Enabling Circularity for Production System Design: The Convergence of DfX and R-Principles

Accelerating the transition towards circularity is increasingly critical. While efforts within the manufacturing industry have focused on product circularity, there is a need to broaden the scope to include production systems and equipment. R-principles, such as reduce, reuse, recycle, offer a general approach to circularity, but lack sector-specific action points. Design for X (DfX) methods have shown potential to support circularity and could potentially facilitate the R-principles, but are in need of further research to understand their connections. This study aims to investigate the convergence between commonly used DfX approaches and R-principles and how it could enable circularity in production equipment design. A case study approach was applied, combining data from a literature review with empirical data from industry. The findings contribute to the understanding of how already existing DfX methods could promote circularity, accelerating the transitions towards circularity for the whole manufacturing industry.