How much stuff ends up in landfills due to bad design?
I have a window air conditioner that developed a rattly-nonworking fan. Took it apart. The plastic blower wheel had broken at the hub. There was a spring clamp securing the hub to the shaft, but the shaft was flatted (like for a set screw). The shaft should have been full round. I suspect that the compression of the spring clamp deformed the plastic on the flat, stressing the plastic, causing failure. During my Internet search for a replacement blower wheel (none available) I found another case of the same failure. Ah well, maybe I can make a new hub out of aluminum and screw it onto the blower wheel. A luxury not everybody has available.
A couple of years ago I had another window air conditioner that stopped working. Took it apart. The nylon wire ties were mostly all broken and one had jammed in the fan. They used white nylon wire ties and they had failed due to UV embrittlement from indirect sunlight. Bad design. Replaced the wire ties with black UV resistant wire ties and all has been OK since.
And then there was that bad capacitor issue that trashed a bunch of TVs just a couple of years ago (at least I didn't get stung with that one), but that's another story.
Stupid reasons for failure.
How many of the appliances in the world end up as landfill just due to bad design?
Just ranting a little.
I have a window air conditioner that developed a rattly-nonworking fan. Took it apart. The plastic blower wheel had broken at the hub. There was a spring clamp securing the hub to the shaft, but the shaft was flatted (like for a set screw). The shaft should have been full round. I suspect that the compression of the spring clamp deformed the plastic on the flat, stressing the plastic, causing failure. During my Internet search for a replacement blower wheel (none available) I found another case of the same failure. Ah well, maybe I can make a new hub out of aluminum and screw it onto the blower wheel. A luxury not everybody has available.
A couple of years ago I had another window air conditioner that stopped working. Took it apart. The nylon wire ties were mostly all broken and one had jammed in the fan. They used white nylon wire ties and they had failed due to UV embrittlement from indirect sunlight. Bad design. Replaced the wire ties with black UV resistant wire ties and all has been OK since.
And then there was that bad capacitor issue that trashed a bunch of TVs just a couple of years ago (at least I didn't get stung with that one), but that's another story.
Stupid reasons for failure.
How many of the appliances in the world end up as landfill just due to bad design?

Just ranting a little.
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