Design for manufacturing, maintenance, repair and disposal Manufacture, repair, maintenance and disposal — AQA A-Level Design and Technology: Product Design
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Design for manufacturing, maintenance, repair and disposal Manufacture, repair, maintenance and disposal explained
This section asks you to design for manufacture, maintenance, repair and disposal, and fixings are central to that.
Read the full explanation
Learn to separate temporary fixings, which allow parts to be separated and reassembled, from integral fixings, which join parts permanently so separation damages or destroys the joint. Temporary examples include screws, bolts and nuts; integral examples include adhesives, rivets and welded joints. For multiple-choice questions, identify what the stem requires: easy access for repair and maintenance points towards temporary fixings, while a permanent, tamper-resistant or single-piece joint points towards integral fixings. A reliable method is to ask whether the joint can be undone without damage, then match that answer to the option describing the fixing type and its consequence for maintenance, repair or disposal.
Your focus
- Distinguish temporary fixings from integral fixings by whether the joint can be separated without damage.
- Give valid examples of each fixing type.
- Select the fixing type that best meets a stated maintenance, repair or disposal requirement.
Design for manufacturing, maintenance, repair and disposal Manufacture, repair, maintenance and disposal exam tips
Marking Points
- Defines temporary fixings as joints that can be separated and reassembled without damaging the components.
- Defines integral fixings as permanent joints that cannot be separated without damaging or destroying the joint.
- Gives valid examples, such as screws or bolts for temporary fixings and adhesives or rivets for integral fixings.
- Links the choice of fixing to maintenance and repair, recognising that temporary fixings allow access and replacement.
- Links the choice of fixing to disposal, recognising that integral fixings hinder separation of materials at end of life.
- Selects the option whose fixing type matches the access or permanence requirement stated in the stem.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Identify the key requirement in the stem, such as access for repair or permanent joining, before comparing options.
- 💡Apply the test of whether the joint can be undone without damage to eliminate options quickly.
- 💡Check that your chosen option accounts for the maintenance, repair or disposal consequence named in the question.
Common Mistakes
- Treating temporary and integral fixings as interchangeable: correct this by testing whether the joint can be undone without damage.
- Assuming integral fixings are always better because they are stronger: correct this by weighing permanence against the need for maintenance, repair and material separation at disposal.
- Ignoring the disposal clause and answering only on strength: correct this by checking how each fixing type affects separating materials at end of life.