GEARUP

High-cost and long lead time industrial gears and power transmission components suffer from failures due to excessive wear, material defects, and system misalignments causing unexpected shutdowns in various industrial processes. Once these failures occur, the damaged component is discarded resulting in resource waste and the loss of high added value in component manufacturing. As an expensive and highly processed component, large industrial gears are suitable targets for remanufacturing. Due to the demanding operation conditions of the gears, the deployment of remanufacturing requires thorough quality assurance and validation, so that the remanufactured gear can be given a full warranty.

The key objective of the GEARUP project is to promote the deployment of remanufacturing of industrial gears through increased automation of remanufacturing workflow utilizing advanced machine vision technology and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), reverse engineering, utilization of state-of-the-art high-speed laser cladding, qualification and validation of remanufactured components and their upgrading with higher performance materials and advanced material structures.

The GEARUP project helps industries address competitive, environmental, and legislative pressures to move towards a circular economy and implement the green transition. The ecosystem will cover industrial value chains from emission-free powder feedstock manufacturers to OEM component manufacturers, machining specialists, laser technology developers, and remanufacturing service providers. Qualification, validation, and upgrading of large remanufactured components will be a door opener for heavy machinery industries to provide remanufactured products with full warranty for growing international markets.