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2011 | Buch

Rapid One-of-a-kind Product Development

Strategies, Algorithms and Tools

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SUCHEN

Über dieses Buch

Rapid One-of-a-kind Product Development discusses research in the development of new enabling technologies for small and medium companies. Scientific advancements presented include a novel product data modelling scheme to model product design, manufacturability and knowledge under a common data object; customised product development in a distributed environment; and new adaptive scheduling methods for the optimal production of a wide variety of customised products, taking into consideration all of the possible changes from customers and the uncertainties in manufacturing. The book also includes research towards a computer aided customer interface, which allows customer requirements and changes to be processed and integrated with technical designs in real time; adaptive and concurrent CAD methods and algorithms; and product modelling and system integration technologies. The reader will learn how to: • translate customer requirements to technical attributes; • develop new and innovative products to meet customer requirements and expectations; • evaluate and optimise a project design; • design production systems and use them efficiently; and • manage a variety of customised products. Rapid One-of-a-kind Product Development demonstrates how to develop new methods, tools and algorithms to address the problems in a mass customisation environment. It is a valuable source of information for researchers and engineers in the fields of design and manufacturing.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

State of the Art

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Background and Motivation
Abstract
In today’s global market, more and more manufacturing companies have realised that the ability to quickly develop a customised product in an economic and efficient way is critical for them to survive in today’s competitive international market. This is particularly true for one-of-a-kind production (OKP) companies. A new generation of OKP systems needs to be developed to help these companies maintain competitiveness in the global marketplace and improve the ability to rapidly combine the strengths of manufacturing partners to meet market needs. This chapter gives a definition of OKP and introduces the main issues and objectives of rapid OKP development in the global manufacturing environment.
Shane (S.Q.) Xie, Yiliu Tu
Chapter 2. Review of Rapid OKP Product Development
Abstract
This chapter provides a comprehensive review of the historical background of product design and manufacturing systems for the rapid development of OKP products. Through the overview of existing OKP systems and recent approaches to product design and manufacturing systems, the author will discuss current techniques that can be used to implement product design and manufacturing systems for producing OKP products. The problems that have emerged from recent developments are reviewed and sorted in this chapter. The future trends of collaborative design, decision support, manufacturing support, supply chain management, workflow management, Internet techniques for product design and manufacturing, productmodelling, STEP-based data environment, concurrent engineering, etc., will also be discussed in this chapter. The reviewed state-of-the-artworks have been used directly or indirectly as references for this book. At the end of the chapter, a reference system structure for building an Internet-based integrated product development (PD) system is proposed for the rapid development of OKP products.
Shane (S.Q.) Xie, Yiliu Tu
Chapter 3. Product Modelling in Support of Rapid OKP Development: a Review
Abstract
For OKP companies, how to better manage and record previous product development (PD) knowledge has become a core issue to address in order to improve the PD process, cut down development cost and reduce lead time. In recent years, considerable effort has been placed on developing new enabling technologies for OKP companies to achieve high quality and productivity, and to quickly respond to the changing market to meet customer requirements. Product modelling is a pivotal activity in the PD process. Well-defined product models organise product data, production information and knowledge to satisfy the requirements of rapid changes in the PD environment. In this chapter, a comprehensive review is carried out of recent developments in product modelling technology. Four types of product modelling methodologies are discussed in detail. Two object-oriented product modelling methods, including STEP-based product modelling and UML-based product modelling are reviewed and compared. The research gaps and issues are identified. A generic product modelling framework is proposed to implement product modelling into the current integrated manufacturing environment. Future research trends in product modelling are also discussed.
Shane (S.Q.) Xie, Yiliu Tu

