Development of a product model for specifying new lines of seafood products

New product development in the seafood industries is increasingly based on extension of product lines. These must be tailored to the retailer and customer needs and be available with short lead-times. One possibility for seafood companies to meet this challenge is to utilise the benefits and prospects of an IT approach to product modelling. The approach used is developed for non-food specification tasks and coupled with the experience gained in a seafood company. IT application prototype that consisted mainly of earlier product solutions and knowledge related to the specification tasks was developed. Testing of the prototype has indicated possibilities for speeding up the specification process in the company and it is assumed that similar results can be obtained in other food product development processes.     

A structured methodology for implementing engineering data management

One of the most significant positive effects on product and process development in recent years has been the application of data management techniques. Engineering data management or product data management is the most promising one. The implementation of engineering data management is heavily dependent on the engineering process and involves the technologies of management, engineering, and information. However, as there is no commonly acceptable approach and methodologies for implementing engineering data management, it’s implementation becomes a bottleneck.This paper presents a structured methodology for the implementation of engineering data management. The approach consists of a series of steps, from business and engineering process analysis, modeling and reengineering, through system design and modeling, to system realization.This research will facilitate engineering process improvement and the planning, design and implementation of engineering data management. Consequently, it will help increase product development capability and quality, reduce development cycle time and cost, and hence increase product marketability.     

Digital twin-driven manufacturing equipment development

Currently, expectations of shorter time-to-market and improved product performance are placing greater demands on manufacturing companies. However, the optimization and redesign work between the design stage and the prototype design and manufacturing stage in the traditional product development process lengthens the required product development cycle time (which lasts up to several years in extreme cases). The manufacturing phase for the physical prototype of the product is especially time-consuming and costly. The above reasons make the common product development process increasingly unable to meet the demands of market needs. Motivated by this need, the digital twin (DT)-driven manufacturing equipment (ME) development method is studied in this paper. This method contains three main core elements of the design method based on axiomatic design (AD) theory, the construction of DT models related to ME development, and DT-based validation analysis. The advantage of this method is that it can incorporate the physical prototype manufacturing stage into the digital space with the high-fidelity model provided by the DT technology, which ensures the confidentiality of the design scheme validation while freeing it from the physical prototype stage. This avoids the cost of physical prototyping, shortens the product development cycle, and improves the efficiency of new ME development. At the end of this paper, a case study of the development of a virtual machining dynamic performance test bench (VM-TB) is carried out to show the implementation flow of this proposed method, and its operability and effectiveness are verified.     

A review of digital twin in product design and development

In the era of digitalization, there are many emerging technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Digital Twin (DT), Cloud Computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI), which are quickly developped and used in product design and development. Among those technologies, DT is one promising technology which has been widely used in different industries, especially manufacturing, to monitor the performance, optimize the progresses, simulate the results and predict the potential errors. DT also plays various roles within the whole product lifecycle from design, manufacturing, delivery, use and end-of-life. With the growing demands of individualized products and implementation of Industry 4.0, DT can provide an effective solution for future product design, development and innovation. This paper aims to figure out the current states of DT research focusing on product design and development through summarizing typical industrial cases. Challenges and potential applications of DT in product design and development are also discussed to inspire future studies.     

Accessibility and ergonomic analysis of assembly product and jig designs

In the aircraft industry, the design of floor assembly jigs (FAJs) is an important activity that directly affects productivity. It involves tool frame generation and locator and clamp placement to ensure that the assembly components are held properly with respect to each other to meet the required tolerances. The tool designer also has to analyze the design to ensure that the assembly process does not pose accessibility and ergonomics related problems. The current approach is dependent on the experience of the tool designer and the limited visualization possible on commercial CAD systems. This leads to extensive redesign when accessibility and ergonomic related problems are detected on the physical prototype. In this research, an integrated Virtual Reality-based environment is being developed for the analysis of assembly product and jig designs. CAD models of the assembly product and jig are imported into a Virtual Reality (VR)-based visualization system for accessibility analysis. A motion tracking system is integrated to allow ergonomic posture analysis. The combined VR and motion tracking system allows evaluation of alternate assembly sequences and the jig design. In this paper, the theoretical basis for the analysis environment is presented along with details of the prototype implementation of this system.

