A Conceptual Framework of Cyber-Physical Remanufacturing System

Remanufacturing has been regarded as one of the most effective methods for extending the life cycle and saving materials of the End-of-Life (EOL) products. Different from traditional highly integrated and automated manufacturing systems, remanufacturing systems have to manage various uncertain factors and small-batch customized production plans. Currently, the intelligence and autonomy of remanufacturing systems are at the initial stage, which cannot support autonomous decision-makings and optimization of production plans. Inspired by the widespread applications of the Digital Twin (DT) and Cyber-Physical System (CPS) in smart manufacturing, this paper proposes a conceptual framework of Cyber-Physical Remanufacturing System (CPRS) to improve the automation, intelligence and capability of the remanufacturing system. Based on the proposed seven steps of remanufacturing process, the CPRS is represented as a three-layer structure. The physical layer and edge layer are introduced for representing the components of physical entities and DT models in CPRS respectively. The cloud service layer represents the potential applications of CPRS. The interactions among different components and different layers are also introduced. Then, the research challenges of developing the CPRS are identified. Future development trends and research directions for implementing the actual application of CPRS are also discussed in conclusion.