Closed-loop systems using regular plastic return containers are already fairly common, especially in the automotive industry. With containers like Schaefer's NewStac, these systems can even speed up assembly. (Source: Schaefer Systems International)
Ann, another advantage of this type of reuse is that the containers are consistent over time. In the many round trips obtinaed from each container, you are getting a piece that is known to work in your production environment. If you were having to replace disposable containers all the time, you might not end up with a product that is exactly the same. This can eaisly happen when a supplier of containers is swithced or an existing supplier makes a change.
Thanks, Lou, that's a good point about consistency of packaging in the plastic return containers. What surprised me is that they can actually be designed to help production line workers be more productive.
Sorry - I couldn't resist the headline. This is a good example of product lifecycle thinking, something that we could use more of. I'm reminded of a story attributed to Henry Ford in which he specified an elaborate and expensive crate for shipping car engines. Most engine manufacturers no-bid the project due to the cost. Henry got the last laugh, though when these elaborately constructed crates were dismantled to become the floorboards for his Model T cars. It seems that "no waste" packaging was a concept pioneered by the automotive industry.
Actually, no-waste packaging is a lot older than the industrial age. Banana leaves and other large pieces of fibrous plant material can be used as a (nonedible) wrap or plate for cooked food and then wrap more food to cook it. And there are many more examples from pre-industrial times.
Ann, you are right. I know in my childhood age, we used to have banana leaves for serving food at home and for packing food to school/colleges. Still as a part of tradition we used to have feast in Banana leaves during functions and festival seasons like Christmas, Easter etc.
Having worked as a teir one supplier to Ford and GM for over 25 years, they have been doing this for quite some time. One side note is that sometimes the returnable dunnage becomes obsolete. This is either the product that is shipped in the returnable is obsolete and no longer used or the returnable size is obsoleted (this meaning that the assembly line has revised workspaces and the returnable does not fit the new configuration). Most of the time, we as suppliers had to purchase the returnable packaging and then amortize the cost into the part price. Some suppliers simply do not want to take on that cost.
When the returnable is obsolete, recycling is hit or miss. Ideally, these are thermoplastic containers that are 100% recyclable. Reality is that they are usually covered in labels, or have metal attachements for drop down openings (used to enhance the assembly function). These tend to sit on the suppliers backlot in large stacks (in fact we have three large stacks). As a result the recycling companies do not want to disassemble and/or pay the shipping costs. This is getting better as recycling is cost effective, but still not enough.
One other side note, some of these bins work great to organize stuff at home in the garage!
GTO - You are correct - many times, the accessories added to the plastic containers can cause a problem when recycling, requiring removal of said components before grinding.
In Schaefer's designs, we addressed this by eliminating dissimilar materials so that a whole box can be placed in the grinder with no added handling. We replaced the steel rods usually used in hinged lids with plastic hinge clips, metal rivets with plastic push pins, designed our collapsible containers to lower the loads on the pivot pins so that we could use PP pins, not nylon, and make our add-on cardholders out of the same material as the boxes they attach to.
Labeling protocol has also improved and for the most part, eliminates the high number of labels that get permanently affixed to the plastic tote. One approach is to use a placard - it is a shiny surfaced 4x6 label that sticks to the box permanently - all tracking labels are placed on it and easily removed at the end of the delivery loop. The placard substrate causes no problems when ground up.
Clinton, thanks for chiming in. I didn't realize Schaefer's containers were also Designed for Recycling, another topic of interest to Design News and its readers.
Returnable/reusable containers are typically more durable than disposable containers. While the up front cost may be more the overall cost of the returnable containers can be less than disposables. The containers can be custom designed for each application as well. A company near me has been doing this for quite a while. Take a look at PolyFlex Products: http://www.polyflexpro.com/index.html
New versions of BASF's Ecovio line are both compostable and designed for either injection molding or thermoforming. These combinations are becoming more common for the single-use bioplastics used in food service and food packaging applications, but are still not widely available.
The 100-percent solar-powered Solar Impulse plane flies on a piloted, cross-country flight this summer over the US as a prelude to the longer, round-the-world flight by its successor aircraft planned for 2015.
GE Aviation expects to chop off about 25 percent of the total 3D printing time of metallic production components for its LEAP Turbofan engine, using in-process inspection. That's pretty amazing, considering how slow additive manufacturing (AM) build times usually are.
A $1,500, hand-operated, bench-model, plastic injection machine crowdsource-funded via Kickstarter can be used to mold small, quality, plastic parts inexpensively, on demand.
The federal government is launching competitions to kickstart three more manufacturing innovation institutes, including one focused on Lightweight and Modern Metals Manufacturing Innovation.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
3 
