Abstract
This paper presents a method for evaluating the ease-of-disassembly of products. Its primary use is in designing products for recycling, but it also facilitates consideration of servicing and maintenance, and making environmentally-related decisions. The method is developed and discussed in the context of relatively small products that can be disassembled by a seated person using hand-held tools. The evaluation procedure is centered around a spreadsheet-like chart and uses a catalog of task difficulty scores. The scores were derived from work-measurement analyses of standard disassembly tasks, and provide a means of identifying weaknesses in the design and comparing alternatives quantitatively. The structure of the evaluation chart and the derivation of difficulty scores are explained, followed by a demonstration of analyzing a computer central processing unit. The limitations of the method and future extensions are outlined.
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Kroll, E., Hanft, T.A. Quantitative evaluation of product disassembly for recycling. Research in Engineering Design 10, 1–14 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01580266
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01580266