Lean Manufacturing: Efficiency improvement application in multi-product area of the Aerospace Industry

This research addresses the problem of leveling workloads in a multi-product final assembly area. In which it was found that 27.4% of the time is used for set up and the current distribution presents areas of opportunity. The target was to implement improvement actions to make use of resources more efficient in the production process in the aforementioned area through Lean Manufacturing tools. The results obtained consist of eight products generated with the support of lean manufacturing support tools such as SMED, Workload Balancing and MUDA waste identification, achieving important results among which productivity in the area stands out from 109% to 125%, as well as a reduction in set-up time from 17 min to 4.4 min.

Supply Chain Management Practices and Manufacturing Firms Performance: Professionals’ Experience in Nigeria

Research purpose. The study aims at establishing how supply chain management (SCM) activities of manufacturing firms influence their performance optimally. Design/Methodology/Approach. The research design adopted for the study is the survey research design; this is because we were interested in gathering information from a selected strategic fraction of a target population as it is not possible to meet them all. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from two hundred and twenty-seven (227) professionals from the five selected manufacturing firms in Lagos. The data were analyzed by the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique to ascertain the causal effect of the latent exogenous variables on the latent endogenous variables in the study. Findings. Based on the results of the SEM adopted in testing the research hypotheses, strategic partnership has a statistically significant positive effect on customer satisfaction of manufacturing firms. Customer relationship management was revealed to have a positive effect on firm performance from the path analysis. This is substantiated by the path coefficient (0.35) of customer relationship management on performance proxied by customer satisfaction. However, information sharing has a weak positive effect on performance proxied by manufacturing efficiency. This is substantiated by the path coefficient (0.11) of information sharing on performance though the effect is not significant as p>0.05 and CR<1.96. Material flow management has a positive effect on performance proxied by manufacturing efficiency. This is substantiated by the path coefficient (0.30) of material flow management on firm performance. There is a positive effect of lean production on performance proxied by innovation performance. This is substantiated by the path coefficient (0.25) of lean production on performance. Finally, participative design/engineering was revealed to have a positive effect on performance proxied by innovation performance. This is substantiated by the path coefficient (0.23) of participative design/engineering on performance. Originality/Value/Practical implications. This paper demonstrates that a higher degree of acceptance, application, and enhancement in SCM methods would directly increase the performance of manufacturing firms, especially in third world countries.

Data driven design: An investigation into the fit between the individuality of people and the uniformity of mass manufactured items

<p>Due to the economic advantage of mass manufacturing technology humans have designed a world of products built for the average body size and shape. This conformity of diverse body shapes to fixed 3 dimensional forms raises the question for this research; how can 3D scanning and additive manufacturing (AM) create a personal fit between an individual’s body and a product? This question challenges a tool driven standardised approach to manufacture by exploring the interface between a person and a mass produced product, in this case a motorcycle rider and a motorcycle. By taking advantage of digital data and the tool-less build process of 3D printing, every object produced can be different, tailoring it to the customer’s individual aesthetic or physical fit. This investigation into the space between the motorcycle and the human has produced a custom 3D printed seat designed for and inspired by the unique physicality of the individual rider. The following methods are employed. 3D scanning is used to obtain the geometry of the human form and motorcycle, 3D modelling and 3D printing to generate and evaluate ideas and concepts, and a pressure measurement system to evaluate the riders comfort and fit. This new relationship between body and object, rarely seen in mass produced products, questions the way we design and make products with consideration towards digital personalisation and manufacturing efficiency.</p>

Data driven design: An investigation into the fit between the individuality of people and the uniformity of mass manufactured items

<p>Due to the economic advantage of mass manufacturing technology humans have designed a world of products built for the average body size and shape. This conformity of diverse body shapes to fixed 3 dimensional forms raises the question for this research; how can 3D scanning and additive manufacturing (AM) create a personal fit between an individual’s body and a product? This question challenges a tool driven standardised approach to manufacture by exploring the interface between a person and a mass produced product, in this case a motorcycle rider and a motorcycle. By taking advantage of digital data and the tool-less build process of 3D printing, every object produced can be different, tailoring it to the customer’s individual aesthetic or physical fit. This investigation into the space between the motorcycle and the human has produced a custom 3D printed seat designed for and inspired by the unique physicality of the individual rider. The following methods are employed. 3D scanning is used to obtain the geometry of the human form and motorcycle, 3D modelling and 3D printing to generate and evaluate ideas and concepts, and a pressure measurement system to evaluate the riders comfort and fit. This new relationship between body and object, rarely seen in mass produced products, questions the way we design and make products with consideration towards digital personalisation and manufacturing efficiency.</p>

Integrated Design of Spindle Speed Modulation and Cutting Vibration Suppression Controls Using Disturbance Observer for Thread Milling

In thread milling, there exists a trade-off between thread manufacturing efficiency and thread quality. In this study, an integrated design of spindle speed modulation (SSM) and cutting vibration suppression (CVS) controls using a disturbance observer were developed to simultaneously ensure superior quality and high manufacturing efficiency. The proposed integrated design not only controls the cutting torque while suppressing cutting vibrations but also ensures cost-effectiveness and mitigates the installation problems prevalent in existing sensor-based methods. The SSM control uses a disturbance observer to estimate the cutting torque required on the spindle during thread milling. The estimated cutting torque is used as a feedback signal so that the SSM control can modulate the spindle speed to make the cutting torque achieve a preset torque command. To further avoid cutting vibrations in thread milling, the CVS control analyzes the estimated cutting torque, detects the occurrence of cutting vibrations, and then adjusts the torque command of the SSM control to suppress the cutting vibrations. In this study, thread milling experiments were performed on a computer numerical control milling machine using the workpiece with stacked materials. The feasibility and performance of the proposed integrated design were validated by experiments.

