To contribute to the transition to a circular economy, FUJIFILM Business Innovation is working to increase the use of recycled plastics while maintaining high product quality. We have introduced a range of engineering and design measures to increase recycled plastic content while achieving a visual appearance that blends naturally into diverse office environments.
In general, as the proportion of recycled material increases, recycled plastics are more likely to be affected by variations in material composition and properties. This can increase variations in color and the occurrence of molding defects, including silver streaks, sink marks, and weld lines, making it more difficult to ensure consistent appearance quality. In addition, slight variations in color tone and material properties among resin manufacturer and production lots may result in visible color mismatches between adjacent exterior covers.
To address these challenges, we optimized the overall color tone of the exterior and adopted a design that reduces the visual impact of color differences between adjacent covers.
We also incorporated fillers into white exterior parts to help reduce the visibility of variations in color and material properties inherent in recycled plastics. This approach helps achieve a more consistent appearance while reducing waste caused by appearance-related quality issues. Regularly spaced recesses on the side panels create shadows that make molding defects less noticeable.
We also redesigned the internal safety structure as well as the exterior. While ensuring compliance with the required flame-retardant performance standards, we increased the proportion of recycled plastic used by employing recycled ABS resin for all exterior covers. In addition, resin flow simulations are used during the design stage to optimize mold design and minimize molding defects specific to recycled plastics, helping to ensure stable quality in mass production.
Exterior covers may become scratched or soiled during use and may need to be replaced or recycled when products are collected after use. To improve the efficiency of parts sorting, reuse, and recycling after product collection, we adopted a structure that allows the exterior cover to be easily separated from the internal functional components.
This structure promotes the reuse of internal functional components while reducing the amount of resin required for the exterior cover. Reinforcing ribs, functional shapes, and other elements that can affect appearance are concentrated in the internal components, helping to improve the product’s appearance quality.
Through these measures, we support the circular use of parts while achieving both resource circulation and high appearance quality.
- *1 Weight ratio of plastics used per unit