Transforming Automobile (Car) Gears into a Coffee Table: An Approach to Sustainable Environmental Metal Waste Management

Abstract

The research explores the possibility to upcycle used automobile gears into a useful and coffee table as a contribution to the growing metal waste threat in the world. The research was conducted as a guided and driven investigation based on the Stanford Design Model, and with the help of the methodology of practice-based research through the answers to three major research questions: (1) what are the most effective metal fabrication techniques to transform waste into durable and aesthetically pleasing furniture; (2) how the inherent design features and material qualities of gears could be utilized to improve the aesthetics of furniture; and (3) how much upcycling would reduce the environmental impact of using waste gears. The systematic observations at metal workshops, creating designs through iteration, using digital rendering in three dimensions, and the fabrication, including cutting, welding, grinding, and assembly, were

 used to gather data. Depending on the outcomes, it has been observed that a combination of arc welding, accuracy in metal cutting, grinding, and surface finishing will produce a sound base of a table which could carry a glass top. The natural forms, symmetry, and texture of the gears play a major role towards the industrial nature of the final product, which highlights the worth of the re-using of these materials in the modern world of furniture. The paper found that recycling waste gears can be economically valuable and has positive environmental outcomes, as it is re-uses materials and gives them a second life, helps to decrease landfill as well as diminish the need to extract new metal, which is the main principle of the circular economy.