Towards a Cyber-Physical Manufacturing Cloud through Operable Digital Twins and Virtual Production Lines

In last decade, the paradigm of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) has integrated industrial manufacturing systems with Cloud Computing technologies for Cloud Manufacturing. Up to 2015, there were many CPS-based manufacturing systems that collected real-time machining data to perform remote monitoring, prognostics and health management, and predictive maintenance. However, these CPS-integrated and network ready machines were not directly connected to the elements of Cloud Manufacturing and required human-in-the-loop. Addressing this gap, we introduced a new paradigm of Cyber-Physical Manufacturing Cloud (CPMC) that bridges a gap between physical machines and virtual space in 2017. CPMC virtualizes machine tools in cloud through web services for direct monitoring and operations through Internet. Fundamentally, CPMC differs with contemporary modern manufacturing paradigms. For instance, CPMC virtualizes machining tools in cloud using remote services and establish direct Internet-based communication, which is overlooked in existing Cloud Manufacturing systems. Another contemporary, namely cyber-physical production systems enable networked access to machining tools. Nevertheless, CPMC virtualizes manufacturing resources in cloud and monitor and operate them over the Internet. This dissertation defines the fundamental concepts of CPMC and expands its horizon in different aspects of cloud-based virtual manufacturing such as Digital Twins and Virtual Production Lines. Digital Twin (DT) is another evolving concept since 2002 that creates as-is replicas of machining tools in cyber space. Up to 2018, many researchers proposed state-of-the-art DTs, which only focused on monitoring production lifecycle management through simulations and data driven analytics. But they overlooked executing manufacturing processes through DTs from virtual space. This dissertation identifies that DTs can be made more productive if they engage directly in direct execution of manufacturing operations besides monitoring. Towards this novel approach, this dissertation proposes a new operable DT model of CPMC that inherits the features of direct monitoring and operations from cloud. This research envisages and opens the door for future manufacturing systems where resources are developed as cloud-based DTs for remote and distributed manufacturing. Proposed concepts and visions of DTs have spawned the following fundamental researches. This dissertation proposes a novel concept of DT based Virtual Production Lines (VPL) in CPMC in 2019. It presents a design of a service-oriented architecture of DTs that virtualizes physical manufacturing resources in CPMC. Proposed DT architecture offers a more compact and integral service-oriented virtual representations of manufacturing resources. To re-configure a VPL, one requirement is to establish DT-to-DT collaborations in manufacturing clouds, which replicates to concurrent resource-to-resource collaborations in shop floors. Satisfying the above requirements, this research designs a novel framework to easily re-configure, monitor and operate VPLs using DTs of CPMC. CPMC publishes individual web services for machining tools, which is a traditional approach in the domain of service computing. But this approach overcrowds service registry databases. This dissertation introduces a novel fundamental service publication and discovery approach in 2020, OpenDT, which publishes DTs with collections of services. Experimental results show easier discovery and remote access of DTs while re-configuring VPLs. Proposed researches in this dissertation have received numerous citations both from industry and academia, clearly proving impacts of research contributions

Chapter 3 How is production changing?

The unprecedented Covid-19 crisis revealed the scale and scope of a new type of economy taking shape in front of our very eyes: the digital economy. This book presents a concise theoretical and conceptual framework for a more nuanced analysis of the economic and sociological impacts of the technological disruption that is taking place in the markets of goods and services, labour markets, and the global economy more generally. This interdisciplinary work is a must for researchers and students from economics, business, and other social science majors who seek an overview of the main digital economy concepts and research. Its down-to-earth approach and communicative style will also speak to businesses practitioners who want to understand the ongoing digital disruption of the market rules and emergence of the new digital business models. The book refers to academic insights from economics and sociology while giving numerous empirical examples drawn from basic and applied research and business. It addresses several burning issues: how are digital processes transforming traditional business models? Does intelligent automation threaten our jobs? Are we reaching the end of globalisation as we know it? How can we best prepare ourselves and our children for the digitally transformed world? The book will help the reader gain a better understanding of the mechanisms behind the digital transformation, something that is essential in order to not only reap the plentiful opportunities being created by the digital economy but also to avoid its many pitfalls

Impacts of the implementation of Industry´s 4.0 technologies in the portuguese footwear industry

