A note on the use of STEP for interfacing design to process planning

This short note demonstrates the use of standard for exchange of product data (STEP) for interfacing design to process planning via a compact feature recogniser. The methodology used in development of the interface (feature recogniser) makes use of both automatic feature-recognition and feature-based design technologies in order to combine their advantages, and the STEP for the non-problematic and full information exchange. Using the abilities of the STEP, a generic configuration scheme is developed in which the features are treated as a combination of faces to which geometrical and/or technical information is glued (associated). By this way, the designer is only forced to identify the functional parts of the features when designing the part, which may simplify the component design and result in the effective memory utilisation. The feature recogniser was implemented in C on a PC and tested on a large number of examples with positive results.     

Performance evaluation of collaboration in the design process: Using interoperability measurement

A design process, whether for a product or for a service, is composed of a large number of activities connected by data and information exchanges. The quality of these exchanges, called in this paper collaboration, requires the ability to exchange useful, understandable and unambiguous data and information to the different designers involved. In this paper, a global framework is first set for process/product performance management. Then, the research question focuses on the definition and evaluation of the performance of collaborations, and by extension, of the design process in its entirety. This performance evaluation requires the definition of several key elements such as object to evaluate, the performance criteria, indicators and action variables. In order to define the object of evaluation, this paper relies on a literature study on collaboration resulting in an ECORE meta-model of collaborative processes. The collaboration performance measurement is for its part based on the concept of interoperability. This measure estimates the technical and conceptual interoperability of the different pairwise collaborations. The paper is concluded by proposing a tooled methodology for collaborations’ performance evaluation including two main phases: process modeling and interoperability measurement. Tooling is provided through the Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF) using its (meta-) model edition, constraint validation and model comparison features. The applicability of the methodology is also illustrated using a case study in design.     

Systematic modeling and reusing of process knowledge for rapid process configuration

Rapid product development relies heavily on quick and reliable process planning and knowledge reuse. Process configuration borrows the principles of product configuration and applies them to process planning. It allows the reuse of hierarchical, historical and case-based manufacturing process knowledge to generate process plans efficiently and effectively. This paper presents a systematic knowledge model for manufacturing process cases. The model represents process knowledge at different levels of granularity and to facilitate process configuration. With this knowledge model the process knowledge is categorized into 6 levels: (i) core process skeletons, (ii) process networks, (iii) process routes, (iv) process segments, (v) processes/workplan, and (vi) operations/working step. Based on the systematic knowledge model, this paper also proposes an approach to achieve rapid process configuration by reusing the process knowledge and by performing the involved configuration rules so as to create an appropriate, reliable and effective process plan. The prototype for a graphical process planner based on this knowledge model is developed and an aerospace example is used to validate the proposed process knowledge model and process configuration.     

Design of inferential sensors in the process industry: A review of Bayesian methods

In many industrial plants, development and implementation of advanced monitoring and control techniques require real-time measurement of process quality variables. However, on-line acquisition of such data may involve difficulties due to inadequacy of measurement techniques or low reliability of measuring devices. To overcome the shortcomings of traditional instrumentation, inferential sensors have been designed to infer process quality indicators from real-time measurable process variables. In recent years, due to the demonstrated advantages of Bayesian methods, interest in investigating the application of these methods for design of inferential sensors has grown. However, the potential of Bayesian methods for inferential modeling practices in the process industry has not yet been fully realized. This paper provides a general introduction to the main steps involved in development and implementation of industrial inferential sensors, and presents an overview of the relevant Bayesian methods for inferential modeling.     

Business information modeling for process integration in the mold making industry

Driven by industrial needs and enabled by the latest information technology, enterprise integration has rapidly shifted from information integration to process integration for performance excellence in the entire business process. This paper reports on the modeling of a business information model which enables mold making companies to achieve business process integration. The needs of process integration in mold making companies are first highlighted. Typical mold making business processes are analyzed and four critical business processes to be integrated are identified. Further, a process-oriented business information model is proposed, which associates business information entities to meet the needs of all business processes. Based on the model, the integration of four critical business processes is investigated, which enables seamless information flows to streamline the business processes, maximize information sharing across the business processes and achieve the automation and concurrency of the business processes. Finally, the implementation and benefits to industry of the system derived from the developed information model is presented.     

