Dispersed Manufacturing Networks provides new perspectives of dispersed manufacturing systems from three points of view. The first is that offered by complex systems theory, particularly on how agents in these industrial networks interact and how that provides possibility for coordination. The book also elaborates on issues of coordination and planning, as well as examining new solutions and challenges for logistics problems and collaboration in engineering networks within the internationalisation perspective. The impact of globalization is discussed for both managerial decision-making and operational performance of supply chains. A strong emphasis is placed on the need for continuous decision-making with recognition of the fact that networks of loosely connected agents require different approaches. Both researchers and professionals will welcome Dispersed Manufacturing Networks. It is an informative guide for those researching and working across a range of fields.

Knowledge Intensive Design Technology is a collection of papers presented at the Fifth Workshop on Knowledge Intensive CAD, which was sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) Working Group 5.2 and hosted by the Department of Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Malta in July 2002. The book chapters progressively take the reader through the following sequential sections; -Part One - KIC Development Approaches, -Part Two - Knowledge Systematization, -Part Three - Prototype KIC Systems. Knowledge Intensive Design Technology makes essential reading for practicing engineers/scientists involved in R&D as well as for relevant Masters and Ph.D. students. The book is also pertinent to those in industry concerned with capturing and structuring company-specific knowledge for proactive reuse to increase product development efficiency, and also to those involved in the development of CAD systems.

This text represents state-of-the-art trends and developments in the emerging field of engineering asset management as presented at the Sixth World Congress on Engineering Asset Management (WCEAM) held in Cincinnati, OH, USA from October 3-5, 2011 The Proceedings of the WCEAM 2011 is an excellent reference for practitioners, researchers and students in the multidisciplinary field of asset management, covering topics such as: Asset condition monitoring and intelligent maintenance; Asset data warehousing, data mining and fusion; Asset performance and level-of-service models; Design and lifecycle integrity of physical assets; Deterioration and preservation models for assets; Education and training in asset management; Engineering standards in asset management; Fault diagnosis and prognostics; Financial analysis methods for physical assets; Human dimensions in integrated asset management; Information quality management; Information systems and knowledge management; Intelligent maintenance; Intelligent sensors and devices; Maintenance strategies in asset management; Optimization decisions in asset management; Prognostics & Health Management; Risk management in asset management; Strategic asset management; and Sustainability in asset management.

Presented here are 97 refereed papers given at the 37th MATADOR Conference held at The University of Manchester in July 2012. The MATADOR series of conferences covers the topics of Manufacturing Automation and Systems Technology, Applications, Design, Organisation and Management, and Research. The Proceedings of this Conference contain original papers contributed by researchers from many countries on different continents. The papers cover the principles, techniques and applications in aerospace, automotive, biomedical, energy, consumable goods and process industries. The papers in this volume reflect: the importance of manufacturing to international wealth creation; the emerging fields of micro- and nano-manufacture; the increasing trend towards the fabrication of parts using lasers; the growing demand for precision engineering and part inspection techniques, and the changing trends in manufacturing within a global environment.

At last, here is what logistics researchers have been waiting for: a book that comprehensively encapsulates for the first time the fundamentals of modeling Logistic Operating Curves for production and storage processes. The text includes information on how they can be derived and calculated based on standard operating data. In doing so, the authors clearly demonstrate the mutual dependencies between the often contradictory logistic objectives, i.e. on the one hand low throughput times and high delivery reliability and on the other hand low WIP levels and high rates of utilization. Moreover, they also explain how these objectives can be improved using the Logistic Operating Curve Theory and why this method thus provides an interesting alternative to simulations.

New directives in the European Union forced the national governments to release new laws on the collection and recycling of electronic waste. Producers of electrical/electronic equipment are now required to fulfill several tasks on an administrational level, such as registration and regular declarations, as well as ensure take back and recycling operationally. The national laws and requirements strongly differ from country to country and created a lot of confusion in the past. In this book, consultants from 26 EU member states give a clear and structured recipe how this complicated procedure can be done in the corresponding country. This makes the book being an essential tool for the electrics industry, in particular for international companies.

Enterprise integration and enterprise engineering has become a focal point of discussions during the past few years with active contribution of many disciplines... The evolution from the concept of CAD/CAM, through CIM to the Integrated Enterprise is based on the assumption that the integrated enterprise can (and should) be engineered just as any complex system can.

HE ORIGINS of welding are buried in the depths of antiquity, T commencing with the forging of native gold and copper, progressing in the bronze age with the braze welding of castings, but not developing greatly until relatively recently. It has been this century, and the latter half in particular, that welding has developed to the stage where there are more than 100 variants. Furthermore, joining by welding has become such an efficient technique that much of our modem way oflife would not be possible without it. The giant oil rigs, built to withstand the rigours of the North Sea, the minute wire connectors in the computer and transistor, and the automobile and truck, could not exist were it not for welding processes. Originally a uniquely manual process, the needs of industry have this century required welding techniques which could be mechanised. Some processes, such as friction welding, were readily mechanised but the most flexible and adaptable fusion processes awaited develop ments which allowed a continuous wire to be rapidly fed into the fusion zone. These processes, such as MAG and submerged arc, rapidly gave rise to machines for welding, with many appearing before the Second World War."

