Lesson video

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

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

So today's learning objective is, I can investigate the design and manufacturer of a product by disassembly.

So we're going to be looking at something called product disassembly today and how that can benefit us to really understand the products around us.

And these are going to be our keywords, investigate, disassembly, analyse, flatpack furniture, and components.

I'll go through each one of those in a little bit more detail as we work through the lesson.

So first of all then we're going to start with product disassembly.

So when investigating existing products, it's sometimes tempting to rely on the internet and carry out secondary research only.

After all, that's so easy to do, to sit in front of a computer and just Google away.

However, primary research such as a product disassembly can be a really great way to investigate and also analyse a product.

If we're investigating, we're basically looking into something really carefully to find out the truth or the facts.

And to analyse something is to examine it in a lot of detail.

So a product disassembly is when we take something apart to investigate it further.

So it's just taking a product apart so we can learn a little bit more about that product, and it's done as a form of investigation.

Now those kind of areas to investigate are, the materials that it's made out of, the manufacturing processes, and also how it actually functions.

And sometimes those kind of areas are really difficult to work out just by carrying out secondary research.

I'm actually getting hands on and taking the product apart, we can really get to know all of these kind of different areas and investigate them thoroughly.

Let's just do a quick check for understanding on that then.

Which of the following is not found out during a product disassembly? A, how it functions, B, the cost of the product, C, the materials it is made out of, or D, manufacturing processes? Pause the video here.

Just take a moment to think about your answer.

And the correct answer it was B.

So the cost of the product is not something that would be found out by doing or carrying out a product disassembly, we could find that out in other ways.

Now if we look a bit more closely at flatpack furniture, flatpack furniture comes in pieces for easy transport and is assembled at home.

So this is an example of the packaging that flatpack furniture could typically come in.

And it's sold in a way that it could be transported relatively flat rather than the actual final built product.

The actual pieces or the actual furniture itself comes in separate components that then need to be joined together somehow, so as to be able to then make the final 3D product.

So here you can see a piece of furniture.

This is a small side table with a little magazine bit storage at the bottom or some form of storage at the bottom that can be assembled at home.

Now the benefits of flatpack furniture are, one, it usually is lower in costs, so the affordability is a big benefit to flatpack furniture.

Usually costs a little less just because it's packed flat, which means it can be stored at a lower cost and also transported at a lower cost.

Also, it doesn't need as much work to actually manufacture it because they haven't got to assemble the final piece themselves, that's left to the client once they get home.

It's also easier to transport so the flat boxes are easier, that saves on money on shipping and also reduces pollution as well.

And that leads nicely onto sustainability.

Obviously less packaging, less waste means it has less of a negative impact on the environment, as well as obviously reducing that amount of shipping that is needed for bigger products.

So there's lots of benefits to flatpack furniture.

Okay, let's just do a quick check for understanding on flatpack furniture then.

Flatpack furniture is, A, furniture made only from recycled materials, B, furniture that is assembled and delivered as one piece, or C, furniture that comes in pieces for easy transport and is assembled at home.

Again, feel free just to pause the video, take a moment to think about your answer.

And the correct answer was C.

So flatpack furniture is furniture that comes in pieces for easy transport and is then assembled at home by the client.

So we're gonna be looking at carrying out a product disassembly on a piece of flatpack furniture.

Now, to do this effectively, the first thing we need to do is just find a piece of furniture or a product that's no longer working or of any use, so we're not wasting products.

Then the furniture is taken apart and this is done carefully.

It isn't just done with a big sledge hammer or anything like that.

It's taken apart quite carefully and with consideration so as to avoid any real damage to the product.

And each stage of the disassembly is photographed really clearly and notes can be made during the process of any observations that you are having as you are taking it apart.

So it's not just done without much thought.

A lot of thought goes into practise assembly and you should be pausing as you go just to really think about what it is that you are figuring out.

