Whole Life Cycle Of Product Research Articles

A case study of whale optimization algorithm for scheduling in C2M model

With the continuous upgrading of industrial technology and information technology, consumers can deeply participate in the whole life cycle of products and realize customized production. These unprecedented changes have brought consumers and manufacturers closer together, resulting in the intelligent business model of "Internet + Customized Production" and "Customer to Manufacturer (C2M)". C2M has been adopted by more and more companies. However, the transition from traditional business models to C2M is a problem that every company must face and solve. Personalized orders of many varieties and small lots put enormous pressure on the production of mainly labor-intensive electronic assembly companies. The theoretical findings of Industry 4.0 and Lean Manufacturing show that people play a central role in assembly operations. As an important element of the production system, worker scheduling has a direct impact on delivery time and cost. Worker scheduling requires not only matching people to jobs, but also considering flexible employment. According to the "Learning Curve" theory, workers with learning potential can continuously enrich their skills and work efficiency will show dynamic changes. Therefore, under the condition of shortest order delivery time and lowest cost, worker scheduling considering the learning effect becomes a challenge for enterprise decision makers. Firstly, the production method of manufacturing industry in C2M environment is studied. Then, based on single-skill task and multi-skill task, respectively, a learning curve-based model of dynamic change in worker skill level is constructed. And this model is used as the input of the assembly line worker scheduling model. Secondly, an Elite Non-dominant Sorting Whale Optimization Algorithm (ENS-WOA) is designed for this multi-objective optimization problem. The correctness and feasibility of the proposed algorithm are verified by selecting classical arithmetic cases for experimental comparison with other algorithms. Finally, the established worker efficiency change model, worker scheduling model and the proposed algorithm are applied to optimize the assembly line of water pump products of Company B, which is being transformed to C2M, and solved by MATLAB software. The results show that the model proposed in this paper is effective, stable and practical compared with the worker costs and delivery period required to complete the order in the original assembly line. Worker costs were reduced by 29.02% and orders were completed approximately 10 days earlier.

Impact of additional carbon storage of natural plant fiber on product carbon footprint: A case study of cotton/kapok blended T-shirt VS pure cotton T-shirt

Researchers have drawn their attention to natural plant fibers in recent years owing to the significant energy consumption and detrimental environmental impact of textile and apparel industry and the imperative of environmental protection. While the potential for mitigating carbon emissions of apparel products deriving from woody versus herbaceous fiber crops remains unclear. Moreover, extant studies only take limited processes as a case demonstration, rather than exploring the impact of additional carbon storage throughout the whole life cycle. Therefore, this study extended the system boundary to the whole life cycle of products from the raw material extraction to the end-of-life disposal stage, conducted a whole life cycle carbon footprint (CF) analysis of cotton/kapok blended T-shirts and pure cotton T-shirts at each stage of their life cycle based on carbon storage accounting method. The results revealed that the CF of 1 kg pure cotton T-shirt is 9.469 kg CO2eq, while for 1 kg cotton/kapok blended T-shirt, it's −24.249 kg CO2eq. Correspondingly, the carbon storages of these T-shirts are −15.653 kg CO2eq and −43.442 kg CO2eq, respectively. This proved that long-term additional carbon storage may possess relatively higher carbon storage due to woody crops' multi-annuality compared with herbaceous crops. When considering carbon emissions during industrial manufacturing and consumer use stages, it's recommended to opt for heavier T-shirts when fabric thickness between pure cotton and cotton/kapok blended T-shirts are comparable, as this choice may align better with environmental considerations, and adopting appropriate washing and caring practices such as choosing lighter-weight garments, utilizing appropriate washing program and detergent dose, opting for air-drying and avoiding ironing when caring for clothing are also advised. The study results affirmed the feasibility of achieving carbon neutrality in apparel products and could provide methodological guidance for future assessment for future research.

