Smartphone makers these days are aggressively rolling out new smartphones every once in a while. The not-so-good aspect that's arisen out of such releases is a potential rise of a generation of electronic waste from it.
Focusing on providing a sustainable solution, a smartphone making firm in Germany has developed a mobile phone called Carbon 1 MK II made entirely out of composite materials, potentially replacing plastics and aluminium, which are the most commonly used components in smartphones.
Carbon 1 MK II, as a smartphone, is expected to set a new standard, with its sustainable and slim design, and would be released in March. Firas Khalifeh, CEO of Carbon Mobile, when discussing the mobile, told that “Designed and engineered in Germany, the Carbon 1 MK II reignites miniaturization and drives sustainability in connected devices by replacing plastics and aluminium with advanced composite materials for the first time.”
For the manufacturing of the housing, the core base material used is a thermoplastic composite from the house of LANXESS Tepex Dynalite range of products. Philipp Genders, the Tepex expert at LANXESS, added that the composite material, developed for the mobile is extremely light in weight, and can bear considerable mechanical shocks. Also, the significantly durable nature of the material makes its housing quite robust, Thus making it ideal for everyday use.
Additionally, the phone is equipped with matte-black carbon fibres, offering the smartphone a truly high-tech look. One of many fascinating aspects incorporated in the smartphone is the so-called HyRECM Technology that enables carbon-based composites in connected devices.
HyRECM, which means Hybrid Radio Enabled Composite Material Technology, is a product of Carbon Mobile’s engineers 4 years of intensive Research and Development. The patented Technology enables the fusion of carbon fibres with the composite material, eventually offering the capability of RF signal permeation.
Also, Integrated with the carbon fibre structure, inside the housing, is a unique 3d-printed conductive ink that further enhances the device connectivity. The result of such integration is the first “radio-enabled” carbon fibre-based material. In addition to equipping it with sustainable and recyclable materials, the smartphone is designed in a very repair-friendly manner, thus offering a long service life.
Apart from its robust and lightweight properties, carbon fibres provide a sort of electromagnetic shielding to the device. What does this mean? It means it enables blocking of radio signals, rather than allowing them to pass through, and disperses them around the outer body of the device.
Eric Chan, the processing partner from Modern Composites Ltd revealed that LANXESS and their Tepex materials make up an ideal combination in the development of HyRECM Technology. Carbon Mobile is truly working towards building a sustainable future.
“We want to deliver our contribution to cutting electronic waste and improving sustainability around the world,” said Khalifeh, the CEO of Carbon Mobile. The composite material utilised in the smartphone can easily be recycled and repurposed for new uses. “Like all products in the Tepex Dynalite product line, it can be shredded and then processed on standard injection-moulding machines to make high-quality components, either by itself or mixed with suitable new material,” explains Genders.
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