What are remote controls made of?
Remote controls take 7 things directly, among them ABS plastic, silicone, carbon black, printed circuit board, microchip and LED. Trace them back and you pass 54 made things on the way to 24 raw materials.
How remote controls are made See it on the map
What goes straight in
From the ground: 24 raw materials
- Air through carbon black
- Water through carbon black
- Silica sand through silicone
- Crude oil through carbon black
- Natural gas through ABS plastic, ethylene
- Iron ore through ABS plastic, pigment
- Sulfur through ABS plastic, pigment
- Quartz through silicone, metallurgical silicon
- Coal through silicone, metallurgical silicon
- Timber through silicone, metallurgical silicon
- Copper ore through solder, copper
- Limestone through printed circuit board, fiberglass
- Tin ore through solder, tin
- Gold ore through LED, gold
- Bauxite through LED, gallium
- Zinc ore through LED, indium
- Lead ore through solder, silver
- Silver ore through solder, silver
- Titanium ore through ABS plastic, pigment, titanium dioxide
- Rock salt through printed circuit board, epoxy, caustic soda
- Trona through printed circuit board, fiberglass, soda ash
- Corn through printed circuit board, fiberglass, soda ash, carbon dioxide
- Sugarcane through printed circuit board, fiberglass, soda ash, carbon dioxide, baker's yeast, molasses
- Sugar beet through printed circuit board, fiberglass, soda ash, carbon dioxide, baker's yeast, molasses
Made along the way: 47 things
Metals 9
Chemicals and fuels 25
NaphthaPropyleneAmmoniaBenzeneEthyleneStyrenePigmentMethanolHydrochloric acidOxygen gasHydrogenTolueneTitanium dioxideCharcoalChlorineSulfuric acidSoda ashPhenolAcetoneCaustic sodaArgonPetroleum cokeQuicklimeCarbon dioxideFormaldehyde
Plastics and fibers 4
Electronics 7
Food 2
What it is packed in
On the line, but left out of everything above, because it holds the finished thing rather than goes into it.