Showing papers on "Production engineering published in 2012"

Cost Engineering for manufacturing: Current and future research

Abstract: The article aims to identify the scientific challenges and point out future research directions on Cost Engineering. The research areas covered in this article include Design Cost; Manufacturing Cost; Operating Cost; Life Cycle Cost; Risk and Uncertainty management and Affordability Engineering. Collected information at the Academic Forum on Cost Engineering held at Cranfield University in 2008 and further literature review findings are presented. The forum set the scope of the Cost Engineering research, a brainstorming was held on the forum and literatures were further reviewed to understand the current and future practices in cost engineering. The main benefits of the article include coverage of the current research on cost engineering from different perspectives and the future research areas on Cost Engineering.

Supporting the Design of Reconfigurable Production Systems

Abstract: To compete, manufacturing companies need production systems that quickly can respond to changes To handle change drivers such as volume variations or new product variants, reconfigurability is adv

Cyber-physical systems in factory automation - Towards the 4th industrial revolution

Abstract: Industrial production is increasingly driven by megatrends like globalization, product individualization, shorter product life cycles and volatile markets. This means that production equipment and facilities have to be adapted to new products and product variants in less time. On a technical level, major challenges in factory automation are about shorter engineering phases, quicker ramp-up of production lines and connecting technical processes to business processes.

AutomationML: From data exchange to system planning and simulation

Abstract: The planning, testing and integration of modern automation systems is becoming more and more a bottleneck in the construction of new production facilities. This is due to the facts that plants grow in complexity and that modern automation systems are highly distributed and comprise complex components.

A review on Ecological Engineering based Engineering Management

Abstract: Engineering achievements have improved the quality of human life, provided creature comforts, and expanded the human domain to unprecedented levels. When enjoying all these achievements, human beings are coming to realize that the more invasion of the nature, the more environmental problems. Under the context of sustainable development, it is certain that effective Engineering Management calls for an ecological concept. The basic claim of this paper is that Engineering Management should be based on Ecological Engineering, which is an essential requirement of effective Engineering Management. At the same time, Ecological Engineering shall serve as the base of Engineering Management, which is commanded by the characteristics of Ecological Engineering. To date, there are only scattered studies focused on Engineering Management using the ecological concept. Moreover, there is no systematic concept of Ecological Engineering based Engineering Management (EMEE). In this paper, a thorough review of EMEE is presented. Our goals are to clarify this concept, promote this promising thought, summarize past research, and identify issues for future research to create impacts on the practice of Engineering Management.

A project scheduling approach to production and material requirement planning in Manufacturing-to-Order environments

Abstract: Long- and medium-term production planning are tools to match production orders with resource capacity and that can also be used as a baseline for material procurement. The lack of a detailed schedule for the manufacturing operations, however, may cause difficulties in providing a proper material requirements planning and may affect the feasibility of the production plan itself. This paper proposes an approach, based on production process knowledge, to extract scheduling information from an aggregate production plan in order to support material procurement. The proposed approach is applied to an industrial case involving machining center production.

Management of design information in the production system design process

Abstract: For manufacturing companies active on the global market, high-performance production systems that contribute to the growth and competitiveness of the company are essential. Among a wide range of in ...

Production Scheduling in an Agile Agent-Based Production Grid

Abstract: To meet the requirements of modern production, where short time to market, production driven by customer requirements and low cost small quantity production are important issues, we have been developing an agent-based software infrastructure for agile industrial production. This production is done on special devices called equip lets. A grid of these equip lets connected by a fast network is capable of producing a variety of different products in parallel. The multi-agent-based software infrastructure is responsible for the agile manufacturing. An important aspect of this software is the scheduling of the production. This paper describes a multi-agent-based solution for this problem. In our production system requests for products arrive at random times and every product must be completed before its deadline.

Production and Manufacturing System Management: Coordination Approaches and Multi-Site Planning

Abstract: The edited volume concerns the different aspects of cooperation mainly for SMEs. The objective is to present the studies to develop multi agent infrastructure and models for the coordination activities among the enterprises. This book also presents cooperation models and approaches focused on fields different from the SMEs applications.

Development of a method for the implementation of interoperable tool chains applying mechatronical thinking — Use case engineering of logic control

Abstract: Following the increasing complexity of production systems, the increasing relevance of complete life cycle coverage, and increasing consideration of engineering costs engineering processes have to be efficient and should generate fault free results. Therefore, mechatronical thinking and interoperability along tool chains are potential supporting means. Within this paper the impact of mechatronical thinking on the engineering process for production systems, the provision of interoperability of engineering activities and tools along the engineering process and the resulting structures will for data exchange be considered. Based on the use case of control system engineering a methodology for the creation of a interoperable tool chain exploiting data exchange formats and meta modeling is given.