Have you just seen something, is there a particular joining method or a manufacturing process that you've just managed to work out by taking it apart or that particular stage of taking it apart? Now during a product disassembly it is a good idea to wear safety glasses.

Now the chances are nothing will happen, but it's always better to be a little bit safer.

And safety glasses will just protect just in case any little bits come flying off.

Have a little think though, apart from safety glasses, what other tools or equipment might you need when carrying out a product disassembly? Again, feel free just to pause the video if you'd like to take a few moments to think about that question.

Okay, so things that you might need, things such as an apron if you do wanna just make sure you're protecting your uniform or your clothes, a screwdriver can be quite handy.

Obviously there's different types of screwdrivers, so you might want something with a cross head or you might want a flat head.

Have a little look at the product and you'll probably get a good idea.

Stanley knives can be quite helpful as well, but again, please be careful with these.

Scissors at the same point might also be helpful.

A hammer of some sort.

Again though, remember we're trying not to cause too much damage, so if we are using hammer we just need to be a little bit careful that we're not just kind of wheeling it really heavy-handedly.

And also of course a camera.

A camera may be on a phone or it may be a separate digital camera.

Whatever way you have got to record each stage of the process.

You don't wanna miss any stages because that might be something that's gonna give really important information that needs to be documented.

Let's just have a look at some typical photos that are taken of a product disassembly.

So these are some typical photos and you can see it's taken in different stages, some of which are a little bit further away and some of which are a little bit closer up as well, showing the joining methods or kind of how it's been put together.

On this piece of flatpack furniture it's quite interesting to see any kind of pre-drilled holes that have been there to make the actual assembly or the original assembly a little bit easier.

Of course in this process we're taking it apart but we can still see which holes were maybe potentially pre-drilled.

Some other key pieces of information then for carrying out a product disassembly.

It's really important you don't lose any parts or components during the process, so it's a good idea to collect those somewhere in the same place.

One method that I recommend is getting a piece of white plain paper to put onto your workbench and collect all the components onto that piece of paper so you don't lose track of any of them.

They can easily get lost if they're just put into a workbench and they can kind of blend in or get pushed about a bit.

So don't use any of the components because in that final photo there's gonna be a plan view, which is shopped from above of all the components of the product.

A little bit like the example in the photo there.

You can see I've collected the joining methods or the components, all in kind of piles that are similar.

So where there is a similar type of screw or a similar type of side panel, I've put those together.

Now when we're talking about components, what we're actually referring to is all the different parts of the product and that includes the joining components such as screws and nails or dowels, but it also includes the other pieces as well, like the panels or the bars of the product itself.

Okay, so it's gonna be over to you now to actually carry out a product disassembly of a piece of flatpack furniture.

Now try to remember some of the things I explained.

Think about what equipment you may need in advance, remember your safety and your safety goggles, but also really key, remember to take photos of each stage as you go through.

Those photos are gonna document the process and help you to be able to reflect and analyse on it at a later stage.

Don't forget your safety and good luck.

How did you get on with the task? Hopefully you enjoyed it.

I always think it's really exciting to actually carry out some research in a more active, aimed practical way, and I love doing product disassemblies.

I've found out a lot about products by doing this kind of method.

I've put some examples up here of just the kinds of photos that you may have taken as you were taking apart your product.

But at this particular stage, all you should have is your product now in pieces and you should have those range of photographs including that final plan view from above of all the pieces of your product, or all the components of your product.

So as I've just explained here, you would expect to have more final photos documenting the process and the examples I've given you.

And don't forget you've got that final photo of all the components as well.

Okay, we're gonna move on then to analysis of the product disassembly.

A product disassembly is not just about taking the product apart as fun as that can be, the process then needs to be analysed so that we can actually learn about the product.

To analyse something is different to observing it, and having that kind of difference between the two things is really critical to doing a really good analysis.

We mentioned right at the start to analyse something is to examine it in detail.

So if we just have a little look here, Jacob is just gonna be looking at this particular photo of part of his product disassembly, and first of all, he's gonna make an observational comment.