Supply chain design and planning for the carpet industry considering recycling processes

This paper introduces a mixed-integer linear programming model to tackle the design and planning problem of Closed Loop Supply Chains in the carpet industry. A distinctive feature of the approach is handling different recovery processes involving dissimilar activities and flows of recovered materials. Moreover, the reverse network facilities and logistics are completely integrated with the forward network structure, in order to obtain a high level of customer supply while considering economic goals. In addition, the economies of scale for the recycling facilities are also explicitly handled. The model allows to determine the products and quantities to be manufactured, transported, stored, and recycled to cover the demand of a set of customers. The objective function is to maximize the profit of the whole life-cycle of products. An example based on an industrial case that involves the recovery of raw materials is presented to show the relevance of the method.

Blockchain Technology Applied to Supply Chain Management: A Systems’ Analysis

Blockchain technology can be used to record real data at various nodes in the entire supply chain and can achieve timely data sharing and full traceability of the whole lifecycle of products in the supply chain. This study conducts a systematic literature review based on the WOS database, focusing on the research topic of the application of blockchain technology in supply chain management. We propose clear search and screening criteria based on 4 research questions and finally obtain 591 target studies. We conduct a detailed study on the distribution of the target literature in this research area, country/region, institution, and journal. Different countries/regions cooperate with each other and, thus, are clustered into five significant countries regions’ cooperation networks. There is a strong coupling relationship between research institutions, forming four major institutional cooperation networks. According to the analysis of those papers with a high number of citations, most of such papers were published in 2019, while the cross-citation phenomenon between papers occurred more frequently in 2021 and 2022. We use VOSviewer for visual coupling analysis of all keywords, which are automatically clustered into three research hotspots. Using CiteSpace to perform timeline-based keyword cooccurrence analysis, we find that scholars have gone through a “discovery-acceptance-question-improvement” process for the application of blockchain technology in supply chain management. According to the intensity and duration of burst detection words in different years, we draw three key points for future research. (i) Blockchain technology should be used to restructure and optimize the high-end food and medical cold chain supply chains. (ii) Blockchain technology should be used to enhance the cooperative relationship between supply chain members and the overall competitiveness of the supply chain. (iii) Innovate blockchain encryption technology that should be used to reduce the risk of information and privacy leakage in the supply chain.

A New Product Configuration Model for Low Product Cost and Carbon-Neutral Expenditure

In the background of global carbon-neutral requirements, enterprises need to control carbon emissions in the process of product lifecycles in order to gain market competitive advantages. Previous product configuration studies, mostly focused on minimizing carbon dioxide emissions, have ignored the issue of carbon-neutral costs. This study quantifies the product costs borne by enterprises and the carbon-neutral cost borne by the government, respectively. A carbon-neutral cost model for suppliers, enterprises, customers, and recycling plants in the whole life cycle of products was constructed. The whole life cycle carbon emissions and the unit carbon removal costs were taken into account in the carbon-neutral cost model. By minimizing product and carbon-neutral costs, a bi-objective integer programming model was constructed. The NSGA-II algorithm was introduced to solve the Pareto front of the model. The feasibility and effectiveness of this method were then illustrated through a case study and results comparison. It showed that, compared with the scheme of carbon emissions reduction, the optimization scheme with carbon-neutral costs as the object had a significant change. Integrating carbon-neutral costs into product development activities was effective in reducing the enterprise’s product cost and the government’s financial expenditure on carbon removal simultaneously. The proposed model could provide a win–win product configuration scheme for the government and enterprises.

Sustainable model of agricultural product logistics integration based on intelligent blockchain technology

Agricultural product logistics plays a high role in the development of Chinese economy, which is the most important basic link in the process of agricultural industrialization, scale and modernization. The logistics of agricultural products in China has always been at a low standard of development, slow development or even stagnation. As the most basic and important agricultural product industry in the national economy, the degree and mode of development of agricultural products have a great impact on the development of Chinese economy and people’s quality of living. Therefore, new models and approaches for the construction and development of agricultural product logistics must be actively explored to promote the standardization and scale of China’s agricultural product logistics industry. Therefore, the paper constructed a sustainable model of agricultural products logistics integration based on blockchain technology, and proposed a comprehensive logistics model of agricultural products based on intelligent blockchain, which was expected to provide some help to solve the problems of supply and demand mismatch, quality safety management, agricultural product price fluctuation and other problems in the current agricultural product circulation. The paper first introduced the intelligent blockchain technology and the concept of agricultural product logistics integration, and then constructed a sustainable model of agricultural product logistics integration. The paper gave a general description of the model and conduct comparative experiments on its effectiveness. The paper found that the agricultural product logistics industry based on intelligent blockchain technology could achieved at least 40% of the additional revenue. After verification, the limitations of intelligent blockchain technology were also proposed and corresponding suggestions are given. At the end of this paper, the paper proposed that blockchain technology can realize the information visualization and traceability of the whole life cycle of products, which can effectively solve some new problems in the agricultural supply side structural reform and had broad application prospects.

