Minimizing staircase errors in the orthogonal layered manufacturing system

The factors that generally affect the slicing error in layered manufacturing (LM) processes are first analyzed, and issues pertaining to the current methods to deal with the slicing error are discussed in this paper. A method based on a recently developed and implemented orthogonal LM system to reduce the overall slicing error is presented. In this method, the flat region is separated from the stereolithography (STL) model and different processing methods are applied to the different areas in the part geometry. In addition, the mathematical model for calculating the slicing error is derived and an approach based on a genetic algorithm has been developed to optimize the build orientation in terms of minimizing the slicing error. Case studies are given to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the method. Note to Practitioner-The staircase effect has been the major concern for industry to widely adopt rapid prototyping technologies. It will not only worsen the surface quality but also create errors on the parts built. This paper introduces a novel approach to minimizing staircase errors based on a multidirectional deposition approach. A mathematical method combined with a generic algorithm is used to minimize the slicing errors. From the case study given, the approach has been proven to be effective in minimizing staircase errors and thus improving the rapid prototyping (RP) built part quality.     

Towards a generic distributed and collaborative digital manufacturing

A framework for distributed manufacturing is proposed to facilitate collaborative product development and production among geographically distributed functional agents using digitalized information. Considering the complexity of products created in a distributed manufacturing scenario, it often requires close collaborations among a number of facilities. In this research work, various functional agents, such as the manufacturability evaluation agent (MEA), manufacturing resource agent (MRA), process-planning agent (PPA), manufacturing scheduling agent (MSA), shop floor agent (SFA), fault diagnosis agent (FDA), etc., can interact coherently for distributed manufacturing. With specific agents having unique functionalities, a manufacturing managing agent (MMA) acts as the centre of this distributed manufacturing system. The MMA agent assists the specific agents’ to work seamlessly and also to collaborate closely with the participating agents. In this way, the production cycle of a part can be optimized from product design to final manufacturing since all the production procedures are considered logically and every procedure is correlated. The agent language based on the knowledge query manipulation language (KQML) includes many pre-defined performatives that ease the participating agents to carry out their tasks intelligently by interpreting commands from one another. Additionally, to ensure the adaptiveness and upgradeability of the system, the internal structure of each functional agent that is based on JATLite is modularized into several components, including a communication interface, central work engine, knowledge base pool, and input/output modifier for possible future methodology enhancements.     

Patterns of marital change during the early childhood years: Parent personality, coparenting, and division-of-labor correlates.

Cluster analysis was applied to the marital reports of 99 husbands and wives (from 104 families) obtained when their firstborn sons were 10, 27, 36, and 60 months of age to identify distinct patterns of change in marital functioning. Husband-love and wife-conflict scores revealed 3 distinct change patterns—stays good, bad to worse, and good gets worse—which afforded the opportunity to address 2 distinct questions, the 1st dealing with the correlates of consistently good and poor functioning marriages and the 2nd with what distinguishes marriages that initially functioned similarly (and well) but proceeded to develop in distinctively different ways. Results show, consistent with related findings from a study of newlyweds (B. Karney & T. Bradbury, 1997), that the answer to the 1st question is found in enduring personality traits of spouses, whereas the answer to the 2nd is found in observed marital dynamics (reflecting coparenting processes). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fabrication of 3D chitosan–hydroxyapatite scaffolds using a robotic dispensing system

A new robotic desktop rapid prototyping (RP) system was designed to fabricate scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. The experimental setup consists of a computer-guided desktop robot and a one-component pneumatic dispenser. The dispensing material (chitosan and chitosan–hydroxyapatite (HA) dissolved in acetic acid) was stored in a 30-ml barrel and forced out through a small Teflon-lined nozzle into a dispensing medium (sodium hydroxide–ethanol in ratio of 7:3). Layer-by-layer, the chitosan was fabricated with a preprogramed lay-down pattern. Neutralization of the chitosan forms a gel-like precipitate, and the hydrostatic pressure in the sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution keeps the cuboid scaffold in shape. Comparison of the freeze-dried scaffold to the wet one showed linear and volumetric shrinkage of about 31% and 62%, respectively. A good attachment between layers allowed the chitosan matrix to form a fully interconnected channel architecture. Results of in vitro cell culture studies revealed the scaffold biocompatibility. The results of this preliminary study using the rapid prototyping robotic dispensing (RPBOD) system demonstrated its potential in fabricating three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds with regular and reproducible macropore architecture.     

