A Methodology to Evaluate Ease of Disassembly for Product Recycling

Abstract

Quantitative measures and a procedure for evaluating the ease of disassembly of products when recycling them are presented. A rating scheme is described that allows the designer to translate form properties of a design into quantitative scores, and thus provides a means of identifying weaknesses in the design and comparing alternatives. As part of a broader effort in design for disassembly and recycling, the current work emphasizes the provision of feedback to the designer. The discussion focuses around robotic disassembly for recycling of small electrical appliances; however, the same methodology applies to manual dismantling and other products.