Information sharing and exchange in the context of product lifecycle management: Role of standards

This paper introduces a model of the information flows in Product Life cycle Management (PLM), serving as the basis for understanding the role of standards in PLM support systems. Support of PLM requires a set of complementary and interoperable standards that cover the full range of aspects of the products’ life cycle. The paper identifies a typology of standards relevant to PLM support that addresses the hierarchy of existing and evolving standards and their usage and identifies a suite of standards supporting the exchange of product, process, operations and supply chain information. A case study illustrating the use of PLM standards in a large organization is presented. The potential role of harmonization among PLM support standards is described and a proposal is made for using open standards and open source models for this important activity.     

Vertical collaboration in the semiconductor industry: A decision framework for supply chain relationships

Vertical collaboration problem focuses on integrating and modeling the decision problems of the suppliers and buyers together with the market intermediary by identifying the inefficiencies in the traditional marketplace and aligning the incentives of members in the e-marketplace. The present work develops and solves real life e-marketplace models for complex buyers–suppliers procurement problems by estimating the order quantities in the collaborated supply chain. The newsvendor framework considers demand to be independent of the selling price as is generally the case in the semiconductor industry supply chain dealing with techno-savvy customers. The vertical collaboration process would be more effective if the length of the planning horizon and order size is considered as a negotiation parameter between the buyer and supplier. It is observed that the supplier’s expected profit function increases with the buyers’ ordering quantity, which is important in characterizing the general structure of the collaboration scheme of the supply chain.     

The application of information systems for the design and operation of flexible machining cells

The use of information systems in manufacturing applications has dramatically changed over the last few years. The design and implementation of somewhat dated relational databases has been replaced by the generation of information models, that can be simultaneously used for the development of information systems and satisfy their integration requirements. Over the last ten years the authors have been involved in a series of research programmes focusing on the design and operation of flexible machining cells. The use of information systems has been a central theme and the enabling technology to achieve a number of novel design concepts and operational strategies for such cells. The initial research was based on the utilization of relational databases to integrate a variety of modelling and design tools. However, the additional effort required to integrate such databases to manufacturing software tools, in the form of developing file translators, information gateways and interfac es, has made the authors adopt a new approach. With this approach the information requirements are represented in a neutral format within a data model, using a formal data specification language developed by the Standards for the Exchange of Product (STEP) committee. This paper describes these changes in the design and implementation of information systems in manufacturing applications, and provides an initial view of future research requirements.     

Software and systems engineering process capability in the South Australian defence industry

It is well recognised that that there is a correlation between process maturity in large organisations and project success. In response to this, a number of process models and standards have been developed for the large-project environment. The Australian defence industry, unlike many overseas countries, relies to a much greater extent on small and medium-sized enterprises to supply equipment and services. Hence, the question has arisen about the scalability of overseas concepts to the Australian defence industry situation. To address this question, a research project has been undertaken to identify the current baseline of process capability for the South Australian defence software and systems engineering industry. This paper presents findings from the research project, including a general characterisation of the industry process capability and a discussion of the common perceived strengths and challenges of organisations within the industry. The project’s objectives, research design and findings are then compared and contrasted with similar research activities conducted in different parts of the world. Finally, the paper draws conclusions based on the body of work presented and suggests areas for future research and development to address industry needs.     

