There are two types of paper and board. Most paper is made from recycled material.
Virgin paper is made form 100% wood pulp and no recycled material.
Visit Technology Student for more information.
Virgin paper is made form 100% wood pulp and no recycled material.
Visit Technology Student for more information.
How is Paper Made?
Stage One: a tree is felled and then fed through a chipper—this breaks it down into small wood chips.
Stage Two: the chips are then boiled in water to form a thick wood pulp Stage Three: chemicals and ingredients are added (such as bonding agents and starch). The pulp is poured over a fine meshand squeezed with rollers—this pushes out the water and leaves only the cellulose fibres. The more layers of pulp the thicker the paper or card, if greater thickness is needed the paper is glued—this is called laminating. Click here to watch a quick video of this process. |
Stock Forms
Paper is available in sizes from A0 (biggest) to A6 (smallest). The most common size is A4. Each size is half the one before, eg A4 is half the size of A3.
Click here for an animation. |
Papers
Layout Paper
P: Usually 100gsm or less. Very thin in appearance. A: Used for quick sketching, useful for sketching from lightboxes due to thinness of material. |
Grid Paper
P: Usually 100gsm. Mostly white paper with colour grid lines– like maths book paper. A: For drawing accurate shapes in different views (e.g. isometric). |
Tracing Paper
P: Translucent enough to see bold lines through. A: Useful for when you need to create many drawings based on the same outline or add different layers. |
Cartridge Paper
P: Usually between 100-150gsm. Doesn’t allow much marker bleed through. Fairly strong. A: Used for general drawing—we use this for our design pages. |
Boards
Solid White Board
P: Usually top quality board, made from bleached wood pulp. A: Greetings cards or books due to its high quality finish. |
Foam Core Board
P: Two pieces of board with a PS layer between. A: Slot together models, display boards, modelling. |
Card
P: 150gsm and higher. Strong—bends and keeps form. A: Used for moving models or pop ups, packaging, business cards. |
Corrugated Card
P: Card with a triangular structure inside—this offers good strength to weight ratio. A: The structure can offer some protection from impacts so is perfect for boxes for electrical goods or postage. |
Duplex Board
P: A range of different finishes can be applied, for example food packaging would be laminated or foil coating added, or to improve aesthetics there might be metallic or holograms. A: Used for containers or food packaging (no recycled material can be used in this). |
Finishes
Paper and card can have different kinds of finishes applied to improve their properties (strength, water resistance) or aesthetics. Smart materials could also be added, such as thermochromic ink could be used to ensure things like tickets wouldn't be photocopied.
Foil Finishes
Cost: Expensive Method: The design is stamped on the material through a metal foil. This forces the foil into the surface of the material. Applications: business cards and packaging, book covers. Click this link to have a go at some foil printing yourself! |
Laminated
Cost: Expensive Method: Plastic film with adhesive layer applied to the paper or card on one or both sides, heat applies to seal the film onto the card or paper. Good for protecting products that are handled a lot Applications: gives added protection - ID cards, book covers, special print jobs. |
Embossing
Cost: Expensive Method: Requires special press tools to be made for each type of embossing. The shape is pressed into the paper or card using steel dies. Application: Gives visual and tactile effect - business cards, invitation - such as weddings and packaging (often areas of the logo or areas that should stand out). |
Tetrapak
It is a form of board that is made up of different layers must recognisably used in juice packaging.
All of the layers of Tetra Pak has a different function; 1. The first layer is a plastic coating (usually LDPE) that prevents liquid from passing into the other layers. 2. The adhesion layer bonds the plastic to the foil layer. 3.The foil layer acts as a barrier stopping oxygen, flavour and light passing through. 4. Another layer of adhesion bonds the foil to a paper layer. This paper layer can be printed on. 5. Then a further layer of plastic is added to prevent moisture from the outside sinking in and contaminating the liquid inside. |
For a diagram of how it works and more information see this site and scroll down to the bottom of the page.
Modelling Materials
In addition to the card and boards listed above here are some other materials that can be used to make models or prototypes;
Balsa Wood
Is used for detail on models and small components |
Hard Wax
Is used for making product-design and other 3D models where detail must be carved into shapes |
Plaster Bandage
With wire supports is used for 3D models that require rounded shapes. |
Polystyrene Foam
Is good for product design and solid concept models. |
Polystyrene Sheet
Is used in vacuum-forming, packaging and creating models |
Construction Kits
Are used to build models with moving parts |
Finishing Techniques
A model should represent the finished product so it needs to be finished well.
There are a range of different techniques used to give a good finish.
There are a range of different techniques used to give a good finish.
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