Exercises: Object analysis

Explain in your own words what it means to analyse a technical object, and write a specific question for each of these sections applied to a school bag: function, form, materials, manufacturing, cost, and environmental impact.

You are analyzing any technological object (for example, a chair or a bottle). The analysis has four sections and there are four jumbled questions that are used to complete them.

Analysis sections:

1. a) Function

1. b) Materials

1. c) Manufacturing

1. d) Shape

Questions:

1. What machines and processes were used to make it?

2. What size, color and structure does it have?

3. What is it for and what need does it meet?

4. What materials is it made of and where do they come from?

Tasks:

1. a) Match each section with the question that corresponds to it (for example, a-3).

1. b) Justify one of your choices with a sentence.

1. c) Suggest a fifth section that is not on the list (for example, one about what happens to the object when it is no longer used) and write the question you would give it.

The figure shows the analysis sheet of a chair divided into six sections, but one is covered.

The covered section is the one that studies where the materials come from, what waste the chair will generate at the end of its life, and the conditions under which the person who manufactured it worked. Name it, explain what is analysed in it, and write two specific questions it should answer.

Every object has a main function and several secondary functions. For a reusable bottle, distinguish its main function (containing and carrying liquid) from at least three secondary functions (measuring, insulating, identifying its owner, sealing well while moving) and explain which part of the object fulfills each one.

Classify each question into the section of analysis it belongs to (function, form, materials, manufacturing, cost, or impact): (a) can it support the weight of an adult?; (b) is it made of a single piece or multiple parts?; (c) was it mass-produced or made by hand?; (d) how much is the raw material worth?; (e) can it be dismantled for repair?; (f) what need does it meet better than other objects?

An office chair and a stool fulfill the same basic function. Explain the relationship between function and form, why such different shapes can solve the same need, and what data from the analysis (who uses it, where, for how long) explain the differences.

Complete the analysis sheet for a pen in the sections of function, form, and materials: write one sentence per section and name at least three different materials you can find in it, indicating which part each one is used for.

Explain the difference between the cost of an object (what it costs to make: materials, energy, labour, transport) and its price (what the buyer pays), and explain why two T-shirts with the same manufacturing cost can have very different prices.

Prepare the complete analysis sheet (six sections) for a wheeled shopping trolley, with at least two observations per section, and conclude with a sentence: which design decision do you think is the most appropriate and why?

Compare a disposable water bottle and a steel canteen: same function, but very different materials and manufacturing. Analyse cost per use (not per unit), waste generated in one year, and convenience, and conclude for which situations each one makes sense.

The figure shows a pair of scissors with two parts labelled with their material and a third covered.

The covered piece is the point around which the two blades pivot. Name it, explain what type of joint it forms (secures the blades while allowing them to rotate), and explain why a specific material is needed: why is it not usually made of plastic?

Functional analysis asks first "what does it have to do?" and not "what does it look like?". Apply it to the object "classroom mobile phone holder": write three functions it must fulfill ordered from essential to desirable, and explain how this list influences any subsequent design.

In an umbrella, several materials coexist: polyester fabric, metal ribs, and a plastic handle. Match each material with the property that makes it essential for its part (waterproof and foldable, rigid and lightweight, comfortable and mouldable) and explain what would happen if you swapped two of them.

Deduce how these three objects were manufactured by observing their shape and markings, and justify each deduction: a wire paperclip, a transparent plastic ruler with raised letters, and a carved wooden spoon.

The impact of an object is also social. Sports shoes are designed in one country, stitched in another, and sold in a third: write three social analysis questions you would ask yourself (working conditions, transport, profit of each party) and explain why these questions are part of technical analysis and not just ethics.

Break down the cost of a wooden table into its components: materials, energy, labour hours, tool wear, and transport. Estimate which component weighs more in a handcrafted table and in a mass-produced one, and explain the difference.

A manufacturer introduces a new school desk: 18 mm melamine-faced chipboard top, 1,2 mm oven-painted steel tube structure, lower electro-welded wire mesh tray, and push-in polyethylene end caps (glides). After three months of use in a school, three problems are detected: the edges of the desk top swell and detach due to cleaning water, the mesh tray vibrates noisily when the desk is moved, and the end caps wear out quickly, scratching the floor. Carry out the technical analysis of these failures: 1) Classify each problem within the analysis section whose foresight failed (morphological, technical-materials, or functional). 2) Justify which physical property or mechanical stress was not taken into account in each case. 3) Propose a specific technical or construction modification for each of the three elements that resolves the problem without significantly increasing the cost.

A town's festival committee is debating what type of cup to use during the festivities (estimated attendance: 8.000 people over 3 days; average of 3 drinks per person per day). A town councilor claims: "The cheapest and most eco-friendly option is to buy thin disposable polystyrene plastic cups (€0,03/unit, weight 4 g), because reusable polypropylene cups cost €0,65/unit (weight 35 g) and washing them costs €0,08 per wash." The municipal technician proposes a reusable cup system with a €1 deposit, in which each attendee keeps and refills the same cup for the 3 days (it is only washed when returned), and it is estimated that 80% of the cups are returned intact at the end. 1) Refute the councilor's statement technically and with numerical data by calculating the estimated total cost and the total mass of plastic waste generated in each option. 2) Analyze from the perspective of public safety and contextual analysis why glass is completely ruled out in this environment.