Modern manufacturing systems must be engineered as any other complex systems, especially in the context of their integration. The book first presents the all-embracing concept of the Extended Enterprise as way of inter-enterprise integration. It then focusses on Enterprise Engineering methods and tools to address intra-enterprise integration using a model-based approach. Business process modelling and re-engineering isssues are particularly discussed and tools presented. Formal specification and Petri net-based analysis methods for manufacturing systems complete the set of tools for Enterprise Engineering. Coordination and integration issues of manufacturing systems and their business processes are then covered and examples of integration platforms presented. Finally, standardization and pre-standardization issues related to enterprise modelling and integration conclude the book.

In the last few decades, much research work was conducted to improve ship structure analysis and design. Most of the efforts were directed to improve the strength of hull girder and to use the method of finite element analysis more efficiently and effectively. Because of the high degree of complexity of ship structures the interaction between hull girder strength and local strength require special attention. The complex system of stresses could produce unacceptable deformations and high values of equivalent stresses. This book covers an area of ship structure analysis and design that has not been exhaustively covered by other books on ship structures in a simple form. It presents the basic concepts of the methods and procedures required to calculate torsion and shear stresses in ship structures. Moreover, it is enhanced with a set of some solved and unsolved problems, very useful for students of naval and marine engineering.

Multi-agent systems are claimed to be especially suited to the development of software systems that are decentralized, can deal flexibly with dynamic conditions, and are open to system components that come and go. This is why they are used in domains such as manufacturing control, automated vehicles, and e-commerce markets. Danny Weyns' book is organized according to the postulate that "developing multi-agent systems is 95% software engineering and 5% multi-agent systems theory." He presents a software engineering approach for multi-agent systems that is heavily based on software architecture - with, for example, tailored patterns such as "situated agent", "virtual environment", and "selective perception" - and on middleware for distributed coordination - with programming abstractions such as "views" and "roles." Next he shows the feasibility and applicability of this approach with the development of an automated transportation system consisting of a number of automatic guided vehicles transporting loads in an industrial setting. Weyns puts the development of multi-agent systems into a larger perspective with traditional software engineering approaches. With this, he opens up opportunities to exploit the body of knowledge developed in the multi-agent systems community to tackle some of the difficult challenges of modern-day software systems, such as decentralized control, location-awareness, self-adaption, and large-scale. Thus his book is of interest for both researchers and industrial software engineers who develop applications in areas such as distributed control systems and mobile applications where such requirements are of crucial importance.

This international technology assessment study has focused on the emerging global trend toward the miniaturization of manufacturing processes, equipment and systems for microscale components and products. The study has investigated both the state-of-the-art as well as emerging technologies from the scientific, technological, and commercialization perspectives across key industrial sectors in the USA, Asia and Europe.

Managing Supply Chain Risk and Vulnerability, a book that both practitioners and students can use to better understand and manage supply chain risk, presents topics on decision making related to supply chain risk. Leading academic researchers, as well as practitioners, have contributed chapters focusing on developing an overall understanding of risk and its relationship to supply chain performance; investigating the relationship between response time and disruption impact; assessing and prioritizing risks; and assessing supply chain resilience. Supply chain managers will find Managing Supply Chain Risk and Vulnerability a useful tool box for methods they can employ to better mitigate and manage supply chain risk. On the academic side, the book can be used to teach senior undergraduate students, as well as graduate-level students. Additionally, researchers may use the text as a reference in the area of supply chain risk and vulnerability.

"Engineering Design and Rapid Prototyping" offers insight into the methods and techniques that allow for easily implementing engineering designs by incorporating advanced methodologies and technologies. This book contains advanced topics such as feature-based design and process planning, modularity and rapid manufacturing, along with a collection of the latest methods and technologies currently being utilized in the field. The volume also: -Provides axiomatic design and solution methodologies for both design and manufacturing -Discusses product life cycle development and analysis for ease of manufacture and assembly -Offers applied methods and technologies in rapid prototyping, tooling and manufacturing "Engineering Design and Rapid Prototyping" will be extremely valuable for any engineers and researchers and students working in engineering design.

