Blog Post 3

Manufacturing of the Hawaiian Ice Shaver

The Hawaiian Ice Shaver has a plastic shell and plastic gears. There is also a small AC motor and a metal blade. The motor and blade are created outside the company, is brought in and assembled with the plastic pieces.

At the end of this products life, all the plastic can be recycled or remanufactured. The blade can be either recycled or remanufactured too. Depending on what condition the motor is in, it can be reused or broken down to separate parts and recycled. As far as environmental impact goes, the creation of the plastic is the worst part of this product. The ABS plastic is made from oil. The transportation of the product and materials is another impact because of the use of gasoline.

The costs associated with the manufacturing are the cost of plastic, steel, and motors. The ABS plastic costs about $2.42 a pound. The steal for the blade is $0.40-0.45 a pound. Finally, one motor costs around $20. This is why the product has a higher price for consumers than expected. The product could be made better by using a more durable material for the shell such as stainless steel. They could also use a higher-powered motor too. The reason the company doesn’t do this is because it would be more expensive to buy in higher priced motors. The price to manufacture the stainless steel would not be beneficial enough to out way the price.

By:James Williams