Design for Environment - A Case Study

Environmental responsibility is increasingly becoming vital in business and manufacturing. In automotive ancillary industries, where volumes of products are huge, environmentally friendly design is especially important.

This paper discusses some of the practical methods that could be used in designing environmentally friendly and efficient products. The major focus has been on design for manufacture and assembly (DFM/DFA), use of “green” materials and finally checking the environmental impact using a specially developed guideline. In the case study, the redesign of a vacuum cylinder used in light commercial vehicle exhaust brake system was taken up. Weight reduction of weight of 35%, parts count of 40% and cost reduction of 30% were achieved in the new product. The design was verified with an ECO-rating table. These techniques have been integrated with new product development process.