Energy-Sensitive Production Control in Mixed Model Manufacturing Processes

Abstract: Although energy efficient production is a topic of high interest both in industrial practice and research, the need for a comprehensive analysis of energy considerations in production control of manufacturing processes at manufacturing control level has been largely ignored until now. This holds true especially for mixed-model production. The paper at hand discusses selected production control tasks, methods, processes and strategies for this production type and aims at identifying the extent to which energy features can be implemented into use, new and existing approaches and controlling tools. Based on first research activities, basic cases of energy-sensitive production control have been derived.

Navigating between tools in heterogeneous Automation Systems Engineering landscapes

Abstract: Automation Systems Engineering projects typically depend on the collaboration of several engineering disciplines. While available software tools are supporting individual engineering disciplines quite well, there is very little work on tool collaboration and engineering process automation across discipline boundaries. Following a sequential process structure with distributed and parallel activities, an efficient integration of loosely linked heterogeneous engineering tool models for information retrieval or model consistency checking for quality assurance (QA) requires high human effort. Mechatronic objects provide a logical view on integrated data from mechanical, electrical, and software engineering but there is limited support of heterogeneous and dynamic engineering tool models. Based on so-called engineering objects this paper introduces the capability of single-click navigation between heterogeneous engineering tools taking into account the different views on common engineering concepts. The proposed approach is evaluated by using an example from the process automation domain. Major results are that navigation increases the understanding and traceability of complex relations and thus enables the efficient diagnosis of deviations between models.

Virtual production intelligence: a contribution to the digital factory

Abstract: The usage of simulation applications for the planning and the designing of processes in many fields of production technology facilitated the formation of large data pools. With the help of these data pools, the simulated processes can be analyzed with regard to different objective criteria. The considered use cases have their origin in questions arising in various fields of production technology, e.g. manufacturing procedures to the logistics of production plants. The deployed simulation applications commonly focus on the object of investigation. However, simulating and analyzing a process necessitates the usage of various applications, which requires the interchange of data between these applications. The problem of data interchange can be solved by using either a uniform data format or an integration system. Both of these approaches have in common that they store the data, which are interchanged between the deployed applications. The data's storage is necessary with regard to their analysis, which, in turn, is required to obtain an added value of the interchange of data between various applications that is e.g. the determining of optimization potentials. The examination of material flows within a production plant might serve as an example of analyzing gathered data from an appropriate simulated process to determine, for instance, bottle necks in these material flows. The efforts undertaken to support such analysis tools for simulated processes within the field of production engineering are still at the initial stage. A new and contrasting way of implementing the analyses aforementioned consists in focusing on concepts and methods belonging to the subject area of Business Intelligence, which address the gathering of information taken from company processes in order to gain knowledge about these. This paper focusses on the approach mentioned above. With the help of a concrete use case taken from the field of factory planning, requirements on a data-based support for the analysis of the considered planning process are formulated. In a further step, a design for the realization of these requirements is presented. Furthermore, expected challenges are pointed out and discussed.

Application of contemporary engineering techniques and technologies in the field of dental prosthetics

Abstract: Purpose: During the last couple of decades, development of medical science has been marked with an ever more pronounced interdisciplinary character which, in part, can be attributed to various engineering applications. Rapid development of computer-aided technologies, which completely transformed production engineering, also left an indelible mark on dental prosthetics. Striving towards its primary goal primum non nocere (’Above all, do not harm!’), the area of dental prosthetics has introduced numerous novel technologies and methods which allow manufacture of precision, custom-made, optimal dental replacements. Design/methodology/approach: The aim of research to contribute to integration of modern engineering technologies and computer-aided systems into dental prosthetics with special emphasis on efficient manufacture of dental replacements with precision which allows clinical applicability. The subject scope of the paper comprises modelling, manufacturing with special emphases on materials, quality inspection and environmental impact assessment (cleaner production). Findings: In the industrially developed countries, efforts have been concentrated towards advancement of modelling and manufacture of dental replacements by introducing modern computer equipment and state-of-the-art materials and machining technologies. However, in countries in transition, dental replacements are predominantly manufactured in a traditional, manual way prone to errors. The reasons for this situation are various. Practical implications: It is expected that this trend will have a significant impact on the further development of production engineering techniques and technologies in the near future. Originality/value: The paper evolved on the premise that there is a room for more intensive co-operation between the two disciplines dental prosthetics and engineering, with a prospect for success of the development of novel, original solutions. In that sense, this paper should serve to both professions – production engineers and dentists.

