9,989 research outputs found
DIG-MAN: Integration of digital tools into product development and manufacturing education
General objectives of PRODEM education. Teaching of product development requires various digital tools. Nowadays, the digital
tools usually use computers, which have become a standard element of manufacturing
and teaching environments. In this context, an integration of computer-based technologies
in manufacturing environments plays the crucial and main role, allowing to enrich,
accelerate and integrate different production phases such as product development, design,
manufacturing and inspection. Moreover, the digital tools play important role in management
of production. According to Wdowik and Ratnayake (2019 paper: Open Access
Digital Toolâs Application Potential in Technological Process Planning: SMMEs Perspective,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29996-5_36), the digital tools can be divided
into several main groups such as: machine tools and technological equipment (MTE), devices
(D), internet(intranet)-based tools (I), software (S). The groups are presented in
Fig. 1.1. Machine tools and technological equipment group contains all existing machines and
devices which are commonly used in manufacturing and inspection phase. The group is used in
physical shaping of manufactured products, measurement tasks regarding tools and products,
etc. The next group of devices (D) is proposed to separate the newest trends of using mobile
and computer-based technologies such as smartphones or tablets and indicate the necessity
of increased mobility within production sites. The similar need of separation is in the case of
internet(intranet)-based tools which indicate the growing interest in network-based solutions.
Hence, D and I groups are proposed in order to underline the significance of mobility and
networking. These two groups of the digital tools should also be supported in the nearest
future by the use of 5G networks. The last group of software (S) concerns computer software
produced for the aims of manufacturing environments. There is also a possibility to assign the
defined solutions (e.g. computer programs) to more than one group (e.g. program can be assigned
to software and internet-based tools). The main role of tools allocated inside separate
groups is to support employees, managers and customers of manufacturing firms focused on
abovementioned production phases. The digital tools are being developed in order to increase
efficiency of production, quality of manufactured products and accelerate innovation process
as well as comfort of work. Nowadays, digital also means mobile.
Universities (especially technical), which are focused on higher education and research, have
been continuously developing their teaching programmes since the beginning of industry 3.0
era. They need to prepare their alumni for changing environments of manufacturing enterprises
and new challenges such as Industry 4.0 era, digitalization, networking, remote work,
etc. Most of the teaching environments nowadays, especially those in manufacturing engineering
area, are equipped with many digital tools and meet various challenges regarding an
adaptation, a maintenance and a final usage of the digital tools. The application of these tools
in teaching needs a space, staff and supporting infrastructures. Universities adapt their equipment
and infrastructures to local or national needs of enterprises and the teaching content
is usually focused on currently used technologies. Furthermore, research activities support
teaching process by newly developed innovations.
Figure 1.2 presents how different digital tools are used in teaching environments. Teaching
environments are divided into four groups: lecture rooms, computer laboratories, manufacturing
laboratories and industrial environments. The three groups are characteristic in the
case of universitiesâ infrastructure whilst the fourth one is used for the aims of internships of students or researchers. Nowadays lecture rooms are mainly used for lectures and presentations
which require the direct communication and interaction between teachers and students.
However, such teaching method could also be replaced by the use of remote teaching (e.g.
by the use of e-learning platforms or internet communicators). Unfortunately, remote teaching
leads to limited interaction between people. Nonverbal communication is hence limited.
Computer laboratories (CLs) usually gather students who solve different problems by the use
of software. Most of the CLs enable teachers to display instructions by using projectors. Physical
gathering in one room enables verbal and nonverbal communication between teachers
and students. Manufacturing laboratories are usually used as the demonstrators of real industrial
environments. They are also perfect places for performing of experiments and building
the proficiency in using of infrastructure. The role of manufacturing labs can be divided as:
âą places which demonstrate the real industrial environments,
âą research sites where new ideas can be developed, improved and tested.
Industrial environment has a crucial role in teaching. It enables an enriched student experience
by providing real industrial challenges and problems
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Digital Factory and Virtual Reality: Teaching Virtual Reality Principles with Game Engines
Virtual reality (VR) is widely used in various industrial applications. All leading industrial manufacturing companies today have a strategy called the âconcept of a digital factoryâ where all aspects of manufacturing are digitally verified on digital mock-ups prior to physical manufacturing. Other than that, it is a rapidly developing new medium and further development of VR and IT will open up new possibilities. The new concept of Industry 4.0 is based on using approaches like the Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Cyber-Physical Systems and Virtual Reality. With the decreasing cost of VR devices, even smaller businesses are able to implement such technologies. It is therefore crucial that mechanical engineering graduates are familiar with these new technologies and trends. We had to use unconventional methods to educate mechanical engineering students in the latest trends in IT and VR. Back in 2010, there were almost no tools available for teaching how to create industry-themed VR environments, which did not require complicated coding, so we decided to make our own. To simplify the development, we used Source Engine as the core and enhanced it with a library of textures, models and scripts we called DigiTov. Although Source Engine is a game engine, the master logic of VR development is the same as for professional SW products. In autumn 2015, a group of 10 students modified the DigiTov for Unity3D, forming a team made up of different roles
Perceived Quality Evaluation with the Use of Extended Reality
If designers want to communicate quality aspects of the product, there is a need to bring these characteristics into the measurable space of perceived quality (PQ) attributes. To illustrate the solution for designers\u27 dilemma of the âbest design choiceâ in this study we applied the PQ attributes importance ranking (PQAIR) method, with the example of a bread toaster. We choose for evaluation three PQ attributes which can significantly influence visual quality of a product: Gap, Flush and Parallelism. We performed the experiment measuring subjective preferences over the toaster designs of two respondent\u27s groups - âDesignersâ and âCustomers.â We used sequentially: (i) web-survey (still images); (ii) desktop system; and (iii) fully immersive head-mounted display system (Virtual Reality). Consequently, we conducted a post-experiment survey regarding subjective preferences, related to the PQ communication channels that have been implemented during the study. Our results indicate advantages and drawbacks for each PQ communication method that we applied in this experiment and encourage further research in the area of products\u27 perceived quality assessment
Emerging Technologies in Architectural Visualization: Implementation Strategies for Practice
Representation has always been a critical component in architectural practice and representational techniques have been evolving over time. The relatively recent advent of the digital media is revolutionizing architectural representation. Digital representation techniques are proving to be a more effective means of communicating the design to the client and the collaborative project team. The techniques are advancing so rapidly that it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep in pace with the digital acceleration and utilize these representation techniques in architectural practice. There is a wide difference between what is possible using digital architectural visualization and what is implemented in practice. The research explores the extent of utilization of these digital representation techniques and the challenges they pose in practical implementation. Employing a logical approach to selectively implement this digital procedural change in representation would help in realizing the strategic benefits of these rapidly progressing techniques
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