This book provides readers the fundamentals of optical metrology for precision engineering. The next-generation measurement technologies based on ultrashort pulse laser and optical frequency comb are also presented, making it an essential reference book for various engineering fields. * Introduces fundamental theories and techniques * Combines theories with practical applications * Presents technologies in an easy-to-understand way

'Micro-scaled Products Development via Microforming' presents state-of-the-art research on microforming processes, and focuses on the development of micro-scaled metallic parts via microforming processes. Microforming refers to the fabrication of microparts via micro-scaled plastic deformation and presents a promising micromanufacturing process. When compared to other micromanufacturing processes, microforming offers advantages such as high productivity and good mechanical properties of the deformed microparts. This book provides extensive and informative illustrations, tables and photos in order to convey this information clearly and directly to readers. Although the knowledge of macroforming processes is abundant and widely used in industry, microparts cannot be developed by leveraging existing knowledge of macroforming because the size effect presents a barrier to this knowledge transfer. Therefore systematic knowledge of microforming needs to be developed. In tandem with product miniaturization, the demand on microparts has been increased for their wide applications in many industries, including automotive, bio-medical, aerospace and consumer electronics industries. Micromanufacturing technologies have thus become more and more important. This book is intended for postgraduates, manufacturing engineers and professionals working in the areas of manufacturing and materials processing.

Focusing on shocks modeling, burn-in and heterogeneous populations, Stochastic Modeling for Reliability naturally combines these three topics in the unified stochastic framework and presents numerous practical examples that illustrate recent theoretical findings of the authors. The populations of manufactured items in industry are usually heterogeneous. However, the conventional reliability analysis is performed under the implicit assumption of homogeneity, which can result in distortion of the corresponding reliability indices and various misconceptions. Stochastic Modeling for Reliability fills this gap and presents the basics and further developments of reliability theory for heterogeneous populations. Specifically, the authors consider burn-in as a method of elimination of 'weak' items from heterogeneous populations. The real life objects are operating in a changing environment. One of the ways to model an impact of this environment is via the external shocks occurring in accordance with some stochastic point processes. The basic theory for Poisson shock processes is developed and also shocks as a method of burn-in and of the environmental stress screening for manufactured items are considered. Stochastic Modeling for Reliability introduces and explores the concept of burn-in in heterogeneous populations and its recent development, providing a sound reference for reliability engineers, applied mathematicians, product managers and manufacturers alike.

Despite the numerous competitive advantages of one-of-a-kind production (OKP), the low efficiency and high costs associated with OKP companies threaten to push their business opportunities into the hands of cheaper overseas suppliers.

"One-of-a-Kind Production" introduces a novel strategy and technology to help OKP companies to efficiently mass-produce customized products. In "One-of-a-Kind Production, " case studies from OKP companies are used to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the OKP strategy and technology. These case studies include: a structural steel construction company, a manufacturer of specifically ordered compressors and refrigeration systems, a customized high pressure vessel manufacturing company, anda custom window and door manufacturer.

To help readers understand OKP strategy and technology, the authors offer a year s free access to the OKP Management and Control Software System. This system is based on a new integrated production control and management concept, namely product production structure. It is a useful tool and "One-of-a-Kind Production" is a valuable guide for production engineers and managerial staff in manufacturing companies, as well as for university researchers and graduate students.

This book covers all sustainable fibres applicable in the fashion sector and discusses their importance in the context of sustainability. It is the first of its kind to address all the minute details pertaining to these fibres and to connect these fibres with the world of sustainable fashion. It stresses their importance in developing sustainable apparel, since fibres play a major role as the starting point in the life cycle of clothing.

Proceedings of the ISPRA-Course held at the Escuela Tecnica Superior de Ingenieros Navales, Spain, September 22-26, 1986 in collaboration with Universidad Politecnica de Madrid

This book presents the integration of new tools, the modification of existing tools, and the combination of different tools and approaches to create new technical resources for assisting the innovation process. It describes the efforts deployed for assisting the transformation of Product-Services Systems and explains the main key success factors or drivers for success of each tool or approach applied to solve an innovation problems. The book presents a set of case studies to illustrate the application of several tools and approaches, mainly in developing countries.

