A framework for green manufacturing practicies in small and medium enterprises in Malaysia

Green Manufacturing Practices (GrMP) is a term used to describe manufacturing practices that do not harm the environment during any part of the manufacturing process. It emphasizes the use of processes that do not pollute the environment or harm consumers, employees, or other members of the community. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are moving toward sustainable alternatives through GrMP method. It stresses on critical factors such as organisational style, eco-knowledge, business environment, society influences, supply chain management and technology network. Large size industries are more compelled to do so compared to SMEs due to the fact that they are more influential with better organizational management and good financial stability compared to SMEs. However, SMEs are trying to adapt GrMP as a mandatory process, but lack of proper framework which guide them for implementation. Therefore, this study developes the framework of GrMP for local SMEs. The study involves enablers and barriers in implementing GrMP from previous literatures. This work formulate a framework based on relationship between criticals factors with enablers and barriers. 59 of respondents from local industries in Malaysia were selected as respondents based on six of critical factors divided into two parts which are enablers and barriers. The questionnaire are designed based on this. Survey were evaluated by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23, in terms of correlation, reliability, central tendency and variability testing. The finding on this study in the term of framework will help SMEs to implementing GrMP. Framework formulate relates the critical factors from previous literature and enablers and barriers from survey based on perception of industries expert. GrMP for SMEs are the first step of environmental awareness and ecological responsibilties

Pembangunan Modul Pengajaran Kendiri (MPK) keusahawanan dalam topik isu keusahawanan bagi pelajar diploma di politeknik

Terdapat pelbagai kaedah pembelajaran yang telah diperkenalkan termasuklah kaedah pembelajaran yang menggunakan pendekatan pembelajaran bermodul secara kendiri. Kajian ini adalah bertujuan untuk mengkaji kesesuaian Modul Pengajaran Kendiri Keusahawanan dalam topik Isu Keusahawanan yang telah dihasilkan bagi pelajar yang mengikuti pengajian Diploma di Jabatan Perdagangan Politeknik. Antara aspek yang dikaji ialah untuk menilai sama ada rekabentuk modul yang dihasilkan dapat memenuhi ciri-ciri modul yang baik, MPK yang dihasilkan dapat membantu mencapai objektif pembelajaran, MPK ini bersifat mesra pengguna dan MPK yang dihasilkan membantu pensyarah menyampaikan pengajarannya dengan lebih berkesan. Kajian ini dilakukan ke atas 110 orang pelajar semester en am yang mengikuti pengajian diploma dan 4 orang pensyarah yang mengajar subjek Keusahawanan di Jabatan Perdagangan Politeknik Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, Selangor. Kaedah analisa data yang digunakan dalam kajian ini ialah skor min dan peratus. Hasil daripada kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa rekabentuk modul yang dihasilkan memenuhi ciri-ciri modul yang baik, MPK ini membantu untuk mencapai objektif pembelajaran, MPK ini bersifat mesra pengguna dan MPK yang dihasilkan dapat membantu pensyarah menyampaikan pengajarannya dengan lebih berkesan. Ini bermakna secara keseluruhannya, hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa modul yang dihasilkan oleh pengkaji adalah sesuai digunakan oleh pelajar-pelajar semester enam yang mengikuti pengajian diploma di Jabatan Perdagangan peringkat politeknik. Seterusnya, beberapa pandangan telah dikemukakan bagi meningkatkan rnutu dan kualiti MPK yang dihasilkan. Semoga kajian ini dapat memberi manfaat kepada mereka yang terlibat dalam bidang pendidikan

A REVIEW OF INTELLIGENT CNC CONTROLLER DEVELOPMENT BASED ON STEP-NC

In the contemporary Computer Numeric Controlled (CNC) machine tools of Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) and CNC process conducted by a number of inter-related operations and parameters using G Codes and M codes set as RS274 or ISO 6983 standard. However, this programming language does not explicitly relate to each other to have control of arbitrary locations other than the motion of the block-by-block. STEP-NC is the extension to STEP, Standard for Exchange Product model data. This determines the neutral data format for digital information from a product. STEP-NC standard is on how information about CNC machining can be added to parts represented in the STEP product model data. In this paper is to review and explore the making of interoperable CNC manufacturing is then provided relating milling, turning, turn-mill through the development of information models for products, processes and new machining system controller developed base on new standard ISO 14649 standard and ISO 10303, which related to data modeling for CNC features, process planning, and machine tool. It is expected that this paper will meet a step towards the requirements for global interoperable manufacturing for real-life machining system

