Fabrication and characterization of nanostructured fluorine doped tin oxide thin film for dssc by hydrothermal method

Nanostructured Fluorine Doped Tin Oxide (FTO) thin film has been successfully synthesized on top of bare FTO layer substrates using hydrothermal method. The performance of FTO thin film including conductivity and transparency depend on the surface morphology and the properties of the material. Hydrothermal method has proven to be a very good method for the fabrication of novel metal oxides. Thus, a new nanostructured FTO thin film like nanorice has been fabricated using one step hydrothermal method. FTO nanorice thin films were obtained from the reaction of tin (iv) chloride (SnCl4), ammonium fluoride (NH4F), acetone, deionized water and hydrochloric acid (HCl). The compound was prepared in an autoclave at 150°C hydrothermal temperature for different reaction times of 5 hours, 10 hours, 15 hours, and 20 hours. FESEM studies on the surface morphologies of all the samples showed that nanorice structure had formed to fully cover the bare FTO substrate. Then, to further the optimization of FTO nanorice thin film, this research focused on studying the effect of hydrothermal temperature on FTO nanorice thin films. The experiments were conducted at 130°C, 140°C, 150°C, 160°C, and 170°C of hydrothermal temperature in constant reaction time of 10 hours. Basically, there were six properties studied; surface morphology, structural, element composition, thickness measurement, electrical and optical properties. At the end of this research, homogeneous FTO thin film has been successfully prepared. By controlling the reaction time and hydrothermal temperature, a transparent FTO film with beyond 85% percentage of transmittance was developed. The FTO thin film produced at 10 hour reaction time and 150°C of hydrothermal temperature time gave the low sheet resistance of 0.012 Ohm/sq with high transparency. The DSSC fabricated using the optimized FTO film gave higher efficiency of 2.77% compared to commercial FTO of 1.93%

The Factory of the Future

A brief history of aircraft production techniques is given. A flexible machining cell is then described. It is a computer controlled system capable of performing 4-axis machining part cleaning, dimensional inspection and materials handling functions in an unmanned environment. The cell was designed to: allow processing of similar and dissimilar parts in random order without disrupting production; allow serial (one-shipset-at-a-time) manufacturing; reduce work-in-process inventory; maximize machine utilization through remote set-up; maximize throughput and minimize labor

Technology assessment of advanced automation for space missions

Six general classes of technology requirements derived during the mission definition phase of the study were identified as having maximum importance and urgency, including autonomous world model based information systems, learning and hypothesis formation, natural language and other man-machine communication, space manufacturing, teleoperators and robot systems, and computer science and technology

Intralogistics and industry 4.0: designing a novel shuttle with picking system

Intralogistics is increasingly a matter of research and development as a form of optimization, automation, integration and management of the flow of materials and information that circulate within a business unit. With a strong connection to material handling equipment and automation solutions, intralogistics has proved to be one of the main factors responsible for something that is already happening: a fourth industrial revolution where it is possible to convert warehouses and manufacturing units into smart environments where the entire process can be controlled and supervised through a single system. It became necessary to develop more innovative and efficient solutions to the constant diversity of challenges proposed by the market. In this sense, it was proposed to develop something innovative within the area of Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS), a technology increasingly sought after by today's manufacturing plants. As such, the goal was to improve the most emergent AS/RS in recent years: the Pallet/Box Shuttle AS/RS. In order to achieve the proposed objective, it was necessary to analyze all the existing solutions in the market and, mainly, to find the main systems to be improved and the direction to follow in order to create a novel solution based on the existing advanced solutions. Moreover, regarding the recent needs required by the smart factories and Industry 4.0, it was intended that the new system would be able to make an optimized selection of products, forming sets or sub-sets of different products picking them from different places of the rack, a situation that is quite frequent in companies that produce and assemble equipment. The solution obtained shows that it is possible to increase the automation of the operations in the storage systems and improve the responsiveness of the system, taking this solution to a new level. Different products can be picked-up and put in a same box, providing a set of products/components able to be used in a production line or to be provided to a customer.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Quality assurance program guidelines for application to and use by manufacturers of rail/guideway vehicles, buses, automatic train control systems, and their major subsystems

Guidelines are presented for a quality assurance system to be implemented by the manufacturer in support of designing, developing, fabricating, assembling, inspecting, testing, handling, and delivery of equipment being procured for use in public urban mass transit systems. The guidelines apply to this equipment when being procured for: (1) use in revenue service; (2) demonstration of systems that will be revenue producing or used by the public; (3) use as a prototype for follow-on operational/revenue producing equipment procurements; and (4) qualification tests

