Remanufacturing

Many formal definitions of remanufacturing exist in the literature, but the first published report on remanufacturing, by R. Lund (1984), describes remanufacturing as "... an industrial process in which worn-out products are restored to like-new condition. Through a series of industrial processes in a factory environment, a discarded product is completely disassembled. Useable parts are cleaned, refurbished, and put into inventory. Then the product is reassembled from the old parts (and where necessary, new parts) to produce a unit fully equivalent and sometimes superior in performance and expected lifetime to the original new product". Furthermore, the Automotive Parts Remanufacturers Association (APRA) realized that communication problems can arise when people from different countries with different language skills talk about remanufacturing. Certain terms can have different meanings as definitions between countries and individuals vary. In 2013, APRA was able to solve these communication problems by publishing a common translation list in many different languages in order to unite all those who deal with the automotive industry. Rebuilding Rebuilding is an old name for remanufacturing. It is still widely used by automotive industry. For example, the Automotive Parts Remanufacturers Association (APRA), have the new term in their name, The term 'rebuilding' is also often used by railway companies; a steam locomotive may be rebuilt with a new boiler or a diesel locomotive may be rebuilt with a new engine. This saves money (by re-using the frame, and some other components, which still have years of useful life) and allows the incorporation of improved technology. For example, a new diesel engine may have lower fuel consumption, reduced exhaust emissions and better reliability. Recent examples include British Rail Class 57 and British Rail Class 43. ==Types of remanufacturing==

There are three main types of remanufacturing activities, each with different operational challenges. • Remanufacturing without identity loss With this method, a current machine is built on yesterday's base, receiving all enhancements, expected life and warranty of a new machine. The physical structure (the chassis or frame) is inspected for soundness. The whole product is refurbished and critical modules are overhauled, upgraded or replaced. Any defects in the original design are eliminated. This is the case for customized remanufacturing of machine tools, airplanes, computer mainframes, large medical equipment and other capital goods. Because of its uniqueness, this product recovery is characterized as a project. • Remanufacturing with loss of original product identity With this method, used goods are disassembled into pre-determined components and repaired to stock, ready to be reassembled into a remanufactured product. This is the case when remanufacturing automobile components, photocopiers, toner cartridges, furniture, ready-to-use cameras and personal computers. Once the product is disassembled and the parts are recovered, the process concludes with an operation similar to original manufacturing. Disassembled parts are inventoried, just like purchased parts and made available for final assembly. Remanufacturing with loss of original product identity encompasses some unique challenges in inventory management and disassembly sequence development. Some of the open questions relate to the commonality of parts in products of different generations, the uncertainty in the supply of used products, and their relationship with production planning. The National Center for Remanufacturing and Resource Recovery (C3R) at Rochester Institute of Technology is researching remanufacturing processes including testing standards for remanufactured products. • Repetitive remanufacturing without identity loss In this method, there is the additional challenge of scheduling the sequence of dependent processes and identifying the location of inventory buffers. There is a fine line between repetitive remanufacturing without loss of identity and product overhaul. The final output has an as-new appearance and is covered by a warranty comparable to that of a new product. Remanufacturing by Recoating of Worn Engine Parts In addition to these is a less significant type of remanufacturing, remanufacturing by recoating of worn engine parts. This type of remanufacturing serves many engine parts and other large and expensive components that become worn after a period of use. An example is the engine block, in particular the cylinder engine bores, which must withstand combustion. Instead of disposing of engine blocks, remanufacturing enables re-use by coating them with plasma transferred wire arc spraying (PTWA). Remanufacturing by recoating of parts is also popular in aviation and with geothermal pipe. ==See also==