Inventive solutions for remanufacturing using additive manufacturing: ETRIZ

Remanufacturing is the process of turning used products into new ones in terms of quality, functionality, and aesthetics with relatively lower product prices. The advent of additive manufacturing (AM) has opened new opportunities to increase the feasibility of various product design and repair options for remanufacturing. This study focuses on the successful implementation of AM in remanufacturing to transition towards sustainable product development. Although there are design guidelines scattered across literature, a clear set of rules or guidelines that facilitate remanufacturing using AM is not discussed. In this study, as a response, an enhanced TRIZ (ETRIZ) matrix that compiled and tailored existing guidelines for remanufacturing and AM is developed. ETRIZ not only overcomes the design-related contradictions that originated from remanufacturing, but also helps to increase AM applications in remanufacturing. Two case examples are provided to elaborate on and verify the application of the guidelines derived from the proposed methodology for the repair process and design for remanufacturing (DfRem), respectively. The ETRIZ tool is useful for industries and designers to improve product design in terms of remanufacturability and to implement AM in remanufacturing.