Sustainability through disassembly modeling, planning, and leveling: a case study

The increasing environmental and economic pressures have contributed to the practice of recycling and remanufacturing. Product disassembly is a vital strategy of industrial recycling and remanufacturing which retrieves the desired parts and/or subassemblies by separating a product into its constituents. In this context, decision for disassembly gains importance. Disassembly modeling and planning is a critical activity rather than assembly, because the terminal goal is not vitally fixed, but depends on the product usage and market demands for used parts and recycled materials. Disassembly involves more uncertainties in system structures and components rather than in assembly. This article applies the recent methods for modeling and process planning the disassembly to an industrial product, i.e., rotary switch. The disassembly approach has been practically validated in industrial scenario.