IB Design Technology Topic C4.1: Design for Manufacture Strategies Questionbank

This image shows components of a standard electric toothbrush including casing, motor, battery, PCB, brush head, and screws.

(Fig 1)

Identify one feature in the toothbrush design that supports Design for Assembly (DfA).

Outline two reasons why modular design is useful in consumer electronics like the toothbrush.

This image shows an automated robotic assembly line working on compact devices such as smartphones.

Outline two advantages of using automated assembly systems in mass production.

Analyse how designing smartphone casings with snap-fit joints affects both manufacturing and product longevity.

This image shows a person assembling flat-pack cardboard furniture using slot-in joints and no tools.

Evaluate the benefits and limitations of using interlocking components instead of fasteners in flat-pack furniture.

Discuss how incorporating Design for Disassembly (DfD) can support circular economy goals in consumer product design.

Which of these is an advantage of a design-for-process strategy?

At which stage of the product's life does a design-for-process strategy most directly reduce environmental impact?

Figure 1: The assembled unibody MacBook.

State the manufacturing process used to shape the body of the MacBook in Figure 1.

Outline one advantage of machining the body from a single block of aluminium rather than joining several separate parts.

Figure 2: The same MacBook opened up, showing its internal components.

Describe why the internal construction shown in Figure 2 makes the MacBook difficult to disassemble for recycling.

Explain how designing the body for a specific manufacturing process reduces manufacturing errors and material waste.

Evaluate the unibody design against the three design for manufacture strategies, given that it is excellent for design for process but hard to disassemble, as seen in Figure 2.

Figure 1 shows a phone with detachable screen, battery, camera module, and logic board.

Identify one design strategy used in the smartphone that supports ease of repair.

Outline two ways this modular design contributes to sustainability.

**Figure 2 **shows manual assembly of internal washing machine components.

Explain two ways that applying Design for Assembly (DfA) can help reduce production time in washing machine manufacturing.

Analyse the impact of part standardisation on manufacturing efficiency and cost in appliance production.

**Figure 3 **shows a plastic chair being made via injection moulding in a factory.

Describe three reasons why injection moulding is suitable for manufacturing plastic chairs at scale.

Discuss how Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) contributes to lean manufacturing principles in high-volume plastic furniture production.