A cyber-physical machine tools platform using OPC UA and MTConnect

Cyber-Physical Machine Tools (CPMT) represent a new generation of machine tools that are smarter, well connected, widely accessible, more adaptive and more autonomous. Development of CPMT requires standardized information modelling method and communication protocols for machine tools. This paper proposes a CPMT Platform based on OPC UA and MTConnect that enables standardized, interoperable and efficient data communication among machine tools and various types of software applications. First, a development method for OPC UA-based CPMT is proposed based on a generic OPC UA information model for CNC machine tools. Second, to address the issue of interoperability between OPC UA and MTConnect, an MTConnect to OPC UA interface is developed to transform MTConnect information model and its data to their OPC UA counterparts. An OPC UA-based CPMT prototype is developed and further integrated with a previously developed MTConnect-based CPMT to establish a common CPMT Platform. Third, different applications are developed to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed CPMT Platform, including an OPC UA Client, an advanced AR-assisted wearable Human-Machine Interface and a conceptual framework for CPMT powered cloud manufacturing environment. Experimental results have proven that the proposed CPMT Platform can significantly improve the overall production efficiency and effectiveness in the shop floor

An evaluation of important criteria for measuring the facade condition of old shophouses in Malaysia

Preserving the facade of the old shop houses is important to reflect the image of an attractive townscape. Be-sides having a unique architectural motif, the facade of an old shop houses also has a high heritage value, particularly in terms of how it was built. Therefore, it is desirable to ensure the facade is always in good condition. However, it is difficult to determine the facade of the old shop houses that whether they are in good condition or not. This is because there are no specific criteria used to classify the condition of the facade. Therefore, this study aims to establish a system of criteria for which the facade of the old shop houses that can be assessed and classified in a comprehensive and sustainable. A total of 74 respondents from various professional fields including industry practitioners and academics have been involved in com-pleting the questionnaire. The results of this study will then be used as a basis for the establishment of the classification model for building facade of old shop houses in Malaysia

A Layered Software Architecture for the Management of a Manufacturing Company

In this paper we describe a layered software architecture in the management of a manufactur-ing company that intensively uses computer technology. Application tools, new and legacy, after the updating, operate in a context of an open web oriented architecture. The software architecture enables the integration and interoperability among all tools that support business processes. Manufacturing Executive System and Text Mining tools are excellent interfaces, the former both for internal production and management processes and the latter for external processes coming from the market. In this way, it is possible to implement, a computer integrated factory, flexible and agile, that immediately responds to customer requirements.ICT, Service Oriented Architecture, Web Services, Computer-Integrated Factory, Application Software

Video pembelajaran animasi atas talian bagi teknologi pemesinan

Pembelajaran atas talian merupakan salah satu medium pembelajaran yang perlu diinovasikan dalam kaedah penyampaian maklumat kepada pelajar. Kajian ini melaporkan tentang pembangunan video pembelajaran atas talian bagi kursus Teknologi Pemesinan. bagi meningkatkan minat pelajar Pendidikan Teknik dan Vokasional (PTV) dalam proses P&P. Reka bentuk kajian ini adalah membangunkan produk iaitu pembangunan video pembelajaran berdasarkan model PIE. Metodologi pembangunan objek pembelajaran melibatkan fasa Perancangan, Perlaksanaan dan penilaian. Kajian ini adalah berdasarkan pembangunan produk berdasarkan pengesahan pakar bagi membangunan dan menilai produk. Kajian ini dibangunkan berdasarkan pengesahan pakar bagi menilai pembangunan video. Instrumen penilaian objek pembelajaran ini dibangunkan bagi menilai elemen multimedia yang terdiri dari aspek teks, audio, animasi, grafik dan isi kandungan pengajaran dan pembelajaran. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan persembahan keseluruhan video pembelajaran yang menggunakan website (wix.com) ini adalah sesuai dan menarik untuk P&P bagi kursus Teknologi Pemesinan

