Driven by market trends towards highly-personalised products, the manufacturing industry is facin... more Driven by market trends towards highly-personalised products, the manufacturing industry is facing a variety of challenges that require systems to be adaptive, robust, resilient, and responsive. Collective adaptive systems have the potential to provide solutions to a wide variety of these problems. This paper has two main aims: to highlight shared problems between industry and the collective adaptive systems research area, where solutions would enable a transformative impact on the manufacturing domain; and to generate discussion around the application of collective adaptive systems approaches to facilitate further adoption of such techniques in industry. This paper therefore focusses on a real-world industrial manufacturing scenario that is to be used as a demonstration to investigate the application of collective adaptive systems to the manufacturing domain. A number of key issues are discussed, along with a number of potential approaches, with the hope of generating further discussion.
... References [1] A. Aramcharoen and PT Mativenga: Precision Engineering Vol. 33 (2009), p. 402 ... more ... References [1] A. Aramcharoen and PT Mativenga: Precision Engineering Vol. 33 (2009), p. 402 ... 223 (2009), p.337 [5] A. Aramcharoen, PT Mativenga, S. Yang, KE Cooke and DG Teer: Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture Vol. 48 (2008), p.1578 ...
Self-assembly of components using liquid surface tension is an attractive alternative to traditio... more Self-assembly of components using liquid surface tension is an attractive alternative to traditional robotic pick-and-place as it offers high assembly accuracy for coarse initial part placement. One of the key requirements of this method is the containment of the liquid within a designated binding site. This paper looks to expand the applications of self-assembly and investigates the use of topographical structures applied to 3D printed micro components for self-assembly using liquid surface tension. An analysis of the effect of edge geometry on liquid contact angle was conducted. A range of binding sites were produced with varying edge geometries, 45-135°, and for a variety of site shapes and sizes, 0.4 - 1 mm in diameter, and 0.5 × 0.5–1 × 1 mm square. Liquid water droplets were applied to the structures and contact angles measured. Significant increases in contact angle were observed, up to 158°, compared to 70° for droplets on planar surfaces, demonstrating the ability of these ...
Requirement engineering (RE) process is becoming a key factor for the success of complex one-of-a... more Requirement engineering (RE) process is becoming a key factor for the success of complex one-of-a-kind products. The RE process is commonly viewed as an early system engineering phase with a major bearing on response time, quality, and cost. This study reports on the knowledge acquisition and sharing for requirement engineering (KARE), approach for requirement specification of one-of-a-kind complex systems. The approach provides a generic view of key RE processes clustered into three groups of activities -requirements elicitation, analysis, and negotiation. The process is supported by a set of knowledge functions aimed at facilitating the requirement engineers in matching customer requirements to product characteristics. At the analysis stage, the customer requirements are transformed into product requirements, which can be compared to existing company knowledge, for example, previous products, technology platforms, and production capabilities. The specified product requirements are then interactively evaluated and negotiated against customer and supplier performance indicators.
Reports on a new methodology for formation of virtual (“extended”) machining cells using generic ... more Reports on a new methodology for formation of virtual (“extended”) machining cells using generic capability patterns termed “resource elements”. Resource elements are used to uniquely describe the processing requirements of the component mix and dynamically match them to the processing capabilities of the machining shop. The virtual cell formation methodology is based on four steps: component requirement analysis and generation
International Journal of Business Performance Management, 2004
... 1 request for assessment from the SME/SME consultant (advisor) 2 request for CE solution iden... more ... 1 request for assessment from the SME/SME consultant (advisor) 2 request for CE solution identification - in ... and support, or, if individual modules are used as stand alone consulting tools, then ... On the human factors side there are two main areas: knowledge and skill base (in ...
IFIP International Federation for Information Processing, 2005
Data exchange in the extended enterprise is one of the most critical tasks in supporting collabor... more Data exchange in the extended enterprise is one of the most critical tasks in supporting collaborative decision-making. Companies often rely on geographically distributed suppliers for efficient product design and manufacture. Early design assessment can substantially reduce the cost of product development and production. This research proposes a new STEP AP224 EXPRESS based data model to facilitate the exchange of part and process data between distributed key agents in the early design process. The approach is illustrated using a prototype XMLICORBA environment to support the information exchange between collaborating design and manufacturing agents.
