A common recommendation when designing for disassembly is to develop more modular products. The common belief is that an increase in modularity will systematically reduce the time required in order to disassemble the product, reducing the cost of the process. This paper studies the statistical relationship between these two concepts by comparing 15 different electrical products. Modularity and disassembly performance are assessed by different indicators each and their correlation is analyzed. The results show that the aforementioned relationship cannot be statistically proven and, for some of the cases, even inverse correlation is found. Factors such as product structure or selected end-of-life strategy are more important than modularity in end-of-life performance. Systematic modularization can even result in products with a worse behavior: For most electrical equipment, generating modules from a functional or manufacturing point of view will most probably result in worse end-of-life performance. It is only for modules with very specific properties that performance can be guaranteed.
1.
European Commission
, 2003, “Directive 2002/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
,” Official Journal of the European Union, L37/26.2.
Rose
, C.
, 2000, “Design for Environment: A Method for Formulating End-of-Life Strategies
,” Ph.D. thesis, Stanford University, CA.3.
Bryant
, C. R.
, Sivaramkrishnan
, K. L.
, Van Wie
, M.
, Stone
, R. B.
, and McAdams
, D. A.
, 2004, “A Modular Design Approach to Support Sustainable Design
,” Proceedings of the ASME 2004 Design Engineering Technical Conference and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference
, Salt Lake City, UT.4.
Newcomb
, P. J.
, Bras
, B.
, and Rosen
, D. W.
, 1998, “Implications of Modularity on Product Design for the Life Cycle
,” ASME J. Mech. Des.
0161-8458, 120
, pp. 483
–490
.5.
Gu
, P.
, and Sosale
, S.
, 1999, “Product Modularization for Life Cycle Engineering
,” Rob. Comput.-Integr. Manufact.
0736-5845, 15
, pp. 387
–401
.6.
Gershenson
, J. K.
, Prasad
, G. J.
, and Zhang
, Y.
, 2003, “Product Modularity: Definitions and Benefits
,” J. Eng. Design
0954-4828, 14
(3
), pp. 295
–313
.7.
Zhang
, Y.
, and Gershenson
, J. K.
, 2002, “Questioning the Direct Relation Between Product Modularity and Retirement Cost
,” Journal of Sustainable Product Design
1573-1588, 2
, pp. 53
–68
.8.
Zhang
, Y.
, and Gershenson
, J. K.
, 2003, “An Initial Study of Direct Relationships Between Life-Cycle Modularity and Life-Cycle Cost
,” Concurr. Eng. Res. Appl.
1063-293X, 11
(2
), pp. 121
–128
.9.
Gershenson
, J. K.
, Prasad
, G. J.
, and Zhang
, Y.
, 2004, “Product Modularity: Measures and Design Methods
,” J. Eng. Design
0954-4828, 15
(1
), pp. 33
–51
.10.
Sosa
, M. E.
, Eppinger
, S. D.
, and Rowles
, C. M.
, 2003, “Identifying Modular and Integrative Systems and Their Impact on Design Team Interactions
,” ASME J. Mech. Des.
0161-8458, 125
, pp. 240
–252
.11.
Güngör
, A.
, and Gupta
, S. M.
, 2002, “Disassembly Line in Product Recovery
,” Int. J. Prod. Res.
0020-7543, 40
(11
), pp. 2569
–2589
.12.
Tonnelier
, P.
, Millet
, D.
, Richir
, S.
, and Lecoq
, M.
, 2005, “Is it Possible to Evaluate the Recovery Potential Earlier in the Design Process? Proposal of a Qualitative Evaluation Tool
,” J. Eng. Design
0954-4828, 16
(3
), pp. 297
–309
.13.
Ardente
, F.
, Beccali
, G.
, and Cellura
, M.
, 2003, “Eco-Sustainable Energy and Environmental Strategies in Design for Recycling: The Software ‘ENDLESS’
,” Ecol. Modell.
0304-3800, 163
, pp. 101
–118
.14.
Hula
, A.
, Jalali
, K.
, Haniza
, K.
, Skerlos
, S. J.
, and Saitou
, K.
, 2003, “Multi-Criteria Decision-Making for Optimization of Product Disassembly Under Multiple Situations
,” Environ. Sci. Technol.
0013-936X, 37
(23
), pp. 5303
–5313
.15.
Rios
, P.
, Blyler
, L.
, Tieman
, L.
, Stuart
, J. A.
, and Grant
, E.
, 2003, “A Symbolic Methodology to Improve Disassembly Process Design
,” Environ. Sci. Technol.
0013-936X, 37
(23
), pp. 5417
–5423
.16.
Güngör
, A.
, and Gupta
, S. M.
, 2001, “Disassembly Sequence Plan Generation Using Branch-and-Bound Algorithm
,” Int. J. Prod. Res.
0020-7543, 39
(3
), pp. 481
–509
.17.
Lambert
, A. J. D.
, 2002, “Determining Optimal Disassembly Sequences in Electronic Equipment
,” Comput. Ind. Eng.
0360-8352, 43
, pp. 553
–575
.18.
Di Marco
, P.
, Eubanks
, C. F.
, and Ishii
, K.
