Product Technology 3

Involves inventing/developing exciting new prototypes to address real needs and opportunities that exist within our society. Innovation is a key component going forward in most aspects of life and is the foundation of this course.

•Students work with stakeholders and outside experts to develop an innovative product prototype.

•At this level, products have to be fit for purpose technically, environmentally, and socially.
•Students self-manage their design and development process, and demonstrate advanced skills using modern workshop technologies.
•Innovation and risk-taking are encouraged in this advanced course.
•This course involves both academic and practical components
•Pathway to tertiary courses in Engineering, Design, Technology and Product Development

Click the links below to see examples of the Product Technology related courses offered at NZ and Australian universities. 

https://www.aut.ac.nz/courses/bachelor-of-design/industrial-design-major

https://www.idp.com/newzealand/search/product-design

https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/study/subjects/industrial-product-design

https://www.waikato.ac.nz/study/subjects/industrial-design

https://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/learning/programme-course/programme.cfm?prog_id=93521&major_code=PINDS

Click the link below to see example products that capture the essence of Product Technology as it operates in the industry.

https://idea-nz.com/news.html

https://removeandreplace.com/2013/09/24/53-simply-cool-products/

Here are samples of products that our year 13 boys have developed in recent years.

Samuel Lord spent his year developing a tyre changing system for local bike shops. Tubeless racing tyres have to be glued on and getting these aligned perfectly with the rims can be quite tricky and time-consuming. Sam re-purposed some breaking components and after several stages of prototyping and testing came up with this design. All components were machined and TIG welding in our school workshops.

Year 13 student Gene Hughes developed an innovative sharpening system for knives. He wanted to ensure an adjustable but consistent sharpening angle. Gene consulted with many experts and undertook many stages of modelling to achieve a result he was happy with. The mounting system and varying coarseness of the stones allow for a wide variety of different sharpening angles and a very high level of finish for almost any length of knife.

Click the link below to see many other student products developed in this subject.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1vLvDtTxw8GYytGe45bEC56W1sL64wU_jFC5eylRKBRE/edit#slide=id.p21