Eco-design of fixtures based on life cycle and cost assessment

Abstract

The paper presents the new model for eco-design of fixtures based on life cycle and cost assessment. Four fixture types with different mechanical and physical properties as well as different manufacturing costs have been evaluated. The life cycle results show that the environmental impact is closely related to the mass of steel needed for fixture manufacture. On the other hand, the fixture with the largest environmental impact had the smallest total fixture cost and vice versa. The results show that it is possible to implement environmental and cost analysis in fixture design process and to enable comparative analysis of fixture constructions by three standpoints, technical, environmental and economic.