For anyone curious about the nuts and bolts of human ingenuity, How Things Are Made is a fascinating exploration of the process behind the manufacture of everyday items. What are bulletproof vests made of' How do manufacturers get lipstick into the tube' How many layers are there in an iPhone screen' The answers to these questions and so much more fascinating information can be found in How Things Are Made, a behind-the-scenes look at the production everyday objects of all kinds, from guitars, sunscreen, and seismographs to running shoes, jet engines, and chocolate. Thoroughly revised and redesigned from the best-selling 1995 edition, How Things Are Made also contains three new entries by author Andrew Terranova. However, each page still contains informative step-by-step text along with detailed but easy-to-follow illustrations, diagrams, and sidebars to tell the stories behind the things we sometimes take for granted. For example, did you know that Edison didn't really invent the light bulb' Or that the first bar code was on a pack of Wrigley's Spearmint gum' Or that a maple seed inspired the design for the helicopter' Discover these fascinating anecdotes and much more in How Things Are Made.

Activities are organised around themes developed by the book of same title.

How was this made? Children have always wanted to know the answer to this question--and this fun and eye-catching book provides answers. With six large gatefolds and 26 booklets, it's chock-full of fun facts that take kids through the life cycle of everyday objects like t-shirts, books, bread, chairs, and glassware. Young and inquiring minds will be fascinated, educated, and entertained for hours!

CDs start out as sand. Blackboard chalk comes from tiny sea creatures. The objects all around us --- every single product in the world --- is made from elements found in nature. Discover how nature is transformed into more than 60 things we eat, drink, play with, wear or use every day. Technology changes constantly, but the stages raw materials go through to become finished objects remain much the same. On every page of this big book, these processes are described and illustrated step by step. The text and artwork combine playfulness with encyclopedic attention to detail. This unique and fascinating book will inform and entertain every step of the way. Includes a glossary, index and further resources to help children, parents and teachers.

How Things are Made explores how the internet works, money is produced, computer games are created, cars are built, electricity is generated and homes are constructed through fold-out maps and booklets.

The story of how one man cut down a single tree to see how many things could be made from it. Out of all the trees in the world, the ash is most closely bound up with who we are: the tree we have made the greatest and most varied use of over the course of human history. One frigid winter morning, Robert Penn lovingly selected an ash tree and cut it down. He wanted to see how many beautiful, handmade objects could be made from it. Thus begins an adventure of craftsmanship and discovery. Penn visits the shops of modern-day woodworkers—whose expertise has been handed down through generations—and finds that ancient woodworking techniques are far from dead. He introduces artisans who create a flawless axe handle, a rugged and true wagon wheel, a deadly bow and arrow, an Olympic-grade toboggan, and many other handmade objects using their knowledge of ash’s unique properties. Penn connects our daily lives back to the natural woodlands that once dominated our landscapes. Throughout his travels—from his home in Wales, across Europe, and America—Penn makes a case for the continued and better use of the ash tree as a sustainable resource and reveals some of the dire threats to our ash trees. The emerald ash borer, a voracious and destructive beetle, has killed tens of millions of ash trees across North America since 2002. Unless we are prepared to act now and better value our trees, Penn argues, the ash tree and its many magnificent contributions to mankind will become a thing of the past. This exuberant tale of nature, human ingenuity, and the pleasure of making things by hand chronicles how the urge to understand and appreciate trees still runs through us all like grain through wood.

Manufacturing and Design presents a fresh view on the world of industrial production: thinking in terms of both abstraction levels and trade-offs. The book invites its readers to distinguish between what is possible in principle for a certain process (as determined by physical law); what is possible in practice (the production method as determined by industrial state-of-the-art); and what is possible for a certain supplier (as determined by its production equipment). Specific processes considered here include metal forging, extrusion, and casting; plastic injection molding and thermoforming; additive manufacturing; joining; recycling; and more. By tackling the field of manufacturing processes from this new angle, this book makes the most out of a reader's limited time. It gives the knowledge needed to not only create well-producible designs, but also to understand supplier needs in order to find the optimal compromise. Apart from improving design for production, this publication raises the standards of thinking about producibility. Emphasizes the strong link between product design and choice of manufacturing process Introduces the concept of a "production triangle" to highlight tradeoffs between function, cost, and quality for different manufacturing methods Balanced sets of questions are included to stimulate the reader's thoughts Each chapter ends information on the production methods commonly associated with the principle discussed, as well as pointers for further reading Hints to chapter exercises and an appendix on long exercises with worked solutions available on the book's companion site: http://booksite.elsevier.com/9780080999227/