What are wireless earbuds made of?
Wireless earbuds take 10 things directly, among them polycarbonate, ABS plastic, copper wire, neodymium magnet, polyester and printed circuit board. Trace them back and you pass 73 made things on the way to 31 raw materials.
How wireless earbuds are made See it on the map
What goes straight in
- Polycarbonateat Mold and finish shells
- ABS plasticat Mold and finish shells
- Copper wireat Build drivers and microphones
- Neodymium magnetat Build drivers and microphones
- Polyesterat Build drivers and microphones
- Printed circuit boardat Populate the board
- Microchipat Populate the board
- Solderat Populate the board
- Lithium-ion cellat Pack the battery
- Adhesiveat Close the shell
From the ground: 31 raw materials
- Air through ABS plastic
- Rare earth ore through neodymium magnet
- Water through adhesive
- Crude oil through ABS plastic, propylene
- Rock salt through polycarbonate, chlorine
- Natural gas through ABS plastic, ethylene
- Iron ore through ABS plastic, pigment
- Sulfur through ABS plastic, pigment
- Copper ore through lithium-ion cell, copper
- Nickel ore through lithium-ion cell, nickel
- Zinc ore through neodymium magnet, zinc
- Silica sand through printed circuit board, fiberglass
- Limestone through printed circuit board, fiberglass
- Quartz through microchip, silicon wafer
- Tin ore through solder, tin
- Coal through lithium-ion cell, aluminum
- Gold ore through microchip, gold
- Lead ore through solder, silver
- Silver ore through solder, silver
- Lithium brine through lithium-ion cell, lithium carbonate
- Spodumene through lithium-ion cell, lithium carbonate
- Cobalt ore through lithium-ion cell, cobalt
- Manganese ore through lithium-ion cell, manganese
- Titanium ore through ABS plastic, pigment, titanium dioxide
- Trona through printed circuit board, fiberglass, soda ash
- Bauxite through lithium-ion cell, aluminum, alumina
- Dolomite through lithium-ion cell, steel, magnesium
- Corn through printed circuit board, fiberglass, soda ash, carbon dioxide
- Timber through lithium-ion cell, 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: 63 things
Metals 16
CopperNickelZincTinAluminumGoldLeadSilverCobaltManganeseSteelCokeAluminaPig ironMagnesiumSteel scrap
Chemicals and fuels 32
PhenolPropyleneAcetoneCaustic sodaChlorineNaphthaAmmoniaBenzeneEthyleneStyrenePigmentOxygen gasSynthetic graphiteParaffin waxSulfuric acidHydrogenTolueneTitanium dioxideCarbon blackPara-xyleneEthylene glycolSoda ashArgonPetroleum cokeQuicklimeMethanolNitric acidCarbon dioxideFormaldehydeHydrochloric acidPropaneCharcoal
Plastics and fibers 7
Electronics 6
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.