Weight Reduction
It is often possible to reduce the weight of products through a variety of methods including reducing the quantity of material, using lighter weight materials and reducing the requirements of the product.
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Pros: Reduced material consumption and improved efficiency of moving products |
| Cons: Some ‘lightweight’ engineering materials have high environmental impacts associated with them compared to more basic materials | |
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Pros: Possible reduced material costs and reduced distribution costs |
| Cons: Possible increased material, production and development costs due to increased complexity and high-tech materials | |
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Pros: Reduced running costs of energy consuming products and increased performance |
| Cons: Increased toxicity of some high performance materials may endanger manufacturing staff |