4. Evaluate possible processes

Every choice of material is associated with a process. The product must be machined, assembled and/or finished. The set of process families is as mentioned in step 1. For all the materials selected, the implications of the possible processes are different in technical, environmental and economic terms.

When selecting a process, several factors need to be taken into account for each potential process:

• the estimated quantity of the product: this data, which comes from studies of the potential market, will determine the amounts that could be allocated for investment, as well as potential economies of scale;

• technical attributes: each process has definite advantages for the product in terms of quality, tolerance, flexibility of geometry, and so on. The aim is to formalize the contributions...