As semiconductor manufacturers implement copper conductors in advanced interconnect schemes, research and development efforts shift toward the selection of an insulator that can take maximum advantage of the lower power and faster signal propagation allowed by copper interconnects. One of the main challenges to integrating a low-dielectric constant (low-kappa) insulator as a replacement for silicon dioxide is the behavior of such materials during the chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) process used in Damascene patterning. Low-kappa dielectrics tend to be softer and less chemically reactive than silicon dioxide, providing significant challenges to successful removal and planarization of such materials. The focus of this book is to merge the complex CMP models and mechanisms that have evolved in the past decade with recent experimental results with copper and low-kappa CMP to develop a comprehensive mechanism for low- and high-removal-rate processes. The result is a more in-depth look into the fundamental reaction kinetics that alter, selectively consume, and ultimately planarize a multi-material structure during Damascene patterning.

This new edition of the well established text Scheduling - Theory, Algorithms, and Systems provides an up-to-date coverage of important theoretical models in the scheduling literature as well as significant scheduling problems that occur in the real world. It again includes supplementary material in the form of slide-shows from industry and movies that show implementations of scheduling systems. The main structure of the book as per previous edition consists of three parts. The first part focuses on deterministic scheduling and the related combinatorial problems. The second part covers probabilistic scheduling models; in this part it is assumed that processing times and other problem data are random and not known in advance. The third part deals with scheduling in practice; it covers heuristics that are popular with practitioners and discusses system design and implementation issues. All three parts of this new edition have been revamped and streamlined. The references have been made completely up-to-date. Theoreticians and practitioners alike will find this book of interest. Graduate students in operations management, operations research, industrial engineering, and computer science will find the book an accessible and invaluable resource. Scheduling - Theory, Algorithms, and Systems will serve as an essential reference for professionals working on scheduling problems in manufacturing, services, and other environments. Reviews of third edition: This well-established text covers both the theory and practice of scheduling. The book begins with motivating examples and the penultimate chapter discusses some commercial scheduling systems and examples of their implementations." (Mathematical Reviews, 2009)

For this sixth volume 01 proceedings stemming lrom a Symposium on the Applications 01 Laser Techniques to Fluid Techniques, we have selected thirty one papers which are presented in live chapters. They represent some 01 the best papers presented at the Sixth Symposium which was again held at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, this time lrom 20 to 23 July 1992. The total number of papers at the Symposium was slightly larger than in 1990 and was selected from a much increased number of abstracts, with a considerably smaller of accepted manuscripts. Thus, this volume represents some 01 the best 01 the best. The topics we have chosen to include are Laser Anemometer Optics and Processing, Two-Phase Flow Instrumentation, Whole-Field Velocimetry, Complex Flow Applications and Engine and Combusting Flows, and they show that there continues to be a healthy interest in the development 01 understanding of the methodology and its implementation in terms 01 new instrumentation, and this is emphasised by the increasing number 01 companies which have attended the Symposium in recent years in order to demonstrate their range 01 products. At the same time, it is clear that there is an increasing range of applications 01 the corresponding laser techniques and this is represented, in part, by the chapters concerned with Complex and Engine and Combusting Flows. In general, we are very pleased with the way the application 01 laser techniques has grown and hope that this se ries 01 Symposia has played its part.

Injection moulding is one of the most important methods of manufacturing plastics products. Through the development of sophisticated micro processor control systems, the modern injection moulding machine is capable of producing precision mouldings with close tolerances in large numbers and with excellent reproducibility. This capability, however, is often limited by the lack of a proper appreciation of mould design. The mould, or tool as it is often called, is at the heart of the injection moulding process. Its basic function is to accept the plastic melt from the injection unit and cool it to the desired shape prior to ejection. It is not, however, simply a matter of the mould having an impression of the shape to be moulded. Many other factors have to be taken into account - for example, the ability to fill the mould impression properly and efficiently without inducing weaknesses in the moulding and the efficient cooling of the moulding in order to maximise production rates without diminishing the quality of the moulding. In addition, the type of mould, gate and runner system, and ejection system which will best meet the needs of a particular job specification have to be determined. In our experience lack of attention to such factors leads to the mould limiting the ability of the injection moulding machine and preventing the process as a whole from achieving its true potential.

Journal bearings, which are used in all kinds of rotating machinery, do not only support static loads, such as the weight of rotors and load caused by transmitted torque of reduction gears, but are, in addition almost the only machine element that is able to suppress various exciting forces acting on the rotating shaft. As rotating machines have become large and multi-staged, while compactness, high speed, and high output have also been realized in recent years, not only has the bearing load increased, but also the magnitude and variety of exciting forces. Therefore, the role and importance of journal bearings have increased tremendous ly. In particular, for the design of rotating machines with low vibration levels and high reliability, knowledge of the exact characteristic data of bearings, and especial ly of the stiffness or spring coefficients and the damping coefficients of oil films in bearings, is essential. However, the amount of reliable data now applicable to practical design is limited. Through the activity of the Research Subcommittee on Dynamic Charac teristics of Journal Bearings and Their Applications (designated as PSC 28), estab lished and organized in June 1979 through May 1982 within the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME), these coefficients, together with static characteris tics, have been calculated and also measured on a number of new test rigs.

