DFD Evaluation for Not Automated Products

The design process is subjected to economical and environmental restrictions since the early phases of preliminary design. Recycling or reusing of parts have to be optimized in order to enhance the ecological impact of a product. This impact can be evaluated through the disassembly capability of joints assembling the product, even when the production process is subject to an important contribute of workmanship. In this paper a useful method is proposed to analyze the disassembly capability of products, also of handcrafted products, in order to optimize the design process in the early preliminary phase. The aim is to define some parameters that describes the attitude of a product to be disassembled by means of the evaluation of an index. The Disassembly Index is influenced by three parameters: the number of different materials of each joint, the time necessary to disassemble each joint, the recoverability of parts after the disassembly is completed.