Field Of Remanufacturing Research Articles

Aging hardening behavior and P texture formation of laser repaired GH4169 nickel-based alloy

Laser repair technology based on the DED principle is an advanced green remanufacturing technology that not only repairs the damaged parts but also restores their mechanical properties. Therefore, this technology has been widely used for the repair of key components in aircraft engine. However, due to the fact that the mechanical properties of the repaired zone are usually lower than those of the substrate, this limits the application of laser repair technology in the field of remanufacturing. Therefore, it is crucial to study the microstructure evolution and its influence on mechanical properties of the laser repaired object to improve the mechanical properties of the repaired zone and promote the widespread application of laser repair technology. In this study, the microstructure evolution and its effect on the aging hardening mechanism of laser repaired GH4169 alloy were investigated using SEM, EBSD and TEM techniques. The results show that the hardening mechanisms in the repaired zone are different from those in the substrate. The main hardening mechanisms in the repaired zone are strain hardening, elastic stiffness strengthening and aging hardening, while the hardening mechanisms in the matrix are grain refinement strengthening, aging hardening, strain hardening and texture strengthening. In addition, during the aging period, the texture of the matrix is mainly recrystallized Cube and Goss textures, while the texture of the repaired zone is mainly P texture, and the P grain nucleates and grows in the R-Copper grain.

Remanufacturing model selection with 3D printing

This paper investigates a two-echelon 3D printing (3DP) remanufacturing supply chain consisting of the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and the retailer, and builds a Stackelberg game model with OEM remanufacturing and retailer remanufacturing. We use backward induction to obtain the optimal 3DP usage level, product price, and profit of the supply chain under different remanufacturing models. Through the comparison of the optimal decisions of the two remanufacturing models, we analyze the impact of the 3DP cost, sensitivity coefficient, and licensing fee on the 3DP strategy and model selection. The results show the following: First, the effect of the 3DP correlation coefficient on the price of new products varies with different remanufacturing entities. Second, when the market size variation coefficient of remanufactured products is small, the optimal 3DP usage level under the OEM remanufacturing model is higher than that under the retailer remanufacturing model. Third, the OEM’s choice of remanufacturing model is affected by the market size variation coefficient, 3DP cost and licensing fee. The research findings of this paper can provide decision support for the application of 3D printing technology in the field of remanufacturing.

Human-AI interaction in remanufacturing: exploring shop floor workers’ behavioural patterns within a specific human-AI system

ABSTRACT Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly discussed as an innovation enabler for the enhancement of circular economy (CE) approaches in industries. The further deployment of intelligent technologies is considered to be very promising particularly in remanufacturing, which can be regarded as an implementation approach of CE at a firm level. AI’s potential to contribute to advancements in remanufacturing can be traced back to these modern technologies’ extended capacities of supporting and assisting humans during rather manual processes which are regarded as more common in remanufacturing than in traditional linear production. As a result, we argue that in future application scenarios, humans are going to interact more often with AI agents who may direct and assist humans’ behaviour and decision-making processes. We assume that a better understanding of the specific dynamics and novel aspects of these kind of newly emerging human-AI systems is a key prerequisite for sustainable process innovation, particularly in remanufacturing organisations. However, empirical-based contributions about humans’ behavioural changes in interaction with AI agents have so far been rather rare and limited, especially in the field of remanufacturing and CE. In this article, we seek to contribute to this gap in research by exploring the interaction between shop floor workers and an AI agent based on a case study research approach at a plant of a German automotive supplier that is remanufacturing used parts. We conducted semi-structured interviews among the shop floor workers who are involved in a joint decision-making task with an AI agent. We interpret the findings of our qualitative data in the light of related research in the field of AI in CE, AI implementation in organisation and human-AI interaction literature. In summary, our analysis reveals 13 behavioural patterns that shop floor workers reported on referring to their interaction with the AI agent. The behavioural patterns are systemised into a cognitive, emotional and social dimension of a competence framework. These findings shall contribute to a more specific understanding about how humans interact with AI agents at work, while considering the specific context variables of the interaction paradigm and the AI agent’s role during joint decision-making in a human-AI system. Implications for literature in the field of human-AI interaction as well as AI implementation in organisations with a particular focus on CE are discussed.

Reinventing Production: A Case Study on implementing the strategic Innovations in Sustainable Remanufacturing

The understanding of sustainable remanufacturing as an innovative method has come about as a solution to the ecological difficulties posed by industrial manufacturing. The present study investigates the concept of industrial reinvention via a review of novel practices in the field of remanufacturing. Remanufacturing is an organizational strategy that seeks to increase the operational lifecycle of items, hence reducing the production of waste and maximizing resource use. The remanufacturing process includes a thorough set of phases, involving removal, repair, and enhancement, with the goal of rebuilding already utilized products to their former functionality as well as performance standards. This study examines the current state of procedures, methods, and strategies that contribute to the evolution of the remanufacturing operation in an environmentally friendly form. The abstract underlines the urgent requirement for sustainable solutions in industrial production as a response to problems with the environment. The idea of remanufacturing has been suggested as an effective way to solve these issues. This recent discussion presents an easy-to-understand representation of the remanufacturing process, emphasizing its essential relevance in increasing the lifespan of goods and decreasing the production of waste. The subsequent section of the abstract describes the primary objective of the research, which is the investigation of novel methods in the field of green remanufacturing. The paper aims to investigate multiple methods, tools, and strategies that are currently impacting the emergence of remanufacturing companies.

