Author : PDPR Harshavardhan, Niranjan Raghavan and Balaji Vijay

Traveling from place to place is inevitable in today’s world; a travel bag or trolley is a must for every person. We can see millions of trolleys rolling in and out of airports and railway stations. The number of trolleys present in the world and the amount of money, material and manpower spent in manufacturing different shapes and sizes is shockingly high. The cost-per-trolley has also risen over the years due to the extensive use of high-priced materials. There is no consideration for the design for increasing product lifetime. Some parts are recycled while others are just non-biodegradable waste content in the environment. This paper deals with the material analysis for Eco-Trolley, an innovative product whose design has been made abiding to the guidelines of green manufacturing concepts and sustainable design parameters. The design of Eco-Trolley has many innovative features and high grade points under Life Cycle Analysis i.e. from cradle to grave approach. Bamboo framework and jute/bamboo fibre bag makes the Eco-Trolley light weight and eco-friendly. Bamboo has a high strength-to-weight ratio which makes it ideal to withstand sudden impact loads. As most of the framework consists of bamboo, manufacturing costs and time is significantly reduced. The Indian Government, too, has planned to diversify its uses to reap the benefits in the $7.5 billion global bamboo product market. Hence, Eco-Trolley is an eco-friendly and customer friendly design concept with an extensive use of sustainable and eco-friendly materials.

Keywords: Bamboo, Green Manufacturing, Material analysis.