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In cooperation between a German and a Vietnamese manufacturing laboratory, activities of training for assembly are performed by support of motion tracking at similar workplaces. The assembly of bicycle e-hubs is trained with Vietnamese students to check the transfer of assembly process knowledge between distant countries. The experimental set-up consists of the remote “teach-in” of assembly instructions, motion tracking on workplaces and the evaluation of student's performance. The applicability of motion tracking vs. traditional paper based instructions for initial learning is investigated.

Carbon footprint was calculated for cassava starch product in Thailand. Objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the global warming impacts of cassava starch production in 3 factories located in North-Eastern Thailand. The system boundary was defined from cradle to factory gate, starting from cassava cultivation and harvesting until cassava starch production by using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology based on ISO 14040 series. The selected functional unit was 1,000 kg of dry native starch, excluding packaging. Input and output data were analyzed and results were shown in terms of global warming potential (GWP) impact categories. The average greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission value based on LCA methodology of 3 factories was 594 kgCO2e per one ton of dry native starch. The results indicated that the cultivation and harvesting procedure was the major source emitting GHGs, around 40-59% of the total, if the factory used the biogas from wastewater treatment plant. Based on this result, the estimated total GHGs emission of cassava starch production in Thailand in the year 2013 was a total of approximately 10,500 million tons of CO2e.

Product Life-Cycle Management (PLM) defines the integration of different kinds of activities, from a technical, organizational and managerial point of view. These activities are performed by engineering staff throughout the entire life cycle of industrial products. To improve PLM, the information which is gained within a specific PL phase should be made available and used along the entire life cycle. This position paper describes how the No-fault-found (NFF) problem can benefit from transferring information from BOL into MOL. The application field of avionics is considered, in particular the generated information in the test process of BOL and the relevance of NFF. For this purpose, the article presents an approach by ARINC 672 for reducing NFF phenomenon. On basis of this approach the authors propose an extension to insert the information of test process’ results proactive into the ARINC 672 approach. The extension has a visionary nature and does not consider technical background of the BOL and MOL of aircrafts. Finally the position paper motivates the next necessary steps to bring the proposed extension to its applicability.

Augmented Reality Technology Augmented Reality Technology (AR) is one of the key technologies of digital transformation in industrial and non-industrial areas. Due to the rapid development of display hardware and tracking systems, virtual and augmented reality applications are being developed today that would only have been possible in large research laboratories with huge efforts a few years ago. This paper presents the application of the augmented reality technology in the industrial field. Based on industrial case studies the implementation of two AR applications and their potential to digitize the product lifecycle processes will be discussed. The case studies were developed within cooperation projects between the University of Applied Sciences Karlsruhe and a fire truck manufacturer with the focus on the following topics: product configuration management and assembly assistance. The objective of this work is the investigation of the AR application in the industrial environment and its capability as digital transformation technology along the product lifecycle. The presented paper delivers experiences and suggestions in terms of praxis-oriented development and deployment of the AR technology in the engineering field, which can be used for future AR research works.

This paper summarises current industrial practices and standards promoting Human Factors Engineering (HFE) at design stage and revise them with an action research approached based on the concrete case studies performed during a European project called TOSCA. The paper highlights how HFE can significantly impact the costs and risk associated with a plant lifecycle and the current gaps and issues encountered. The gaps identified are used to guide industrial practices and standards towards a more valuable inclusion of Human Factors knowledge in structured system design processes to support human performance and reduce the potential for human errors in operations and maintenance.

Product variety is a growing trend of offering highly configurable products at the cost of inducing complexity in manufacturing. Joining is a key manufacturing process and historically was a paper-based process with incomplete variety documentation. Nowadays, digital joining element design is a substitution of paper for 3D space. Nonetheless, it remains an ambiguous manual task with limited automation, resulting in time-consuming iterative error-prone development trajectories and costly reworks. This contribution addresses the state of the art in joining element design in both research and industry practice. It reviews product variety and its impact on joining processes. The paper identifies a need for integrating product variety into joining element design and it proposes a solution pathway using artificial intelligence methods.

With digital transformation changing industrial labor drastically, the aim of this paper is to conceptualize a new methodical framework for the production system of the future. For this, mega trends for the industrial work of the future are considered. Existing concepts and tools for production systems are analyzed with regard to the identified challenges of digitalization and future work. The result of this paper is an academically relevant and practically applicable approach for the development of a framework for the digital transformation of the production system. The approach consists of a development process and eleven design principles. The theoretical developments are accompanied by practical applications within the environment of the “Future Work Lab”, an innovation lab for technical, social and organizational changes in industrial labor.

The virtual reality technology (VR) has undergone a rapid development in recent years. The VR software and hardware have become powerful and affordable. Therefore, the VR counts to the key technologies for enabling the digital transformation. However, this significant technology has not achieved the expected breakthrough in the industrial engineering area yet. The potential of the VR to digitize and to improve the engineering process of industrial companies especially for SMEs is still undiscovered. This has led to a poor implementation and use of the VR applications with an engineering scope compared with other business sectors e.g. gaming, entertainments. This paper presents and discusses two case studies achieved within cooperation project between the University of Applied Sciences Karlsruhe and German manufacturers for fire trucks and systems for firefighting and disaster protection. The aim of the case studies is the implementation of VR applications and their evaluation in terms of using in the business processes of the involved industrial partner. Based on the experiences gathered during this cooperation project a CAD Data transformation process for an industrial VR application as best-practice approach will be outlined and discussed in this paper. © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ ). Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 27th CIRP Life Cycle Engineering (LCE) Conference.