System and Framework

Frontmatter
Chapter 4. Integrated OKP Product Development System
Abstract
To further develop the reference system structure of the Internet-based integrated PD system, as outlined in Chapter 2 into a working PD system, this chapter proposes an integrated PD system for rapid development of OKP products. The structure of the system is discussed and case studies are carried out to test the idea of the Internet-based integrated system. Several major modules of the system are discussed in this chapter. These modules include the structure of the integrated PD system, an integrated data environment, a real-time computer aided process planning (RTCAPP) module, quality function deployment (QFD)-based global customer interfaces and design/manufacturing knowledge bases to support product design and manufacturing. This chapter explores the definition and the structure of a system for the rapid development of sheet metal parts.
Shane (S.Q.) Xie, Yiliu Tu
Chapter 5. Compound Machining Method for OKP Product Development
Abstract
In sheet metal processing and manufacturing, there are many small or medium sized enterprises (SMEs). These OKP manufacturing companies have been facing keen competitive pressure in the market, which has forced these companies to make every effort to shorten PD lead time, improve production efficiency, approach high quality standards, and at the same time cut down the costs. To meet the needs of these companies, this chapter presents a compound cutting and punching production method supported by an integrated CAD/CAPP/CAM system for sheet metal manufacturing. Many existing commercial CAD/CAM systems are not suitable for this manufacturing method, especially under concurrent and global design and manufacturing environments. Some problems have to be solved before these CAD/CAM systems can be employed and integrated into this compound manufacturing method. This chapter deals with solutions to some of these problems. The solutions include an integrated data integration platform based on Pro/INTRALINK and STEP, and a knowledge-based real-time CAPP (RTCAPP) system for compound sheet metal cutting and punching. Within the proposed CAD/CAPP/CAM system, some key modules have been developed. They are the automatic tool selection and manufacturing sequencing module, a shortest tool path optimisation module, a cost estimation module and an automatic insertion of auxiliary path module based on knowledge bases. These modules will be described in this chapter.
Shane (S.Q.) Xie, Yiliu Tu
Chapter 6. An Agent-based Sheet Metal Process Planning System
Abstract
The requirements for computer-aided process planning (CAPP) systems have changed in the current integrated manufacturing environment. More requirements such as openness, real time operation and distribution of process planning need to be satisfied by integration. New systems must be open and dynamic with the ability to adapt and accept radical unpredictable changes in structures and industrial practices. This chapter proposes an agent-based process planning system (ABPPS) for optimal sheet metal PD. The structure of the system is discussed in detail. A number of agents are defined, including an unfolding agent, a feature recognition agent, a task agent, a nesting agent, a path planning agent, a bending agent, a machining method selection agent, a machine selection agent and a fixture/jig selection agent. Intermodules of typical agents (nesting agent, path planning agent, bending agent) are built for the system. In addition, how agents cooperate with others to implement tasks is also investigated.
Shane (S.Q.) Xie, Yiliu Tu

