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Wooden Toys
D&T Online
Submitted by: Geoff Howard
ReceptionWhole Class ProjectResistant MaterialsEngineering
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Lesson Context
An opportunity to explore small batch production and the consequent sequencing, quality control, costing, jig and tool design.

Resources Needed
Computer with Spreadsheet software;
Jelutong, Birch Ply, Pine, Dowel, non-toxic wood dyes, normal workshop facilities.

Project Brief
Design and make a wooden toy suitable for sale at a school summer fair which would make a suitable present for a 3 to 5 year old.

Design and Manufacture
List the things to take into account when designing toys for very young children.
Study examples of simple wooden toys and look at children's books to get ideas.
Work in pairs to design and make a prototype of your chosen idea making careful note of the time taken for each process.
Decide as a class which 3 or 4 designs, perhaps with modifications, will be produced
Work in groups to design and make any jigs or fixtures and manufacture a batch of the toys
Estimate the cost of materials, the cost of tools (including jigs and fixtures) and other overheads and the cost of your time to make number of toys now that you have succeeded in making one.
Use a spreadsheet to put in this information and design a spreadsheet model to show how the selling price may vary as the production quantity increases.

Expected Outcomes
At least three of the same protoype wooden toy plus the jigs, tools and fixtures needed to create them.

Image
A worked example

Additional Information
Consider also how the toys will be packaged. Computers can be used to produce suitable packaging nets by plotting directly on to card and colour printing a label to fit.

MS Word file of pupil hand-out

Link URL: http://www.dtonline.org