Aesthetic durability & Repair

Each year, over 50 million tonnes of electronic waste is generated globally, with the Netherlands averaging more than 20 kg per capita (Compendium voor de Leefomgeving, 2023). The shift from a linear to a circular economy is crucial in addressing this issue, emphasizing the importance of durability and repairability in product design....

Design for behaviour change of consumers around furniture repair and upgrading

This Design for Interaction master thesis is focussed on the development of a design intervention to encourage consumer behaviour towards DIY repair and upgrading of furniture. The project was carried out in collaboration with the Behaviour Insights Team of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and Het Groene Brein.<br/><br/...

Feasibility assessment of manufacturer-controlled spare parts manufacturing using AM technology: A case-study in vacuum cleaners

This graduation project delves into the use of Additive Manufacturing (AM) to produce spare parts through a case study of vacuum cleaners. Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), including products like vacuum cleaners, challenges the European Union’s (EU) sustainability goals. In 2020 alone, the EU collected an estimated 12.4...

Weaving the Marginland City

This research is rooted in defining the marginlands of Istanbul; comprised of the city’s backstages, cracks, and fissures. It proposes an intervention along the historic margins of the city’s Land Walls, now swallowed by urban sprawl and existing as an interstitial inner-city threshold. The lands of such margins harbour an air of latency, having...

Circular kitchen appliances: Designing an induction hob fit for repair and remanufacturing

Context <br/>The amount of electronic waste keeps growing, half of which is white goods. In the meantime a transition from gas hobs to induction hobs is taking place. Induction hob have a shorter lifetime and contain more valuable materials. As a consequence, the induction hob e-waste will increase significantly. <br/><br/>To prevent a further...

Summaries of re-constituted history: Tracing the continuities in Modern Restoration

The Old Pinakothek, with its progressive concept, became a model for many 19th -century museums. Completed in 1846, by Leo von Klenze, the structure was severely damaged post-war. Its first restoration plans included a complete tear-down and a new master plan. Hans Döllgast fought for its preservation and state of history, adding a method of...

Participatory Research and Design for Repair of customers’ IKEA furniture: Prolonging the life of IKEA furniture through Creative Repair

Valuable resources are discarded on a daily basis, in the form of home furniture. Tonnes of prematurely disposed, functional and repairable furniture is often destined for landfill or incineration, with small proportions recycled. The emergent sustainability needs of the planet, and changing policies for repair of consumer products, drives the...

Ripp'd – Making it easier for users to engage in repairing their backpacks

Repair is gaining popularity over the last few years but still is under-represented in society. This project does research backpack repair, especially home repairs by users. Backpacks are generally easy to understand in their construction, as the seams and patterns are visi- ble. Still, repairing is not common because of different factors. User...

Guidelines for Designing and Making Advanced 3D Printed Replacement Parts

This thesis presents the development of guidance cards for consumers engaged in “3D Printing for Repair” (3DPfR). When being engaged in 3DPfR, consumers face multiple challenges, for example printing parts that can resist high temperatures, or making parts with fine details. The goal of this project was to develop guidelines which allow...

Repairing impacted thermoplastic composites using ultrasonic welding to restore the compressive strength

This research project investigates the potential use of ultrasonic welding as a tool to repair impact damage inside thermoplastic composites to restore the compressive strength. Compared to the already existing method, hot-pressing, ultrasonic welding could offer faster processing times, no need for dedicated tooling, smaller and lighter...

Display Repair: Battling Premature Obsolescence in Smartphones by Stimulating Repair Actions

With over 6 billion smartphones in use worldwide, high emissions and a considerable amount of e-waste, there is a need for a more sustainable approach. One such an approach is prolonging the use-times of smartphones, and for that repair should be popularised. This thesis examines how to prolong the use-time of smartphones through stimulating...

Redesigning Adria Caravans for a Circular Economy

This project started with the following assignment: redesign the Adria Action caravan to fit in a circular economy and to have less CO2 emissions. However, the outcome of this project is not a redesign of a caravan but a framework for Adria to work towards (partial) circular As an example of the functioning of this framework, a redesign of the...

iFixit Coffee Maker: How we can provide the right tools and right knowladge to improve the maintenance and repair of full automatic coffee makers within the EU

This project focuses on how we can provide consumers with the right tools and the right knowledge so that they can take care of their coffee makers. The final outcome of this project is a toolkit that includes all the necessary items for maintenance and repair and a website to help consumers through the fault diagnosis process (i.e. help them...

Gear Repair using Laser Metal Deposition

The urge for more sustainable and cost-efficient repair methods for damaged parts is growing every day. On the other hand, laser metal deposition (LMD) is gaining momentum. This flexible technique, where material is added in a layer-by-layer fashion with a minimal heat input offers solutions for a wide range of production and repair purposes....

Enhancing 3D printing for repair: Designing a system that enhances the collaboration between repairers and makers

This project focuses on enhancing the accessibility of 3D printing for repairers by designing a system in which repairers can collaborate with makers. Repair has become rare in societies with an abundance of cheap goods. However in recent years repair is making a gradual comeback in western culture. Citizen repair initiatives such as Repair...

Lowering the threshold for teenagers to repair their own clothes

This report looks into the subject of sustainable teenage behavior. With the current strikes for the environment, it’s interesting to see how the younger generation wants a sustainable world, but does not act out this way. The research conducted from this problem focused on the textile industry and the shopping behavior of teenage girls, in...

Induction Welded Repairs in Carbon Fiber Thermoplastic Aircraft Structures

This master thesis research investigates the possibility to repair carbon fiber thermoplastic aircraft<br/>structures using induction welding. Carbon fiber is conductive and heats up when placed inside an<br/>alternating magnetic field. A generator, coil, and pressure frame are needed to perform induction<br/>welding. The support plates needed...

Application of 3D printing in Repair

Repair was once a common act. With increased product diversity and complexity, a scarcity and obsolescence of spare parts is making repair increasingly difficult and economically unviable. The result is an accelerated turnover of manufactured goods, which are more often replaced than repaired. As products are discarded, embedded materials and...