Internet based software system for surface texture and form analysis

With the emergence of a global market and the recent trend of outsourcing, it has become increasingly necessary for companies to have remote access to data for process diagnostics and quality control. This paper presents an Internet based surface texture and form analysis system that will allow a user at one geographic location to upload surface profiles into a database that another user can later analyze. This system has all the features found on commercial instruments and also some special analysis tools such as wavelet analysis, valley removal algorithms etc. The capabilities include surface texture analysis with database support, straightness, flatness, roundness and cylindricity analysis.     

An RFID-based enterprise application integration framework for real-time management of dynamic manufacturing processes

Enterprise application integration (EAI) is an important issue for a company trying to transform itself into a ubiquitous real-time organization. However, traditional techniques for EAI are only suitable for integrating the virtual information among different applications. The challenge of integrating physical objects with corresponding business processes and applications at the right time and location is a critical concern for companies building a real-time enterprise (RTE) information system. In this research, we proposed an EAI framework based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. On the basis of this framework, a prototype system is developed to demonstrate the applicability of the framework in a shop floor environment. This paper also presents a RFID-based standard operation procedure to configure a prototype system for a particular shop floor operation and an operator orientation for performing the corresponding tasks. The findings of this paper demonstrate that the proposed framework is more capable than most current industrial practices in both managing dynamic manufacturing processes and in providing real-time visibility of work-in-process information. Using this framework, an enterprise can easily integrate an RFID-based solution into its IT infrastructure and manufacturing environment to facilitate real-time management of dynamic production operations.     

A framework for generating product production information for mass customization

As mass customization companies grow their business, the amount of custom information required to run the business increases. This paper proposes an information technology (IT) framework to solve this problem through automatic generation of information. The framework uses the concept of information templates or models and a rule-based system to generate manufacturing instructions. The templates combine the knowledge of bill-of-materials and resources while applying constraints to ensure the resulting custom product conforms to performance specifications. The feasibility and effectiveness of the framework and concepts are empirically validated by a case study implementation at a company that mass produces customized windows and doors in Calgary, Canada.     

协同产品开发平台的研究与实现

协同产品开发平台作为中小企业提供异地设计与制造和资源共享支撑平台，是北京市网络化制造工程的重要组成部分。本文研究了协同产品开发平台框架及关键技术。平台实现了分布式资源共享方式，基于CORBA，Web和Agent封装已有系统，支持用户通过Web浏览器获取CORBA服务。协同产品开发平台包括分布式资源共享和基于ASP的资源共享两种方式。在北京市网络化制造工程中实现了协同产品开发平台原型系统。     

离散制造企业EAI架构

通过对IT系统在离散制造企业中应用情况的分析，构建了离散制造企业信息集成系统模型，以此为基础规划了一种企业应用集成（EAI）架构。该架构应用XML Schema为离散制造企业建立了一种信息元数据描述模型，以保证信息集成系统中数据的唯一性、一致性和准确性；通过引入扩展的高级事务模型并结合消息机制解决了企业长制造周期与业务过程管理的矛盾，提高了企业业务处理的速度和可靠性。以一个实例描述了该架构的实现过程。     

An Information Modelling Framework to Support Intelligent Concurrent Design and Manufacturing of Sheet Metal Parts

Sharing of information is an important issue in supporting integrated and rapid product development. The use of information modelling technology is a promising approach for solving the problems of the intensive sharing of information in a concurrent and rapid product development cycle. This paper explores the definition and the structure of a framework of information modelling for the concurrent design and manufacturing of sheet metal parts. This framework aims to build an information bridge to fill the gap between the sheet metal part design and manufacturing systems. It is based on abstract handling principles of entities called zero thickness and zero bend radius principles. Based on this framework, information models can be built for information sharing by different systems. Knowledge bases that support intelligent concurrent design and manufacturing can also be created. In this paper, a two-branch tree based stepping-structure information modelling methodology for sheet metal parts is described, and a case study is given.     

A concurrent manufacturing strategy for One-of-a-Kind Products with complicated sculptured surfaces

In this paper, we propose a computer-aided system for concurrently designing and manufacturing a customised or One-of-Kind Production (OKP) mould or die which has complicated sculptured surfaces. Considering the OKP production characteristics of high customisation and concurrent product development and production, we believe that the concurrent consideration of both the design and the manufacturability of a mould or a die would be necessary. This concurrence can be realised by providing timely manufacturability information feedback after a design is completed or a feature is modified or added in the design. The other problem is that the sculptured surface geometry model of a mould or a die does not contain any machining information. Hence we developed an intermediate data model for capturing manufacturing features when we are modelling the geometric form of a mould or a die. The system is based on CADDS5 which is a commercial CAD/CAM system. Two modules for data extraction, coverting and modelling as well as for manufacturability analysis have been developed and added to CADDS5. Using this computer-aided system; a designer can interrogate geometry and machining constraint information through a user friendly interface to avoid defects and inefficiency resulting from an earlier design, and can finalise the design by making quick incremental adjustments. The system has been implemented in a mould and die manufacturing company in China. This implementation leads to less rework and shorter lead time.     

