LCA Software Tools, CAD Tools and Engineering Design Processes: Challenges with Process Modelling for Sustainable Productions

In this research, it is aimed to examine in depth the growing demand for connecting” LCA-based engineering design” with “CAD-based engineering design” within engineering design process steps development, to stimulate improved environmental qualities, considering the inherent codependency between sustainable production and sustainable engineering. As engineering design processes increasingly emphasize the efficient use of energy and resources as major operative part of environmental qualities of productions, various questions and divergent examinations gain a foothold on the interconnections between LCA software tools, CAD tools and engineering design processes, as major challenges with engineering design process modelling. Building Designers are increasingly seeing an emphasis on emerging applications of CAD-integrated LCA tools and dedicated LCA tools, and how they are deeply affecting a needed systemic modelization of engineering design processes, supposed to generate optimized environmental aspects of production engineering and related environmental weightings. Additionally, in the current state of using and linking CAD tools and LCA software tools as fully integrated approach in developing engineering design processes, the hypothesis of “interconnected models” will be examined as generative methodology that aims at exploring modelization challenges in concrete terms, by focusing on relevant flows and interconnections between LCA software tools, CAD tools and engineering design processes for sustainable productions.