Environmental conscious product design using CAD and CAE

Environmental consciousness has been regarded as an important concept for survival in the contemporary scenario. Modern design engineers are in need of approaches for creating environmentally friendlier products. In this context, this article reports a case study carried out in an Indian rotary switches manufacturing organization. The existing components of rotary switch have been modelled using computer-aided design (CAD). Then, the sustainability analysis has been carried out for determining the environmental impact. This is followed by the optimisation of the components using computer-aided engineering (CAE). The environmental impact has been measured in terms of carbon footprint, energy consumption and air/water impacts. It has been found that the optimized components possess minimal environmental impact. The sustainability improvement after the implementation of the proposed approach has been computed. It could be inferred from the results of the case study that CAD and CAE could lead to the development of environmental conscious product designs with minimal impact to the environment.