As factories become increasingly computerised, and with the increasing interest in Cyber-Physical-Systems and the Internet-of-Things, the issues of software management, deployment, configuration and integration are expected to become increasingly important. This paper reports on the ongoing experiences of using the Docker container technology in a major EU research project targeting smart factories. Docker is used to distribute, deploy and manage the configuration of multiple software modules between multiple teams and demonstrator sites in multiple locations, where each module can use its own mixture of protocols, programming languages and platforms. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0Edited by Lihui WangThis paper is based on work performed within the research projects SYMBIO-TIC [637107] sponsored by the European Union and YOU2 [20130303] sponsored by the Swedish Knowledge Foundation. SYMBIO-TIC YOU

The University of British Columbia has an interest in incorporating life cycle environmental impacts and financial information into project planning, as well as research and teaching. As part of a tall wood building research program with the UBC Sustainability Initiative and Dept. of Civil Engineering, a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) study was done of two student high-rise residential buildings, based on the result of whole building LCA done by Athena Sustainable Materials Institute and whole building LCC done by Sensible Building Science. These buildings are of similar design but Brock Commons Tallwood House has a hybrid mass-timber structure and Ponderosa Commons Cedar House has a more traditional concrete structure. This paper will include a brief overview of the research process, data collection, analysis, and key results. The paper will then focus on the main opportunities, challenges, and lessons learned from both the results of the LCA/LCC projects and the process of conducting the study.

The process that involves companies developing the capabilities to provide services and solutions that supplement their traditional product offerings is commonly called servitization. With regards to manufacturing, the servitization process has been found to provide many advantages, such as: increasing the value of the offering, enhancing product customization, developing customers’ loyalty, generating profits throughout the whole product life cycle, etc. Despite the many studies related to this process, there is a major lack concerning its quantification. Through an in-depth analysis of medium-large size Italian companies in the manufacturing sector, this paper examines the process of servitization proposing (i) an assessment of its extent in terms of percentage of servitized companies (ii) a taxonomy of the services offered and (iii) an estimation of their relative diffusion. Also, the paper offers a perspective on the effects that this process may have on production technologies and systems.

This paper explains the On-board IVHM system for a State-Of-the-Art “All electric aircraft” and explores implementing practices for analysis based design, illustrations and development of IVHM capabilities. On implementing the system as an on board system will carry out fault detection and isolation, recommend maintenance action, provides prognostic capabilities to highest possible problems before these became critical. The vehicle Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) and adaptive control algorithm development based on an open architecture system which allow “Plug in and Plug off” various systems in a more efficient and flexible way. The scope of the IVHM design included consideration of data collection and communication from the continuous monitoring of aircraft systems, observation of current system states, and processing of this data to support proper maintenance and repair actions. Legacy commercial platforms and HM applications for various subsystems of these aircraft were identified. The list of possible applications was down-selected to a reduced number that offer the highest value using a QFD matrix based on the cost benefit analysis. Requirements, designs and system architectures were developed for these applications. The application areas considered included engine, tires and brakes, pneumatics and air conditioning, generator, and structures. IVHM design program included identification of application sensors, functions and interfaces; IVHM system architecture, descriptions of certification requirements and approaches; the results of a cost/benefit analyses and recommended standards and technology gaps. The work concluded with observations on nature of HM, the technologies, and the approaches and challenges to its integration into the current avionics, support system and business infrastructure. The IVHM design for All Electric Hybrid Wing Body (HWB) Aircraft has a challenging task of addressing and resolving the shortfalls in the legacy IVHM framework. The challenges like sensor battery maintenance, handling big data from SHM, On-Ground Data transfer by light, Extraction of required features at sensor nodes/RDCUs, ECAM/EICAS Interfaces, issues of certification of wireless SHM network has been addressed in this paper. Automatic Deployable Flight Data recorders are used in the design of HWB aircraft in which critical flight parameters are recorded. The component selection of IVHM system including software and hardware have been based on the COTS technology. The design emphasis on high levels of reliability and maintainability. The above systems are employed using IMA and integrated on AFDX data bus. The design activities has to pass through design reviews on systematic basis and the overall approach has been to make system highly lighter, effective “All weather” compatible and modular. It is concluded from the study of advancement in IVHM capabilities and new service offerings that IVHM technology is emerging as well as challenging. With the inclusion of adaptive control, vehicle condition based maintenance and pilot fatigue monitoring, IVHM evolved as a more proactively involved on-board system.

The performance of a flexible manufacturing system (FMS) has a great impact on a manufacturing firm success and the analysis of FMS justifies the high investment cost behind it. As the competition in the global market is growing, manufacturing companies compete not only on product cost and quality but also in time to market. FMS as a highly automated system typically comprised of a set of processing workstations allowing in an integrated manner to react rapidly and economically to production-oriented aspects of an enterprise in order to cope significant changes in its operating environment. This paper analysed the performance of a FMS through manufacturing process modelling and simulation. The modelling of a manufacturing system enables to grasp quickly how the current system is working and to evaluate the proposed process changes before actual decision making, on the other hand, the simulation of the system supports the idea of virtual manufacturing and gives prompt response to the decision maker. Moreover, integration of system dynamic analysis with reliability estimation methods enable engineers to find the most unreliable places in a production process and supports the decision making for reliability improvement of a production system. In this paper elaboration of the graphic simulation model of FMS operation has been described, FMS model parameters have been estimated, and criteria have been defined based on requirements regarding system reliability.

