Dismantling and remanufacturing strategies in the automotive sector

The contemporary recycling of automobiles takes place on a very baseline material level. In order to fundamentally improve the ecologic footprint of the vehicle, a wider application of remanufacturing strategies is intended. Following different recycling approaches ranging from direct reuse or refurbishment through remanufacturing until repurpose, a well-aimed dismantling followed by manufacturing processes adapted to the post-consumer components is mandatorily required. For use on an industrial scale, environmental efficiency and economic viability must be balanced well. Within the paper, possible remanufacturing technologies and necessary prerequisites such as input data are discussed. For the design of remanufacturing operations, material properties and geometric information are a crucial starting point. Seamless integration of the specific properties is intended to encourage wider utilization of pre-used components and materials. With reference to the well-established process design for metal forming operations, adapted material cards and curvature equivalence values are proposed. The approach is illustrated by a reforming operation, where a brake disc cover is remanufactured from a used car body roof.