Product Modelling and Integration

Frontmatter
Chapter 7. Generic Product Modelling Framework
Abstract
In response to the rapidly changing manufacturing environment, product modelling technology has been widely applied to provide the essential information for supporting product development (PD) processes. The traditional product modelling technologies are unable to support the information exchange and sharing at the various stages of PD processes that could be taking place among different departments in a company or even among different companies in a distributed manufacturing environment. This has caused many problems such as information loss, data format incompatibility and reduced efficiency and effectiveness of product data applications. This has consequently created bottlenecks for the integration of PD processes. This chapter presents a generic product modelling framework (GPMF) to overcome the problems of information exchange and sharing in today’s manufacturing environment. This framework uses the Standard for the Exchange Product Model Data (STEP) as a foundation. It consists of four functional components: an EXPRESS DataModel (EDM) for presenting the structure of product data; a STEP-based modelling environment used to build up the EDM; a “five-phase” modelling method which is proposed to model the EDM; and three EDM data exchange and sharing methods which implement the EDM in the modelling product.
Shane (S.Q.) Xie, Yiliu Tu
Chapter 8. EXPRESS Data Model
Abstract
This chapter presents the EXPRESS Data Model (EDM) that has been developed based on the STEP-based modelling environment and the “five-phase” modelling method. The structure of the EDM is discussed and the elements of the EDM – schemas and the relationships between schemas – are presented using EXPRESS language (see Appendix A.3) and EXPRESS-G diagrams.
Shane (S.Q.) Xie, Yiliu Tu
Chapter 9. Generic Product Modelling Framework: Case Study
Abstract
The focus of this chapter is placed on the modelling methodologies and the definition of schemas for various activities in a rapid OKP development process such as manufacturing, inspection, etc., and the integration of the schemas with other resources definedwithin STEP. There are 25 schemas defined to ensure that the proposed generic product modelling framework (GPMF) in Chapter 8 is compatible and can be used in modelling various types of products. These aspects, to the best of our knowledge, have not been reported extensively in the literature. The structure of the framework is discussed in this chapter with the focus placed on the EDM as the core of the framework. Case studies are carried out to validate the proposed GPMF. Two products are chosen from different engineering disciplines. They are modelled into product models according to the GPMF. Each case utilises one of the EDM data exchange and sharing methods and its corresponding software environment to obtain the product models, which are presented as STEP Part 21 exchange files, STEP objects, and a database object. A prototype system called Product Data Management System (PDMS) is developed to test the GPMF. The case studies show that the productmodels built based on the GPMF are capable of integrating information in product design, manufacturing and assembly, and the GPMF is compatible, comprehensive, and flexible.
Shane (S.Q.) Xie, Yiliu Tu
Chapter 10. Information Framework for Rapid OKP Product Development
Abstract
Information integration is an important issue in supporting integrated and concurrent PD. This chapter explores the definition and the structure of an information framework for rapid development of sheet metal parts. This framework aims to build an information bridge to fill the gap among sheet metal part design, process planning and manufacturing systems. It is based on the principles of zero thickness and zero bend radius, which are used to abstract the geometry entities of sheet metal parts in order to facilitate part modelling and information modelling. In this chapter, a tree-based step-structure information modelling methodology for sheet metal parts is proposed and a case study is given.
Shane (S.Q.) Xie, Yiliu Tu