ISO 14649 (STEP-NC): New Standards for CNC Machining

The changing economic climate has made global manufacturing a growing reality over the last decade, forcing companies from east and west and all over the world to collaborate beyond geographic boundaries in the design, manufacture and assemble of products. The ISO10303 and ISO14649 Standards (STEP and STEP-NC) have been developed to introduce interoperability into manufacturing enterprises so as to meet the challenge of responding to production on demand. The paper focuses on the use of this new standard to address the process planning and machining of turn/mill discrete components. Due to the complexity of programming these machines there is a need to model their process capability to improve the interoperable manufacturing capability in places such as turning centres. Finally a proposed computational environment for a STEP-NC compliant system for turning operations (SCSTO) is described. And supported by the specification of information models and constructed using a structured methodology and object-oriented methods. SCSTO was developed to generate a Part 21 file based on machining features to support the interactive generation of process plans utilizing feature extraction. A case study component has been developed to prove the concept for using the milling and turning parts of ISO14649 to provide a turn-mill CAD/CAPP/CAM environment

STEP-NC-compliant implementation to support mixed-control technologies applied to stone-processing machines based on industrial automation standards

STEP-NC (Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data–Numerical Control) for metal milling and turning is not implemented by industrial computer numerical controllers. Solutions reported are prototypes based on post-processing in G-code. Moreover, minority machining processes, such as stone cutting, have not yet been contemplated in the STEP-NC standard. This article takes that sector as a use case. An extended STEP-NC model for circular saw stone-cutting operations is proposed, and a prototype automation implementation is developed to work with this extended model. This article shows how modern technological resources for coordinated axes control provided by many industrial controllers for the automation of general-purpose machines can speed up the processes of implementing STEP-NC numerical controllers. This article proposes a mixed and flexible approach for STEP-NC-based machine automation, where different strategies can coexist when it comes to executing STEP-NC machining files, so controllers do not need to implement the standard in an exhaustive way for all the possible features, but only at selected ones when convenient. This is demonstrated in a prototype implementation which is able to process STEP-NC product files with mixed-feature types: standard milling and non-standard sawblade features for stone processing

Process Comprehension for Interoperable CNC Manufacturing

Over the last 40 years manufacturing industry has enjoyed a rapid growth with the support of various computer-aided systems (CAD, CAPP, CAM etc.) known as CAx. Since the first Numerically Controlled (NC) machine appeared in 1952, there have been many advances in CAx resource capabilities. The information integration and interoperability between different manufacturing resources has become an important and popular research area over the last decade. Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) machines are an important link in the manufacturing chain and the major contributor to the production capacity of manufacturing industry today. However, most of the research has focused on the information integration of upper systems in the CAD/CAPP /CAM/CNC manufacturing chain, leaving the shop floor as an isolated information island. In particular, there is limited opportunity to capture and feed shopfloor knowledge back to the upper systems. Furthermore, the part programs for the machines are not exchangeable due to the. machine specific postprocessors. Thus there is a further need to consider information interoperability between different CNC machine and other systems. This research investigates the reverse transformation of the CNC part programmes into higher level of process information, entitled process comprehension, to enable the shopfloor interoperability. A novel framework of universal process comprehension is specified and designed. The framework provides a reverse direction of information flow from the CNC machine to upper CAx systems, enabling the interoperability and recycling of the shopfloor knowledge. A prototype implementation of the framework is realised and utilised to demonstrate the functionalities through three industrially inspired test components. The major contribution of this research to knowledge is the new vision of the shopfloor interoperability associated with process knowledge capture and reuse. The research shows that process comprehension of part programmes can provide an effective solution to the issues of the shopfloor interoperability and knowledge reuse in manufacturing industries.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo