In 1962, Masahiro Shima founded Shima Seiki, with the aim of developing a fully automated seamless glove-knitting machine. Following this success, the company expanded into flat knitting machines. However, the age of the computer brought a whole new era for Shima Seiki. By committing to computerization in its mainstream products, Shima Seiki gradually began to stand apart from its competitors. Shima Seiki's focus on computer-aided knit design and programming, in fact led to a revolution in the fashion industry. Written by the inventor himself, this book looks at how Masahiro Shima developed both the technology and philosophy to enable his company to be market leaders in industrial knitting machines - and fundamentally change the fashion industry. This culminated in the launch of the company's Wholegarment knitting machine in 1995, which altered forever the way knitted garments are produced, and which today is used by fashion manufacturers across the world.

At the crossroads of artificial intelligence, manufacturing engineering, operational research and industrial engineering and management, multi-agent based production planning and control is an intelligent and industrially crucial technology with increasing importance. This book provides a complete overview of multi-agent based methods for today s competitive manufacturing environment, including the Job Shop Manufacturing and Re-entrant Manufacturing processes. In addition to the basic control and scheduling systems, the author also highlights advance research in numerical optimization methods and wireless sensor networks and their impact on intelligent production planning and control system operation. * Enables students, researchers and engineers to understand the fundamentals and theories of multi-agent based production planning and control * Written by an author with more than 20 years experience in studying and formulating a complete theoretical system in production planning technologies * Fully illustrated throughout, the methods for production planning, scheduling and controlling are presented using experiments, numerical simulations and theoretical analysis Comprehensive and concise, Multi-Agent Based Production Planning and Control is aimed at the practicing engineer and graduate student in industrial engineering, operational research, and mechanical engineering. It is also a handy guide for advanced students in artificial intelligence and computer engineering.

A wonderfully visual and imaginative collection of graphic design, featuring the work of individual designers, design projects, printing technology and the creation of brand identity using a variety of mediums. Original and unique, this volume presents a range of contemporary designs and provides ideas and inspiration for anyone looking to stand out in an increasingly competitive global market where creating an instantly recognizable brand identity is key.

"Simply put, these items make me feel classic. And there is no substitute for feeling this way. Ever."

In the wildly popular The Little Black Book of Style, fashion authority Nina Garcia showed women how to think about personal style in an entirely new way. Encouraging readers to creatively assert their style identities, Nina showed women of all ages how to hone and self-edit a distinct fashion voice.

With her style philosophy firmly out in the world, Nina decided to address the most popular question readers consistently ask her: Exactly what are fashion's timeless pieces?

The One Hundred answers this question and provides women with a tangible style map to follow when planning a shopping trip and stocking one's closet. With illustrations from world-renowned fashion illustrator Ruben Toledo, The One Hundred contains the 100 items that Nina believes will never go out of style, and that have become absolutely indispensible for any woman reaching for her own eternal fashion look.

In an unscientific era when maps were rarities, how did ancient Romans envisage their far flung empire? This was done by various means for certain, including with the aid of an ingenious type of portable sundial that has barely attracted notice. As the Romans understood before the first century BCE, to track the passage of the sun across the sky hour-by-hour one needed to know one's latitude and the time of year, and that, furthermore, sundials did not have to be fixed objects. These portable instruments, crafted in bronze, were adjustable for the changes of latitude to be expected on long journeys-say, for instance, from Britain to Spain, or from Alexandria to Rome, or even on a Mediterranean tour. For convenient reference, these sundials incorporated lists of twenty to thirty names of cities or regions, each with its specific latitude. One of the insights of Roman Portable Sundials is that the choice of locations offers unique clues to the mental world-map and self-identity of individuals able to visualize Rome's vast empire latitudinally. The sixteen such sundials known to date share common features but designers also vied to create enhancements. Comparison with modern calculations shows that often the latitudes listed are incorrect, in which case the sundial may not perform at its best. But then the nature of Romans' time-consciousness (or lack of it) must be taken into consideration. Richard Talbert suspects that owners might prize these sundials not so much for practical use but rather as prestige objects attesting to scientific awareness as well as imperial mastery of time and space. In retrospect, they may be seen as Roman precursors to comparable Islamic and European instruments from the Middle Ages onwards, and even to today's luxury watches which display eye-catching proof of their purchasers' wealth, sophistication, and cosmopolitanism. Richly enhanced with detailed photographs, line drawings, maps, a gazetteer, and a table of latitudes and locations, Roman Portable Sundials brings these overlooked gadgets out of the shadows at last to reveal their hitherto untapped layers of meaning.

