Use of product self-disassembly technology to improve remanufacturing productivity

Sustainable production approaches are critical because of environmental impacts in manufacturing. Remanufacturing, a process of returning a used product to original performance specification from the customers' perspectives with at least "as new" product warranty, is a more sustainable production method. This profitable practice is poorly understood because of its relative novelty. This paper explains the potential of 'Active Disassembly' (AD) to enhance remanufacturing profitability proposing further research. AD enables rapid non-destructive self-disassembly at end of life and reduces component damage to increase remanufacturing productivity.