The big idea: Six factors decide a manufacturing technique: the type of part, the material, the scale of production, the production system, cost constraints, and environmental considerations.
They are not a list to recite. They are a checklist, and the answer is usually decided by two of them fighting each other.
Scale is the factor that decides most often — but it is never the only one.
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| Factor | What it rules in or out | An example of it deciding |
|---|---|---|
| Type of part | The shape: hollow, thin-walled, constant section, an internal cavity, a tight tolerance | A constant cross-section means extrusion; a seamless hollow means rotational moulding |
| Material | Whether the material can be melted, cast, bent, welded or machined at all | Timber cannot be moulded; a thermoset cannot be remelted; titanium machines slowly and expensively |
| Scale of production | Whether the tooling can be paid for | 300 parts rules out injection moulding; 300,000 rules out machining |
| Production system | What the factory already has and what its people can do | A workshop with a CNC router and no moulding machine will machine a part that a moulder would mould |
| Cost constraints | The total budget, including tooling, and the price the product must sell at | A tool costing more than the whole product's first-year revenue is not an option, whatever the per-part cost |
| Environmental considerations | Waste, energy, transport, and whether the part can be recycled afterwards | Subtractive turns bought material into swarf; forming wastes almost none; a glued assembly cannot be separated |
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| Conflict | How it is usually resolved |
|---|---|
| Scale says mould it; cost says the tool is unaffordable | Start with a cheaper process at a lower volume, prove the market, then tool up — accepting a higher cost per unit for the first year |
| Material says machine it; environment says the waste is unacceptable | Near-net-shape forming or additive manufacturing first, with machining only where the tolerance demands it |
| Part type says one moulding; production system says the factory cannot mould | Buy the moulded part in and assemble it, rather than choosing a worse process to keep the work in house |
| Cost says glue it; environment says it must come apart | Screws or released snap-fits, accepting slightly slower assembly for a product that can be repaired and recycled |
The strongest answers name the conflict: "Scale points to injection moulding, but the tooling costs more than the first year's revenue, so the trial run is vacuum formed and the moulding tool is ordered once 10,000 units have sold."
That is a manufacturing decision. A list of six factors is not.
How this is tested — discussing factors that influence the choice of manufacturing technique. It comes up two ways:
Paper 1 — multiple choice
- Identify the factor that rules out a stated process.
- Choose the dominant factor in a described situation.
Paper 2 — analysing a product
- Analyse the factors influencing a technique for a product.
- Explain how two factors conflict and how you would resolve it.
The trap: Listing all six factors with equal weight. Say which one DECIDES, and what it is fighting against.
IB-style questionAnalyse[6 marks]
A start-up needs 2,000 aluminium brackets a year for an outdoor product. Analyse the factors and recommend a technique.
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