Design methodology proposal for reusing discarded products: repurposing function analysis

Manufacturing industries are facing multiple challenges, including environmental pressures and supply shortages. In this context, new business models such as circular manufacturing are emerging. This paper focuses on one circular manufacturing strategy: design for repurposing. Stating there is no generic method available for designers to enable repurposing discarded products, our scientific proposal is a method named Repurposing Function Analysis, which allows semantic matching between functional specifications of new product design and knowledge extracted from discarded products. The method is inserted into a new product design approach to facilitate integration in established design offices, and applied to a case study.