Circular Disassembly Lines for Green Manufacturing and Sustainable Development

A new form of disassembly line layout has been proposed, known as the circular disassembly line. This layout utilizes circular automation equipment to disassemble various products. The circular shape allows products to rotate throughout the disassembly process, thereby enhancing efficiency and flexibility. In addition, to facilitate product rotation, the equipment employs an embedded turntable structure. By utilizing a rotating platform, a turntable, or other rotating devices, products can maintain an appropriate disassembly angle, ensuring consistency and quality control throughout the entire process. Through cyclic allocation, tasks are quickly assigned to idle workstations for disassembly. This achieves workload balancing and improves the utilization rate of workstations to meet the ever-changing disassembly demands. As a result, labor costs are reduced, and consistency and quality control in the disassembly process are enhanced. In summary, compared to traditional disassembly lines, the Circular Disassembly Line offers multiple advantages, including improved efficiency, flexibility, accuracy, and quality control, as well as reduced operational costs and energy consumption.