Buy Now

Click to order a software package

Sample Animations

Sample DMAs

Sample Exercises

Sample PDFs

 

Free crosswords for design & technology

Interactive crosswords and PDF versions.

KS3 D&T software description

KS3 Design and Technology software package  

The KS3 D&T software is a large teaching and learning resource that is suitable for both KS3 and KS4 D&T students.

To add even more design and technology theory and lots of new and D&T exercises, please look at our cost effective software bundles.

KS3 D&T: Single User Licence £40; Site Licence £80

Buy Now

     

Contents: Key Stage 3 Design and Technology

Designing Directory
  • Designing
    • Models of the design process
    • Designing
    • Designing by addition, wastage, bending, reforming, rearrangement
  • Design basics:
    • line
    • shape
    • proportion
    • use of Divine Proportion in architecture
    • symmetry
    • form
    • function
    • colour
    • texture
    • movement
  • Identifying problems and design opportunities
  • Problem solving: how to solve problems
  • Considering people's needs and values
  • Safety
  • Factor of Safety
  • Moral Issues in design and technology
  • Cultural issues in design and technology
  • Quality in design and technology
  • Quality: technical considerations
  • Quality: aesthetic considerations
  • Environmental considerations
  • Recycling
  • Sustainability
  • Designing for disassembly
  • Ergonomics and anthropometrics
  • Principles of good design
  • The design opportunity
  • Design Brief
    • open brief
    • closed brief
  • Specifications
    • design specification
    • product specification
  • Hazy impressions of a design
  • New designs: designing from natural form
  • Using existing ideas
  • Developing designs
    • design development animation
    • changing existing designs
  • Evaluating
  • Analysing
    • analysis
    • analysing a design brief
    • product analysis
  • Communicating and modelling ideas:
    • modelling ideas
    • recording ideas
    • notes and sketches
    • isometric drawing
    • 1 point perspective drawing
    • 2 point perspective drawing
    • oblique drawing
    • orthographic projection
    • parts drawing
Exercises
Research
  • What is research
  • Product analysis
  • Value analysis
  • Library search
  • Internet search
  • Experiments
  • Observation
  • Case study
  • Interviews
  • Survey
  • Role play

Quality

  • Quality in design and technology
  • Inspection
  • Quality control
  • Quality Assurance
  • Total Quality Management (TQM)
  • Quality exercises

Technical Considerations

  • Quality of timber and manufactured boards
  • Quality of metals:
    • structure, shape, finish
  • Quality of manufacturing, systems, products

Aesthetic Considerations

  • Description of aesthetics.
Planning
  • Making a list of tools, materials and activities
  • Bubble chart
  • Flow chart
  • Gantt chart
  • Parts drawing
  • Product specification
  • Cutting list
  • Safety & risk assessment
Safety
  • Workshop safety rules
  • Safety in detail:
    • Designer's safety responsibility
    • Risk assessment
    • Safety rules and defined procedures
    • Hazard warnings and instructions
    • Safe materials
    • Safe storage of materials
    • Tool safety
    • Safety features on tools
    • Safe working practices
    • Safe working area
    • Product safety
  • Risk assessment exercises
Making Metals
  • Making metals/processing metal ores:
    • iron
    • basic oxygen steel making process
    • electric arc furnace
    • secondary steel making
    • formation of slabs, bloom and billets
    • hot rolling plate mills
    • hot rolling strip mills
    • hot rolling long products
    • cold rolling and drawing
    • coating
    • aluminium
    • aluminium alloys
    • copper
    • lead
    • zinc
    • tin
    • manganese
    • molybdenum
    • strontium
    • nickel
    • platinum
    • silver
    • cadmium
    • chromium
    • titanium
    • tungsten
    • vanadium
Timber and Manufactured Boards
  • Timber and manufactured boards (animation)
  • Trees as a renewable resource
  • Processing timber logs
  • Timber conversion
  • Manufactured boards

Timber Products

  • Hardwoods and softwoods
  • Timber conversion
  • Timber defects
    • Cup shake
    • Heart shake
    • Star shake
    • Splits and shakes
    • Fungal attack
    • Woodworm (beetle attack)
    • Twisting, checks, bowing, resin sacks
    • Seasoning
    • Cutting veneer
    • plywood
    • blockboard
    • faced chipboard
    • Medium density fibreboard (MDF)
    • Solid timber boards
    • Advantages/disadvantages of timber and manufactured boards

