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Maintenence
Maintenence
Some of the issues linked to repairing products are covered by the 6 R’s previously in this unit.
An important consideration is the extent to which the designer wishes to make maintenance possible and how safe this is for the consumer (see Unit 1.9 on Health and Safety).
Consumer electrical items and other products are increasingly difficult to upgrade or repair due to the complexity and compatibility of parts. A phone costing over £1000 might be rendered useless if you were able to swap out the CPU for another that didn’t work.
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) is a UK charity concerned with using resources in a more sustainable way. There has been increased interest in recent years for repair meets and drop in repair centres where people meet to learn and share how to perform repairs on products. therestartproject.org is worth looking at for more information.
Is this something you would consider doing in order to help the environment?
Is this something you would consider doing in order to help the environment?
Activity on maintenence:
In the Dyson hand-held vacuum, what aspects of it are designed to be maintained, serviced or repaired by the user?
Reveal answer:
Reveal answer:
Ease of maintenence
Ease of maintenence
Manufacturers are keen to make their products as efficiently as possible, in order to reduce their costs and minimize chances of mistakes being made that could affect the quality of the finished item. Examples could include:
using a modular approach in the design, so sub-systems are easier to track and fault find
using standardized parts and sizes across different versions
injection moulding parts rather than machining them
use of self-finishing materials to reduce need for paint finish
using redistribution techniques rather than fabrication
using adhesives rather than mechanical fasteners
reducing the materials used (see generative design in unit 1.7)
buying pre-made components from external suppliers
moulding textures and text into products rather than using labels
Design for disassembly
Design for disassembly
Linked to the concepts of maintenance, repair and recycling, disassembly involves being able to take a product apart to replace or repair parts or to recycle it at the end of its useful life.
For this to happen, the product needs to be designed to that key components or parts can be easily removed.
Again, this is a problem where manufacturers don’t want you to easily access components, but there is an argument for a product being easy to disassemble at the end of its working life.
Smart materials such as SMA can be used to fasten components together. Adhesives and other components that can break down and separate when
put into a disassembly ovens are another way of making disassembly easier.
Some pen manufacturers are now making it possible for the user to separate the parts before disposal and they claim that 98% of the pen can be recycled this way.
The BMW group has been a pioneer of ‘design for disassembly’ for many years now.
The BMW Z1 is considered to be the first car to incorporate the concepts of disassembly. The plastic exterior of the car can be removed from the metal chassis in 20 minutes. The doors, bumpers, and front, rear, and side panels have been manufactured with recyclable plastic, and pop-in/pop-out fasteners replace screws and glues, whenever possible.
Can you find your own examples of products that have been designed for disassembly? - present these on your website.
Can you find your own examples of products that have been designed for disassembly? - present these on your website.
Exam Question (35)
Exam Question (35)
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