Hong-Chao Zhang

Computer Aided Process Planning: the state-of-the-art survey

SUMMARY Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP) has been recognized as playing a key role in Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM). In the last two decades, a tremendous effort has been made in developing CAPP systems. However, the benefits of CAPP in the real industrial environment are still to be seen. In this paper, a comprehensive summary on the state-of-the-art and projection of future trends in CAPP is presented to help make decisions concerning CAPP implementation today and to aid in guiding research for tomorrow. We systematically overview the historical background of the development of CAPP and discuss the current techniques which includes the implementation approaches, GT technology, application of AI techniques, programming languages, etc., for implementation CAPP systems. About 14 well-known CAPP systems, which are based on the variant, generative or semi-generative approach, are briefly introduced in this paper. In total about 156 currently existing CAPP systems are listed in Table 1 in the ...

Printed circuit board recycling: a state-of-the-art survey

This survey is conducted with the intention of providing a clear and comprehensive review of the current situation in PCB recycling field as a reference and guideline for research and implementation. Original information is collected from both the PCB recycling companies in the United States and quantities of articles published after 1990. Both the industrial applied methods and ongoing laboratory research are evaluated in this paper.This survey is done with an intention of providing a clear and comprehensive review of current practices and recent developments in the area of printed circuit board (PCB) recycling. The aim of this paper is to be a reference for research and implementation for the PCB recycling process. Original information is collected from the companies engaged in the PCB recycling industry and articles published after 1990. The paper gives an overview of the PCB structure, material composition and different recycling processes.

IPPM – A Prototype to Integrate Process Planning and Job Shop Scheduling Functions

Summary Functional integration has taken the foreground in the current manufacturing system development. Process planning and job shop scheduling are two main manufacturing functions involved in shop floor activities. An integrated process planning model (IPPM) is introduced in this paper. The two functions (process planning and job shop scheduling) are truly integrated by means of distributed approach which is different from current nonlinear and alternative process planning approaches. In this paper, the two functions are integrated at task stage, while the nonlinear and alternative approaches are taken place at result stage which cannot be considered as real integration but rather interface. The introduced IPPM works in three levels, based on manufacturing resource availability and real time feedback from shop floor, they are pre-planning, pairing planning, and final planning. The IPPM consists of three modules, introduced in detailed in the paper, they are: process planning module, production scheduling module, and decision making module. An example is provided to illustrate the model. This paper is to be considered as a contribution to the research efforts in process planning and integrated manufacturing.

A progressive approach for the integration of process planning and scheduling

Automated process planning has been recognized as an interface between computer-aideddesignand computer-aided manufacturing. To achieve true computer integrated manufacturing (Cllvl), process planning should be integrated with scheduling. One approach to this integration problem is to merge process planning and scheduling into a single optimization task. However, the scheduling problemalone belongs to the classof nondeterministic polynomial complete (NP-complete) problemsand whencombined with processplanning, the resulting problemis evenmore difficult. One solution to this is to adopt a progressive approach, in which the interaction between process planning and scheduling starts from a more global level and ends at a more detailed level. The progressive approach described in thispaper greatlyreduces the computational complexity of the integration problemand hence can be realized in a real manufacturing environment where time is critical.

A hybrid-graph approach for automated setup planning in CAPP

Abstract In this paper, a systematic approach for automated setup planning in CAPP is introduced. The concept of “hybrid graph”, which can be transferred into directed graph by changing any two-way edge into one-way edge, is introduced. The specified graph theory is effectively used in setup planning. Tolerance relations are used as critical constraints for setup planning. Comprehensive principles are explored and summarized for setup planning. The hybrid-graph theory, accompanied by matrix theory, is used to aid computerizing these principles. An example is illustrated to demonstrate the algorithm.