 

Measuring and Marking out
Assembling Parts
  • Temporary fixing methods
  • Semi permanent fixing methods
  • Permanent fixing methods
    • Silver soldering & brazing (+ animation)
    • cleaning after soldering
    • pickling (+ animation)
    • soft soldering
    • tinning the soldering iron
    • using a soldering iron
    • using a blow torch
    • tinning parts to be soldered
    • joining metals by forge welding
    • joining metals by gas welding
    • joining metals by electric arc welding
    • joining metals by riveting (+ animation)
    • pop riveting
    • joining wood: gluing wood to wood
    • wood joints (animation)
    • gluing laminates to sheet materials
    • joining wood using screws
    • joining materials using adhesives 
Applying finishes
  • introduction
  • plastics
  • metals
  • painting steel
  • lacquering metals
  • galvanising and zinc plating 
  • electroplating (+ animation)
  • electroforming
  • anodising
  • patination
  • bluing
  • enamelling
  • plastic coating
  • etching (+animation)
  • abrading, filing and grinding (+ animation)
  • planishing
  • knurling
  • milling
  • Wood finishing processes
    • abrading (+ animation)
Considering People's Needs and Values
  • Market research
  • Target group
  • Identifying:
    • physical needs of target group
    • emotional needs of target group
    • intellectual needs of target group
    • sociological needs of target group
  • Using the information in design proposals
Moral, Cultural, Environmental issues
  • Moral issues:
    • the design opportunity
    • the design specification
    • the design
    • choice of manufacturing material
    • recycling materials
    • use of energy
    • the manufacturing process
    • quality
    • health and safety
    • transporting the product
    • sales
    • after sales
  • Cultural issues:
    • culture
    • cultural evidence
    • cultural diversity
    • cultural change
    • cultural identity
    • cultural tourism
    • souvenirs
  • Environmental issues:
    • designed environments
    • transport
    • industry
Recycling
  • recycling symbols
Transporting, Storing & Displaying Products
  • packaging
  • resistant materials packages
  • important features of a product package
Structures notes and animations
  • Introduction: what is a structure? 
  • Frame structures
  • Shell structures
  • Combination of frame and shell structures
  • Stone structures
  • Brick and block structures
  • Concrete structures
  • Composites
  • Loads
  • Forces:
    • compression
    • tension
    • torsion
    • shear
  • Structural sections
  • Joints in wooden structures
  • Knock-down fittings
  • Joints in metal structures
    • welding
    • soldering and brazing
    • riveting
    • nuts, bolts, screws
  • Joints in plastic structures
  • Physical and chemical properties, and characteristics of materials used in structures
  • Support and reinforcement of structures
  • Equilibrium
  • Centre of gravity
  • Moments
  • Force diagrams
    • parallelogram of forces
    • triangle of forces
  • Testing structures
  • Interactive Exercises: exploring the qualities of structures / calculations / interpreting numeric information
  • Bridges (details opposite)

Bridges Animation

  • beam bridges
  • continuous span bridge
  • simple span bridge
  • cantilever span bridge
  • cantilever with suspended span bridge
  • Warren deck truss bridge
  • Warren (through) Truss
  • Pratt Truss (through truss)
  • Howe Truss (through truss)
  • Lattice Truss (through truss)
  • Plate girder bridge 
  • Deck beam bridge
  • Orthotropic beam bridge
  • Rigid frame (inclined legs)
  • Rigid Frame (with V- legs)
  • Stone arch bridge
  • Open spandrel deck arch bridge
  • Spandrel braced arch bridge
  • Cantilever through truss bridge
  • Trussed deck arch bridge
  • Trussed through arch bridge
  • Ribbed arch bridge
  • Suspension bridge
  • Cable stayed bridge

Graphics & Design Development Animations

  • Recording ideas and designs using notes and sketches (animation)
  • Design development animation
  • Isometric drawing animation and exercises
  • Oblique drawing animation
  • 1 point perspective drawing animation and exercises
  • 2 point perspective drawing animation and exercises
  • Parts drawing and cutting list animation
  • Orthographic projection

