Planned obsolescence

Background

Consumer goods manufacturers frequently will not repair damaged goods and insist that their customers purchase a brand-new product.

This can be both costly to the consumer and environmentally unsustainable and damaging.

Goal

Our aim was to design and fabricate a new lower casing for an AGA cooker remote control which had accidentally been placed atop the appliance and then melted, thus making it cease functioning. The client was quoted £660 for an entirely new remote, despite the fact only a new case would be required to make it work again.

Solution

Calculating the dimensions from the damaged case, we created a 3D model.

The newly modelled case was then 3D printed using the ULTEM™ 9085 polymer in 4.5 hours. Battery contacts were reinstalled, and the remote reassembled. We delivered a fully functional replacement remote, with material costs of £12.13.