A front-end system to support cloud-based manufacturing of customised products

In today’s global market, customized products are amongst an important means to address diverse customer demand and in achieving a unique competitive advantage. Key enablers of this approach are existing product configuration and supporting IT-based manufacturing systems. As a proposed advancement, it considered that the development of a front-end system with a next level of integration to a cloud-based manufacturing infrastructure is able to better support the specification and on-demand manufacture of customized products. In this paper, a new paradigm of Manufacturing-as-a-Service (MaaS) environment is introduced and highlights the current research challenges in the configuration of customizable products. Furthermore, the latest development of the front-end system is reported with a view towards further work in the research

Cloud-based manufacturing-as-a-service environment for customized products

This paper describes the paradigm of cloud-based services which are used to envisage a new generation of configurable manufacturing systems. Unlike previous approaches to mass customization (that simply reprogram individual machines to produce specific shapes) the system reported here is intended to enable the customized production of technologically complex products by dynamically configuring a manufacturing supply chain. In order to realize such a system, the resources (i.e. production capabilities) have to be designed to support collaboration throughout the whole production network, including their adaption to customer-specific production. The flexible service composition as well as the appropriate IT services required for its realization show many analogies with common cloud computing approaches. For this reason, this paper describes the motivation and challenges that are related to cloud-based manufacturing and illustrates emerging technologies supporting this vision byestablishing an appropriate Manufacturing-as-a-Service environment based on manufacturing service descriptions

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition)

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. For example, a key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process versus those that measure fl ux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process including the amount and rate of cargo sequestered and degraded). In particular, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation must be differentiated from stimuli that increase autophagic activity, defi ned as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (inmost higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium ) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the fi eld understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. It is worth emphasizing here that lysosomal digestion is a stage of autophagy and evaluating its competence is a crucial part of the evaluation of autophagic flux, or complete autophagy. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. Along these lines, because of the potential for pleiotropic effects due to blocking autophagy through genetic manipulation it is imperative to delete or knock down more than one autophagy-related gene. In addition, some individual Atg proteins, or groups of proteins, are involved in other cellular pathways so not all Atg proteins can be used as a specific marker for an autophagic process. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field

A product configurator for cloud manufacturing

Product configurators have become an important enabler for enterprises to achieve product customization in order to address individual customers’ requirements. Despite adoption across a wide range of application domains from automotive to consumer goods, even state-of-the-art product configuration systems are limited in their ability to quickly respond to changes in the production systems that deliver the goods specified. Enabled by the emerging paradigm of cloud manufacturing, the authors propose a “configurable configurator” that is automatically updated to reflect changes in the supply chain. The paper reports the ongoing research and development towards a dynamically generated system that supports product configuration, visualization and assessment from the cloud manufacturing concept of Manufacturing-as-a-Service (MaaS). In addition to outlining the architecture of such a system, an overview of its modules and integration to the cloud manufacturing platform is described. Lastly, the case study of a customizable façade module is presented with two different scenarios to demonstrate the prototype implementation and validate the proposed approach

Development of a front-end system for customised product specification in the ManuCloud

The objective of the ManuCloud project is the development of a service-oriented IT environment as a basis for the next level of manufacturing networks by enabling production-related inter-enterprise integration down to shop floor level. Industrial relevance is guaranteed by involving industrial partners from the photovoltaic, organic lightning and automotive supply industries

Hot-embossing of polymeric micro-tubes

Needs of polymeric micro-tubular-components has led to the development of a hot-embossing process and corresponding tools and the machine for an automated process of shaping polymeric micro-tubes into functionalised engineering components for medical device applications. Based on the fundamental study of the hot-embossing and compression moulding processes, a process configuration of hot-embossing of micro-tubes was proposed. The process concept evolution was supported with FE simulations. These were followed by a series of forming experiment, initially with simple shaping-tools. The formed samples were then assessed in detail. Based on the experience gained from the process simulations and the experiment, a desktop, miniature machine with an integrated tool-system and an automated handling system has been developed. The machine and the tool were validated with the shaping of various micro-tubes (different types of materials and dimensions). The results obtained indicated that a good performance from the process, the tool and the machine has been achieved. This paper reports the process and equipment development described above

Optimisation of the performance of a linear motor driven feeder for micro-sheet-forming applications

A presentation on the optimisation of the performance of a linear motor driven feeder for micro-sheet-forming application

Machine and tool development for forming of polymeric tubular micro-components

This paper reports the work associated with the development of a desktop hot-embossing machine system and tools which would enable volume production of polymeric tubular micro-components for various applications. The development was undertaken by considering factors such as machine dynamic performance, precision guides to tools, tool heating and cooling, raw material feeding and end-part collection, control strategy. It was assisted with FE analysis and a series of forming experiment. An integrated machine system has now been constructed and tested with the forming of several demonstration-components. A good result was obtained from these tests

Erratum to: Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition) (Autophagy, 12, 1, 1-222, 10.1080/15548627.2015.1100356

non present