Robotic Disassembly as an Enabler of Smart Remanufacturing

Описание: Remanufacturing is the process of returning a product that has reached the end of its service life to at least its original condition with a warranty equal to, or longer than, that for the original product. ANSI RIC001.1-2016 (Specifications for The Process Of Remanufacturing) defines remanufacturing as “a comprehensive and rigorous industrial process by which a previously sold, leased, used, worn, or non-functional product or part is returned to ‘like-new’ or ‘better-than-new’ condition, from both a quality and performance perspective, through a controlled, reproducible, and sustainable process.” Remanufacturing is integral to a circular economy, saving raw materials and other resources including energy and water and drastically cutting greenhouse gas emissions and the need for landfill. The first task in almost all remanufacturing operations is the disassembly of the ‘core’ or the product to be remanufactured. Due to the condition of the used product, disassembly can be a difficult task that has so far been almost exclusively undertaken by human operators. This presentation describes research into robotic disassembly by our Autonomous Remanufacturing Laboratory. This webinar will cover the five areas of work in the Laboratory: disassembly science, disassembly strategies, disassembly planning, collaborative disassembly and disassembly case studies. The presentation will conclude that dawn has broken on research into robotic disassembly, but much work will still be needed to enable the widespread industrial application of robots in disassembly and achieve smart remanufacturing.

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Kostas Salonitis