Improve Sofa Assembly through Automation and Redesign of the Processes

Projecte fet en col.laboració amb Lund University. Department of Design Sciences.English: To redesign the current assembly process of the Ektorp Sofa from IKEA in order to improve cycle times, quality levels and to reduce, if possible, costs associated with manufacturing, production times and materials. IKEA wants to increase either the productivity or the quality standard of the Ektorp Sofa by simplifying the processes involved in the construction of the sofa and modernizing the production line. Method: By identifying problems and challenges for automation associated to the current design of the sofa. Proposing new design for the base frame and designing a respective assembly line for each solution. Subsequently a simulation for each assembly line is done using Tecnomatix. Finally all the results obtained from each solution are analyzed, compared and discussed. Conclusions: After a deep analysis of the sofa, it has been stated that the current design has too many pieces that require a high number of operations to assemble it. Moreover, it uses a huge amount of glue and staples. Different solutions have been presented to improve the design. Additionally, two new base frame designs have been presented simplifying the structure, reducing the number of pieces, the necessary assembly operations and avoiding the use of glue or staples. The current assembly process has also been redesigned in an automated assembly line layout and it has been proved through simulation that the new line is faster than the current one. Moving the process to a line arrangement has also increased the quality of the final product as the operations in every stage are simplified and automated

Exploring city spaces : an exploration into mapping practices and rule based design

This paper has been written in 3 sections. With some adjustments, the first section is largely the theory paper, the second my technology paper, and the third an exploration of my design. These three sections have been written as disparate parts. Ideas and themes are carried through the three papers, but they do not read as a coherent whole. This year has been a journey into the city of Cape Town; an exploration of its complexity, vibrant city spaces and everyday life. This is essentially what this paper is about, and is a theme that is explored in all three sections in different ways- with the third drawing and building on the first two. I started with ideas of Lefebvre and the work of CHORA as a methodology for exploring the 'everyday practices' in the city- and moved through this to an engagement with rule based design and algorithmic architecture. The design chapter loops back to the beginning of the paper, and draws from and is informed by both the initial research, a'1d rule- based methodology. All three of these sections have been exploratory processes engaging with this set of ideas around complexity within the city. I do not see them as providing an answer as to how to design or explore cities, but rather as an attempt to engage with these very real questions. They are a series of ideas that have enabled me to see parts of the 'hidden world' within Cape Town, and explore this through ideas of the unknown and unimaginable in architecture

Building a Simple Smart Factory

This thesis describes (a) the search and findings of smart factories and their enabling technologies (b) the methodology to build or retrofit a smart factory and (c) the building and operation of a simple smart factory using the methodology. A factory is an industrial site with large buildings and collection of machines, which are operated by persons to manufacture goods and services. These factories are made smart by incorporating sensing, processing, and autonomous responding capabilities. Developments in four main areas (a) sensor capabilities (b) communication capabilities (c) storing and processing huge amount of data and (d) better utilization of technology in management and further development have contributed significantly for this incorporation of smartness to factories. There is a flurry of literature in each of the above four topics and their combinations. The findings from the literature can be summarized in the following way. Sensors detect or measure a physical property and records, indicates, or otherwise responds to it. In real-time, they can make a very large amount of observations. Internet is a global computer network providing a variety of information and communication facilities and the internet of things, IoT, is the interconnection via the Internet of computing devices embedded in everyday objects, enabling them to send and receive data. Big data handling and the provision of data services are achieved through cloud computing. Due to the availability of computing power, big data can be handled and analyzed under different classifications using several different analytics. The results from these analytics can be used to trigger autonomous responsive actions that make the factory smart. Having thus comprehended the literature, a seven stepped methodology for building or retrofitting a smart factory was established. The seven steps are (a) situation analysis where the condition of the current technology is studied (b) breakdown prevention analysis (c) sensor selection (d) data transmission and storage selection (e) data processing and analytics (f) autonomous action network and (g) integration with the plant units. Experience in a cement factory highlighted the wear in a journal bearing causes plant stoppages and thus warrant a smart system to monitor and make decisions. The experience was used to develop a laboratory-scale smart factory monitoring the wear of a half-journal bearing. To mimic a plant unit a load-carrying shaft supported by two half-journal bearings were chosen and to mimic a factory with two plant units, two such shafts were chosen. Thus, there were four half-journal bearings to monitor. USB Logitech C920 webcam that operates in full-HD 1080 pixels was used to take pictures at specified intervals. These pictures are then analyzed to study the wear at these intervals. After the preliminary analysis wear versus time data for all four bearings are available. Now the ‘making smart activity’ begins. Autonomous activities are based on various analyses. The wear time data are analyzed under different classifications. Remaining life, wear coefficient specific to the bearings, weekly variation in wear and condition of adjacent bearings are some of the characteristics that can be obtained from the analytics. These can then be used to send a message to the maintenance and supplies division alerting them on the need for a replacement shortly. They can also be alerted about other bearings reaching their maturity to plan a major overhaul if needed

