A Variety Metric Accounting for Unbalanced Idea Space Distributions

AbstractProving the effectiveness of an idea generation method is key to its acceptance in an industrial and academic environment. This necessitates the development of a set of widely accepted metrics covering the different aspects on which idea generation methods can be characterized. This paper gives an overview of the existing metrics, and demonstrates a number of shortcomings in the variety metric, such as not accounting for the fairness of the distribution of ideas over nodes on an abstraction level. A level-based, correctly normalized variety metric, based on the Shannon entropy, is proposed which is shown to resolve the identified issues

eDIM: further development of the method to assess the ease of disassembly and reassembly of products: Application to notebook computers

The goal of this research is to further develop the eDIM method based on a new application to some exemplary laptops, also referred to as notebooks, which is a product group that is under review for the Eco-design Directive. This study aims at evaluating the applicability of the eDIM method as a standardised method for the assessment of the ability to access or non-destructively remove and reassemble certain components/assemblies from products. The scope of this study is limited to non-destructive, also refered to as reversible, disassembly and reassembly for the purpose of repair, remanufacture and reuse. In addition, the method has been further revised to address comments received from different stakeholders on the technical report outlining the eDIM method and during the presentation of the “Study for a method to assess the ease of disassembly of electrical and electronic equipment”. All comments received, which will be addressed in the presented study, relate to the following main topics: - Applicability of the eDIM method to a broader range of products including small, portable electronics. - Applicability of the eDIM method for other types of connectors, such as glues requiring wedge/pry and peel actions to be released - Applicability of the eDIM method for partial disassembly, different levels of disassembly, reassembly and how to deal with the allocation of the (re)disassembly time for components that need to be disassembled sequentially. - Applicability of the eDIM method to identify potential improvements for product’s designs.JRC.D.3-Land Resource

Energy consumption analysis of robot based SPIF

Part of: Seliger, Günther (Ed.): Innovative solutions : proceedings / 11th Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing, Berlin, Germany, 23rd - 25th September, 2013. - Berlin: Universitätsverlag der TU Berlin, 2013. - ISBN 978-3-7983-2609-5 (online). - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:83-opus4-40276. - pp. 131–136.Production processes, as used for discrete part manufacturing, are responsible for a substantial part of the environmental impact of products, but are still poorly documented in terms of environmental impact. A thorough analysis of the causes affecting the environmental impact in metal forming processes is mandatory. The present study presents an energy consumption analysis, including a power study of Single Point Incremental Forming (SPIF) processes using a 6-axes robot platform. The present paper aims to investigate whether the fixed energy consumption is predominant or negligible in comparison to the actual forming operation. Power studies are performed in order to understand the contribution of each sub-unit towards the total energy demand. The influence of the most relevant process parameters, as well as the material being processed and the sheet positioning, with respect to the power demand are analysed

Sustainable aluminium recycling of end-of-life products: A joining techniques perspective

The sustainable management of aluminium has become crucial due to the exponential growth in global demand. The transition to a sustainable society with lightweight electric vehicles has led to the increasing use of aluminium in the transportation sector. This has consequently led to the importance of aluminium recycling to prevent the valuable material stream going to landfill. In addition, the extraction of primary aluminium has high environmental impact due to the high energy consumption and waste generation in comparison to secondary aluminium processing. Despite being one of the most recycled metals, ongoing trends of multi-material designs and the associated joining choices have caused increasing difficulty of separating aluminium with high purity. This paper evaluates the types of joining techniques causing impurities in the aluminium streams, and the relationship between particle size reduction and the presence of impurities due to joints particularly for end-of-life vehicles. An empirical experiment in a leading European recycling facility was conducted and demonstrated that mechanical fasteners, such as machine screws, socket screws, bolt screws and rivets, are the major types of joining technique causing impurities. Based on the observations from this case study, the characteristics of imperfectly liberated joints are examined. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is also performed to evaluate the environmental impact of recycling different aluminium scrap qualities with varying impurity levels. The outcomes are then used to provide ecodesign guidelines aimed at improving the quality and increase the quantity of recycled aluminium.This study is supported by the Commonwealth Government CRC Program (AutoCRC), the Australian National University, and the Centre for Industrial Management, University of Leuven

Tool Design for Electronic Product Dismantling

AbstractIn industrialized countries, waste electrical and electronic equipment is mostly processed in shredder-based processes, which are characterized by a low recovery of precious metals, rare earth elements and flame retardant plastics. To increase the recycling efficiency for these materials, a dismantling tool has been developed. The development process of the dismantling tool was guided by in-depth analysis of the required disassembly time for LCD TVs and laptops. The results of practical experiments demonstrate that the use of the dismantling tool enable to reduce the dismantling time for plastic housing components and PWBs with respectively 36% and 45% for LCD TVs

