Boothroyd Dewhurst's Design for Environment (DFE) software simulates the disassembly of products at end-of-life, and reveals the associated cost benefits and environmental impacts of a product design. This quantitative information can then be used to make informed trade-off decisions - at the earliest concept stages of design. In several countries the responsibility for end-of-life disposal of products is already being passed to the manufacturer. In addition, companies are beginning to "take back" their products at the end of the product's life - everything from computers and electronics to appliances and other consumer goods.
With the rapid implementation of environmental legislation world-wide new tools are needed to help innovative companies turn their products green-before legislation is enacted that could put them in the red. By designing these products up-front for environmental and cost efficiency, manufacturers will gain an edge on slow-to-react competitors who face the same issues unprepared.
DFE is designed to work with the DFA software for rapid and seamless operation. Two main analyses are performed:
Financial return assessment
- Disassembly
- Disposal
- Reuse or recycling
Environmental impact assessment resulting from:
- Disassembly
- Disposal
- Reuse or recycling
The benefits of conducting a DFS analysis include reduced warranty costs, improved customer satisfaction and more environmentally sensitive products due to longer life through economical servicing. DFS is designed to work with DFA for rapid generation of dis-assembly sequences required for service and re-assembly. |