So an observational comment is just when he's looking at the product and explaining what he sees.

So he has written, "The metal frame has holes in it.

And the holes have been drilled." Okay, that is an observation.

He's merely explaining what he can see.

Now that's useful.

It is useful information.

However, if we just compare that to an analytical comment, "The metal frame has pre-drilled holes in it," so that's similar to the observation, but then he goes on, "These make it easier for the client to assemble the product at home.

The pre-drilled holes make it clear where to insert the screws and to line up the frames to each other to ensure accuracy." Hopefully you can see the difference there.

He's gone on just to explain a little bit more about those pre-drilled holes.

He's used a little bit of his common sense and his prior knowledge to actually explain why those pre-drilled holes are useful or interesting in the assembly of the product or the understanding of the product.

Okay, let's just do a quick check for understanding on being analytical then.

Which of these statements is analytical? A, mild steel was used as it is a low cost but strong metal suitable for the making of furniture, B, the product has been painted white, or C, screws were used to assemble the piece of furniture.

Pause the video here, just to take a moment to think about your answer.

The correct answer was A, that is an analytical comment as it's gone further than just being observational.

Now, once the product has been taken apart, which you've already done as that was your first task, and photos taken of each stage, the results need to be analysed.

And the following things need to be considered when you are analysing, materials, components, manufacturing processes.

You want to be thinking about all of these elements now quite carefully as these were the things that we said were a really main focus of carrying out a product disassembly.

So let's just look at some examples then.

Firstly we're going to look at materials.

Now Aisha has done a little bit of analysis on the materials of this product.

So first of all, she's just done a little bit of an observational comment.

"The main body of the product is made up of MDF.

This is a manufactured board that is cheaper than natural woods such as pine or oak.

This product is low cost flatpack furniture to keep the cost of manufacturing down.

This reduces the cost of the customer and can increase profit to the company." Now she's recognised the fact that by using a manufactured board that is a lower cost to using a natural timber such as pine or oak.

And obviously that falls in line with the fact that the flatpack piece of furniture is a lower cost piece of furniture anyway and they are trying to save money.

So by using a manufactured board that will keep the actual manufacturing cost down and hopefully increase that profit, which is more of an analytical comment for Aisha there.

Okay, let's have a look at another example.

Aisha's now gonna comment on the components that she found, the joining components.

And she's just taken a photo here of the different kind of joining components that we used.

"The product can be assembled at home by using standardised components such as wood screws and also machine screws." So she's recognised that she's observed what there's actually been used and just explaining it.

Again, she's now gone on to make that a really analytical comment and really thought it through.

"The components are bought in bulk by the manufacturers as they are not specialists.

This would again, have helped to keep the cost of the manufacturing low." Because it's standardised components that have been used, the manufacturer can buy them in bulk and again that falls in line with it being a piece of flatpack furniture with a lower cost attached to it.

And lastly, let's just look an example of Aisha has done on the manufacturing processes.

So she's explained, "The product is put together by the client at home using the wood screws and machine screws." Again, so that's her observational comment.

She's now gone on to push it that little bit further.

"Pre-drilled holes make it clear and easy for the client to understand how to assemble the product and put it together accurately and easily using basic tools such as a screwdriver." So she's gone that little bit further in her analysis to just explain that she understands that by using pre-drilled holes and actually using components that are standardised, the client can put this together really easily themself following basic instructions and using basic tools that most people will have around the house.

In some flatpack furniture however, sometimes the actual tool it's included in the pack or a cheap version of the tool is included in the pack.

We wouldn't know this when carrying out a product disassembly.

So she's just suggested here that they could use a screwdriver.

Now let's do a quick check for understanding on that then.

Which of these images show a plan view of all the components of the flatpack furniture? Is it A, B, or C? Think carefully about how I explained what the components were.

Pause video here just to take a moment to think about your answer.

The correct answer was C.

So that shows all of the components.

