Disassembly of products

With incoming recycling regulations, resource conservation needs and an increased awareness of the state of the environment by both the consumer and the producer, a fundamental reappraisal of the traditional manufacturing paradigm has been emerging. The manufacturers are under tremendous pressure to dispose of products in an environmentally responsible manner. To this end many companies are establishing disassembly plants and developing product designs which specifically facilitate disassembly. Once disassembled, the items can be reused, recycled or discarded. This paper provides an overview of the research in the area of disassembly of products.