Product Development Methods, Algorithms and Tools

Frontmatter
Chapter 11. Cost Estimation and Optimisation Framework for Rapid Product Development
Abstract
The ultimate goal of mass customisation is to achieve economies of both scope and scale. This goal implies a conflict between customisation and economy of scale (or mass production) in the traditional manufacturing paradigm. However, recent developments in computer and Internet communication technologies, along with concurrent engineering, as well as modular design methodology provide concepts, methods and technology infrastructure for realising mass customisation. One of the findings from numerous research efforts on mass customisation is the use of e-commerce technologies to manage a product development chain that links customers, suppliers and manufacturers together to approach concurrently customised products in a short time and at the low cost level of mass production, which is the very definition of mass customisation. To ensure the success of mass customisation in a product development (PD) chain, a rapid, automatic yet accurate cost estimate and control system is needed. This chapter presents a novel cost index structure, together with two novel cost estimate methods, namely the generative cost estimate method and the variant cost estimate method, used for the development of a semiautomatic or fully automatic computer aided cost estimate and control system in mass customisation. Finally, an industrial case is reported to illustrate the principles and feasibility of the proposed data structure, methods and system framework.
Shane (S.Q.) Xie, Yiliu Tu
Chapter 12. A Global Data Structure for Supporting Rapid Product Development
Abstract
This chapter reports the research work that aims to develop an integrated data structure to support rapid product development (RPD) in the Internet environment. The emphasis is placed on integrated data management and the reuse of past PD experience to support a company’s aim to shorten its PD cycle. The integrated global data structure model was modelled using EXPRESS from STEP with the consideration of real-time data communication within the Internet environment. In terms of this data structure, a design/manufacturing knowledge base was developed as a major part of the WWW (World Wide Web)-based PD system. The basic principles and concepts of the knowledge base and the WWW-based knowledge management system are presented in this chapter. An industrial implementation is also reported.
Shane (S.Q.) Xie, Yiliu Tu
Chapter 13. An Internet-based Product Information Management System
Abstract
Efficient management of product information that covers the entire life cycle is critical to the enhancement of corporate competitiveness. This chapter explores the design and development of a World Wide Web (WWW)-based PD information management system for a cross-nation manufacturing corporation that is headed by a holding company in Christchurch, New Zealand. Since product data are often managed in a distributed computing environment, CORBA is employed to ensure interoperability among distributed information objects. The WWW-based information management system discussed in this chapter includes two major components: 1. WWW-based product design and development distributed object oriented databases; 2. A WWW-based integrated system platform. Several submodels are introduced; these include an object oriented database structure, a WWW-based information management system, a WWW database tool, an information access tool, the incremental process planning method and an integrated software platform for the integration of CAD, CAPP, CAM and the WWW-based information management system.
Shane (S.Q.) Xie, Yiliu Tu
Chapter 14. Internet-based “Design for X” for Rapid and Economical Tool-/Mould-making
Abstract
Computer Internet communication technology offers tremendous potential for building computer communication and software platforms for the rapid development of OKP products to meet global competition. In the past few years, a variety of Internet-based systems have been developed for the purpose of RPD. Among these systems, Internet-based “Design for X (DFX)” systems have been recognised as an efficient tool for the implementation of concurrent engineering and playing a key role in RPD. Internet-based DFX or IDFX systems can be applied by manufacturing companies to rapidly produce high quality products with low costs and higher profits. However, the implementation of IDFX systems is not an easy task. This is because many new techniques are involved in the application of IDFX, and PD processes are normally sophisticated and vary with PD environments. In this chapter, as illustrated by case studies, two typical applications of IDFX, Internet-based design for manufacture (IDFM) and Internet-based design for cost (IDFC) systems, are proposed for rapid and economical tool-/mould-making. The structure and the key models of the systems are discussed.
Shane (S.Q.) Xie, Yiliu Tu
Chapter 15. Optimal Process Planning for Compound Laser Cutting and Punching Using Genetic Algorithms
Abstract
Process planning has become an important stage for OKP companies as global competition has intensified the need to reduce the cost of products. This chapter uses sheet metal work as an example to discuss how new algorithms can be used to improve efficiency and to reduce cost. An optimal process planner can maximise the utilisation of costly raw material resources, improve machining efficiency, and hence reduce product cost. However, two problems must be overcome before such an optimal process planner can be developed; nesting and machining path planning. The nesting requirement is to maximise sheet metal material utilisation ratio by nesting parts of various shapes into the sheet. The path planning requirement is to optimise machining sequence so that the total machining path distance and machining time are minimised. This work investigates the two problems using genetic algorithms. The proposed genetic algorithm approach uses a genetic encoding scheme and a genetic reproduction strategy to reach an optimum solution. Case studies are carried out to test the genetic algorithms. The effectiveness of the genetic algorithm path planning approach is compared with that of the “ant colony” algorithm (Wang and Xie 2005). The results show that the genetic algorithm achieves better performances for path planning than the ant colony algorithm.
Shane (S.Q.) Xie, Yiliu Tu
Chapter 16. Conclusion and Future Work
Abstract
The last chapter starts with a brief summary of the goal of the book and the future research problems faced by OKP researchers. With respect to the research objectives as stated in Chapter 1, the major achievements or research findings are summarised in Section 16.2. Section 16.3 discusses possible future research directions and topics.
Shane (S.Q.) Xie, Yiliu Tu
Backmatter
Metadaten
Titel
Rapid One-of-a-kind Product Development
verfasst von
Shane (S.Q.) Xie
Yiliu Tu
Copyright-Jahr
2011
Verlag
Springer London
Electronic ISBN
978-1-84996-341-1
Print ISBN
978-1-84996-340-4
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-341-1

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