1. Workplace Examples of Design for Disassembly

2. Workplace Examples of DfD:
“BMW's 1991 Z1 Roadster, whose plastic side panels come apart like the halves of a walnut shell, is an example of a car designed for disassembly. One of the lessons learned, is that glue or solder in bumpers should be replaced with fasteners so that the bumpers can come apart more easily and the materials can be recycled…Now BMW uses variations of polyurethane, foam, and rubber so the panel can be recycled. The portion of a car recycled is 80% by weight and BMW is aiming for 95%.”

3. Workplace Examples of DfD:
HP products are designed to be recycled. Recycling design features include:
Modular design to allow components to be removed, upgraded or replaced
Eliminating glues and adhesives, for example, by using snap-in features
Marking plastic parts weighing more than 25g according to ISO international standards, to speed up materials identification during recycling
This information was gathered from:
This web site explains in further detail the ISO international standards:

4. Workplace Examples of DfD:
HP Continued:
Reducing the number and types of materials used
Using single plastic polymers
Using molded-in colors and finishes instead of paint, coatings or plating
Relying on modular designs for ease of disassembly of dissimilar recyclable materials

5. Workplace Examples of DfD:
GE Plastics is involved in numerous consumer recycling efforts, from making tea kettles that are easy to disassemble and recycle to turning old plastic computer housings into roof tiles for restaurants. It's trying to put that kind of ingenuity to work for automakers not only in DfD, but also in design for serviceability (DfS). Greg Jones, GE Plastic's manager of design development, currently sees more OEM interest in DfS than DfD, but he sees them as being closely related.

6. Is it easy to disassemble your product?
When using the checklist, you may want to apply a weighting scale; doing so will help you see your most important parts of the disassembly process and interpret your weak and strong areas.

7. Evaluate ease of disassembly:
What are the additional operations required for disassembly?
fracturing
drilling
ungluing
heating
lubricating
– article entitled “A product/component disassembly checklist”

8. Evaluate ease of disassembly:
What are the bonding and fastening methods of parts and components?
insert molding
cohesion
adhesion
mechanical fastening
friction fitting
By knowing what exatly it will take to take the product apart, the process can be completed in less time, but if the process is simple and disassembly requires minimum effort, then it will be much easier to handle a greater volume when recycling or repairing parts.

9. Evaluate ease of disassembly:
What are the tools required for disassembly?
special tool
simple tool
by hand
If a product only requires disassembly by hand, i.e. like a lego, there are minimal costs involved with that kind of disassembly, but if the product is more complex, like a computer, there are a variety of tools needed, some specialized and some simple tools.

10. Evaluate ease of disassembly:
What is the level of difficulty for disassembly?
technician needed
assistant needed
deformation required
hold-down required
difficult access
difficult to view
When taking into consideration the level of difficulty for disassembly, it is important to think about who will be doing the disassembly. If a technician is needed then there is a cost incurred in the process, if an assistant to the technician needed there is a cost on top of that. If taking apart a product requires any deformation of the product that will reduce the amount of materials that can be reused, and therefore will cause an increase in disassembly costs.

11. Summary
With the growing world demand for manufactured goods, and the decreasing availability of landfill space, recycling is becoming more of a necessity than a good idea. By making it possible to re-use product parts, companies can decrease their production costs, decrease refuse and landfill materials, and increase their quality management. A company that can recycle and re-use their own parts is not only ahead of the game of the future, which will eventually require compliance with DfD, DfS, and other green design initiatives, but that company is also at an advantage compared to others in their industry who have not considered such changes.