In-service machine tool remanufacturing: a sustainable resource-saving and high-valued recovery approach

Abstract

With great changes in production requirements, in-service machine tools may be unable to meet new production requirements. Aiming for this problem, a sustainable resource-saving and high-valued recovery approach for in-service machine tools is proposed, which integrates remanufacturing and product-service systems (PSS). In-service machine tool remanufacturing is defined as a new remanufacturing model based on condition monitoring and diagnosis, which is different from traditional used machine tool remanufacturing and new machine tool manufacturing mentioned in the current literature. Procedure framework of in-service machine tool remanufacturing is proposed, including condition monitoring and diagnosis, matching analysis, remanufacturability evaluation and decision-making, identification of potential problems, individualized redesign, disassembly, cleaning, inspection and classification, performance improvement as well as reassembly and inspection. Combining the remanufacturing practice of an in-service heavy-duty horizontal lathe, the comprehensive resource-efficient benefits of in-service machine tool remanufacturing are illustrated. The results show that the proposed remanufacturing model can restore in-service machine tools to like-new or better performance and upgrade their functionality, with great economic and social benefits. For the implementation of this remanufacturing model, an in-depth analysis of the supporting technologies such as condition monitoring and diagnosis, decision-making analysis, etc., should be done in future research to guarantee the production capacities of in-service machine tools.