Relevance to industry

Floor assembly jigs are used extensively by the aircraft industry. Improvement of their design process will lead to savings in better design and reduced development time and cost. Better designs will require fewer changes after the jigs have been fabricated. The overall result will be a reduction in product realization time and cost and improved product quality.     

复杂产品虚拟样机技术研究

虚拟样机技术尤其是面向多领域支持复杂系统的协同虚拟样机仿真支撑平台的研究已成为研发的热点。通过对Agent技术和WEB服务技术以及虚拟样机仿真系统的长期研究,提出了一种面向多领域的复杂产品虚拟样机仿真支撑平台的实现方案,给出了该仿真支撑平台的基于Agent和WEB服务的系统结构和虚拟样机设计中涉及的机械,电子,控制,软件等领域的智能Agent的统一描述,讨论了虚拟样机仿真支撑系统中Agent间的通信方式并阐明了系统的工作流程和信息集成模式,为虚拟样机的进一步发展和应用奠定了基础。     

An object-oriented constraints-based system for concurrent product development

This research work aims to develop an intelligent constraint-based system that enables designers to consider at the early stages of the design process all activities associated with product’s life cycle. One of the most important aspects of these activities is the evaluation and optimisation of manufacturing processes that require various type of information from the different aspects of product’s life cycle. This research article discusses the development of a prototype system for manufacturing process optimisation using a combination of both mathematical methods and constraint-programming techniques. This approach enables designers to evaluate and optimise feasible manufacturing processes in a consistent manner as early as possible during the design process. This helps in avoiding unexpected design iterations that wastage a great amount of time and effort, leading to longer lead-time. The development process has passed through the five major stages: Firstly, an intelligent constraint-based design system for concurrent product and process design has been developed. Secondly, a manufacturing process optimisation module has been constructed. Thirdly, the product features, processes, cost, time and constraints to be used for carrying out various design tasks has been represented in the format of constraints, frames, objects, and rules. Fourthly, the process optimisation and evaluation rules for the selection of feasible processes for complex features, and finally, the information management system that ensures consistency in information exchange and decision making activities have been developed.     

The process of creation in creative industries

Research on creative industries (CI) has acknowledged the collective dimension of creation without addressing the crucial role of process and organization in handling such a collective endeavour. Indeed, this research stream has developed independently from the one on new product development (NPD), which focuses on the development process. Inspired by the NPD literature and anchored in the literature on CI, this article aims to enhance our understanding of the creation processes in CI in order to show how the challenges are overcome. Based on a large body of case studies carried out in 12 sub‐sectors of CI, we show that the projects developed in these industries follow a process that combines and iterates four elementary activities: inspiration, framing, prototyping and validation. These activities take place alternatively in a conceptual or a material world and combine collective and individual contributions. A critical player who gives the momentum and makes the crucial decisions heads this process.     

A Linear Programming Model for Distribution of Electrical Energy in a Steel Plant

The energy crisis is one of the deterrents of economic growth in a developing country like India. Rapid industrialization and poor capacity utilization of power plants make the operations of energy consuming industries like integrated steel plants extremely difficult. This case study discusses the development and implementation of a mixed integer linear programming model for optimal distribution of electrical energy in an integrated steel plant. The model considers the balance equations of capacity, material, thermal and electrical energy, oxygen. It also considers the constraints of yields, product routes, net realizations, variable costs, market demands and commitments to decide not only the hierarchy of shutdowns in the event of a power crisis but also the optimal product mix in each level of power availability. The round-the-clock implementation of the model increased the net profit per ton of saleable steel by 58% in 1986. Since then, the model, which is generic in nature, has been successfully integrated into the decision-making process. The cumulative benefit from this work will be at least 73 million US dollars.     