Enterprise’s internal control for knowledge discovery in a big data environment by an integrated hybrid model

Information Technology and Management - This research aims to (1) identify the critical risk factors that influence the governance of enterprise internal control in a big data environment, (2)...     

A method for determination of particle magnetic susceptibility with analytical magnetapheresis

We recently developed a new method for simple determination of particle magnetic susceptibility using analytical magnetapheresis. This new method does not require laborious calibration plots and trial susceptibility values as do previous analytical magnetapheresis methods. The new method is based on balancing channel flow rates and magnetically induced flow rates for particle deposition in analytical magnetapheresis. The maximal flow rate for complete particle deposition was determined experimentally and set to equal the magnetically induced flow rate for determining particle magnetic susceptibility. This magnetic susceptibility determination generally takes less than 20 min. Several magnetically susceptible and ion-labeled particles were tested using this new method. The carrier magnetic susceptibilities were varied, and erbium ion-labeled particles were studied experimentally, resulting in successful susceptibility determinations of erbium ion-labeled particles and yeasts. The precision of each measurement was generally approximately 10%. Experimental determination of particle magnetic susceptibilities differed by less than 10% from reference measurements taken using a superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer. This method can determine minimal susceptibilities on the order of 10(-9) cgs. The minimum number of erbium labeling ions per particle required for complete deposition of silicas and yeasts was found to be 6.7 x 10(9). Analytical magnetapheresis shows good potential for use in simple determination of particle magnetic susceptibilities and should become a useful technique.     

The Role of Additional Information in Option Pricing: Estimation Issues for the State Space Model

We consider two competing financial state space models and investigate whether additional information in the form of option price data is helpful to the estimation of either the unobservable state variable (volatility) or the unknown parameters in the model. The complete discussion of the estimation problem in the presence of additional information involves decisions about filtering methods, the quality of the new information, the correlation between state variables and out-of-sample forecast performance. It is found that the state variable estimation is more sensitive than the parameter estimation to the correlation, information quality and the assumed linearity or non-linearity of the underlying model. As a result of the investigation of these factors, the particle filter is shown to be an attractive method for computing posterior distributions for these models.     

Off-line modelling and planning of optimal clamping forces for an intelligent fixturing system

An intelligent fixturing system (IFS) for machining aims to adaptively adjust the clamping forces to achieve minimum deformation of the workpiece according to the cutter position and the cutting forces. This paper presents the concept, architecture, control scheme, models and methodologies for an IFS. Using off-line simulations and on-line experimental verifications, the performance of the proposed IFS is evaluated and verified. As adaptive clamping forces appropriate to the dynamic machining environment are employed, the IFS offers higher quality of machined parts and greater robustness to disturbances. This system is suitable for application in high-precision machining environment as well as flexible manufacturing systems (FMS).     

An approach to minimize build errors in direct metal laser sintering

This paper discusses the effect of geometric shape on the accuracy of direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) prototypes. The percentage shrinkages due to different shapes are investigated and their empirical relationship is determined. A new speed-compensation (SC) method is proposed to reduce uneven shrinkage affected by the two-dimensional geometric shape at each layer. From case studies conducted, the optimized SC method is found to be efficient in improving the accuracy of prototypes fabricated. Note to Practitioners-This paper aims to address the problem of dimensional errors of parts built by the direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) process. Existing compensation approaches are normally based on a general relationship between the nominal dimensions and the errors after sintering. However, the effect arising from different geometric shapes is not considered. A new approach is proposed using different scan speed settings to compensate for the effect of geometric shapes to improve the dimensional accuracy of the entire part. During processing, the laser sinters along the trajectory are guided by the hatch vectors or dexel. An appropriate experimental method is used to establish the relationship for different scan speeds with the dexel length to the final accuracy. When building the part, the laser scan speed is adjusted dynamically according to the dexel length which varies with the geometric shape of the part. The case study demonstrates that the proposed method can generate correct speed settings to effectively increase the dimensional accuracy of the final part. Although this method has been developed based on the DMLS process, it is also applicable to other laser sintering processes. In future research, other process parameters, such as laser power, will be considered independently, or together with the scan speed, for possible further improvement on the dimensional accuracy.