Production Engineering and Management

It is our pleasure to introduce the seventh edition of the International Conference on Production Engineering and Management (PEM), an event that is the result of the joint effort of the University of Trieste and the Ostwestfalen- Lippe University of Applied Sciences. The conference has been established as an annual meeting under the Double Degree Master Program “Production Engineering and Management” by the two partner universities. This year the conference is hosted at the university campus in Pordenone. The main goal of the conference is to offer students, researchers and professionals in Germany, Italy and abroad, an opportunity to meet and exchange information, discuss experience, specific practices and technical solutions for planning, design and management of manufacturing and service systems and processes. As always, the conference is a platform aimed at presenting research projects, introducing young academics to the tradition of symposiums and promoting the exchange of ideas between the industry and the academy. This year’s special focus is on industry sustainability, which is currently a major topic of discussion among experts and professionals. Sustainability can be considered as a requirement for any modern production processes and systems, and also has to be embedded in the context of Industry 4.0. In fact, the features and problems of industry 4.0 have been widely discussed in the last editions of the PEM conference, in which efficiency and waste reduction emerged as key factors. The study and development of the connections between future industry and sustainability is therefore critical, as highlighted in the recent “German Sustainable Development Strategy and the 2030 Agenda”. Accordingly, the seventh edition of the PEM conference aims to offer a contribution to the debate. The conference program includes 25 speeches organized in six sessions. Three are specifically dedicated to “Direct Digital Manufacturing in the context of Industry 4.0” and “Technology and Business for Circular Economy and Sustainable Production”. The other sessions are covering areas of great interest and importance to the participants of the conference, which are related to the main focus: “Innovative Management Techniques and Methodologies”, “Industrial Engineering and Lean Management” and “Wood Processing Technologies and Furniture Production”. The proceedings of the conference include the articles submitted and accepted after a careful double-blind refereeing process

Improve Sofa Assembly through Automation and Redesign of the Processes

Projecte fet en col.laboració amb Lund University. Department of Design Sciences.English: To redesign the current assembly process of the Ektorp Sofa from IKEA in order to improve cycle times, quality levels and to reduce, if possible, costs associated with manufacturing, production times and materials. IKEA wants to increase either the productivity or the quality standard of the Ektorp Sofa by simplifying the processes involved in the construction of the sofa and modernizing the production line. Method: By identifying problems and challenges for automation associated to the current design of the sofa. Proposing new design for the base frame and designing a respective assembly line for each solution. Subsequently a simulation for each assembly line is done using Tecnomatix. Finally all the results obtained from each solution are analyzed, compared and discussed. Conclusions: After a deep analysis of the sofa, it has been stated that the current design has too many pieces that require a high number of operations to assemble it. Moreover, it uses a huge amount of glue and staples. Different solutions have been presented to improve the design. Additionally, two new base frame designs have been presented simplifying the structure, reducing the number of pieces, the necessary assembly operations and avoiding the use of glue or staples. The current assembly process has also been redesigned in an automated assembly line layout and it has been proved through simulation that the new line is faster than the current one. Moving the process to a line arrangement has also increased the quality of the final product as the operations in every stage are simplified and automated

Determination of Pharmaceutical Industrial Distribution Center Location Using Center of Gravity Method: Case Study at PT Jkt

Distribution center has an important role in an industry's supply chain management to facilitate logistics management requirements so that the product distribution process becomes smooth and fast. The purpose of this study is to determine the best location that can be used in determining the location of the distribution cente in pharmaceutical industry. This research uses the center of gravity method to calculate optimal location that will be considered. From the results of this study, the calculation using the Center of Gravity method found that the location of the selected distribution center was at the coordinates (-6.257108; 106.7315), the settlement area of the village of Jurangmangu Timur. The available area according to warehousing rules does not allow the construction of the distribution center in residential area of Jurangmangu Bintaro village, empty area is available around 4 KM west of T8 Pakulonan Alam Tangerang Selatan, this area provides warehousing by offering a combined trading center, office and integrated food and beverage plaza with shelter have advantages as distribution center. The new proposed distribution center location is located 14 KM south and 13 KM from the north of the available warehouse, the new suggested location is closer to and located between current distribution locations

