ReBORN · Innovative Reuse of modular knowledge Based devices and technologies for Old, Renewed and New factories

The vision of ReBORN is to demonstrate strategies and technologies that support a new paradigm for re-use of production equipment in old, renewed and new factories; maximizing the efficiency of this re-use and making the factory design process much easier and straight forward, shortening ramp-up times and increasing production efficiency and flexibility. This paradigm will give new life to decommissioned production systems and equipment, making it possible their “reborn” in new production lines.Integration of ReBORN results will extend production equipment life cycle and contribute to economic and environmental sustainability of production systems without jeopardizing European machinery industry. This new modular production equipment will be re-used between production systems but will require servicing and upgrading. For that European machinery industry will move from an equipment-based business to a value added business, where equipment servicing and equipment knowledge are main business drivers.The proposed paradigm builds on self-aware and knowledge-based equipment that need functionalities to collect and manage information regarding their capabilities and their evolution over time, maintenance, upgrade or refurbishment operations over it lifetime; and information of use and wear. To do so, versatile and modular, task-driven plug&produce devices, with built-in capabilities for self-assessment and optimal re-use will be implemented, along with strategies for their re-use and models for factory layout design and adaptive configuration.ReBORN will demonstrate the technologies for intelligent repair, upgrade and re-use of equipment, the (re-)design of factory layouts and flexible & adaptable production on shopfloor within several industrial demonstration scenarios.Having ReBORN technology available, significant reduced efforts when setting-up and ramping-up production systems will be achieved and a significant step towards 100% re-use will be done.