Integration Issues on Combining Feature Technology and Life Cycle Assessment

Within recent research trends and an increased interest in targeting not only product modeling but product life cycle modeling as a whole, for feature technology used to support and enhance mainly computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing, new dimensions of requirements arise. Further demands on higher automation, more flexibility, enhanced man-machine interaction and increased built-in knowledge of application systems, require sophisticated (system) interfaces and perhaps even local re-design of feature frameworks currently developed. To combine and relate data from both a product model and a life cycle inventory data base, currently several (in most cases manual, non optimized) methods were employed. However, they usually all ignore the potential of pre­ defined structures and soft technologies now-a-days integrated within a product model. Within the scope of the work described in this paper, the focus will be on studying and discussing the approach to extend a feature model in order to explicitly utilize feature technology within product life cycle assessment. In particular methods and structures for two assessment approaches namely discrete and continuous life cycle assessment will be introduced and discussed.