The components are all the different parts of the product, not just the joining components such as the screws but all of the pieces.

Well done if you got that right.

Have a little look at this example now.

What can Aisha annotate and analyse in this photo? You might wanna have a little discussion of this with the person next to you or the people on your table.

You can always pause the video again just to have a little think about this question.

Okay, so let's have a little look if what you came up with is similar to Aisha has come up with.

So she said here that, "The metal used is most likely," now she's not gonna be certain at this point, she's using her prior knowledge of the properties of materials to come up with this answer.

"So the metal used is most likely mild steel as this has a low cost, is easily formed into tubes but strong enough for basic furniture." So she's applied her knowledge of the properties of mild steel to be able to come up with this suggestion.

"The photo shows a weld to join the two pieces of the metal frame together." Did you get that in your idea? "It is done quickly and not very neatly, but again, I'm presuming this is down to low cost manufacturing." So she's recognised by looking at the picture that that is a weld join, but also she's recognised the fact that it's not the best job of a piece of welding.

And again, she's referencing the fact that there's a low cost attached to this particular piece or this particular product.

And so actually they're not going to be going for the highest standard of fabrication methods.

So again, this is an analytical comment using her prior knowledge and observing what she's found out by carrying out the product disassembly.

Okay, it's over to you to have a go now.

The first task is, you are going to present your product disassembly by laying out all of the photographs in the order that you actually took it apart.

So your first photograph should be the fully formed original product, and then it goes in order of you slowly or how you actually took that product apart.

Your second task then is to complete that analysis.

So you're going to analyse your product disassembly by annotating your photographs, a bit like the examples I've just taken you through.

Remember you want to consider three main areas of focus.

Those were materials, components, and manufacturing processes.

It's really important that you access your prior knowledge to be able to do this.

If not, you may need a little bit more support, maybe by using a textbook or the internet, just to remind you what some of the properties of existing materials or components, for example.

Good luck with the task and pause the video here to have it go.

All right, how did you get on? Okay, so that was a little bit harder this time.

Really trying to dig deep into analysis, as I said, does need some prior knowledge attached to it, but also you may need to do further research to help you and to remind you of what kind of materials or manufacturing processes you may be seeing.

Let's guess give another example of this then.

So this was Aisha's picture and she's just explained here, "The main body of the product is made up of MDF.

This is a manufactured board that is cheaper than natural wood such as pine or oak." So just to remind you what she did with this answer, she was referencing and understanding what the material probably is, and then she's explained why she actually thinks that material was chosen or used.

"This product is low cost flatpack furniture to keep the cost of manufacturing down.

This reduces the cost to the customer and increase profit to the company.

The MDF has painted to protect it and approve its aesthetics, but this isn't as hard wearing as if they had covered it with a laminate." So she's even gone on to consider the actual finish of that material as well.

She has included a little bit even about aesthetics.

Obviously we were focusing on materials, and components and those manufacturing processes, but actually it's not a bad idea to even go a little bit further if you've got the idea and you want to put it down onto paper.

Your answer's going to be really different 'cause you're all gonna have a different product to Aisha.

But just compare your answers to Aisha.

Have you gone further than just observing? Have you been analytical? Have you come up with ideas for materials? Even if it's not obvious, have you suggested possible materials? Have you explained why it's probably that material or why that's a good or bad material? Let's summarise today's lesson then.

We were looking at the disassembly of flatpack furniture.

Now, primary research such as a product disassembly can be a great way to investigate and analyse a product.

And a product disassembly is when we take something apart to investigate it further.

Each stage of the disassembly is photographed really clearly and notes should be made during the process of any observations that you have as you work through.

And once the product has been taken apart, then the photos taken of each stage then need to be analysed to make it really useful and to learn what we need to about the product.

Things such as materials, components, and manufacturing processes should be analysed when we're carrying out a product disassembly.

Well done on today's lesson.

Hopefully you've enjoyed it as a different way in investigating existing products and really getting to investigate and analyse them thoroughly.

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