12 posters for revising materials in product design

1. Paper and card
Material/ Name Uses Description
Layout and Tracing Paper
• Hard and Translucent
• Typically 50g/m
• Take spirit-based marker pens well
Used during the development stage of designing Lightweight
thin paper
Transparent
Cartridge paper
• Tough and lightly textured
• Often used in a very light cream colour
• Takes coloured pencils very well
• 100-135g/m
General drawing Good quality white paper
Available in different weights
General purpose work
Medium cost
Cardboard
• Can be laminated together to create thicker boards
• From 200g/m upwards
• Often made from recycled materials
General modelling and packaging Durable
Made by corrugated lines for density
From recycled fibre
Solid white board
• Stronger, high-quality board
• Made from pure bleached wood pulp
Book covers
More expensive packaging
Best card for printing on too
From quality bleached wood
Durable
Semi- ridged
1.A tree is cut down and the
trunk is fed into a chipping
machine where it is cut into
very small pieces.
2. The wood chips
are boiled in water
to form a thick wood
pulp
3. ingredients such as
starch and bonding
agents are added. The
pulp is poured over a
fine mesh and the
water escapes leaving
the cellulose fibres
behind. This forms the
paper
Composite materials are materials made
from two or more constituent materials
with significantly different physical or
chemical properties, that when
combined, produce a material with
characteristics different from the
individual components. Composite
materials consist of:
• cements, concrete
• Reinforced plastics such as fibre-reinforced
polymer
• Metal Composites
• Ceramic Composites
Paper and card are the materials that
we all throw away
the most, making up over a third of the
rubbish we produce.
It is easy to make new paper and card
by recycling the old
paper and card.
Paper is a versatile material with many
uses
By Evie Lawrence

2. Hard wood is a type of wood
that comes from angiosperm
trees. Some of these trees are
called Oak trees, Maple trees
and Beech trees. These are
some examples of what hard
wood looks like:
Hard Wood
By Evie Lawrence
Soft wood
Soft wood is a type of wood that comes
from coniferous trees and evergreen
trees. Soft wood is the source of around
80% of the worlds production timber.
These are a few examples of what soft
wood looks like:
Manufactured wood is a type
of wood that is man made.
Some of the most common
types of manufactured wood is
plywood and MDF. Here are
some examples of
manufactured wood.
These are
pieces of
Plywood
These are
pieces of
MDF
This is how hardwood floors are manufactured.
There are two types of wood:
softwood and hardwood. These
names do not refer to the
properties of the wood: some
softwoods can be hard and
some hardwoods can be soft
Softwood comes from particular types of trees, it is made
by nature. Softwoods have a particular cellular structure at
the microscopic level. Some Softwoods included in that
definition are actually harder than some hardwoods. For
example Balsa wood is biologically a hardwood, but it is
softer for carving and cutting than is the biological
softwood.
Hardwood is wood from deciduous trees and broad-leaf
evergreen trees. All hardwoods are angiosperms
(flowering plants) which are the most assorted and
largest group of land plants. Hardwoods all have
enclosed nuts or seeds. Hardwood is in contrast to
softwood which come from conifers, cone bearing seed
plants.