Geometric skeleton computation enabling concurrent product engineering and assembly sequence planning

This paper introduces a novel modelling approach to geometric skeleton computation enabling concurrent product engineering and assembly sequence planning. Current engineering vision has recently moved towards new modelling and management paradigms to maintain competitive edges all along the product lifecycle. Consistent with concurrent engineering and design for X stakes, this recent shift promotes cross-X and knowledge-intensive philosophies in the product development process, principally focused on lifecycle engineering.The main objective of this research is to integrate assembly process engineering information and knowledge in the early phases of the product development process in a top-down and proactive manner, in order to provide a geometric skeleton-based assembly context for designers. The definition of the product and its related assembly sequence requires both the enhancement and the entire understanding of product relationships between the various product components, and its related assembly rationale. As a consequence, this new modelling approach highlights the need to integrate various stakeholders’ viewpoints involved in the beginning of the product lifecycle. In such a context, earlier work has achieved the early generation of an optimal assembly sequence in the product development process, before the product geometry is completely defined. As a result, previous research has made possible to control and bind the product modelling phase through an assembly oriented product structure.The aim of the proposed approach is to compute and define a geometric skeleton model based on product relational information and the early-defined assembly sequence. The proposed approach–called SKeLeton geometry-based Assembly Context Definition (SKL-ACD)–enables the control of the product modelling phase by introducing skeleton entities consistent with product relationships and assembly sequence planning information. A prototype application within a CAD tool has been developed for aiding geometric skeleton computation and generation. Lastly, an industrial case study is introduced to highlight the feasibility and the relevance of the proposed modelling approach.     

Knowledge patterns and spatial dynamics of industrial districts in knowledge cities: Hsinchu,Taiwan

In the era of a global knowledge economy, urban regions that seek to increase their competitive edge and become destinations for talent and investment have little chance of achieving these goals without forming effective knowledge-based urban development strategies. Hence, the development of clusters of knowledge-based corporations has become an important strategic factor in increasing the competitiveness of knowledge cities. Whereas previous studies have tended to focus on the characteristics of local clusters and the causes of their success, empirical studies of the long-term development of local knowledge-based industries are few. Accordingly, this investigation takes the knowledge city region-Hsinchu as its subject, and quantitatively analyzes the correlation between the spatial dynamics of knowledge in major industries and innovation based on empirical data. This finding shows that steadily developing industries in the Hsinchu region have continued to strengthen their new knowledge of product development and innovation. An overview of innovative activities of firms also revealed that their knowledge patterns have been changing from patterns of internal dependency to a locality-based, broader networking and agglomeration pattern.     

基于Proteus的电子产品仿真设计

以LED电子显示屏的仿真设计为例,论述了应用Proteus仿真技术实现电子产品从虚拟样机到物理样机的新型设计方法和过程,并在同一台计算机上实现了Proteus、集成开发环境IDE、上位计算机应用软件间的联合仿真和调试。     

An integrated manufacturing system for rapid tooling based on rapid prototyping

To reduce the time and cost of moulds fabrication, a novel integrated developing and manufacturing system of rapid tooling (RT) based on rapid prototyping (RP) is proposed. The architecture of system which consists of four building blocks: digital prototype, virtual prototype (VP), physical prototype and RT system, is presented. A digital prototype can be established by 3D CAD software packages or reveres engineering technique. A VP is employed to guide in optimization of the mould design and manufacturing process planning. A physical prototype, which is built using RP technology, generally serves as a pattern for producing RT. By integrating these building blocks closely, the system can aid effectively in mould design, analysis, prototyping, simulating, and manufacturing process development. Three typical cases are discussed in detail to illustrate the application of the system. It has been shown from a number of case studies that the system has a high potential to reduce further the cycle and cost of die development while minimizing error introduction. As a result, the integrated system provides a feasible and useful tool for companies to speed up their product development.     

