Production engineering

About: Production engineering is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2657 publications have been published within this topic receiving 37409 citations.

Planning and Scheduling in Additive Manufacturing

Abstract: Recent advances in additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing technologies have led to significant growth in the use of additive manufacturing in industry, which allows for the physical realization of previously difficult to manufacture designs. However, in certain cases AM can also involve higher production costs and unique in-process physical complications, motivating the need to solve new optimization challenges. Optimization for additive manufacturing is relevant for and involves multiple fields including mechanical engineering, materials science, operations research, and production engineering, and interdisciplinary interactions must be accounted for in the optimization framework. In this paper we investigate a problem in which a set of parts with unique configurations and deadlines must be printed by a set of machines while minimizing time and satisfying deadlines, bringing together bin packing, nesting (two-dimensional bin packing), job shop scheduling, and constraints satisfaction. We first describe the real-world industrial motivation for solving the problem. Subsequently, we encapsulate the problem within constraints and graph theory, create a formal model of the problem, discuss nesting as a subproblem, and describe the search algorithm. Finally, we present the datasets, the experimental approach, and the preliminary results.

Bionics-An inspiration for intelligent manufacturing and engineering

Abstract: Value creation in all its facets lies at the core of intelligent manufacturing and engineering. In the last 20 years the field of manufacturing has undergone many changes and refinements. Terms such as Integrated Management Systems (IMS), Just in Time (JIT), Toyota Production System (TPS) in the context of Lean Production and 'Flow' were parts of the toolset developed by the Toyota Corporation which pushed them to the forefront of world automotive production. While benchmarking the design production systems and their associated efficiencies is very worthwhile, there are other engineering design, lean production, just in time, and production and supply chain exemplars which are worth investigating. A primary source of best-practice engineering in flexible and intelligent manufacturing is to be found in the study of 'Bionics' (Biomimicry). The intelligence in design and operational efficiency which is brought to Bionics by design in nature was recognised by Leonardo DaVinci when he wrote: ''... in her (design) nothing is lacking and nothing is superfluous'' [1]... This paper examines how design and engineering can learn and apply through the study of bionics/biomimicry, a vast pool of knowledge of design and systems engineering strategies. Such strategies and exemplars will provide benchmarks which will result in inspirational approaches in design, efficiency and sustainable engineering solutions.