3. By Evie Lawrence
Metal Property Use
Aluminium Heat Conductor Make Saucepans
Copper Electrical Conductor Make electric wiring
Gold Lustrous (shiny) Make jewellery
Lead Dense To add weight when scuba diving
Platinum High melting and boiling point Electrodes of spark plugs
Steel High tensile strength
Strong
• Makes ropes
• Makes bridges
• Buildings
• cars
Tungsten Hard Make drill pieces
Alloys
An alloy is a material composed of two or
more metals or a metal and a non-metal. An
alloy may be a solid solution of the
elements.
Non Ferrous Metals
•Aluminium – An alloy of aluminium, copper and
manganese. Very lightweight and easily worked. Used in
aircraft manufacture, window frames and some kitchen
ware.
•Copper – Copper is a natural occurring substance. The fact
that it conducts heat and electricity means that it is used
for wiring, tubing and pipe work.
•Brass – A combination of copper and zinc, usually in the
proportions of 65% to 35% respectively. Is used for
ornamental purposes and within electrical fittings.
•Silver – Mainly a natural substance, but mixing with copper
creates sterling silver. Used for decorative impact in
jewellery and ornaments, and also to solder different
metals together.
•Lead – Lead is a naturally occurring substance. It is heavy
and very soft and is often used in roofing, in batteries and
to make pipes.
Ferrous Metals
•Mild Steel – Carbon content of 0.1 to 0.3% and Iron content
of 99.7 – 99.9%. Used for engineering purposes and in
general, none specialised metal products.
•Carbon steel – Carbon content of 0.6 to 1.4% and Iron
content of 98.6 to 99.4 %. Used to make cutting tools such
as drill bits.
•Stainless Steel – Made up of Iron, nickel and chromium.
Resists staining and corrosion and is therefore used for the
likes of cutlery and surgical instrumentation. See our info
graphic celebrating 100 years of stainless steel usage in
buildings or the different types of stainless steel.
•Cast Iron – carbon 2 – 6% and Iron at 94 to 98%. Very strong
but brittle. Used to manufacture items such as engine
blocks and manhole covers.
•Wrought Iron – Composed of almost 100% iron. Used to
make items such as ornamental gates and fencing.

4. By Evie Lawrence
Plastics: natural,
synthetic,
thermosetting or
thermoplastic
There are two types of plastics:
thermoplastics and thermosetting
polymers. Thermoplastics are the
plastics that do not undergo
chemical change in their
composition when heated and
can be moulded again and again.
Thermosetting polymers
have different properties
to thermosetting
polymers. Once moulded,
they do not soften when
heated and they cannot
be reshaped. Vulcanised
rubber is a thermoset
used to make tyres.
Natural
Natural sources of plastics include:
plants - from which cellulose can be extracted
trees - from which latex, amber and resin can be extracted
animals - from which horn and milk (used to make glues) are obtained
insects - from which shellac (used to make polish) is obtained
Synthetic
Synthetic plastics are chemically manufactured from:
crude oil
coal
natural gas

5. By Evie Lawrence
A ceramic is an inorganic, non-metallic solid
comprising metal, non-metal or metalloid atoms
primarily held in ionic and covalent bonds. The
crystallinity of ceramic materials ranges from
highly oriented to semi-crystalline, and often
completely amorphous (e.g., glasses).
ALUMINA
Alumina is the most widely used advanced ceramic
material. It offers very good performance in terms of
wear resistance, corrosion resistance and strength at
a reasonable price. Its high dielectric properties are
beneficial in electronic products.
Applications include armour, semiconductor
processing equipment parts, faucet disc valves, seals,
electronic substrates and industrial machine
components.
SILICON NITRIDE
Silicon nitride exceeds other ceramic materials in
thermal shock resistance. It also offers an excellent
combination of low density, high strength, low
thermal expansion and good corrosion resistance and
fracture toughness.
Applications include various aerospace and
automotive engine components, papermaking machine
wear surfaces, armour, burner nozzles and molten
metal processing parts.
SILICON CARBIDE
Silicon carbide has the highest corrosion resistance of
all the advanced ceramic materials. It also retains its
strength at temperatures as high as 1400°C and offers
excellent wear resistance and thermal shock
resistance.
Applications include armour, mechanical seals,
nozzles, silicon wafer polishing plates and pump parts.
ZIRCONIA
Zirconia has the highest strength and toughness at
room temperature of all the advanced ceramic
materials. The fine grain size allows for extremely
smooth surfaces and sharp edges.
Applications include scissors, knifes, slitters, pump
shafts, metal-forming tools, fixtures, tweezers, wire
drawing rings, bearing sleeves and valves.
SAPPHIRE
Single crystal sapphire offers superior mechanical
properties and chemical stability coupled with light
transmission.

