Automating non-destructive product disassembly sequence generation

Abstract

This paper focuses on presenting a newly developed product design software tool, referred to as ''OPTIDIS'', that is intended for effectivelly generating, evaluating, and optimizng customized non-destructive product disassembly sequences. The main advantages of this Concurrent Engineering tool include the ability to predict, evaluate, and define optimal disassembly sequences as early as possible into the product design stage while keeping the cost of disassembly operations as low as possible. In this context, ''OPTIDIS'' can be utilized to increase the percentage of reuse of components and material recycling, reduce their adverse impact on the environment, ease the servicing of products, and secure a greater total return from the end-of-life products. In essense, this enginering tool is capable of integrating the three-dimensional CAD (Computer Aided Design) solid model information that exists for a conceptual design solution for a given technical device with the established constraints regarding its assembly. Consequently, product design engineers can thereby obtain valuable insights and effective means for optimizing product’s disassembly sequences at a very early stage of the design process.