UNDERSTANDING THE PURCHASING PORTFOLIO MODEL – A JUST-IN-SEQUENCE APPROACH INCREASING MANUFACTURING EFFICIENCY

Just-in-sequence supply solutions are highly searched problems of the scheduling the manufacturing and logistics resources. The cost reduction, efficiency and capacity utilization are based on the controlled and designed parameters of the participants' supply processes and services. To increase logistic operations and other services in supply chain’s inventory activities, the optimization of the supply process is unavoidable. The aim of this article to measure the efficiency of the supply chain’s inventory activities in manufacturing technology processes. Based on the results of the application of our ABC-XYZ model approach to defines the importance of product values in the inventory management systems. The case study and computational results validate the matrix model and evaluates its efforts to renewing manufacturing and delivery processes's efficiency in inventory strartegies based on just-in-sequence strategy.

Development of a Novel System for Adaptive Machining of Near-Net-Shape Components

Near-net-shape components are popular among the aerospace industry for low material waste and high manufacturing efficiency. However, it is difficult to machine such components into final shapes because the machining allowance is often distributed unevenly and even insufficient. This paper proposed a novel system for adaptive machining near-net-shape components, which integrates units like on-machine measurement based on probe and ultrasonic-sensor, machining allowance constrained localization, tolerance range constrained shape reconstruction, and TCP (tool cutter position) template-based NC programming. Firstly, localization and free form deformation (FFD)-based shape construction are performed within the tolerance ranges of the component, and an even distribution of the machining allowance can be obtained. Next, the quick NC programming that directly manipulates the TCPs by using spatial deformation is introduced. Last, the data transmission between units is illustrated. A case study of the machining titanium turbine blade is performed, which validates the proposed system.

Benefits of Using CAD for Garment Manufacturing: A Perception Analysis

The present research investigated the perception of four stakeholders’ viz. industry managers/supervisors, CAD practitioners working in Garment Manufacturing industry and faculty and students from Fashion Technology discipline towards CAD adoption in the Indian scenario. Initial interactions with the CAD vendors revealed that the adoption of CAD by Indian Garment Manufacturers is significantly low compared to their counter parts of neighbouring countries despite the acceptance of the fact by majority that the advancement of technology has a clear impact on manufacturing efficiency. This mismatch led to the present research. The study employed a survey method using a structured questionnaire to obtain responses from the above-mentioned four stakeholders. Findings proved that all the four respondents viz Industry Managers, Industry CAD practitioners; Academic Faculty and Academic Students are of the opinion that CAD systems are useful and beneficial to the garment industry.

Knowledge Recommendation System for Human-Robot Collaborative Disassembly Using Knowledge Graph

In recent years, more and more attention has been paid to Human-Robot Collaborative Disassembly (HRCD) in the field of industrial remanufacturing. Compared with the traditional manufacturing, HRCD helps to improve the manufacturing flexibility with considering the manufacturing efficiency. In HRCD, knowledge could be obtained from the disassembly process and then provides useful information for the operator and robots to execute their disassembly tasks. Afterwards, a crucial point is to establish a knowledge-based system to facilitate the interaction between human operators and industrial robots. In this context, a knowledge recommendation system based on knowledge graph is proposed to effectively support Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) in disassembly. A disassembly knowledge graph is constructed to organize and manage the knowledge in the process of HRCD. After that, based on this, a knowledge recommendation procedure is proposed to recommend disassembly knowledge for the operator. Finally, the case study demonstrates that the developed system can effectively acquire, manage and visualize the related knowledge of HRCD, and then assist the human operator to complete the disassembly task by knowledge recommendation, thus improving the efficiency of collaborative disassembly. This system could be used in the human-robot collaboration disassembly process for the operators to provide convenient knowledge recommendation service.

Collaborative Platform for Remote Manufacturing Systems Using Industrial Internet and Digital Twin in the COVID-19 Era

In the wake of COVID-19, significant influence on the manufacturing industries has been observed in the past year due to the restrictions of in-person communications and interactions. As a consequence, manufacturing efficiency has reduced remarkably all over the world. Despite the great harm to the industrial operations under the pandemic, the opportunities for remote collaborative manufacturing system also arise. Effective and efficient remote manufacturing systems for the real industries have been highly demanded. Through the integration of industrial internet and digital twin systems, the remote manufacturing system can be largely facilitated. This paper proposes a general framework for the remote manufacturing system during the COVID-19 era. The concept of the intelligent collaborative remote manufacturing system is firstly reviewed, as well as discussions of the current pandemic situation and its influence on the industries. The current commercial platforms of the systems are also presented. A case study on the lighthouse factories at the Foxconn Technology Group is finally presented for understanding the implementation of the proposed strategy. The effectiveness of the framework has been validated in the real industrial scenarios, and great economic and operational benefits have been obtained. The proposed framework offers a promising solution for the remote manufacturing system under the current pandemic.