Hiroshi Onishi*, Takahiko Terada* and Tokihiko Shimizu*

*Environmental Technology Research Laboratory, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

+ Correspondence should be addressed to Hiroshi Onishi:
(1-1, Yagumo Nakamachi, Moriguchi-city, Osaka 570 Japan)

Abstract

For improving recyclability of home appliances, shorter time to disassemble them at scrapping is necessary. But hardly any method estimating recyclability has been developed, in comparison with general characteristics of manufacture, mechanical strength, energy consumption, etc.. In this report it is proposed that a new estimating method for disassemblable characteristics can appraise disassembly in relative terms, using a new time index. First, we show that joints could be classified according to release time of each joint. This is the result of our disassembling a refrigerator used for 10 years. Next, the time index, called "disassemble index" , was defined according to this classification. Then we show that the sum of disassemble indexes totaled from joints was proportional to the sum of actual release time of joints, in the case of disassemble of 5 home appliances. Finally, we show that the disassemblable characteristic among different appliances could be estimated in relative terms, expressing total disassembly time with a disassemble index composed of search time, release time and disconnection time.

Key words: recycle, product assessment, disassembly time, product design, waste-product