Integration of Assembly and Disassembly - A Strategic Approach

Small and medium sized companies in particular feel the public and legislative pressure to take back their products. Current research activities at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA) deal with the integration of manufacturing and recycling in the same factory. Using the existing recycling network this new strategy will lead to absolutely new forms of manufacturing. Focussing on the potentials of this strategic approach, the paper deals in detail with the integration of design for manufacturing and recycling.