Closing the Gap is an accessible overview of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and the impact it is set to have on various sectors in South Africa and Africa. It explores the previous industrial revolutions that have led up to this point and outlines South Africa’s position been through each one.

With a focus on artificial intelligence as a core concept in understanding the 4IR, this book uses familiar concepts to explain artificial intelligence, how it works and how it can be used in banking, mining, medicine and many other fields.

Written from an African perspective, Closing the Gap addresses the challenges and fears around the 4IR by pointing to the opportunities presented by new technologies and outlining some of the challenges and successes to date

The definitive practical guide to choosing the optimum manufacturing process, written for students and engineers.
Process Selection provides engineers with the essential technological and economic data to guide the selection of manufacturing processes. This fully revised second edition covers a wide range of important manufacturing processes and will ensure design decisions are made to achieve optimal cost and quality objectives.
Expanded and updated to include contemporary manufacturing, fabrication and assembly technologies, the book puts process selection and costing into the context of modern product development and manufacturing, based on parameters such as materials requirements, design considerations, quality and economic factors. Key features of the book include: manufacturing process information maps (PRIMAs) provide detailed information on the characteristics and capabilities of 65 processes and their variants in a standard format; process capability charts detailing the processing tolerance ranges for key material types; strategies to facilitate process selection; detailed methods for estimating costs, both at the component and assemby level.
The approach enables an engineer to understand the consequences of design decisions on the technological and economic aspects of component manufacturing, fabrication and assembly.
This comprehensive book provides both a definitive guide to the subject for students and an invaluable source of reference for practising engineers.
* manufacturing process information maps (PRIMAs) provide detailed information on the characteristics and capabilities of 65 processes in a standard format
* process capability charts detail the processing tolerance ranges for key material types
* detailed methods for estimating costs, both at the component and assembly level

Devising optimal strategy for maintaining industrial plant can be a difficult task of daunting complexity. This book aims to provide the plant engineer with a comprehensive and systematic approach, a framework of guidelines, for tackling this problem, i.e. for deciding maintenance objectives, formulating equipment life plans and plant maintenance schedules, designing the maintenance organisation and setting up appropriate systems of documentation and control.
The author, Anthony Kelly, an experienced international consultant and lecturer on this subject, calls his approach BUSINESS-CENTRED MAINTENANCE (BCM) because it springs from, and is driven by, the identification of business objectives, which are then translated into maintenance objectives and which underpin the maintenance strategy formulation. For the first time maintenance management is analysed from the perspective of the whole company and thus makes sense not only technologically but also in economic and business terms.
Complete guide to maintenance from a whole-company perspective
Best-selling and world-renowned author
Complementary to RCM (Moubray) & TPM (Wilmott)

Written by international experts in this field, the book describes the principles of, and presents case studies for, the wide range of tomographic imaging techniques that can be used in the process industries. It includes sufficient introductory material
to this multi-disciplinary subject in order that readers from a variety of backgrounds will be able to fully understand the fundamental principles and features of the sensors and image reconstruction techniques needed for process tomography.

Manufacturing Technology, Volume 1 provides a comprehensive introduction to the principles and practice of engineering manufacturing processes. This third edition has been written, updated and expanded to reflect the current requirements of the Advanced GNVQ Engineering syllabus as well as BTEC NC/D engineering specifications. As such it also forms an ideal introduction to the subject for first-year degree courses in engineering. Topics covered include: alteration of shape, tooling, toolholding and workholding, kinematics of manufacturing equipment, computer numerical control (CNC), assembly, fabrication (including plastics), heat treatment, finishing, quality control, manufacturing relationships, and health and safety at work. This book leads the reader naturally onto the companion volume Manufacturing Technology, Volume 2, intended for those studying engineering manufacture at a more advanced level such as HNC/D and first/second-year engineering degree courses. The broad and in-depth coverage of this two-volume approach ensures that these texts not only satisfy the requirements of technician students up to the highest level but also provide an excellent technical background for undergraduates studying for a degree in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering and combined engineering.

Understand microgrids and networked microgrid systems Microgrids are interconnected groups of energy sources that operate together, capable of connecting with a larger grid or operating independently as needed and network conditions require. They can be valuable sources of energy for geographically circumscribed areas with highly targeted energy needs, and for remote or rural areas where continuous connection with a larger grid is difficult. Microgrids' controllability makes them especially effective at incorporating renewable energy sources. Microgrids: Theory and Practice introduces readers to the analysis, design, and operation of microgrids and larger networked systems that integrate them. It brings to bear both cutting-edge research into microgrid technology and years of industry experience in designing and operating microgrids. Its discussions of core subjects such as microgrid modeling, control, and optimization make it an essential short treatment, valuable for both academic and industrial study. Readers will acquire the skills needed to address existing problems and meet new ones as this crucial area of power engineering develops. Microgrids: Theory and Practice also features: Incorporation of new cyber-physical system technologies for enabling microgrids as resiliency resources Theoretical treatment of a wide range of subjects including smart programmable microgrids, distributed and asynchronous optimization for microgrid dispatch, and AI-assisted microgrid protection Practical discussion of real-time microgrids simulations, hybrid microgrid design, transition to renewable microgrid networks, and more Microgrids: Theory and Practice is ideal as a textbook for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in power engineering programs, and a valuable reference for power industry professionals looking to address the challenges posed by microgrids in their work.

