When developing products, it is more relevant than ever to think about their environmental impact. A large number of components must be taken into account. The earlier in the process the various factors are weighed up in order to resolve the conflicts of goals with the best possible compromises, the better the overall result will be. The most effective way to do this is to plan production and its automation right from the product definition stage.
Global warming is a threat to people and the environment. If we are to limit climate change and mitigate its consequences, there is no alternative to avoiding further energy-related greenhouse gas emissions.
All products have an environmental impact
Every product impacts the climate in more than one way — through direct greenhouse gas emissions during operation or from emissions from the generation and storage of the required energy. In addition, production and logistics generate additional emission equivalents. From material extraction during mining to final assembly and delivery to the supplier, all these steps generate CO2.
The climate impact of the transport chain to retailers or end customers must also be taken into account. Finally, the cost of professional disposal at the end of the product life cycle or the return into the raw material cycle needs to be factored in. All this adds up to a product’s ecological footprint.
Considering all criteria when defining a product
It is worth taking all of these criteria into account when defining the product requirements and setting them as a target for product development. At this point in the product life cycle, the leverage is enormous. In addition, at this stage, it is still possible to correct concepts without losing too much time and money.
This also increases the likelihood that there will be no delays in the development process and that the finished product will meet the market requirements from the outset. Consumers are increasingly focusing on sustainability. Taking these requirements into account in the development process is therefore a factor for economic success.
A holistic approach
For many companies, not just small ones, the most important innovation is thinking about the entire product life cycle — from generation of the initial idea, to development, production and use, including the possibility of repairs to extend service life, all the way through to disposal. It is essential to include the sustainability goals when formulating the product characteristics. This is the only way to make a facts-based assessment of the various aspects at an early stage.
It is advisable to include the CO2 footprint of the materials and preliminary products used in this definition. At first glance, such considerations increase the amount of work required at the research and development stage. However, the necessary surveys can often be carried out at a different level before the actual development and can be largely transferred to upstream suppliers.
Less is more
Manufacturing companies that want to make their product development sustainable should also follow the “less is more” principle, which was devised when raw materials were scarce and expensive. Even if this is not always reflected in the price, any material or preliminary product should be considered a scarce resource for the sake of sustainability. The process starts with considering the material consumption for mechanical components and ends with the required material properties and the quantity to be produced.
For example, a manufacturer of high-quality consumer electronics switched from a high-strength composite material to aluminium for housings. By doing so, the total energy consumption during material production, transport and processing was reduced significantly. As a result, however, the housing is no longer heat resistant. On the other hand, the total energy consumption during material production, transport and processing (die casting and post-processing) is significantly lower and the material can be melted down and reused as often as required. The example shows that when designing a product, it is advisable to consider not only the energy requirements in production.
Miniaturisation as a factor for success
In electronics, the power density and functional density of many components is constantly increasing. This allows developers to achieve the same level of functionality with fewer components, making the product smaller in the long term and thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition, more highly integrated components usually mean less material and energy usage as well as lower transport costs for initial process steps. The same applies to the finished product, where even just having a smaller housing reduces the material, processing and transport costs. In addition, there is less electronic waste to dispose of. This ensures a lower CO2 footprint throughout the product life cycle.
The big picture and many small control levers
In electronics, in particular, a lot of eco-efficiency can be achieved through small measures with up-to-date actions. The cost of cooling and shielding can be reduced by cleverly arranging active components on the circuit board or within a housing. In addition, hot spots are avoided by exposing components and making do with the next smallest fan. If heat is required elsewhere in the same device, it can be provided by an integrated heat exchanger.
With such considerations, a mechatronic view is advantageous. Measuring devices with a metal instead of plastic housing serve as heat sinks for the appropriately arranged power electronics and provide shielding. This significantly reduces the number of components to be purchased and installed, which in turn speeds up and simplifies the assembly process.
Producibility as a development goal
For product developers, these opportunities create complex conflicting goals. For example, a more climate-friendly material in terms of operation and disposal can cause considerable additional work in the production process. In order to strike a balance here, it is advisable for developers to plan the production and its automation from as early as the product definition stage.
Only in the case of very large quantities with little variance can it make sense to design a separate production or assembly line for the new product, as was customary in the automotive industry until a few years ago. In most cases, companies have to make do with their existing production facilities. To ensure a smooth and fast transition to production, it is advantageous to know exactly what the possibilities and limitations are and to take them into account when defining new products.
Adapting production and automation
At the same time, this enables the production of a product to be optimised through a series of correction loops during the design phase, thus making a significant contribution to reducing the CO2 footprint of a product. In addition, if the machinery for some production steps is modernised—for example, through newly purchased machines or adjustments in system production—the result is boosted even more.
In addition, automation gaps between unchanged production steps can be closed. Often, an automated process is associated with less energy and resource use overall, making it more eco-efficient. In addition to a smaller number of separate production steps, the optimisation of the kinetic processes is also essential.
With the technological possibilities available today, the programming work and therefore the resulting life cycle assessment result can be minimised. When using control modules with artificial intelligence, a very fast and yet very efficient start can be achieved from the outset. Fine adjustment can then be carried out in the test phase or even during ongoing productive operation, using machine learning.
By monitoring energy consumption and optimising processes, a considerable amount of energy can be saved. This allows motors and machines to start up in the best possible way, in order to use the energy required in an ideal and more efficient way. Targeted energy management can therefore help to reduce energy consumption.
Logistics as an influencing factor
As already mentioned, the transport costs for the finished product can be influenced by the developer, in part through miniaturisation. The comparison of purchases and in-house production is usually reserved for another level in the company. The choice of materials or preliminary products also affects CO2 emissions during transport.
It is a good idea, particularly for materials and preliminary products that are required in large quantities, to include the transport routes in the overall analysis. It may turn out that the EU product more than compensates for its slightly higher price with a significantly smaller CO2 footprint.
In the case of small components that often need to be procured urgently, such as for electronics, obtaining the largest possible proportion from a single source offers the advantage that the required goods can arrive by consolidated delivery in one lorry load. This usually produces significantly less greenhouse gas and particulate matter emissions than the delivery of many small parcels by courier vans. You just need a reliable partner with a wide range of products and services and the willingness to integrate non-catalogue components into an order.
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