Edexcel GCSE Design and Technology key terms

A consistent approach to a product’s appearance and organisation, such as its proportions, colours and control layout.

A possibility that a designer or manufacturer can use to improve a product or how it is made.

A designer’s guiding beliefs about what makes a design successful.

A written account of a design idea or decision that preserves information so it can be understood and referred to later.

A statement of the requirements a product must meet, used to guide design decisions and evaluate the finished product.

A method used to generate, explore or develop design ideas so that they meet a brief and users’ needs.

Removal of size, such as starch applied to yarns to protect them during weaving.

A form of corrosion in which brass loses zinc, leaving a porous, copper-rich material with reduced strength.

The distance across a circle through its centre; it is twice the radius.

A tool with a shaped opening through which softened polymer is forced to produce a particular cross-section.

A manufacturing process using shaped tooling to cut paper or board repeatedly; suitable tooling can also crease or perforate it.

The gap between people who have access to digital devices and the internet and those who do not.

Printing directly from a digital file without preparing a separate printing plate, for example using an inkjet or laser printer.

The ability of a material to retain its dimensions and shape despite changes in conditions such as temperature or moisture.

Coating a metal component with plastic by dipping it into liquid polymer or, when heated, into a bed of polymer powder.

The final handling of unwanted waste that is not recovered for further use, for example by sending it to landfill.

A textile used in the home, including furniture fabrics, carpeting, cushioning and sun protection.

Adding a second, parallel row of stitching to reinforce a seam.

Fabric with a double thickness, typically having a similar appearance on both sides and costing more than a comparable single-weight fabric.

A connection made from interlocking tapered tails and matching pins, which resist being pulled apart in the direction restrained by the tails.

A cylindrical length of timber used for components such as joint pins, pegs and axles.

A connection strengthened by wooden pins fitted into matching holes in the two components.

A slight taper on the sides of a mould or former that helps the formed component slide off after cooling.

The way a fabric hangs and falls into folds.

Positioning and pinning fabric on a dress form to develop a garment’s three-dimensional shape and pattern.

Making a circular hole using a rotating cutting bit.

The output gear turned by the driver, directly or through other gears.