A method to assess the lifetime prolongation capabilities of products. (3rd July 2008)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Willems, B.; Dewulf, W.; Duflou, J.R.
• Is Part Of: International journal of sustainable manufacturing. Volume 1 Number 1/2(2008)
• Page Start: 122
• Page End: 144
• Publication Date: 2008-07-03
• Subjects: design for adaptation -- product life cycle -- PLC -- product design improvements -- sustainable manufacturing -- product design -- product lifetime -- design evaluation; Sustainable design -- Periodicals; Design, Industrial -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Sustainable engineering -- Periodicals; 745.2
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1742-7223

Abstract

To achieve a sustainable growth, it is necessary to pursue the decoupling of economic welfare from the use of virgin resources: a shift from a linear economy to a closed-loop economy is required. Consequently, adaptation processes such as maintenance, repair, upgrading and remanufacturing are needed. This paper presents a dedicated method to assess the lifetime prolongation capabilities of products by evaluating their design. The method determines the suitability of a product to undergo adaptation processes and the improvement potential within the design of a product, its components and joints, using an aggregated metric.