[iio7]

I have a friend who works in production. I cannot remember exactly what his education is, but it's a type of engineer. If you want something produced that you have invented, he can get it done.

He has mentioned that they have software that can calculate the average lifespan of the finished product by entering the different components that goes into the product (like this piece has this amount of iron, this amount of tin, etc).

Based upon this the software can calculate the lifespan very precisely and determine if they have made it "too good". If it's too good the quality is decreased on purpose in order to reduce the lifespan such that people will buy more. Other testing goes into the equation as well, but enough data has been collected over the years that it can be calculated/simulated.

[mjevans]

Trade: If the company at ANY POINT calculates a lifetime analysis for the whole or any sub-component, the SHORTEST LIFETIME DURATION, MUST be advertised at the same print scale size and next to the price of the product at all times.

[stdbrouw]

That's one way to put it. Another would be to say that an appliance is (or should be) designed to last for approximately the amount of time it is likely to be in use, as people often upgrade old machines that haven't failed because the new ones are more energy efficient, faster, quieter, more convenient or clean better. There is no point in designing a washing machine to last 50 years, it only adds to the cost and nobody will use it for that long.

[BeFlatXIII]

There’s an old story of Henry Ford sending agents to visit junkyards to catalog which parts of the car were still good when a critical part failed. Those were then redesigned to be cheaper in later revisions, so the entire thing fell apart at once.

[petra]

That software sounds great! Can individuals or small organizations get access to that software ? How ?

[iio7]

As far as I have understood, it's not something you can simply buy. Only certain industries get access to buying it.