Functions in design and making

Functions employed in design and technology

Car wheel Everything that is designed and made has an overall function. It may be to carry things, to communicate at a distance, to provide security and shelter, or, even to entertain.

When designing, it is of prime importance to be absolutely certain about what the finished product is require to do, ie what its function is.

In order to achieve this overall function, it is almost inevitable that many other functions have to be performed on the way. For example, the function of a motor car may be to convey a family to the seaside but in order to do this, it needs an engine to propel it; it needs to be suspended from the axles of its wheels; it needs to be heated and cooled.

Lever arm Then, in turn, these contributory functions have their own sub-functions: the engine includes functions of fuel injection, of generating and timing the spark to ignite the fuel and of getting rid of the exhaust gases.

And so on. Rather like a Russian doll, big functions have smaller functions inside them, and they have smaller functions inside them.

They all have to be designed, made,ed and put together as a complete system. They may not all be designed by the same person, in which case a team effort is of paramount importance to ensure that everything fits and works together.

This page is not intended to be prescriptive, or all inclusive, but it may help you to clarify your own ideas and to realise that solutions have already been found to many functional needs. Look at the functions below for further guidance and illustrations of a wide range of practical methods and solutions to functional problems.

Functions in design and making

Folding tent Functions are not only what a product does in meeting its purpose. Functions are also what all the individual component parts of the product do in order that the overall purpose may be achieved. Every component part must be designed to function properly and make its contribution. Failure of a component to function may cause failure of the whole product.

This page outlines a number of such functions which may be needed in your design work.

You are invited to follow the links to examples of functions which have been executed in projects and to other pages which give you more ideas on how to design to achieve such functions. Almost invariably, there are many ways in which a function may be achieved. The designer must work out which is the best.