Pushing the boundaries of sustainable PC design thanks to the Luna Concept, is this one of the starting points for every design decision made by Dell Technologies finding ways to push not only to create great products, but also to technologies that address complex social challenges.
With growing concerns about the climate crisis, e-waste and resource constraints, the question driving the company is
“What if we could push reuse to the limit and dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of our products?”
The commitments made by Dell Technologies in this regard are those to provide a positive environmental impact spanning decades and involving the whole company, with their ambitious goals to accelerate the circular economy and achieve zero net greenhouse gas emissions, which never as much as today, have not been more mission-critical.
Product design plays an important role in achieving both of these goals, which is why Dell’s current circular design practices continue to lead the leadership in their product portfolio in pursuing these goals.
Only in the last year Dell has introduced aluminum in closed circuit from discarded hard drives, bioplastics made from tree scraps in the paper-making process have scaled their use of recycled carbon fiber to over 1.2 million pounds, however they need to find new keys to open new doors to get there faster.
Last year they shared their vision for a parallel innovation workflow to accelerate circular design and share today the first prototype of these efforts: Moon concept.
A proof-of-concept developed in collaboration with Intel, Moon concept explores revolutionary design ideas to make components instantly accessible, replaceable and reusable, reducing resource use and keeping materials even more circular in the economy.
Has been created to test what might be possible, not to be produced and sold, however if all the design ideas in Concept Luna were realized, we might expect to see a an estimated 50% reduction in the overall carbon footprint of the product.
The cornerstones of Dell’s Luna Concept
As I said, the Luna Concept aims to reduce the carbon footprint derived from products, this after examining brand new ways to increase energy efficiency, provide better power and cooling and we have experimented with materials with a lower carbon footprint. to help deliver a more decarbonised device.
Motherboards can be one of the most energy-intensive components to produce: reducing its total area by approximately 75% (now less than 5,580 mm2) 2 and the number of components by approximately 20%, 3 we estimate that the carbon footprint of the motherboard could be reduced by 50%.
We’ve completely reconsidered the layout of all internal components – relocating that smaller motherboard on the top cover brings it closer to a larger surface exposed to cooler outside air. This, combined with the separation from the battery charging unit in the base, leads to better distribution of passive heat and could totally eliminate the need for a fan.
These efficiencies could significantly reduce overall power requirements, giving way to a smaller battery with advanced deep cycle cells that is still powerful enough for everyday use.
An aluminum frame machined using hydroelectricity and using a stamped aluminum frame requires less energy and produces minimal waste.
A future vision of reuse, repair and recreation – our position is simple. We need to go from use, then recycle: use, reuse multiple times and then recycle when the material is no longer usable in its original form. This iteration of Concept Luna does just that. Show a vision for what it could be.
We have reduced the number of screws required to access internal components for repair or reuse from hundreds to just four, reducing the time for repairs (to disassemble, repair and reassemble key components) by approximately 1.5 hours.
The palm rest assembly is intentionally designed to facilitate repair and reuse. The keyboard mechanisms allow for simple and clean separation from other components and simplify recycling.
The advanced deep cycle cell battery provides a sustained charge that can be held for many years of use, increasing renewal and reuse beyond the first life of the product it serves.
A new bio-based printed circuit board (PCB) is made with flax fiber in the base and water-soluble polymer as glue.
What is noteworthy here is that flax fiber replaces traditional plastic laminates. And even better, the water-soluble polymer can dissolve, which means recyclers can more easily separate metals and components from boards.
Concept Luna is a strong example of how we are exploring new ways to dramatically accelerate progress towards our goals. Demonstrating what might be possible is only the first step, the next is to take these innovative sustainable design ideas and evaluate which ones have the greatest potential for scalability in our product portfolio.
This concept, and future iterations and others that will follow, are how we will build on the existing circular economy leadership that you see today in our product portfolio to examine, review and reconsider each stage of the product lifecycle, to deliver even more sustainable products in the future.
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