Scales of production
There are four terms used to describe the scale of production in relation to manufacturing a product:
- The first working model of a design used for testing, development and evaluation. and one-off production
- Where one group of identical products is made at the same time, before moving onto producing the next group.
- When the same product is manufactured many times.
- A production method that leads to many of the same product being made, continuously.
Prototypes and one-off production
There are many ways to produce a prototype - some are rough and look like models and others are well finished and function as intended. It is now possible to A method of building layers to produce a 3D form.many different polymers. Engineering companies have welcomed this technology as 3D printing is classed as A method of shaping a form by building on top of material., rather than subtractive. Additive manufacture builds up the polymer form in layers, whereas A method of shaping a form by the removal of material. takes material away from a larger piece. There is very little waste when using additive techniques, making it more environmentally friendly.
There are many 3D printer A material in a thread-like form. to choose from - some polymer-based filaments contain carbon fibre, different wood fibres and even metals. It is possible to make a functioning prototype with these technical filaments.
A custom-made or Made as a one-off product that matches the client requirements exactly. product that is made from a polymer could be made to a customer Document containing details of a product's required characteristics, and all the processes, materials and other information needed to design the product., eg acrylic signs on shops.
Batch production
Where one group of identical products is made at the same time, before moving onto producing the next group. is where many items of the same product are produced, such as an acrylic menu stand for use in a chain of restaurants.
It is likely that the acrylic stand would be laser cut, heated on a line bender and then left to cool in a A tool used to hold a polymer in place until it has cooled.. The jig ensures that each menu stand cools and remains in place at the same angle each time.
When a product is made in a batch, it is often far cheaper per product than when making just one. A sheet of acrylic can be bought in many different sizes - for example, if the sheet is 1000 mm × 600 mm, it can fit inside many larger A machine that uses a laser beam to vaporise material and cut out shapes very accurately. and many parts can be cut from it while it is in the machine.
Example
Assume the cost of a 1,000 mm × 600 mm sheet of acrylic is £8.00.
Therefore, one menu not made as part of a batch = £8.00
If each menu stand uses a 200 mm × 300 mm sheet of acrylic:
1,000 ÷ 200 = 5
600 ÷ 300 = 2
5 × 2 = 10
Therefore, 10 menu stands can be cut from the sheet of acrylic.
Batch of ten menu stands = 8 ÷ 10
= 0.8
One menu = 80p (in batch)
Question
If each menu stand uses a 245 mm × 290 mm piece of acrylic:
a) How many could be cut from a sheet measuring 1,000 mm × 600 mm?
b) How much will each menu cost?
Assume the cost of a 1,000 mm × 600 mm sheet of acrylic is £8.00.
a) 1,000 ÷ 245 = 4.08
600 ÷ 290 = 2.06
4 × 2 = 8
Therefore, 8 menu stands can be cut from the sheet of acrylic.
The numbers were rounded down as the 0.8 and 0.6 represents the waste material once 4 × 2 menu stands have been cut from the acrylic.
b) 8 ÷ 8 = 1
One menu = £1.00
Mass production
Mass-produced products are manufactured in large volumes, and are often made by automated machinery with A series of workers and machines in a factory by which a succession of similar items is progressively assembled. workers used to fit parts together or to add standard components, such as screws and An interlocking mechanism that allows rotary motion.. An example of mass production for polymers is blister packs that contain tablets. In this case the whole process would be automated and workers may only be used to check the product or pack it into shipping boxes.
Continuous production
Continuous production takes place 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and, in some cases, 365 days a year. When products are made from a polymer using continuous production methods, Molten material forced into a mould. is likely to be the method used to form the plastic. Children’s building blocks are injection moulded in factories that utilise Using automatic equipment in production. - not many people are involved in the manufacture as robots and machines do most of the work.
