Public Funding for Lucchini Unipart Rail Limited

Remanufacturing is a major manufacturing challenge due to the variation in the condition of incoming parts, as well as the need to react quickly to varying demand, driven by factors including in-service failure (such as casualty wheel flats in the rail sector) which makes accurate forecasting very difficult. Moreover, the approach presents important supply chain and logistical challenges to ensure that parts are collected and returned at the right time and place to meet complex repair schedules, involving multiple activities against fixed deadlines. Existing repair methods often entail a series of manual tasks, undertaken in different locations, making precise control impossible. A different approach is required for heavily utilised high value equipment where "out-of-service" time must be minimised. In the AURORA project, the world's first flexible remanufacturing cell for rail components, combining high performance cladding, machining and in-process part inspection, to ensure the accuracy and integrity of parts, will be developed and demonstrated. This new approach will enable novel business models to be investigated.