Automation in Remanufacturing: Applying Sealant on a Car Component

Abstract

The remanufacturing industry currently relies significantly on manual work when, for example, sorting and disassembling. Due to several issues, including process time and sequence, operations number, disassembly planning and scheduling, process cost, and performance measurement, it is challenging to stay competitive. Based on this, it is assumed that more extensive use of robots and automation in these industries can facilitate higher efficiency and better work conditions. This research paper aims to explore how remanufacturing of car components can be made automatic. The paper describes a case where a specific car component was selected and a specific step in its remanufacturing process explored from the perspective of automating that task. When conducting remanufacturing of the selected car component, some machines are used for the testing, cleaning, and grinding of materials. However, all assembly work is done manually. In collaboration with the case company, the process step of applying sealant for the assembling of a lid that covers electronic components was selected. The demonstrator shows that it is possible to apply sealant with a human-robot layout with a good result. One of the advantages of using a robot for this step is that a high-quality result was achieved.