Innovation Based Design (IBD), a methodology in systems engineering that evaluates, facilitates, and enables technology refresh cycles via remanufacturing during the life of platforms. Recent C3R® research employed IBD methodologies to investigate the important elements of the health monitoring system (HMS) for electrical systems of ground vehicles, including approaches for ensuring the integrity of critical signals, and for condition-based maintenance of battery cells. This study found that measurement reliability can significantly affect health monitoring of critical components of the vehicle electrical system (e.g., the battery, alternator, and starter), and proposed and described methods for detecting unreliable (i.e., compromised) signals.
Creating a framework to enable sustainable production using remanufacturing. Rising concern about climate change and related environmental issues has generated a surge of interest and actions towards sustainable development. In response, many manufacturers have begun implementing sustainable production practices. In this paper RIT reman staff discuss sustainable production, reviews the framework and metrics for guiding implementations, and examines the role of remanufacturing, a key technology within sustainable production. They also review the important role of product design in implementing remanufacturing to achieve improved sustainable production metrics.
C3R® staff also developed a tool to help manufacturers determine if a product should be designed for remanufacturing. The tool asks basic questions derived from common traits of remanufacturable products, expands to address additional traits, and then scores the product and determines if it should be designed for remanufacturing.