Tool refurbishment and machine tool remanufacturing

In today's manufacturing industry, environmental concepts such as “life cycle analysis” and “carbon emissions” are becoming increasingly popular. In order to assess the impact of the recycling of a material on the environment, a wide range of studies are being conducted.

According to the Aluminum Association, research on the sustainability of automotive materials is one such research project. The project focuses on the greenhouse gas reduction effects and energy efficiency benefits of aluminum and magnesium during their life cycle. The study, conducted in collaboration with relevant organizations in Canada, China and the United States, found that the full life cycle analysis of these metal materials shows that aluminum parts can save 15% compared to steel automotive parts, magnesium parts Can save 20% energy. In addition, during its entire life cycle, magnesium's carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by 12% compared to steel, while aluminum's carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by 20% compared to steel. Taking into account the benefits of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, aluminum automotive parts have the best performance.

The full life cycle analysis (LCA) of automotive materials includes not only its fuel economy and emission reduction benefits, but also the environmental impacts associated with mining, mineral processing, smelting and recycling. According to the analysis, for every kilogram of aluminum used in a car, the car can reduce carbon dioxide by 20 kilograms during its lifetime. In fact, all transport vehicles around the world lose weight by using aluminum, which has the potential to reduce 660 million tons of greenhouse gases per year, accounting for almost 9% of global transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions.

In the tool manufacturing industry, some global tool manufacturers have developed a wide range of tool recycling programs that are beneficial to the environment and can bring considerable economic benefits to users.

Kennametal's tool refurbishment service repairs used and used tools to an "almost new" state for better machining performance and faster turnaround times. The refurbishment of the tool consists of three simple steps: evaluation, re-grinding, analysis and processing of the used tool. The range of tools that can be refurbished includes solid carbide drills, solid carbide end mills, solid carbide taps and many other tools.

The tool recycling program offered by Sandvik Coromant is called the Coromant Recycling Concept (CRC), a comprehensive recycling service for used carbide inserts and solid carbide tools from all users. .

Another tool manufacturer that provides tool refurbishment services is Walter, Germany, which, according to the company, has a significant impact on reducing production costs. The refurbished tool can achieve the same processing quality as before, while the processing cost can be reduced by half. Compared to the newly purchased tools, the performance of this refurbished tool is comparable, and the price is only about 1/3.

In Australia, Sutton Tool Company's tool regrind service can make used tools “new”. The company uses CNC numerical control tool grinders to accurately regrind powder metallurgy high-speed steel and carbide tools, and then re-coated TiN, Futura Nano, TiCN, Alcrona and other thin film coatings.

Today, in the machinery industry, the concept of remanufacturing is receiving increasing attention. Remanufacturing is the process of disassembling and reassembling machinery at the component level. It requires cleaning and repairing parts (or replacing worn or outdated parts). If the major component of a product comes from a used product, the product can be defined as a remanufactured product.

Remanufacturing can make the product work better. For example, when applied to a machine tool product, it is easy to convert a machine tool that originally used an ordinary NC system into a machine tool that adopts a new CNC numerical control system. For some companies with tight budgets, this remanufacturing machine is potentially attractive. For example, the use of new CNC systems, electronics and even robots to retrofit or retrofit old CNC turning centers can give remanufacturing machines the features they would not have when they first purchased the original machine, giving them “almost new” features. .

The above example provides another option for companies planning to purchase new equipment. In the current economic environment where existing machine tools and tools need to be fully utilized, the advantages of remanufactured products in terms of economic efficiency and environmental responsibility are more attractive.