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Remanufacturing and Advanced Machining
another product. This way, EoL parts were given a new life in their life cycle. The
proposed approach seems to have a potential to reduce energy and resource consumption as well as waste during the manufacturing process. Unlike the traditional
remanufacturing of components, the proposed approach transformed EoL parts into
ready-to-use parts with new functionalities, totally different from those of their previous application, intended for another product and new usages (Le et al., 2017).
In the framework of AM related to the product life cycle, Sanchez et al. (2020)
describe the concept of distributed recycling via additive manufacturing (DRAM).
It is related to use of recycled materials by means of the mechanical recycling process in the additive manufacturing process chain that consists of six stages, namely
recovery, preparation, compounding, feedstock, printing, and quality inspection.
The results of their survey suggest that activity at the recovery and preparation stages
is limited, while at the remaining stages important achievements are seen in validation of technical feasibility, environmental impact, and economic viability.
AM technologies gain additional significance in the context of plastic waste pollution that poses a major threat because of non-degradability affecting ecological environments. Sanchez et al. (2020) underline that recycling rates of plastic packaging
remain small on a global scale, approx. 14%. The European Commission identified
dealing with plastic materials as a priority area, with the aim of making all plastic
packaging recyclable by 2030. Regarding industrial ecology of polymers, four main
approaches to recycling plastic solid waste can be identified as primary, secondary,
tertiary, and quaternary recycling. The primary and secondary recycling is performed
as a mechanical recycling process, but for complex and contaminated waste, chemical
recycling is a preferable option. In order to use high-grade recycling in the circular
economy framework, four conditions need to be met (Sanchez et al., 2020):
1. An adequate collection system and logistics
2. Guaranteed volumes of supply
3. Market demand for recycled materials
4. Quality guarantee of recycled materials
The authors point out three levels of opportunities for DRAM driving the circular
economy:
1. Micro level
• Development of low-cost, free and open source, digitally manufactured
(ideally from recycled waste) tools to enable distributed DRAM including tools for grading and typing recycled waste plastic, tools for separating and shredding materials, and tools to either produce waste plastic
filament or directly 3D print waste plastic.
• Development of novel waste-based composites that involve material
characterization, as well as life cycle economic and environmental
assessments of DRAM.
• Development of applications of the above-mentioned new DRAM waste
material composites and markets for these applications.
Remanufacturing and Advanced Machining
another product. This way, EoL parts were given a new life in their life cycle. The
proposed approach seems to have a potential to reduce energy and resource consumption as well as waste during the manufacturing process. Unlike the traditional
remanufacturing of components, the proposed approach transformed EoL parts into
ready-to-use parts with new functionalities, totally different from those of their previous application, intended for another product and new usages (Le et al., 2017).
In the framework of AM related to the product life cycle, Sanchez et al. (2020)
describe the concept of distributed recycling via additive manufacturing (DRAM).
It is related to use of recycled materials by means of the mechanical recycling process in the additive manufacturing process chain that consists of six stages, namely
recovery, preparation, compounding, feedstock, printing, and quality inspection.
The results of their survey suggest that activity at the recovery and preparation stages
is limited, while at the remaining stages important achievements are seen in validation of technical feasibility, environmental impact, and economic viability.
AM technologies gain additional significance in the context of plastic waste pollution that poses a major threat because of non-degradability affecting ecological environments. Sanchez et al. (2020) underline that recycling rates of plastic packaging
remain small on a global scale, approx. 14%. The European Commission identified
dealing with plastic materials as a priority area, with the aim of making all plastic
packaging recyclable by 2030. Regarding industrial ecology of polymers, four main
approaches to recycling plastic solid waste can be identified as primary, secondary,
tertiary, and quaternary recycling. The primary and secondary recycling is performed
as a mechanical recycling process, but for complex and contaminated waste, chemical
recycling is a preferable option. In order to use high-grade recycling in the circular
economy framework, four conditions need to be met (Sanchez et al., 2020):
1. An adequate collection system and logistics
2. Guaranteed volumes of supply
3. Market demand for recycled materials
4. Quality guarantee of recycled materials
The authors point out three levels of opportunities for DRAM driving the circular
economy:
1. Micro level
• Development of low-cost, free and open source, digitally manufactured
(ideally from recycled waste) tools to enable distributed DRAM including tools for grading and typing recycled waste plastic, tools for separating and shredding materials, and tools to either produce waste plastic
filament or directly 3D print waste plastic.
• Development of novel waste-based composites that involve material
characterization, as well as life cycle economic and environmental
assessments of DRAM.
• Development of applications of the above-mentioned new DRAM waste
material composites and markets for these applications.