A methodological approach for designing and sequencing product families in Reconfigurable Disassembly Systems

Abstract

Abstract:Purpose: A Reconfigurable Disassembly System (RDS) represents a new paradigm of automated disassembly system that uses reconfigurable manufacturing technology for fast adaptation to changes in the quantity and mix of products to disassemble. This paper deals with a methodology for designing and sequencing product families in RDS.Design/methodology/approach: The methodology is developed in a two-phase approach, where products are first grouped into families and then families are sequenced through the RDS, computing the required machines and modules configuration for each family. Products are grouped into families based on their common features using a Hierarchical Clustering Algorithm. The optimal sequence of the product families is calculated using a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming model minimizing reconfigurability and operational costs.Findings: This paper is focused to enable reconfigurable manufacturing technologies to attain some degree of adaptability during disassembly automation design using modular machine tools.Research limitations/implications: The MILP model proposed for the second phase is similar to the well-known Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) and therefore its complexity grows exponentially with the number of products to Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management -http://dx.doi. org/10.3926/jiem.2011.v4n3.p418-435 -419 -disassemble. In real-world problems, which a higher number of products, it may be advisable to solve the model approximately with heuristics.Practical implications: The importance of industrial recycling and remanufacturing is growing due to increasing environmental and economic pressures. Disassembly is an important part of remanufacturing systems for reuse and recycling purposes. Automatic disassembly techniques have a growing number of applications in the area of electronics, aerospace, construction and industrial equipment. In this paper, a design and scheduling approach is proposed to apply in this area.Originality/value: This paper presents a new concept called Reconfigurable Disassembly System, which represents disassembly systems with reusability, scalability, agility and reconfigurability features. These features and some specific costs are considered as part of the proposed methodology.

Integrating Virtual Reality and Digital Twin in Circular Economy Practices: A Laboratory Application Case

“…As pointed Since disassembly is an important part of remanufacturing systems for reuse and recycling purposes, automation and digitalization have a growing number of applications in the area of WEEE. For this reason, reconfigurability of disassembly systems represents an important paradigm of automated disassembly system that uses reconfigurable manufacturing technology for fast adaptation to changes in the quantity and mix of products to disassemble [64]. However, there are still many barriers in reverse production process adoption due to the complexity of the most of manufacturing systems and to the high number of product and components to be treated.…”

Grouping and sequencing product variants based on setup similarity

“…Grouping results are used to find the best sequence of product variants. In this algorithm, products with higher coefficient of similarity are grouped together (Vakharia and Wemmerlöv 1995;Galan et al 2007aGalan et al , 2007bEguia et al 2011Eguia et al , 2013. A submatrix consisting of grouped and ungrouped products is then constructed.…”

Impact of Green Initiatives on the Financial Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises: The Case of Manufacturing Firm in Central Luzon

“…That is why recycling is important in green manufacturing. The importance of industrial recycling and remanufacturing is growing due to increas-ing environmental and economic pressures (Eguia, et al, 2011) Only 22.22% of the respondents reported a very significant decrease in the total expenses due to reducing packaging materials used; 33.33% of the respondents reported a significant decrease in total expenses, and the same percentage of respondents reported that the green initiative did not affect the financial performance of the firm. The respondents who reported that there was only a significant decrease in total expenses was only 11.11%.…”