, 1994, “Compatibility Analysis of Product Design for Recyclability and Reuse
,” Proceedings of the ASME 1994 Design Engineering Technical Conference and Computers in Engineering Conference
, Minneapolis, MN.19.
Rai
, R.
, Rai
, V.
, Tiwari
, M. K.
, and Allada
, C.
, 2002, “Disassembly Sequence Generation: A Petri Net Based Heuristic Approach
,” Int. J. Prod. Res.
0020-7543, 40
(13
), pp. 3183
–3198
.20.
Dini
, G.
, Faili
, F.
, and Santochi
, M.
, 2001, “A Disassembly Planning Software System for the Optimization of Recycling Processes
,” Prod. Plann. Contr.
, 12
(1
), pp. 2
–12
.21.
Moore
, K. E.
, Güngör
, A.
, and Gupta
, S. M.
, 2001, “Petri Net Approach to Disassembly Process Planning for Products With Complex AND/OR Relationships
,” Eur. J. Oper. Res.
0377-2217, 135
, pp. 428
–449
.22.
Kuo
, T. C.
, 2000, “Disassembly Sequence and Cost Analysis for Electromechanical Products
,” Rob. Comput.-Integr. Manufact.
0736-5845, 16
, pp. 43
–54
.23.
Ishii
, K.
, 1998, “Modularity: A Key Concept in Product Life-Cycle Engineering
,” Handbook of Life-cycle Engineering
, A.
Molina
, J. M.
Sánchez
, and A.
Kusiak
, eds., Kluwer
, Dordrecht
.24.
Pahl
, G.
, and Beitz
, W.
, 1996, Engineering Design: A Systematic Approach
, 1st ed., Springer-Verlag
, Berlin
.25.
Ulrich
, K. T.
, and Eppinger
, S. D.
, 1995, Product Design and Development
, 1st ed., McGraw-Hill
, New York
.26.
Kota
, S.
, Sethuraman
, K.
, and Miller
, R.
, 2000, “A Metric for Evaluating Design Commonality in Product Families
,” ASME J. Mech. Des.
0161-8458, 122
, pp. 403
–410
.27.
Suh
, N. P.
, 1990, The Principles of Design
, Oxford University Press
, New York
.28.
Ullman
, D. G.
, 1997, The Mechanical Design Process
, 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill
, New York
.29.
Tanskanen
, P.
, and Takala
, R.
, 2006, “A Decomposition of the End of Life Process
,” J. Cleaner Prod.
0959-6526, 14
, pp. 1326
–1332
.30.
Kusiak
, A.
, 2002, “Integrated Product and Process Design: A Modularity Perspective
,” J. Eng. Design.
, 13
(3
), pp. 223
–231
.31.
Huang
, C. C.
, and Kusiak
, A.
, 1998, “Modularity in Design of Products and Systems
,” IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern. A Syst. Hum.
, 28
(1
), pp. 66
–77
.32.
Jones
, N.
, Harrison
, D.
, Hussein
, H.
, Billete
, E.
, and Chiodo
, J.
, 2003, “Towards Self-Disassembling Vehicles
,” Journal of Sustainable Product Design
1573-1588, 3
, pp. 59
–74
.33.
Shalaby
, M.
, and Saitou
, K.
, 2009, “High-Stiffness, Lock-and-Key Heat-Reversible Locator-Snap Systems for the Design for Disassembly
,” ASME J. Mech. Des.
0161-8458, 131
(4
), pp. 041005
-1–041005-9
.34.
Shalaby
, M.
, and Saitou
, K.
, 2008, “Design for Disassembly With High-Stiffness Heat-Reversible Locator-Snap Systems
,” ASME J. Mech. Des.
0161-8458, 130
(12
), pp. 121701
-1–121701-7
.35.
Johnson
, M. R.
, and Wang
, M. H.
, 1998, “Economical Evaluation of Disassembly Operations for Recycling, Remanufacturing and Reuse
,” Int. J. Prod. Res.
0020-7543, 36
(12
), pp. 3227
–3252
.36.
Pnueli
, Y.
, and Zussman
, E.
, 1997, “Evaluating the End-of-Life Value of a Product and Improving It by Redesigning
,” Int. J. Prod. Res.
0020-7543, 35
(4
), pp. 921
–942
.37.
Lee
, S. G.
, Lye
, S. W.
, and Khoo
, M. K.
, 2001, “A Multi-Objective Methodology for Evaluating Product End-of-Life Options and Disassembly
,” Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol.
0268-3768, 18
, pp. 148
–156
.38.
Collado-Ruiz
, D.
, 2007, “Propuesta prescriptiva para la integración del ecodiseño y el diseño para el reciclaje en el proceso de desarrollo de productos
,” Ph.D. thesis, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Spain.39.
Leech
, N. L.
, Barrett
, K. C.
, and Morgan
, G. A.
, 2004, SPSS for Intermediate Statistics: Use and Interpretation
, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
, London
.40.
Morgan
, G. A.
, Leech
, N. L.
, Gloeckner
, G. W.
, and Barrett
, K. C.
, 2004, SPSS for Introductory Statistics: Use and Interpretation
, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
, London
.Copyright © 2010
by American Society of Mechanical Engineers
You do not currently have access to this content.