Research on reducing CWS value based on product lean design

The research on improving production efficiency and reducing labor cost by reducing production CWS is the focus of notebook computer manufacturing enterprises. This research breaks the traditional method of reducing CWS at the production end and chooses to find breakthroughs from the whole life cycle of products. Finally, innovatively based on product lean design, and from the product design side, explore the optimization opportunity to reduce the CWS value of product production, so as to achieve the purpose of reducing CWS. Firstly, laptop model S is selected as the research object, and its structure disassembly and analysis, assembly action research and station sequencing were carried out to preliminarily determine the product production process. According to the production bottleneck process time, the current CT of the production line was determined to be 13S, and the initial CWS value of the production line was calculated to be 0.2167. Then, based on the principles of lean product design, the CONN of FAN, Battery, Speaker and RCT are optimized to make their assembly easier. The SSD fixation method, I/O BKT and I/O modular design are optimized to eliminate the need for auxiliary BKT assembly. In addition, Center Hook and WLAN were integrated on MB, and their assembly was cancelled, so that the design of the optimized parts was more integrated and modular. Then, the optimized product was rearranged for production. The CWS value of the optimized product was 0.1589, which decreased by 27 % compared with that before optimization.

Turning trash into treasure: An approach to the environmental assessment of waste prevention and its application to clothing and furniture in Switzerland

AbstractAccording to the waste hierarchy, waste prevention is environmentally superior to recycling or recovery, hence its inclusion in government policy. The assessment and prioritization of waste prevention strategies are impeded, inter alia, by ambiguous definitions and the lack of a sound environmental assessment method. In this study, a systematic approach to the environmental assessment of waste prevention activities (WPAs), covering the whole life cycle of products, was developed. The approach combines material flow analysis and life cycle assessment with a sustainable circular system design framework whilst giving special consideration to pivotal factors such as diffusion factor (share of population engaging in WPA), substitutability (degree to which a new product is replaced), effects on use‐phase impacts, and rebound effects. The application of the approach to the case studies of clothing and household furniture in Switzerland revealed lower impact saving potential than assumed initially, due to lack of participation, low substitutability, or high rebounds. For example, reusing clothing locally, instead of exporting it to low‐income countries, as currently done, displayed no or even negative impact savings since secondhand clothing in high‐income countries is often consumed in addition to new clothing. Drastic scenarios for clothes led to only moderate impact reductions of less than 15%, whereas a take‐back scheme for furniture reduced impacts by 70%. Concluding, the four factors (diffusion rate, substitutability, effects on use‐phase impacts, and rebounds) proved crucial in the assessment of waste prevention strategies and the approach presented was able to pinpoint improvement potentials of the waste prevention scenarios investigated.

Comprehensive Evaluation of Cloud Manufacturing Service Based on Fuzzy Theory

Comprehensive evaluation is the key to ensuring that cloud manufacturing services can run smoothly over the whole life cycle of products. It is therefore of great importance to carry out a careful scientific evaluation of cloud manufacturing services. In this paper, a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was adopted based on fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE), and a comprehensive evaluation index system and fuzzy trapezoidal membership function were established. At the same time, using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and entropy method, combination weights were obtained, and finally, a comprehensive evaluation model was determined using the five grades of “excellent”, “good”, “medium”, “qualified” and “poor”. Using 30 examples, it was verified that the established evaluation model could classify cloud manufacturing services effectively and systematically according to the different needs of users, thus providing a more effective reference for cloud manufacturing services.