6. By Evie Lawrence

7. By Evie Lawrence
FoodCarbohydrates
Protein
Dairy
Fibre and Vitamins
Water is a transparent fluid which forms the
world's streams, lakes, oceans and rain, and is the
major constituent of the fluids of living things. Its
used for drinking or keeping clean.
Fibre is found in the indigestible parts of plants,
good source of fibre include wholegrain foods,
fruits and vegetables.

8. By Evie Lawrence
Standard Components

9. By Evie Lawrence
Electronic control: discrete components,
integrated circuits, micro controllers/ processors.
Discrete components
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit also
referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip and is an electronic
circuit on one small plate of semiconductor material, normally
silicon. This can be made much smaller than a discrete circuit made
from independent electronic components.
A microcontroller is a small computer on a single integrated
circuit containing a processor core, memory, and programmable
input/output peripherals. Microcontrollers are designed for
embedded applications, in contrast to the microprocessors used
in personal computers or other general purpose applications.
A microprocessor is a computer processor that incorporates the
functions of a computer's central processing unit (CPU) on a single
integrated circuit or at most a few integrated circuits. The
microprocessor is a multipurpose, programmable device that
accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions
stored in its memory, and provides results as output.

10. By Evie Lawrence
Mechanical movement
Pneumatic systems are used
extensively in industry are
commonly powered by
compressed air or compressed
inert gases. A centrally
located and electrically
powered compressor powers
cylinders, air motors, and
other pneumatic devices. A
pneumatic system controlled
through manual or automatic
solenoid valves is selected
when it provides a lower
cost, more flexible, or safer
alternative to electric motors
and actuators.
Hydraulics is a very basic version of
pneumatics. Fluid mechanics provides the
theoretical foundation for hydraulics,
which focuses on the engineering uses of
fluid properties. In fluid power, hydraulics
are used for the generation, control, and
transmission of power by the use of
pressurized liquids.

11. By Evie Lawrence
Smart and Modern: reactive, nanotechnology
Smart colours are pigments which can be
incorporated into paints, dyes, inks and
plastics.
• thermo chromic pigments react to
changes in temperature
• photochromic pigments react to
changes in light levels
Smart materials are
reactive materials. Their
properties can be changed
by exposure to stimuli,
such as electric and
magnetic fields, stress,
moisture and
temperature.
Nanoparticles improve the mechanical properties of a material,
such as stiffness or elasticity. When incorporated into polymers,
they can be used as lightweight replacements for metals.
Nanomaterial's are used in car manufacturing to create cars that
are faster, safer and more fuel efficient. They can also be used to
produce more efficient insulation and lighting systems.
Nanotechnology ("nanotech") is the
manipulation of matter on an
atomic, molecular, and
supramolecular scale. The earliest,
widespread description of
nanotechnology referred to the
particular technological goal of
precisely manipulating atoms and
molecules for fabrication of macro
scale products, also now referred to
as molecular nanotechnology.

12. By Evie Lawrence
Properties : physical, mechanical and environmental
Physical Properties of Materials
To select greener materials you need
to consider the material’s
environmental, cost, and performance
impacts on your design. A material’s
performance depends on its physical
properties, and optimizing this is the
most important way to reduce your
product’s environmental impact.
Energy use often causes the biggest
environmental impact for products
that consume much energy during their
use, like refrigerators and cars.
Creating a lighter weight car can save
far more energy than reducing the
embodied energy of its materials.
Likewise, to make a refrigerator or
building more energy efficient, you’ll
need to have good insulation and
optimize heat transfer.
Environmental
Making a product uses resources, such as raw materials and energy. This has an
impact on the environment.
There are a number of things that a designer might think about to reduce
environmental impact:
• The material used to make the product.
• The life of the product.
• What happens to the product at the end of its life.
One way to reduce impact on the environment is to use less material in the
product. This might mean asking questions about what is needed or whether it
could be made smaller (or thinner) and still do the same job. It could also
mean using an alternative material with better properties, so that not as much
of the material is required.