Taking Concurrent Engineering One Step Further: Consider Recycling

Developing new plastic products is always an interesting challenge that can be approached in a variety of different ways.

The products we develop must satisfy a variety of criteria, be aesthetically pleasing, functional over the product’s service life, safe, economical and they must be manufacturable. Historically, plastics products, like many other products, have been developed using the so called “Over the Wall Approach to Design”. In many ways, it is human nature that the designers of new products want their own ideas to drive the development. In reality however, this approach to product development does not lead to the most efficient product designs, at least not in a timely manner. This series and compartmentalized approach to design, where there is limited communications between the various professionals involved in the development process, is common. Those involved in the early upstream concept stages of design, such as industrial design, establish the shapes that the engineers, tooling designers and manufacturing engineers must bring to fruition. In many cases, the part geometries established by the industrial designers and the product designers are in fact found to be difficult or impossible to manufacture once these proposed part designs reach the eyes of the tooling designer. In such a case, the tooling designer will recommend changes and a more manufacturing friendly design can be jointly developed. However, it should be noted that the x-axis in Figure 1 is time, and movement to the left along the x-axis is wasted time. Delays in new product development are almost always traced back to a lack of coordination between various parties involved in the product development process.

Figure 1

Figure 2

The solution to this all too common problem is not complicated. It is simply a matter of management philosophy. The same product development groups shown in Figure 1 must function more like a team with greatly improved communications. Conceptually, “Concurrent Engineering” as it is commonly called, is like putting all of the professionals involved in the product development process in one room, with no walls between them. When the industrial designer or the product designer propose a geometry, the manufacturing engineer or the tooling designer can weigh in immediately and bring manufacturing issues to the forefront before detailed designs are developed. This improved communications leads to more well-balanced product designs that are achieved in a much more timely manner. There are no surprises as the product develops because everyone involved in the product development process has had input into the key design decisions.

While the concept of concurrent engineering is well understood, it is not easily implemented in practice, largely for one very understandable reason. Looking back many years, there were days when very large corporations did in fact employ all of the professions involved in new product development. Some companies did employ designers, mold makers, tool builders, and did molding/manufacturing in house. In such a case, it would be relatively easy to literally put everyone involved in the same room. Such a business model is rare today. The reality today is that for the most part, corporations run lean. The use of vendors for each of these product development functions is the norm, for good or bad. The advantages of vendor-based product development are numerous in terms of economics and product quality when managed effectively. Vendors that possess capabilities closely matched to the new product can be utilized. However, from a concurrent engineering perspective, the logistics of bringing all of these people together, in the same room, so to speak, becomes an issue. In some ways, it is actually much easier to be in the same “virtual room” today thanks to the wonders of internet-based communications. However, this can only happen when project managers make sure this does happen. The single most important action is to identify all vendors involved in the project up front and ensure that the lines of communication are well established. The practice of designing products and then going out for tool bids is the ultimate example of the over the wall approach to new product development. If concurrent engineering is to be practiced, designers, by definition, must have the ability to run their ideas past tooling and manufacturing groups before their designs are finalized.

The concurrent engineering and design concepts described above are well known and well established. But perhaps we need to take this concept of concurrent engineering one step further in terms of designing new products in a more environmentally friendly manner. The products we design today, with very few exceptions, have been designed with little or no input from anyone who needs to deal with the product after it is used by the consumer. The plastic products we design and manufacture today will all have some impact on our environment after their useful service life has expired. Landfilling, incineration, composting (in the case of biodegradable or compostable plastics), reuse and recycling are all possibilities. Recycling in some way, shape, or form, is clearly an admirable goal for any new product. If we design and develop new plastics products without consulting the “recycler”, we are guilty of practicing the over-the-wall approach to design as it relates to the environment. The design of a product has a very significant impact on the recyclability of the product. It is important to note that designers do not determine if a product will in fact be recycled, but designers do have a direct impact on the “ease” of recycling a product, which does impact the likelihood of recycling.

Like concurrent engineering itself, this environmental design concept is simple; bring the recycler into the room when new products are developed, so that they can provide their insight when important design decisions are made. As with any input, the project leader may choose to take or ignore the advice, but at least an informed decision can be made with respect to potential recyclability. The primary objective of the product designer is to design a functional product economically, but if the product can also be more easily recycled, that is a plus. Even very simple design changes can have a very significant impact on the recyclability of a product. Materials of construction, ease of disassembly, coding, methods of decorating are but a few of the important areas of concern. Replacing screws and inserts on an electronics enclosure with snap fits would make the enclosure more recyclable. The recyclability should not be the sole factor in driving the design but should be taken into consideration as a factor. Likewise, if several materials were being considered for a new plastics part, and one was more recyclable than the others, that should be considered along with other material properties being considered.

The concept of involving the recycler when making major design decisions is simple, but the practice of doing so is not as easily implemented in most cases for one simple reason. The “recycler” is not always easily identified. In a limited number of cases, where the plastics recycling infrastructure is well established, it is a reasonable expectation to include the recycler as part of the product development team because the recycler is easily identified. Designers of HDPE bottles can look to trade associations and commercial recyclers for guidance without difficulty. However, the limited plastics recycling infrastructure means that designers of most plastic products, even designers who have the desire to consider the recyclers input, may not have the option to do so. As we move forward in time, the plastics recycling infrastructure will continue to develop, and the simple concept of involving the recycler in the early stages of product development will hopefully become more of a widespread reality.

Currently serving as the Department Chair at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Prof. Malloy remains an active educator and researcher in the areas of plastics product design, polymer processing, recycling of thermoplastics. UML now offers on-line graduate classes in plastics. Go to http://plastics.uml.edu.