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Design engineers are seeking effective ways to make informed decisions regarding product sustainability. Several attempts have been made to identify sustainability metrics, assess sustainability impacts, or support decisions based on sustainability, but none fully support product designers in a way that provides for robust sustainable manufacturing decisions. Sustainability assessments can provide quantitative performance data for design variants, but in many cases, the most sustainable alternative remains uncertain. Adequate support for sustainable manufacturing activities should address each step in the decision making process with enough detail to accurately capture manufacturing impacts. The methods selected throughout the process should consider the specific needs of sustainability related issues and provide transparent, easily understood, efficient solutions. A process is outlined to assist product designers, and a demonstration of the process is given for the production of a titanium component to discuss its utility.
Eastlick et al. (Sun,) studied this question.