Ever wondered why some parts are easier to reuse and repurpose than others? Over the years, we’ve observed what I think is a general rule in the way manufacturers make all kinds of parts. Let’s call it Coleman’s Law: “The more specialised a part is, the less reusable it is.”
Coleman’s Law refers to the relationship between the physical design of an item, and the ease (or difficulty) of reusing its underlying parts. Changes in a part’s design change the ability to reuse or re-purpose it in turn.
What does it mean in practice?
Let’s take a standard fan you find in computers, for example. It is a simple part that helps keep a desktop computer cool by drawing cool air in and expelling hot air out. These fans come in different standard sizes, which make them easy to transfer between desktop PCs. There are also a lot of small DIY projects that make use of computer case fans in alternative ways. That makes it a general part that is therefore easy to reuse and repurpose.
Now let’s take the chassis from a washing machine. By riveting steel sheets together over a box frame, we can disassemble it and turn them into something else. But if we use bonded steel and plastic sheets, glued together on plastic corners, it’s harder to re-purpose those materials.
In the same way, we can easily re-use a ‘standard’ stepper electric motor for various different projects. But we can’t upcycle a motor with a special design with custom control electronics as easily. An awkward mounting bracket makes re-purposing it harder still.
If one feels really bold and ambitious, they might even try repurposing an aircraft engine for a DIY project! Aircraft engines contain a lot of specialised, intricate parts that are manufactured to tight tolerances. If a part fails or gets damaged, then the whole engine could fail spectacularly!
How does this affect manufacturers?
Manufacturers have to compete in a transparent way regarding the cost of purchase. Unfortunately, most buyers don’t realise that they need to take the cost of spare parts and when they might need them into consideration. Therefore, one strategy the manufacturers adopt is to make their products loss leaders by selling them at as low a price as possible. In this way, they can then claw back some profit by selling spare parts and/or consumables.
Of course, if your device contains only ‘standard’ spare parts, then it’s easy for consumers to repair it by buying just the parts they need. And then they would have a fully working device again. But this in turn makes it easy for third parties to offer cheaper aftermarket parts, so you can’t easily claw back profit selling ‘official’ parts.
Manufacturers know that this affects the profit margins of their products. And so, they respond by using various design tricks to defend their margins. For example, making parts proprietary ensures that consumers only buy spare parts from them. They may use custom screws or non-standard mounting holes, or make custom boards specifically for certain models. Many components can be ‘tweaked’ and made non-standard to make it easier to manufacture at scale. This in turn makes things cheaper and easier to mass produce products, but more difficult to repair.
What we can do about it
And so, today’s devices contain more and more specialised parts such as fans, motors and the like. This in turn makes them harder to repair, reuse or recycle. Of course, while there are justifiable reasons for this, economic pressures and lack of knowledge and time also play a part.
But the good news is that more and more people are becoming aware of these issues. There is a growing movement of repair activists succeeding in getting right to repair laws passed around the world. More and more projects like ours are growing, as people realise that the costs of endless new devices are greater than just the price of them.
We can also do our bit to fight planned obsolescence. Finding new ways to reuse everyday items helps reduce the amount of waste we produce. We also want to push towards re-thinking how we make new products in the first place. One way to do this, is to explore ways to make things that use only ‘standard’ parts. In other words, aim for ‘planned endurance’ instead of planned obsolescence!
We hope to see you soon, and maybe even repair something together!