Requirement engineering (RE) process is becoming a key factor for the success of complex one-of-a... more Requirement engineering (RE) process is becoming a key factor for the success of complex one-of-a-kind products. The RE process is commonly viewed as an early system engineering phase with a major bearing on response time, quality, and cost. This study reports on the knowledge acquisition and sharing for requirement engineering (KARE), approach for requirement specification of one-of-a-kind complex systems. The approach provides a generic view of key RE processes clustered into three groups of activities -requirements elicitation, analysis, and negotiation. The process is supported by a set of knowledge functions aimed at facilitating the requirement engineers in matching customer requirements to product characteristics. At the analysis stage, the customer requirements are transformed into product requirements, which can be compared to existing company knowledge, for example, previous products, technology platforms, and production capabilities. The specified product requirements are then interactively evaluated and negotiated against customer and supplier performance indicators.
ABSTRACT This paper presents a simple process that allows for isolated metal features to be easil... more ABSTRACT This paper presents a simple process that allows for isolated metal features to be easily defined on the surface of 3D printed micro parts. The process makes use of a standard low cost sputter coating system to quickly deposit metal layers of approximately 100 nm thickness on to the surface of polymer micro parts. The inclusion of inbuilt masking features on the surface of the polymer parts ensure that the conformal metal layer can be effectively broken to create electrically isolated metal features. Using the process a series of polymer micro probes are created and metalized to form electrically conducting, but isolated probe needles. In addition a polymer micro gripper with an inbuilt thermal actuator is demonstrated. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd....Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of the Symposium Cracoviense Sp. z.o.o.
The recent drive towards timely multiple product realizations has caused most Manufacturing Enter... more The recent drive towards timely multiple product realizations has caused most Manufacturing Enterprises (MEs) to develop more flexible assembly lines supported by better manufacturing design and planning. The aim of this work is to develop a methodology which will support feasibility analyses of assembly tasks, in order to simulate either a manufacturing process or a single work-cell in which digital human models act. The methodology has been applied in a case study relating to a railway industry. Simulations were applied to help standardize the methodology and suggest new solutions for realizing ergonomic and efficient assembly processes in the railway industry.
A new fixture layout design methodology for a novel concept of adaptive machining fixtures, with ... more A new fixture layout design methodology for a novel concept of adaptive machining fixtures, with both actively controlled clamping forces and a dynamically adjustable layout, is proposed. The methodology aims at minimising the deflection of the workpiece due to the dynamic machining forces. The methodology is based on a finite element model of the workpiece, coupled with closed-loop controlled actuators, acting as adaptive clamps of the fixture. The methodology is applied on a theoretical test case of a thin plate workpiece. Results show a reduction by 84.2% of the maximum deflection of the workpiece compared to a traditional fixturing approach.
Projection-microstereolithography allows for great versatility in the design of biomedical compon... more Projection-microstereolithography allows for great versatility in the design of biomedical components with round cross sections, such as fine strands, channels and microtubules. The working principle of this method, however, leads to a gradual accumulation of diameter and roundness errors following model approximation and part building. This study presents a method to monitor and quantify these inaccuracies, and the results demonstrate the challenges that emerge from building round microfeatures with this additive manufacturing technique and suggest the need for additional error compensation compared to non-round geometries.
The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 2012
ABSTRACT This work presents a modelling approach that captures the dynamic response of active fix... more ABSTRACT This work presents a modelling approach that captures the dynamic response of active fixture elements and thin-walled workpieces subjected to dynamic moving loads. The impedance coupling method is deployed to achieve the integration of analytical expressions for the active elements and a discretised finite element-based model of a workpiece. The proposed model is validated experimentally and analytically via a test case, involving a single active fixture element in contact with a thin aluminium plate subjected to an evenly distributed dynamic moving load. A very good agreement is observed between the time response of the modelled and the experimental system to step and harmonic inputs. The moving load modelling approach presents a maximum error of ε = 5.82% in terms of predicting the dynamic elastic deformation of the workpiece in comparison to an analytical model.
This paper presents a mathematical model to describe the growth of tissue into a rapid-prototyped... more This paper presents a mathematical model to describe the growth of tissue into a rapid-prototyped porous scaffold when it is implanted onto the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). The scaffold was designed to study the effects of the size and shape of pores on tissue growth into conventional tissue engineering scaffolds, and consists of an array of pores each having a pre-specified shape. The experimental observations revealed that the CAM grows through each pore as an intact layer of tissue, provided the width of the pore exceeds a threshold value. Based on these results a mathematical model is described to simulate the growth of the membrane, assuming that the growth is a function of the local isotropic membrane tension. The model predictions are compared against measurements of the extent of membrane growth through the pores as a function of time for pores with different dimensions.
IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, 2010
This paper describes a novel fixturing system for the automated assembly and disassembly of aero ... more This paper describes a novel fixturing system for the automated assembly and disassembly of aero engine components. The proposed system has the ability to automatically reconfigure for a number of different parts and allows the precise control and monitoring of its clamping positions and exerted clamping forces. Aspects of the control software of this system, like the graphical user interface (GUI) and the relational data base system containing postprocess and configuration data, are described.
2014 12th IEEE International Conference on Industrial Informatics (INDIN), 2014
ABSTRACT The new market trends are very different, so it iscrucial to the companies improve the t... more ABSTRACT The new market trends are very different, so it iscrucial to the companies improve the tools and capabilities thatallow themselves readjust rapidly and effectively to the newsmarket changes and to the new requirements. In order tofacilitate this process, it is proposed in this paper an agent basedimplementation that can provide to the existent systems thecapacity to quickly adapt and reconfigure using standardtechnology. The proposed framework provides an intelligent toolto autonomously help the configuration when a productionoperator pretends to introduce a new variant of product inruntime and consult important information provided by thesystem to monitor execution.
ABSTRACT We present a decision-support framework for speeding up the ramp-up of modular assembly ... more ABSTRACT We present a decision-support framework for speeding up the ramp-up of modular assembly systems by learning from past experience. Bringing an assembly system to the expected level of productivity requires engineers performing mechanical adjustments and changes to the assembly process to improve the performance. This activity is time-consuming, knowledge-intensive and highly dependent on the skills of the engineers. Learning the ramp-up process has shown to be effective for making progress faster. Our approach consists of automatically capturing information about the changes made by an operator dealing with disturbances, relating them to the modular structure of the machine and evaluating the resulting system state by analysing sensor data. The feedback thus obtained on applied adaptations is used to derive recommendations in similar contexts. Recommendations are generated with a variant of the k-nearest neighbour algorithm through searching in a multidimensional space containing previous system states. Applications of the framework include knowledge transfer among operators and machines with overlapping structure and functionality. The application of our method in a case study is discussed.
Driven by market trends towards highly-personalised products, the manufacturing industry is facin... more Driven by market trends towards highly-personalised products, the manufacturing industry is facing a variety of challenges that require systems to be adaptive, robust, resilient, and responsive. Collective adaptive systems have the potential to provide solutions to a wide variety of these problems. This paper has two main aims: to highlight shared problems between industry and the collective adaptive systems research area, where solutions would enable a transformative impact on the manufacturing domain; and to generate discussion around the application of collective adaptive systems approaches to facilitate further adoption of such techniques in industry. This paper therefore focusses on a real-world industrial manufacturing scenario that is to be used as a demonstration to investigate the application of collective adaptive systems to the manufacturing domain. A number of key issues are discussed, along with a number of potential approaches, with the hope of generating further discussion.
... References [1] A. Aramcharoen and PT Mativenga: Precision Engineering Vol. 33 (2009), p. 402 ... more ... References [1] A. Aramcharoen and PT Mativenga: Precision Engineering Vol. 33 (2009), p. 402 ... 223 (2009), p.337 [5] A. Aramcharoen, PT Mativenga, S. Yang, KE Cooke and DG Teer: Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture Vol. 48 (2008), p.1578 ...
Self-assembly of components using liquid surface tension is an attractive alternative to traditio... more Self-assembly of components using liquid surface tension is an attractive alternative to traditional robotic pick-and-place as it offers high assembly accuracy for coarse initial part placement. One of the key requirements of this method is the containment of the liquid within a designated binding site. This paper looks to expand the applications of self-assembly and investigates the use of topographical structures applied to 3D printed micro components for self-assembly using liquid surface tension. An analysis of the effect of edge geometry on liquid contact angle was conducted. A range of binding sites were produced with varying edge geometries, 45-135°, and for a variety of site shapes and sizes, 0.4 - 1 mm in diameter, and 0.5 × 0.5–1 × 1 mm square. Liquid water droplets were applied to the structures and contact angles measured. Significant increases in contact angle were observed, up to 158°, compared to 70° for droplets on planar surfaces, demonstrating the ability of these ...
