Evaluating the end-of-life value of a product andimproving it by redesign

Abstract

As society progresses towards ecological maturity, the issue of reducing the environmental burden imposed by worn-out products becomes increasingly prominent. For a given product, the design stage is the best one at which this issue should be tackled. An algorithmic approach to this design-for-recycling problem is presented, based on a new algorithm for quantitative evaluation of the end-of-life value of a product. Given this algorithm, routines for identifying weak spots in the design, as well as for suggesting possible solutions, are built. In a CAD environment that can verify design against specification, automation of the optimization for recycling is thus possible in a way concurrent with other optimization considerations.