Design methodology for mass reduction of a mechanical product by extracting minimum structure

Increasing productivity of resources is a major approach in the framework of sustainability in manufacturing. The manufacturing industry can reduce the consumption of resources and production of waste by applying more efficient design techniques. We focused on simplifying the structure of a product as the key method of design for environment. The removal of redundant components, by extracting the ideal simplified structure, decreases manufacturing costs and, at the same time, increases the resource productivity. We propose a methodology for product simplification that can be applied to general products and developed a product design support system by using information on the geometry and the connectivity of the product's components. A case study based on models of a vacuum cleaner and an inkjet printer showed the effectiveness of the methodology.