Solution:
Note that 2016=25×32×7 and 1080=23×33×5. Moreover
x+y+z=21((x+y)+(y+z)+(z+x))
Since x+y is a common factor for both 2016 and 1080, and we want x+y+z to be as small as possible, then we try to find the largest possible factor for 2016 and 1080 such that x,y,z are integers
(x+y)(y+z)=(23×32)×(22×7)=72×28(x+y)(z+x)=(23×32)×(3×5)=72×15
hence x+y=72,y+z=28,z+x=15. But x+y+z=21(72+28+15)=57.5 which cannot be since x,y,z are integers.
Therefore we try the following:
(x+y)(y+z)=(22×32)×(23×7)=36×56(x+y)(z+x)=(22×32)×(2×3×5)=36×30
hence x+y+z=21(36+56+30)=61. This is the smallest possible sum given that x,y,z are positive integers.