The first three industrial revolutions came about as a result of mechanization, electricity and IT. It is safe to state that a fourth revolution is currently taking place in manufacturing, with it being generally branded as Industry 4.0. These Cyber-Physical Systems comprise smart machines, storage systems and production facilities capable of autonomously exchanging information, triggering actions and controlling each other independently. The present investigation takes this premise into account and focuses in pursuing what are the main implications of the implementation of Industry´s 4.0 technologies in the Portuguese Footwear Industry. In order to lay the foundations for the study, an extensive literature review was executed. This was followed by a qualitative and exploratory investigation, based on twelve interviews with various relevant actors of the Portuguese footwear scene. The interviews resulted in insightful conclusions. Firstly, it is possible to notice that the Portuguese Footwear industry is generally well equipped and informed. Generally, the manufacturers are aware of the new technologies that are made available, being that there are already successful examples of companies using them. The study has highlighted the importance for companies to develop an extensive evaluation regarding their specific needs in order to better decide in which technologies to invest. The path is being designed in order to continuously simplify technologies, so that they are easier to work with. The main constraint, to the present day, is linked with finding skilled workforce to perform tasks at the shop floor level and also with the generation of enough value that allows the manufacturers to invest in more advanced technology

From 3D Models to 3D Prints: an Overview of the Processing Pipeline

Due to the wide diffusion of 3D printing technologies, geometric algorithms for Additive Manufacturing are being invented at an impressive speed. Each single step, in particular along the Process Planning pipeline, can now count on dozens of methods that prepare the 3D model for fabrication, while analysing and optimizing geometry and machine instructions for various objectives. This report provides a classification of this huge state of the art, and elicits the relation between each single algorithm and a list of desirable objectives during Process Planning. The objectives themselves are listed and discussed, along with possible needs for tradeoffs. Additive Manufacturing technologies are broadly categorized to explicitly relate classes of devices and supported features. Finally, this report offers an analysis of the state of the art while discussing open and challenging problems from both an academic and an industrial perspective.Comment: European Union (EU); Horizon 2020; H2020-FoF-2015; RIA - Research and Innovation action; Grant agreement N. 68044

Contextual impacts on industrial processes brought by the digital transformation of manufacturing: a systematic review

The digital transformation of manufacturing (a phenomenon also known as "Industry 4.0" or "Smart Manufacturing") is finding a growing interest both at practitioner and academic levels, but is still in its infancy and needs deeper investigation. Even though current and potential advantages of digital manufacturing are remarkable, in terms of improved efficiency, sustainability, customization, and flexibility, only a limited number of companies has already developed ad hoc strategies necessary to achieve a superior performance. Through a systematic review, this study aims at assessing the current state of the art of the academic literature regarding the paradigm shift occurring in the manufacturing settings, in order to provide definitions as well as point out recurring patterns and gaps to be addressed by future research. For the literature search, the most representative keywords, strict criteria, and classification schemes based on authoritative reference studies were used. The final sample of 156 primary publications was analyzed through a systematic coding process to identify theoretical and methodological approaches, together with other significant elements. This analysis allowed a mapping of the literature based on clusters of critical themes to synthesize the developments of different research streams and provide the most representative picture of its current state. Research areas, insights, and gaps resulting from this analysis contributed to create a schematic research agenda, which clearly indicates the space for future evolutions of the state of knowledge in this field

New Trends in Development of Services in the Modern Economy

The services sector strategic development unites a multitude of economic and managerial aspects and is one of the most important problems of economic management. Many researches devoted to this industry study are available. Most of them are performed in the traditional aspect of the voluminous calendar approach to strategic management, characteristic of the national scientific school. Such an approach seems archaic, forming false strategic benchmarks. The services sector is of special scientific interest in this context due to the fact that the social production structure to the services development model attraction in many countries suggests transition to postindustrial economy type where the services sector is a system-supporting sector of the economy. Actively influencing the economy, the services sector in the developed countries dominates in the GDP formation, primary capital accumulation, labor, households final consumption and, finally, citizens comfort of living. However, a clear understanding of the services sector as a hyper-sector permeating all spheres of human activity has not yet been fully developed, although interest in this issue continues to grow among many authors. Target of strategic management of the industry development setting requires substantive content and the services sector target value assessment

