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Session 157

Simulation of a disassembly-to-order system

Ying Tang*, Ludivig J. Ungewitter, Tobi Mann, and Tosh Kakar * Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering Rowan University Glassboro, NJ 08028 Email: tang@rowan.edu

Dept. of Computer Science & Computer Engineering Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma, WA 98445

Abstract

This paper focuses on the project of design and simulation of a disassembly-to-order system that provides a unique “hands-on and minds-on” research experience for undergraduate students. This project is completed by a multidisciplinary group of faculty and students from Electrical & Computer Engineering at Rowan University and Computer Science and Computer Engineering at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU). In such a system, the disassembly of discarded products is processed to satisfy certain demands for parts and/or materials, while economic and environmental goals are achieved. Two scenarios in the system are analyzed and their performance is compared.

1. Introduction

Due to the increased awareness of the state of environment by consumers and manufacturers, End-of- life (EOL) options for discarded products and materials have become emerging areas of engineering research [4]. This necessitates a certain level of partial or complete disassembly depending on the type and level of demand for used products, components and /or materials [1]. Since disassembly paths and termination goals are not necessarily fixed, automation of disassembly is extraordinarily difficult. Moreover, the current disassembly systems exhibit a high degree of inflexibility towards variations in demands. Regardless of product condition, a used product is usually completely disassembled through a fixed process flow. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an efficient disassembly process plan from a system perspective to minimize both labor and environmental costs. In our previous work, a systematic approach to disassembly line design is proposed, which executes a disassembly-to-order model rather than disassembly-to-stock [2]. Disassembly, being a labor-intensive operation, is expensive to deploy. Hence, it is critical to conduct performance analysis before a process plan is applied to the shop floor. This project addresses this issue by designing and simulating a disassembly-to-order system. Murdock Undergraduate Research Program at PLU supports part of the project and the other part is finished over the course of two-semester Engineering Junior/Senior Clinic at Rowan University as part of their design sequence. The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 gives a brief introduction of the research environment at two universities. The concept of disassembly lines is then presented in

Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2004, American Society for Engineering Education

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Tang, Y. (2004, June), Simulation Of A Disassembly To Order System Paper presented at 2004 Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--13083