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IB Design Technology
SL · Lesson 47 · IA Day 17 — Formal Design Drawings for a Manufacturer
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Lesson 47 · Unit 6

IA Day 17 —
Formal Design Drawings

Communicate the intended solution so a third-party manufacturer can understand dimensions, proportions, components and assembly.

80 minutesIA Criterion D · B2.1.14 · B2.2.1
Guiding question: Could a third party understand how your redesigned product is built without asking you to explain it?01
Today’s destination

By the end of class, you should be able to…

01

Select formal views

Use orthographic, assembled, exploded and other appropriate views.

02

Add manufacturing detail

Communicate dimensions, proportions, components and assembly.

03

Annotate concisely

Keep IA annotations at 10 words or fewer.

04

Build Criterion D pages

Create manufacturer-facing visual evidence.

Success check: Produce clear, criterion-aligned IA evidence during today’s studio block.
IA DAY 17 · formal communication02
Third-party manufacturer

Your drawing must work without your voice.

Criterion D is not asking for an attractive concept poster. It asks for formal design drawings that communicate the completed redesigned solution and its components accurately enough to aid manufacture and visualization.

Criterion D · manufacturer-facing drawings03
orthographic
assembled
exploded

Orthographic

Use aligned 2D views to communicate exact form and dimensions.

Assembled

Show the product in its assembled state and component relationships.

Exploded

Separate components visually so assembly order/relationships are interpretable.

Orthographic · assembled · exploded04

Dimensions

Critical sizes, locations, thicknesses, clearances and other manufacturable measurements.

Proportions

Views should communicate accurate scale and relationships among components.

Assembly

Joints, interfaces, orientation and component relationships should be clear.

A rendering is not a substitute for manufacturing information.
B2.1.14 · physical details for manufacture05
Too long

Paragraph beside a drawing

Long prose stops functioning as an annotation and may count toward the word count.

Better

Short schematical detail

Each annotation: 10 words or fewer, placed beside the relevant drawing detail.

IA feature · annotation ≤ 10 words06
Studio block

The mini-lesson is short. The evidence-making is the lesson.

60+minutes work
Build the drawing set
Orthographic + assembled + exploded views appropriate to your product.
Dimension the design
Add the measurements a manufacturer needs.
Show components + assembly
Make interfaces and proportions interpretable.
Lay out Criterion D drawing pages
Aim for clear visual hierarchy; the guide suggests roughly 1–2 images per page.
IA studio · formal drawings07
Orthographic views present
Form and key dimensions are interpretable.
D
Assembled view present
The complete product is clear.
D
Exploded view present
Components and assembly relationships are clear.
D
Dimensions / proportions / assembly
The third party is not forced to guess.
Manufacture
Criterion D · comprehensive design drawings08
Exit ticket

Before you leave…

1. Name the drawing view that communicates assembly most clearly for your product.
2. Identify the dimension a manufacturer absolutely cannot guess.
3. Find one annotation that can be shortened to 10 words or fewer.
Next lesson

IA Day 18 — Criterion D Audit & Finish

Keep the evidence chain moving: user → research → decision → test.

Curriculum alignment
IA Criterion D design drawings: formal assembled, exploded and orthographic annotated drawings—including dimensions, proportions and assembly of the solution and components—to aid communication and visualization to a third-party manufacturer; approximately one to two images per page and about four A4 pages or equivalent. B2.1.14 and B2.2.1: detailed component/assembled drawings; construct and interpret 2D drawings and 3D models including isometric, orthographic, assembly and exploded drawings.
Lesson complete9 slides
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IB Design Technology SL · Lesson 4709