Abstract
Keywords: Design for Recycling (DfR), End of Life Vehicles Directive (ELV), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), ISO22628
Driven be customer demand and legislation, Ecodesign has an important function in the automotive industry today. To overcome the obstacle of high time and resource demand, ProdTect as a tool has been developed to facilitate the modelling and assessment procedure. Both modules (an automotive module to calculate recycling rates and an LCA module to model environmental impacts) are based on the same product model. Using existing data from PDM, CAD and IMDS, a parametric model of the vehicle is built up, where all parts by material are represented. Additional, to reduce the complexity smaller parts can be grouped. In the automotive module, a recycability rate according to ISO 22628, needed for EU type approval is calculated. A distinction is made between pre-treatment parts (which obligatory have to be dismantled and treated separately) and reusable / recyclable parts. For the latter, an optimized disassembly depth is calculated. By including labour costs, an optimisation of disassembly costs is calculated; alternatively the recycling rate can be calculated. In the LCA module, a streamlined Life Cycle Assessment procedure is applied. The methodology was developed based on case studies and an extensive literature review. Ecoinvent was chosen as data base for materials and processes. The analysis is based on the same product model as mentioned above. Features to reduce the modelling effort are the group/ungroup function for parts as well as a "Wizard", facilitating the selection of processes for each material group. For the calculation, the allocation procedure and the indicators can be chosen; the results are usually displayed as a comparison of alternatives. The tool has potential in streamlining the design procedure, as it relies on existing data. It is product orientated and can be applied in an early product development stage by providing appropriate manufacturing processes for each material and efficient modelling. Future features of the tool include the import of excel based data, when no IMDS data are available and the development of process chains, combining manufacturing processes which are usually applied subsequent and thus can be modelled in one step.