Life-cycle engineering: Issues, tools and research

Life-cycle engineering (LCE) is a decision-making methodology that considers performance, environmental and cost requirements for the duration of a product. This methodology is becoming a norm for global companies that want to remain competitive. To facilitate and enhance the application of LCE methodology to industrial products, a number of computer tools or utilities that require minimal user input, and hence run automatically in the background of the design process, have been developed. These utilities are intended to provide a feedback on an evolving design without impeding or hampering the design process. There exists a need to continue research on the development of tools that simulate flows in a life-cycle and optimize them. These tools should be based on the client-server model base on the Internet to facilitate the e-Transition.

An integrated model of process planning and production scheduling

Abstract Functional integration has taken the foreground in current manufacturing system development. Due to the fact that many of the functions in a manufacturing system are developing without a sense of integration, it becomes necessary that more importance be given to the integration of functions than the individual development of the functions itself. Process planning and job-shop scheduling are the two main information generators on the shop floor. Most of the current shop Door decisions are taken by the two functions without any feedback from each other. This leads to a situation wherein most of the created process plans become infcasible. This infeasibility leads to a unproductive shop floor. In this paper we propose an integrated model for process planning and job-shop scheduling. This approach can lead to more structured decision making on the shop floor and hence the creation of feasible plans.

End-of-life (EOL) issues and options for electric vehicle batteries

Nearly all global players in the auto industry are now producing electric vehicles (EV). Many studies indicated that by year 2020, 6 millions could be sold in US alone and about 11 million worldwide. As the number of EVs increases, there is need to have well-defined end-of-life (EOL) strategy for the batteries removed from EVs as part of collective efforts to transform the auto industry to environmental friendly industry. Recycling has been proposed as the EOL option for the EV batteries, but there are many issues that make recycling less justifiable, this paper lays out those issues and proposes remanufacturing as the alternate and appropriate EOL option. In view of this, the paper details research issues which require thorough studies to make EV batteries remanufacturing feasible and effective.

A multi-objective fuzzy graph approach for modular formulation considering end-of-life issues

Increased awareness of the negative environmental impact caused by electronic waste has driven electronics manufacturers to re-engineer their product design process and include product end-of-life considerations into their design criteria. Design for the Environment (DfE), as a possible solution, lacks an implementation framework. To address this problem, a fuzzy graph based modular product design methodology is developed to implement DfE strategies in product modular formulation considering multiple product life cycle objectives guided by DfE. A fuzzy connected graph approach is used to present the product structure, whereby fuzzy relationship values are determined by applying Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to life cycle environmental objectives along with other functional and production concerns. Based on the fuzzy connected graph, an optimal modular formulation is searched using the graph-based clustering algorithm to identify the best module configuration. An example is provided to illustrate the methodology and the algorithm presented in this paper.

A PCA-based method for construction of composite sustainability indicators

PurposeSustainable manufacturing is practiced globally as a comprehensive strategy for improving the sustainability performance of the manufacturing industry. While sustainability is characterized into such three dimensions as economic, environmental, and social, currently, there is no quantitative method yet to measure the so-called “sustainability” in the manufacturing industry. The objective of this research is to develop a comprehensive and effective quantitative method to measure the overall sustainability performance of manufacturing companies.MethodsIn this paper, an integrated methodology is presented for the development of composite sustainability indicators based on principal component analysis (PCA). In developing this integrated approach, both industry and academia surveys are conducted to identify what sustainability indicators are favored by the sustainable manufacturing community. A unique index is then generated to measure the overall sustainability performance of industrial practices. The methodology can be used for benchmarking the overall sustainability performance of various manufacturing companies.ResultsA case study is conducted on a total of 11 global electronic manufacturing companies. The overall sustainability performance of these companies are measured, benchmarked, and ranked. The results showed that PCA is an effective approach for constructing composite sustainability indicators across environmental, economic, and social dimensions.ConclusionsFrom this research, it is found that industry and academia have different views on the sustainability measurement, evidenced by different weights put on the same indicator in industry and academia. The case study demonstrated that the methodology presented in this paper is an effective tool for comprehensive measurement of sustainability performance of manufacturing companies. Strengths and weaknesses of each company can be identified. Then, the recommended improvements can be suggested based on the study of each of the individual indicators.