Improving the Quality of Information Flows in the Backend of a Product Development Process: a Case Study

Considerable research has gone into designing effective product development processes. This, coupled with the increasing need for products that are able to deliver reliable, complex functionality with a high degree of innovation, presents a major challenge to modern day industries in the business of developing products. In order to incorporate relevant field experience in the design and manufacturing of new products, increasingly detailed information needs to be retrieved from the market in a very short amount of time. In one particular consumer electronics industry, business process models describing the information flow in the backend of the product development process indicated massive data loss and also serious data quality degradation. This paper attempts to show how such losses can be mitigated and also proposes a business model that can adequately capture information of a higher quality and in a more structured manner. The end result will be a product development process that provides better feedback on current product performance and is more responsive to future market needs. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

ISM-S Sorbent: Properties and Tests in a Sorption Process for Treatment of Water from Accumulating Basin of the Mayak Production Association To Remove 90Sr

ISM-S hydrated oxide sorbent, showing the most promise for strontium sorption, and its analog ISM-SP were studied under static and dynamic conditions. The optimal pH ranges for sorption (pH 6-10) and desorption (pH < 1.2) of strontium, the total exchange capacities for strontium of various forms of the sorbent, and the dependences of the degree of strontium sorption on concentrations of supporting electrolytes were determined. The limiting stage of sorption, rate constants of ion exchange, diffusion coefficients, and calculated and experimental exchange half-times were determined in kinetic experiments. Based on these data, the optimal productive capacity of the ion-exchange apparatus was suggested: up to 30 and up to 25 column volumes per hour with ISM-SP and ISM-S, respectively. Rig trials of a sorption process for treatment of water from accumulating basin to remove ^{9 0}Sr were performed. The working installation included a mechanical filter and two series-connected sorption columns (h : d = 10 : 1) packed with ISM-SP (V = 3.5 l). In the course of the tests, more than 7 m³ of the surface layers of radioactively contaminated water with the initial ⁹⁰Sr activity of about 3.0 × 10^{- 8} Ci l^{- 1} and total hardness of 4.5-5.4 mg-equiv l^{- 1} was treated, with the ⁹⁰Sr content being reduced to the level of 10UVwater according to NRB-99 (UV, interference level; NRB, radiation safety regulations valid in Russia).     

二氧化钒薄膜材料相变临界场强调控方法研究

采用无机溶胶-凝胶法并结合真空退火工艺在Al_2O_3陶瓷基片上制备了二氧化钒及其他价态钒氧化物共存的薄膜材料。研究了退火时间对VO_2、V_2O_5、V_6O_(13)、V_6O_(11)等价态成分和含量的影响以及对薄膜的相变临界温度和相变临界电场强度的影响。实验采用的退火时间分别为10h、8h及6h,得到的薄膜的相变临界电场强度分别为1.8 MV/m、0.8 MV/m及0.4 MV/m,相变场强降低75%以上,且随着电场强度相变点的降低,薄膜材料相变点前后电阻变化倍数也降低,但相变临界温度没有明显变化。研究结果表明:通过控制真空退火时间能够实现对电场强度相变点的有效调控,利用该方法可以研制不同相变临界场强的薄膜材料,以适应不同电磁环境的防护应用要求。     

Artificial Neural Networks: Comparison of Two Programs for Modeling a Process of Nanoparticle Preparation

ABSTRACT

Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) were used to predict nanoparticle size and micropore surface area of polylactic acid nanoparticles, prepared by a double emulsion method. Different batches were prepared while varying polymer and surfactant concentration, as well as homogenization pressure. Two commercial ANNs programs were evaluated: Neuroshell® Predictor, a black-box software adopting both neural and genetic strategies, and Neurosolutions®, allowing a step-by-step building of the network. Results were compared to those obtained by statistical method. Predictions from ANNs were more accurate than those calculated using non-linear regression. Neuroshell® Predictor allowed quantification of the relative importance of the inputs. Furthermore, by varying the network topology and parameters using Neurosolutions®, it was possible to obtain output values which were closer to experimental values. Therefore, ANNs represent a promising tool for the analysis of processes involving preparation of polymeric carriers and for prediction of their physical properties.     

统计过程控制在微电脑控制器生产中的应用:案例研究

以某电子集团生产的某类型控制器的实际生产为例,采用因果分析法对其生产过程中造成质量缺陷的原因从5M1E(人、机、料、法、测、环)方面进行综合分析.通过对其测量系统进行监控,在其稳定可靠的情况下采集数据.运用SPC技术对波峰焊工序进行控制图监控,对失控原因进行分析并在线调整.有效地保证了控制器的质量,为其质量改善指明了方向.     

Power of Experimental Design Studies for the Validation of Pharmaceutical Processes: Case Study of a Multilayer Tablet Manufacturing Process

ABSTRACT

Experimental design studies (EDS) are already widely used in the pharmaceutical industry for drug formulation or process optimization. Rare are the situations in which this methodology is applied for validation purposes. The power of this statistical tool, key element of a global validation strategy, is demonstrated for a multilayer tablet manufacturing process. Applied to the Geomatrix® system generally composed of one compression and three granulation processes, time and strictness gains are non-negligible. Experimental design studies are not used in this work for modeling. Introduced at each important step of the process development, they allow for the evaluation of process ruggedness at pilot scale and specifications for full production. A demonstration of the complete control of key process parameters is given, identified throughout preliminary studies.     

Sputter deposition from a Ti2AlC target: Process characterization and conditions for growth of Ti2AlC

Sputter deposition from a Ti₂AlC target was found to yield Ti-Al-C films with a composition that deviates from the target composition of 2:1:1. For increasing substrate temperature from ambient to 1000 °C, the Al content decreased from 22 at.% to 5 at.%, due to re-evaporation. The C content in as-deposited films was equal to or higher than the Ti content. Mass spectrometry of the plasma revealed that the Ti and Al species were essentially thermalized, while a large fraction of C with energies > 4 eV was detected. Co-sputtering with Ti yielded a film stoichiometry of 2:0.8:0.9 for Ti:Al:C, which enabled growth of Ti₂AlC. These results indicate that an additional Ti flux balances the excess C and therefore provides for more stoichiometric Ti₂AlC synthesis conditions.     

Ternary Alloys Encapsulated within Different MOFs via a Self‐Sacrificing Template Process: A Potential Platform for the Investigation of Size‐Selective Catalytic Performances

Functional nanoparticles encapsulated within metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) as an emerging class of composite materials attract increasing attention owing to their enhanced or even novel properties caused by the synergistic effect between the two functional materials. However, there is still no ideal composite structure as platform to systematically analyze and evaluate the relation between the enhanced catalytic performance of composites and the structure of MOF shells. In this work, taking RhCoNi ternary alloy nanoflowers, for example, first the RhCoNi@MOF composite catalysts sheathed with different structured MOFs via a facile self‐sacrificing template process are successfully fabricated. The structure type of MOF shells is easily adjustable by using different organic molecules as etchant and coordination reagent (e.g., 2,5‐dihydroxyterephthalic acid or 2‐methylimidazole), which can dissolve out the Co or Ni element in the alloy template in a targeted manner, thereby producing ZIF‐67(Co) or MOF‐74(Ni) shells accordingly. With the difference between the two MOF shells in the aperture sizes, the as‐prepared two RhCoNi@MOF composites preform distinct size selectivity during the alkene hydrogenation. This work would help us to get more comprehensive understanding of the intrinsic role of MOFs behind the enhanced catalytic performance of nanoparticle@MOF composites.