IA Criterion F

Making choices for commercial production

New requirements for 2020

Criterion F is where you develop your proposal for how the product should be manufactured.

In this part of the IA, you should be using your knowledge of materials and processes (Topic 4), and commercial production (Topic 10)

We recommend working on Criterion E1 and Criterion F at the same time, as design modifications (E1) and material choices (F1) will be closely related to the choice of certain manufacturing processes (F2).

F1

Justifies the choice of materials and components appropriate for commercial production

one A4 page (or equivalent), 350 words

The only required evidence for this strand is:

identification of materials and components for commercial production
justification of choice of each material and component based on the required properties and characteristics.

Note and Guidance

In this section, you should be justifying why the chosen materials and components are ideal. You could make reference to cost, availability, suitability to manufacturing process, environmental considerations, etc.
Draw upon your knowledge from Topic 4: Final Production and Topic 10: Commercial Production to guide and justify your choices.

Tips

- Work on E1, F1 and F2 together, as design modifications and material choices will be closely related to the choice of certain manufacturing processes.
- Avoid long descriptions of the physical and mechanical properties of materials. Only discuss properties that are relevant to the design context.

Suggested Workflow for F1

1. Review Topic 4: Final Production and Topic 10: Commercial Production. Identify the materials and processes that you intent to use.
2. Identify the details and evidence to support your choices. Some questions you might ask are:
  1. What mechanical and physical properties make this the ideal material or component?
  2. How available and cost effective is this material?
  3. How sustainable is the material, and where does this fit with the overall design goals.
  4. Can you use an LCA to identify and justify one material choice over another?
  5. How does this material match with the production methods (F2)?
3. Present this analysis and justification in the form of a table (see below)

We recommend you present your work for Criteria F1 in the following format:

a Table organized into the following columns:

Part number
Part/Material description: include image if necessary
Justification: Make reference here to the reasons (see above)

F2

Justifies the choice of manufacturing techniques appropriate for commercial production

one A4 page (or equivalent), 350 words

The only required evidence for this strand are:

- identification of manufacturing techniques for commercial production
- justification of choice of each manufacturing technique based on the requirements of the commercial product

Note and Guidance

In this section, you should be justifying why the chosen processes are ideal. You could make reference to cost, availability, suitability to materials, environmental considerations, etc.
Draw upon your knowledge from Topic 4: Final Production and Topic 10: Commercial Production to guide and justify your choices.

Tips

- Work on E1, F1 and F2 together, as design modifications and material choices will be closely related to the choice of certain manufacturing processes.
- Avoid long descriptions of the physical and mechanical properties of materials. Only discuss properties that are relevant to the design context.

Suggested Workflow for F2

1. Review Topic 4: Final Production and Topic 10: Commercial Production. Identify the materials and processes that you intent to use.
2. Identify the details and evidence to support your choices. Some questions you might ask are:
  1. How does the process match with the material choice?
  2. How available and cost effective is this process?
  3. How does the process match with the scale of production (F3)?
  4. How sustainable is the process, and where does this fit with the overall design goals.
  5. Can you use an LCA to identify and justify one process over another?
  6. How does this process match with the production methods (F1)?
3. Present this analysis and justification in the form of a table (see below)

We recommend you present your work for Criteria F2 in the following format:

a Table organized into the following columns:

Part number
Process description: include image if necessary
Justification: Make reference here to the reasons (see above)

F3

Justifies an appropriate scale and volume of production, based on appropriate research and suitability for the product.

one A4 page (or equivalent)
Students must not include any extended writing to address this strand.

The only required evidence for this strand are:

- identification of the scale and volume of production
- justification of why this is appropriate

Note and Guidance

This section should draw upon your knowledge from Topic 4: Final Production and Topic 10: Commercial Production to guide and justify your choices.

Tips

When working on A1 and A2, gather research on your target market to understand the scale of manufacture that is possible.

Suggested Workflow for F3

- 1. Review your work in A1 and A2. Use your analysis of the test results in D2 to justify a market size.
  2. Match your market size to an appropriate scale of production. Include data, or conduct additional research, to support this conclusion.

We recommend you present your work for Criteria F3 in the following format:

- 1 page of writing with support images, data, or charts.
- Identify the market segment and discuss the intended market size. Use data to support your discussion.
- Discuss the volume of production. Use data and calculations to support your
- Discuss how the selected scale of production is best matched to the market segment and production volume. Identify any challenges or benefits that this scale might meet.

Rubric (2020)

1–3

The student:

states the choice of materials and components for commercial production
states the choice of manufacturing techniques for commercial production
states an appropriate scale and volume of production, with little or no reference to research.

4–6

The student:

describes the choice of materials and components for commercial production
describes the choice of manufacturing techniques for commercial production
identifies an appropriate scale and volume of production, based on limited research.

7–9

The student:

justifies the choice of materials and components appropriate for commercial production
justifies the choice of manufacturing techniques appropriate for commercial production
justifies an appropriate scale and volume of production, based on appropriate research and suitability for the product.