A Novel Approach to Configuration Redesign: Using Multiobjective Monotonicity Analysis to Alter the Pareto-set

Configuration (or topology or embodiment) design remains a ubiquitous challenge in product design optimization and in design automation, meaning configuration design is largely driven by experience in industrial practice. In this article, we introduce a novel configuration redesign process founded on the interaction of the designer with results from rigorous multiobjective monotonicity analysis. Guided by Pareto-set dependencies, the designer seeks to reduce trade-offs among objectives or improve optimality overall, deriving redesigns that eliminate dependencies or relax active constraints. The method is demonstrated on an ingestible medical device for oral drug delivery, currently in early concept development.

Advancing Smart Manufacturing in Europe: Experiences from Two Decades of Research and Innovation Projects

In the past two decades, a large amount of attention has been devoted to the introduction of smart manufacturing concepts and technologies into industrial practice. In Europe, these efforts have been supported by European research and innovation programs, bringing together research and application parties. In this paper, we provide an overview of a series of four content-wise connected projects on the European scale that are aimed at advancing smart manufacturing, with a focus on connecting processes on smart factory shop floors to manufacturing equipment on the one hand and enterprise-level business processes on the other hand. These projects cover several tens of application cases across Europe. We present our experiences in the form of a single, informal longitudinal case study, highlighting both the major advances and the current limitations of developments. To organize these experiences, we place them in the context of the well-known RAMI4.0 reference framework for Industry 4.0 (covering the ISA-95 standard). Then, we analyze the experiences, both the positive ones and those including problems, and draw our learnings from these. In doing so, we do not present novel technological developments in this paper—these are presented in the papers we refer to—but concentrate on the main issues we have observed to guide future developments in research efforts and industrial innovation in the smart industry domain.

Effect of Nucleant Particle Agglomeration on Grain Size

Solute accumulation/depletion in the liquid around a growing solid particle during the solidification of metallic melts creates a constitutionally supercooled (CS) zone that has a significant effect on the final solidified grain structure. In this paper, we introduce two mechanisms related to the CS zone that affect grain size: one is the grain initiation free zone (GIFZ) that describes the inability of nucleant particles located in the CS zone for grain initiation and the other is re-melting (RM) of solid particles due to overlap of CS zones. Based on these two mechanisms, we have systematically analysed the effect of nucleant particle agglomeration on grain size. We found that nucleant particle agglomeration has a significant effect on grain size and is responsible for the discrepancy between theoretically predicted grain size and the experimental data. In addition, our numerical analysis suggests that under normal solidification conditions relevant to industrial practice solid particle re-melting has little effect on grain size and thus may be ignored during theoretical analysis. A practical implication from this work is that significant grain refinement can be achieved by dispersing the nucleant particles in the melt prior to solidification.

FORMATION OF PROFESSIONAL READINESS OF FUTURE COACHES IN THE PROCESS OF INTERNSHIP

The modern view on formation of readiness of future trainers for professional activity in the course of passing of industrial practice is characterized. The structure of the coach’s readiness for future professional activity as a set of motivational, cognitive, activity, creative and reflective components is substantiated. Emphasis is placed on the fact that from today’s standpoint it is important to develop new approaches to the content and organization of industrial practice, which stimulate student activity to master professionally oriented knowledge, skills and abilities.It is shown that there is a need for theoretical justification of the form, content (diagnostic, organizational, communicative and motivational functions) and structure of production practice, as a necessary condition for the formation of readiness of future coaches for professional activity.

Enhanced Flotation Recovery of Fine Molybdenite Particles Using a Coal Tar-Based Collector

Low flotation efficiency has always been a problem in the separation of low-grade molybdenum ores because of the finely disseminated nature and crystal anisotropy of molybdenite. In this study, a novel kerosene–coal tar collector (KCTC) was prepared and used to explore the feasibility of improving the recovery of fine molybdenite particles. The results showed that KCTC achieved better attaching performance than that shown by kerosene, and the surface coverage and attaching rate constant were improved significantly, especially for finer particles of −38 + 20 μm. Compared with kerosene, KCTC showed more affinity for molybdenite particles and greater adsorbed amounts of KCTC on molybdenite particles were achieved. Moreover, the composite collector was shown to float single molybdenite particles of different sizes, and it was found that the recovery of molybdenite particles of different sizes, particularly in the case of those at −20 μm, was improved dramatically by KCTC. The flotation results of actual molybdenum ores further confirmed that KCTC was beneficial to flotation recovery and the selectivity of molybdenite. This indicated that KCTC is a potential collector for the effective flotation of low-grade deposits of molybdenum ores, and more studies should be conducted on further use in industrial practice.

Influence of 3D Printing Topology by DMLS Method on Crack Propagation

The presented text deals with research into the influence of the printing layers’ orientation on crack propagation in an AlSi10Mg material specimen, produced by additive technology, using the Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) method. It is a method based on sintering and melting layers of powder material using a laser beam. The material specimen is presented as a Compact Tension test specimen and is printed in four different defined orientations (topology) of the printing layers—0°, 45°, 90°, and twice 90°. The normalized specimen is loaded cyclically, where the crack length is measured and recorded, and at the same time, the crack growth rate is determined. The evaluation of the experiment shows an apparent influence of the topology, which is essential especially for possible use in the design and technical preparation of the production of real machine parts in industrial practice. Simultaneously with the measurement results, other influencing factors are listed, especially product postprocessing and the measurement method used. The hypothesis of crack propagation using Computer Aided Engineering/Finite Element Method (CAE/FEM) simulation is also stated here based on the achieved results.

A Practical Manner To GTR Recycling in Waste HDPE/ABS

Waste high-density polyethylene (w-HDPE)/ acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS)/ground tire rubber (GTR) have been melt blended by two-roll milling. Ternary blends of w-HDPE/ABS/GTR have been observed to be incompatible in the composition range studied which revealed in the deteriorated mechanical properties. Two main types of compatibilizers such as an olefin-maleic anhydride copolymer based one synthesized by the authors and a commercial maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MA-g-PP) have been chosen for enhancing compatibility between the components ergo the mechanical properties. For characterizing tensile and impact properties of the blends mechanical tests have been carried out besides the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The most advantageous result in industrial practice can be that the experimental additive allows to apply higher GTR concentration ergo gives the opportunity to recycle higher level of GTR.

Structural analysis of non-standard geometric variants of a shifted spur gear

Today's industrial practice shows that - in contrast to the past years, where gears were designed as standard as possible - machine parts are constructed on the basis of selecting non-standard parameters. This is because producers protect themselves against making additional parts from local suppliers for much less money by customers. The paper presents a geometric and strength analysis of an exemplary spur gear, which works as the second stage of a bevel-helical gear in the coiling mechanism of a multi-module machine producing bonell springs for mattresses. It was checked whether the transmission could be redesigned in such a way as to make its geometry as complicated as possible while maintaining the appropriate strength properties. Finally, there are graphs that can be helpful in this type of reconstruction process, and the subsequent stages of this work can be treated as a kind of algorithm for the discussed conversion of geometric parameters of the gear.