Sustainable Desktop Computer

Brenden Macaluso, Senior thesis project University of Houston 2007/2008

Technology makes our lives better, but…

we have a bit of a problem

Computers are disposed of becausea) have become outdatedb) failure of internal electronic component

Computes are disposable…3-5 year service life

Approx. 500 million waste computers in the U.S

Internal components contain toxic heavy metals, such as mercury, cadmium, and lead.

Computer cases are majority of physical waste

Current casing makes dismantling for recycling difficult

How do we make a more sustainable solution ?

Sustainability & Product Lifecycle

Front end:

before it gets to us

Back end:

when we’re done using it

Middle: Us

(the user)

Inve

stm

ents

Front end: before it gets to usS

tage

s

1. Material production

2. Manufacturing 3. Packaging 4. Transportation

resources

energy

labor

time

resources

energy

labor

time

resources

energy

labor

time

resources

energy

labor

time

Fat

e

Back end: when we’re done with it

Unplanned Planned

Trash Recycle Repurpose

Easy Difficult

Middle: Us (the user)

Fat

e

Unplanned Planned

Trash Recycle Repurpose

Easy Difficult

Sta

ges

Inve

stm

ents

1. Material production

2. Manufacturing 3. Packaging 4. Transportation

resources

energy

labor

time

Sustainable Solution

Front end: before it gets to us Back end: when we’re done using it

Reduce investment at each stage

Planned & easy to implement fate

Flexibility in usageA

ctio

n

How do we break a computer down

to its basic elements ?

Plastic components1. Takes little to no wear

2. Recyclable Polystyrene

3. What designers are designing

Metal components1. Little to no wear

2. Majority of computer body

3. Recyclable steel

Electronics1. Limiting lifespan factor “out

dated”

2. Toxic components

3. MUST be disposed of properly

Desktop Computer

BreakdownEverything else

Case:

150+ parts

300+ manufacturing operations

Internalized electronics:

DVD R/RW driveswireless adaptors card readers additional storage

Misc:

Cables, connectors, labels, hardware

3 main components

Motherboard w/processor & memory

Hard drive

Power supply

Design Statement

Make a sustainable computer that:

Reduces total number of materials, parts & manufacturing operations

Uses easily renewable materials & low impact manufacturing processes

Easily dismantled, recycled & allows for reuse of parts

How are we going to do it?

Minimize

Externalize

Choose

Number of case parts

Number of Manufacturing operations

Single renewable & recyclable material

Manufacturing operations w/low impact

“Optional” components (added as needed: DVD R/RW, wireless)

Minimize

Number of electronic parts

Choose

Efficient engineered “off the shelf” components (integrated parts, laptop hard drive, USB/SATA connections)

Front end

Case Electronics

Externalize optional components

MiddleFlexibility in usage

CD/DVD R/RW Wireless Additional storage

Computer 1 Computer 2

Externalize optional components

MiddleFlexibility in usage

Plug and play/easy to swap components

User customization

Components are not “mentally tied” to a particular computer and are separate, thus can be used on other machines

Maximize component & computer life separately

Recycle

Dismantle

Back end

MinimizeExternalize

Case Electronics

Physical quantity of parts discarded

Simple

reuse external components

Minimize

Number of electronic parts discarded at a time

Opportunity to easily recycle components

100%

Recycle

Concept: cardboard computer?

Plying corrugated cardboard experiment

Final Design

1 Material

2 Case components

3 Electronic components

4 Manufacturing processes

12 Die patterns

Assembly

Details…only what you need

Tear it open…

And get started!

Can be positioned vertically or horizontally

Need a component? Just plug it in a USB

Corrugation is the ventilation

Unwrap for service or to recycle

Reduce-Reuse-Recompute

Sustainable Desktop Computer