Remanufacturing has gained great recognition in recent years due to its economic and environmental benefits and effectiveness in the value retention of waste products. Many studies on reverse logistics have considered remanufacturing as a key node for network optimization, but few literature reviews have explicitly mentioned remanufacturing as a main feature in their analysis. The aim of this review is to bridge this gap. In total, 125 papers on remanufacturing reverse logistics network design have been reviewed and conclusions have been drawn from four aspects: (1) in terms of network structure, the functional nodes of new hybrid facilities and the network structure combined with the remanufacturing technologies of products are the key points in the research. (2) In the mathematical model, the multi-objective function considered from different aspects, the uncertainty of recovery time and recovery channel in addition to quantity and quality, and the selection of appropriate algorithms are worth studying. (3) While considering product types, the research of a reverse logistics network of some products is urgently needed but inadequate, such as medical and furniture products. (4) As for cutting-edge technologies, the application of new technologies, such as intelligent remanufacturing technology and big data, will have a huge impact on the remanufacturing of a reverse logistics network and needs to be considered in our research.

Modeling and estimating the energy consumption of computer numerical control (CNC) milling systems have been recognized as essential ways to realize lean energy consumption management and improve energy efficiency performance. As the preparatory phase, considerable time and energy are consumed in the tool setting process. However, research on the tool setting process mainly focuses on accuracy and operational efficiency, and the energy consumption is usually ignored or simplified. Accurately estimating the energy consumption of the tool setting process is thus indispensable for reducing the energy consumption of CNC milling systems and improving their energy efficiency. To bridge this gap, an energy consumption estimation method for the tool setting process in CNC milling based on the modular arrangement of predetermined time standards (MODAPTS) is presented. It includes three steps: (i) operations decomposition and determination of the MODAPTS codes for the tool setting process, (ii) power modeling of the basic action elements of the machine tool, and (iii) energy consumption modeling of the tool setting process. Finally, a case study was conducted to illustrate the practicability of the proposed method via energy consumption modeling of the tool setting process using an XH714D CNC machine center with a square workpiece, in which the estimation values of the operating time and the energy consumption for the tool setting process were 210.786 s and 140,681.68 J, respectively. The proposed method can increase the transparency of energy consumption and help establish labor-hour quotas and energy consumption allowances in the tool setting process.

The Engineering Education Accreditation (EEA) has been adopted in colleges and universities worldwide. As a foundational component of practical teaching, cognitive internship is a focus of EEA, with the offline mode as the common teaching method, while the online mode has been increasingly used in recent years. To meet the requirements of EEA, the effects of the online and offline cognitive internships need to be analyzed and compared. Focusing on the demand, this paper proposes a comprehensive method combining the Goal Achievement Degree (GAD) and CIPP model. The majors of the School of Automotive Transport and Engineering at Wuhan University of Science and Technology (WUST), which include the fields of vehicle engineering, traffic engineering, traffic transport, and logistics engineering, are taken as the example to conduct this research. The main findings of this paper are as follows: (1) Compared with online cognitive internship, offline internship students have a stronger ability to enhance theoretical knowledge and perceive the environment. (2) Utilizing such an online teaching method could be helpful for cultivating students’ analytical skills. (3) From the students’ perspective, the lack of funding for teaching cognitive internships, both online and offline, is the most serious problem. (4) Students perceive that the online cognitive internship helps them to understand knowledge in class and determine career planning, but it does not provide the same effect on those as the offline cognitive internship.

Modeling and assessing the sustainability of machining systems has been considered to be a crucial approach to improving the environmental performance of machining processes. As the most common machining system, the computer numerical control (CNC) milling system is a typical man–machine cooperative system where the activities of the machine tool and operator generate material and energy consumption. However, the energy consumption of the operator in the CNC milling system has often been ignored in most existing research. Therefore, existing methods fail to provide a comprehensive understanding of the sustainability of the CNC milling system. To fill this gap, an exergy loss assessment method is proposed to investigate the sustainability of the CNC milling system, where the energy consumption of the operator, the energy consumption of the machine tool, and material consumption are taken into consideration. The key performance indexes of the energy consumption of the operator, the energy consumption of the machine tool, the exergy loss, and the specific exergy loss (SEL) are analyzed and modeled. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method, a case study was carried out on a three-axis machining center (XH714D), in which the energy consumption of the operator, the energy consumption of the machine tool, the exergy loss of energy consumption, the exergy loss of chips, the exergy loss of compressed air, the exergy loss of cutting tool wear, the exergy loss of cooling liquid dissipation, and the SEL were found to be 169,750 J, 758,211 J, 603,131 J, 2,031,404 J, 22,023 J, 301,868 J, 2673 J, and 88.04 J/mm³, respectively. The proposed method is effective to assess the sustainability of the CNC milling system, and the established exergy loss models build a good basis for exergy efficiency optimization.

Considering that consumers are more willing to buy products online, companies are increasingly selling remanufactured products online through e-commerce platforms. Notwithstanding the high attention it elicits from researchers and companies, the current study on the remanufacturing trading platform is still in its infancy. Thus, we investigate 20 remanufacturing trading platforms and make a gap analysis among them in terms of (i) business model, (ii) product display, (iii) delivery products, (iv) quality assurance and after-sales service, (v) product review and star rate, and (vi) transaction and payment. On this basis, we analyze features for the development of remanufacturing trading platforms and propose six key applications aimed at filling the identified gaps. The consortium blockchain has the characteristics of security and transparency, high credibility, traceability and unfalsifiability, low cost, and strong scalability, which can provide effective support for the six key applications. Then, we construct the technical framework and the model of a consortium blockchain-supported remanufacturing trading platform. Further, we analyze the coupling mechanism between the consortium blockchain and the remanufacturing trading platform to explain how the remanufacturing trading platform supported by the consortium blockchain achieves the development characteristics. This study provides important guidance for the development, construction, and operation management of remanufacturing trading platforms.

Modeling and assessing the sustainability of machining systems has been considered to be a crucial approach to improving the environmental performance of the machining processes. As the most common machining system, the computer numerical control (CNC) milling system is a typical man-machine cooperative system where the activities of the machine tool and operator generate material and energy consumption. However, the energy consumption of the operator in the CNC milling system has often been ignored in most existing research. Therefore, existing methods fail to provide a comprehensive understanding of the sustainability of the CNC milling system. To fill this gap, an exergy loss assessment method is proposed to investigate the sustainability of the CNC milling system, where the energy consumption of the operator, the energy consumption of the machine tool, and material consumption are taken into consideration. The key performance indexes of the energy consumption of the operator, the energy consumption of the machine tool, the exergy loss, and the specific exergy loss (SEL) are analyzed and modeled. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method, a case study was carried out on a three-axis machining center (XH714D), in which SEL was found to be 88.04J/mm3. The proposed method is effective to assess the sustainability of the CNC milling system, and the established exergy loss models build a good basis for exergy efficiency optimization.