Evaluation Animation

Wood Joints Animation
  • The reason that wood joints are used
  • Butt joint
  • Lapped joint
  • Tongue and grooved joint
  • Finger joint / comb joint
  • Dovetail joint
  • Lapped dovetail joint
  • Housing joint
  • Corner bridle joint
  • Through mortice and tenon joint
  • Stopped mortice and tenon joint
  • "T" halving joint
  • Bare faced tenon joint
  • Dowelled joint
  • Cross halving joint
  • "T" bridle joint

Measuring Tools Animations

  • steel rule
  • micrometer
  • digital micrometer
  • vernier caliper
  • height gauge
  • depth gauge
  • micrometer depth gauge
  • internal caliper
  • external caliper
  • combination set
  • dial gauge 
  • screw pitch gauge
  • feeler gauge
  • limit plug gauges (GO / NOGO gauges)
  • limit ring gauge
  • snap gauge
  • drill gauge
  • radius gauge
  • protractor
  • spirit level
  • electronic devices 
Marking Out Tools Animations
  • pens and pencils
  • scriber
  • marking knife
  • engineer's square
  • woodworker's try square
  • dividers trammel
  • odd leg calipers
  • marking gauge 
  • cutting gauge
  • mortice gauge
  • centre punch
  • dot punch
  • mitre square
  • centre square
  • sliding bevel
  • bradawl
  • surface gauge
  • straight edge
  • vee block
  • angle plate
  • templates
  • surface plate
Hand Tools Animations

The hand tools animation consists of:

  • planes:
    • jointer plane
    • jack plane
    • smoothing plane
    • bench plane sizes
    • plane parts
    • sharpening angles for plane cutting irons
    • grinding and honing
    • frog angles
    • rebate plane
      • marking out a rebate
      • planing a rebate
    • shoulder plane
    • bull nose plane
  • spokeshaves
  • wood chisels:
    • firmer chisel 
    • bevel edged chisel
    • mortice chisel
      • using a mortice chisel
    • gouge
  • cold chisel
  • tinsnips and shears
    • using tinsnips
  • saws for wood:
    • tenon saw
    • dovetail saw
    • cross cut saw
    • rip saw
    • coping saw
  • hacksaw
  • junior hacksaw
  • abra file
  • hammers and mallets:
    • engineer's ball pein hammer
    • sledge hammer
    • rubber mallet
    • plastic faced hammers
    • soft faced hammers
    • rawhide mallet
    • bossing mallet
    • raising hammer
    • planishing hammer
    • doming hammer
    • cross pein hammer
    • claw hammer
    • woodworker's mallet
  • files:
    • description
    • roughness of cut
    • hand file
    • flat file
    • half round file
    • round file
    • square file
    • three square file
    • knife file
    • needle files
    • Swiss wax files
  • drills:
    • brace and bit
    • how to use a brace and bit
    • twist drills
    • countersink
      • riveting with countersunk head rivets
    • hand drill / wheel brace
  • Taps and dies:
    • taps and tap wrench
    • tapping a thread
    • die and diestock
    • cutting an external thread
    • drunken threads.

Machine Tools Animations

The machine tool animations illustrate: 

