End-of-life oriented product design (design for recycling, disassembly, remanufacturing) is considered an emerging area in modern approach to product lifecycle. Numerous tools aiding the design process have been developed, but many of them work as independent computer applications. The presented solution is strictly integrated with typical design environment: CAD 3D and PLM systems. This paper presents the application of agent technology operating in the PLM environment to support the design process. The architecture of the proposed solution is shown. A method of product assessment, based of three indicators, is described. The example analysis of real household appliance is presented

Today, the changes in market requirements and the technological advancements are influencing

the product development process. Customers demand a product of high quality and fast

delivery at a low price, while simultaneously expecting that the product meet their individual

needs and requirements. For companies characterized by a highly customized production, it

is essential to reduce the trial-and-errors cycles to design new products and process. In such

situation most of the company’s knowledge relies on the lessons learnt by operators in years

of work experience, and their ability to reuse this knowledge to face new problems. In order

to develop unique product and complex processes in short time, it is mandatory to reuse

the acquired information in the most efficient way. Several commercial software applications

are already available for product lifecycle management (PLM) and manufacturing execution

system (MES). However, these two applications are scarcely integrated, thus preventing an

efficient and pervasive collection of data and the consequent creation of useful information.

The aim of this paper is to develop a framework able to structure and relate information

from design and execution of processes, especially the ones related to anomalies and critical

situations occurring at the shop floor, in order to reduce the time for finalizing a new product.

The framework has been developed by exploiting open source systems, such as ARAS

PLM and PostgreSQL. A case study has been developed for a car prototyping company to

illustrate the potentiality of the proposed solution.