Integrating scheduling and control functions in computer integrated manufacturing using artificial intelligence

Proper integration of scheduling and control in Flexible Manufacturing Systems will make available the required level of decision-making capacity to provide a flexibly-automated, efficient, and quality manufacturing process. To achieve this level of integration, the developments in computer technology and sophisticated techniques of artificial intelligence (AI) should be applied to such FMS functions as scheduling. In this paper, we present an Intelligent Scheduling System for FMS under development that makes use of the integration of two AI technologies. These two AI technologies — Neural Networks and Expert Systems — provide the intelligence that the scheduling function requires in order to generate goodschedules within the restrictions imposed by real-time problems. Because the system has the ability to plan ahead and learn, it has a higher probability of success than conventional approaches. The adaptive behavior that will be achieved contribute to the integration of scheduling and control in FMS.     

A systematic transition to flexible manufacturing

The transition from basic automation to flexible manufacturing is an expensive and tedious procedure. It requires meticulous planning and almost clairvoyant forecasting to insure that the initial flexibility obtained is sufficient to allow growth and expansion in the future. This paper will suggest a systematic and methodological approach to achieve optimal flexibility and describe the present results of its application to an ongoing system transformation.

Conclusions based on existing levels of completion are presented along with identification of critical and non critical flexibility requirements. The considerations and steps taken are summarized in a procedural format which may then be applied to a wide variety of system transformations.     

Lipid peroxides, glutathione, gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase activities in several tissues of rats following water-immersion stress

The effects of water-immersion restraint (WIR) stress on lipid peroxide, glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (gamma-GCS) and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (gamma-GT) activities in several tissues of rats were investigated. Hepatic and intestinal lipid peroxide levels were increased significantly in the WIR stress group. In both tissues, GSH levels were significantly decreased and gamma-GCS activity was significantly increased. In addition, gamma-GT activities remained unchanged in both tissues following WIR stress. However, lipid peroxide and GSH levels did not change in the stomach and brain in the WIR stress group compared to the control group. These results suggest that lipid peroxidation, but not the depression of GSH synthesis and/or the increase of GSH breakdown may be a factor in hepatic and intestinal GSH reduction following WIR stress.     

Usable optimistic fair exchange

Fairly exchanging digital content is an everyday problem. It has been shown that fair exchange cannot be achieved without a trusted third party (called the Arbiter). Yet, even with a trusted party, it is still non-trivial to come up with an efficient solution, especially one that can be used in a p2p file sharing system with a high volume of data exchanged.We provide an efficient optimistic fair exchange mechanism for bartering digital files, where receiving a payment in return for a file (buying) is also considered fair. The exchange is optimistic, removing the need for the Arbiter’s involvement unless a dispute occurs. While the previous solutions employ costly cryptographic primitives for every file or block exchanged, our protocol employs them only once per peer, therefore achieving an O(n) efficiency improvement when n blocks are exchanged between two peers. Our protocol uses very efficient cryptography, making it perfectly suitable for a p-2-p file sharing system where tens of peers exchange thousands of blocks and they do not know beforehand which ones they will end up exchanging. Therefore, our system yields up to one-to-two orders of magnitude improvement in terms of both computation and communication (40 s vs. 42 min, 1.6 MB vs. 200 MB). Thus, for the first time, a provably secure (and privacy-respecting when payments are made using e-cash) fair exchange protocol can be used in real bartering applications (e.g., BitTorrent) [14] without sacrificing performance.     

An integrated case-based reasoning and MCDM system for Web based tourism destination planning

The accelerating interaction between technology and tourism has changed radically the efficiency and effectiveness of tourism organizations, as well as how consumers interact with organizations. In this study, a Web based intelligent framework for travel agencies is proposed that offers customers a fast and reliable response service in a less costly manner. The proposed framework integrates case-based reasoning (CBR) system with a well-known multi criteria decision making (MCDM) technique, namely Analytic Hierarchy Process, to enhance the accuracy and speed in case matching in tourism destination planning. The integration of two techniques enables taking advantages of their strengths and complements each other’s weaknesses. A case study is performed to demonstrate how this framework can facilitate intelligent decision support by retrieving best-fitted responses for customers.     

