An analysis of environmental impact of mechanical sharpener: Integrating DFMA and sustainable design analysis

Abstract

This study establishes the evaluation of manual helical pencil sharpener in optimising the sustainability consideration to influencing the production process by choosing its suitable materials, eventually exploring the potential of product redesign towards sustainability that could be enhanced. This analysis included and combined Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). The results showed that the amount had been reduced after application of DFMA. In contrast, sustainability analysis demonstrated the reduction of weight to 30%, carbon footprint 32%, air acidification 28%, water eutrophication 88%, and the overall energy usage 9%. This new approach is essential to demonstrate the efficiency of both instruments used to minimise pencil sharpener production costs and to enhance the sustainable aspects of product design.