Systematic design of connections

Product functions, assembly and disassembly processes largely depend on the connections that are holding the product’s components together. In general, the disconnecting process of established connections is sub-optimal, which often remains unnoticed until maintenance or recycling requires disassembly work. Sometimes connections were optimised to improve the disconnecting processes, but usually rather unsystematically and very problem specific. Our aim is to establish an approach with which the assembly and disassembly properties of a product can be considered and affected systematically during development process to improve maintenance and recycling.