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I disagree with the common belief of planned obsolescence. In the industry the cheapest thing to make is plastic injection molding. By far. Like 50 to 100 time

I disagree with the common belief of planned obsolescence. In the industry the cheapest thing to make is plastic injection molding. By far. Like 50 to 100 times cheaper than the alternatives at scale. Melting plastic at 200 Celsius is so much easier than melting metal at over 700 Celsius(over 1000 for steels) with all the contractions and problems this creates. Any manufacturer could use metal in their products or create a plastic version at half(or 1/3) the price. Most people just buy the cheaper alternative. Then they rant about planned obsolescence when the thing breaks soon(but over the warranty period). But the reality is that thanks to plastic molding we get incredible cheap products, like a USD60 vacuum cleaner, when in the past it was more like today USD1000 for one when it was made with metal parts that lasted decades. We want it all, cheaper and better. But having all is not possible(yet).

maelito 12y ago
The law is mostly about customer information. You'll still be able to buy cheap things if you want, but you'll know for how long it's repairable, hopefully long after the warranty period.
jcbrand 12y ago
While I agree with a lot of what you say, planned obsolescence does exist and IS a factor in many products breaking soon. You might want to watch "The light bulb conspiracy": http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/light-bulb-conspiracy http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/light-bulb-conspiracy
Gravityloss 12y ago
It depends. If it's something that just mostly sits around unused, it's more resource efficient (economical, ecological) to minimize the manufacturing cost and not care about much else. If it's a professional tool that is used hours every day, the manufacturing cost can almost be ignored - maximizing usability and minimizing downtime is where it's at. So we still have professional vacuum cleaners that last maybe five years in professional use, ten hours six days a week, but would last for centuries in home usage, one hour every week. Decades ago the products were not so differentiated, so also consumers bought long lasting vacuum cleaners. http://images.manufactum.de/manufactum/grossbild/21524_1.jpg http://images.manufactum.de/manufactum/grossbild/21524_1.jpg At some point it crosses over to intangible qualities like in design furniture. It's cool if it's not just a throwaway thing, but something well designed and maintainable. It also looks timeless.

maelito 12y ago

The law is mostly about customer information. You'll still be able to buy cheap things if you want, but you'll know for how long it's repairable, hopefully long after the warranty period.

jcbrand 12y ago

While I agree with a lot of what you say, planned obsolescence does exist and IS a factor in many products breaking soon. You might want to watch "The light bulb conspiracy": http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/light-bulb-conspiracy http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/light-bulb-conspiracy

Gravityloss 12y ago

It depends. If it's something that just mostly sits around unused, it's more resource efficient (economical, ecological) to minimize the manufacturing cost and not care about much else. If it's a professional tool that is used hours every day, the manufacturing cost can almost be ignored - maximizing usability and minimizing downtime is where it's at. So we still have professional vacuum cleaners that last maybe five years in professional use, ten hours six days a week, but would last for centuries in home usage, one hour every week. Decades ago the products were not so differentiated, so also consumers bought long lasting vacuum cleaners. http://images.manufactum.de/manufactum/grossbild/21524_1.jpg http://images.manufactum.de/manufactum/grossbild/21524_1.jpg At some point it crosses over to intangible qualities like in design furniture. It's cool if it's not just a throwaway thing, but something well designed and maintainable. It also looks timeless.