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System Sustainability 20 Low IMPACT Manufacturing of Electric Mobility Scooters For The Disable

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Added on  2021-06-14

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There is also need of evaluating the energy requirement of the electrical, structural, and miscellaneous components in the manufacture of mobility scooter for the disabled as well as ways of reducing the energy consumption and environmental impacts for the company. As a sustainability manager in the company dealing in the manufacture of electric mobility scooter for the disabled, there is need of investigating the extent at which the concept of Circular Economy can be applied to the company and in the manufacture of electric mobility scooters for the disabled to replace the present linear

System Sustainability 20 Low IMPACT Manufacturing of Electric Mobility Scooters For The Disable

   Added on 2021-06-14

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System Sustainability 1LOW IMPACT MANUFACTURINGA Research Paper on Electric Mobility Scooters ByStudent’s NameName of the ProfessorInstitutional AffiliationCity/StateYear/Month/Day
System Sustainability 20 Low IMPACT Manufacturing of Electric Mobility Scooters For The Disable_1
System Sustainability 2INTRODUCTIONThis research paper entails the systematical understanding of the activities being carried out in the industrial manufacture of electric mobility scooter for the disabled at all points of the product life cycle from extraction of raw materials to their disposal. There is also need of evaluating the energy requirement of the electrical, structural, and miscellaneous components in the manufacture of mobility scooter for the disabled as well as ways of reducing the energy consumption and environmental impacts for the company. As a sustainability manager in the company dealing in the manufacture of electric mobility scooter for the disabled, there is need ofinvestigating the extent at which the concept of Circular Economy can be applied to the companyand in the manufacture of electric mobility scooters for the disabled to replace the present linear flow of energy and materials. As a sustainability manager, there is need of ensuring the sustainability of electric mobility scooter manufacturing and also planning for the future business model and product of the company since they are all affected by the industrial sustainability. There are numerous components that are used in the manufacture of the mobility scooter, these components are eithermanufactured by the company or supplied by other manufacturers dealing in their production. Some of the products manufactured by the company and then used in the manufacture of mobility scooter include chassis, wheels, suspension, seat assembly, and bodywork[ CITATION Bar09 \l 1033 ]. Some of these components that are supplied by other companies and then assembled when producing the mobility scooter include tyres, upholstery, transmission, switches, motors, batteries, and circuit boards. The components required in the manufacture of mobility scooter can be categorized as electrical, structural, and miscellaneous components as discussed below:
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System Sustainability 3Figure 1: Components and functional groups of electric mobility scooter[ CITATION Bar13 \l 1033 ]The chassis can be defined as the internal structure which supports the steering system, transmission system, and wheels. The materials used in the manufacture of chassis frame includesteel, magnesium, titanium, and aluminium. Steel is normally used since it is easily available andis also cheaper compared to other metals. The steel can also have high yield strength and resists fatigue failure. The process of designing the chassis involves the provision of the mounting frame and also the structure of handle, bodywork, suspension system, and wheels systems. The suspension system is a collection of shock absorbers and springs and is normally of two types, namely rear suspension and front suspension[ CITATION Bat09 \l 1033 ]. The suspension and chassis system is designed thoroughly as a single consideration in designing the mobility scooter. The following specifications are determined and identified; widthof the mobility scooter, caster angle, rear suspension used, front suspension used, material for chassis frame, a section of chassis used, and type of chassis[ CITATION Rei16 \l 1033 ].
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System Sustainability 4Circular Flow of Structural ComponentsThe company can ensure that the material flow of structural components is circular through the implementation of 3Rs, namely recycle, reuse, and reduce. One of the measures that can be taken is making the mobility scooter to be lighter. The weight of the structural components can be reduced by replacing the current components with lighter components so as to make the vehicle lighter hence low energy consumption. The company can replace the steel body with polypropylene which can be recycled and also has a lower weight. It has been proved that the plastic body is represented by 10% of the total weight of the vehicle and the polypropylene pigments that can be recycled is represented by 70% of the plastic body. The structural components that have plastic material can be recycled through thermal recovery where a new material known as plamix is produced out of the waste of plastic. The major reason why a mobility scooter can be disposed of is when it is damaged caused by an accident such that only residual value is denoted by the recycled materials. The process of disassembly of structural components disposed of mobility scooter can be categorized into safe stock, disassembly of valuable sections, and treatment of hazardous treatment. The treatment of hazardous components is composed of transmission fluids and batteries[ CITATION Bou10 \l 1033 ].The next stage that can be implemented by the company is the disassembly of valuable structural components such as suspension, chassis, and wheels. The mobility scooter has numerous value levels, and the most valuable parts are the spare parts for the market of spare parts. The spare parts denote a high reuse level of materials disposed of. After this step, there is disassembly that is cost-effective for the purposes of recycling. These materials can be grouped into polymers, tyres, and metals. The most significant metals to be recycled include aluminium, magnesium, and copper. The dismantler after the disassembly executes the reduction in the
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System Sustainability 5volume of numerous materials. Every material group can then wait in safe stock until it leaves the dismantler for the recovery and recycle treatment shown in Appendix A[ CITATION Che10 \l 1033 ]. Circular Flow of Electrical ComponentsThe electrical components used in the manufacture of electric mobility scooter for the disabled include motors, batteries, circuit boards, wires, and switches. The electric motor is a component responsible for the provision of power to the electric mobility scooter. The motors are a section of the electric powertrain that incorporates the controller and the power electronics[ CITATION Col11 \l 1033 ]. The most appropriate motor for the mobility scooter is the brushless DC motor shown in the figure below:Figure 2: Brushless DC motor[ CITATION Baa10 \l 1033 ]One of the significant of the DC motors is the composition of the rotor which includes a permanent magnet and steel structure. The permanent magnet has a serious negative environmental impact and should be recycled through shredding and then sorting through series of physical treatment. The valuable materials such as plastics, copper and aluminium can then berecovered through smelting process[ CITATION Del12 \l 1033 ].
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System Sustainability 6The lithium battery is the source of power for the electric mobility scooter. The flow of battery can be made to be circular by removing it during the first stage of disassembling of broken down mobility scooter. This is also the stage in which PCBs and circuit boards are removed[ CITATION Del10 \l 1033 ]. The directive of waste management for the batteries is under the responsibility of the manufacturers. The materials composition of the lithium battery is as shown in the table below:Figure 3: Composition of lithium battery[ CITATION Elg09 \l 1033 ]There are numerous processes and technologies that can be implemented by the company to enable the recycling of disposed of lithium batteries and separate the material composition tabulated above, these technologies include hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical processes[ CITATION Far09 \l 1033 ]. Circular Flow of Miscellaneous ComponentsSome of the miscellaneous components are manufactured by other companies and then supplied to the electric mobility scooter manufacturing company for them to be assembled. This means that recycling these products is entirely up to the respective manufacturing companies. During the first step of disassembly of a mobility scooter, the first materials that are removed are the tyres together with metals and polymers. The tyres have precise recycle union for their thermal recovery that can be implemented by the company to enable the circular flow of
System Sustainability 20 Low IMPACT Manufacturing of Electric Mobility Scooters For The Disable_6

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