A fluoride degradable crosslinker for debond-on-demand polyurethane based crosslinked adhesives

The requirement to consider the whole lifecycle of products including disassembly and recycling has resulted in considerable interest in debond-on-demand adhesives. These smart materials undergo controlled loss of adhesive strength when subject to a specific stimulus. This paper reports the design of a crosslinked polyurethane (PU) adhesive which incorporates a fluoride responsive degradable group. The crosslinked PU (CLP) adhesive showed a 28 % increase in adhesive bonding strengths by lap shear testing (14.6 MPa) when compared to structurally analogous linear PU (LPU) adhesive (11.4 MPa). After 3 h in contact with fluoride ions, the CLP exhibited a 55 % loss in adhesive bonding strength (from 14.6 MPa to 6.7 MPa) as a consequence of selective degradation of covalent bonds at the crosslinking sites. This work introduces a new route to dismantle components adhered with the widely used PU adhesives, facilitating recovery of valuable materials, and dramatically reducing waste.

A Design of New Product Database System for Supporting Step-Compliant Total Integration Applications

Computer technology has become a very important element in an advanced manufacturing system. The good and systematic data model for the exchange of manufacturing information between different stages of development of product life cycle is paramount to ensure the product is manufactured and delivered to the market successfully. As a result, ISO 10303, an international standard, or well known as Standard for Exchange of Product Model Data (STEP) is not just for providing a neutral data format within the heterogenous CAD systems, its functionality has extended to the whole life cycle of product. STEP Part 21 is the first implementation method from EXPRESS modelling language and implemented successfully as neutral product data to integrate heterogeneous CAD platform. However, this CAD STEP Part21 text file is hardly to be applied in manufacturing processes since it consists of purely geometrical and topological data. In this research, a nonprocedural approach is presented to translate the EXPRESS language model of STEP CAD data into a new product database system model. A new nonprocedural approach of data enrichment and automated machining feature recognition is proposed and implemented on this newly developed product database system and provide a solution for the interrelated tasks of automated machining feature recognition: (1) extraction of geometrical feature from STEP CAD model data of the part (2) formation of part representation suitable for form feature identification (3) matching of form features. This paper proves the validity of this newly developed product database system by translating STEP Part21 file from a commercial CAD system to database system format, data enrichment, performing automated machining feature recognition and lastly generating STEP standard data according to AP224 for supporting STEP based process planning and manufacturing applications.

Study on Mean Time Between Failures Prediction Algorithms Based on Weibull Distribution

The system reliability is significant importance because it is involved into most stages of the whole life-cycle of product. According to the existing literature, MTBF is the most frequently used index to indicate the system reliability. However, in engineering calculation, early failure data are always involved directly into MTBF’s estimation, which results in that the estimated MTBF is always smaller than the actual MTBF, especially for the small samples. In order to alleviate this issue, the paper presents three integration algorithms to reconstruct PDF based on Weibull distribution, by reallocating the early failure data. Then relevant prediction expressions are derived by the reconstructed PDFs. Eventually, three new prediction methods are illustrated by a real example. As a result, the prediction value of Method 3 is very close to the actual observed value, moreover the prediction deviation rate is only 5.1%, which proves the proposed algorithm is reasonable. Finally the proposed methods are suggested applying to other distribution patterns.

Time domain load extrapolation method for CNC machine tools based on GRA-POT model

The load extrapolation is to obtain load data that may occur during the whole life cycle of product based on the limited measured load data, especially extreme load. Aiming at the two problems of traditional time domain extrapolation: without considering the interval time between extreme adjacent values and the high sensitivity of the peak over threshold (POT) model to the extreme threshold, a time domain load extrapolation method for computerized numerical control (CNC) machine tools based on Gray relational analysis-peak over threshold model (GRA-POT) is proposed. Firstly, for the first problem, an improved Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) time domain load reconstruction method is proposed and analysis of reconstructed time domain load; secondly, according to the mean excess function (MEF) method, the extreme threshold range of POT model is determined and divided into multiple sets. The generalized Pareto distribution (GPD) fitting is performed for multiple sets of candidate load extreme samples. Finally, the Gray relational degrees (GRD) between each group of GPD and the median rank distribution are calculated by the Gray relational analysis (GRA), and the extreme threshold corresponding to the maximum GRD is selected as the optimal threshold of the POT model. The dynamic cutting force signal of CNC machine tool under constant speed cutting condition was reconstructed and extrapolated using the proposed method, and the dynamic cutting force spectrum of CNC machine tool was compiled. Case analysis results show that the POT extrapolation model with high fitting precision can be obtained using the proposed method. Furthermore, the precision of load spectrum of CNC machine tool is improved.

