INFLUENCE OF TECHNOLOGICAL PARAMETERS ON THE AWJ PROCESS PERFORMANCE

The present study aims to perform a comparative analysis of the technological parameters influence on the output parameters for two biodegradable polymeric materials, Arbofill Fichte and Arboblend V2 Nature. The varied input parameters during abrasive water jet cuuting (AWJ) were water jet pressure, traverse speed and abrasive material flow. The quantitative and qualitative output parameters proposed are the amount of material removed (MR) and the inclination angle - α° of the resulted surfaces. The measured MR and α° values highlighted the fact that they fall within the admissible parameters, so that the obtained parts by cutting the Arbofill Fichte and Arboblend V2 Nature samples can be used in industrial applications that require this type of processing and more. Was also achieved the optimization of the technological parameters used for processing according to the next criteria: minimum inclination angle and minimum amount of material removed.

OPTIMIZE, UPGRADE OR INVEST IN A NOVEL DRYER? – A BRICK FACTORY CASE STUDY

Drying has an enormous impact on the quality of final masonry clay elements. The accumulated knowledge about modeling the drying process, as well as the registered progress in computing the coupling between the heat and mass transfer during the last decade has reached the applicative industrial level. The available novel commercial drying solutions have dropped the drying cycle to 5 hours for hollow clay products and up to 9 hours for clay blocks of large size and weight. The ability to speed up the drying process also strongly depends on the properties of the raw materials. The decision on optimization of the existing dryer and its upgrade or investment in a novel drying facility must be experimentally validated. Results of the one-month monitoring and analysis of the production process in one Serbian brick factory including the material and energy balances are given in this paper. Based on the collected data, raw material limitations and costs of the novel dryer the existing tunnel dryer upgrade and the minimization of the "false" ambient air into the dryer are proposed.

THE ROLE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL EDUCATION IN FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

All of us we are agreeing the idea according with that the entrepreneurship activity represent the engine of the economic sector. Through innovative activities developed in different sectors of the economy, as well as the investments into an idea, there will be registrated significant increases in the quality of services and also into the obtained products or goods. Therefore, the activity of entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurship represent the optimal solution for a good and strength economy of Romania. More than that, the future graduated students from the technical domain and not only these, are welcome to be trained to develop smart ideas in this area. The purpose of this study is to analyse and reflect, based on a SWOT analysis, the actual state of prerspectives that young graduated students have at their disposal to become good entrepreneurs. Also, in this study is presented a short review of the current situation of entrepreneurship at Romania. Beside this, some answers to a short questionnaire concerning the trend of the students from the industrial engineering domain are exposed, in order to express the actual opinion of them related to the entrepreneurial developing direction. This study represents a small step in order to define the main objectives and organizing activities to be sustained for the universities in order to prepare the future entrepreneurs among from graduated students.

REDUCING DIRECT LABOR COSTS THROUGH U-SHAPED CELLULAR LAYOUT IN INJECTED AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS INDUSTRY

Reducing direct labor costs can be used to create a low operation cost as the way for winning future markets including injected automotive components. This paper aims to provide an overview of direct labor costs reduction in injected automotive components through a U-shaped cellular layout as part of the lean concept. Over a decade, many types of research had already used the lean concept to solve problems in production activity through lean tools. In this paper, several lean tools such as Takt time, value stream mapping, and U-shaped cellular will be used for reducing direct labor costs that have increased yearly in Indonesia since 2015. Those lean tools will be performed in a job-shop of injected automotive components. After performing the U-shaped cellular layout, the direct labor costs were reduced to 25 % by combining the job held by two operators to become one operator.

EVALUATION, MONITORING AND AUDITING OF SUPPLIERS IN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

In the global market, the supply chain performances have a significant impact on the company’s business strategy. The quality requirements that must be followed by suppliers require permanent monitoring of processes of design, development, production, installation and service of products through audits qualified based on supply chain management. This paper presents an analysis of the supplier qualification process including the main phases as follows: evaluation, monitoring and auditing of suppliers in supply chain management. Internal quality audits and/or suppliers are one of the key instruments for ensuring sustainability and performance in supply chain management. Auditing of suppliers is a core component of the modern management of suppliers, with the help of which the customer can analyze precisely relevant processes to existing or potential suppliers. Supplier audits help both commercial partners to increase the transparency of the supply chain and also simplify supplier selection, evaluation, monitoring and development. The suppliers must meet the highest quality standards for products and processes. The main purpose of this paper is to give a general view of the supplier qualification process which involves the steps from initial identification until the inclusion of the supplier in the Approved Supplier List (LST). This list should be managed in such way that a complete traceability is assured. Following the proposed qualification diagram the customer can obtain an image about the status of one supplier, can also identify the weak points considering the evaluation, monitoring and audit class.

CHOOSING THE OPTIMUM TECHNOLOGICAL ALTERNATIVE FOR 3D PRINTING

The period between the design of a product and the moment from which the product is no longer profitable on the market represents its life cycle. Decreasing the profitability of the product on the market means that the company must find solutions to launch a new product. The new products can be assimilated in the manufacture by own conception at the level of the enterprise, on the basis of the purchased manufacturing licenses and on the basis of the reference models of a similar product existing on the market. The paper presents the methodology for choosing the optimal technological variant for a part manufactured by 3D printing using two technological variants, through the criterion of unit technological cost and the criterion of total technological cost. Depending on the relationship between the size of the manufacturing batch and the calculated critical size of the manufacturing batch, respectively between the unit technological cost and the total technological cost for the two technological variants, the optimal technological variant of manufacturing can be established.

PLANNING AND SCHEDULE OF MAINTENANCE WORKS FOR INJECTION MACHINES

Keeping the equipment and machinery in working order is a very important activity in the field of industrial production, being specific to the maintenance department within an enterprise. Ensuring an optimal in operation of the manufacturing systems is closely related to the prevention of defects, an action that must be found in a planning and scheduling of preventive-planned maintenance works. In the paper, in addition to the introductory part on the main objectives and implementation of the maintenance system and maintenance-specific operations, a case study is conducted for the planning and organization of maintenance in a company equipped with plastic injection machines. The main stages developed consisted in elaborating the maintenance plan, establishing the optimal moment for replacing the machine tools, choosing the optimal type of machine tool and establishing the elements of random wear of the machine tools. It is concluded that the optimal type of injection molding machine that will be chosen to replace the T10 injection molding machine is T14, because it has a minimum average cost of acquisition, maintenance and repair, respectively 42.286 UV.