RosettaNet和ISA-95在企业间制造过程信息集成中的互补性

随着企业对实时性要求的增加,跨企业的制造过程信息集成显得越来越重要。针对这一问题,介绍了RosettaNet和ISA-95在这个领域中的作用,并对这两个标准在集成供应链制造过程信息中的互补性作了初步探讨,提出了一种基于这两个标准的企业间制造过程信息集成框架。     

Manufacturing Clarity

Arguments on the impact of offshoring, of both manufacturing and service jobs, have raged for many years. The dominant argument is that these movements are inevitable and that developed economies will prosper by focusing on high-value add activities. Implicit in this analysis is a traditional perspective on the economy as having two major components, manufacturing and services, and that the loss of manufacturing will not matter. This approach ignores the rapid evolution of manufacturing and the continuing integration of products and services. Without a realistic framework for analysing the economy, companies and governments are at risk of making mistakes when thinking about the strategic importance of different activities. This paper outlines a new framework for categorising companies that provides a more nuanced perspective on the structure of the economy to help decision makers, in government and industry, achieve sustained economic growth     

Social-technical aspects in modern manufacturing

Manufacturing companies are having to compete in a more and more global market. Continuous quality improvement, a reduction in product price and production series shortening have become necessary in order to be competitive. In such a situation, the development of production systems is necessary. This can only be done via the development of all manufacturing system elements such as production methods, machines, process, control and information systems. One important part of manufacturing systems that is very often not appreciated enough is the human being. This paper focuses on the changing role of managers and machine operators. Problems regarding quality of human decisions, artificial intelligence support and a socio-technical design approach are discussed as well. The aim of this paper is to present the important factors that significantly influence the balanced development of advanced manufacturing systems. The article is the result of a research project focused on improving the cooperation between machine operators and technical systems in manufacturing companies.     

Integrated Modeling Framework for Manufacturing Systems: A Unified Representation of the Physical Process and Information System

The task of process modeling in a manufacturing environment centers around controlling and improving the flow of materials. This flow comprises a complicated web of control and physical systems. Despite a variety of manufacturing system modeling approaches, more rigorous process modeling is required. This paper presents an integrated modeling framework for manufacturing systems (IMF-M). Conceptual modeling of physical materials flow supported by a graphical representation facilitates improvement of operations in manufacturing environments. A declarative and executable representation of control information systems helps to improve information management by managing a variety of information models with improved readability and reusability. A unified representation of the physical process and information system provides a common modeling milieu in which efforts can be coordinated among several groups working in the different domains of scheduling, shop floor and logistics control, and information system. Since the framework helps adapt to the changes of the physical process and information system affecting each other in a consistent manner, the modeling output enhances integration of the manufacturing system.     

Internet-based surface metrology algorithm testing system

This paper presents the development of an Internet-based surface metrology algorithm testing system. The system includes peer-reviewed surface analysis tools and a surface texture specimen database for parameter evaluation and algorithm verification. The system runs from a web site at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), USA. Companies, universities, and instrument manufacturers have Internet access to standard data sets and analysis tools located on a NIST server. The system serves to validate the accuracy of algorithms as well as the calculation of surface parameters in industry.     

An assessment of the level of informatization in the Korea mold industry as a prerequisite for e-collaboration: an exploratory empirical investigation

These days, the manufacturing industry is facing more severe competition in the global market than at anytime before. To survive in this competitive manufacturing environment, manufacturing companies have to deal with such issues as digitalization, globalization, agility, specialization, and collaboration. Particularly, collaboration between manufacturing companies, departments, systems and applications is becoming a very important strategic direction in the manufacturing industry. In this paper, we analyze the current status of the mold industry from both an information system (information infrastructure, information system), and business process viewpoint (collaboration), before attempting to apply e-collaboration to the mold industry. To accomplish this, the survey was conducted. The final study population of the survey consisted of 185 mold companies, and the response rate was relatively high at 40.5%. Additionally, Pearson’s correlation analysis was conducted in order to determine the kind of relationship that exists between the scale of the mold enterprise and three items .     