Many serious accidents have happened in the world where systems have been large-scale and complex, and have caused heavy damage and a social sense of instability. Furthermore, advanced nations have almost ?nished public inf- structureandrushedintoamaintenanceperiod.Maintenancewillbemore- portant than production, manufacture, and construction, that is, more ma- tenance for environmental considerations and for the protection of natural resources. From now on, the importance of maintenance will increase more and more. In the past four decades, valuable contributions to maintenance policies in reliability theory have been made. This book is intended to s- marize the research results studied mainly by the author in the past three decades. The book deals primarily with standard to advanced problems of main- nance policies for system reliability models. System reliability can be mainly improved by repair and preventive maintenance, and replacement, and rel- bility properties can be investigated by using stochastic process techniques. The optimum maintenance policies for systems that minimize or maximize appropriate objective functions under suitable conditions are discussed both analytically and practically. The book is composed of nine chapters. Chapter 1 is devoted to an int- duction to reliability theory, and brie?y reviews stochastic processes needed for reliability and maintenance theory. Chapter 2 summarizes the results of repair maintenance, which is the most basic maintenance in reliability. The repair maintenance of systems such as the one-unit system and multiple-unit redundant systems is treated. Chapters 3 through 5 summarize the results of three typical maintenance policies of age, periodic, and block replacements.

An increasing interest to scheduling theory can be attributed to the high level of automation of all branches of human activity. The quality of modern production essentially depends on the planning decisions taken at different stages of a production process. Moreover, while the quality of these decisions is improving, the time and flexibility requirements for decision-making are becoming more important. All this stimulates scheduling research. Started as an independent discipline in the early fifties, it now has become an important branch of operations research. In the eighties, the largest Russian publishing house for scientific literature Nauka Publishers, Moscow, issued two books by a group of Byelorussian mathematicians: Scheduling Theory. Single-Stage Systems by V. S. Tanaev, V. S. Gordon and Y. M. Shafransky (1984) and Scheduling Theory. Multi-Stage Systems by V. S. Tanaev, Y. N. Sotskov and V. A. Strusevich (1989). Originally published in Russian, these two books cover two different major problem areas of scheduling theory and can be considered as a two-volume monograph that provides a systematic and comprehensive exposition of the subject. The authors are grateful to Kluwer Academic Publishers for creating the opportunity to publish the English translations of these two books. We are indebted to M. Hazewinkel, J. K. Lenstra, A. H. G. Rinnooy Kan, D. B. Shmoys and W. Szwarc for their supporting the idea of translating the books into English.

Rapid Tooling Guidelines for Sand Casting describes the guidelines for the sand casting industry in using rapid tooling processes. Topics in the seven chapters include sand casting processes, tool design and construction, fast freeform fabrication processes, rapid tooling processes, sand casting dimension control, rapid tooling evaluation methods and decision making processes. Twelve case studies will also be examined in the book.

Scheduling theory is an important branch of operations research. Problems studied within the framework of that theory have numerous applications in various fields of human activity. As an independent discipline scheduling theory appeared in the middle of the fifties, and has attracted the attention of researchers in many countries. In the Soviet Union, research in this direction has been mainly related to production scheduling, especially to the development of automated systems for production control. In 1975 Nauka ("Science") Publishers, Moscow, issued two books providing systematic descriptions of scheduling theory. The first one was the Russian translation of the classical book Theory of Scheduling by American mathematicians R. W. Conway, W. L. Maxwell and L. W. Miller. The other one was the book Introduction to Scheduling Theory by Soviet mathematicians V. S. Tanaev and V. V. Shkurba. These books well complement each other. Both. books well represent major results known by that time, contain an exhaustive bibliography on the subject. Thus, the books, as well as the Russian translation of Computer and Job-Shop Scheduling Theory edited by E. G. Coffman, Jr., (Nauka, 1984) have contributed to the development of scheduling theory in the Soviet Union. Many different models, the large number of new results make it difficult for the researchers who work in related fields to follow the fast development of scheduling theory and to master new methods and approaches quickly.

