Guenther Seliger

Innovative Processes and Tools for Disassembly

Cycle economy as a paradigm for industry in the 21st century depends on economical and ecological treatment of limited resources. The objective is to achieve more use with fewer resources. Adaptation processes including disassembly and re-assembly contribute significantly towards this objective. The usual disassembly of used products is characterized by a high rate of manual operations. The number of upcoming used products varies strongly. The goods which have to be disassembled have unknown product properties and a great variety of product types. To cope with such demands, modular disassembly processes and tools are developed. These are implemented in a integrated disassembly cell using product accompanying information systems for the control.

Automated Handling of Non-Rigid Parts

Abstract Handling of non-rigid parts is a challenging and promising field of industrial automation. Specific processes based on different material properties of textiles, leather, paper, foils emerge into innovative tools. Flexural rigidity, surface condition, permeability, and geometric variance determine process requirements. The behavior of materials is experimentally analyzed and modeled in order to increase process reliability. Cases of ply separation, clearing of cutting tables, positioning, and transporting of non-rigid parts are introduced. Areas of applications in clothing, electronics and vehicle manufacturing are presented.

Integrated Development of Assembly and Disassembly

Abstract 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.

Product Innovation – Industrial Approach

Abstract Innovation consists of technological invention and economic exploitation. Arts and natural sciences considerably contribute to invention whereas economics and management deal with the exploitation aspect of innovation. In creating artifacts for useful purposes engineering covers both invention and exploitation. Different types of innovation are considered with respect to design rules and business cases. The challenge of finding reasonable paths of innovation is illustrated by industrial shortcomings. Scientific approaches in manufacturing in general and especially in design to avoid these shortcomings are denominated and analysed.

Handling with ice – the cryo‐gripper, a new approach

Europe’s textile and clothing industry is facing competition as never before. To enhance its competitiveness in countries with high labour costs, its production as part of the textile chain has to be automated. Handling processes are especially in need of automation. To this day more than 80 per cent of production steps are done manually. The non‐linear material behaviour imposes significant difficulties when automating these processes. This paper presents an approach for flexible automated textile handling. After reviewing different current design principles of grippers for transportation, the influences of different fabric properties on handling capability are discussed. An alternative handling principle was selected and based on this technology a cryo‐gripper was developed. Based on specific material behaviour, gripper types are able to be chosen for best reliability in production processes. The design of the gripper and its handling features are described.

Method for automatic tool selection for disassembly planning

A method for the automatic selection of tools in a disassembly or assembly environment is described. The method uses a cluster graph to represent the product in a fashion suitable for the simple identification of part inter‐relationships within the product. This graphical representation of the product is then converted directly into a dynamic programming model. To this dynamic programming model cost data are added and the optimum tool selection path is produced.

Open Manufacturing for Value Creation Cycles

Regaining components and materials from used products can cope with the challenge of shrinking resource availability with growing global demands for useful physical artifacts. Value creation cycles constituting consecutive multiple phases of usage and remanufacturing enable for increased use productivity of resources. They can be stimulated in entrepreneurial initiatives with global reference by creative approaches of sustainable engineering. Setting up knowledge communities about successful experiences on sustainable open manufacturing creates innovative commons to exploit globally available knowledge in local application. A model of value creation commons instantiated in competitive product and material cycles is presented and illustrated by examples of implementation.

Product and Assembly Design for a Fibre Reinforced Plastic Track Wheel

Abstract The design of silent and lightweight components with minimised life cycle costs (LCC) are requirements for modern railroad vehicles. The track wheel as the interface between railroad and vehicle offers a high potential for optimisation. The application of fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) in the wheel body simultaneously minimises sound emissions and reduces wear effects by lowering unsprung wheel masses. This paper presents a new modular track wheel design with FRP discs in combination with steel flanges. Several design and assembly alternatives have been analysed and an optimised solution based on numerical simulation and new fibre preform technologies has been selected. With regard to the high security requirements on track wheels, design of specific quality assurance methods and maintenance plans and operations have been assessed.

Agent-Based Approach for Assembly Control

Abstract In manufacturing, fluctuations in production occur along the value-adding chain due to changes in customer orders or process failures. In the heterogeneous environment of supplier and customer relations assembly integrates material flows. Assembly is therefore highly susceptible to fluctuations in supply. In order to avoid delays due to parts in short supply, or long queues, the supplier and transportation agency must be an integral part of assembly control. In this paper, an agent-based approach is introduced to achieve a smooth balance between supply, transport and assembly. Agents act according to a predetermined set of rules and know which other agents to turn to when fluctuations in production occur. The assembly of motor-cars is taken as an example to illustrate this approach.

Diagnostics in disassembly unscrewing operations

Disassembly for recycling purposes is an emerging area of research that offers many advantages over more traditional means of recycling. However, many technical challenges are involved in automated disassembly. This paper addresses one of the critical challenges involved: diagnostics in the unscrewing operation. The various conditions that can arise when one attempts to unscrew a screw (one of which is the successful removal of the screw) are categorized, and a diagnostic procedure for detecting which condition has occurred and deciding what subsequent action to take is developed. Experimental condition detection results are presented.