The development of……
Centre name: The Business Academy Bexley
Centre number: 14139
Candidate Name: J.Ferreira
Candidate number: XXXXXX
Manufacturing J505
Unit 231 1A
1
Impact of modern technologies
To get full marks in this section you must:
1.
Evaluate the impact of modern technology, materials and components on the development
of your product over the years.
2.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the use of modern technology on society.
[9 marks]
See an example of this on the next page.
The example would have been awarded
8 marks
Centre name: The Business Academy Bexley
Centre number: 14139
Candidate Name: J.Ferreira
Candidate number: XXXXXX
Manufacturing J505
Unit 231 1A
2
Impact of modern technologies, smart materials and components on their
development
The walkman over the last few decades has become more compact this is partly to do with the materials and how they are used . The first
walkman, was designed to play cassette tapes which were large, and the tape could often stretch and change the sound quality, the case
was made of plastic and all components were large and bulky. The difference between the first and Walkman has since evolved becoming
smaller and more compact as a result of modern manufacturing techniques which allow for components and printed circuit boards (PCB’s)
to be made smaller. With the evolution of technology the way in which media is stored has also changed the development of the Walkman
as media is now commonly stored on flash microchips such as SD cards, USB flash drives etc this has allowed the Walkman to not only
become smaller but also become more reliable in playing music as there are no moving parts.
Benefits of using modern technology
As a result of using modern technology to influence and develop the Walkman such as using the latest technology to store
and play music has helped to make society more environmentally friendly as compact discs (CD’s) are more easily
recycled than cassette tapes and do not break or become damaged as often therefore need to be replaced less often,
however the use of flash microchips has reduced the amount of materials used by an amazing amount as music can now
be purchased digitally and transferred to these flash microchips, where in the past if you wanted to listen to different
albums you would need to have the various tapes or CD’s now a flash microchips can hold thousands or millions of
albums which can be deleted when no longer wanted.
The use of modern technology in the manufacture of Walkman's has also made it easier to mass produce this product
and as a result has made the product cheaper to manufacture, so the product is more affordable to consumers.
Disadvantages of using modern technology
With the use of modern manufacturing techniques the product has become more easily affordable and
available almost to the point where the Walkman is regarded as a throw away item this is having a
detrimental effect on the environment as people are buying a Walkman then a few months later when a
newer model is manufactured they are disregarding their Walkman for the newer model.
Also with the new production methods more and more of the manufacturing process is
becoming automated so there are less jobs available for people.
Centre name: The Business Academy Bexley
Centre number: 14139
Candidate Name: J.Ferreira
Candidate number: XXXXXX
Manufacturing J505
Unit 231 1A
3
Production details
To get full marks in this section you must:
1.
Identify the materials and components used to make each development of your product
2.
explain in detail why these materials and components have been used, and their:
Properties
Characteristics
Performance and
Cost
[9 marks]
3.
Technical terms will be used.
4.
Information will be easy to read and written with good grammar, punctuation and
spelling.
See an example of this on the next page.
The example would have been awarded
6 marks if completed.
Centre name: The Business Academy Bexley
Centre number: 14139
Candidate Name: J.Ferreira
Candidate number: XXXXXX
Manufacturing J505
Unit 231 1A
4
Head band is made from PVC as this
material is flexible, this is necessary as
the head phones need to be able to fit a
wide range of peoples heads and maybe
pulled out of shape occasionally.
Foam covers are
placed around the
speakers in the
headphones. Foam is
used as this material
is thick and airy
which provides a
comfortable cushion
like feel to the user
making the product
more comfortable to
use
Production details
Clear acrylic window is used so that
the user can see how far the media
is through the data without
removing the media from the
device, making the product more
convenient.
The walkman case is made from acrylic as
acrylic is rigid, this will ensure that the
electronics or media contained within will not
become damaged. At the time of developing this
model acrylic was a new material that was at the
height of fashion and so was quiet expensive,
now acrylic can be bought for £1.98 for a
3x400x400mm sheet. Acrylic was used
regardless of the price as this product was
developed as a luxurious item.
1970’s
walkman
1990’s walkman
The case is made of a light weight metal
such as aluminium as this is a strong and
light weight metal that is very durable.
Aluminium is also one of the cheapest
metals available and can also be easily
recycled. The air brushed metal case gives
the users the impression that the product
is a high quality and durable product.
2000’s walkman
Centre name: The Business Academy Bexley
Centre number: 14139
Candidate Name: J.Ferreira
Candidate number: XXXXXX
Manufacturing J505
Unit 231 1A
5
Manufacturing processes
To get full marks in this section you must:
1.
Explain the manufacturing process used to make each development of your product.
2.
Justify why these manufacturing processes were used.
[6 marks]
See an example of this on the next page.
The example would have been awarded
4 marks if completed.
