Design for repairability

A lot of companies have or are developing goals to make the production and use of products more sustainable. Not an easy task, as there are many ways to reach those goals.

One approach is to reduce waste by making products better repairable. We’ve all had that one product were just a small part broke, which made the function of the whole product completely useless. Ordering a spare part is in most cases not possible and sending a product back for repairment is often too expensive, which results in a simple refund of the purchase price. The product itself ends up as waste.

At BPO we’ve encountered a case where the small hinged flap of the Philips Alessi citrus press broke, with the consequence that the juice did not pour neatly into a cup anymore. The hinged flap was the most fragile part of the press and the lack of it made the whole product unusable. To repair the citrus press, we 3D -printed a spare part that was identical in shape to the flap.

Our solution for repairability in general is to include the development of spare parts directly in the design process. By doing so, producing ‘on-demand’ and installing spare parts is much easier and more cost-friendly. This way we can reduce product waste, one repairment at a time.

Do you need help with reaching sustainability goals? Email us at info@bpo.nl