuracy.

Now, accuracy is when you are being correct and precise.

Accuracy when manufacturing is vital.

If a process is being rushed or not enough attention is given, the accuracy can suffer and this can affect the quality of a product or prototype.

A common phrase in manufacturing is "measure twice, cut once," and what this means basically is check your measurements twice to make sure they are correct before starting to cut or remove, subtract material and this helps to ensure accuracy.

Okay, over to you now for a few tests.

When does quality assurance take place in the manufacturing process? I'd like you to give examples of quality assurance as part of your answer.

Next, when does quality control take place in the manufacturing process? Again, I'd like you to give examples of quality control as part of your answer.

And lastly, why is quality assurance and quality control important in the manufacturing of products? Right, three questions to have a go at there.

Pause the video here and good luck.

Right, let's have a little look at the answers then, or some example answers for you.

When does quality assurance take place in the manufacturing process? Here's the example answer.

Quality assurance takes place before and during the manufacturing process.

It is used to make sure that the product is made correctly and to a high standard by preventing mistakes from happening in the first place.

Examples of quality assurance include inspecting materials, using jigs and templates and creating and following step-by-step instructions.

Okay, just check your answer against this one and make sure you've included all the key points and you remember to give examples of quality assurance as part of your answer.

Next, I asked you to answer the question, when does quality control take place in the manufacturing process? Again, I wanted you to give examples of quality control in the answer.

And the example answer reads: Quality control takes place during and after the manufacturing process.

It is used to check the final product or parts of it, to make sure they meet the required standards and are free from faults or defects.

Examples of quality control include measuring parts, visually checking assemblies and testing the product works properly.

Again, just check your answer against that one, make sure you've got all of those key points included.

And lastly, I asked you why is quality assurance and quality control important in the manufacturing of products? Quality assurance and quality control are important in manufacturing because they help make sure that products are made to a high standard, are safe to use, and work correctly.

Once more, just check your answer has got the key points included in it there.

Next we're going to look at quality assurance in practice.

Now, a designer is designing and manufacturing a one-off shoe prototype, which will be 3D printed.

Even before the shoe is made, the designer will use quality assurance.

What quality assurance do you think the manufacturer could put in place? Pause the video here if you would like to take a moment just to think about that question.

Sam has given some ideas here.

"The designer could make sure they've created detailed drawings of the shoe, including measurements, materials, finishes, and manufacturing techniques." Aisha has said "They could choose high quality printing materials such as thermopolymer polyurethane, TPU for its strength, durability, and elasticity properties." Izzy has suggested "The maker could check the print quality to ensure the layer height and wall thickness are correct.

They could also check that any necessary supports are in the most effective and efficient positions." And Laura has suggested "Print preview could be checked using a simulation to ensure that there are no overhangs or printing issues." And Jun has said "The maker could check the 3D printer set up and calibration in advance of printing, checking the bed is clean and level, the correct filament is added and there is enough of it for the print." These are all great suggestions.

Quick check for understanding on that then.

Which of the below would be quality assurance checks? A: detailed drawings to check from during manufacturer, B: check the quality of the materials in advance of manufacturing, C: measuring the finished product to make sure it matches the design, and D: inspecting a completed item from scratches or damage? Pause the video here, just take a moment to think about your answer.

And the correct answer, there were two answers here, so an example of quality assurance check could be detailed drawings to work from during manufacture, but also check the quality of the materials in advance of manufacturing.

Well done if you got both of those.

Now, ensuring there are detailed drawings with accurate measurements and sizes is another quality assurance.

Here's an example of an orthographic projection drawn on CAD.

Having these drawings help to avoid any misunderstandings during manufacture.

Here's an example of an exploded diagram, also presented on CAD.

Now, assembly and exploded diagrams can be created from CAD and these can help with understanding how parts fit together, what fixings to use and what order to assemble parts.

They are used as part of quality assurance as issues can be identified before manufacture.

Another quick question for you then.

Which drawing would help to understand how parts fit together, what fixings to use and what order to assemble parts in best? Is it A: in orthographic projection, B: assembly diagram, C: exploded diagram or D: a pencil sketch? Pause the video just to take a moment to think about your answer.

And the correct answers.

Both the assembly diagram and the exploded diagram would really help to understand how parts fit together and what fixings to use as well as what order to assemble the parts in best.

Now, creating a manufacturing plan, such as a Gantt chart is another way to carry out quality assurance.

Quality assurance and quality control can also be added onto the manufacturing plan to further help in improving the quality of the product.

You can see here there have been some columns added for QA checks and QC checks.

Okay, over to you for a few more tasks.

