This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims at an important issue in environmentally conscious manufacturing - design for disassembly (DFD). In a product's disassembly stage, parts are separated and sorted based on their environmental characteristics, or the ability to reuse, recycle, treat, or dispose of them. Successful product reuse or recycling can be achieved with the appropriate disassembly analysis methodology and software tools. This Phase I will formulate an economical disassembly model in a realistic manner based on a detailed understanding of the disassembly process and its cost drivers. An efficient and effective solution procedure will then be sought to solve the model. Finally, a Windows-based software environment will be developed to implement the methodology. Results of the disassembly analysis will include the following information for an assembly design: the optimum disassembly sequence; the terminating disassembly point (part) in the sequence; and the maximum net profit. As no commercial design for disassembly systems are on the market, the potential applications of the proposed project are promising. Based on the results and observations of this research, commercial DFD software systems will be developed for product reuse and recycling analysis. Ultimate, a commercial decision support system will be developed for environmentally conscious manufacturing.