Using a mobile robot for hazardous substances detection in a factory environment

Dupla diplomação com a UTFPR - Universidade Tecnológica Federal do ParanáIndustries that work with toxic materials need extensive security protocols to avoid accidents. Instead of having fixed sensors, the concept of assembling the sensors on a mobile robot that performs the scanning through a defined path is cheaper, configurable and adaptable. This work describes a mobile robot, equipped with several gas sensors and LIDAR, that follows a trajectory based on waypoints, simulating a working Autonomous Guided Vehicle (AGV). At the same time, the robot keeps measuring for toxic gases. In other words, the robot follows the trajectory while the gas concentration is under a defined value. Otherwise, it starts the autonomous leakage search based on a search algorithm that allows to find the leakage position avoiding obstacles in real time. The proposed methodology is verified in simulation based on a model of the real robot. Therefore, three path plannings were developed and their performance compared. A Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) device was integrated with the path planning to propose an obstacle avoidance system with a dilation technique to enlarge the obstacles, thus, considering the robot’s dimensions. Moreover, if needed, the robot can be remotely operated with visual feedback. In addition, a controller was made for the robot. Gas sensors were embedded in the robot with Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filter to process the data. A low cost AGV was developed to compete in Festival Nacional de Robótica (Portuguese Robotics Open) 2019 - Gondomar, describing the robot’s control and software solution to the competition.As indústrias que trabalham com materiais tóxicos necessitam de extensos protocolos de segurança para evitar acidentes. Ao invés de ter sensores estáticos, o conceito de instalar sensores em um robô móvel que inspeciona através de um caminho definido é mais barato, configurável e adaptável. O presente trabalho descreve um robô móvel, equipado com vários sensores de gás e LIDAR, que percorre uma trajetória baseada em pontos de controle, simulando um AGV em trabalho. Em simultâneo são efetuadas medidas de gases tóxicos. Em outras palavras, o robô segue uma trajetória enquanto a concentração de gás está abaixo de um valor definido. Caso contrário, inicia uma busca autônoma de vazamento de gás com um algoritmo de busca que permite achar a posição do gás evitando os obstáculos em tempo real. A metodologia proposta é verificada em simulação. Três algoritmos de planejamento de caminho foram desenvolvidos e suas performances comparadas. Um LIDAR foi integrado com o planejamento de caminho para propôr um sistema de evitar obstáculos. Além disso, o robô pode ser operado remotamente com auxílio visual. Foi feito um controlador para o robô. Sensores de gás foram embarcados no robô com um filtro de resposta ao impulso finita para processar as informações. Um veículo guiado automático de baixo custo foi desenvolvido para competir no Festival Nacional de Robótica 2019 - Gondomar. O controle do veículo foi descrito com o programa de solução para a competição

Biologically-inspired robots for stage performance

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 46-47).Stage performances present many challenges and opportunities in the field of robotics. Onstage robots not only have to function flawlessly, they must interact convincingly with their human counterparts and adhere to a rigid timeline. The scope of this work is to create set pieces that look and behave like organic entities for the production of Tod Machover's new opera, Death and the Powers. With a set of design rules and techniques, I have developed the mechanical and control systems, including their interactive behavior, for several performance-ready robots. A six-legged walking robot and transformable robot were first built to verify the adopted design methodology prior to the prototyping of onstage robots. In addition, the robots were certified as performance-ready according to four criteria: the visual appearance, the overall functionality, the quality of movement, and the fluency of human-robot interaction. Two robots were successfully built and tested for use in the opera of Death and the Powers.by Wei Dong.S.M

Territories of Equivalence

The production regimes of every era do not remain in the factory but permeate every aspect of a society including its architecture and design culture. Mechanisation transformed space, in particular the household into an efficient machine, with industrial components and standardised dimensions (from the bathtub to the streamlined kitchen), while military manufacturing efficiencies and emerging technologies allowed consumer goods (from TV sets to Tupperware) to fill the middle class suburban home in the post-war era. This essay contemplates how logisticalisation, the latest incarnation of capitalist production, is permeating the design and conception of contemporary space through an exploration of the gadgets and objects that are increasingly used by the public as portals to the larger world of logistical flow. I refer to previous object-based theories of space in architecture as well as to Object-Orientated Ontology, a philosophical movement that elevates the meaning of objects as independent conscious entities beyond human agency. These serve to contextualise my own reading of logistical objects as manifestations that not only allow us intimacy with the larger and complex world of logistics, but more significantly, as dynamic shapers of new types of architectural and urban space, here characterised as territories of equivalence