In this modern informed society in which we in the UK are fortunate to live in, you would be hard pressed not to have heard about the situation regarding the climate and destruction to the environment. Certainly as a mechanical design engineer this has been a subject looming at the forefront of my mind for some time now.
With consumers asking more and more ethical questions of packaging and parts, the answer could be said to lie with a product’s initial design. I can certainly say that recently, in our experience, we have been party to a number of conversations concerning how to design something that is more environmentally focussed.
So apart from the usual questions asked of us design engineers on the subjects of financial, budgetary and time constraints, there are now quite rightly, extra technical challenges being put on us to consider the overall effect of new product development on the planet. These considerations encompass whether we really need to include a component or if we can design, or redesign, a product without having so many parts. Or when possible, as this isn’t always straightforward, especially when designing medical devices which are subject to strict regulations, we are being asked to select climate friendly materials.
Obviously if a designer is able to lessen the components utilised then the end product manufactured will be using less raw materials and the energy used to bring a product to market will therefore be considerably reduced. There are of course scientific breakthroughs occurring all the time and many industries are working towards green engineering of industrial processes to reduce harm to the environment, and decrease pollution throughout the manufacturing process. Thus leading the way for the creation of a circular economy with a focus on recycling and little or no waste being the end goal.