Requirement engineering (RE) process is becoming a key factor for the success of complex one-of-a... more Requirement engineering (RE) process is becoming a key factor for the success of complex one-of-a-kind products. The RE process is commonly viewed as an early system engineering phase with a major bearing on response time, quality, and cost. This study reports on the knowledge acquisition and sharing for requirement engineering (KARE), approach for requirement specification of one-of-a-kind complex systems. The approach provides a generic view of key RE processes clustered into three groups of activities -requirements elicitation, analysis, and negotiation. The process is supported by a set of knowledge functions aimed at facilitating the requirement engineers in matching customer requirements to product characteristics. At the analysis stage, the customer requirements are transformed into product requirements, which can be compared to existing company knowledge, for example, previous products, technology platforms, and production capabilities. The specified product requirements are then interactively evaluated and negotiated against customer and supplier performance indicators.
Reports on a new methodology for formation of virtual (“extended”) machining cells using generic ... more Reports on a new methodology for formation of virtual (“extended”) machining cells using generic capability patterns termed “resource elements”. Resource elements are used to uniquely describe the processing requirements of the component mix and dynamically match them to the processing capabilities of the machining shop. The virtual cell formation methodology is based on four steps: component requirement analysis and generation
International Journal of Business Performance Management, 2004
... 1 request for assessment from the SME/SME consultant (advisor) 2 request for CE solution iden... more ... 1 request for assessment from the SME/SME consultant (advisor) 2 request for CE solution identification - in ... and support, or, if individual modules are used as stand alone consulting tools, then ... On the human factors side there are two main areas: knowledge and skill base (in ...
IFIP International Federation for Information Processing, 2005
Data exchange in the extended enterprise is one of the most critical tasks in supporting collabor... more Data exchange in the extended enterprise is one of the most critical tasks in supporting collaborative decision-making. Companies often rely on geographically distributed suppliers for efficient product design and manufacture. Early design assessment can substantially reduce the cost of product development and production. This research proposes a new STEP AP224 EXPRESS based data model to facilitate the exchange of part and process data between distributed key agents in the early design process. The approach is illustrated using a prototype XMLICORBA environment to support the information exchange between collaborating design and manufacturing agents.
Requirement engineering (RE) process is becoming a key factor for the success of complex one-of-a... more Requirement engineering (RE) process is becoming a key factor for the success of complex one-of-a-kind products. The RE process is commonly viewed as an early system engineering phase with a major bearing on response time, quality, and cost. This study reports on the knowledge acquisition and sharing for requirement engineering (KARE), approach for requirement specification of one-of-a-kind complex systems. The approach provides a generic view of key RE processes clustered into three groups of activities -requirements elicitation, analysis, and negotiation. The process is supported by a set of knowledge functions aimed at facilitating the requirement engineers in matching customer requirements to product characteristics. At the analysis stage, the customer requirements are transformed into product requirements, which can be compared to existing company knowledge, for example, previous products, technology platforms, and production capabilities. The specified product requirements are then interactively evaluated and negotiated against customer and supplier performance indicators.
ABSTRACT This paper presents a simple process that allows for isolated metal features to be easil... more ABSTRACT This paper presents a simple process that allows for isolated metal features to be easily defined on the surface of 3D printed micro parts. The process makes use of a standard low cost sputter coating system to quickly deposit metal layers of approximately 100 nm thickness on to the surface of polymer micro parts. The inclusion of inbuilt masking features on the surface of the polymer parts ensure that the conformal metal layer can be effectively broken to create electrically isolated metal features. Using the process a series of polymer micro probes are created and metalized to form electrically conducting, but isolated probe needles. In addition a polymer micro gripper with an inbuilt thermal actuator is demonstrated. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd....Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of the Symposium Cracoviense Sp. z.o.o.
The recent drive towards timely multiple product realizations has caused most Manufacturing Enter... more The recent drive towards timely multiple product realizations has caused most Manufacturing Enterprises (MEs) to develop more flexible assembly lines supported by better manufacturing design and planning. The aim of this work is to develop a methodology which will support feasibility analyses of assembly tasks, in order to simulate either a manufacturing process or a single work-cell in which digital human models act. The methodology has been applied in a case study relating to a railway industry. Simulations were applied to help standardize the methodology and suggest new solutions for realizing ergonomic and efficient assembly processes in the railway industry.