  • CNC:
    • description of computer numerical control
    • links between CAD, CAM and computer control
    • main difference between manual and CNC machines
    • 5 axis CNC miller
    • CNC lathe
  • buffer:
    • using a buffer
    • pickling
    • etching
  • sanding machines
    • disc sander
    • orbital sander
    • belt sander
    • reciprocating sander
    • spindle sander
      • abrasive papers and cloths
      • abrading
      • emery cloth
  • grinding machines:
    • bench grinder
    • surface grinder
    • angle grinder
  • drilling machines:
    • pillar drill
    • chuck key safety
    • portable power drill
    • twist drill bit
    • SDS drill bit
    • taper shank drill bit
    • grinding angles for drill bits
    • reamers
    • centre drill
    • countersinks
    • masonry drill bit
    • brad point drill bit
    • auger bits
    • flat bit
    • Forstner bit
    • counterbore and plug cutter
    • hole saw
  • vertical milling machine
  • router (power router):
    • router cutters
    • router collet
    • setting the depth of cut
    • using a power router
    • routing jig
    • router safety
  • horizontal milling machine
  • centre lathe:
    • lathe parts
    • holding work in a three jaw chuck
    • holding work in a four jaw chuck
    • turning between centres
    • facing off
    • parallel turning
    • taper turning
    • cutting tools
      • cutting tool grinding angles
  • power hacksaw
  • planer / thicknesser:
    • planing a face
    • planing an edge
    • thicknessing
  • wood saws:
    • bandsaw
      • using a bandsaw
    • circular saw
    • circular saw power tool
    • jig saw
    • fret saw:
      • parallel arm mechanism
      • parallel link arm mechanism 
      • C-arm mechanism
  • morticer:
    • using a morticer
  • wood lathe:
    • belt and pulley arrangement
    • turning between centres
    • turning on a face plate
    • scraping action
    • cutting action
    • chisels, scrapers and gouges
  • Shears:
    • bench shears
    • pneumatic guillotine
    • press tool.
Timber Products
  • Hardwoods and softwoods
  • Timber conversion
  • Timber defects
    • Cup shake
    • Heart shake
    • Star shake
    • Splits and shakes
    • Fungal attack
    • Woodworm (beetle attack)
    • Twisting, checks, bowing, resin sacks
    • Seasoning
    • Cutting veneer
    • plywood
    • blockboard
    • faced chipboard
    • Medium density fibreboard (MDF)
    • Solid timber boards
    • Advantages/disadvantages of timber and manufactured boards
Mechanisms Animations
  • types of motion
  • levers: Class 1, Class 2, Class 3, bell crank lever
  • linkages
  • pulleys and belts:
    • used to transmit motion and torque 
    • change speed of rotation
    • stepped cone pulleys
    • pulley belts used to transport products
    • pulley belts used as bandsaws
    • pulleys used for lifting and hauling
  • chain and sprocket drive
  • chain parts
  • Gears:
    • spur gears
    • gear train
    • bevel gears
    • worm gear
    • rack and pinion
  • cams, rotary and linear, cam followers
  • ratchet and pawl
  • crank mechanisms
  • crank and slider
  • application of screw mechanisms:
    • for clamping
    • to control movement
    • for lifting
  • ball screws
  • couplings
    • flanged
    • split
    • flexible
    • universal joint
  • friction used to oppose motion:
    • brakes
    • clamps
    • grips / knurling
  • reducing friction by the use of lubricants and bearings
  • lubrication
  • bearings:
    • bush
    • ball bearing
    • roller bearing
  • mechanisms used on a bicycle.

Plastics Notes and Animations (in KS3 D&T)

View details of the new Plastics Module

  • description of "plastic"
  • the main ingredients of most plastics
  • thermoplastics
  • thermosets
  • thermoforming:
    • line bending
    • vacuum forming
      • commonly used materials
    • plug & yoke
  • expanded polystyrene (EPS)
  • structural foam
    • commonly used materials
  • rotational moulding
    • commonly used materials
  • injection moulding
    • commonly used materials
  • gas assisted injection moulding
  • injection blow moulding
  • extrusion blow moulding
    • commonly used materials
  • inserts in plastic mouldings
  • blown film
  • thermosets
  • resins
  • hand lay-up of glass reinforced plastic (GRP)
  • sprayed polyester resin and reinforcing material
  • resin transfer moulding
  • pultrusion process
  • injection moulding
  • compression moulding:
    • dough moulding compound (DMC)
    • sheet moulding compound (SMC)
  • commonly used abbreviations of the names of polymers.
Riveting
  • Rivet types
  • Riveting with countersunk head rivets
  • Riveting with snap head rivets
  • Pop rivets
Also includes animations of:   Casting pewter, Soldering and brazing, Electric arc welding, Beaten metalwork: making a copper dish.

Order now

Click here to order the KS3 D&T software, one of our other software packages or economical software bundles.

Download links will be emailed to you/your school within 24 hours of receipt of your order.

Key Stage 3 Design and Technology

Minimum System Requirements
Disk space: 120MB
Platform: PC.
For Apple Macs, use the CD version of the software
Minimum screen resolution: 800 x 600
OS Compatibility: Microsoft Windows 2000 and later
Browser: Any
Media: Download
Unzip software: Any