Design for Remanufacture through Efficient Use of Product Life-cycle data
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Linköpings universitet - Institutionen för ekonomisk och industriell utveckling |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 778 000 |
| Project duration | November 2012 - August 2013 |
| Status | Completed |
Purpose and goal
Today, few products are designed for remanufacture. The project´s objective was to use product life-cycle information in an efficient manner so designers understand how to perform design for remanufacturing. Information from the product life-cycle is vital to designers to improve next generation of products. Design for remanufacture has shown preferable from an environmental perspective but also a possibility for manufacturers to increase their profits.
Results and expected effects
The project has generated knowledge about which information needed in order to perform design for remanufacture and an efficient remanufacturing. Traditionally designers have to more focus on manufacturing, service rather than remanufacturing. With increasing remanufacturing volumes these aspects gets more attention for manufacturers to improve their business. The effects of this project and upcoming projects are to increase the competitiveness of Swedish industry by resource-efficient products and achieving lower ecological footprint.
Approach and implementation
The project was conducted by researchers from Linköping University and Chalmers Institute of Technology through four work packages; Literature study, Case study, Evaluation and Result dissemination. The case studies were mainly performed through semi-structured interviews. These interviews were complimented with industrial workshops to collect more data. The results were spread through result workshops and presented at two international research conferences. The result dissemination is planned to continue during the upcoming project.