Towards Fully Additively-Manufactured Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines: Opportunities and Challenges

With the growing interest in electrification and as hybrid and pure electric powertrains are adopted in more applications, electrical machine design is facing challenges in terms of meeting very demanding performance metrics for example high specific power, harsh environments, etc. This provides clear motivation to explore the impact of advanced materials and manufacturing on the performance of electrical machines. This paper provides an overview of additive manufacturing (AM) approaches that can be used for constructing permanent magnet (PM) machines, with a specific focus on additively-manufactured iron core, winding, insulation, PM as well as cooling systems. Since there has only been a few attempts so far to explore AM in electrical machines (especially when it comes to fully additively-manufactured machines), the benefits and challenges of AM have not been comprehensively understood. In this regard, this paper offers a detailed comparison of multiple multi-material AM methods, showing not only the possibility of fully additively-manufactured PM machines but also the potential significant improvements in their mechanical, electromagnetic and thermal properties. The paper will provide a comprehensive discussion of opportunities and challenges of AM in the context of electrical machines

Sustainable development strategies for product provision and manufacturing approaches

Manufacturing firms are under many pressures both financially and competitive which focus attention on the performance of their manufacturing processes. In this paper the opportunities for improving the environmental impact of products within the constraints of existing manufacturing infrastructure are examined. Approaches which support sustainability in two aspects are proposed, firstly, the provision of products to the users in ways which extend the product life and secondly, manufacturing approaches which reduce resource usage. The provision and manufacture of products in ways that are truly sustainable are inhibited by three issues: firstly, decisions are predominantly made solely from the perspective of the “vendor” (and do not consider the wider perspective); secondly, that generally the scope of business planning is still rooted in production/manufacturing costs (and not consumption costs) and thirdly, the current performance measures (e.g. KPIs) mainly focus on profitability. The rationale for this conference paper is the argument that there is a need to raise the awareness during the earliest stages of business planning that there may be alternative approaches which are more sustainable. The concepts presented here will underpin further research into performance measures which encompass sustainability and resulting business planning implications

Gaining and sustaining long-term advantage through information technology: The emergence of controlled production

This paper summarizes the results of several case studies comparing how U.S. and Japanese firms successfully use software and information technology to achieve long-term sustainable and competitive advantages in various industries. Each case is complete within itself, but also part of a larger study researching pairs of U.S. and Japanese firms using information technology as an integral part of their business strategies. The industries and firms examined include investment and retail banking, life insurance, food and apparel retailing (the distribution side of these two industries), semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, automobile production, and mini-mill and integrated steel making

The potential of additive manufacturing in the smart factory industrial 4.0: A review

Additive manufacturing (AM) or three-dimensional (3D) printing has introduced a novel production method in design, manufacturing, and distribution to end-users. This technology has provided great freedom in design for creating complex components, highly customizable products, and efficient waste minimization. The last industrial revolution, namely industry 4.0, employs the integration of smart manufacturing systems and developed information technologies. Accordingly, AM plays a principal role in industry 4.0 thanks to numerous benefits, such as time and material saving, rapid prototyping, high efficiency, and decentralized production methods. This review paper is to organize a comprehensive study on AM technology and present the latest achievements and industrial applications. Besides that, this paper investigates the sustainability dimensions of the AM process and the added values in economic, social, and environment sections. Finally, the paper concludes by pointing out the future trend of AM in technology, applications, and materials aspects that have the potential to come up with new ideas for the future of AM explorations

Design Decisions for a Buildable Prefabricated Modular High-Rise Structure with Customized Geometry: A Case for Honolulu, HI.

D.Arch. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2018

Applications of additive manufacturing in the construction industry

Additive Manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing, the process of fabricating components in a layer-wise fashion, has been increasingly applied in industries such as automotives and aerospace. In the 1990s, interest from the construction industry evolved through several experimental applications looking to reduce labor cost, waste material, or create complex shapes that are difficult to build using conventional construction methods. However, the full range of potential applications for construction have not been explored, and the industry’s involvement with AM is still considered at its early stages. As a first step, this thesis provides an extensive literature review of AM as it relates to the construction industry. This research identifies the most significant AM processes, compared to subtractive or formative processes, as well as some technologies and materials being used. A recommendation is given for potential advancements in applications for construction. The thesis also explores the use of typical small-scale material extrusion desktop 3D printers to print and test customized fastener-free connections. The intent of these connection tests is to explore novel ways in which AM technology can be used for structural and non-structural applications using commercial polymers. The connections were inspired by traditional wood joinery and modern proprietary connections. A four-point bending test was used to evaluate their potential structural performance in bending and to identify connection types that could be used for future investigations. Before AM can realize its full potential, interdisciplinary research is still needed to provide new materials, reliable printed parts, and new and repeatable processes. This thesis provides initial steps toward this goal by finding research gaps, identifying research trends in the area, and by exploring initial benefits and limitations for non-structural and structural applications in construction using available small-scale AM technology.Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineerin

