Design for Disassembly (DfD) and Augmented Reality (AR): Case Study Applied to a Gearbox

Abstract Today’s market drives companies to change, adapt, and compete. Many consumers are increasingly looking at price, without sacrificing quality. In order to be attractive to the customer, companies must be able to offer the required quality at the lowest possible price. The life cycle of many products has been shortened compared to the past because now technologies are evolving faster. For these reasons, it is important that companies reevaluate all the operations that are carried out within them, to optimize them and eventually adopt new technologies if they offer interesting opportunities. In this discussion, we first study the design for disassembly, a technique that can bring several advantages during the life cycle of a component, offering the possibility of reducing time and cost of disassembling a product, and better reuse of the different materials of which it is composed. Subsequently, augmented reality is discussed, and how this technology is exploited in the world, especially in the industrial sector. During the work, we discuss a case study, with the gearbox being the object of analysis. This allows us to apply the theoretical concepts illustrated in a concrete way, allowing for a better understanding of the topics