Suren N. Dwivedi

Development of New Products in Small Companies

Problems in the development of new products in small and mid-sized companies are analyzed in the following paper. Concurrent engineering methods known to date for the development of new products are tested within the framework of human and organizational capacities. The methodologies of 3-T looping and three-level team structure were especially tested. It was established that a two-level organization is more suitable for small companies. Due to requirements for product complexity, it was found that n-T looping methodology should be implemented. In the case of complex products (the methodology was tested on a mini-loader), it turns out that n is in the range of 7 to 9 members. Such a large team is still manageable and acts in an integrative manner to achieve the goal, product development. In the matrix analysis of activities, the use of a supplemented methodology was justified and proven for each phase of product development.

Heat transfer analysis of a rolling-piston rotary compressor

Mathematical modelling of the heat transfer of a rolling-piston compressor is described. Experiments have been done to validate the model, and excellent agreement has been found between the theoretical predictions and the experimental data. Heat transfer analysis enhances understanding of the energy efficiency of the compressor. In addition, it helps understanding of the lubricant breakdown and lubricant viscosity at clearance passages.

Terrain adaptive gaits for the Ambler

The configuration of the Ambler, a six-legged autonomous walking vehicle for exploring Mars, enables the recovery of a trailing leg past the leading leg to reduce the energy expenditure in terrain interactions. In this paper, gaits developed for this unprecedented configuration are described. A stability criterion has been developed which ensures stability of the vehicle in the event of failure of any one of the supporting legs. Periodic gaits developed for the Ambler utilize the Amblers unique abilities and continuously satisfy the stability criterion. The performance of the periodic gait which provides minimum terrain interactions per advancement has been further improved by enabling terrain adaptive foot placement without disturbance of the gait parameters.

Development of innovative products in a small and medium size enterprise

Problems in the development of new products in small and mid-sized companies (SMEs) are analysed. Concurrent engineering methods known to date for the development of new products are tested within the framework of human and organisational capacities. The methodologies of 3-T looping and three-level team structure were especially tested. It was established that a two-level organisation is more suitable for small companies. Due to requirements for product complexity, it was found that n-T looping methodology should be implemented. In the case of complex products (the methodology was tested on a mini-loader), it turns out that n is in the range of seven to nine members. Such a large team is still manageable and acts in an integrative manner to achieve the goal, i.e. new product development. In the matrix analysis of activities, the use of supplemented methodology was justified and proven for each phase of product development.

Concurrent engineering-why and what?

The authors focus on the need for and the underlying concepts of the concurrent engineering approach. They describe concurrent engineering methodology for product development. An attempt is made to clarify the prevailing misconceptions about concurrent engineering. The primary objectives of concurrent engineering and its impact on industry are also discussed. Some examples of organizations benefiting from concurrent engineering are presented to substantiate the potency and effectiveness of the methodology.<<ETX>>

A Knowledge-Based Approach for Manufacturability of Printed Wiring Boards

Cooperative or concurrent product development is gaining popularity and will become norms of the Industry of the Future. To avoid problem created by designs not amenable to manufacturing, the designer should be aware of manufacturing constraints. Electronics manufacturing is one of the fastest growing segment of manufacturing domain today. The rapid change in printed wiring board manufacturing with the induction of surface mounted components and robotic assembly makes the system design more complex. A knowledge base is developed in an expert system environment to capture the manufacturability constraints of the PWB manufacturing. Rules and guidelines pertaining to manufacturability are formulated and incorporated into the knowledge base which is developed on an object-oriented paradigm. The system is capable of advising whether to go for manufacturing or not with a particular design and suggests design modification to the designer at the early stage of design to eliminate the manufacturing problems in the later phase of board production.

Effective team building process and team leadership for integrated product and process development

Technology is changing rapidly. Competition is getting hotter day by day among manufacturing circles. Quality, durability and the time taken to manufacture a product are the key words in todays major manufacturing plants. The entire production scenario has changed; it is now focusing mainly on customer needs. There is a continuous demand for adaptation to newer conditions as product development takes place in a volatile environment. In order to sustain all these changes in the production process, there arises the need for integrated product and process development, and facilitation of IPPD practices, which is where the product development team plays a crucial role. It is through the establishment of multi disciplinary PDTs that person-person implicit knowledge sharing takes place. In this paper, we discuss the factors that need to be considered when setting up an effective product development team. The objective of this paper is to provide practical guidance in the implementation of an Integrated Product and Process Development (IPPD) program. Its scope includes both technical and managerial considerations necessary to launch and effectively execute a new product and process development using such a program. The information presented in this paper is based upon lessons learned at United Defense on both the AFAS ATD and AFAS Common Chassis programs, as well as published information on the US Air Forces F-22 development program and Department of Defense (DoD) guide on IPPD.

Graphical and natural language interface with a knowledge-based concurrent engineering environment

Effective on-line communication between cooperating users with the mediation of machines (“virtual team” concept) is a necessity in new-generation concurrent engineering design and manufacture systems. The communication means for solving this problem are natural language and graphics. Managing the graphical and natural language user interfaces is a task full of ill-structured problems for which the knowledge-based approach offers a general solution methodology. Our knowledge-based expert system shell, implemented in Smalltalk, provides support mechanisms for flexible construction of such user interfaces. The natural language knowledge definition and editing is based on the novel percept-calculus knowledge representation scheme used in the system. The graphical module of the interface is capable of presenting diverse kinds of qualitative and quantitative data in various graphical forms which can be made interactive, serving as data input, data navigation, or design variation tools. An appropriate graphical knowledge base contains knowledge about general methods of graphical data presentation.

Special challenges of robotic gripping in space

The special problems of robotic gripping in space are identified and enumerated. The mechanical and control aspects of this class of gripper are discussed briefly. It is found that the impact of zero- or microgravity necessitates rethinking of the underlying principles of grasping, manipulating and autochanging of end-effectors. The fundamental differences of this class of grippers from the familiar cases are the requirement for a positive grasp as opposed to frictional grasp, the requirement of a bearing surface on the fingers in place of friction pads, and the requirement for the integration of a screwdriver with the end-effector. The control problems are influenced greatly by the nonavailability of compliance from the object and fixtures.<<ETX>>

Current trends in material management in the shipbuilding industry

Material management in the shipyard industry has aroused considerable interest in recent years. It has been emphasised that the effective handling, storage, and flow of materials determine the successful operation of a warehouse. Production, planning, and scheduling are also important and vital in determining shop floor schedules because they minimise processing cost and material inventory cost. There is a need for proper planning and control of processes and materials, including procurement, storage, and inventory, making the process cost effective. Monitoring and tracking in the industry are thus very important in fulfilling the aforementioned objectives. Group technology also plays an important role in material management for grouping and coding. It has been reported that proper grouping and coding of materials not only reduce labour and material handling, but also reduce time and the shifting of parts to different places. This paper addresses several aspects of material management that need to be considered for efficient material handling and inventory management processes. The various aspects of material management, including material handling, inventory management, planning and scheduling, procurement and receiving, monitoring and tracking, controlling, and statusing are highlighted. It should, however, be mentioned that these facets of material management may overlap, and should not be considered in isolation. For best results, the interactions of different facets should be considered in controlling the overall economy of the industry. Recent trends of material management are also summarised. An effort has been made in this perspective to visualise the state-of-the-art in material management with special emphasis on the shipbuilding industry. Several new techniques and trends have been reported for a more efficient and cost-effective material management. These new techniques have great potential for implementation in the shipbuilding industries and need to be explored in relation to greater competition in the global market.