This design technique makes your product more sustainable.

Sustainability is an important topic. Niels previously wrote about his view on sustainable design and how we deal with it during the development of our products. He argues to design products in such a way that they have a long life cycle, instead of frantically making products out of biodegradable material, which deteriorates its function. But there are other techniques that we, as designers, can use to make the products of the future more sustainable and therefore better for the world.

Els ter Haar 29 March 2023

One of the techniques to extend the life cycle of a product is the Design For (Dis)Assembly design method. Which means that you build up your product of several parts that can be attached by using non-permanent techniques. The product can therefore be assembled and disassembled. The advantage of this technique is that if one of the parts is damaged, the user only has to replace or repair this part and there is no need to replace the product in its entirety.

By avoiding permanent attachments such as gluing, welding and soldering, the manufacturer has more control over the quality of the product and also creates little or no emissions during the production process. But pop rivets or staples, for example, are also not a long-term solution. Filling screw channels or purging cracks is also not in line with Design For (Dis)Assembly, in our opinion. These are often quick and easy solutions to make a product waterproof or make the design more aesthetically pleasing, but in the long run it decreases the product life cycle. To solve these kinds of challenges, we turn to alternatives such as cover (rubber) profiles or casting caps. This provides an extra part in your bill of materials, but will pay for itself in assembly time, quality of your product and repairability.

The Nova fixture we designed for Dutch Electro is constructed entirely from unique components, each with its own function, connected by click connections and screws.

However, this does not mean that standard fasteners such as screws and bolts and nuts can be used everywhere without thinking. These release compounds also have drawbacks. Aesthetically it is less attractive and you will have to re-tighten them every so often. During product design it is a challenge to look for other non-permanent fixings, for example by using a click design or dividing the parts of the product differently.

Suppose we are moving towards a world in which waste separation will become economically profitable and we can turn to a processing center with all our waste flows. Then Design For (Dis)Assembly also has a big advantage. Because the parts consisting of different materials can be taken apart again and separated in the right way, they will be able to be recycled. It is the designer’s job to think about these kinds of trends during development. By adding these kinds of design methods to our toolbox, we can always look for sustainable solutions of high quality.

This article was written by Els ter Haar. Els is an industrial designer and visualizes products at Fabrique Invent.

Fabrique Invent & Boal Extrusion

What do you get when you combine technical precision, sustainable ambition, and creative innovation? A collaboration that has endured effortlessly for over 30 years and continues to surprise today.

Els ter Haar 25 November 2025