Augmented Reality (AR) technology for maintenance aims to improve human performances by providing relevant information regarding both corrective and preventive maintenance. The development of an AR system involves the choice of a hardware, a development software and a visualisation method. These selections are challenging due to the wide choice of services and options available which result in fragmentation: different development processes and different user experiences. In order to ease the selection of an AR system for supporting maintenance operations, this paper proposes an innovative process. It guides the reader to identify the requirements and the constraints for any specific application through a number of questions developed in this study to help with the selection. This results in suggestions for the selection of the hardware, the development software and the visualisation method. The process is built based on a literature study, grey documents and experts interviews. Future works includes the validation of the selection process proposed in this project. It could be done by comparing the choices made using the proposed process with the choices made by experts for the same case study. Moreover, the decisional process could be extended to face the economical and ergonomics aspects related with the selection of an AR system. It could be done expanding the literature research including studies which investigate into the economical and ergonomics consequences of the application or AR for maintenance. Paper presented at The 5th International Conference on Through-life Engineering Services (TESConf 2016)

The philosophy of the continuous improvement (CI) process aims at improving process stability and performance whilst increasing employees’ competencies at the same time. The difference to single improvement projects lies in the way the workforce is included in kaizen activities on an everyday basis. In a target-oriented CI approach the employees are also actively coached and guided by a leader (e.g. group or team leader) to act as a basis of the learning organization. The success and documentation of the improvement steps are therefore highly dependent on the skills of executives. Because of that, CI is currently being carried out in many companies either in a completely unstructured or in a traditional way with paper-based documentation. At that point digitalization concepts can support the effectiveness and efficiency of a CI system. The target of this paper lies in defining the core elements of a successful CI system and rating them against digitalization approaches which have been used in other parts of manufacturing. The compatibility of CI elements and digitalization approaches are rated with the help of the Delphi method. Following that, the concept of a digital CI is presented, which facilitates communication between managers and actual process improvers, documentation and employee learning during the improvement process. It is then compared to a traditional target-oriented CI process to show the major advantages and next steps in the introduction of such a system.

Next-generation advances in stress control strategy will enable renewable energies, such as solar energy, to become more reliable and available. Critical components, such as power electronics, present uncertainties to the system control in malfunctioning process, which reduces the target of more clean energy development and CO2 emission reduction. Thus, developing and harnessing sustainable energy requires mitigating the impact of the variability of the source of energy and the impact of the adaptive stress control deployed for the proportional, integral, derivative (PID) controller to minimize the thermal stress in the power switch insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT). In response to this challenge, a fuzzy linear matrix inequality (FLMI) PID controller proposes initiatives for customizing parameters of PID controller corresponding to the uncertainty of IGBTs. In this paper, the uncertainty of the boost converter has been evaluated in the dynamic of the LMI model and Takagi-Sugino (TS) has applied in closed loop control to overcome the instability of the Boost converter parameters. Paper originally presented at the 5th International Conference in Through-life Engineering Services Cranfield University, 1st and 2nd November 2016.

The life cycle of complex products is subject to multiple uncertainties. Designers include margins into the product to cater for these uncertainties: safety margins, which is typically included in the requirements against the uncertainties of use and design margins against the uncertainties of design, such as changing requirements or engineering change. In practise the terms design margins and safety margins are sometimes used interchangeably. At the end of the design process, a product might include considerable overdesign, which can increase the initial cost as well as the running cost of many complex systems. Late discovery of both overdesign and lack of safety margins are also expensive to deal with in late phases. This paper explore the role of safety margins and design margins in the design process based on two case studies in truck design and jet engine component design. The paper shows that margins are added both to the requirements and the design parameters, so that companies run the risk of duplicating margins throughout the process without different teams being aware of it. This paper argues that a clearer and common description of design margins can reduce undesired iteration in development processes arising from misconceptions and aggregation effects in the development of complex systems.

The Set-Based Concurrent Engineering (SBCE) is the methodology that can improve the efficiencies and effectiveness of product development. It is found that the SBCE approach provided a suitable knowledge environment to support decision making throughout the development process. This paper presents the potential tangible benefits gained from the application of the SBCE in an industrial case study of a Surface Jet Pump (SJP) that is used to revive the production of oil/gas from the dead wells. The well-structured SBCE process model and the process of identifying the potential benefits proposed in this paper will clarify the gap in the development of the SBCE in the company. The potential tangible benefits are established in a few key areas such as product innovation, product performance, manufacturing cost, and project success rate.

