Blog posts
Pushing the limits of sustainable PC design: Concept Luna
Glen Robson, Chief Technology Officer, Client Solutions, Dell Technologies Group
Every design decision Dell Technologies makes starts with bold ideas that spur us on not only to build great products, but also to use the power of technology to solve complex societal challenges. The climate crisis, e-waste and resource crunch are a growing concern, prompting us to think "boldly": "What will happen if we push reuse to the limit and drastically reduce the carbon footprint of our products?" ”
Our commitment to a positive impact on the environment spans decades and spans the entire company. We also set ambitious goals to accelerate circular economy development and achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions, which are now of unprecedented importance.
Product design is the key to achieving both of these goals. Driven by current circular design practices, our entire product portfolio remains at the forefront of developing a circular economy and moving towards net zero emissions. Last year alone, we introduced closed-loop aluminum materials recycled from discarded hard drives, bio-based plastics made from paper tree waste, and expanded the amount of carbon fiber recycled to more than 544 tons (1.2 million pounds). However, we don't want to stop there, we need to find new ways to pick up the pace. Last year, Dell proposed a vision of driving circular design with parallel innovation workflows, and today we're showcasing the first prototype of that vision: Concept Luna.
Concept Luna, a proof-of-concept developed by Dell Technologies in collaboration with Intel, explores a variety of revolutionary design concepts with the goal of making components inside the PC accessible, easily replaceable, and reusable, conserving resources and allowing more recycled materials to circulate in the economy. It is designed to test "possibilities", not to manufacture and sell directly. However, if all of Concept Luna's design concepts are realized, we expect the overall product carbon footprint to be reduced by 50%.
Why Concept Luna excites us so much:
Reducing the carbon footprint of our products: We looked at new ways to improve energy efficiency, power consumption and cooling, and experimented with materials with smaller carbon footprints to create more low-carbon devices.
o Motherboards are probably one of the most energy-intensive components to manufacture, and by reducing their total area by about 75% (now less than 5580 mm2) and reducing the number of components by about 20%, we estimate that the carbon footprint of motherboards can be reduced by 50%.
o We have completely reimagined the layout of all internal components – relocating the smaller motherboard to the top cover closer to the large surface area exposed to the outside and separating it from the battery charging device in the base, the combination of the two to achieve better passive heat distribution, which is expected to eliminate fans completely.
These efficient designs can significantly reduce overall power requirements, allowing PCs to be equipped with smaller batteries consisting of advanced deep-cycle battery cells that, despite their smaller size, are still large enough for everyday use.
o Aluminum chassis in the processing process with hydropower as the power, and the use of stamped aluminum structure, not only save energy, but also can greatly reduce the generation of waste.
A vision for the future of reuse, repair and re-creation: our position is simple. We need to move from a "use-first-recycle" model to a new model of "use-reuse-recycle-recycle when materials can no longer be used in their original form." This iteration of Concept Luna embodies this model, which presents a vision for the future.
o We reduced the number of screws by 90%, only needed to unscrew four screws to reach the internal components, and the time to repair (disassemble, repair and reassemble key components) was reduced by about 1.5 hours (16 times faster than today's similar products).
o The palm rest section is designed for easy service and reuse. The keyboard construction is easy to completely separate from other components, simplifying the recycling process.
o Advanced deep cycle batteries provide higher capacity and longer life cycles), increasing the number of times the battery is refurbished and reused after the first end of the product life.
o A novel bio-based printed circuit board ('PCB') made of flax fiber as the substrate and water-soluble polymer as glue. It is worth noting that flax fiber replaces the traditional plastic laminate. Even better, this water-soluble polymer can be "dissolved" – meaning metals and components can be more easily separated from the board when recycled.
Dell has been working to explore new ways to accelerate the company's environmental goals, and Concept Luna is a testament to that. Proving that "possibilities" is only the first step, the next step is to adopt these innovative sustainable design concepts and evaluate those that have the greatest potential for application across the entire product portfolio. This concept, along with future iterations and other follow-ups, shows how Dell will build on the circular economy leadership of its existing portfolio and build on it to further research, revisit and iterate every stage of the product lifecycle to create more sustainable products in the future.
(7832531)