电子信息产业链竞争力构成要素分析

电子信息产业链竞争力的强弱是由其创造的市场价值大小决定的,这种市场价值创造能力是由不同产业链为用户带来的收益以及由此带来的成本所决定的,而影响电子信息产业链收益和成本主要有六方面因素,包括产品吸引力、商业模式、沟通与学习、人才竞争力、市场价值和政府影响力。在电子信息产业链竞争力的三种模式中,电子信息全产业链、电子信息平台产业链和电子信息联盟产业链的六要素竞争力呈逐渐增强的趋势,即电子信息全产业链六要素的竞争力较弱,电子信息平台产业链六要素的竞争力较强,电子信息联盟产业链六要素的竞争力最强。     

Domain-specific portal for the precision component and tooling industry in Singapore—needs analysis and a test-bed implementation

This paper presents the observations and implications of Internet-based collaborative design and manufacturing in Singapore for targeted domain-specific areas—more specifically, the die and mould industry. Based on a survey, the issues faced by local companies are summarized and possible solutions are proposed. To promote the use of Internet for collaborative design, manufacturing and business in the local manufacturing industry, a test-bed domain-specific portal has been developed to facilitate collaborations among companies with their customers, suppliers and partners. Various technologies for value-added collaboration services are investigated and developed. These aim to facilitate business collaboration, such as partner selection, order process collaboration and collaborative planning, as well as engineering collaboration, such as collaborative product and tooling design and rapid prototyping over the Internet. The architecture of the e-manufacturing portal is presented and the collaborative technologies are introduced.     

Real options-based evaluation model for transformable plant designs in the process industry

Transformable plant designs are emerging in the process industry as an alternative production concept to conventional large-scale plant designs. While transformable plant designs come at the disadvantage of higher costs per unit due to lower scale effects and higher investment costs per capacity unit installed, their major advantage are the flexible choices of capacity, product, and location which allow for quick adjustments to market changes. The value of such flexibility is not captured in traditional methods of investment appraisal such as the net present value method. When using these methods flexible technologies may appear less attractive than they actually are. More recently, the real options approach has been proposed as a tool to value investments in flexible technologies. In this paper we present an evaluation model for the economic assessment of investments in transformable plant designs that is able to capture different kinds of flexibility in a setting with multiple sources of uncertainty. The implementation of the model in two case studies shows that the flexibility value is a significant driver of the overall value of transformable plant designs.     

Progress towards an international standard for data transfer in rapid prototyping and layered manufacturing

This paper discusses the informational requirements of rapid prototyping and layered manufacturing (RPLM). The study is motivated by the recent decision to embark on the development of a new Application Protocol for the international standard ISO 10303, specifically to handle layered manufacturing information.

The most common industrial use of RPLM today is for rapid prototyping, but a wider view of it as a flexible fabrication technology is taken here, to allow for future developments. Its use in building functional metallic parts under computer control has already been demonstrated, and commercial RPLM machines for building production parts are already being marketed.

The paper includes a survey of current and proposed data formats for communication between the various stages of the RPLM process. In comparing them, particular attention is given to the issue of extensibility to meet future needs. In this last respect, special emphasis is given to materials-related and other non-geometric information needed for fabricating multi-material objects and objects with graded material properties.     

基于最大方差权信息系数的煤气数据填补

在数据的挖掘、建模与优化领域,数据的完整性与准确性是进行此类研究的基础.鉴于冶金能源系统的复杂性和现场数据采集过程易受干扰的特点,其数据在获取过程中极易发生数据缺失的现象,从而造成模型无法建立,隐含信息无法准确挖掘等情况.本文针对钢铁企业副产煤气的发生、消耗流量数据出现的缺失情况,通过分析相似工况下能源流量数据的相关特性,提出一种基于最大方差权信息系数的冶金企业副产煤气系统流量数据填补方法.该方法针对现场经常发生的两类数据缺失情况,即数据点间断缺失和数据长时间连续缺失,以最大方差权信息系数作为样本筛选准则,并采用基于核学习的方法对缺失数据进行填补.为验证本文提出的数据填补方法的有效性,本文对上海宝钢高炉、焦炉和冷热轧用户的实际生产数据的运行试验,结果表明该方法相比其他的方法存填补精度上有很大优势.     