This book discusses microstructure-property correlations and explores key microstructure features and how they affect the properties of a material. The authors discuss the effect of manufacturing and processing routes on microstructure and properties. They identify appropriate microstructure and mechanical characterization techniques essential for developing accurate microstructure-property relationships. The techniques include high resolution imaging methods and properties measurements such as hardness, strength, elastic modulus, and fracture toughness. Current and future trends in hard and superhard material design are revealed by the authors, including nanostructured materials, biomimicry, and novel manufacturing technologies.

On a December day in 1885, Bill Barnes, a journeyman from the New York World, and Joe McCann, representing the New York Herald, faced off in a match race of Swifts, compositors who set type by hand, individually, letter by letter, with incredible accuracy and speed. McCann got off to a slow start, but at the end of the four-hour race, he joined shopfloor legends Clinton "The Kid" DeJarnatt and the "Velocipede" George Arensberg as a working-class hero. It was not the last race of its kind between Swifts, but already looming were changes both social and technological that would cause these gifted tramp printers to disappear.

In "The Swifts, "Walker Rumble, himself a printer and printing historian, follows the trail of these colorful compositors who became famous by winning typesetting races. Tellingly, at the same time that the most celebrated contests were taking place, technological and cultural forces were threatening the Swifts' way of life. First women printers vied for shopfloor legitimacy; then, in the mid-1880s, typesetting machines such as Mergenthaler's Linotype arrived, replacing the artisans forever.

With the spread of digital technologies at the beginning of the twenty-first century, we are experiencing a revolution in printing matched only by two previous events: Gutenberg's fifteenth-century invention of movable type and the advent of typesetting machines that replaced the Swifts. Joining narrative historians of technology such as Robert Darnton, Henry Petroski, Dava Sobel, and Ross King, Rumble tells a fascinating story that will entertain aficionados of print culture while explaining the larger cultural dislocations wrought by technological change.

This handbook focuses on the entire development process of biomedical microsystems that promote special interactions with cells. Fundamentals of cell biology and mechanobiology are described as necessary preparatory input for design tasks. Advanced design, simulation, and micro/nanomanufacturing resources, whose combined use enables the development of biomedical microsystems capable of interacting at a cellular level, are covered in depth. A detailed series of chapters is then devoted to applications based on microsystems that offer enhanced cellular control, including microfluidic devices for diagnosis and therapy, cell-based sensors and actuators (smart biodevices), microstructured prostheses for improvement of biocompatibility, microstructured and microtextured cell culture matrices for promotion of cell growth and differentiation, electrophoretic microsystems for study of cell mechanics, microstructured and microtextured biodevices for study of cell adhesion and dynamics, and biomimetic microsystems (including organs-on-chips), among others. Challenges relating to the development of reliable in vitro biomimetic microsystems, the design and manufacture of complex geometries, and biofabrication are also discussed.

This book describes the latest efforts to develop aluminum nanocomposites with enhanced damping and mechanical properties and good workability. The nanocomposites exhibited high strength, improved damping behavior and good ductility, making them suitable for use as wires. Since the production of metal matrix nanocomposites by conventional melting processes is considered extremely problematic (because of the poor wettability of the nanoparticles), different powder metallurgy routes were investigated, including high-energy ball milling and unconventional compaction methods. Special attention was paid to the structural characterization at the micro- and nanoscale, as uniform nanoparticle dispersion in metal matrix is of prime importance. The aluminum nanocomposites displayed an ultrafine microstructure reinforced with alumina nanoparticles produced in situ or added ex situ. The physical, mechanical and functional characteristics of the materials produced were evaluated using different mechanical tests and microstructure investigation techniques. The book presents and discusses the experimental results in detail, and offers suggestions for future research directions.