Centre name: The Business Academy Bexley
Centre number: 14139
Candidate Name: J.Ferreira
Candidate number: XXXXXX
Manufacturing J505
Unit 231 1A
6
Manufacturing Processes
1970’s
walkman
1990’s walkman
2000’s walkman
As the case is made from metal it is most likely that
sheets of aluminium would have been purchased, this
would actually save time and money rather than
making the metal. Whilst the sheet was still flat all the
holes for head phone jacks, buttons etc would have been
cut possibly with a CAD/CAM machine such as a laser
cutter or CNC router as these give a high quality finish
and do not require human labour, or to save production
costs a die cutter may have been used as these machines
are less expensive to purchase.Then using a machine
press such as the one in the picture below the metal
pieces could be easily formed to the required shape.
Apart from the cassette door which has been connected
with the use of two small hinges and screws the other
components were most likely joined using silver
soldering. This is because silver soldering joins are
very strong and the equipment is cheaper
than welding equipment. Brazing is
unlikely to have been used
as this technique is not
very durable.
Centre name: The Business Academy Bexley
Centre number: 14139
Candidate Name: J.Ferreira
Candidate number: XXXXXX
Manufacturing J505
Unit 231 1A
7
Modify design solutions
To get full marks in this section you must:
1.
Explain in detail how your product has changed over the years and suggest other ways
you think it could change in the future.
2.
Explain in detail sustainability problems with the different versions of your product
[6 marks]
See an example of this on the next page.
The example would have been awarded
5 marks if completed
Centre name: The Business Academy Bexley
Centre number: 14139
Candidate Name: J.Ferreira
Candidate number: XXXXXX
Manufacturing J505
Unit 231 1A
8
How the design has developed
1970’s
walkman
1990’s
walkman
Design development
In 1970 the walkman was a sturdy large item, with large buttons that could easily become pressed accidently whilst in the users bag or
pocket, this issue was corrected in later models of the product with the use of a hold button which when activated would not allow any
other buttons to be pressed, and this was combined in the 1990’s walkman with smaller buttons to avoid accidental pressing when
placed in the users bag. Partly due to the nature of the technology in the 1970 that the media was stored on meant that the device
required lots of moving parts and electronic components to work all of this and the materials chosen made the product rather heavy
weighing almost 1kg when a cassette tape was inserted.
As new media storage technologies became available with the invention of the compact disc (CD) walkmans were able to become lighter
as the media storage was much lighter and required a few less moving parts this also resulted in a reduction in the amount of
electronic components required. This was also due to the more advanced techniques used to manufacture printed circuit boards as
well, this enabled electronic circuits to become smaller. However the overall product had almost tripled in size compared to the
cassette walkman and was not as commercially successful as this meant the device needed to be either in a bag or held in the users
hands. This CD walkman and many others struggled to over come the problem of being able to successfully read data from the CD
whilst the user was in motion which was rather detrimental to the original branding of the walkman as the walkman brand was
advertised that you could walk, exercise or do anything and still listen to your music.
It wasn't until the 2000’s that walkmans really became small, light weight and compact, this was a direct result of the wide spread use
of integrated circuits (IC’s) and new technology that allowed the IC to store data this enabled walkmans to be integrated into any
electrical device and meant that they could take any size or shape the designers wanted. Many of the walkmans in the 2000’s were
integrated into mobile phones as theses are already used by the majority of the population and are half the size of the walkman from
the 1970’s.
2000’s
walkman
The design of the headphones have changed a great deal over the years as well, in 1970’s the head phones were a simple set of
speakers strapped to the users head with a head band, by the 1990’s these had evolved to miniature speakers that could fit inside the
ear to reduce noise pollution and help the user enjoy better sound, but these were still cushioned with the same foam covering as the
headphones in the 1970’s which when placed inside the ear was bulky and not very ergonomically designed, unlike the headphones in
the 2000’s which had a rubber cover to help them shrink or expand to fit in almost anybody's ear comfortably and as these created
almost a vacuum effect it blocked out all noise enhancing the sound quality.
The future of the walkman
As the current internet technology is progressing and most hand held devices are able to wirelessly connect to the internet it is
my opinion that the next generation of the walkman will not take the physical form of an object but rather an online piece of
software that will allow you to remotely listen to the music on your own computer from anywhere on any device
Centre name: The Business Academy Bexley
Centre number: 14139
Candidate Name: J.Ferreira
Candidate number: XXXXXX
Manufacturing J505
Unit 231 1A
9
Sustainability issues with walkman developments
Centre name: The Business Academy Bexley
Centre number: 14139
Candidate Name: J.Ferreira
Candidate number: XXXXXX
Manufacturing J505
Unit 231 1A
10
Bibliography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walkman, accessed on 20/11/2010
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Fall05/ryals/walkman.html , accessed on 20/11/2010
http://lowendmac.com/orchard/06/sony-walkman-origin.html , accessed on 20/11/2010
http://www.muggyweld.com/video.html , accessed on 20/11/2010
http://pocketcalculatorshow.com/walkman/history.html , accessed on 20/11/2010
http://www.popcultureshock.com/walkman-turns-30-evolution-mobile-music/50062/ , accessed on
20/11/2010
Centre name: The Business Academy Bexley
Centre number: 14139
Candidate Name: J.Ferreira
Candidate number: XXXXXX
Manufacturing J505
Unit 231 1A
11