Key term
CCEA AS-Level Technology and Design 8900
Material Selection and Wood
Metals
Plastics
Composite and Emerging Materials
Processing Materials
Product Analysis and Design Communication
Design for Manufacture, Quality and Safety
Electronic Control SystemsOption A
Topic overviewControl systems, feedback and electronics safetyResistors, Ohm's law and power ratingsCapacitors and RC timingPotential dividers, sensors and comparatorsSwitches, pull-up and pull-down resistorsOutput devices and LEDsTransistors, Darlington pairs and thyristorsLogic gates, truth tables and flip-flops555 monostable and astable timers
Mechanical and Pneumatic ComponentsOption B
Topic overviewOpen and closed loop mechanical and pneumatic controlSafe working with compressed air and mechanismsLevers, linkages and momentsGear types and gear trainsPulleys, belts, chains and shaft fixingsCams, cranks and converting motionCompressed air supply and pneumatic valvesCylinders, shuttle valves, restrictors and reservoirsPneumatic circuits for logic, timing and speed control
Designing and Manufacturing ProductsOption C
Topic overviewResearch, questionnaires and specificationsIdea generation, critiques and computer simulationManufacturing planning and product evaluationCFRP, GRP, Kevlar and tungsten carbideSmart materials, nanotechnology and biophotovoltaicsIsometric, perspective and assembly drawingLaminating, steam bending, cutting and printing processesRisk assessment and product safety lawScales of production, JIT and cell productionQuality assurance, ISO 9001 and continuous improvementDesign influences and intellectual property rights
Product Development
Processing Materials
- 6 subtopics
- 18 things to know
- AS 1 Paper 1
What Processing Materials covers
Processing Materials is examined in Unit AS 1, Paper 1: Design and Materials, the compulsory core. It covers wasting with hand tools, manual and CNC machine tools, rolling, blanking, press forming and forging, injection and blow moulding, rotational moulding and vacuum forming and sand casting, die casting and extrusion.
Where it is assessed
AS 1 Paper 1
Design and Materials, the compulsory core — a written examination.
Check the CCEA specification ↗The 6 subtopics
Each one has its own page. CCEA AS Technology and Design students sit this topic in the first year.
- Wasting with hand toolsWasting against forming, saws, hacksaw blades, cross and draw filing, chisels and planes, centre punching, drill bits, cutting threads with taps and dies, and hand tools for one-off work.Open →
- Manual and CNC machine toolsFacing, parallel and taper turning and knurling on a centre lathe, chucks and spindle speeds, milling machines and cutters, CNC axes, and a CNC batch time calculation.Open →
- Rolling, blanking, press forming and forgingHot and cold rolling, blanking and piercing, blank layout with a worked utilisation, press forming and springback, and drop forging and why forged parts are stronger.Open →
- Injection and blow mouldingThe injection moulding cycle, sprues, runners and gates, wall thickness, draft angles and ribs, a mould cost calculation, and extrusion and stretch blow moulding.Open →
- Rotational moulding and vacuum formingRotational moulding and its polymers and limits, the vacuum forming process, mould design, vents and webbing, and a break-even comparison with injection moulding.Open →
- Sand casting, die casting and extrusionPatterns, moulding boxes, sprues, risers, cores and fettling in sand casting, pressure die casting of non-ferrous alloys, and extruding uPVC pipe and aluminium sections.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
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Evaluation
Evaluate the use of a CNC lathe instead of a manual centre lathe for a batch of 500 identical brass fittings.
Process
What is rolling as a forming process?
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Describe how the polymer is melted and injected in injection moulding.
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Describe rotational moulding.
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What is the purpose of the pattern in sand casting?
Process
What is meant by wasting as a method of processing materials?
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Which centre lathe operation produces a flat surface on the end of a bar?
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Compare hot rolling with cold rolling of steel.
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What happens in injection moulding after the mould cavity has been filled?
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How is a rotationally moulded part cooled and removed?
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Why is a sand-casting pattern made slightly larger than the finished casting?
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Compare wasting and forming as ways of shaping a material.
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Describe how parallel turning reduces the diameter of a bar on a centre lathe.
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What is blanking?
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Why is an injection mould water-cooled?
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Which polymer is most often rotationally moulded, and why?
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Describe how a sand mould is prepared in a two-part moulding box.
Take Processing Materials further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Injection moulding vs Extrusion
Injection moulding: forcing molten polymer into a closed cavity to make separate, finished parts. Extrusion: pushing softened material continuously through a shaped die to give a constant profile.
Blow moulding vs Rotational moulding
Blow moulding: inflating a softened polymer tube inside a split mould with compressed air. Rotational moulding: heating polymer powder in a mould spinning about two axes so it coats the walls.
Sand casting vs Pressure die casting
Sand casting: pouring molten metal into an expendable mould of packed grains that is broken open afterwards. Pressure die casting: forcing molten metal at high force into a reusable steel mould for accurate, thin-walled parts.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is meant by wasting as a method of processing materials?
Model answer
Wasting is shaping a material by cutting away the parts that are not needed. Sawing, filing, drilling and turning are all wasting processes.
- 2
Compare wasting and forming as ways of shaping a material.
Model answer
Wasting removes unwanted material and so produces waste such as sawdust or swarf. A forming process reshapes the material with force or heat and removes almost nothing.
- 3
Which saw would you choose to make a straight cut across a length of pine, and why?
Model answer
A tenon saw suits straight cuts in wood. The folded steel or brass back along its top stiffens the thin blade so the cut stays straight.
- 4
Why is a coping saw used to cut curves in thin wood or acrylic?
Model answer
A coping saw has a very narrow blade held in tension in a deep frame. The narrow blade can turn tightly without jamming in the cut.
- 5
Explain why a hacksaw blade is fitted with its teeth pointing away from the handle.
Model answer
A hacksaw cuts on the push stroke, so the teeth must face forward to bite on that stroke. Teeth fitted the wrong way would skid and blunt quickly.
- 6
Why should at least three teeth of a hacksaw blade be in contact with the work?
Model answer
Fewer than three teeth in contact lets a tooth catch on the edge of thin material and snap off. Thin sheet and tube therefore need a fine blade with more teeth per inch.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Processing Materials revision questions
- Is Processing Materials examined at AS in CCEA Technology and Design?
- Yes. It sits in AS 1 Paper 1, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.
- What does Processing Materials cover in CCEA AS-Level Technology and Design?
- 6 subtopics: wasting with hand tools, manual and cnc machine tools, rolling, blanking, press forming and forging, injection and blow moulding, rotational moulding and vacuum forming and sand casting, die casting and extrusion. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Processing Materials organised?
- By the CCEA 8900 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Processing Materials, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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