Derivation of Criteria for Identifying Lightweight Potential – A Literature Review

Abstract

AbstractLightweight potential is a powerful indicator – but not as powerful as it could be. Current methods for analyzing a product's potential to be reduced in mass only deal with a few of the most important criteria for lightweight design. The amount of literature dealing with lightweight design is significant, yet it can help to understand these versatile criteria. Firstly, the literature on this topic will therefore be reviewed to derive a broad set of criteria used in contemporary lightweight design. Secondly, a further review will reveal the criteria used to derive lightweight potential. Subsequently, both sets will be compared to identify the missing criteria used for the derivation of lightweight potential. This will support designers in two ways. On the one hand, matching and combining both criteria sets will enable the most representative criteria for a particular design case to be chosen, thus leading to a more comprehensible derivation of lightweight potential. On the other hand, the combination set will provide a basis for designers and design teams to refine their understanding of their own motivations for conducting lightweight design.