Dynamic data sharing and security in a collaborative product definition management system

Product definition management (PDM) is a system that supports management of both engineering data and the product development process during the total product life cycle. The formation of a virtual enterprise is becoming a growing trend, and vendors of PDM systems have recently developed a new generation of PDM systems called collaborative product definition management (cPDM). This paper presents the concept of a virtual engineering community (VEC) to support concurrent product development within geographically distributed partners. A previous case study has shown that collaborative engineering design may be modelled from a parameter perspective [1]. Effective implementation of the parameter approach raises the following problems: how to support data sharing and secure that span the partner borders. This paper describes the system architecture, deployed security mechanisms, the prototype developed within cPDM, and the system demonstration using a real test. The implementation of this architecture extends a common commercial PDM system (Axalan™) and utilizes standard software to create a security framework for the involved resources. Collaboration infrastructure, shared team spaces and shared resources are essential to enable virtual teams to work together. Various organizational and technical challenges are implied. The outlined architecture features a federated data approach. These issues are discussed and potential perspectives in the area of collaboration engineering are identified.     

基于.NET的信息交换平台的设计与实现

介绍信息交换平台的体系结构设计和基于.NET环境的原型开发等技术。就如何设计和实现一个基于.NET架构的信息交换平台进行了深入研究和分析,从系统结构、主要组件、数据交换过程等方面进行了论述,给出了一个设计与实现方案。     

基于虚拟样机的协同设计技术

基于虚拟样机的协同设计技术是将协同设计技术应用到虚拟样机的开发过程中 ,可以大大简化机械产品的设计开发过程 ,大幅度缩短产品开发周期和降低开发费用 ,提高产品的系统级性能 ,获得最优化和创新的设计产品。针对虚拟样机技术的特点及其与协同设计的关系 ,提出虚拟样机协同设计的方法 ,并对虚拟样机协同设计环境基本结构及实现方案进行了介绍     

网络化产品协同设计的理论与实践

网络化产品协同设计是实施先进制造的重要支撑技术,该文在分析其研究现状和特点的基础上,提出了基于中介代理的联邦式协同机制和基于约束松弛的协同递归式设计模式,为分布式协同设计的有效运作和基于知识的协同求解提供了一种理论依据。设计并开发了相应的网络化协同设计支持系统——CoDesignSpace,给出了系统的体系结构和实施方法。     

ASSIST—a tool to support software inspection

Software inspection is a valuable technique for defect detection. Recent research has considered the development of computer support, with the aim of providing even greater benefits when applying inspection. This has resulted in the development of a number of prototype support systems. These suffer from some fundamental limitations, however. Asynchronous/Synchronous Software Inspection Support Tool (ASSIST) is designed to tackle these limitations and to provide a platform for rigorous investigation of the inspection process. It uses a custom-designed language known as Inspection Process Definition Language to allow support of any inspection process, and provides an open, expandable system allowing multiple document types to be catered for easily. A number of facilities designed to enhance the inspection process are also present.     

兰代化纤厂CIMS应用工程之实践

兰化化纤厂ＣＩＭＳ应用工程是８６３／ＣＩＭＳ推广应用项目之一，该工程的第一阶段业已如期完成并通过验收。该厂的生产过程属于连续流程型，工程实施中突出地显现出流程ＣＩＭ的特点。有别于离散生产型，本文首先给出只包含生产实施和管理信息两个应用分系统的体系结构的设计。文中在介绍了第一阶段工程所完成的工作后，结合快速原型法实验，着重介绍在ＣＩＭＳ工程中应用Ｃｌｉｅｎｔ／Ｓｅｒｖｅｒ体系结构及使用先进开发。具开发软件的初步经验；文章中还特别介绍了在工程实施中要充分重视人和组织在ＣＩＭＳ中的地位，先期工作中就着力加强企业管理模式重构的研究与设计，并积累了有益的经验。     

产品开发过程历史管理系统的研究

产品开发历史管理是以过程为中心的产品开发和产品开发过程研究及应用的重要方面,该文给出了一种支持分布式异构环境下产品开发的历史管理方法,及其相应的产品开发过程历史管理软件系统的实现方法。文章首先对产品开发历史进行了分析,然后对过程历史和设计历史的捕获和管理的方法进行了阐述,最后给出了基于CORBA的产品开发过程历史管理系统的实现。