Enhancing materials (AQA GCSE Design & Technology): Revision Note
Exam code: 8552
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
Layers laid with alternating grain direction to strengthen across weak lines
An example of lamination is plywood
Worked Example
Explain the process of lamination.
[2 marks]
Answer
Lamination is where sheets of material are bonded on top of one another, [1] and a glue is applied in between each layer. [1]
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
Curving a flat material changes its cross-sectional shape, which resists being bent or flexed out of that shape far more than a flat sheet does
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
Each fold creates a ridge that increases the material's effective depth in the direction of the fold, the same principle that makes corrugated cardboard far stiffer than a single flat sheet of the same card.
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
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Remember, examiners want to know why lamination or another process makes a material 'stronger and stiffer'.
Plywood is strong because each layer is glued with its grain running in a different (alternating) direction to the layer next to it. This means the weak point along the grain of one layer is covered by the strong point across the grain of the next, so the finished board resists splitting in every direction. Naming this alternating-grain mechanism, rather than just describing gluing layers together, is what separates a full-mark answer from a vague one.
Unlock more, it's free!
Join the 100,000+ Students that ❤️ Save My Exams
the (exam) results speak for themselves:
Was this revision note helpful?