Power losses in machine tools are converted into thermal energy warming up components such as rotary table, tool holder, linear guide rails etc., and the machine tool structure. Due to this temperature change, thermo-elastic deformations of the machine tool structure occur which directly influence the position of the tool center point (TCP). Consequently, the accuracy of the machine deteriorates during the production process. The warmed-up parts or components need to be cooled; therefore, fluidic systems, such as cooling system, are installed to prevent this effect. In order to reduce the occurring thermo-elastic deformations and to enhance the production quality it is necessary to minimize the heat input. Previous research projects mainly focused on the energy demand of the machine tool and its main drives, reducing the energy consumption by developing more efficient components, and control strategies. However, the energy consumption of the fluidic systems has not yet been described in detail. Therefore, a detailed analysis of the existing fluidic system structures and their energy demand is necessary in order to ensure a uniform temperature distribution of the machine tool at minimal energy consumption. The main goal of this paper is to analyze the energy consumption of the fluidic system exemplified by two demonstrator machines. This investigation will help obtain the information concerning the energy demand of the fluidic system for these two different machines. This makes it possible to predict the consumed energy and the thermal behavior of the machine tool and its fluidic systems. Furthermore, the Energy consumption can serve as a reference for developing new system structures. Firstly, the paper describes the two different demonstrator machines with a special focus on their fluidic systems. Secondly, the methodology of the measurement to measure the energy consumption of the whole machine and of the fluidic systems is shown. Lastly, with the aid of experimental investigations the energy consumption of each machine is calculated and discussed for a defined process. As a result of the investigation, the energy distribution of the fluidic systems for both machines is determined. This knowledge serves as a reference for further investigations, for example, the cooling system. The first steps of the network-based simulation strategy are illustrated. These network-based models are helpful for future investigations regarding new structuring concepts such as the decentralization of the fluidic systems.

This paper presents and briefly describes the methodology used to get the systems and conceptual design of a train cab front cleaning robot. While the sides of the trains are cleaned by a mechanised washer, the cab fronts are cleaned manually which imply a number of health and safety issues. The aim of this project is first to carry out an analysis of the current procedures in order to detect the possible gaps in the process, generating a list of requirements that will make possible the conceptual design of a cleaning system that fulfil those requirements. The proposed solution includes the division of the system in various subsystems where different solutions for each subsystem will be considered, analysed and selected as a final option to develop a prototype. This paper focuses in the main structure of the robot that holds the end-effector; different conceptual designs are shown that comply with the requirements set in the systems design.

The paper concerns a case study about optimizing recycling management in terms of emptying containers holding, for instance, glass, paper, plastics or metal waste collected, thus supporting sustainability of natural resources and the circular economy. The case has been followed from the very start all the way to the current transformation into an IPS 2 sold on a subscription basis. The main results of the case study suggest that the provider side must change considerably in terms of the business and organizational set-up, which has been challenging compared to the necessary, though more easily implemented, technological changes. Further, the IPS 2 customers foresee improved efficiency and a decrease in unnecessary work if containers are emptied on time. In addition, the core of the IPS 2 seems generalizable and transferable to other applications where collection and analysis of data are needed to support decision-making.

Electric machines (e-machines) will form a fundamental part of the powertrain of the future. Automotive manufacturers are keen to develop e-machine manufacturing and assembly knowledge in-house. An on-going project, which aims to deliver an e-machine pilot assembly line, is being supported by a set of virtual engineering tools developed by the Automation Systems Group at the University of Warwick. Although digital models are a useful design aid providing visualization and simulation, the opportunity being exploited in this research paper is to have a common model throughout the lifecycle of both the manufacturing system and the product. The vision is to have a digital twin that is consistent with the real system and not just used in the early design and deployment phases. This concept, commonly referred to as Cyber Physical Systems (CPS), is key to realizing efficient system reconfigurability to support alternative product volumes and mixes. These tools produce modular digital models that can be rapidly modified preventing the simulation, test, and modification processes forming a bottleneck to the development lifecycles. In addition, they add value at more mature phases when, for example, a high volume line based on the pilot is created as the same models can be reused and modified as required. This research paper therefore demonstrates how the application of the virtual engineering tools support the development of a CPS using an e-machine assembly station as a case study. The main contribution of the work is to further validate the CPS philosophy by extending the concept into practical applications in pilot production systems with prototype products.

Manufacturing companies are confronted with increasing market volatility, which is characterized by the increasing of product variants and decreasing of production volume of each variant to meet customers’ demands. To stay competitive and to fulfill quickly changing market needs, manufacturing companies have to cope with rapidly changing customer demands concerning product types, quantities and delivery dates and have the ability to enable a fast modification and system-change of future manufacturing systems. Production planning and control must compensate the resulting fluctuations in capacity demand. This paper deals with a problem of joint optimization of production planning and capacity adjustment based on products specifications, delivery time constraints and reconfigurable machines capabilities for assembly systems. At the production planning level, the production planning problem consists in a multi-product capacitated lot-sizing problem. At the capacity adjustment level, the machine can be reconfigured to meet the changing needs in terms of capacity and functionality. In this context, the same machine can be modified in order to perform different tasks depending on the offered axes of motion in each configuration and the availability of tools. The main objective of this paper is to determine simultaneously the economic production quantity of each product variants and the optimal capacity of assembly systems to ensure the adherence to delivery dates. A stochastic mathematical model is developed and solved using a simulation optimization approach based on the response surface methodology. The obtained results show clearly strong interactions between production quantity, delivery time constraints and capacity of assembly line which confirm the necessity of jointly considering production planning and capacity adjustment in an integrated model.

