Abstract
In this paper, a new approach is introduced that supports a designer considering all environmental aspects of the entire product lifecycle. Within the scope of this project, a computer supported design environment is developed. By means of this software system, a designer can determine the environmental impact of all phases of a product lifecycle. In this way, he is able to reduce the total environmental impact which is caused by the various processes of the product life phases-such as raw material extraction, manufacturing, use, recycling and waste management. This is supported by the design environment which is based on a CORBA-system architecture and integrates the CAD-software, a design rule library, a comprehensive database with technical, economical and ecological data of materials, products and processes as well as a tool for assessing the environmental impact. The integration of all these systems is based on a coherent object oriented information model. The recycling phase is used as an example to explain the architecture of the design environment and the use of it by the designer.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have