Week 6
This blog: Reflection & Our Idea (Self Cooker) Product Life Cycle
In week 6, we were introduced to Product Life Cycle and Cradle to Cradle.
Product Life Cycle
There are 6 stages in the product life cycle; Raw materials, Manufacturing, Packaging, Distribution, Use and Disposal.
Stage 1: Raw materials or extractions. This stage refers to the extraction of raw materials required to produce the product.
Stage 2: Manufacturing and production. This is the stage where the raw materials collected are made into the product.
Stage 3: Packaging. Once the product has been made, some of which has sent overseas either by plane or ship. The products will be packed into boxes and wrapped in plastic films. If the product is fragile. newspapers or bubble wraps are also included in the box.
Stage 4: Distribution. Once the product has been packed, it is now ready to be sent overseas.
Stage 5: Use. This is the period in which the product made is being used.
Stage 6: Disposal. After the product cannot be used anymore, we have to dispose the product. Ways of disposal includes Reusing, Recycling or disposing in landfills.
For a complete life cycle, we have to use Cradle to Cradle to link "Disposal" back to "Raw Materials".
Cradle To Cradle (C2C)
C2C Design is a biometric approach to the design products and systems that emulates nature's processes. The C2C design concept is a model based on nature. In C2C, waste materials in and old product becomes the 'food' for a new product. In the biological cycle of C2C, the materials are returned to the biosphere in the form of compost or other nutrients, from which new materials can be created. C2C seeks to eliminate the very concept of waste by design.
C2C design is important as it helps us to save waste. C2C is used to reduce the negative impact on the environment simply by how the product is designed. There are three principles that C2C follows. (Nutrients becomes Nutrients again, Use of renewable energies and Celebrate Diversity).
Firstly, Nutrients becomes Nutrients again means that a waste of one organism can be food for another.
Secondly, Use of renewable energies means that instead of using fossil fuels as energy, we can use energy that are renewable such as wind energy, hydroelectric energy, geothermal energy, biomass and solar energy.
Lastly, Celebrate Diversity allows for a more responsive communication when it comes to decision making on the changing conditions. Diversity makes ecosystems more responsive and resilient in changing conditions.
In conclusion, C2C is a design concept that emulates nature, i.e. none of the product goes to waste as even the "leftovers" gets put back into the life cycle of the product. In most cases, products use a cradle to grave approach which means that the raw materials gathered in the beginning of the process does not get reused once the product goes past its shelf life and is simply discarded into a landfill or incinerated. On the other hand, the C2C approach finds uses for the product even after it has served its purpose. For example, plastic products can be reused to create fuel via plastic pyrolysis. This fuel can then be used in any part of the product's life cycle be it powering the machines that extract the raw materials or the factories that assemble and package the completed product. The cradle to cradle approach is more desired as it essentially eliminates the need to handle waste as the waste is simply reused elsewhere in the product's life cycle.
Life Cycle we had made for our product: Self-Cooker.
Stage 1: Raw Materials or Extraction - Chromium and Nickel are harvested through mining. Crude oil is extracted from underground reservoirs using traditional drilling and pumping methods.
Stage 2: Manufacturing and Production –
Chromium and nickel are used to manufacture Nichrome, which is used for heating element. Chromium and nickel are first melted, and special techniques are used to control impurities and inclusions. The unique processing technique ensures consistency and high surface quality. Next, the melted chromium and nickel will be hot-rolled on a high-speed rolling mill to form rods or strips. Rolling is carried out at high speeds to prevent high temperature oxidation of materials. Wire drawing is then applied. Heavy gauge wire is drawn to size on modern high-speed drawing blocks. Lastly, the chromium-nickel mixture goes through annealing. Annealed materials will be thoroughly cleaned and coated with a suitable lubricant.
PEI is produced via the polycondensation reaction between bisphenol-A dianhydride such as tetracarboxylic dianhydride (produced from the reaction of bisphenol A and phthalic anhydride) and a diamine such as m-phenylene diamine.
to make the cover and shell for the self-cooker. Put all the manufactured parts together to a self-cooker.
PEI is produced via the polycondensation reaction between bisphenol-A dianhydride such as tetracarboxylic dianhydride (produced from the reaction of bisphenol A and phthalic anhydride) and a diamine such as m-phenylene diamine.
Stage 3: Packaging – Manufactured self-cookers are packed into boxes safely, protected with bubble wrap and sealed with gum tape or any other type of tapes. This ensures the safety of the product. These boxes are loaded into cargo ships or planes and is then sent for distribution.
Stage 4: Distribution - Once the packaged product is ready, it will be transported from the packaging site to local distributors such as stores and markets. The product is also often distributed to other countries via boat shipment or by plane. These packaged products can then be purchased by consumers for use. Apart from directly delivering to its distributors, the product may also be stored in bulk in warehouses to make future deliveries easier.
Stage 5: Use - Consumers who have bought the self-cooker is able to use it to cook any kind of food that they desire. It allows to cook food from a wide variety such as rice to noodles on its own.
Stage 6: Disposal –
1. Reuse: Give it to other people or resell at lower cost.
2. Recycle: recycle the Nichrome and Polyetherimide for other uses.
3. Disposal: products will be dumped into landfills or is incinerated.
Stage 7: Cradle to Cradle
Nutrients become Nutrients again
As nichrome has high resistance from degradation, the used nichrome can be reused by using it in another product which requires a heating element.
Polyetherimide can be recycled by pyrolysis process. The used plastic will be heated up and converted back into crude oil. The crude oil can then be used again to manufacture plastic.
Use of renewable energies
We can use geothermal energy to preheat the materials. Geothermal energy can also be used to generate electricity for the machines in the factory that require electricity. Moreover, we can also set up wind turbines and solar panels to generate electricity for the machines in the factory.
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