First written by the definitive expert in 1957, "Watch Repair for Beginners" is the ideal book for anyone who wants to know how to fix their own watch. Learn what horology is; the basics of watch and clock repairing; the mechanics of a clock; how the wheels work; the difference between an automatic watch, a stop watch, and a chronograph; and so much more. With detailed black-and-white illustrations, this timeless classic is a must-have addition to any horology lover's collection.

Based on some of his students most frequently asked questions, Antaki emphasizes the practical applications of this ASME recommended practice. With this book readers will understand and apply API 579 in their daily work. The material is based on the author's course and presented in clear concise manor. The book demonstrates how the disciplines of stress analysis, materials engineering, and nondestructive inspection interact and apply to fitness-for-service assessment. These assessment methods apply to pressure vessels, piping, and tanks that are in service. This makes it the perfect companion book for Ellenberger's, Pressure Vessels: ASME Code Simplified as well as Ellenberger's Piping Systems and Pipeline: ASME B31 Code Simplified.

The Shingo Enterprise Excellence Prize Model (SEEM) has exerted global influence over the ways that exceptional organizations formulate/deploy strategy with its focus on processes, Lean thinking, continuous improvement, innovation, workforce development, and supplier strategies. This book details the SEEM, which lies at the heart of the Shingo Prize. It will link the theoretical underpinnings of the SEEM and their implications for practice. Case studies illustrate important points. Selected tools that support practical implementation of the model are discussed and their use illustrated. This book will deepen understanding of why the model works and how implementation can be accomplished.

In this thesis, real-time evolution of the nanopore channel growth and self-ordering process in anodic nanoporous alumina are simulated on the basis of an established kinetics model. The simulation results were in accordance with the experiments on the (i) growth sustainability of pore channels guided by pre-patterns; and (ii) substrate grain orientation dependence on self-ordering. In addition, a new fabrication method for the rapid synthesis of highly self-ordered nanoporous alumina is established, based on a systematic search for the self-ordering conditions in experiments. Lastly, it reports on a novel surface-charge induced strain in nanoporous alumina-aluminium foils, which indicates that nanoporous alumina can be used as a new type of actuating material in micro-actuator applications.

This volume is dedicated to Professor Okyay Kaynak to commemorate his life time impactful research and scholarly achievements and outstanding services to profession. The 21 invited chapters have been written by leading researchers who, in the past, have had association with Professor Kaynak as either his students and associates or colleagues and collaborators. The focal theme of the volume is the Sliding Modes covering a broad scope of topics from theoretical investigations to their significant applications from Control to Intelligent Mechatronics.

The aim of this exhibition catalog is to establish a dialogue between the historical past of the timepiece, the work of designers who produce watches or clocks, and visual artists who work with the concept of time. Each of these domains has its own particular resonance, its poetic baggage and aesthetic references. The intention is to create coherence and harmony between the past and the present. The catalog is divided into two main sections. The first one is a historical section presenting a look at six centuries of watches, from 1550 to 2015, chosen to show how the display of time has evolved, focusing on unusual formats and highlighting the watchmakers' inventiveness and artistry. A series of further sections illustrate specific aspects of time display and make connections with the work of contemporary designers and visual artists: mystery time, night time, projected time, retractable hands, windows, etc. The second section is dedicated to designers and visual artists: what shapes, media, and spaces do designers and visual artists turn to when they want to show time, or hide it, play with it, or even stretch it out? From the conceptual design of Maarten Baas and his Real Time project to the monochromatic Orologio by Swiss artist Valentin Carron, with a section on the theme of the clock, the concept of time is brought right up to date, including the perspectives of practical ingenuity, humor, intelligent quotation, and poetry. Text in English and French.

