Today in class we participated in a different and engaging activity. We were presented with a Breville appliance in groups of 10 (my group got a blender), and we had to disassemble it and analyse our tear down. When we received the product, it was very easy to take apart due to the obvious screws and bolts. However, when we tried to take it apart further, we realised it wasn't so easy, and it actually required more than simple hand tools. In the end to take apart the rotating blades from the jug, we had to insert it into a vice and use power tools to break it apart. They definitely manufactured that to be sturdy! Below are a couple of pictures of us in the process of breaking the blender down:
By the end, we had completely separated the parts of the blender (and even parts of the motor!). It was astounding to see just how many components was in a simple every day appliance we own at home. When that was complete, we had to identify the material of each part, and enter that into Greenfly. Greenfly then helped us calculate the life cycle analysis from raw material, to it's end waste.
Overall i thought the activity was a valuable learning experience, especially since we had a Breville representative from the industry talk to us and explain certain components. I really enjoyed it and i think my team worked together very well!
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