Business and technological perspectives of Industry 4.0 A framework for thinking with case illustration = Az Ipar 4.0 üzleti és technológiai vetületei Gondolkodási keret esettanulmánnyal illusztrálva

In the last couple of years, we have witnessed an exponentially increasing interest of academia and professionals towards Industry 4.0 (I4.0). By focusing on the firm level of I4.0, the authors propose a framework highlighting several technical (technologies and applications, design principles) and business (vision, impact on competitiveness, integration, types of innovation, maturity) perspectives of the phenomenon. Their goal is to clarify the most frequent perspectives and by using them build a thinking framework, making readers understand what I4.0 is about. While frameworks are usually elaborated on a conceptual basis, this paper illustrates the selected perspectives and their links by an in-depth case study. A factory’s digital transformation interpreted in the framework emphasizes the importance of research design and context. ------ Az elmúlt néhány évben a tudományos élet és a vállalati szakemberek exponenciálisan növekvő érdeklődését tapasztaljuk az Ipar 4.0 (I4.0) iránt. Az I4.0 vállalati szintjére összpontosítva olyan keretrendszert javasolnak a szerzők, amely kiemeli a jelenség számos technikai (technológiák és alkalmazások, tervezési alapelvek) és üzleti (vízió, versenyképesség, integráció, innováció típusai, érettség) vetületét. Céljuk, hogy a szakmai diskurzusban leggyakrabban előkerülő vetületek tartalmának tisztázása után azokból egy gondolkodási keretet építsenek. Míg a keretrendszerek általában elvi megfontolások alapján születnek, a cikk egy feldolgozóipari cég I4.0 transzformációját bemutató esettanulmány segítségével szemlélteti az egyes vetületeket és azok összekapcsolódását. A vizsgált gyár gondolkodási keretben értelmezett digitális átalakulása rámutat a kutatások tervezésének és kontextusának fontosságára

The contribution of industry 4.0 technologies to increase internal and external operational flexibility of production systems

Manufacturing flexibility is recognized as an essential competitive factor in the company's operational strategy as a response to market uncertainties and turbulence. Industry 4.0 emerges as a new industrial paradigm that allows meeting these types of needs of manufacturing companies, focusing on the creation of an intelligent system along the entire value chain that allows the achievement of flexible and adaptive processes. However, the academic literature has not yet presented empirical evidence on how each specific Industry 4.0 technology can contribute to operational flexibility requirements. Although Industry 4.0 is treated as a solution to this need, it is known that there are different types of implementations of Industry 4.0 depending on the operational objectives pursued and the characteristics of the companies. Therefore, the technological sets of Industry 4.0 can have different forms of contribution to achieve greater flexibility in production processes. The aim of this thesis is to create a framework to help companies implement flexible operations in the context of Industry 4.0. The study followed a mixed approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods. In quantitative terms, the thesis presents two survey research. The first was conducted with 94 companies in the machinery and equipment sector, through which the effect that different operational objectives – including flexibility – have on the definition of technological arrangements in Industry 4.0, is analyzed. The second was conducted with 379 companies, with the objective of analyzing how the smart supply chain concept contributes to the flexibility of the supply chain, especially in the context of uncertainties.. On the other hand, in qualitative terms, the thesis presents a multi-case study in 11 leading manufacturing companies in the implementation of 4.0 technologies, aiming to understand how these technologies are implemented to achieve different operational flexibility requirements. The present thesis demonstrates that, in fact, 4.0 technologies contribute to operational flexibility, but also explores the limitations and nuances of these contributions in different situations. The main contribution of this study is to provide empirical evidence of the effectiveness of different technologies used in a combined way to increase operational flexibility at its different levels.A flexibilidade da manufatura é reconhecida como um fator competitivo essencial na estratégia operacional das empresas, como resposta a necessidades do mercado, especialmente diante de incertezas e turbulências. A Industria 4.0 surge como um novo paradigma industrial que permite atender esse tipo de necessidades das empresas manufatureiras, sendo seu foco a criação de um sistema inteligente ao longo de toda a cadeia de valor que possibilita a obtenção de processos flexíveis e adaptativos. Contudo, a literatura acadêmica ainda não tem apresentado evidências empíricas sobre a forma como cada tecnologia específica da Indústria 4.0 pode contribuir para os requisitos de flexibilidade operacional. Embora Industria 4.0 seja apresentada como uma solução para essa necessidade, é sabido que existem diferentes tipos de implementação da Indústria 4.0 que dependem dos objetivos operacionais almejados e das características das empresas. Portanto, os conjuntos tecnológicos da Indústria 4.0 podem ter diferentes formas de contribuição para alcançar uma maior flexibilidade dos processos de produção. O objetivo desta tese é criar um framework para auxiliar as empresas na implementação de operações flexíveis no contexto da Indústria 4.0. O estudo seguiu uma abordagem mista, combinando métodos qualitativos e quantitativo. Em termos quantitativos, a tese apresenta duas pesquisas survey. A primeira foi conduzida com 94 empresas do setor de máquinas e equipamentos, através da qual se analisa o efeito que diferentes objetivos operacionais dentre eles a flexibilidade possuem sobre a definição de arranjos tecnológicos da Indústria 4.0. A segunda foi conduzida com 379 empresas, com objetivo de analisar como o conceito de smart supply chain contribui para a flexibilidade da cadeia de suprimento, principalmente no contexto de incertezas. Por outro lado, em termos qualitativos, a tese apresenta um estudo multicasos em 11 empresas de manufatura líderes na implantação de tecnologias 4.0, visando entender a forma como essas tecnologias são implementadas para alcançar diferentes requisitos de flexibilidade operacional. A presente tese demonstra que, de fato, as tecnologias 4.0 contribuem para a flexibilidade operacional, mas também explora as limitações e nuances dessas contribuições em diferentes situações. A principal contribuição deste estudo é fornecer evidências empíricas da efetividade de diferentes tecnologias utilizadas de forma combinada para incrementar a flexibilidade operacional nos seus diferentes níveis