The book provides readers with a snapshot of recent research and industrial trends in field of industrial acoustics and vibration. Each chapter, accepted after a rigorous peer-review process, reports on a selected, original piece of work presented and discussed at the Second International Conference on Acoustics and Vibration (ICAV2018), which was organized by the Tunisian Association of Industrial Acoustics and Vibration (ATAVI) and held March 19-21, in Hammamet, Tunisia. The contributions cover advances in both theory and practice in a variety of subfields, such as: smart materials and structures; fluid-structure interaction; structural acoustics as well as computational vibro-acoustics and numerical methods. Further topics include: engines control, noise identification, robust design, flow-induced vibration and many others. This book provides a valuable resource for both academics and professionals dealing with diverse issues in applied mechanics. By combining advanced theories with industrial issues, it is expected to facilitate communication and collaboration between different groups of researchers and technology users.

Discusses all the major tools and techniques for Decision Support System supported by examples Techniques are explained considering their deterministic and stochastic aspects Covers network tools including GERT and Q-GERT Explains application of both probability and fuzzy orientation in the pertinent techniques Includes a number of relevant case studies along with a dedicated chapter on software

Computer-Integrated Manufacturing has gained recognition as a most effective tool in increasing manufacturing competitiveness. This book discusses the fundamental knowledge of Computer-Aided Process Planning, the key to integrated manufacturing.

The work provides a rigorous basis for the understanding of process planning and the development of effective and efficient Computer-Aided Process Planning systems. It presents a current overview on the latest issues and directions in this field. Topics covered include Group Technology, process planning algorithms, artificial intelligence, and assembly process planning. Most importantly, in order to provide a solid foundation for discussion and development, basic theories and principles for process planning are comprehensively and thoroughly studied in this book.

Written for those who wish to understand the theory of process planning, the book will also prove an indispensable reference source on the approaches, methodologies and tools which can be applied to day-to-day process planning operations.

In Japan information technology has been a vital part of manufacturing for decades. A central factory computer provides a production plan and shop minicomputers and microcomputers in the factory run machines that manufacture products. It has become necessary to connect computers installed at different locations to enable information exchange between different sections. This requires an intracompany network with large memory capacity and high-speed communication capability to process documents, drawings, and image data, as well as conventional code data: a local area network (LAN). This volume discusses the ring-type LAN; the TOSLINE-8000 high-speed optical data highway for high-speed real-time control systems; the TOSLINE-2000E, a compact, low-cost independent local area network; the status of MAP, a communications protocol for manufacturing automation established by General Motors and MAP activities in Japan

Probabilistic and percentile/quantile functions play an important role in several applications, such as finance (Value-at-Risk), nuclear safety, and the environment. Recently, significant advances have been made in sensitivity analysis and optimization of probabilistic functions, which is the basis for construction of new efficient approaches. This book presents the state of the art in the theory of optimization of probabilistic functions and several engineering and finance applications, including material flow systems, production planning, Value-at-Risk, asset and liability management, and optimal trading strategies for financial derivatives (options). Audience: The book is a valuable source of information for faculty, students, researchers, and practitioners in financial engineering, operation research, optimization, computer science, and related areas.

The integration of manufacturing planning functions, using artificial intelligence techniques, is essential for the effective and efficient operation of advanced manufacturing systems. This book provides an introduction to the integration of intelligent manufacturing systems for both present and next generation manufacturing. Because of its central importance, the book emphasizes the integration of the process planning functions.

Methods of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) are increasingly applied in engineering sciences. The book summarizes research in the field of chemical and process engineering performed at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Fundamentals of the methods are exposed for readers with an engineering background. Applications cover the fields of mechanical process engineering (filtration, solid-liquid separation, powder mixing, rheometry), chemical process engineering (trickle-bed reactor, ceramic sponges), bioprocess engineering (biofilm growth), and food process engineering (microwave heating, emulsions). Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as well as low-field NMR are covered with notes on hardware. Emphasis is placed on quantitative data analysis and image processing.

