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Design and paper engineering

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Design and paper engineering
A fictional toy shelter needs a doorway the user can enter
Translate a fictional user's needs into testable model features.
Design and paper engineering
A materials limit belongs in the brief from the start
Treat limits as part of the problem rather than surprise penalties.
Design and paper engineering
A model route must respect the obstacle, not just reach the goal
Plan a path that respects a stated spatial constraint.
Design and paper engineering
A paper tower's base deserves as much attention as its height
Compare base layouts using the same lightweight tower components.
Design and paper engineering
A prototype log should record the moment that mattered
Include setup, result and revision evidence.
Design and paper engineering
A rough prototype can answer an important question
Explain what a rough model is intended to test.
Design and paper engineering
A sign stand must work from the intended viewing positions
Test whether the message remains visible from intended places.
Design and paper engineering
A useful design brief says who needs what
Define a user, purpose and constraint before making.
Design and paper engineering
An accessible playground model needs a specific access question
Start with a specific participation need rather than adding a symbol afterward.
Design and paper engineering
An engineering sketch should communicate how the model works
Show the features needed to understand a proposed solution.
Design and paper engineering
An unfinished model can still show engineering learning
Identify what testing changed in the group's understanding.
Design and paper engineering
Assembly order can make a later join possible or impossible
Identify dependencies before joining parts.
Design and paper engineering
Bridge comparisons need the span written into the record
Keep the span fixed when evaluating alternative deck designs.
Design and paper engineering
Build the stand for the card it must actually hold
Match the support to the actual display task.
Design and paper engineering
Choose a material for its job, not a general strength ranking
Evaluate suitability against the specific use.
Design and paper engineering
Choose success criteria another group could apply
Turn a broad wish into an observable check.
Design and paper engineering
Decoration can also have a function
Describe what each feature contributes to the brief.
Design and paper engineering
Design the model's pack-down as well as its construction
Consider how a model can be taken apart safely for reuse.
Design and paper engineering
Find the component that changed during the model test
Record where performance changed instead of calling the whole design bad.
Design and paper engineering
Folded or flat paper bridge? Keep the span unchanged
Test how a specified fold changes a small model's performance.
Design and paper engineering
How much does the paper container hold under this test?
Define the model's intended contents before comparing designs.
Design and paper engineering
Leave the next maker a usable engineering handover
Make the next action clear when another child continues a model.
Design and paper engineering
Model dimensions need room for the intended action
Derive measurements from the object the model must hold.
Design and paper engineering
Paper packaging trade-offs: protection can cost material
Compare competing requirements explicitly.
Design and paper engineering
Paper tabs: compare joins with equal material allowances
Compare join designs using equal materials and a shared test.
Design and paper engineering
Peer feedback is more useful when the prototype has a question
Ask reviewers to test a stated criterion rather than rate the maker.
Design and paper engineering
Redesign one feature for a reason you can show
Connect a change to evidence from the first test.
Design and paper engineering
Save the reason for a design choice before the test
Preserve the reason for a choice so later reflection can compare it with evidence.
Design and paper engineering
The same load can behave differently when it is spread out
Compare where a safe lightweight load is placed.
Design and paper engineering
Top and side views reveal different parts of the same model
Use separate viewpoints to reveal different dimensions.
Design and paper engineering
Two solutions should differ in how they work
Compare genuinely different approaches to the same requirement.
Design and paper engineering
What changes when a cardboard frame gains a diagonal brace?
Compare a model frame before and after adding a diagonal brace.