1.1.1 New & Emerging Technologies
D&T 2026 — 1.1 Core Knowledge & Understanding
Market pull and technology push
New products come about in two different ways. Either people want something and industry responds, or industry develops something new and finds a use for it.
Market pull — a new or improved product is developed because consumers demand it. The need comes first, and the technology is used to meet it.
Technology push — a development in technology, materials or manufacturing creates a product that consumers did not know they wanted. The technology comes first, and the market follows.
| Market pull | Technology push | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | A user need, want or complaint | A new material, component or process |
| Risk | Lower — the demand is already proven | Higher — the market may not exist yet |
| Example | Reusable water bottles, developed as consumers rejected single-use plastic | Touchscreens, which created products nobody had asked for |
Most real products are a mixture of the two. A smartphone camera improves because the technology allows it (push) and because users keep asking for better photographs (pull).
How new and emerging technologies impact industry and enterprise
New technology changes far more than the product itself — it changes how companies work, who they employ and how they compete.
Effects on industry:
- Automation and robotics raise output, consistency and quality, and take people out of dangerous jobs, but they reduce the number of manual roles and require large upfront investment.
- Changing skills — jobs shift from manual operation towards programming, maintenance and quality control, so workers need retraining.
- Flexible manufacturing — CNC and CAM equipment can be reprogrammed for a different product rather than being replaced, so factories can respond quickly to changes in demand.
- On-demand production — making products only when they are ordered reduces the cost of holding stock and cuts waste from unsold goods.
Effects on enterprise:
- Lower barriers to entry — cheap 3D printers, subscription CAD software and online manufacturing services let a very small business prototype and sell a product without owning a factory.
- Crowdfunding allows a designer to prove demand and raise money before committing to production, reducing financial risk.
- Selling direct to the consumer online removes the retailer, so smaller brands can reach a global market.
- New risks — cybersecurity, protecting intellectual property when files are shared digitally, and dependence on software and suppliers.
Computer aided design (CAD)
CAD — computer aided design: using computer software to create, model, test and modify a design before anything is manufactured.
Augmented reality
Augmented reality (AR) overlays computer-generated images onto a view of the real world, usually through a phone, tablet or headset. The real environment stays visible.
- Lets a customer place a virtual product in their own home to check size, colour and style before buying.
- Lets a designer view a full-size model of a product in a real space without building it.
- Used in manufacturing and repair to overlay assembly instructions onto the actual component a worker is holding.
Virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) replaces the real world entirely with a computer-generated environment, viewed through a headset.
- Designers and clients can walk around and through a product or building before it exists.
- Ergonomic testing can be carried out virtually — checking whether controls can be reached and seen — without a physical prototype.
- Used for safe training on dangerous or expensive machinery.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) allows CAD software to make design suggestions rather than just record the designer’s decisions.
- Generative design — the designer enters the constraints (loads, materials, size, manufacturing process) and the software produces many possible solutions, often lighter and more efficient than a human would draw.
- Optimises a shape so material is only left where it is structurally needed, which reduces weight and material use.
- Automates repetitive drawing work and checks designs for errors or manufacturing problems early.
- Raises questions about who owns an AI-generated design, and about designers becoming too reliant on the software’s judgement.
Advantages and disadvantages of CAD
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Designs can be modified and re-tested quickly without redrawing | Software and hardware are expensive to buy and update |
| Models can be tested by simulation, reducing the number of physical prototypes | Designers need significant training |
| Accurate, professional presentation to clients in 3D | Early creative ideas are often quicker and freer by hand |
| Files transfer straight to CAM machinery, reducing errors | Files can be lost, corrupted, hacked or copied |
| Cloud storage lets teams collaborate across different sites | Over-reliance can limit originality, as designers reuse existing models |
Computer aided manufacture (CAM)
CAM — computer aided manufacture: using computer-controlled machinery to manufacture a product directly from a CAD file.
Laser cutting
A focused laser beam cuts or engraves flat sheet material by burning, melting or vaporising it.
- Extremely accurate, with a very narrow cut, so parts fit together precisely and little material is wasted.
- Cuts and engraves in one operation, and needs no cutting tool to sharpen or replace.
- Suits acrylic, plywood, MDF, card, leather and textiles; will not cut thick metal on school equipment.
- Some polymers, notably PVC, must never be cut because they give off toxic fumes.
- Requires extraction, and edges of some materials are left scorched.
3D printing
Also called additive manufacturing, because the product is built up in layers rather than cut away from a block.
- Produces complex shapes, internal cavities and one-off parts that could not be moulded or machined.
- Ideal for rapid prototyping — a design can be tested physically the day it is drawn.
- Little waste, because material is only deposited where it is needed.
- Slow for large or high-volume work, and the layered structure can be weaker along the layer lines.
- Common materials include PLA and ABS filament, resin and nylon powder; metal printing is used industrially.
4D printing
4D printing is 3D printing using smart or programmable materials, so the printed object changes shape or function over time in response to a stimulus such as heat, water or light. The fourth dimension is time.
- The object is printed flat or compact and then self-assembles or transforms once triggered, which saves space in packing and transport.
- Being developed for medical stents that expand at body temperature, pipes that change diameter with flow, and self-adjusting textiles.
- Still largely experimental — materials are expensive, the range of transformations is limited, and long-term reliability is unproven.
Advantages and disadvantages of CAM
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Identical quality on every item, however many are made | High purchase, installation and maintenance costs |
| Machines can run continuously with little supervision | Reduces the number of skilled manual jobs |
| Complex shapes are repeated accurately every time | Requires trained programmers and technicians |
| Quick to switch production to a different design | A programming error is repeated across the whole batch |
| Efficient use of material reduces waste and cost | Small production runs may not justify the set-up time |