Wireless technology has expanded rapidly as a field over recent years, especially in mobile and distance technologies, and collaboration over networks demands increases in speed, security, and reliability. Wireless Multi-Access Environments and Quality of Service Provisioning: Solutions and Application serves as a vital resource for practitioners to learn about the latest research and methodology within the field of wireless technology. This book covers important aspects of emerging technologies in the heterogeneous next generation network environment with focus on wireless communications and their quality. It presents network selection mechanisms, handover solutions and adaptive techniques, and identifies the research issues and challenges and presents a survey of the proposed solutions in the literature. It includes important chapters written by researchers from prestigious laboratories from Australia, China, Mexico, Portugal, Greece, Germany, the United Kingdom, and India, presenting the current advancements in wireless communications.

A recent development in SDC-related problems is the establishment of intelligent SDC models and the intensive use of LMI-based convex optimization methods. Within this theoretical framework, control parameter determination can be designed and stability and robustness of closed-loop systems can be analyzed. This book describes the new framework of SDC system design and provides a comprehensive description of the modelling of controller design tools and their real-time implementation. It starts with a review of current research on SDC and moves on to some basic techniques for modelling and controller design of SDC systems. This is followed by a description of controller design for fixed-control-structure SDC systems, PDF control for general input- and output-represented systems, filtering designs, and fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) for SDC systems. Many new LMI techniques being developed for SDC systems are shown to have independent theoretical significance for robust control and FDD problems.

This book presents the concepts and algorithms of advanced industrial process control and on-line optimization within the framework of a multilayer structure. It describes the interaction of three separate layers of process control: direct control, set-point control, and economic optimization. The book features illustrations of the methodologies and algorithms by worked examples and by results of simulations based on industrial process models.

This book covers several bases at once. It is useful as a textbook for a second course in experimental optimization techniques for industrial production processes. In addition, it is a superb reference volume for use by professors and graduate students in Industrial Engineering and Statistics departments. It will also be of huge interest to applied statisticians, process engineers, and quality engineers working in the electronics and biotech manufacturing industries. In all, it provides an in-depth presentation of the statistical issues that arise in optimization problems, including confidence regions on the optimal settings of a process, stopping rules in experimental optimization, and more.

This introductory textbook is designed for a one-semester course on queueing theory that does not require a course on stochastic processes as a prerequisite. By integrating the necessary background on stochastic processes with the analysis of models, the work provides a sound foundational introduction to the modeling and analysis of queueing systems for a broad interdisciplinary audience of students in mathematics, statistics, and applied disciplines such as computer science, operations research, and engineering. This edition includes additional topics in methodology and applications. Key features: * An introductory chapter including a historical account of the growth of queueing theory in more than 100 years. * A modeling-based approach with emphasis on identification of models * Rigorous treatment of the foundations of basic models commonly used in applications with appropriate references for advanced topics. * A chapter on matrix-analytic method as an alternative to the traditional methods of analysis of queueing systems. * A comprehensive treatment of statistical inference for queueing systems. * Modeling exercises and review exercises when appropriate. The second edition of An Introduction of Queueing Theory may be used as a textbook by first-year graduate students in fields such as computer science, operations research, industrial and systems engineering, as well as related fields such as manufacturing and communications engineering. Upper-level undergraduate students in mathematics, statistics, and engineering may also use the book in an introductory course on queueing theory. With its rigorous coverage of basic material and extensive bibliography of the queueing literature, the work may also be useful to applied scientists and practitioners as a self-study reference for applications and further research. "...This book has brought a freshness and novelty as it deals mainly with modeling and analysis in applications as well as with statistical inference for queueing problems. With his 40 years of valuable experience in teaching and high level research in this subject area, Professor Bhat has been able to achieve what he aimed: to make [the work] somewhat different in content and approach from other books." - Assam Statistical Review of the first edition

This volume attempts to bring together a collection of current approaches to, and related empirical investigations on, the development of coordination in the first two years of life. It will be of interest to scientists and students in, for example, biology, human movement sciences, kinesiology, psychology, pediatrics, physiology, physical education, physical therapy and robotics.

Contributors include those with established reputations in the field, as well as young authors, who are beginning to make their mark. Their efforts resulted in twenty chapters, of which seventeen were invited. The chapters have been divided into four sections. The first chapter is intended to outline the structure of the book.