Pen Holder Product Design : Brief

1
Design Brief: You are to design and make a product to securely hold two pens for your desk at home.

Design Constraints: To help you design your product here are some constraints to guide you in your designing. You must
follow them but you should try to be as creative as you can within the constraints.
The pen holder must be manufactured from 2 pieces of
acrylic. One piece will be 200x70mm and the other will
be 100x70mm.
You will use a strip heater to line bend both pieces of
acrylic into your chosen shape.
You are only allowed one bend in the small piece of
acrylic.
Properties of Acrylic

The two pieces will be joined using tensol cement.

You mast have an overlap of 20mm where the two

pieces are joined.

Each pen must pass through two holes to ensure that

they do not wobble or fall out.
You can only have straight bends in the acrylic; no curves
are allowed.

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Form:

Thermoplastic: can be
heated to change its
shape.
Wide range of colours.
Can be joined easily with
tensol.

Hard

Recyclable

Pen Holder Product Design : Analysis

Function: What must the pen holder do?

To help you fully understand the

brief, analyse the problem using
the headings given. Write a short
paragraph for each.

Processes: What processes? Why?

Material: What materials? Why?

Quality: What would a

bad pen holder be like?
Now flip it!

Aesthetics: What colours, shape or form could

you use?

Extension: Can you think of your own headings to use? Use your iPad to write up your analysis and
illustrate with images.

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Pen Holder Product Design : Research & Moodboard

When designing, it helps to research similar products so that we can understand the features of a
good product that we can use in our own designing. It will also help us see bad design features that
we should try to avoid.
Research Task
On your next design sheet, analyse 2 different
designs using the same headings that are in
your design analysis on sheet 2.

Things to think about!

Why has the material been used? Is it easily
recyclable? Research this.
Use the product to test it. How easy is it to
use? Are there any problems? Explain your
answer.
What aesthetic style is it? What shape and
colours have been used? Where would this
style of product be most suited? Office /
home? Why?
What type of person would buy and use it?
Age / gender? Why?

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Pen Holder Product Design : Research

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Extension: Can you suggest a possible improvement for each design? Sketch your thoughts on the back of this sheet. Explain why the improvement is needed.

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Pen Holder Product Design : Safety

Safety Rules

Draw a gory safety poster to show

what would happen if you did not
follow one of the safety rules.

Bags and coats neatly away in their proper

place.
Aprons on.
Follow instructions.
No running in the workshop.
Wear the suitable personal protective
equipment for each piece of equipment. If in
doubt, ask.
Carry equipment and tools safely.
Tie long hair back properly.
Only use equipment that you have been
trained to use.

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Pen Holder Product Design : Initial ideas

Sketch 4 different ideas for your pen

holder. Draw a side view of each design.
Explain which is your best idea.

Extension: Can you design another 2 ideas. Use the back of the sheet.

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Pen Holder Product Design : Modelling

We will model our best design in white

card. Use a safety rule, scalpel and
cutting mat.
Analyse your design using your design
considerations.

Photograph of
model here (use
ipad to upload
photograph)

Extension: Suggest at least one improvement to your design and sketch the new design on the sheet.
Extension2: Ask someone else their thoughts on your design. Record their comments.

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Pen Holder Product Design : Manufacturing 1

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Try Square: For drawing
perpendicular lines to a face
edge. Usually used for wood
products.

Steel Rule: For measuring

and marking out dimensions
accurately.

Centre Punch: For

marking the centre position
of a hole.

Engineers Square: For

drawing perpendicular lines
to a face edge. Usually used
for metal products.

You will need to learn the

correct names of all the
marking out tools in this
project and know how to
use them correctly.

Explain why accurate marking out is important?

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Pen Holder Product Design : Manufacturing 2

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Pen Holder Product Design : Drilling

We will use the pillar drill to drill the

11mm diameter holes in the acrylic.

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Label the parts of the drill in the diagram.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
I have demonstrated that I know how to use a pillar drill
accurately and safely.

Teacher signed:

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Date:

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Pen Holder Product Design : Planning

Task

Material

Equipment

Quality

Safety

Make face edge on long

piece.

