The increasing growth of human population together with the material consumption of most industrialised nations taking place at an unsustainable rate have been causing the degradation of the planet. The implementation of sustainable methodologies can contribute to the implementation of more ecological practices. A computational tool integrating ecodesign principles was developed to support sustainable decisions. This tool allows designers and clients to investigate and compare different solutions for each product, taking into account the whole product life cycle, as well to incorporate the product’s physical data with the CAD model. In this work a decision computational tool was used combined with the additive manufacturing study case. This system can contribute to a more sustainable manufacturing product development, facilitating the evaluation of the environmental impact analysis, optimization and comparison of the product life cycle.
Product Life Cycle Planning for Sustainable Manufacturing: Translating Theory into Business Opportunities