Disassembly and Study of a Single Use Camera

1. Disassembly and Study of a Single Use Camera By: Brian Courtright, Jasmine Jacob, Kathleen Prilutski, Gabriel Rosenwald

2. Functional Components • Contains three different processes: • Energy Processing • Material Processing • Signal Processing • Each process contains different components that enable the camera to function accordingly. • http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/images/ko/kodak-funflash-single-use-camera.jpg

3. Energy Processing • Divided into three components: • Light • Electrical • Mechanical • Each lower component can be subdivided further

4. Light • Divided into two components: • Lens • Image projected on film plane • Light sensitive film • Image Stored • Viewfinder • Select View

5. Electrical • Divided into two components: • Viewfinder • Select view • Battery • Flash charging • Flash discharge

6. Mechanical • Divided into three components: • Cock shutter • Advance film by one frame • Open shutter

7. Material Processing • Operates by: • Advance film and wind up shutter • Frame counting

8. Signal Processing • Operates trigger by: • Trigger shutter open • Trigger flash discharge • Operates flash by: • Turn on flash charging • Flash ready signal

9. Materials Used for Parts • Camera unit as a system: • Previously used components • New Injection molded plastic parts • New Metal components • New Printed Circuit Board Assembly of the Flash unit • New Batteries for the Flash subassembly • Film rolls in canisters • Packaging

10. Disassembly Procedure • Take apart the plastic housing covers. Use a small screwdriver to pry rear and front sections off. Be firm, but gentle. The pieces should come apart without breaking. In the rear of camera body you will see the film chamber and the flash battery, in the front you’ll see the lens with shutter and the flash circuitry-do not touch it yourself.

11. Removal of AA energy cell • Identify and remove the AA energy cell from the camera. Remove the exposed film cassette and put it away for processing later.

12. Assembly Procedure • Wind the shutter up by turning the sprocket whelel (above film window) until you hear a firm click. Turn the front of the camera away from yourself and others. Press the shutter to discharge the remaining power in flash circuit.

13. Final Disassembly • Take apart the camera mechanism as far as possible in order to discover principal compents. • http://mitocw.udsm.ac.tz/NR/rdonlyres/Mechanical-Engineering/2-003Spring-2005/76DBE959-78D0-47C9-AB71-5E435E0BDB81/0/chp_d_camera2.jpg

14. Kodak Funsaver Flash Unit • http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/kflashf.gif

15. Camera Components • http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3268/2883050225_796c2b3653.jpg?v=0

16. Assembly Procedure • Reverse the process you took in taking the camera apart. • Carefully put each component back into the camera. • Lastly, put the plastic cover back on the camera.

17. How does the camera work? • When the user is ready to take a picture, she simply aims the camera at the desired subject and presses the shutter-release button. This button activates a spring-loaded shutter in the side of the camera which flicks open for a fraction of a second; the exact length of exposure depends upon the shutter speed of the camerahttp://www.ehow.com/how-does_4727778_disposable-camera-work.html#ixzz11uyoIlgU

18. Recycling • Ironically, disposable cameras are anything but disposed of. In fact, the recycling industry for disposable cameras has surpassed that of aluminum beverage cans. Retailers are incentivized and provided with services to increase their willingness and desire to help Kodak recycle the single use camera. Among these services is a silver management service that includes refining, recovery, and recycling. This service is primarily concerned with recovering the silver from developed and therefore unnecessary film. • http://www.americanrecycler.com/0804picture.shtml

19. The Circuit Board • One of the most important components recycled is the circuit board. The ability to reuse this piece is fundamental in making the recovery process economically viable. These boards are tested to ensure quality, and then reused. Being that the camera components are tested to ensure quality, Kodak no longer considers tracking the number of times they have been reused relevant. It is not unheard of for this component to be reused ten times. • http://www.americanrecycler.com/804picture.shtml • http://prc68.com/I/Images/KodakFlshFrs.jpg

20. Other Reusable Components • Like the circuit board, the plastic frame, and associate plastic components, are also reused after quality has been assured. The frames are reused and average of three times, and have been specifically designed to be reused. In fact operating instructions are printed on recyclable polystyrene panels, which subverts the need to augment decals. The only plastic component not regularly reused is the lens, which is ground up, and designed using easily recycled plastics. • http://www.americanrecycler.com/804picture.shtml • http://gicl.cs.drexel.edu/wiki-data/images/b/b5/Original.jpg

21. Packaging • The recycling process for single use cameras is so developed that they are also associated with specific facilities dedicated to recycling the paper packaging. • http://www.americanrecycler.com/0804picture.shtml

22. Reduce Waste • Improving the durability of the circuit board itself, the key component in making the recycling process commercially viable, would lead to increased reuse and overall minimization of input materials • Fewer, in terms of reconstitution, more durable items would lead to increased lifetime of the component, and minimized expenditures for the corporation.

23. Functional Decomposition of a Single Use Camera