Dynamic process planning control of hybrid disassembly systems

Disassembly plays a key role in a life cycle economy, since it enables the recovery of resources, as reported by Seliger (Sustainability in manufacturing: recovery of resources in product and material cycles. Springer, Berlin, ISBN 978-3-540-49870-4; 2007). A partly automated disassembly system could adapt to a large variety of products and different degrees of devaluation. However, the deviations between the disassembly plan generated by the planning process and the actual situation of the disassembly system cause difficulties in the workshop execution. Controlling these deviations is necessary for regulating daily operations. The objective of dynamic process planning (DPP) is to reflect the availabilities of the disassembly tools in the real disassembly cell and to offer alternatives when a device or tool is not available. The DPP procedure will propose alternative disassembly processes and tools supported by a knowledge-based network method and it will select the best suitable among them.