A WWW-Based Information Management System for Rapid and Integrated Mould Product Development

As efficient management of product information that covers the whole life cycle is critical to the enhancement of corporate competitiveness. This paper explores the design and development of a World Wide Web (WWW) based product development information management system for a cross-nation manufacturing corporation that is headed by a holding company in Christchurch, New Zealand. Since product data are often managed in a distributed computing environment, common object request broker architecture (CORBA) is employed to ensure the interoperability among distributed information objects. A STEP-based information framework is proposed to preserve the openness of the system. This WWW-based information management system is discussed in this paper, which includes two major components: 1. WWW-based product design and development distributed object-oriented databases and knowledge bases. 2. A WWW-based integrated system platform. Several sub-models are introduced, which include an object-oriented database structure, a WWW-based information management system, a WWW database tool, an information access tool, the incremental process-planning method, a cost-optimisation model and an integrated software platform for the integration of CAD, CAPP, CAM, and a WWW-based information management system.     

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT THROUGH INTEGRATION OF QUALITY TOOLS

The relationship between major quality tools such as quality function development (QFD), failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), design of experiments (DOE) and statistical process control (SPC) is analyzed through an extensive review of the literature and the concurrent quality engineering philosophy, and a basic structure for the integration of quality tools is presented. An integrated quality management system (IQMS) is developed using C++ Builder, running in the Windows 2000 Server environment with the basic internet connections, and SQL Server 2000 as the platform for developing the database. An illustrative example applying IQMS to the continuous quality improvement for a crane equipment manufacturing is reported. The result shows that the application of IQMS can optimize the process of design and manufacturing, shorten the cycle time of product, reduce the cost, and realize quality improvement continuously. The proposed integrated framework with IQMS is believed to be applicable to continuous quality improvement in many manufacturing companies.     

基于组件的车间级质量信息管理的技术研究与系统实现

针对某企业车间质量管理的功能需求，分析了集成环境下车间级的产品质量管理功能模型，建立了基于组件技术的质量管理系统结构框架，开发了网络环境下车间级的生产质量管理系统，实现了车间内质量数据信息的共享和对产品质量的有效控制，提高了车间生产效率，降低了生产成本，还与车间管理系统中其他系统实现了集成，同时组件模块化的设计方式为系统各模块的后续开发维护提供了方便。     

AEOS生产制造体系的建设研究

本文以我国航空发动机自主研制为背景,对标国际航空发动机制造体系及标准,探索我国航空发动机AEOS生产制造体系的建设,围绕需求和管理目标,构建总体框架,建立生产制造体系,提高生产运营管理的规范性,实现基于流程和信息化管理方式转变,优化生产组织方式,强化生产保障能力,提高生产执行力,逐步实现生产运营的精益化转型。提升我国航空发动机零部件的制造能力,为我国航空发动机的快速发展奠定基础。     

Reverse simulation for collaborative commerce: A study of integrating object-oriented database technology with object-oriented simulator

Collaborative commerce has been used for communication, design, planning, information sharing, and information discovery in business-to-business (B2B) applications. The collaboration between buyers and sellers enhances product quality and customer satisfaction. However, most effort currently focuses on information sharing with customers and suppliers instead of joint product development or manufacturing. Moreover, traditional analytical methods have limited capability in solving problems. This study presents a framework for doing reverse simulation, where designers can reuse past experiments and change system parameters in manufacturing system for collaborative commerce. The framework integrates the object-oriented simulator and the object-oriented database. In this framework, the object-oriented database records the whole experiment scenarios and allows multiple planners with different expertise to involve concurrently and collaboratively. Then, simulations of advanced planning and scheduling in a product manufacturing environment that involves several planners working collaboratively are used for demonstration.     

A decision support system for rapid one-of-a-kind product development

A decision support system (DSS) is a specific class of computerized information systems that support decision-making activities. Such a system has become paramount in supporting manufacturing activities with the development of World Wide Web (WWW) technology in recent years. The research and development of a knowledge-based DSS dedicated to rapid one-of-a-kind products (OKPs), however, has, to the author’s knowledge, rarely been directly studied. This work presents a knowledge-based DSS for supporting decision-making activities in developing OKPs using broad knowledge base content. The underlying architecture of the proposed system is a system that manages and optimizes the data, information and knowledge in the product development process. A knowledge structure model is proposed in this paper, and a comprehensive set of expert knowledge and analytical/numerical methods are integrated into the system to automate intelligent decision-making. Case studies have shown that the knowledge-based DSS is able to help OKP companies develop new products more quickly by sharing optimization tools, information and knowledge to reduce possible errors and rework.     

PDM与ERP系统集成方法及应用研究

产品数据管理现企业计划是制造企业增强其竞争力的最主要技术支撑,两个系统之间的集成是目前制造企业迫切需要解决的问题。本文提出了产品数据管理与企业资源计划系统集成的框架模型,详细描述了框架模型中的集成信息模型数据结构。数据的获取通过COM／DCOM对API函数进行包装来实现,使其适应分布式环境。在此基础上,开发了产品数据管理与企业资源计划的集成接口原型。