Industrial Process Identification and Control Design is devoted to advanced identification and control methods for the operation of continuous-time processes both with and without time delay, in industrial and chemical engineering practice. The simple and practical step- or relay-feedback test is employed when applying the proposed identification techniques, which are classified in terms of common industrial process type: open-loop stable; integrating; and unstable, respectively. Correspondingly, control system design and tuning models that follow are presented for single-input-single-output processes. Furthermore, new two-degree-of-freedom control strategies and cascade control system design methods are explored with reference to independently-improving, set-point tracking and load disturbance rejection. Decoupling, multi-loop, and decentralized control techniques for the operation of multiple-input-multiple-output processes are also detailed. Perfect tracking of a desire output trajectory is realized using iterative learning control in uncertain industrial batch processes. All the proposed methods are presented in an easy-to-follow style, illustrated by examples and practical applications. This book will be valuable for researchers in system identification and control theory, and will also be of interest to graduate control students from process, chemical, and electrical engineering backgrounds and to practising control engineers in the process industry.

Over the last 15 years, the application of innovative steel concepts in the automotive industry has increased steadily. Numerical simulation technology of hot forming of high-strength steel allows engineers to modify the formability of hot forming steel metals and to optimize die design schemes. Theories, Methods and Numerical Technology of Sheet Metal Cold and Hot Forming focuses on hot and cold forming theories, numerical methods, relative simulation and experiment techniques for high-strength steel forming and die design in the automobile industry. Theories, Methods and Numerical Technology of Sheet Metal Cold and Hot Forming introduces the general theories of cold forming, then expands upon advanced hot forming theories and simulation methods, including: the forming process, constitutive equations, hot boundary constraint treatment, and hot forming equipment and experiments. Various calculation methods of cold and hot forming, based on the authors' experience in commercial CAE software for sheet metal forming, are provided, as well as a discussion of key issues, such as hot formability with quenching process, die design and cooling channel design in die, and formability experiments. Theories, Methods and Numerical Technology of Sheet Metal Cold and Hot Forming will enable readers to develop an advanced knowledge of hot forming, as well as to apply hot forming theories, calculation methods and key techniques to direct their die design. It is therefore a useful reference for students and researchers, as well as automotive engineers.

4th Party Cyber Logistics For Air Cargo is a technical discussion for researchers and practitioners to understand the issues, models, and future directions of air cargo logistics in the cyber era. This book introduces the many aspects of planning and control of air cargo logistics processes in an e-Business environment. The authors approach this subject matter from the perspective of the logistics service providers. There is tremendous potential of achieving industry-wide collaboration between agents of the air cargo industry via an e-Business community platform. At the same time, there are many intellectually challenging problems regarding the architecture, ownership, decision support environment, and knowledge management of such an e-Business platform.
The authors provide an evolutionary view to conceptualize the developments of websites where e-Commerce activities and e-Business activities co-exist. Four Web eras are detailed, providing an impetus for the development of frameworks of an e-Business platform for air cargo logistics, or e-Platform. The conceptual framework captures the new elements in cyber logistics and what the framework can do for the industry.

Architectures for Enterprise Integration describes the latest methods to guide enterprises and consultants, managers and technical personnel through a complete life-cycle of enterprise development. This book is based on the findings of the IFIP/IFAC Task Force and presents the state-of-the-art in enterprise architecture. This book is essential reading for all practising engineers and researchers in manufacturing and engineering management with special interest for those involved in CIM and Enterprise Modelling and Integration.

The subject of mechanical behavior has been in the front line of basic studies in engineering curricula for many years. This textbook was written for engineering students with the aim of presenting, in a relatively simple manner, the basic concepts of mechanical behavior in solid materials. A second aim of the book is to guide students in their laboratory experiments by helping them to understand their observations in parallel with the lectures of their various courses; therefore the first chapter of the book is devoted to mechanical testing. Another aim of the book is to provide practicing engineers with basic help to bridge the gap of time that has passed from their graduation up to their actual involvement in engineering work. The book also serves as the basis for more advanced studies and seminars when pursuing courses on a graduate level. The content of this textbook and the topics discussed correspond to courses that are usually taught in universities and colleges all over the world, but with a different and more modern approach. It is however unique by the inclusion of an extensive chapter on mechanical behavior in the micron and submicron/nanometer range. Mechanical deformation phenomena are explained and often related to the presence of dislocations in structures. Many practical illustrations are provided representing various observations encountered in actual structures of particularly technical significance. A comprehensive list of references at the end of each chapter is included to provide a broad basis for further studying the subject.

In this book, suitable examples of how to increase the shelf life of food materials while preserving their desirable original features are provided.