Additive manufacturing (AM) is increasingly used in industrial production. Compared to conventional manufacturing technologies, such as milling and casting, AM offers a high degree of design freedom. Nevertheless, still some manufacturing restrictions and design guidelines have to be considered to ensure a flawless production. Therefore, a checking of design guidelines is a necessary step in order acceptance. Addressing this need, this paper presents an integrated analysis of design guidelines for an automated order acceptance. In recent times, guideline catalogs for the design of additively manufactured parts have been developed. However, the analysis of a part's geometry with regard to these guidelines still requires a lot of manual work and expert knowledge. This paper introduces different algorithmic approaches, which automate the analysis and assessment of a part's geometry. Based on a preselection of guidelines from existing design catalogs for selective laser melting and sintering, this paper presents algorithms to automatically check the manufacturability of a part. The algorithms use the triangulated surface geometry (STL) of a part. They are implemented within a web-based platform for the automated order acceptance of additive manufactured parts. The evaluation compares the different algorithms regarding their efficiency and effectiveness.

The cloud manufacturing paradigm has been known as one of the best solutions for today's competitive manufacturing environments. This paradigm insists on using a manufacturing service oriented approach for fulfilling the manufacturing enterprise resource management by the access to global availability of manufacturing services. The proposed service oriented approach covers a wide area of manufacturing resource management from infrastructures to platforms and applications. However, due to wide global distributions of manufacturing clouds, the service oriented architectures which are designed in the clouds cannot communicate with each other. This is mainly due to concentration of cloud manufacturing paradigm to the application of the detailed manufacturing resource acquisitions through a services oriented approach. To solve this problem a wide area of researches have been established which can be named as the interoperability of manufacturing clouds. In this paper, a novel solution for enabling the interoperability among the manufacturing clouds has been proposed. This solution applies the service oriented approach of the cloud manufacturing to enable the interoperability services. These services are proposed by Information Technology related service provider companies. These firms can provide the different manufacturing clouds with the interoperability services. These services are acquired by the manufacturing cloud members to communicate with other cloud members. The proposed solution enables two important mechanisms. The first mechanism uses service integration functions for enabling an integrated service data model and the second mechanism uses service mapping functions. Finally, the paper has elaborated the architecture of the platform and outlined future works.

Maintenance of flight control actuation systems is currently performed on a scheduled basis, however air fleet operators and component manufacturers are willing to move from scheduled maintenance to Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) in order to reduce maintenance costs and improve aircraft dispatchability. Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) systems are a critical part of CBM and are perceived as a breakthrough technology to effectively respond to an urgent and critical need to improve the readiness, availability, reliability, safety and maintainability of aerospace vehicles. This paper presents the results of an ongoing research activity focused on the development of a PHM system for fly-by-wire Electro-Hydraulic Servo Actuators (EHSA) without adding new sensors. The PHM system is being developed with the objective of detecting the most common faults, according to a failure mode effects and criticality analysis (FMECA). The paper describes in particular the tools used for detection and tracking of internal leakage faults of the hydraulic actuator, which is one of the most common faults of hydraulic servo-actuators in service, and for predicting its remaining useful life (RUL). The research work has been supported by the development of a nonlinear model for a reference EHSA, that has been implemented using physical equations and system parameters, taking into account environmental condition and disturbances. The model was validated through tests runs on a flight control actuator of a civil aircraft. Simulations are performed in nominal conditions and with progressive injection of degradation to verify the PHM algorithm. The performances of the PHM algorithms are evaluated by means of proper metrics.

This research aims to develop a novel planning tool able to increase both the energy efficiency and general performance of production systems using a hybrid-simulation based, multi-criteria optimization, with this particular paper focusing on the optimization method. Lacking necessary planning tools for an energy aware production planning and control, companies are unable harness the associated optimization potential. State-of-the-art tools are not able to sufficiently consider interactions between the discrete system behavior of material flow and the continuous thermal-physical behavior of equipment. This paper presents a planning method addressing this deficiency. The developed genetic-algorithm based optimization module optimally fits the requirements.

This paper copes with the research challenges of Smart Product-Service Systems (PSS). It conceptualizes Smart PSS as a digital-based ecosystem of value creation characterized by high complexity, dynamics and interconnectedness among stakeholders. Against this background, the paper shows the demands for more integrated engineering methods and raises research questions that call for specific solutions, for example, with respect to IT-security or organizational transformation. Finally, the paper introduces new research infrastructure facilities that are geared to generate specific solutions for Smart PSS. The interdisciplinary research center on smart engineering described at the end of the paper is an invitation to the international PSS community to mutually explore new knowledge and methodologies for the lifecycle management of Smart PSS.

This paper proposes smart manufacturing systems for tailor-made rubber runninng shoes production. With the development of information and communication technology, manufacturing machines and products embedded with intelligent sensing devices can connect to each other, and acquire the current conditions and changes of each machine and product. Drastic changes in production fields based on the IoT (Internet of Things) technology have been occurred, and then several countries and companies have been tackling the development of smart manufacturing system such as Industrie 4.0 and Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC). This paper focuses a concept of value co-creation for improving users’ delights, and describes the constructed smart factory model system based on Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). The current conditions and changes of the simulated production machines and products can be acquired using RF-ID systems. Our smart factory is implemented using a multi-agent system and managed in accordance with the mechanism of the autonomous negotiation such as a combinatorial auction mechanism.