Streamlining the Decision-Making Process on Tubular Rigid Busbar Selection During the Planning / Designing Stage by Utilizing 3D Substation BIM Design Software

For Utilities, each substation is regarded as an asset. Managing of assets is one of domains of Asset Management including Life Cycle Costing (LCC) as a decision-making criterion. However, LCC as a decision-making criterion should be applied on an entire substation taking into account all of the potential cost influences for the purpose of achieving of an effective substation management. Asset management as a decision-making process should be observed within a larger context and should be more focused on risk management, as all real decisions include an element of risk due to present uncertainties. Two promising avenues are explored in regards to more comprehensive and rigorous up-front planning through usage of Information Technology (IT). While up-front planning falls under the domain of Lean philosophy, Building Information Modeling (BIM) falls under the category of agile decisionsupport tools. Utilization of both is explored from a perspective of design-uncertainties under both product and process design. Standard specifications and standard designs are another form of applied Lean Philosophy that reduces design-uncertainty and variability. However, a range of technical solutions stemming out of the standardization can be quite wide. Customization involves specification and design of new / innovative designs with wide range of technical solutions as well. Due to external pressures focused on shortening of the project delivery time, there is a need for a faster project time throughput. This is reflected in the form of a requirement for more rapid engineering decision-making and faster decision cycles. Streamlining of a decision-making process related to the engineering is all about engineers’ awareness of the situation from the project level perspective coupled with utilization of decision-support tools for creation and reuse of knowledge. Plan – Do – Study – Orient (PDSO) cycle is a decisionmaking model that supports creation and reusability of knowledge along with providing an explanation in regards to the time dimension relating to decision-making, and as such is presented in this paper. The rigid busbar system design is an iterative process influenced by many factors, defined either as design variables or design constraints. As rigid busbars are gaining more popularity for both greenfield and brownfield investments, the rigid busbar system design is explored from a perspective of decision-making streamlining. The case of the rigid busbar system design of El Chaparral project in El Salvador is given

Making Design Rules: A Multi-Domain Perspective

This study analyzes the processes whereby organizations develop radical innovations in response to environmental transformations. It explores the changes in organizational structures, practices and business strategies entailed by the implementation of such innovations. From the literature on modularity, we borrow the idea that the evolutionary dynamics of artifacts and organizations are linked by design rules, i.e. a set of principles that allocate functions to components, identify the operating principle of each component and determine the interfaces among modules. Through an in-depth case study of radical innovation in tire manufacturing, we study the joint dynamics of technical and organizational change during the transition from old to new design rules. We argue that technical change and organization adaptation are linked, but that such relationship is mediated and rendered open-ended by the evolution of the underlying bodies of knowledge.organizational change, innovation, technological change, modularity, tire manufacturing

Soft policies and hard competition: Government, industry, and user impacts on the development of Japan's software industry

The paper analyzes the development and structure of the Japan's software industry, focusing particular attention on the failure of government support policies to nurture an internationally competitive industry and the success of foreign software producers in the Japanese market. The research adopts an evolutionary approach to explain Japan's problems in building a competitive software industry except in games, challenging the validity of standard explanations such as cultural disadvantage and failure to adopt best practice. The pattern of development in the Japanese software industry results from strong user preference for customized software over packaged products. Large users develop highly customized software systems that reflect their unique organizational structures and operating advantages. Software is viewed as an input into the production process, rather than an output to be independently marketted. As such, the structure of the software reflects the administrative heritage of major industrial users as much as developments in computer technology. The tendency to emphasize customization favors intra-industry software advances over interindustry expansion. Moreover, high demand for customization combines with large variation in operating systems to fractionalize the industry and frustrate government support policies. Even though the Ministry of International Trade and Industry followed the same industry support model that proved so successful in manufacturing, an independent world class software industry has not developed. The preference for customization has also allowed foreign software producers to successfully pursue a hub and spoke strategy. Foreign producers have been able to expand their user base, thereby lowering unit cost and putting local software developers at a further disadvantage. The research suggests that this situation will continue

Revenue Management and Demand Fulfillment: Matching Applications, Models, and Software

Recent years have seen great successes of revenue management, notably in the airline, hotel, and car rental business. Currently, an increasing number of industries, including manufacturers and retailers, are exploring ways to adopt similar concepts. Software companies are taking an active role in promoting the broadening range of applications. Also technological advances, including smart shelves and radio frequency identification (RFID), are removing many of the barriers to extended revenue management. The rapid developments in Supply Chain Planning and Revenue Management software solutions, scientific models, and industry applications have created a complex picture, which appears not yet to be well understood. It is not evident which scientific models fit which industry applications and which aspects are still missing. The relation between available software solutions and applications as well as scientific models appears equally unclear. The goal of this paper is to help overcome this confusion. To this end, we structure and review three dimensions, namely applications, models, and software. Subsequently, we relate these dimensions to each other and highlight commonalities and discrepancies. This comparison also provides a basis for identifying future research needs.Manufacturing;Revenue Management;Software;Advanced Planning Systems;Demand Fulfillment