What are digital cameras made of?
Digital cameras take 11 things directly, among them magnesium, polycarbonate, camera sensor, printed circuit board, microchip and memory chip. Trace them back and you pass 79 made things on the way to 32 raw materials.
How digital cameras are made See it on the map
What goes straight in
- Magnesiumat Form the body
- Polycarbonateat Form the body
- Camera sensorat Mount sensor in clean air
- Printed circuit boardat Build the electronics
- Microchipat Build the electronics
- Memory chipat Build the electronics
- Lithium-ion cellat Build the electronics
- LCD screenat Assemble the top plate
- Copper wireat Fit mount and front
- Camera lensat Clean and stack lenses
- Leatherat Wrap in leather
From the ground: 32 raw materials
- Dolomite through magnesium
- Silica sand through camera lens
- Cattle hide through leather
- Rock salt through leather
- Water through leather
- Quartz through magnesium, metallurgical silicon
- Coal through magnesium, metallurgical silicon
- Timber through magnesium, metallurgical silicon
- Air through polycarbonate, acetone
- Crude oil through polycarbonate, propylene
- Copper ore through copper wire, copper
- Limestone through LCD screen, glass
- Tin ore through microchip, tin
- Gold ore through microchip, gold
- Lithium brine through lithium-ion cell, lithium carbonate
- Spodumene through lithium-ion cell, lithium carbonate
- Cobalt ore through lithium-ion cell, cobalt
- Nickel ore through lithium-ion cell, nickel
- Manganese ore through lithium-ion cell, manganese
- Iron ore through lithium-ion cell, manganese
- Natural gas through lithium-ion cell, manganese
- Sulfur through LCD screen, pigment
- Chromite through leather, chromium
- Trona through LCD screen, glass, soda ash
- Lead ore through printed circuit board, solder, silver
- Silver ore through printed circuit board, solder, silver
- Zinc ore through LCD screen, LED, indium
- Bauxite through LCD screen, LED, gallium
- Titanium ore through LCD screen, pigment, titanium dioxide
- Corn through LCD screen, glass, soda ash, carbon dioxide
- Sugarcane through LCD screen, glass, soda ash, carbon dioxide, baker's yeast, molasses
- Sugar beet through LCD screen, glass, soda ash, carbon dioxide, baker's yeast, molasses
Made along the way: 68 things
Metals 17
CopperSolderTinAluminumGoldCobaltNickelManganeseSteelChromiumCokeLeadSilverAluminaZincPig ironSteel scrap
Chemicals and fuels 31
PhenolPropyleneAcetoneCaustic sodaChlorineOxygen gasNitrogen gasSynthetic graphitePigmentAdhesiveQuicklimeCharcoalBenzeneNaphthaSulfuric acidArgonSoda ashPetroleum cokeEthyleneTitanium dioxideCarbon blackAmmoniaHydrogenMethanolParaffin waxTolueneHydrochloric acidCarbon dioxideFormaldehydePropaneNitric acid
Plastics and fibers 7
Glass, stone and ceramics 1
Electronics 10
Metallurgical siliconSilicon waferPhotoresistLithium carbonateIndium tin oxideLEDPolysiliconIndiumGalliumTrichlorosilane