Never mind building in repairability. There might be a case for built in obsolescence. Not just with physical parts but also software. If you have items with software such as mobile phones then at some stage the producing company stops supporting them. Two scenarios here, first the hardware may not be up to coping with newer software upgrades ( speed, memory etc) or it is a way to get people to “upgrade” by buying a newer phone.
I can understand some software arguments as the hardware is evolving rapidly. Companies may also decide that they can save money by reducing the need to deal with older versions.
Back in the 1980’s I visited the Hoover factory in Merthyr Tydfil. They were making as much as possible in-house rather than outsource. Even injection moulding their own plastic bits. They had a policy of holding stocks for, I think, about 13 years and certainly over 10 years.
I haven’t seen any MMC policy yet for the trad components after the change to the CX platform. About 5 years ago I was chasing a rear fog control module for the Plus8. After several months via a well known dealer I phoned the factory. The reply was they had plenty???? Aha! What year car? Mine is 2002. Oh! We have plenty of units for 1997 and earlier in stock but they are not suitable for later cars. Can I have one to try it and modify? No. It won’t work. I ended up finding the fault on the pcb and fixing it. If that hadn’t worked it would have been Carbuildersolutions for a controller and sorting out the wiring. GRRRR.
I do wonder with modern cars at how much dealer only diagnostic/repair limitations there are for systems that are not tied into a car wide ecu/eco system.
Last year
’s ipad suffered a major front screen crack and damage to the touch screen itself. Apple don’t do repairs but you can swop it for a recon ipad for nearly £300. Just a smidge under a new unit price. I took it apart to see the option for buying replacement parts. Do-able with parts off ebay but
has a new ipad instead. Her smiles were worth it. I am now searching for a new front screen for an older Samsung S2 phone with a cracked glass. So far it’s like looking for Hen’s teeth due to it’s age and non support. Just the glass itself as the touchscreen itself is working fine.
