What are video game consoles made of?
Video game consoles take 12 things directly, among them printed circuit board, microchip, memory chip, solid-state drive, solder and ABS plastic. Trace them back and you pass 65 made things on the way to 26 raw materials.
How video game consoles are made See it on the map
What goes straight in
- Printed circuit boardat Build the motherboard
- Microchipat Build the motherboard
- Memory chipat Build the motherboard
- Solid-state driveat Build the motherboard
- Solderat Build the motherboard
- ABS plasticat Mold the shell
- Polycarbonateat Mold the shell
- Copper wireat Plug in the soft parts
- Copperat Fit cooling and tighten screws
- Aluminumat Fit cooling and tighten screws
- Electric motorat Fit cooling and tighten screws
- Screwat Fit cooling and tighten screws
From the ground: 26 raw materials
- Air through copper
- Copper ore through copper
- Water through copper
- Crude oil through aluminum
- Coal through aluminum
- Silica sand through printed circuit board, fiberglass
- Limestone through printed circuit board, fiberglass
- Quartz through memory chip, silicon wafer
- Tin ore through solder, tin
- Gold ore through microchip, gold
- Lead ore through solder, silver
- Silver ore through solder, silver
- Zinc ore through solder, silver
- Natural gas through ABS plastic, ethylene
- Iron ore through ABS plastic, pigment
- Sulfur through ABS plastic, pigment
- Rock salt through polycarbonate, chlorine
- Bauxite through aluminum, alumina
- Trona through printed circuit board, fiberglass, soda ash
- Titanium ore through ABS plastic, pigment, titanium dioxide
- Dolomite through electric motor, steel, magnesium
- Manganese ore through electric motor, steel, manganese
- Corn through printed circuit board, fiberglass, soda ash, carbon dioxide
- Timber through electric motor, steel, magnesium, metallurgical silicon
- 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: 53 things
Metals 14
Metal goods 1
Chemicals and fuels 28
Oxygen gasNitrogen gasNaphthaPropyleneAmmoniaBenzeneEthyleneStyrenePigmentPhenolAcetoneCaustic sodaChlorineSulfuric acidPetroleum cokeSoda ashArgonQuicklimeHydrogenTolueneTitanium dioxideCarbon blackCarbon dioxideFormaldehydeHydrochloric acidPropaneMethanolCharcoal
Plastics and fibers 3
Electronics 5
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.