- Email: [email protected]
Special Track on Recycling and Life Cycle Management
Copyright (£) IFAC Management and Control of Production and Logistics, Grenoble, France, 2000
SPECIAL TRACK ON RECYCLING AND LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT
Bertrand T. DAYID Laboratoire ICIT, Ecole Centrale de Lyon H.P. 163,69 131 ECULLY Cedex, France E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Recycling is a world-wide multidisciplinary problem. Not only ecological and technological fields are concerned, but also the fields covered by IFAC and IFIP, i.e. automation control and information processing . In this introductory paper for a special track on recycling and life cycle management, I would describe a more exhaustive approach to recycling and its consequences, then introduce selected papers for this track. Copyright @2000 IFAC Keywords: Recycling, information support, life cycle management, automation and control, noble recycling, used product testability, ecological and economical evaluation.
1. INTRODUCTION In this way new actors are concerned by recycling and new aspects can be taken into account. Mainly, it is now generally admitted that the recycling stage is the ultimate stage of the product life cycle and consequently must be managed as such. In this approach, the recycling problem is taken into account as early as possible, mainly during the requirement, design and manufacturing stages.
Recycling is a world-wide multidisciplinary problem. Initially, recycling was mainly considered as an endof-life problem of industrial products and was thus studied specifically for each field (mechanics, electronics, etc.). Progressively, ecological considerations became more global and transversal, and technological aspects increasingly multi-field (the automotive industry is concerned by mechanics, as well as by electronics). Recycling started to be a transversal and multidisciplinary problem.
With this approach, the fields covered by IFAC and IFIP, i.e. automation control and information processing, are more significantly concerned.
Recently new fields and new approaches have emerged. The agricultural sector is representative of this evolution. The recycling of agricultural waste and animal waste is now studied and optimized.
NaturaIly, this more global view in which new aspects are studied, calls for precise process modeling. Requirements, design, manufacturing, use, repair and recycling stages must be clearly defined from data and manipulation points of view. The product model is needed for each stage, as well as its associated automation, simulation and control tools.
Initially, the end-of-life view of recycling was generally adopted, i.e. recycling was treated exclusively in the last stage of the life cycle. Progressively, this end-of-life view was replaced by a life-cycle view.
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The objective of the noble recycling process is to identify by testing and to extract as many parts and components as possible to be re-used at the same level (without degradation) at the manufacturing stage for the production of new products with the same degree of reliability.
2. RECYCLING STUDIES Recycling can be characterized by the level of re-use, which can be either: re-use of product, parts, components, raw materials or energy. It can also be characterized by the type of action concerned: re-use, repairing, refurbishing, remanufacturing, cannibalization, recycling, dismantling.
These three stages are closely related by exchange of information. Disassembly is an activity, which to be automated, assisted or merely shared between several actors, needs to be well documented.
These characteristics can be reformulated in two main approaches identified for recycling of manufactured products: Material recycling, in which the objective is to obtain as much raw material as possible. These materials can be of a lower level then the initial ones because they will be used at this level for the production of new products. Non-recyclable parts are transformed and burned to produce energy. Noble recycling is concerned by product, subproduct, part or component re-use, without degradation, and after control and/or repairing and testing.
To obtain a product which respects the noble recycling criteria, the product must be designed specifically for this purpose. New requirements for the product can be viewed as new design constraints. We are able to illustrate them by an initial list of new design criteria which can be summarized in the following manner: Easy assembly and disassembly: • Minimizing of assembly part diversity • Minimizing of assembly/disassembly tools • Minimizing of assembly/disassembly techniques Good interchangeability • Low decomposition hierarchy • Low coupling • Good accessibility Pattern-based approach Large granularity of homogeneous subparts Testability Economical and ecological evaluation
The first approach is well known and has been used in several industrial achievements, which are economically satisfactory. The second approach appears richer and economically more interesting, but its promotion requires the solution of several major problems.
It also seems important to remember that a variety of groups are concerned by recycling: Customers and users are, or will be, sensitive to the ecological impact of product recycling. Designers a~d developers implement ecological and recycling aspects under customer and legislative pressure. The legislator draws up appropriate rules according to ecological, political and economic constraints
The first one is a correct information context concerning the product and its design and production process. Recycling without information is no longer possible. In order to disassemble the product properly and to control, repair and test it, an information context must be available. More generally, it seems fundamental to propagate information not only in the top-down way (design, manufacturing, use and recycling) but also in the bottom-up way, in order to take into account recycling requirements as early as possible.
3. CONCLUSION To achieve real noble recycling, the problem must be tackled at the design stage, in order to choose appropriate materials, allow easy separability between consumed parts and re-usable parts, integrate into the product a structure for testability and choose assembly and disassembly methods which are compatible with multiple assemblies and disassemblies by automatic, semi-automatic and manual tasks.
After selection, 8 papers have been accepted for this special track. They are representative of all aspects discussed above. Several other papers are also presented in other sections of this MCPL conference. Together, they are representative of a variety of approaches currently explored to contribute to the solution of the world-wide multidisciplinary problem of recycling and explain why and how automation control and information processing, IFAC and IFIP disciplines, are concerned by recycling.