A model for linking shop floor improvements to manufacturing cost and profitability

Abstract: Manufacturing units in the so called high-cost countries are struggling under fierce competition on the global market. In order to survive, the factory needs to generate profit to its owners. Profitability can be reached in many different ways apart from only lowering the employees' salaries. It can be improved through increased profit margins (sales in relation to costs) or with an increased capital turnover rate. Finding ways to free capacity and to improve flexibility in order to increase sales is often more interesting to the manufacturing companies than cutting the direct salary costs. A model for analysing profitability of a manufacturing unit is proposed. It is found on a production system analysis and combines in-depth production engineering analysis with economical accounting analysis of the factory. The manual work tasks are of special interest and the productivity of selected bottleneck work areas are analysed thoroughly. The model is intended for use by two industrial analysts during a one-week study. Simulation of different improvement scenarios is carried out and presented to the factory management at the end of the profitability study. A software implementation is required in order to generate the model, collect data and make simulation within the intended time. The implementation is made in spread sheet software using Visual Basic to program interfaces and automatic functions. The primary area of application is the electronics industry in Sweden where the model is used in a research project to strengthen the competitiveness of that industry.

Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering

Abstract: The principal strength of the academic program leading to the Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering (BS IE) is its blend of mathematics, physical sciences and business applications. The methodology foundation is built on probability, optimization, statistics, computing, and economics. The program features a unique concentration system that allows students to get a broad industrial engineering education and to specialize in areas such as

Extending mechatronic objects for automation systems engineering in heterogeneous engineering environments

Abstract: Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary field of engineering combining disciplines like mechanical, electronic or software engineering, in order to design and manufacture useful products. Nowadays, mechatronic engineering is well-supported either by using integrated tool suites providing a homogeneous approach to engineering, or by relying on established tool chains consisting of a set of engineering tools connected using a common data exchange format. However, in practice neither tool suites nor tool chains have become a de facto standard in engineering, leading to tedious and often manual integration efforts required to combine specific engineering tools or tool suites. This paper presents an engineering tool integration framework that allows the definition and usage of mechatronic objects originating from heterogeneous engineering tools, so-called “engineering objects”. These engineering objects can additionally include project and organizational information, thus enabling exhaustive engineering process management and monitoring. The presented approach is evaluated in an industrial case study from the hydro power plant engineering domain. Major results are engineering objects that can include heterogeneous data, such as project or organization-specific information, thus enabling automated and therefore more efficient synchronization between the involved engineering disciplines, as well as added-value applications, like project monitoring or quality assured data import and export.

Direct deployment of component-based automation systems

Abstract: Modular approaches and virtual commissioning are regarded as two key enablers to reduce the effort, cost and time of automation system engineering. This contribution reviews existing researches on the virtual commissioning of modular automation systems. The research work carried out by the authors, which provides a new engineering toolset for the virtual commissioning component-based modular automation system engineering, is reported. Combing the industrial needs related to our research works and the limitations of existing virtual commissioning approaches, an approach to the direct deployment of control systems of component-based automation systems based on virtual commissioning is presented. A use case of the proposed solution using related engineering tools developed by the authors is also provided.

The Four Pillars of Manufacturing Engineering: What Engineering and Technology Graduates Should Know About Manufacturing

