Specific topic 7.6 Timber (processes)

Specific topic 7.6 Timber (processes)

1. 7.6.1 Cutting and shaping processes

   • Sawing
     • Sawing machines are used to prepare timber quickly, with the circular saw and bandsaw being the most common. Small ones are used in a workshop to cut timber to the required size and shape. Sawmills use much larger versions to cut whole tree trunks into planks. Cutting thicker timber on a bandsaw may result in edges not being square. A bandsaw: the blade is one long band with teeth that can make straight and curved cuts in timber. What’s wrong in this photo?
   • Bag press
     • A bag press is a bag that can be sealed and have the air sucked out of it. A mould and laminates are put inside it. When the air is sucked out of the bag, the laminates are forced into the mould, and are held there while the glue dries. Presses equally on all surface areas but may not work with thicker laminates.
   • Routing
     • A router contains a rotating cutter. It can be used with lots of different-shaped cutters. It can be used to make a straight slot in wood, it can be used with a jig to cut shapes or it can be used with a bearing-guided cutter to profile the edge. Routing can also be carried out with a computer-controlled router/milling machine. It removes material quickly and there are a wide range of cutters available. Large cuts may burn/blacken timber so must be used with extreme care.
   • Mortising
     • A mortiser makes a square hole. It gets its name from the mortise (slot) half of a mortise and tenon joint. The round centre of the chisel drills a round hole, and the square chisel around it cuts the corners out to make a square. Produces mortises quickly and accurately, but requires requires accurate marking out and care to get the exact size mortise required.

2. 7.6.2 Scale of production

   • One-off
     • A product that is made only one time, something that maybe there is a company that makes personalised cards and you order one that would be a one off item.
   • Continuous
   • Batch
     • Something that is made in a large quantity all at once then doesn't be made again till more are needed.
   • Mass production
     • Something that is mass produced is something that is made a lot of and is sold in stores or online in large quantities, so things like major companies such as cadbury make a lot of and they are sold in stores.

3. 7.6.3 Quality production

   • Marking-out methods
   • Jigs
   • Efficient cutting to minimise waste
   • Working within tolerance
   • Quality control
   • Fixtures
   • Patterns
   • Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM)
   • Sub-assembly
   • Templates