The manufacturing stage must implement design decisions in order to allow maintenance and noble recycling tasks.
218
SPECIAL TRACK ON RECYCLING AND LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT
Bertrand T. DAYID Laboratoire ICIT, Ecole Centrale de Lyon H.P. 163,69 131 ECULLY Cedex, France E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Recycling is a world-wide multidisciplinary problem. Not only ecological and technological fields are concerned, but also the fields covered by IFAC and IFIP, i.e. automation control and information processing . In this introductory paper for a special track on recycling and life cycle management, I would describe a more exhaustive approach to recycling and its consequences, then introduce selected papers for this track. Copyright @2000 IFAC Keywords: Recycling, information support, life cycle management, automation and control, noble recycling, used product testability, ecological and economical evaluation.
1. INTRODUCTION In this way new actors are concerned by recycling and new aspects can be taken into account. Mainly, it is now generally admitted that the recycling stage is the ultimate stage of the product life cycle and consequently must be managed as such. In this approach, the recycling problem is taken into account as early as possible, mainly during the requirement, design and manufacturing stages.
Recycling is a world-wide multidisciplinary problem. Initially, recycling was mainly considered as an endof-life problem of industrial products and was thus studied specifically for each field (mechanics, electronics, etc.). Progressively, ecological considerations became more global and transversal, and technological aspects increasingly multi-field (the automotive industry is concerned by mechanics, as well as by electronics). Recycling started to be a transversal and multidisciplinary problem.
With this approach, the fields covered by IFAC and IFIP, i.e. automation control and information processing, are more significantly concerned.
Recently new fields and new approaches have emerged. The agricultural sector is representative of this evolution. The recycling of agricultural waste and animal waste is now studied and optimized.
NaturaIly, this more global view in which new aspects are studied, calls for precise process modeling. Requirements, design, manufacturing, use, repair and recycling stages must be clearly defined from data and manipulation points of view. The product model is needed for each stage, as well as its associated automation, simulation and control tools.
Initially, the end-of-life view of recycling was generally adopted, i.e. recycling was treated exclusively in the last stage of the life cycle. Progressively, this end-of-life view was replaced by a life-cycle view.
217
The objective of the noble recycling process is to identify by testing and to extract as many parts and components as possible to be re-used at the same level (without degradation) at the manufacturing stage for the production of new products with the same degree of reliability.
2. RECYCLING STUDIES Recycling can be characterized by the level of re-use, which can be either: re-use of product, parts, components, raw materials or energy. It can also be characterized by the type of action concerned: re-use, repairing, refurbishing, remanufacturing, cannibalization, recycling, dismantling.
These three stages are closely related by exchange of information. Disassembly is an activity, which to be automated, assisted or merely shared between several actors, needs to be well documented.
These characteristics can be reformulated in two main approaches identified for recycling of manufactured products: Material recycling, in which the objective is to obtain as much raw material as possible. These materials can be of a lower level then the initial ones because they will be used at this level for the production of new products. Non-recyclable parts are transformed and burned to produce energy. Noble recycling is concerned by product, subproduct, part or component re-use, without degradation, and after control and/or repairing and testing.
To obtain a product which respects the noble recycling criteria, the product must be designed specifically for this purpose. New requirements for the product can be viewed as new design constraints. We are able to illustrate them by an initial list of new design criteria which can be summarized in the following manner: Easy assembly and disassembly: • Minimizing of assembly part diversity • Minimizing of assembly/disassembly tools • Minimizing of assembly/disassembly techniques Good interchangeability • Low decomposition hierarchy • Low coupling • Good accessibility Pattern-based approach Large granularity of homogeneous subparts Testability Economical and ecological evaluation
The first approach is well known and has been used in several industrial achievements, which are economically satisfactory. The second approach appears richer and economically more interesting, but its promotion requires the solution of several major problems.
It also seems important to remember that a variety of groups are concerned by recycling: Customers and users are, or will be, sensitive to the ecological impact of product recycling. Designers a~d developers implement ecological and recycling aspects under customer and legislative pressure. The legislator draws up appropriate rules according to ecological, political and economic constraints
The first one is a correct information context concerning the product and its design and production process. Recycling without information is no longer possible. In order to disassemble the product properly and to control, repair and test it, an information context must be available. More generally, it seems fundamental to propagate information not only in the top-down way (design, manufacturing, use and recycling) but also in the bottom-up way, in order to take into account recycling requirements as early as possible.
3. CONCLUSION To achieve real noble recycling, the problem must be tackled at the design stage, in order to choose appropriate materials, allow easy separability between consumed parts and re-usable parts, integrate into the product a structure for testability and choose assembly and disassembly methods which are compatible with multiple assemblies and disassemblies by automatic, semi-automatic and manual tasks.
After selection, 8 papers have been accepted for this special track. They are representative of all aspects discussed above. Several other papers are also presented in other sections of this MCPL conference. Together, they are representative of a variety of approaches currently explored to contribute to the solution of the world-wide multidisciplinary problem of recycling and explain why and how automation control and information processing, IFAC and IFIP disciplines, are concerned by recycling.
The manufacturing stage must implement design decisions in order to allow maintenance and noble recycling tasks.
218