First thing I'd like you to do is consider what quality assurance checks you could put in place for the manufacturing of your own product.

I'd then like you to record your quality assurance checks as part of a manufacturing plan.

Okay, pause the video here to have a go at these two tasks, and good luck.

Let's look at some examples from Alex then.

Alex has considered the following quality assurance points for the manufacturing of his product.

He's going to check that the PLA filament has been stored correctly, away from humidity and moisture, and at the correct temperature.

He's also going to have an accurate assembly diagram with all the different parts of the design together, and he is also going to create a Gantt manufacturing plan to check my progress against, and he's going to check the 3D printer bed is leveled before printing.

Have you got reasonable quality assurance points for the manufacturing of your product? In this then, Alex added his quality assurance considerations onto the manufacturing plan, as I asked you to do.

So here, you can see he's added these in the column that says quality assurance checks, and these are the ones that he had already picked out.

He's gone into a little bit more detail on each of these.

Lastly then, we're gonna look at quality control in practice.

Quality control checks are set up as systems by manufacturers.

The systems involve monitoring and inspecting parts during and after manufacture, ensuring they meet set standards and tolerances.

Tolerance is the acceptable range of variation in a product's dimensions.

If we have a look at this mechanical pencil then, the mechanical pencil below needs to meet set standards to ensure they're all the same and meet the quality control standards.

The mechanical pencil must be no shorter than 18.

5 centimeters and no longer than 19.

5 centimeters to be within tolerance.

Here you can see the example of the mechanical pencil.

And you can see marked onto the ruler there, is that 18.

5 and 19.

5 that the pencil must fall within to be within tolerance.

As it measures halfway in between the two measurements at 19 centimeters, it is within tolerance and would pass the quality control check.

A product's tolerance is shown as a number with a plus-minus in front of it, and the plus-minus sign is used to show a range of possible values.

For example, the tolerance of the mechanical pencil is 19 centimeters plus-minus 0.

5 centimeters.

The acceptable size is between 18.

5 centimeters and 19.

5 centimeters.

Right, quick check for understanding on that then.

What word means a range of acceptable measurements, A: calibration, B: precision, or C: tolerance? Pause the video here, just take a moment to think about your answer.

And the correct answer was tolerance.

That word means a range of acceptable measurements.

So, quality control checks can be carried out during the manufacture of a product and can be planned as part of a manufacturing plan.

Here you can see you've got the quality assurance checks, but also now the quality control checks added as well.

Now, a digital vernier caliper is an example of a tool that can be used to conduct quality control checks, such as measuring parts and components of a product.

Here's an example of a digital vernier caliper.

It can measure to an accuracy of 100th of a millimeter.

It can measure outside dimensions, inside dimensions and also depth.

This would ensure the parts and components are all within tolerance.

Which one of these images shows a digital vernier caliper? Is it A, B, or C? Pause the video here just take a moment to think about your answer.

And the correct answer.

It was B.

Well done if you got that right.

A visual inspection of products during, or at the end of manufacture is a quality control check that can help to identify any issues in quality.

Here you can see an example of a product where surface finish and rough edges are checked visually.

Aspects such as surface finish, rough edges, assembly tolerances, or print quality can be identified through visual checks.

Okay, over to you for your last few tasks then.

I'd like you to consider what quality control checks you could include as part of the manufacturing of your product.

Just like before then, with your quality assurance, I'd then like you to add your quality control checks to your manufacturing plan.

Pause the video here to have a go at these tasks and good luck.

Let's look at Alex's example answers then.

Alex has considered the following quality control points for the manufacturing of his product.

He's going to use a digital caliper to measure key dimensions.

He's going to conduct a visual check to the surface finish and also check the parts fit together.

What have you included as your quality control points? Do you think you've got enough in there? He's then added his quality control points and considerations into the manufacturing plan.

You can see them listed there, next to the quality assurance checks.

Again, have you included all of those key quality control considerations onto your chart so that when you are actually manufacturing, this can be checked against? Right, let's summarize today's lesson then.

Today we've been looking at quality assurance when manufacturing.

Now, to ensure products are made to a high standard, designers and manufacturers use quality assurance and quality control.

Quality assurance is about checking the planning and processes.

It focuses on preventing problems before they happen.

Quality control is about checking the product to make sure it meets the required standard.

When quality assurance and quality control checks take place, they are ensuring accuracy.

And accuracy when manufacturing is vital.

If a process is being rushed or not enough attention is given, the accuracy can suffer and this can affect the quality of a product or prototype.

Well done for all of your hard work today.

Thank you so much for joining me and I will see you soon.