Disassembly analysis through time estimation and other metrics

This paper examines the problem of assessing product ease of disassembly fo r recycling in light of the broader issue of manufacturability evaluation. The disassembly time estimation method outlined here is shown to provide on e of several needed metrics for use during product design. Moreover, the ab ility to estimate process time provides the foundation upon which other met rics can be developed. The evaluation based on disassembly time is demonstr ated on an electric drill example, and the difficulties associated with gen erating other disassemblability metrics are discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Sc ience Ltd. All rights reserved.