Trends and Perspectives of Sustainable Product Design for Open Architecture Products: Facing the Circular Economy Model

The purpose of this paper is to perform the analysis of literature review regarding the design of open architecture products (OAP) and their potential benefits within the circular economy (CE) model. The analysis involved studying more than 80 research articles during the last two decades in engineering journals. The articles were gathered through a bibliometric analysis using the most relevant keywords concerning product design, sustainability, OAP, and CE. Main trends, challenges and future scopes of research opportunities and development were identified. The study provides a framework to designers and researchers involved in the design of OAP to enhance their sustainability performance for a CE model, which integrates lifecycle considerations (reuse, remanufacturing, repair, and recycle), resource optimization, and emissions reduction. The findings include the need for design methods focused on the design of OAP to guarantee an effective circularity of resources during the whole lifecycle of products and the need of integrating manufacturing processes and material analysis to design products capable of adapting to the CE model.

Impact of Industry 4.0 in service oriented firm

The first part of this study is devoted to concepts, approaches and some examples of the fourth industrial revolution. The basis of this revolution also well known as Industry 4.0 builds so called cyber-physical systems. They contain the integrated smart software systems including the internet address to enable the communication with environment as for product itself as for means of production and employees. All these enable the next level of efficiency and flexibility for both organizing and controlling of the value-creation chain over the whole lifecycle of products. In the first three chapters several Internet references and documents published by German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy were used. Because of multiple cross references in documents, this report is written without detailed references in each paragraph of mentioned chapters. The last three chapters of the research presented undertake the short review of interdependencies between the Industry 4.0 and the well-known approach of computer-supported-cooperative-work established in the late 1980s. Long list of publications can be found in Wikipedia, and in many proceedings of ACM conferences on computer supported cooperative work (CSCW).

Eco-design pilot project in China - Monsoon offer 2 upgrade

During COP21, Schneider Electric has committed that 100% of our new products would be eco-designed to tackle climate change. Launched in 2015, this initiative ecoDesign WayTM was tested on some pilot projects. This project covers the first ecoDesign WayTM pilot in China on an overvoltage or under voltage protective device used in both residential and industrial sectors, called Monsoon.Under the name ecoDesign WayTM, a method and a process have been deployed. The 3 main ecoDesign WayTM phases are: phase 1 - Marketing & Technique handshake, Phase 2 - ecoDesign WayTM follow-up and Phase 3 - Marketing communication. During the project, EIME from Bureau Veritas CODDE and ecoDesign WayTM scorecard from EVEA consulting are two core tools for eco-design implementation. They are respectively used for life cycle assessment and eco-design performance comparison.Thanks to the approach, compared to previous range, pollution emissions and resource depletion along the whole life cycle of product have decreased (reduction of 55% for energy depletion and 85% for water depletion). Global warming potential has dramatically decreased by 98.4% and air pollution by 33%. Meanwhile, the recycling rate has been improved by 18%, and recycled PA is used. The ecoDesign WayTM scorecard is stored as referent document for any customer request. Moreover, customers can access RoHS certificate, REACh declaration, PEP and EoLI in Check a product, an online environmental data repository, available 24/7.

SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION OF RURAL AND URBAN HOUSEHOLDS IN POLAND

Sustainable consumption is the consumption of goods and services satisfying fundamental needs, increasing life quality, reducing resource use, degradation and pollution along the whole lifecycle of product or service. The aim of the study is to examine whether the consumption of urban households is more sustainable compared to rural ones and to identify directions of changes in this regard. The analysis was realised on the basis of Household Budget Survey conducted by the Central Statistical Office of Poland (CSO) in the span of 2006–2015. The results show that urban and rural households in Poland shift their consumption patterns towards less sustainable as well as urban households’ consumption pattern in some areas is less sustainable that urban ones.

Sustainable Life Cycle Design Using Constraint Satisfaction Problems and Quality Function Deployment

In many ecodesign problems, finding solutions that complete the design requirements while bettering multiple performances (environmental impacts, costs, etc.) is no trivial task. Design-aid tools using optimization methods are efficient to address these issues but fail to encompass the whole life cycle of products and customer attractiveness aspects. This article describes an original method using CSP optimization and QFD to generate an optimized model of a product during the early design stages. Scores from the QFD matrix are used to weight the sub objectives of the optimization so that the solving is strongly dependent on the customers’ demands. As a consequence, the method allows a better integration of customer needs during the design process. To optimize multiple performances, the variables of the model are used to create impact functions corresponding to environmental impacts, costs, etc. of every life cycle phases of the product's parts. As a result, the optimized model is the one with the best performance scores while answering best the variety of customers’ needs. The methodology is applied to the design of an innovative inflatable dinghy. Results show that the use of QFD generates a fewer improvement of the environmental performance compared to an environmentally focused optimization (10% vs 18%) but it guarantees that the product will better meet customers’ needs. Hence, the product should more likely be accepted and purchased and have a positive impact on the performances of the whole market.

Advanced Shape Memory Technology to Reshape Product Design, Manufacturing and Recycling

This paper provides a brief review on the advanced shape memory technology (ASMT) with a focus on polymeric materials. In addition to introducing the concept and fundamentals of the ASMT, the potential applications of the ASMT either alone or integrated with an existing mature technique (such as, 3D printing, quick response (QR) code, lenticular lens) and phenomena (e.g., wrinkling and stress-enhanced swelling effect) in product design, manufacturing, and recycling are demonstrated. It is concluded that the ASMT is indeed able to provide a range of powerful approaches to reshape part of the life cycle or the whole life cycle of products.

Recovery and Electrowinning of Strategic Critical Materials from Molten Salts

Materials scarcity is a complex and global issue. The whole lifecycle of products has to be considered: form mining of materials to recycling of the products at the end of its life time.Rare earth (RE) elements (lanthanides, yttrium and scandium) are often called "key enablers of green technologies", as they are vital in the development of e.g. hybrid electric vehicles, rechargeable batteries and wind power generators. In addition, RE elements are commonly used in our daily life: flat screens, mobile phones, tablets, economy bulbs, etc. Therefore, the RE metals (REM) have been identified as one of the most critical raw materials, as their forecast scarcity will have a detrimental impact on the economy, society, research and development areas.Electrolysis from high temperature molten salts (chlorides and fluorides) is the main current industrial route for the production of "light" REM (those with lowest melting point, i.e. Ce, La, Nd, Pr, mischmetal) and their alloys with other transition elements. Today's electrolytic production of REM is mainly carried out in China, using the so-called "Chinese technology", which is rather primitive, little energy effective, and releases environmentally harmful by-products.Moreover, it is clear that as the demand for raw materials increases, greater efforts will have to be made on recycling, since higher recycling rates will: i) reduce the pressure on demand for primary raw materials; ii) help to reuse valuable materials which would otherwise be wasted, and iii) reduce energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and other negative environmental impact from extraction and processing.In the last years, SINTEF has been involved in investigations related to:the improvement of the already existing industrial electrolytic processes for the production of REM and alloys, in terms of energy efficiency and reducing environmental impact.the development of effective methods for the extraction of valuable REM from RE-containing wastes/scrap (secondary sources) based on electrolysis technologies. An insight of the challenges associated to the forecast of RE shortage will be reported. The issues connected to today's electrolytic production of REM and the necessity of innovative extraction processes from end-of-life or scrap products will also be exposed. At the end, the research activities carried out in this field at SINTEF will be described and experimental results will be presented.