Paper PCs design rolled out
Pipe reams
A materials manufacturer has produced a paper-based compound which may soon find its way onto hardware factory lines, with recyclable PCs mooted as one possible target.
Paper PP Alloy promises to cause a revolution in the world of laptop production, with its inexpensive production, super strength and environmentally friendly credentials.
The material is formed using injection moulding methods and made from a fusion of recyclable paper and polypropylene.
Industry commentators point out that separating the paper fibres from the plastic element would be a difficult prospect when it comes to recycling.
Either way, the material is worthy of note, particularly as PEGA Design and Engineering – the company behind the development – claims to have drawn the attention of consumer electronics manufacturers and insists the material will be commercially used in the near future.
If all goes according to plan, then the cardboard box and plastic protection your PC arrives in today, could well be forming the enclosure of your PC tomorrow. ®
COMMENTS
Re: environmentally friendly?
Agree on the recycling point but the "cut down more trees" argument is bogus. They do replant commercial forests aferwards.
Re: Re: Re: Not really
Polypropylene burns fairly cleanly, as chemically it contains only carbon and hydrogen, although you'd probably need a modified burner in some way to deal with the fact it would melt. Plastics that give off toxic gases tend to be things like PVC and polystyrene, giving you a wonderful mix of chlorides and styrenes/benzenes!
Enhancement
"If all goes according to plan, then the cardboard box and plastic protection your PC arrives in today, could well be forming the enclosure of your PC tomorrow."
Better still, with a bit of thought, they could make the box fold and twist, transformer-like, to form the PC case.
Re: Re: Not really
IANAS*, but this IS (mostly) plastic - they're combining plastic and paper to get the strength from fibres while reducing the more expensive plastic; but it's still got plenty of icky things in it that you wouldn't want to burn.
(* I Am Not A Scientist....)