This is the first volume on adsorption using green adsorbents and is written by international contributors who are the leading experts in the adsorption field. The first volume provides an overview of fundamentals and design of adsorption processes. For people who are new to the field, the book starts by two overview chapters presenting the principles and properties of wastewater treatment and adsorption processes. The book also provides a comprehensive source of knowledge on acid-base properties of biosorbents. It discusses fractal-like kinetic models for fluid-solid adsorption, reports on the chemical characterization of oxidized activated carbons for metal removal, and the use of magnetic biosorbents in water treatment. Furthermore, the thermodynamic properties of metals adsorption by green adsorbents, and biosorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and organic pollutants are reviewed, and finally the recent trends and impact of nanomaterials as green adsorbent and potential catalysts for environmental applications are summarized. The audience for this book includes students, environmentalists, engineers, water scientists, civil and industrial personnel who wish to specialize in adsorption technology. Academically, this book will be of use to students in chemical and environmental engineering who wish to learn about adsorption and its fundamentals. It has also been compiled for practicing engineers who wish to know about recent developments on adsorbent materials in order to promote further research toward improving and developing newer adsorbents and processes for the efficient removal of pollutants from industrial effluents. It is hoped that the book will serve as a readable and useful presentation not only for undergraduate and postgraduate students but also for the water scientists and engineers and as a convenient reference handbook in the form of numerous recent examples and appended information.

The aim of this book is to present foundational research on the nano-crystallization, high-temperature modification, micro-structure evolution and plastic deformation induced by laser shock processing. In this regard, the focus is on heat-resistant steel, aluminum alloy, Ti alloys and Ni-based alloys, offering valuable scientific insights into the industrial applications of laser shock processing (LSP) technology. The book addresses various topics, i.e., the formation mechanism and productivity improvement of nano-crystalline diamond by laser processing, the surface integrity and fatigue lives of heat-resistant steels, Ti alloys and Ni-based alloys after LSP with different processing parameters, tensile properties and fractural morphology after LSP at different temperatures, strain-rates and grain refinement mechanisms based on the micro-structure evolution. Moreover, the effect of heating temperature and exposure time on stress thermal relaxation and the influence of compressive stress on the stress intensity factor of hole-edge cracks by high strain rate laser shock processing are also analyzed. A new type of statistical data model to describe the fatigue cracking growth with limited data is proposed based on the consideration of the effects of fracture growth on the reliability and confidence level. This book is intended for researchers, engineers and postgraduates in the fields of nanotechnology and micro-engineering who are interested in the partial or overall strengthening of materials, especially those with a focus on surface integrity and fatigue life.

This book presents cutting-edge research on the design and development of novel, advanced high-strength, light-weight materials via the incorporation of novel reinforcements, namely, metallic amorphous alloys/bulk metallic glasses (BMG), in light metal matrix composites (LMMCs) based on Al and Mg. The book begins with an introduction to conventional ceramic reinforced light metal matrix composites, along with the major drawbacks which limit their application. Metallic amorphous alloys/Bulk Metallic Glasses (BMG) are new class of metallic materials that are distinctly differently from conventional metals/alloys in terms of their structure and thermal behavior, and exhibit extremely high strength (1 to 2 GPa) and large elastic strain limit (1 to 2%). Given these unique properties, upon their incorporation into Al/Mg-matrices, they provide superior interfacial properties, i.e. high degree of compatibility with the matrix due to their metallic nature when compared to conventional ceramic reinforcements, and thereby significantly enhance the mechanical performance of LMMCs. Amorphous/BMG reinforced LMMCs is an emerging research field and the existing literature is meager. This book discusses the various processing methods that would be suitable for these novel materials. A comparison of mechanical properties and strengthening mechanisms of amorphous/BMG reinforced composites with those of conventional ceramic composites is presented. Future research directions and wider research potential of the novel materials are discussed, and prospective applications are highlighted. For ease of understanding and comparison, appropriate schematics, tables, and figures are provided.

Ion beams have been used for decades for characterizing and analyzing materials. Now energetic ion beams are providing ways to modify the materials in unprecedented ways. This book highlights the emergence of high-energy swift heavy ions as a tool for tailoring the properties of materials with nanoscale structures. Swift heavy ions interact with materials by exciting/ionizing electrons without directly moving the atoms. This opens a new horizon towards the 'so-called' soft engineering. The book discusses the ion beam technology emerging from the non-equilibrium conditions and emphasizes the power of controlled irradiation to tailor the properties of various types of materials for specific needs.