Computer integrated manufacturing in the chemical industry: Theory & practice

This paper addresses the possibilities of implementing Computer Integrated Manufacturing in the process industry, and the chemical industry in particular. After presenting some distinct differences of the process industry in relation to discrete manufacturing, a number of focal points are discussed. They identify the adaptations to be made to a conventional CIM system, so that it will be applicable to the process industry. Interviews with managers of six chemical firms indicate that the process industry may benefit from a new CIM approach to management thinking.Chemical Industry;Manufacturing;CIM;production

Self-replicating systems: A systems engineering approach

A first approach to conceptualize self-replicating systems was developed from past and present abstract theories. The engineering elements of self-replicating systems are defined in terms of a basic reference system. A number of options are investigated. The growth characteristics and their problems are analyzed, the mathematics of various exponential growth options are outlined, and the problems of universal parts production and systems closure are discussed. Selected areas of further study are defined and a 20 year development and demonstration program is presented

From Machinery to Insights: A Comprehensive Data Acquisition Approach for Battery Cell Production

To ensure the widespread use of sustainably produced battery cells, further progress in research is needed. The transition to automated data acquisition is complicated by the technical complexity of industrial data acquisition. Existing software solutions also fall short in meeting usability, reproducibility, extensibility, and cost-effectiveness requirements for research-scale battery production lines. To address these gaps, this paper presents and evaluates a comprehensive data acquisition and collection solution for research-scale battery production lines. It offers a systematic overview of the industrial data acquisition process, focusing on gathering data from various existing machinery and utilizing the industry standard OPC UA protocol. Given the lack of existing solutions that meet the specified requirements, the paper introduces the "ProductionPilot" software as a solution. "ProductionPilot" is designed to provide an extensible platform with a user-friendly web interface. It enables users to select, structure, monitor, and export live production data delivered via OPC UA. The effectiveness of the proposed system is validated at the CELLFAB battery production research facility at eLab of RWTH Aachen university, demonstrating its capability for long-term data acquisition and the generation of digital shadows. By addressing the limitations of current data collection methods and providing a comprehensive solution, this research aims to facilitate the broader adoption of lithium-ion batteries in renewable energy applications

Desenvolvimento de um veículo inovador para armazéns automáticos

Intralogistics is increasingly a matter of research and development as a form of optimization, automation, integration and management of the flow of materials and information that circulate within a business unit. With a strong connection to material handling equipment and automation solutions, intralogistics has proved to be one of the main factors responsible for something that is already happening: a fourth industrial revolution where it is possible to convert warehouses and manufacturing units into intelligent environments where the entire process can be controlled and supervised through a single system. It became necessary to develop more and more innovative and efficient solutions to the constant diversity of challenges proposed by the market. In this sense, it was proposed to develop something innovative within the area of Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS), a technology increasingly sought after by today's manufacturing plants. As such, the goal was to improve the most emergent AS/RS in recent years: the Pallet/Box Shuttle AS/RS. In order to achieve the proposed objective, it was necessary to analyze all the existing solutions in the market and, principally, to find the main points to be improved and the direction to follow in order to innovate an already advanced solution. The results show a robotized solution where it was possible to increase the automation of the operations in the storage systems and improve the responsiveness of the system, taking this solution to a new level.A intralogística é cada vez mais uma área de investigação e desenvolvimento como uma forma de otimização, automação, integração e gestão do fluxo de materiais e informações que circulam dentro de uma unidade de negócios. Com uma forte ligação com equipamentos de manipulação de materiais e soluções de automação, a intralogística provou ser um dos principais fatores responsáveis por algo que já está a acontecer: uma quarta revolução industrial, onde é possível converter armazéns e unidades fabris em ambientes inteligentes, onde todo o processo pode ser controlado e supervisionado através de um único sistema. Tornou-se necessário desenvolver soluções cada vez mais inovadoras e eficientes para a constante diversidade de desafios propostos pelo mercado. Nesse sentido, propôs-se desenvolver algo inovador dentro da área dos Armazéns Automáticos, uma solução cada vez mais procurada pelas unidades fabris de hoje. Como tal, estabeleceu-se o objetivo de melhorar o tipo de Armazém Automático mais emergente dos últimos anos: o Armazém Automático com Veículos Satélite para Caixas ou Paletes. Para alcançar o objetivo proposto, foi necessário analisar todas as soluções existentes no mercado e, principalmente, encontrar os principais pontos a serem aprimorados e definir a direção a seguir para se inovar uma solução já avançada. Os resultados obtidos apresentam uma solução robotizada onde foi possível aumentar a automatização das operações dos sistemas de armazenamento e melhorar a capacidade de resposta do sistema, levando esta solução para um novo patamar