Module XUE-2043:
XUE-2043 Design and Manufacture 2
Module Facts
Run by School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering
30.000 Credits or 15.000 ECTS Credits
Semester 1 & 2
Organiser: Mr Aled Williams
Overall aims and purpose
The module gives students the opportunity to work on a 'live brief' with an external partner company to research, design and manufacture a working and user-testable prototype of a new product or invention.
The module focuses on applying the design process to develop students' knowledge and understanding in project management, design thinking and empathic processes, modelling, prototyping, and the use of materials, components, and structures during a manufacturing procedure.
It also develops students' knowledge and understanding of safety and sustainable practices in designing and the skills needed for safe working practice.
It also develops students’ knowledge of and understanding of manufacturing processes, and raises an awareness of how the module outcomes can be applied in a professional context.
It also develops students' skills and competencies in Computer Aided Design, Finite Element Analysis and Digital Graphics up to professional level.
Course content
The brief for this module will be set by an external partner company, and the project will last for eight weeks in duration. The partner company will require a new original product/invention be generated, or a re-design of a current product, or a new product that competes against their market competitors. The module is split into four distinct phases, known as 'Crits'. Each phase requires a presentation be submitted/presented to the company - each phase corresponds a four-step design process. Theses presentations are assessed by college staff.
- Crit 1 - presentation of market and user research, along with a definition of design intent and direction.
- Crit 2 - presentation of concept ideas along with initial 'proof of concept' testing results.
- Crit 3 - presentation of the final prototype outcome, along with usability/functional testing results.
- Crit 4 - presentation of product evaluation/review, along with 'next phase' intent.
(Presentations have a max time of 4 minutes each)
CAD, FEA and Digital Graphics will be taught via weekly exercises which are assessed.
Assessment Criteria
threshold
See the learning outcomes.
good
A good overall grasp of all the learning outcomes and how they relate to one another.
excellent
A very good grasp of all the learning outcomes and the ability to reflect on their relationship to one another in an analytic way.
Learning outcomes
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Use digital media to improve presentation and design communication
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Develop basic skills for analysing, researching, synthesising and evaluating information to aid designing
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Develop their knowledge of manufacturing processes and begin to use a range of materials, structures, and components to manufacture a product
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Understand basic materials selection, testing and application
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Understand the fundamental health and safety issues involved with the given brief and demonstrate safe working practice
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Apply the fundamental stages of the commercial design process in full to complete a given brief
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Understand the fundamentals of CAD/CAM systems
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Understand the fundamentals of FEA analysis
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Understand the fundamentals of Digital Graphics for industrial and commercial application
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Appreciate environmental, ethical and social factors that affect the designing of products
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Communicate clearly in oral and written forms
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Be organised in the way they work and begin to consider how to manage their time
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Understand how to begin applying the above in an industrial context (Module links XUC|E2047 / XUC|E2048)
Assessment Methods
| Type | Name | Description | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crit 1 - Research Findings, and Design Intent | 10.00 | ||
| Crit 2 - Breadth of Innovation, and Depth of Testing and Design Decisions | 20.00 | ||
| Crit 3 - Final Product Design Decisions, and Results of Prototype Testing | 30.00 | ||
| Crit 4 - Product Evaluation and Next Phase | 10.00 | ||
| CAD - exercises report | 10.00 | ||
| FEA - exercises report | 10.00 | ||
| Digital Graphics - portfolio | 10.00 |
Teaching and Learning Strategy
| Hours | ||
|---|---|---|
| Practical classes and workshops | 48 | |
| Individual Project | 48 | |
| Private study | 204 |
Transferable skills
- Literacy - Proficiency in reading and writing through a variety of media
- Numeracy - Proficiency in using numbers at appropriate levels of accuracy
- Computer Literacy - Proficiency in using a varied range of computer software
- Self-Management - Able to work unsupervised in an efficient, punctual and structured manner. To examine the outcomes of tasks and events, and judge levels of quality and importance
- Exploring - Able to investigate, research and consider alternatives
- Information retrieval - Able to access different and multiple sources of information
- Inter-personal - Able to question, actively listen, examine given answers and interact sensitevely with others
- Critical analysis & Problem Solving - Able to deconstruct and analyse problems or complex situations. To find solutions to problems through analyses and exploration of all possibilities using appropriate methods, rescources and creativity.
- Safety-Consciousness - Having an awareness of your immediate environment, and confidence in adhering to health and safety regulations
- Presentation - Able to clearly present information and explanations to an audience. Through the written or oral mode of communication accurately and concisely.
- Management - Able to utilise, coordinate and control resources (human, physical and/or financial)
- Argument - Able to put forward, debate and justify an opinion or a course of action, with an individual or in a wider group setting
- Self-awareness & Reflectivity - Having an awareness of your own strengths, weaknesses, aims and objectives. Able to regularly review, evaluate and reflect upon the performance of yourself and others
- Leadership - Able to lead and manage, develop action plans and objectives, offer guidance and direction to others, and cope with the related pressures such authority can result in
Subject specific skills
- Apply convergent and divergent thinking in the processes of observation, investigation, speculative enquiry, visualisation and/or making for problem solving and generating well-informed critical viewpoints
- Generate ideas, concepts, proposals, solutions or arguments independently and/or collaboratively in response to set briefs and/or as self-initiated activity
- Relate the manipulation of materials to the process of identifying design needs, researching and generating ideas as prototypes, models or proposals to promote intellectual and practical learning.
- Develop the skills, knowledge, and processes of the subject within a meaningful and coherent context, not in isolation
- Apply specialised ICT hardware and software related to Product Design and Technology effectively, including desktop publishing, web based media, computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing systems (CAD/CAM).
- Be conversant with all practical elements of health and safety within the design and manufacture of products.
- Make informed choices regarding social, ethical and environmental issues which are related to the processes of design and manufacture
- Work effectively and in an organised manner within subject specific tasks
- Develop the skills, qualities and attributes required for working independently, as a participating member of a team and across organizations, through the close working relationships between students, lecturers, and industrialists.
- Appropriately implement the skills, knowledge, and understanding gained in both college and industrial situations
Courses including this module
Compulsory in courses:
- X1WF: BSc Design and Technology year 2 (BSC/DTECH)
- W240: BSC Product Design year 2 (BSC/PD)