Circular Manufacturing Systems in Learning Factories

Circular Manufacturing Systems (CMS) have emerged as a paradigm for integrating disassembly and potential remanufacturing processes into factories. This is also a relevant topic for learning factories whereas studies indicate that limited concepts are available nowadays. Given that, the paper explores the integration of CMS principles as well as specific processes and system setups into learning factories. A methodological approach is introduced to facilitate the systematic development of CMS approaches for learning factories. The proposed approach is exemplarily applied in the Learning Factory of the University of Twente to test functionality and feasibility.