Enhancing materials (AQA GCSE Design & Technology): Revision Note

Reinforcing materials: include: lamination, bending, folding, webbing, fabric interfacing

Why do we reinforce materials?

• Reinforcing materials means strengthening a material to improve its performance and durability. This can include:

  • Increasing material strength so it can carry heavier loads

  • Improving stiffness to prevent bending or flexing

  • Making products more durable and long-lasting

  • Preventing damage, tearing, or breaking

  • Improving a material’s shape retention, i.e. keeping its form

Reinforcing through lamination

• Lamination is the process of gluing (sometimes known as bonding) layers of material together

• By layering materials together, manufacturers can make the finished material stronger and stiffer

• An example of lamination is plywood

Reinforcing through bending

• Bending is the process of curving a material that starts straight

• By bending a material, manufacturers can improve both the stiffness and the strength of the material

• An example of bending is the curving of a metal, such as steel

Reinforcing through folding

• Folding is the process of making sharp bent edges into flat sheet materials

• By folding a material, manufacturers can reduce the weakness of a flat material and make it stiffer, without adding any new material

• An example of folding is sheet metal, which has multiple bends forming a criss-cross, which makes the sheet stronger

Reinforcing through webbing

• Webbing is the process of adding internal frames or structures to a part, which is often hollow or has thin walls

• By adding webbing, any force applied to the part will be distributed throughout its body, often preventing the part from breaking.

• With webbing behind the walls of a product, the walls become stiffer

• An example of webbing is inside injection moulded polymer casings for everyday polymer products, e.g. a plug 

Reinforcing through fabric interfacing

• Fabric interfacing is the process of adding a layer of fabric to a product to reinforce specific areas

• By adding fabric interfacing, products will become stronger with more stiffness

  • This means that they can hold their shape better

• An example of fabric interfacing is the use of additional fabric in formal shirts, which have stronger collars and cuffs