Lean philosophy: implementation in a forging company

This research addresses the implementation of lean philosophy in a forging company with a focus on radial forging production flow lines. Here, the prime motive is to evolve and test several strategies to eliminate waste on the shop floor. In this research, a systematic approach is suggested for the implementation of lean principles. This paper describes an application of value stream mapping (VSM). Consequently, the present and future states of value stream maps are constructed to improve the production process by identifying waste and its sources. Furthermore, Taguchi’s method of design of experiments is pursued here to minimize the forging defects produced due to imperfect operating conditions. A noticeable reduction in set-up time and work-in-process (WIP) inventory level is substantiated. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of managerial implications and the future scope of research.     

Microstructural and compositional aspects of ZnO-based varistor ceramics prepared by direct mixing of the constituent phases and high-energy milling

ZnO-based varistor samples were prepared by the direct mixing of the constituent phases (DMCP) and sintering at 1100 °C for 2 h. The influence of the starting powder mixture's composition – the amounts of the pre-reacted varistor compounds and their composition – and its preparation, either with or without mechano-chemical activation (MCA), on the microstructure, phase composition and electrical characteristics of the varistor samples was studied. It showed that MCA improved the density and microstructural homogeneity of the varistor samples. MCA strongly affected the grain growth: it enhanced the nucleation of inversion boundaries (IBs) in the ZnO grains and the IBs-induced grain-growth mechanism resulted in uniform grain growth and hence a microstructure with smaller ZnO grains and a narrower grain size distribution. The final phase composition of the samples prepared by the DMCP method mainly depended on the presence of varistor dopants that can prevent the formation of the pyrochlore phase, especially Cr₂O₃, while MCA can affect it mostly by providing a homogeneous distribution of those dopants. The DMCP varistor samples prepared with MCA had much better current–voltage characteristics than the samples of the same composition prepared from unactivated powders.     

Fish assemblages and stream hydraulics: consistent relations across spatial scales and regions

General relationships between organisms and their habitat, consistent across spatial scales and regions, suggest the existence of repeatable ecological processes and are useful for the management of stream networks. From published data, we defined four guilds of European fish species with contrasting preferences for microhabitat hydraulics within stream reaches. At the scale of stream reaches and across 139 French sites (590 460 fishes sampled), we analysed how fish guild proportions were related to reach hydraulics (proportion of pools vs. riffles %POOL; median discharge by unit width Q50/W). The strongest correlations were observed between two fish guilds and %POOL (p < 0.001, r² ≥ 0.41) and between one fish guild proportion and Q50/W (p < 0.001, r² = 0.10). These reach–scale relationships were consistent across six large French basins, and consistent with the analyses made at the microhabitat scale. Therefore, microhabitat preferences for hydraulics are strong enough to generate consistent reach‐scale community responses to hydraulics across regions, despite the influence of other filters such as temperature, nutrient levels or history. The distribution of basic geomorphic features (pools, riffles) in streams and their modification (by dams, weirs and dikes) can modify the proportion of fish guilds by up to 80%, probably contributing to the long‐term decline of riffle‐dwelling species in Europe. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

机械合金化Fe50Ti50非晶的形成及球磨强度对它的影响

本文通过电子扫描和Ｘ衍射对机械合金人Ｆｅ５０Ｔｉ５０非晶粉末形成做了研究。研究发现：机械合金非晶形成可以大致地分为二个阶段－粉末的破碎阶段和非晶的形成阶段。另外，对球磨强度对非晶形成的影响进行了研究。结果表明：强度低时粉末需要较长的时间才能形成非晶，强度高时粉末形成非晶的时间大大缩短，但在随后的球磨中，粉末会重新晶化形成新相。     

螺纹钢牙筋长度不足的原因及解决办法

分析了影响螺纹钢牙筋长度的原因，根据铣床的工作原理，利用刀头夹持长度与凸轮工作轨面半径的几何关系，推导出计算各种不同规格螺纹钢牙筋的工艺参数，解决了螺纹钢牙筋长度不足之问题。     

汛期采金船的缆绳牵拉

本文介绍了采金船渡汛时的停泊方向及采金船在洪水中可能产生拖曳力的估算方法，为了防止采金船汛期发生溜船事故，建议采用缆绳牵拉固船的措施，以保障采金船的汛期安全。     

变速铣削的试验研究

通过试验考证了变速铣削的减振效果和机床电机电流的波动幅度，试验结果表明，变速铣削同样具有明显的减振效果。机床电机电流虽有波动，但波动幅度不大，不会影响电机的正常使用，变速铣削具有良好的应用前景。     

基于Lotus Notes软件平台创建江铜办公自动化系统

本文介绍利用LotusNotes软件平台的电子邮件、复合文档数据库、工作流和完全的Client/Server技术 ,建立一个以开放、先进的Intranet/web及消息传递和工作流管理技术为核心的新一代全方位网络办公自动化系统。     

关于Delphi7的Zlib压缩库的应用

在数据库应用过程中,往往要对一些文件进行保存,如果直接保存,会浪费很多数据库空间,势必造成对数据库处理速度的影响。介绍利用Delphi7提供的Zlib压缩库在数据库存取文件时可以直接进行压缩和解压缩处理,使得在数据库中存取文件变得越来越方便。     

聚合物冷拉过程的流函数分析

用流函数法分析了聚合物拉伸成形时，颈缩的发生和扩展过程，文中论证了采用流函数法的优越性和适用性，并将流函数法计算结果和有限元法计算结果作了对比。