A customized design method for upgrade remanufacturing of used products driven by individual demands and failure characteristics

Design for upgrade remanufacturing (DfURem) of used products is the generation of the optimal scheme in remanufacturing, with the purpose of improving function and performance to overcome functional obsolescence. However, the demands for upgraded remanufactured products are often characterized by individuation and diversification. Moreover, due to the wide variety of used parts, failure forms and failure degree, the failure characteristic presents DfURem with a unique challenge. As a result the generation of DfURem schemes for used products is currently prohibitively individual and inefficient. To address this, this paper develops a customized method to implement DfURem task based on individual demands and failure characteristics of used products. Firstly, the Quality Function Deployment for Life (QFDL) model is constructed to transform the multi-attribute life and performance demands into engineering characteristics through data analysis theory, aiming to satisfy customer demands more accurately. Secondly, a hybrid approach integrating Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) and Constraint-Function-Behavior-Structure-Upgradation (CFBSU) is proposed to generate the DfURem scheme. Engineering characteristics and failure characteristics are used to drive the CBR-CFBSU hybrid approach together, and compatibility constraints are identified and addressed. The DfURem scheme is retrieved in CBR by the nearest neighbor algorithm to calculate similarity, and the knowledge representation model of CFBSU model is constructed complementary to CBR, which transforms the engineering characteristics into implementable DfURem schemes by layer mapping. Finally, a case study of a used lathe part is illustrated to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.