A new fixture layout design methodology for a novel concept of adaptive machining fixtures, with ... more A new fixture layout design methodology for a novel concept of adaptive machining fixtures, with both actively controlled clamping forces and a dynamically adjustable layout, is proposed. The methodology aims at minimising the deflection of the workpiece due to the dynamic machining forces. The methodology is based on a finite element model of the workpiece, coupled with closed-loop controlled actuators, acting as adaptive clamps of the fixture. The methodology is applied on a theoretical test case of a thin plate workpiece. Results show a reduction by 84.2% of the maximum deflection of the workpiece compared to a traditional fixturing approach.
Projection-microstereolithography allows for great versatility in the design of biomedical compon... more Projection-microstereolithography allows for great versatility in the design of biomedical components with round cross sections, such as fine strands, channels and microtubules. The working principle of this method, however, leads to a gradual accumulation of diameter and roundness errors following model approximation and part building. This study presents a method to monitor and quantify these inaccuracies, and the results demonstrate the challenges that emerge from building round microfeatures with this additive manufacturing technique and suggest the need for additional error compensation compared to non-round geometries.
The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 2012
ABSTRACT This work presents a modelling approach that captures the dynamic response of active fix... more ABSTRACT This work presents a modelling approach that captures the dynamic response of active fixture elements and thin-walled workpieces subjected to dynamic moving loads. The impedance coupling method is deployed to achieve the integration of analytical expressions for the active elements and a discretised finite element-based model of a workpiece. The proposed model is validated experimentally and analytically via a test case, involving a single active fixture element in contact with a thin aluminium plate subjected to an evenly distributed dynamic moving load. A very good agreement is observed between the time response of the modelled and the experimental system to step and harmonic inputs. The moving load modelling approach presents a maximum error of ε = 5.82% in terms of predicting the dynamic elastic deformation of the workpiece in comparison to an analytical model.
This paper presents a mathematical model to describe the growth of tissue into a rapid-prototyped... more This paper presents a mathematical model to describe the growth of tissue into a rapid-prototyped porous scaffold when it is implanted onto the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). The scaffold was designed to study the effects of the size and shape of pores on tissue growth into conventional tissue engineering scaffolds, and consists of an array of pores each having a pre-specified shape. The experimental observations revealed that the CAM grows through each pore as an intact layer of tissue, provided the width of the pore exceeds a threshold value. Based on these results a mathematical model is described to simulate the growth of the membrane, assuming that the growth is a function of the local isotropic membrane tension. The model predictions are compared against measurements of the extent of membrane growth through the pores as a function of time for pores with different dimensions.
IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, 2010
This paper describes a novel fixturing system for the automated assembly and disassembly of aero ... more This paper describes a novel fixturing system for the automated assembly and disassembly of aero engine components. The proposed system has the ability to automatically reconfigure for a number of different parts and allows the precise control and monitoring of its clamping positions and exerted clamping forces. Aspects of the control software of this system, like the graphical user interface (GUI) and the relational data base system containing postprocess and configuration data, are described.
2014 12th IEEE International Conference on Industrial Informatics (INDIN), 2014
ABSTRACT The new market trends are very different, so it iscrucial to the companies improve the t... more ABSTRACT The new market trends are very different, so it iscrucial to the companies improve the tools and capabilities thatallow themselves readjust rapidly and effectively to the newsmarket changes and to the new requirements. In order tofacilitate this process, it is proposed in this paper an agent basedimplementation that can provide to the existent systems thecapacity to quickly adapt and reconfigure using standardtechnology. The proposed framework provides an intelligent toolto autonomously help the configuration when a productionoperator pretends to introduce a new variant of product inruntime and consult important information provided by thesystem to monitor execution.
ABSTRACT We present a decision-support framework for speeding up the ramp-up of modular assembly ... more ABSTRACT We present a decision-support framework for speeding up the ramp-up of modular assembly systems by learning from past experience. Bringing an assembly system to the expected level of productivity requires engineers performing mechanical adjustments and changes to the assembly process to improve the performance. This activity is time-consuming, knowledge-intensive and highly dependent on the skills of the engineers. Learning the ramp-up process has shown to be effective for making progress faster. Our approach consists of automatically capturing information about the changes made by an operator dealing with disturbances, relating them to the modular structure of the machine and evaluating the resulting system state by analysing sensor data. The feedback thus obtained on applied adaptations is used to derive recommendations in similar contexts. Recommendations are generated with a variant of the k-nearest neighbour algorithm through searching in a multidimensional space containing previous system states. Applications of the framework include knowledge transfer among operators and machines with overlapping structure and functionality. The application of our method in a case study is discussed.
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Papers by Svetan Ratchev