Comparative Study of End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling in Australia and Belgium

The increasing complexity of multi-material vehicle designs has created challenges for vehicle recycling. Many countries have implemented different end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) treatment policies and guidelines. For example, the European Commission has set recycling and recovery targets for end-of-life vehicle (ELV). This paper discusses a comparative study on the legislative boundaries and environmental performance of the current ELV recycling processes analysed between recycling companies in Australia and Belgium. It is shown that the strict implementation of the ELV Directive in Belgium has led to better environmental performance, by a factor of 7.9 in comparison to the Australian scenario. The enactment of strict ELV legislation, adoption of advanced recycling technologies, and improvement of the recycling efficiencies of revenue streams are identified as the major influencing factors for a sustainable ELV management system.This study is supported by the Commonwealth Government CRC Program (AutoCRC) and The Australian National Universit

Numerical simulation of a pyramid steel sheet formed by single point incremental forming using solid-shell finite elements

peer reviewedSingle Point Incremental Forming (SPIF) is an interesting manufacturing process due to its dieless nature and its increased formability compared to conventional forming processes. Nevertheless, the process suffers from large geometric deviations when compared to the original CAD profile. One particular example arises when analyzing a truncated two-slope pyramid. In this paper, a finite element simulation of this geometry is carried out using a newly implemented solid-shell element, which is based on the Enhanced Assumed Strain (EAS) and the Assumed Natural Strain (ANS) techniques. The model predicts the shape of the pyramid very well, correctly representing the springback and the through thickness shear (TTS). Besides, the effects of the finite element mesh refinement, the EAS and ANS techniques on the numerical prediction are presented. It is shown that the EAS modes included in the model have a significant influence on the accuracy of the results

Evaluating material failure of AHSS using acoustic emission analysis

Driven by high energy prices and strict legal requirements on CO2 emissions, high-strength sheet steel materials are increasingly gaining importance in the automotive industry regarding electric vehicles and their battery range. Simulation-based design of forming processes can contribute to exploiting their high potential for lightweight design. However, previous studies show that numerical simulation with conventional forming limit curves does not always provide adequate prediction quality. Failure models that take the stress state into account represent an alternative prediction method for the shear-dominated failure, that frequently occur in high-strength steels during forming. The failure behaviour of the sheet materials can be determined by different specimen geometries for a wide range of stress states and by using an optical measurement system to record the local strain on the surface of the specimen at the location of failure. However, for many high-strength steels, critical damage or failure initiation already occurs inside the specimen. Therefore, a method is needed that allows detection of failure initiation at an early stage before the crack becomes visible on the surface of the specimen. One possible method is the use of acoustic emission analysis. By coupling it with an imaging technique, the critical strains leading to failure initiation inside the specimen can be determined. In the presented paper, butterfly tests are performed for a wide range of stress states and measured with an optical as well as an acoustical measurement system. The tests are analysed regarding the failure initiation using a mechanical, optical as well as acoustical evaluation method and compared with each other

Numerical analyses of the influence of a counter punch during deep drawing

In the automotive sector, the demand for high crash safety and lightweight construction has led to an increased use of steels with higher strengths. However, the rising number of varying materials with different strengths and ductilities lead to an increasing complexity in productionmaking it more challenging to ensure robust processes. Therefore, the focus of current researches still lays on the further development and extension of forming processes to enable high productivity and reliable production. A powerful tool for an efficient optimisation and extension of forming processes is the Finite Element Method (FEM), which offers time-and cost saving potentials in the design phase. In deep drawing, the use of a counter punch offers the possibility oextending the process limits. By superimposing compressive stresses on the workpiece, the initiation of cracks can be delayed, thus higher drawing ratios can be achieved. The aim of this research is therefore the numerical investigation of a deep drawing process with a counter punch to analyse the influence on the crack initiation and identify optimisation potentials for the processFor this cause, the applied force as well as the position and geometry of the counter punch are varied and the influence on fracture initiation is evaluated. It is found that the applied force on the counter punch is the major influencing factor for crack initiation. Furthermore, it was concluded that the contact between the counter punch and the workpiece should be applied as soon as the bottom of the cup is shaped. A further improvement can be achieved if the counter punch is geometrically adapted to the bottom of the workpiece