Abstract: The Four Pillars of Manufacturing Engineering essentially differentiates the unique character of the manufacturing, manufacturing engineering and manufacturing engineering technology disciplines. It defines the standard for advanced manufacturing topics, and provides a body of knowledge concept with which all those engaged in advanced manufacturing education can align. Developed by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) through its Center for Education, the four pillars model is derived from the ABET accreditation criteria for manufacturing engineering programs and builds on the topics in the SME body of knowledge for the certification of manufacturing engineers and manufacturing technologists. The concept of the four pillars encompasses: 1) Materials and manufacturing processes; 2) Product, tooling, and assembly engineering; 3) Manufacturing systems and operations; and 4) Manufacturing competitiveness. The Four Pillars of Manufacturing Engineering is a tool for promoting greater understanding of the breadth and depth of the field of manufacturing engineering. Initiatives are underway, led by the SME Center for Education, to build on this foundation, to promulgate the concept broadly within SME, and to engage in dialog with other professional societies that represent engineering, engineering technology, industrial technology, and related educational programs from whose graduates enter manufacturing-related career paths. Supporting materials are to be developed to aid in helping to inform a broader array of manufacturing professionals, post-secondary educators, high school educators, public policy officials, media representatives, governmental agencies, and the general public about the manufacturing engineering field. This paper will provide a status report on these efforts, demonstrate how the Four Pillars may be used by various audiences to position their organizations and initiatives, and outline additional plans for future implementation. 1. Overview of the Four Pillars Concept The concept of The Four Pillars of Manufacturing Engineering was developed from the program criteria for accreditation of manufacturing engineering and similarly named programs as promulgated by ABET Inc, the recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology worldwide. The philosophical underpinning is that Manufacturing requires that a modification of the shape, form, or properties of a material takes place in a way that adds value. 1 The Four Pillars and the intent of the accreditation criteria are presented below:  Materials and manufacturing processes: understanding the behavior and properties of materials as they are altered and influenced by processing in manufacturing  Product, tooling, and assembly engineering: understanding the design of products and the equipment, tooling, and environment necessary for their manufacture  Manufacturing systems and operations: understanding the creation of competitive advantage through manufacturing planning, strategy, and control P ge 25299.3  Manufacturing competitiveness: understanding the analysis, synthesis, and control of manufacturing operations using statistical and calculus based methods, simulation and information technology Additional detail used to define the programmatic content of such programs is provided by the Body of Knowledge developed with industry by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers for its certification programs for manufacturing engineers and technologists. 2 Graphic Representation of Four Pillars Concept To help communicate the Four Pillars concept and the attendant details to a wide range of people and organizations, a graphic representation was developed using the metaphor of a building whose roof structure is supported by four pillars that rest on a foundation (Figure 1). The foundation shows the educational fundamentals on which the manufacturing engineering field is based, including mathematics and science, communications, and the many aspects of personal effectiveness. The four pillars are capped with the titles shown above for the four major competencies expected of manufacturing engineers and technologists. Within the four pillars, ten major subject areas are arrayed to give more detail to the content included in baccalaureate degree programs: Engineering Sciences, Materials, Manufacturing Processes, Product Design, Process Design, Equipment/Tool Design, Production System Design, Automated Systems and Control, Quality and Continuous Improvement, and Manufacturing Management. The roof structure emphasizes that laboratory experiences, quality, continuous improvement, and problem analysis pervade the manufacturing engineering field and integrate its various facets. Below the building foundation are more detailed lists of the Four Pillars subjects. These make up the content of the programs. This list constitutes the basis for SME certification exams for Certified Manufacturing Engineer and Certified Manufacturing Technologist. 2. The Four Pillars and the SME Center for Education The Four Pillars of Manufacturing Engineering is a tool for promoting greater understanding of the breadth and depth of the field of manufacturing engineering. The role of the SME Center for Education is to build on this foundation, to promulgate the concept broadly within SME, and to engage in dialog with other professional societies that represent engineering, engineering technology, industrial technology, and related educational programs from whose graduates enter manufacturing-related career paths. The Four Pillars of Manufacturing Engineering also may be used by industry to identify training and education needs of its workforce and as a means of providing input to educational institutions that serve as a source for employees. Additionally, the role of the SME Center for Education is to communicate the importance, value and characteristics of advanced manufacturing and fulfill SME’s role in higher education by successfully achieving broader participation in and use of the Four Pillars of Manufacturing Engineering and information gained from the comprehensive study of manufacturing education called Curricula 2015 – A Four Year Strategic Plan for Manufacturing Education. The term ‘manufacturing’ conjures up varying images for different audiences. It is a goal of SME to change this to a common, accurate, and positive image through a society-wide branding initiative. In alignment with that goal, the Four Pillars of Manufacturing Engineering model defines the design, production, technology and engineering aspects of ‘advanced P ge 25299.4 manufacturing’ in broad yet specific terms. It has long been known in the business community that establishing a ‘standard’ is essential to the growth of a technology and of the industries that participate in that technology. The Four Pillars of Manufacturing Engineering defines the standard for advanced manufacturing topics, and provides a body of knowledge concept with which all those engaged in advanced manufacturing education can align. The image of manufacturing needs updating to reflect the wealth of opportunities available, the critical role that domestic manufacturing plays in our economy, the skills needed, the ‘clean’ nature of modern advanced manufacturing operations, the significant benefits that manufacturing provides to society and the exciting new applications of manufacturing. It must also be articulated in a way with messages that resonate with the desired audiences. For example, advanced manufacturing is in a constant state of change. Who would have imagined just a decade ago that building scaffolding for human organs would be an additive manufacturing process? Content of curricula must continuously be updated, disseminating research and new practices in manufacturing like the example above. With respect to higher education, the Four Pillars of Manufacturing Engineering provides a clear guide for manufacturing education programs in manufacturing engineering and manufacturing engineering technology regarding topics that need to be addressed to meet the needs of advanced manufacturing enterprises. Currently the manufacturing engineering specific criteria for the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET Inc. are precisely aligned with the Four Pillars, and similar work is currently underway to revise the Technology Accreditation Commission (TAC) of ABET Inc. criteria for manufacturing engineering technology programs. Similar work is being done by The Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering (ATMAE) for its accredited programs. (See details in Section 6 of this paper.) Wide scale implementation of the Four Pillars concept among manufacturing programs will require consistent communication with the department chairs and curricula committees of manufacturing and other programs that offer manufacturing courses. In keeping with the charge to the SME Center for Education, appropriate communication methods are being developed to achieve broad dissemination and understanding of the Four Pillars, and the resources available to assist programs in updating their curriculum. The SME Center for Education is planning a series of webinars for chairs and faculty members of these programs to further the understanding and use of the Four Pillars model. In addition, the Center for Education is reaching out to other professional organizations. For example, in March 2012 the Center was invited to present a briefing on the Manufacturing Engineering Body of Knowledge to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ International Mechanical Engineering Education Conference to begin a dialogue with that organization and its members, and plans to offer similar outreach to other professional societies. 3. The Four Pillars and Curricula 2015 The development of the Four Pillars concept was completed in parallel with the comprehensive SME study of manufacturi

