At a glance 2 min

Open Funk: the German start-up shaking up the blender industry

Young German company Open Funk seeks to reimagine household appliances by creating more environmentally friendly alternatives. Their first move is to tackle the appliance loved by amateur cooks and professional chefs alike: the blender.
Open Funk: the German start-up shaking up the blender industry
Open Funk: the German start-up shaking up the blender industry

Take apart, analyse and improve: that’s Open Funk’s action plan. Blenders are relatively simple devices, usually consisting of a plastic base, a motor, steel blades and a plastic or glass blender jar.

When it comes to the motor and blades, there isn’t much to improve upon. The rest of the blender, however...

Recycled polymers and reused materials: an environmentally friendly blend

Why design a specific blender jar when we all have jars in our cupboards that could do the job just as well? Simplicity is always best, and this blender (known as the re:Mix) is compatible with any glass screw-top jar with an 82 mm opening (such as those used for jam, chutney, tomatoes, etc.). This is a great way to reuse these kinds of jars, which often end their lives as waste.

Attaching the jars to the blender base required some extra thought. Although the screw thread ensures stability, glass isn’t flexible enough to guarantee a perfect seal. Therefore, the team specifically designed a silicone seal that fits into a 3D-printed part made of PLA. This biopolymer connects the machine to the jar, ensuring your kitchen walls don’t end up painted an interesting shade of peanut butter…

The base is made from recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) sheets, and the feet are made from recycled TPE. TPE is a thermoplastic elastomer flexible enough to absorb the blender’s vibrations — a vital detail, considering the blades rotate at 22,000 rpm. It simply wouldn’t stay in one place without these feet!

Finally, the appliance has been designed to be easy to dissemble, and all the plastic parts are interchangeable. They can be printed on demand in the start-up’s workshops, giving the re:Mix an unprecedented repairability index.

A positive social impact

The re:Mix is made entirely in Germany and assembled at a social centre in Berlin that provides training for disabled people. Made to order, it comes in various colours and is available in several European countries.

More information:
https://www.openfunk.co

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