In Germany the growing demand for customized systems and integrated solutions in machinery enhance the importance of special machinery. Within this industry, the commissioning process represents a significant part in the product engineering process and forms the base for reliability and performance during future operation. However, there is little research focusing on this process for special machinery. In particular, there has been little discussion on methods to evaluate alternative test processes or arranging test processes along the commissioning process. Therefore, this paper develops an application-oriented simulation tool that allows an evaluation of test alternatives and an arrangement of test processes during the commissioning process in special machinery. The authors decided to use Bayesian Networks to model the commissioning process as they enable the connectivity of multiple modules and integrate the stochastic dependencies along the processes. In addition the paper reveals two concepts to deal with unknown processes and the lack of data. Applying the simulation tool in a laser system manufacturer reveals that the simulation tool allows an evaluation as well as the identification of risks and need for countermeasures.

In order to stay competitive, many manufacturing companies, especially small and medium sized enterprises (SME), face the challenge to transform their production and the corresponding production planning and control (PPC) processes for the upcoming Internet of Things (IoT) Era. Since their time and cost budget is a constraint, SME need to focus particularly on relevant data types, data acquisition points and technologies that will be beneficial for their manufacturing processes. State of the art approaches are lacking in supporting SME sustainably, systematically and company-specific on their way to IoT from a PPC-perspective. Therefore, in this paper a systematic approach is described, which is providing a sustainable, benefit-oriented, and gradual guideline for companies which aim to build an IoT-supported production data acquisition for PPC processes, in order to enable sustainable manufacturing. The developed method is taking into account company-specific production structures through quantitative key performance indicators and qualitative morphological checklists. With the help of the approach proposed in this paper, SMEs are supported systematically on their transformation path of the production data acquisition for the PPC into the IoT Era in order to enable a sustainable production.

It has become common practice to apply simulation during product development and production planning. The increasing demand for individualized goods requires the ability to produce in small lot sizes and therefore more flexible resources, which leads to the use of cyber-physical systems (CPS) in manufacturing. This papers aims to look at the changing requirements, pitfalls and possible solutions when applying simulation to CPS. The research is based on a case study of a large car manufacturing company that has already implemented CPS in one production line. The paper will also provide an overview of simulation types and discuss their fitness.

Quality management of machine tools is the key to reducing downtime of customers’ machines and the manufacturers’ service cost. This paper introduces DMG MORI's systematic workflow from designing, procurement, manufacturing, and acceptance inspections to the delivery of machines, which contributes to improvement of machine quality. Two quality management systems, one for before shipment and the other for after shipment, are described in this paper. Various workflow systems, data analysis, remote monitoring, continuous Kaizen approaches are integrated in the systems. However, defects of machines cannot be completely eliminated, so proactive maintenance and strong service networks are vital for business success. Especially, proactive maintenance is favorably accepted in the industry as a solution to minimize machine downtime and the repairing cost. This paper introduces various sensing technologies to improve the functions of proactive maintenance.

Ueda et al. (2008) proposed the value creation model based on emergent synthesis. He also argues that whole value of an artifactual system should be co-created through the interaction among various agents in a society. This paper discusses how we could understand whole value of societal systems could be emerged through the interaction among various stakeholders who pursue different aspect of values. Moreover the paper addresses the relationships between different aspects of values including price, function, or satisfaction with an example of service system in which includes customers, employees and business entities.

With the recent increase in the use of renewable energies, such as photovoltaic and wind energy, both companies and energy providers are confronted with an increasingly volatile energy supply, caused by alternating weather conditions. In the case of on-site generation of electric power by wind and solar resources, it can be beneficial to adjust the company-wide power consumption to these fluctuations. This paper presents a real-time control approach for adapting the use-time of energy-flexible components under the constraints imposed by a fluctuating supply from renewables, the requirements on machine tools and indeed, the manufacturing process itself. Based on a hypothetical medium-sized manufacturing company, this paper evaluates different scenarios with regard to varying weather conditions. For the real-time control, no weather forecasts are necessary and the machine tools’ productivity is maintained using select machine components. It can be observed that, given a certain fluctuation within the power supply, rescheduling the use-time of energy-flexible machine tool components leads to a higher utilization degree of the own supplied energy by renewables. This paper depicts a scenario that provides the preconditions for an economic operation of the proposed strategy.

In literature, theoretical elaboration of PSS on the context of Base of Pyramid (BoP) is limited. To fill the gap, this paper discusses theoretical aspects of PSS for BoP markets. Based on literature review and a case study with renewable energy sector in rural areas in Bangladesh, the paper identified main conditions in designing a PSS for BoP markets (e.g. need of a deep understanding of customers), customer values for a PSS on BoP markets (e.g. income generating opportunities), and design characteristics particularly relevant to BoP markets (e.g. who and where of design).

The European Union (EU) has had laws on the disposal of waste for over 30 years and laws concerning the environmental performance of products for over 20. However, these laws have not formed a cohesive whole – and that is about to change. December 2015 saw the European Commission (the body responsible for proposing new EU legislation) published its Circular Economy Package, with the stated objective of “closing the loop” of product lifecycles. This paper provides an overview of this package and demonstrates why the development of standards underpins future legislation. First-hand information is provided as the author of the paper is the Convenor of the newly created CEN-CENELEC group responsible for drafting standards related to the material efficiency of products.