Development of CCITT standards for packet data networks in the period 1980–1984

The rapid growth of the communications industry has produced the need for a programme of rationalization of international computing and networking standards. The work done at CCITT in this field during 1980–1984 period is reviewed, particular attention being given to the progress made in the standards for packet data networks: X.25, X.3, X.28, X.29 and X.32. Some aspects of the OSI model that are related to the network layer and to X.25 are also discussed.     

A rating scheme for assessing the quality of computer-supported collaboration processes

The analysis of the process of collaboration is a central topic in current CSCL research. However, defining process characteristics relevant for collaboration quality and developing instruments capable of assessing these characteristics are no trivial tasks. In the assessment method presented in this paper, nine qualitatively defined dimensions of collaboration are rated quantitatively: sustaining mutual understanding, dialogue management, information pooling, reaching consensus, task division, time management, technical coordination, reciprocal interaction, and individual task orientation. The data basis for the development of these dimensions was taken from a study in which students of psychology and medicine collaborated on a complex patient case via a desktop-videoconferencing system. A qualitative content analysis was performed on a sample of transcribed collaboration dialogue. The insights from this analysis were then integrated with theoretical considerations about the roles of communication, joint information processing, coordination, interpersonal relationship, and motivation in the collaboration process. The resulting rating scheme was applied to process data from a new sample of 40 collaborating dyads. Based on positive findings on inter-rater reliability, consistency, and validity from this evaluation, we argue that the new method can be recommended for use in different areas of CSCL.     

XML及STEP标准在流程工业信息集成中的应用研究

流程工业中数据结构复杂,数据之间关系多种多样,如何对这些数据实现标准化处理是一件很困难的事。以前人们采用的方法多为各种零散的方法,或者是借助于制造行业发展起来的STEP来实现,但是STEP主要是用在表述结构化数据的,而对于非结构化数据以及半结构化数据的描述存在很大困难。因此,文中提出用XML来表述流程工业的非结构化数据和半结构化数据,采用XML与STEP标准结合的方式,实现对流程工业数据的集中处理,以便让那些建立在其上的其他信息处理过程中应用。文末给出了XML与STEP相结合所描述的一个典型过程工业信息集成应用案例。     

Model-based analysis of the health, safety and environment domain in the process industry

The chemical process industry needs well-defined, engineering-controlled operation procedures to insure the safety of their plant operations and to protect the people working with hazardous materials. Accidents may seriously harm the employees, destroy expensive factory equipment and contaminate and deteriorate the environment of the entire areas. The engineering control can be significantly enhanced through the use of process models for situation analysis. Process models will also provide effective decision support in the plant operation. The objective was to develop in Elf-Atochem a reference model for improving the complex process for implementing and tracking a work permit for people working in plant areas with health, safety and environmental risks. This permit documents all protection and formal authorisations required prior to any work in the hazardous areas of a chemical plant. The model consists of a process model and an information model. It further provides the identification of knowledge required to manage the work permit and to facilitate the automation of a number of activities. The model serves to analyse the process and to define the user requirements for a workflow application program. The methodology CimOsa/rg, which is based on CIMOSA, has been applied together with the modelling tool CimTool to document the requirements model.     

On the information modeling for the electronic operation of supply chains: A maritime case study

Nowadays, the manufacturing industry is adopting modern information technologies in order to optimize their business process and to achieve integration with supply chain partners that are geographically dispersed, by expanding the physical limits of their business globally. The growth of the World Wide Web and the advantages of the software technologies arising from it render this goal possible. This paper discusses how modern information technology, particularly the ISO 10303—STEP and eXtensible Markup Language—XML, can be utilized jointly to support the communication of different partners. An approach to support enterprise operation through efficient data exchanges, by adopting modern data modeling techniques for integration among partners worldwide and using the web as a communication layer, is described. The paper deals particularly with the ship repair industry as a case study of these problems and suggests a feasible solution.