Acrylic

Sander

Check face edge is flat with a steel rule

Mark out 200mm along

edge & draw end lines

Acrylic

Pencil / steel rule / try

square

Sharp pencil / slide try square to pencil

Cut and sand to end

lines

Acrylic

Scroll saw / sander

Do not go past the marked lines

PPE / extraction / hair tied back

Make face edge on

short piece.

Acrylic

Sander

Check face edge is flat with a steel rule

PPE / extraction / hair tied back

Mark out 100mm along

edge & draw end lines

Acrylic

Pencil / steel rule / try

square

Sharp pencil / slide try square to pencil

Cut and sand to end

lines

Acrylic

Scroll saw / sander

Do not go past the marked lines

Draw file along all

edges

Acrylic

Flat file, second cut &

smooth cut

No saw marks visible

Draw file along all

edges

Acrylic

Wet and dry paper

Use oil to lubricate for a better finish

Draw file along all

edges

Acrylic

Metal polish

Blemish free edge

Mark out position of

holes

Acrylic

Centre punch / ball pien

hammer / steel rule / try
square

Accurate measuring +- 0.5mm

Drill holes

Acrylic

Pillar drill

Line up with centre punch marks.

Clamped on flat scrap wood.

Work clamped securely / ppe /

guard down / hair tied back

Clamp pieces together

and apply adhesive

Acrylic

Small clamps / tensol

cement

Pieces are lined up / check pens fir

through the holes while gluing.

Goggles on

Time

PPE / extraction / hair tied back

PPE / extraction / hair tied back

As you progress through the project, write down how long each task took and where your work differed from the plan.
Explain why the plan changed.

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Pen Holder Product Design : Manufacturing

We can use the thermoplastic property of acrylic to heat it up
along a very narrow band, using a strip heater. Where the acrylic
has been heated it becomes soft and plastic and a bend can be
placed in the material. When the acrylic cools down, it hardens
and stays in the desired shape.

Homework: Go to
http://www.technologystudent.com/joints/desk17.htm and read
the notes on how to use a strip heater, then go to
http://www.technologystudent.com/equip1/stques1.htm and print
off the downloadable worksheet. Complete the worksheet and
bring to your next lesson.

Extension Task: Design an acrylic mobile phone holder using only

one piece of folded acrylic. You can cut holes in it first.

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We can use a jig or

former to hold the
acrylic in the desired
shape while it cools.
This ensures that it is
the correct shape.

I have demonstrated that I know how to use a strip heater

accurately and safely.

Teacher signed:

Date:

Form:

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Pen Holder Product Design : Evaluation

Photograph of finished
product here here (use ipad to
upload photograph)

Evaluate your design against your

original analysis criteria. Explain how
you know whether your design succeeds
or fails. Explain what you found out
when testing your product.

Results from testing

Aesthetics

Safety
Function

Quality

Extension: Suggest at least one improvement to your design and sketch the new design on the sheet.
Extension2: Ask someone else their thoughts on your design. Record their comments.

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Pen Holder Product Design : Oblique Drawing

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Pen Holder Product Design : Plastics 1

Modern engineering plastics are made from oil, but the term plastic means any material that can be
moulded into a shape. There are thousands of different types of plastics, all with different properties.
There are 2 basic types of plastics. Thermoplastics and Thermosets

Thermoplastics

Can be heated and moulded

into a shape.
Can be re-heated and moulded
into a new shape.
They are recyclable.

Acrylic
Polythene (LD & HD)
PET
ABS
HIPS
PVC

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Thermosets

Once initially formed, they

cannot be re-moulded into a
new shape.
They are not recyclable.
Often used with high voltages /
electrical equipment.
Urea formaldehyde
Melamine formaldehyde
Epoxy resin

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Pen Holder Product Design : Plastics 2

At home find 2 products made from a

plastic material and complete this
research sheet.

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Name of product
Function of product

Material

Why has this material

been used?

It has been suggested that plastics are bad for the

environment. Explain why this may be the case.

Use the internet to research the

product to help you identify the
specific material its made from.

Keywords:
thermoplastic,
thermoset, property,
recyclable.

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