Modern aircraft are more integrated with advanced systems functionalities, which result in ever-increasing aircraft complexity, further development difficulties and development delays. These system complexities are mostly in the form of system interactions that make it difficult to understand the overall system characteristics. At the early stages of final assembly line (FAL) design, one of the most important objectives is to arrange the installation and test tasks from components to sub-systems and systems in the proper sequence to meet the designed functions and prevent hazards from the integration process. Improper sequencing of the final assembly process will cause rework, time delays, cost and potential safety risk in development. In the field of final assembly line design, previous research has mostly focused on assembly line balancing or supply chain design based on structural parts assembly. However, these approaches do not consider the early final assembly line definition or test allocation for system functions. In this paper, the research proposes a method based on a systems engineering view and integrated computer aided design (CAD) to help better understand system interactions and generate viable final assembly process sequencing. This research aims to develop a concept of unified master data for final assembly design, which contains 3D geometrical CAD, system functions and interaction characteristics. The paper will present the methodology framework, key concepts and associated industrial software packages for implementation. The paper concludes with further discussion of an initial case study.

This paper presents an approach for a model-based planning process for the early phases of manufacturing system planning (MSP). The goals are a better integration of MSP with product development (PD) in the early design phases and an improvement of the coordination of the MSP-related planning disciplines. The presented approach is based on model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and is supported by a modeling scheme which uses the systems modeling language (SysML). The approach consists of a process description of the MSP and of different so called SysML views which describe the information artifacts of each MSP step. It is divided into four different modeling levels that describe the manufacturing system's structure and behavior from different points of view. In order to validate the approach, an exemplary cylinder head production was modeled. Extractions from this example are shown as SysML-diagrams. To conclude the paper, the advantages and disadvantages of using a model-based planning approach with SysML for MSP are discussed.

This paper provides a preliminary study of framework development to manage co-creation process in order to improve customer satisfaction and environmental performance. The study clarified the importance to manage co-creation process for PSS. The discussion on PSS and Co-creation process reveals similarity regarding network and technology requirement to establish the system implies that co-creation process naturally embedded in PSS. Nevertheless, managing the co-creation process become another challenge. To manage co-creation process for PSS, this paper identified the influential factors of co-creation process considering the network and technology. The factors that included in the networks are number of actors, degree of centrality, diversity of actors and network density. The influential factors of co-creation process from technology perspective are modularity and system interoperability. The expected benefits for the company will be in terms of knowledge of co-creation management under product-service system., 9th CIRP IPSS Conference: Circular Perspectives on PSS.

Recent developments in information and computation technologies open up possibilities for the practical implementation of flexible, self-controlling production systems. The decentralization of existing production systems and their control plays a decisive role in creating the demanded flexibility and achieving an overall self-controlled system. The basic concept of the decentralization of production systems was set by the paradigm of Holonic Manufacturing Systems (HMS). In a HMS an element (holon) of the production system works autonomously with its own schedule and properties. Just through the cooperation with other holons central tasks of the production system are determined and subsequently executed. In this paper the flexibility and self-control of the production system was applicated through the distribution of decision-making by adding supplementary information acquisition and processing tools to former executive units. The previously procedural connection of the machines was dissolved and replaced by a peer-to-peer communication protocol. Superordinate controlling units, mostly PLCs, were abolished and instead decentralized controlling agents were implemented. The automatic control of the entire system is reached just through the communication of all devices, a machine-based scheduling and additional monitoring agents. The underlying architecture is based on Holonic Manufacturing concepts including order agent, machine, resource, product, logistic and supply holons. In this paper the adapted architecture is presented and subsequently the practical implementation in a research laboratory is described.

The machining of a cone frustum as specified in National Aerospace Standard NAS-979 is a widely accepted test to evaluate the performance of five-axis machining centers. By measuring the cross-sectional circularity or roundness of the cone, the contouring accuracy of five-axis computer numerical control (CNC) can be evaluated. Thus, reduction of circularity is directly related to improvement of the contouring accuracy in circular motions. Most CNC actuators are AC servo motors that are precisely controlled via two closed loops—one each for position and velocity. The circular contouring accuracy of a five-axis CNC can be improved by adjusting the loop gains and the time constant of velocity loop integration. Although higher gains enable the servomotors to reach the desired positions faster, the resulting contouring accuracy may not be satisfactory. Furthermore, excessively high gains may cause vibrations. This paper proposes a frequency domain approach for tuning the control parameters for each axis so that their frequency responses are very similar, thus reducing the circularity value of the cross sections of a manufactured cone frustum. The paper also describes a method to obtain the frequency response of each axis by using properly engineered input chirp sine signals. Simulated results showing the effect of tuning the control loop parameters based on the frequency response of each axis are presented. Moreover, a case study was conducted to show the variation in the circularity value when the control parameters of each axis were tuned to obtain similar frequency responses of the linear and rotary axes within a frequency range.

Despite various studies that have been conducted so far on the failure of high power cables, failure progression in low power cables, wires and interconnections have not been well understood yet. In general, it is hypothesised that failures of wires are progressed from random intermittent failures that are gradually developed as hard faults. This paper aims to present a test rig and possible test techniques that can be used for testing the failure progression of wires and interconnections. Research presented in this paper is based on tools, equipment and techniques that facilitate various ageing mechanisms needed to capture proper and right failure patterns from low power cables, wires and interconnections. Paper originally presented at the 5th International Conference in Through-life Engineering Services Cranfield University, 1st and 2nd November 2016.