To equip a school dining hall with 200 chairs, two bids are compared: Bid A: One-piece injected polypropylene chairs. Manufacturing the injection mould costs €18 000 and each unit produced costs €6,50. They have an estimated lifespan of 6 years and cannot be repaired if they break. Bid B: Pine and plywood chairs built with dismountable mechanical joints at €38,00 a unit. They have a lifespan of 15 years and their damaged parts can be replaced with an average repair cost of €4,00 per breakdown. 1) Calculate the actual unit cost of the polypropylene chairs if only the 200 units were produced for this school and calculate starting from what number of chairs produced option A becomes cheaper in initial cost than option B. 2) From the technical analysis standpoint (cleaning/hygiene in contact with food, torsional mechanical stresses from children's use, and end-of-life of the material), justify which of the two bids is technically more suitable for the dining hall.

Analyse the following case of bad design: a hand sanitiser gel dispenser installed at the entrance of a sports centre. It consists of a vertical cylindrical container with a narrow base, a very hard top push button (stiff spring), and a horizontal nozzle that barely sticks out 1,5 cm from the container's body. Users complain that when pressing with one hand the container often tips over, that the liquid falls onto the dispenser body itself or onto the floor, and that children and people in wheelchairs cannot reach to operate it. 1) Analyse which sections of the technical analysis have failed: ergonomic/anthropometric, mechanical/functional, and morphological. 2) Explain the physical or geometric cause of each of the three described faults. 3) Draw or accurately describe a redesign that solves these problems simultaneously by incorporating at least two constructional changes and one actuation change.

A design team creates a hiking shoe for stony and wet terrain, but the prototypes fail in field tests: on descents over wet rock, athletes frequently slip; the sharp edges of stones puncture the base causing pain in the sole of the foot; and after 50 km of use, the midsole deforms plastically, remaining squashed and inelastic. 1) Analyse the specific technical function of the contact outsole, the internal protective rock plate, and the cushioning midsole. 2) For each of these three parts, indicate which mechanical property has failed (hardness, toughness, resilience/elasticity, or friction coefficient) and justify the choice of a suitable material that solves the problem. 3) Explain what design conflict always exists when selecting the hardness of the outsole polymer: why does greater grip usually imply lower wear resistance?

A company manufactures protective mobile phone cases and decides to replace virgin polycarbonate (price: €2,80/kg) with post-consumer recycled polycarbonate (price: €1,90/kg). Technical tests show that the recycled material has a 30% lower impact resistance and poorer flowability in the mould, leading to 6% defective parts compared to the usual 0,5%. To maintain the same resistance to 1,2 m drops, the technical office must increase the case thickness from 1,4 mm to 2,0 mm, which raises the mass of each part from 25 g to 36 g. 1) Calculate the raw material cost of producing 1.000 usable parts with each material, taking into account the mass increase and the percentage of discarded parts. 2) Analyse the overall environmental impact: does recycled plastic always guarantee a more sustainable solution in this case? Justify your answer considering the volume of waste and the energy consumption in transport resulting from the higher weight.

In the Technology workshop, a group built an articulated wall mount for the classroom projector. In their preliminary analysis, they only carried out the morphological analysis (dimensioned drawings) and the functional analysis (how the arm was oriented). Upon installation, three disasters occurred: the arm sagged, bending permanently under the projector's weight; the mount blocked the rear ventilation grille, causing the device to shut down due to overheating after ten minutes; and the final cost tripled the assigned budget because they machined complex parts instead of using standard sections. 1) Identify which three types of technical analysis were completely omitted and how each omission directly caused one of the disasters. 2) For each of the omitted sections, formulate two quantitative technical questions that the group should have asked themselves before cutting the first material. 3) Propose a simple experimental load test that they should have performed in the workshop before hanging the final device.

An appliance internationally awarded for its avant-garde aesthetics is an electric kettle shaped as a seamless, shiny stainless-steel cone, with the metal handle welded directly to the body, without a transparent water level gauge, and with flat, smooth touch buttons on the base. User reports following its commercial launch highlight four critical problems: 1) the handle reaches 85 °C and causes burns unless a glove is used; 2) it is impossible to know how much water it contains without opening the lid, causing it to boil dry; 3) water drips down the side when pouring because the spout does not protrude from the conical body; and 4) it cannot be operated in the dark or by visually impaired people. From the principles of formal, technical, and ergonomic analysis: a) Explain how prioritising visual appearance violated a specific technical principle in each of the four failures. b) Redesign these four aspects by proposing materials, geometry, or added elements that restore functionality and safety without losing a clean, modern aesthetic.