Online Monitoring, Analysis, and Remote Recording of Welding Parameters to the Welding Diary

Abstract: In certain domains of production engineering we are faced with very small batch production as it is the case in the production of heavy hydro energy equipment. In this domain manual welding is one of the most time consuming operations. Monitoring of the welding process is essential from the point of work organization as well as from the point of process control. In this paper a novel concept of data acquisition and recording of welding parameters to the welding diary is presented. Several considerations on signal acquisition, sampling rate, processing, data aggregation, wireless information transfer, and presentation are discussed. Implementation of the concept is discussed on laboratory and industrial examples.

Engineering of automated manufacturing systems with mechatronic objects

Abstract: Engineering of automated manufacturing systems requires a lot of effort and therefore creates a bottleneck. In this paper we present a methodology of designing the concept of systems based on mechatronic objects. The methodology proposed enables the identification of objects, which take mechatronic aspects into consideration. This means we are able to create a holistic concept design of the mechanics, electrics and electronics and software. The approach of identifying mechatronic objects is novel because the overall blueprint of the system can be optimized across the various disciplines. The methodology is demonstrated based on an example of special machinery systems, whereby the functional evaluation of the concept is discussed throughout the detail-engineering phase.

Application of engineering processes analysis to evaluate benefits of mechatronic engineering

Abstract: Mechatronic thinking in engineering is an upcoming trend in production system design and implementation. Several approaches and tools are considered and developed within the last years. Nevertheless, within practice the adoption of mechatronic engineering is not very fast. This is due to the required conviction of engineers about the benefits of mechatronic engineering. Within this paper methods of engineering process analysis are used to evaluate the benefits of mechatronic engineering.

Hybrid joining of aluminium to thermoplastics with friction stir welding (FSW)

Abstract: Hybrid structures including aluminum-thermoplastic and aluminum-reinforced thermoplastic composite are increasingly important in the near future innovations due to its lightweight an ...

Laboratory of Flexible Manufacturing System

Abstract: The main advantage of the flexible manufacturing system is its high flexibility in management of production facilities and resources (time, machines and their utilization, etc.). The largest application of these systems is in the area of small batch production where its efficiency is getting near to the mass production efficiency. Its disadvantage is the high implementation price.

Optimization of production planning for green manufacturing

Abstract: This paper studies the production planning for green manufacturing to help manufacturers to determine their emission allowances and emission trading strategy. Under the government emission regulation and the emission trading scheme, the manufacturer plans his production with both an emission limitation in a finite planning horizon and an emission cap in each production period, and trades the emission permits through an outside market. The manufacturer thus prompts emission abatement through technology innovation and has strong motivations to optimize their production planning to cut down his operation cost. We focus on this problem and present a mixed integer programming model to optimize the production planning for the manufacturer with an objective of minimizing his operation cost. We further propose a pseudo-polynomial dynamic programming algorithm to solve the model. We first consider a one-period problem for a given production quantity and a given emission level. This problem can be solved by an algorithm based on dynamic programming. The multi-period problem is solved based on the result of the one-period problem. It is also solved using dynamic programming by allocating the production quantity and an emission level to each of the periods.