The tool lifespan is among the most contributing factors in machining economics. Accurate lifetime prediction maximizes the utilization of each tool and the machine tool. In order to predict the remaining tool life accurately the past has to be captured continuously. In this paper the capturing of tool usage data and its analysis is explained. With the captured data tool operation circumstances can be calculated. These are mainly responsible for tool wear. This circumstances data is captured by machine tool integration and combined with production planning data. The generated context of the machine tool information of the covered cutting path is combined with the material used. The combination results in specific tool wear. This cutting circumstances are logged in the tool history data. The cutting conditions are described with the material used, feed rate per tooth, cutting width, cutting speed, cutting path and number of revolutions. A model has been developed which describes the steps in detail. A forecast algorithm uses the history data to predict the occurring tool wear and end of life of the cutting tool. Input for the calculation are the cutting path, cutting circumstances, tool type and material type. With this information it is possible to forecast the remaining tool life by using a specifically tailored machine learning algorithm. The prediction will become more accurate after each learning cycle. In this paper the algorithm is explained and the generated characteristic diagram is displayed for each tool and its tool life.

Many potential business benefits have been widely associated with the implementation of PSS. Still, several significant challenges for transitioning to PSS persist, especially in regards to materializing the business benefits. To tackle such difficulty, this paper suggests a theory-driven concept of a business case for PSS implementation and management, based on a System Dynamics simulation framework. With a maturity-oriented theoretical perspective and the associated capability concepts, the study provides insights into how the development of PSS capabilities can potentially affect corporate performance over time. The paper's preliminary results identify the potential for managers and other decision-makers to use the business case simulator to assessing PSS-related business benefits and responding to multiple implementation scenarios and strategies.

This paper presents a new quality- and lifecycle-oriented approach of integrated production engineering in automotive industry. In a first step, current production engineering projects are analyzed and present methodical, information-technical and organizational challenges regarding the project phase of concept planning are depicted. Based on this, existing industrial- and research-oriented solution approaches are illustrated and critically evaluated. Considering the weaknesses of these solutions, this paper introduces the new developed quality- and lifecycle-oriented production engineering approach. As one key issue of this new planning approach, the idea of using a model- and rule-based configuration system is presented.

The use of data-mining as an analytical tool has been increasing in recent years; and the emergence of new manufacturing paradigms such as the Industry 4.0 initiative have led many smaller manufacturers to look at utilizing these powerful techniques; however, practical applications are still in their infancy, and remain out of reach for many of these small manufacturing enterprises (SME's). This paper focuses on methods to integrate these emerging paradigms into existing manufacturing processes, specifically, how data-mining principles may be used to begin to explore the concept of Intelligent Manufacturing under Industry 4.0; with a focus on improving product and process quality. In collaboration with an industrial partner; a respected manufacturer of household electronic appliances, techniques were developed using open-source and freely-available software, running on readily available hardware and using only existing data-collection points, that were able to provide actionable feedback which could be used to make improvements to the manufacturing operations; and to increase product quality. This paper serves as evidence that the ability to utilise these techniques is now within reach of numerous smaller manufacturing operations, and provides a further understanding of how moves towards fully Industry 4.0 ready factories may be made in the years to come.

This paper is a conceptual paper based on the method of literature review and case study (second-hand data). The paper has three aims. First, it tries to discuss the correlations between PSS and other terms that contribute to PSS development in the last four decades. Following the literature review, a chronicle chart of PSS development is compiled to link PSS with these main terms, environmental sustainability and digital technology. Second, it intends to explore the impact of digital technology on PSS and sustainability. Third, it aims to develop a conceptual framework, in which all PSS actors including suppliers, integrators, customers, end users and the society co-create value for a sustainable economy facilitated by digital technology. There are two main contributions of this paper. One is that it is the first time to compile such a PSS chronicle chart to show the correlation. The other is that the framework embraces the idea of oneness between product and services, functional fulfillment and social needs, and economic growth and sustainability that call for value co-creation. The framework can serve as an education model and practice guide for academia, industry practitioners, policy makers and non-government organizations (NGOs).

Bicycle sharing is considered an effective supplement to urban transport. Nowadays, bicycle sharing has become more appealing to more users thanks to the updated application of information technology. In addition to technological support, innovative business model also make great differences. Bicycle sharing can be further facilitated through a circular value chain. PSS-EPR coupling model provides an insight to how to integrate such a value chain. The paper presents PSS-EPR coupling model, and discusses the integrated circular value chain for bicycle sharing based on this model. Case study research methodology is used. Three types of bicycle sharing coexisting in China are described, with Yong Jiu, Ofo and Mobike an example of each type. The paper contrasts their business models against PSS-EPR coupling model, and comes to the conclusion that Mobike is better able to achieve closed-loop value creation. Further suggestions are given to Mobike for more effective value chain management based on the model.

Implementation of lean manufacturing in any type of organizations can bring many benefits, such as reducing waste and improving operating efficiency. However, lean implementation is not a straightforward process. Although a number of frameworks have been presented, still many companies find it difficult to implement lean. Furthermore, most of these roadmaps are for large manufacturing companies, and not for small and medium enterprises. Unfortunately, there is not a recipe that if used can guarantee a successful implementation. Furthermore, unsuccessful implementation can have a great impact on organization's resources, but even more importantly, affect employees and their confidence in lean philosophy. In the present paper, the most prominent lean implementation frameworks will be discussed, under the prism of the needs of SMEs. The challenges for the SMEs in their lean journey are discussed. Paper originally presented at Manufacturing Systems 4.0 – Proceedings of the 50th CIRP Conference on Manufacturing Systems, held 3 – 5 May, 2017, Taichung City, Taiwan.