How much Engineering is there in A Level product design?

Hi,

I would like to become an engineer (in either Electrical, Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering) and according to my school prospectus an A Level in product design can lead to a career in Engineering but from what I've seen of the GCSE product design students it doesn't seem very relatable to engineering (I could easily be wrong please don't get angry) and I was wondering whether I should do A Levels in Physics and Product Design or go to college and do engineering.

Any guidance would be appreciated, thanks.

Hi,

I would like to become an engineer (in either Electrical, Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering) and according to my school prospectus an A Level in product design can lead to a career in Engineering but from what I've seen of the GCSE product design students it doesn't seem very relatable to engineering (I could easily be wrong please don't get angry) and I was wondering whether I should do A Levels in Physics and Product Design or go to college and do engineering.

Any guidance would be appreciated, thanks.

Im not gonna try to convince you otherwise but I study Maths, Physics and Product Design at A level.

Which subject is my hardest, Product Design by far.
There is so much to do before you have to hand in the coursework, Product design is an easy AS but a hard A2. I havent even finished the coursework yet and I only have 2 weeks left, I am so rushed and I dont have much time to study other subjects, it also takes up all of your frees.

Non the less, good luck in your decision!

What does the product design A-level syllabus include? If you don't mind me asking, what do you design?

What does the product design A-level syllabus include? If you don't mind me asking, what do you design?

like none
there is a bit about graphs and destructive/none destructive testing but that is no harder than GCSE physics imho



anything you want, for year 13 at least and within reason (i.e something that can be made in a school)

I do OCR product design, at AS we were told to focus on something simple (boring) like redesigning some sort of handle, this was an easy A
At A2 we have the choice to design literally anything we want. although it is more interesting it is incredibly hard and time consuming (obviously depending on what you make)

But its not just about the designing coursework, the exams are really stressful and time consuming, at AS I got 114/120 in my coursework but I only got a D in the exam (innovation challenge)
Overall, not gonna lie, I don't recommend the subject

Thanks for your replies. What you design something, how much detail do you go into? I.e. do you use CAD software to model it in 3D, or create production drawings? Are you expected to use technical or scientific principles to back up or verify your designs?

Thanks for your replies. What you design something, how much detail do you go into? I.e. do you use CAD software to model it in 3D, or create production drawings? Are you expected to use technical or scientific principles to back up or verify your designs?

Hi,

I would like to become an engineer (in either Electrical, Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering) and according to my school prospectus an A Level in product design can lead to a career in Engineering but from what I've seen of the GCSE product design students it doesn't seem very relatable to engineering (I could easily be wrong please don't get angry) and I was wondering whether I should do A Levels in Physics and Product Design or go to college and do engineering.

Any guidance would be appreciated, thanks.

Oh also OP i forgot to say that whilst there isn't much engineering in product design A level it does compliment those other subjects well and shows you have a more creative side



a lot of detail tbh (you keep a written portfolio throughout the project), there is 4 main stages i can think of:
-initial ideas, this takes a few months as you generate an idea based off a problem usually, for an example you identify an area that doesnt work in a product and would redesign that product for a client. you would then plan this out with sketches
-Modelling, a large stage, physical modelling using paper, board etc or sometimes MDF etc
-Manufacture, the making stages of the product, writing how you make it as you go along
-Testing and evaluation, testing your product against the initial criteria of what you wanted it to achieve and also compiling client feedback

you use 2D design which is a CAD programme if you are manufacturing your product using a CNC machine such as a laser cutter or the CNC router, at the end you also make a technical drawing on CAD which is designed to be read by a manufacturer so that theoretically you could make it in industry. Sometimes a model is also made in solid works (a 3D CAD programme) of how the product looks at the end

as for the science bit it depends on the product really, mine was focusing heavily on function this year so i did a lot of research on properties of materials etc but that would be of lesser important if you are focusing on aesthetics

hope that helped

At A2, you go into a hell of a lot of detail, you need to design the initial idea (after research and stuff) you then need to make modifications to that idea, you need tk frequently speek to the client and targrt market, you then need to make further modifications and testing, you need to use modelling techniques, drawings and CAD models throughout, you then need to make a final CAD model, mine took me about 30 hours as it is fully functional and to size. You then need to make the product (pain in the ass) and you then need to test it, client and user feed back (where I an at now) and then finally make modifications
This is a simplified version, you need to initially design many ideas, take 2 to the development stage, model both is autocad, model both in the workshop, modify both, pick one of the two, modify the chosen one again.
This is excluding all of the research and testing and analysis and stuff as well

Thanks for your replies, it sounds pretty interesting and quite useful for engineering.

Thanks for your replies, it sounds pretty interesting and quite useful for engineering.

Im not gonna try to convince you otherwise but I study Maths, Physics and Product Design at A level.

Which subject is my hardest, Product Design by far.
There is so much to do before you have to hand in the coursework, Product design is an easy AS but a hard A2. I havent even finished the coursework yet and I only have 2 weeks left, I am so rushed and I dont have much time to study other subjects, it also takes up all of your frees.

Non the less, good luck in your decision!