Quality Analysis of Additively Manufactured Metals: Simulation Approaches, Processes, and Microstructure Properties provides readers with a firm understanding of the failure and fatigue processes of additively manufactured metals. With a focus on computational methods, the book analyzes the process-microstructure-property relationship of these metals and how it affects their quality while also providing numerical, analytical, and experimental data for material design and investigation optimization. It outlines basic additive manufacturing processes for metals, strategies for modeling the microstructural features of metals and how these features differ based on the manufacturing process, and more. Improvement of additively manufactured metals through predictive simulation methods and microdamage and micro-failure in quasi-static and cyclic loading scenarios are covered, as are topology optimization methods and residual stress analysis techniques. The book concludes with a section featuring case studies looking at additively manufactured metals in automotive, biomedical and aerospace settings.

Engineering Reliability and Risk Assessment explains how to improve the performance of a system using the latest risk and reliability models. Against a backdrop of increasing availability of industrial data, and ever-increasing global commercial competition, the standards for optimal efficiency with minimum hazards keep improving. Topics explained include Effective strategies for the maintenance of the mechanical components of a system, How to schedule necessary interventions throughout the product life cycle, How to understand the structure and cost of complex systems, Planning a schedule to improve the reliability and life of the system, software, system safety and risk informed asset management, and more.

Computational Intelligence in Manufacturing addresses applications of AI, machine learning and other innovative computational techniques across the manufacturing supply chain. The rapid development of smart or digital manufacturing known as Industry 4.0 has swiftly provided a large number of opportunities for product and manufacturing process improvement. Selecting the appropriate technologies and combining them successfully is a challenge this book helps readers overcome . It explains how to prepare different manufacturing cells for flexibility and enhanced productivity with better supply chain management, e.g., calibrating design machine tools for automation and agility. Computational intelligence applications for non-conventional manufacturing processes such as ECM and EDM are covered alongside recent advances in traditional processes like casting, welding and metal forming. As well as describing specific applications, this practical guide also explains the computational intelligence paradigm for enhanced supply chain management.

Digital Twin Driven Smart Service draws on the latest industry practice and research to explain how to implement digital twin service in a range of scenarios. It addresses relevant theory and methodologies, including product service, prognostic health management service, energy efficient service and testing service. Other sections discuss key enabling technologies supported by cutting-edge case studies of implementation. Drawing on the work of researchers at the forefront of this technology, this book is the ideal guide for anyone interested in product services, manufacturing services and digital twin services. This book is one part of a trilogy on digital twins, the other titles being Digital Twin Driven Smart Design and Digital Twin Driven Smart Manufacturing.

Digital Twin Driven Smart Manufacturing examines the background, latest research, and application models for digital twin technology, and shows how it can be central to a smart manufacturing process. The interest in digital twin in manufacturing is driven by a need for excellent product reliability, and an overall trend towards intelligent, and connected manufacturing systems. This book provides an ideal entry point to this subject for readers in industry and academia, as it answers the questions: (a) What is a digital twin? (b) How to construct a digital twin? (c) How to use a digital twin to improve manufacturing efficiency? (d) What are the essential activities in the implementation of a digital twin? (e) What are the most important obstacles to overcome for the successful deployment of a digital twin? (f) What are the relations between digital twin and New Technologies? (g) How to combine digital twin with the New Technologies to achieve high efficiency and smartness in manufacturing? This book focuses on these problems as it aims to help readers make the best use of digital twin technology towards smart manufacturing.

Recent Advances in System Reliability Engineering describes and evaluates the latest tools, techniques, strategies, and methods in this topic for a variety of applications. Special emphasis is put on simulation and modelling technology which is growing in influence in industry, and presents challenges as well as opportunities to reliability and systems engineers. Several manufacturing engineering applications are addressed, making this a particularly valuable reference for readers in that sector.

Formerly titled Quality Control, the field's most accessible introduction to quality has been renamed and revamped to focus on quantitative aspects of quality improvement. New chapters on Lean Enterprise, Six Sigma, Experimental Design, and Taguchi's Quality Engineering have been added, and this new Ninth Edition adds comprehensive coverage of fundamental statistical quality improvement concepts. A practical state-of-the-art approach is stressed throughout, and sufficient theory is presented to ensure that students develop a solid understanding of basic quality principles. To improve accessibility, probability and statistical techniques are presented through simpler math or developed via tables and charts. As with previous editions, this text is written to serve a widely diverse audience of students, including the growing number of "math shy" individuals who must play key roles in quality improvement.

Computer technology has transformed textiles from their design through to their manufacture and has contributed to significant advances in the textile industry. Computer technology for textiles and apparel provides an overview of these innovative developments for a wide range of applications, covering topics including structure and defect analysis, modelling and simulation, and apparel design. The book is divided into three parts. Part one provides a review of different computer-based technologies suitable for textile materials, and includes chapters on computer technology for yarn and fabric structure analysis, defect analysis and measurement. Chapters in part two discuss modelling and simulation principles of fibres, yarns, textiles and garments, while part three concludes with a review of computer-based technologies specific to apparel and apparel design, with themes ranging from 3D body scanning to the teaching of computer-aided design to fashion students. With its distinguished editor and international team of expert contributors, Computer technology for textiles and apparel is an invaluable tool for a wide range of people involved in the textile industry, from designers and manufacturers to fibre scientists and quality inspectors.