Edexcel GCSE Design and Technology key terms

Producing a hard outer layer on steel by adding carbon at the surface and heat treating it, while retaining a relatively soft core.

Shaping metal by pouring it in a molten state into a mould and allowing it to solidify.

An iron–carbon alloy with a higher carbon content than steels; it is hard, wear-resistant and strong in compression, but brittle.

An electrochemical unit that transfers stored chemical energy into electrical energy.

A substance forming plant cell walls, obtained from materials such as cotton and wood pulp and used to manufacture cellulose-based textile fibres.

A treatment using chemicals to change a textile's properties or deposit a substance on its surface.

A characteristic describing how a substance reacts to form new substances, such as its tendency to corrode.

The ability to withstand contact with particular chemicals without unacceptable damage or deterioration.

A chemical treatment that reduces later shrinkage, for example by modifying or coating wool's surface scales to limit felting.

A manufactured board made from wood chips or shavings bonded with adhesive and compressed into sheets.

Removing wood using a sharp-edged blade, pushed by hand or driven with a mallet, to make recesses or other shapes.

The part of a drill that grips the drill bit securely.

Designing products to remain useful for longer and to support repair, reuse and recycling, reducing the need for new resources.

An approach that keeps products and materials in use through repair, reuse and recovery rather than continually replacing them with newly extracted resources.

A range of values used to group numerical data, with boundaries that determine which observations belong to it.

A hole through the first component that allows a screw to pass freely without its threads gripping that component.

A person or organisation commissioning a design, whose requirements help guide the work.

A foam structure containing enclosed pockets of gas, which can help limit heat transfer and water absorption.

A grain structure with small pores and a fine, smoother appearance.

Storage on remote servers accessed through the internet, allowing users in different locations to access shared files.

People with a shared culture, language or background living close together and forming a community.

Computer numerical control: programmed instructions control a machine’s movements and operations.

Computer-controlled cutting, shaping or drilling of a workpiece.

A computer-controlled machine that removes material with a rotating cutter to produce outlines, recesses or shaped surfaces.

Working with other people, sharing ideas, expertise and feedback to develop a design.

The visible colour of a material or product, which may be the metal’s natural colour or the colour of an applied finish.

A raw material traded in large quantities, such as crude oil, whose market price can change with supply and demand.