Experimental Investigation and Statistical Approach to Wear Characterization of Plasma Nitrided AISI 4140 Steel-A Case Study

<p>Components of forming tool dies such as draw ring, ejector pin use AISI 4140 as material for their manufacturing. The integrity of the die cutting tools is essential to achieve adequate product quality. In present study, the influence of plasma nitriding (PN) on the wear behav-iour of AISI 4140 steel was investigated. Full factorial experimental design technique was used to study the main effects and the interaction effects between operational parameters and the response variable. The control factors at their two levels (-1 and +1) were: applied load (4.905N and 14.715N), sliding speed (3.14 m/s and 5.23 m/s), and sliding distance (500m and 1000m).The parameters were coded as A, B, and C, consecutively, and were investigated at two levels (-1 and +1). Response selected was Wear Volume Loss (WVL). The effects of in-dividual variables and their interaction effects for dependent variables, namely, WVL were determined. The process of selecting significant factors, based on statistical tools, is illustrat-ed. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed to know the impact of individual factors on the WVL. Untreated and PN treated AISI 4140 specimens were investigated using field emission Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) equipped with Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analyzer. Finally diagnostics tools were used to check adequacy of the model in terms of assumptions of ANOVA. ‘Design Expert-7’ and ‘Minitab 17’ softwares were used in the study. Results of statistical analysis indicate that the most effective parameters in the WVL were load and sliding speed. The interaction between load and sliding speed was the most influencing interaction. Results of regression analysis indicate regression coefficient (R2) to be above 90% which suggests good predictability of the model. ‘Predicted-R2’ and ‘Adjusted-R2’, found to be in good agreement with R2, for both the materials under investigation. More-over, results of SEM microscopy suggest PN to be an effective technique to reduce wear.</p>

Intelligent Positioning Plate Predictive Control and Concept of Diagnosis System Design

<span lang="EN-US">This paper presents design of the predictive control algorithms, which are verified using the simulation and laboratory model of the Intelligent Positionig Plate. The results of the predictive control algorithm verification are presented also in this article. The created tool called the <em>IPPtools</em> is based on the designed predictive control algorithms and it is shortly presented. A part of the paper is dedicated to the concept of the diagnosis system, which is designed and implemented into the 5-level Distributed Control System of the Department of the Cybernetics and Artificial Intelligence. Possibility how to modify the predictive control algorithms using diagnosis system is also stated in the last section of this paper.</span>

Part Identification System for a Flexible Feeder using Proximity Sensors

<p>A part feeder intakes identical parts of arbitrary orientation and provides output in uniform orientation. A flexible feeder is capable of handling parts of several sizes. The two important modules of a flexible part feeder are (i) identification of part (ii) adjustments to accommodate the incoming part. This paper aims at first module i.e. developing a low cost part identification system using two proximity sensors and thereby eliminating the use of costlier vision systems. The proposed part identification system using two capacitive type proximity sensors was effective in identifying the size of incoming parts and the efficiency of the system was around 84.6%.</p>

Rapid tooling: A major shift in tooling practice

<p>To solve the tool-making bottleneck, it is fundamental to integrate rapid manufacturing methodologies for rapid tooling, which reduces the lead-time to manufacture the tools while improving their quality. Rapid tooling (RT) is a progression of rapid prototyping (RP). RT is the art of producing tooling directly from CAD models of the part. RT technology plays a major role in increasing the pace of tooling development. This paper describes the role of RT according to the current market situation. An ample review of examples of rapid tooling indicates a new trend of tooling practice. This trend in manufacturing based on rapid prototyping and rapid tooling has already had a dynamic impact on the engineering environment.</p>

Applying surrogate variables to deal with destructive characteristics for robustification using Six Sigma methodology

<p>Even though there are remarkable advances in machinery and technological methodologies toward products robustness and precise operations on processes, engineers always address difficulties in setting a process at desirable conditions. Actually, due to the nature of the destructive characteristics of products and processes they might not be able to cope with the issue. Aforementioned traits create constraints against direct measurement. Consequently, surrogate variables are proposed to go through the obstacle. Since sources of deviations are easy to affect as noise factors, experts are required to ameliorate skillfully. Multiple quality characteristics are contemplated simultaneously in different industries such as pharmaceutical, food sections or productions for improving both product reliability and customer satisfaction. In order to overcome the expressed problems and facilitate the processes, a model is constructed through robust design concepts and a case study shows how to surmount the problem of working with different destructive quality characteristics at the same time by using Six Sigma methodology.</p>

Identifying Critical Indicators In Sustainable Manufacturing Using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)

<p class="Els-Abstract-text"><span lang="EN-US">This paper identifies critical indicators for sustainable manufacturing that could be adopted in sustainability assessment at firm level. Previous works in literature suffered from either lack of being comprehensive or being operational or both. The manufacturing indicator set of the US NIST framework was used because of its detailed and wide-ranging exposition of the triple-bottom line. The proposed approach is to attach priorities on the elements of the NIST framework in order to prioritize sustainability indicators. Following the hierarchical structure of the framework, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was adopted in this work. Three domain decision-makers who have sufficient international exposure on manufacturing policy development and experience in managing manufacturing firms were asked to elucidate judgments on the elements of the framework based on the context of the AHP. The most critical indicators in sustainable manufacturing are presented in this work. Results show that socio-economic indicators are highly relevant in sustainable manufacturing.</span></p>