Durability refers to long physical reliability of a product. Examples are the development of
products that can take wear and tear without breaking down. Reliability of components, ease of maintenance, and material choices are important features for products that are intended to be durable. Examples can be found in many products for professional use, ranging from washing machines to furnaces and power tools. Some consumer products have similar reliable design aspects. Designing for durability implies preventing the occurrence of common causes for failure. We can distinguish mechanical, thermal, electrical, chemical and radiation induced failures. Failures usually occur if a product is exposed to continuous
high exposure or to large variations in exposure to a specific cause or a combination of causes.
Usage
To prevent failure from happening, a variety of design strategies can be applied, either at product level or to protect the most vulnerable components: prevent, block, distribute, dissipate, and endure.Here are summaries of each:
- Prevent means that vulnerable components are not exposed to failure causes. Examples are indicators for proper use and maintenance, separating sensitive components from components that produce high exposure (e.g. decouple electronics from vibrating components through dampers), providing breakers (e.g., overheat shutdown, electronic fuse), and ergonomic design (e.g., to avoid dropping).
- Block means that vulnerable components are shielded from failure causes. Examples are a surface coating to resist UV exposure, thermal insulation to protect temperature sensitive materials, and watertight seals to avoid water ingress.
- Distribute means that stress from a failure cause is distributed to avoid peak loads. Examples are, in the case of mechanical loads, following lines of stress; in the case of thermal loads, adding mass as a heat sink or adding thermally conductive material as a heat spreader.
- Dissipate means that failure causes are moved to the surrounding environment. Thermal loads might be dissipated through passive (large surface area) or active (water flow) cooling. A damper might absorb vibration and shocks.
- Endure means designing the product to withstand the failure causes. This can for instance be done by selecting sufficiently robust materials and components, or by over specifying dimensions and properties.
Benefits
- Products designed for durability have longer product lifespan because they are more resilient and adaptable to changing conditions and usage patterns.
Limitations/Risks
- Despite the benefits of durability, consumer behavior often prioritizes short-term convenience and trends over long-term durability. Companies may hesitate to invest in durability if consumer demand for frequent upgrades and new features remains high.
- Technological advancements may outpace the longevity of products. In fields like electronics, design for durability may actually mean design for upgrade.
- Because planned obsolescence makes money, design for durability may need new business models to support it.