Modular approach the answer to e-waste?

United States – ‘Product development shouldn’t be hard,’ asserts Nascent Objects’ founder and ceo Baback Elmieh after pairing cutting-edge 3D printing and modular electronics with user-friendly software to ensure devices can be constantly reused.

Inspired by the huge volumes of electronics going to waste once a component part has become broken, the entrepreneur set out to find a smart way to keep the materials in the loop. ‘Nascent Objects provides the only commercially available 3D printing process capable of metalising SLA and inkjet printed materials with high-bandwidth, high-performance circuitry,’he explains.

Users can select from more than a dozen types of material and 34 different 3D printers. All modules are ‘simple plug-and-play bricks’ that encapsulate key electrical components like sensors, lights and speakers.

‘The software platform calculates and designs the most efficient pathways for the internal circuitry, effortlessly dealing with design constraints and differential pairs so you don’t have to,’ Elmieh points out. The modules are essentially the ‘brains’ of consumer products. Apart from optimising materials use, devices may be easily upgraded and customised.

‘It’s as simple as changing the batteries in your remote control,’ says Elmieh, a consumer electronics specialist with a masters in computer science who gained over 15 years of experience at leading tech companies like Google and Motorola.