Design of a Methodological Framework for Adaptive Remanufacturing-based Business Models

As manufacturing companies face a globally increasing consumption of resources and the associated environmental impact, sustainable solutions are gaining in importance for manufacturing companies. In this context, the life cycle extension of capital goods offers a promising approach to increase the resource efficiency. On this basis, a proactive, intelligent maintenance strategy is being developed as part of the research project Adaptive Remanufacturing for Life cycle Optimization of Capital Goods (ReLIFE). The associated preservation of a predefined machine performance level enables the realization of new business models. This paper provides a framework for the development of the theoretical and methodological foundations for a business model based on Adaptive Remanufacturing, derived from the current state of the art in the field of remanufacturing- and maintenance-based business models. The development process consists of the four steps - Status Quo, Business Context, Value Architecture and Business Model Characteristics - and is supported via the adoption of the Business Model Canvas as well as the St. Gallen Business Model Navigator. The Value Architecture, in which the focus is on the implementation of a Product Service System (PSS), represents the core of the business model. Instead of selling the product, only its usage is provided. The manufacturer, as PSS provider, retains ownership and is responsible for maintenance, remanufacturing and other services in order to keep control of the product. Moreover, the idea of ownerless consumption and a transparent financing model opens the market for new customers and enables economic potential by extending the use phase of the respective capital good.

Fluid Automation — A Definition and an Application in Remanufacturing Production Systems

Production systems must be able to quickly adapt to changing requirements. Especially in the field of remanufacturing, the uncertainty in the state of the incoming products is very high. Several adaptation mechanisms can be applied leading to agile and changeable production systems. Among these, adapting the degree of automation with respect to changeover times and high investment costs is one of the most challenging mechanisms. However, not only long-term changes, but also short-term adaptations can lead to enormous potentials, e.g. when night shifts can be supported by robots and thus higher labor costs and unfavorable working conditions at night can be avoided. These changes in the degree of automation on an operational level are referred to as fluid automation, which will be defined in this paper. The mechanisms of fluid automation are presented together with a case study showing its application on a disassembly station for electrical drives.

A Review of Residual Life Prediction for Remanufacturing of Machine Tool

A growing concern about the environment problems, especially about the waste, carbon emissions and landfill, has spurred research into the field of remanufacturing. This paper mainly focuses on the residual life prediction in the remanufacturing of machine tools, which is an important step of remanufacturing process. A system analysis and synthesis is performed in the fields of testing data collection and data analysis and calculation, which are the two important components of residual life prediction. Some non-destructive testing technologies for data collection and some algorithms for data analysis are summarized and made comparison. In addition, this paper also aims at giving a perspective in such area in the future.

Research of the Re-Manufacturing Model and Information System Design Based on Supply Chain Management

The process of remanufacture in supply chain management has already obtained some producers and managers' value, but actually has not obtained the corresponding attention and the research in the industrial engineering and the management science research area. At present, the market competition has not been a single competition among enterprises, it has gradually expanded to the entire supply chain or value chain. Therefore, from the point of view of supply chain management, this paper analyzed and compared the existing typical mode of production and organizational form in the field of re-manufacturing, Which concluded new features of mode of organization and management in re-manufacturing environment, and further combined with the problems existing in the field of re-manufacturing and the needs of the business to establish information system architecture, for the integrated information system in the remanufacture field to establish relevant technology base and advance some concrete measures to improve.

An integrated method for evaluating the remanufacturability of used machine tool

A growing concern about the environment, and especially about the waste, carbon emissions and landfill, has spurred research into the field of remanufacturing. Remanufacturing which is defined as the ultimate form of recycling can restore the used products of high value-added, with great advantages of energy saving and emission-reduction. As the typical production equipment, machine tool is of great recycling value and potential for remanufacturing. Whether the used machine tool can be remanufactured depends on its remanufacturability. An integrated method for evaluating the remanufacturability of used machine tool is proposed, in which the technology feasibility, economic feasibility and environmental benefits of machine tool remanufacturing are analyzed. The technology feasibility should be evaluated in terms of the feasibility of all remanufacturing processes, including disassembly, cleaning, inspection and sorting, part reconditioning, machine upgrading and reassembly. The economic feasibility is evaluated from aspect of remanufacturing cost. The environmental benefits of machine tool remanufacturing can be evaluated in terms of energy saving, material saving and pollution reduction. In addition, the weight of each index is determined by the AHP method. Finally, the method is applied to the remanufacturing process of used planer B2025 to examine its feasibility and validity.

Integrated Development of Assembly and Disassembly

Manufacturers are becoming responsible for the complete life cycle of products. As a consequence they have to industrialize the after sales operations and the deproduction of products at the end of their lives. Industrial disassembly is a successful business of many companies but the main focus is the recycling of materials. Higher added value can be reached by industrialization of disassembly for remanufacturing. To activate the value of used components, new technologies for remanufacturing and analysis are necessary. This include disassembly for repair and reuse of parts and components. One main aspect of this paper is the integration of assembly and disassembly. Objectives, requirements and technical solutions for flexible or hybrid systems and aspects of planing and quality are discussed. The paper gives some perspectives to future research in the field of remanufacturing.