In this school project our group was assigned to lower the environmental impact of an electric hand mixer. Some of the steps were mandatory like taking the mixer apart and calculating the contribution of parts, usage, transportation and end of life scenarios.

We started by taking the hand mixer apart to see what was inside. As most of the Components were either metals or recycleable polymeres with relatively low environmental impact, the Electric motor and the IC stood out as the main issues.

Looking at the usage phase we found that a mixer is typically used sporadically and is placed in a drawer most of the time as are many other electrical household appliances. Because of their size and weight the tools are often quite cumbersome to fetch. 

Our proposal was to use one single motor, integrated in the countertop, for all the appliances such as blenders, food processors and mixers in various sizes. To make it easy to clean and and flush with countertop the machine has been fitted with a touch screen to control the speed.

The parts are easier to take in and out of the drawers than a heavy machine and can all be replaced if broken or worn out. By using the same interface users can get new accessories when needed.