Construction industry 4.0 and sustainability: an enabling framework

Governments worldwide are taking actions to address the construction sector's sustainability concerns, including high carbon emissions, health and safety risks, low productivity, and increasing costs. Applying Industry 4.0 technologies to construction (also referred to as Construction 4.0) could address some of these concerns. However, current understanding about this is quite limited, with previous work being largely fragmented and limited both in terms of technologies as well as their interrelationships with the triple bottom line of sustainability perspectives. The focus of this article is therefore on addressing these gaps by proposing a comprehensive multi-dimensional Construction 4.0 sustainability framework that identifies and categorizes the key Construction 4.0 technologies and their positive and negative impacts on environmental, economic, and social sustainability, and then establishing its applicability/usefulness through an empirical, multimethodology case study assessment of the UAE's construction sector. The findings indicate Construction 4.0’s positive impacts on environmental and economic sustainability that far outweigh its negative effects, although these impacts are comparable with regards to social sustainability. On Construction 4.0 technologies itself, their application was found to be nonuniform with greater application seen for building information modeling and automation vis-à-vis others such as cyber-physical systems and smart materials, with significant growth expected in the future for blockchain- and three-dimensional-printing-related technologies. The proposed novel framework could enable the development of policy interventions and support mechanisms to increase Construction 4.0 deployment while addressing its negative sustainability-related impacts. The framework also has the potential to be adapted and applied to other country and sectoral contexts

A comparison of processing techniques for producing prototype injection moulding inserts.

This project involves the investigation of processing techniques for producing low-cost moulding inserts used in the particulate injection moulding (PIM) process. Prototype moulds were made from both additive and subtractive processes as well as a combination of the two. The general motivation for this was to reduce the entry cost of users when considering PIM. PIM cavity inserts were first made by conventional machining from a polymer block using the pocket NC desktop mill. PIM cavity inserts were also made by fused filament deposition modelling using the Tiertime UP plus 3D printer. The injection moulding trials manifested in surface finish and part removal defects. The feedstock was a titanium metal blend which is brittle in comparison to commodity polymers. That in combination with the mesoscale features, small cross-sections and complex geometries were considered the main problems. For both processing methods, fixes were identified and made to test the theory. These consisted of a blended approach that saw a combination of both the additive and subtractive processes being used. The parts produced from the three processing methods are investigated and their respective merits and issues are discussed