Influence of solution treatment on microstructure,corrosion resistance,and oxidation behavior of cast G-NiCr28W alloy

G-NiCr28W is a nickel-based cast alloy. Its microstructure consists of nickel-rich matrix phase and chromium-rich eutectic carbides. The solution treatment process can provide homogenous microstructure and desired mechanical/thermal properties for G-NiCr28W alloy. However, the solution treatment process affects the corrosion resistance of the alloy and it causes metal loss due to the occurrence of oxidation at atmospheric conditions. Therefore, determining the changes in the properties of the G-NiCr28W is important. For this purpose, G-NiCr28W specimens were solution treated at 1,040 ℃, 1,100 ℃ and 1,160 ℃ for 1 h and 8 h, respectively. The microstructures of the solution-treated samples were characterized by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. Moreover, hardness, corrosion resistance and oxidation behaviors of the solution-treated samples were examined. The solution treatment process applied at 1,160 ℃ led to the formation of Fe_2W_2C blocky carbides, and hardness of the sample increased with the existence of blocky carbides, while corrosion resistance decreased. Furthermore, excessive metal loss occurred depending on oxidation due to the high process temperature at 1,160 ℃.     

Characterization of the key fuel properties of methyl ester-diesel fuel blends

Characterizing of the fuel properties of diesel fuels, alternative fuels and their blends can assist the researchers who work on alternative fuels for diesel engines. Therefore, in this study, methyl esters were produced from five edible vegetable oils (sunflower, soybean, canola, corn and cottonseed) and blended with two different diesel fuels at 2%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 50% and 75% on a volume basis to characterize the key fuel properties of the blends such as density, viscosity, pour point, distillation temperatures and flash point. The results showed that the fuel properties of the blends were very close to those of diesel fuels at low concentrations upto 20% of methyl esters.     

Integration of simulation modeling and computer aided production management in computer integrated enterprise

Designing efficient and integrated manufacturing systems is the first step in attaining computer integrated enterprises (CIE). Integration of planning and implementation phases of manufacturing is essential for taking full advantage of the CIE. In order to design reliable and efficient manufacturing systems, the designers must consider the impacts of planning decisions made by computer aided production management (CAPM) modules on implementations held in manufacturing cells.

This paper focuses on two issues. The first issue is importance and necessity of integrating CAPM modules with manufacturing cells. The second issue includes major features of the object-oriented approach and their relevance to our objective of modeling a design framework which focuses on integration of CAPM modules and simulation models which emulate the manufacturing cells in the CIE environment.     

Investigation of the relationship between intergranular corrosion and retrogression and reaging in the AA6063

AA6063 was heat treated with different retrogression temperatures and durations, and the effect of heat treatment conditions on the microstructure, hardness, electrical conductivity, intergranular corrosion (IGC) and electrochemical corrosion behaviours of the AA6063 was determined compared with the T6 condition. The IGC test was applied according to the BS EN ISO 11846: 2008 standard. Moreover, potentiodynamic polarization tests were applied to determine the electrochemical corrosion behaviour of the heat‐treated samples. Electrochemical corrosion tests were carried out by using a Ivium Compactstat potentiostat in 3.5 wt.%. NaCl solution at 24°C with a scanning rate of 0.5 mV/s. The corrosion test cell consisted of the reference electrode (Ag/AgCl), working electrode (test sample) and a reference electrode (platinum). The effect of IGC on the microstructure of AA6063 and corrosion depth values was investigated by using a stereo optical microscope and a light metal microscope, respectively. Corrosion depth examinations were performed on microstructures taken from the cross‐sections of the samples. The chemistry of the precipitates formed at grain boundaries and distribution of the precipitates in the microstructure were investigated by scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive X‐ray and transmission electron microscope analyses. The results showed that retrogression and reaging heat treatment improves both the corrosion resistance and the mechanical properties of AA6063. After 50°C/15 min RRA heat treatment, the highest corrosion resistance and a higher hardness value than the T6 level were obtained.     

Ensuring Flexibility in the CIM Environment

ABSTRACT

Implementation and design of computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) systems are complex and detailed processes. They require meticulous planning and prior analysis to ensure that a viable and profitable system is developed. One of the most fundamental factors to be considered for a CIM system is the flexibility of the proposed system. Many authors have addressed the issue of system level flexibility and in a variety of ways. Two new categories of flexibility, programming and communications flexibility, are presented along with illustrations of the relative importance of the different categories of flexibility in various situations. A comparison and summary of the relationships between the work of previous authors and this paper is included.