Strategic use of Design for Assembly (DFA) towards flexible and sustainable assembly and disassembly operations

Manufacturing companies are facing increasing pressure on streamlining assembly processes while maintaining sustainable product lifecycles. Well-established tools such as Design for Assembly (DFA) and Design for Disassembly (DfD) provide guidance for simplifying assembly and product lifecycles, but their unified strategic use evaluated empirically and holistically across assembly efficiency, feasibility of automation and disassembly performance in a single study remains insufficiently explored. This study investigates how DFA principles can be applied in early-stage product development processes, for simplifying assembly by reducing complexity, improving the feasibility of automation and influencing disassembly performance. This study adheres to Design Science Research Methodology, using drone assembly as a case, targeting an initial drone version resembling many commercially available products contrasting a redesigned drone based on DFA principles. Results show that applying DFA principles results in considerable reduction of drone parts and components contributing to 49% reduction in assembly time, and 53% reduction in disassembly time. It also improves the feasibility of automation through standardised part geometry and modular design. The study demonstrates DFA's capability as a strategic enabler of efficient assembly processes but shows that it must be carefully balanced with DfD principles to enable sustainable and circular lifecycles. Findings provide valuable guidance for researchers, engineers, and designers planning to incorporate circularity principles, or enhance efficiency of assembly processes in product and production development.