Manufacturing

Extrusion-based bioprinting (EBB) is a rapidly growing technology that has made substantial progress during the last decade. It has great versatility in printing various biologics, including cells, tissues, tissue constructs, organ modules and microfluidic devices, in applications from basic research and pharmaceutics to clinics. Despite the great benefits and flexibility in printing a wide range of bioinks, including tissue spheroids, tissue strands, cell pellets, decellularized matrix components, micro-carriers and cellladen hydrogels, the technology currently faces several limitations and challenges. These include impediments to organ fabrication, the limited resolution of printed features, the need for advanced bioprinting solutions to transition the technology bench to bedside, the necessity of new bioink development for rapid, safe and sustainable delivery of cells in a biomimetically organized microenvironment, and regulatory concerns to transform the technology into a product. This paper, presenting a first-time comprehensive review of EBB, discusses the current advancements in EBB technology and highlights future directions to transform the technology to generate viable end products for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

‘As industry practitioners know well from experience, generalization is hard to come by. Whether it's manufacturing, services, or something in between, it's the details that seem to matter most when it comes to determining outcomes. The value in this book is enormous because details tell the stories across a diverse set of industries. I applaud the editors and authors on their substantial achievement. Manufacturing and related supply chains are dynamic, and this book is rich with information that offers deeper understanding about the processes involved.’
– Professor Frank Giarratani, Center for Industry Studies, University of Pittsburgh, US

‘This book represents a major contribution to our thinking about modern manufacturing industries and is not just timely it is long overdue! The authors have done an outstanding job in bringing to bear a range of multi-disciplinary perspectives on a domain which all too often suffers from rather narrow disciplinary analyses. Ranging from engineering to social science and drawing on examples from the US, Europe and Asia, the book provides not only a wealth of fact and illustration but a rich landscape to inform those charged with industrial policy and manufacturing strategies.’
– From the foreword by Sir Mike Gregory, University of Cambridge, UK

The Handbook of Manufacturing Industries in the World Economy

The Handbook of Manufacturing Industries in the World Economy provides a critical and multi-disciplinary state-of-the-art review and analysis of current manufacturing processes, practices and policies. Expanding our knowledge and understanding of production and innovation, this collection demonstrates that manufacturing continues to matter in the world economy.

The contributors, including scholars ranging from engineering to policy to economic geography, cover manufacturing policy and the revival of the industrial base in the US, UK and Canada and engage national and regional strategies for implementing advanced manufacturing policies. Questions of economic resilience in the wake of the recent recession are asked, and industry and firm case studies are utilised in an international comparative context. Applying a wide range of international cases from the US, EU, Australia and Asia, this approach allows readers to view transformations in production systems and processes across sectors, technologies and industries.

Students, scholars and policymakers in the fields of public policy, economic geography, city and regional planning, and business and management will find this collection invaluable in understanding how firms and industries adapt, through dynamic and design-driven strategies, to produce for established and emerging markets.

Contents:

PART I: INTRODUCTION

PART II:(PROCESSES) BUILDING BLOCKS: FACTOR INPUTS AND PRODUCTION ORGANIZATION
1. Manufacturing Management in Theory and Practice
Paul L Forrester

2. Manufacturing and Labor
Sally Weller

3. How Does Financialization Affect Manufacturing Investment? Preliminary Evidence from the US and UK
Susan Christopherson

4. Manufacturing Logistics
Peter V. Hall

5. Reshoring and the ‘Manufacturing Moment’
Margaret Cowell and John Provo

6. Relocation of Production Activities and Underlying Social Dynamics: An Analytical Framework based on a Canadian Perspective
Patrice Jalette

7. Tool-less Manufacture: Digital Fabrication, 3D Printing and the Third Industrial Revolution
Michael Ward

8. Engineering and Manufacturing: Concurrent Maturation of xRL
Ben Wang, William C. Kessler and Andrew Dugenske

9. Energy and Manufacturing: Technology and Policy Transformations and Challenges
Marilyn A. Brown and Gyungwon Kim

10. Design and Manufacturing: The Competitiveness of American, European and Chinese Industrial Design Companies
Vida Vanchan and John Bryson

11. Intellectual Property and Patents: Knowledge Creation and Diffusion
Dieter Kogler

PART III: INDUSTRY AND FIRM CASE STUDIES
12. Manufacturing Textile Futures: Innovation, Adaptation and the UK Textiles Industry
Megan Ronayne

13. Finding a Future for the U.S. Furniture Industry
Susan Walcott

14. New Geographies of Advanced Manufacturing: The Case of Machine Tools
Ron Kalafsky

15. Farm Machinery: A Changing Path to Feed the World
Dawn M. Drake

16. Hidden in Plain Sight: The North American Optics and Photonics Industry
Jennifer Clark

17. Traditional and Emerging Markets in the Global Steel Supply Chain
Carey Durkin Treado

18. Intermediate Manufacturing: Profit, Dependency and Value Attainment in Supply Chains
Rachel Mulhall

19. Aerospace Manufacturing: Past, Present and Future
Colin G. Drury

20. Manufacturing Stoke: Emergence, Transformation and Consolidation in the Surfboard Industry
Andrew Warren and Chris Gibson

21. Migrant Manufacturing: Translocal Production and the Establishment of a Polish Bakery in Birmingham, UK
Catherine Harris

22. Škoda Auto: The transformation from a domestic to a Tier Two lead firm
Petr Pavlínek

23. Samsung: Restructuring, Innovation, and Global Networks
Sam Ock Park

PART IV: POLICY NARRATIVES IN MANUFACTURING
24. Stability Amid Industrial Change: The Geography of U.S. Deindustrialization since 1980
Marc Doussard and Greg Schrock

25. Searching for Advanced Manufacturing in the United Kingdom and United States: Definitions, Measurement and Public Policy
Finbarr Livesey

26. National Manufacturing Policy, Local Real Estate Markets, and the Missing Region: Prospects for Urban Industrial Development in the U.S.
Laura Wolf-Powers

27. The City and Industry: Deurbanizing Manufacturing in New York City?
Lynn McCormick

28. Manufacturing in the Knowledge Economy: Innovation in Low-tech Industries
Teis Hansen and Lars Winther

29. Crafting a Comeback: Cultivating an Innovative Ecosystem in Mature Regions
Maryann Feldman and Lauren Lanahan

30. From Skill Mismatch to Reinterpretation: Challenges and Solutions for Manufacturing Worker Retention and Recruitment
Nichola J. Lowe

PART V: CONCLUSION

The mica group of sheet silicate (phyllosilicate) minerals includes several closely related materials having nearly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic, with a tendency towards pseudohexagonal crystals, and are similar in chemical composition. The nearly perfect cleavage, which is the most prominent characteristic of mica, is explained by the hexagonal sheet-like arrangement of its atoms.
Mica is a naturally occurring stone that directly applies to a set of minerals containing silica in its highest form. This mineral is mostly used in gypsum wallboard combined compound where it acts as wadding and prevents cracking. There are a variety of uses of this mineral such as:

It is used in paints as a pigment extender and also helps to brighten the tone of colored pigments
In the electrical industry the same as thermal insulation, and electrical insulators in electronic equipment
Its shiny and glittery appearance makes it ultimate for toothpaste and cosmetics
The high thermal resistance allows it to be used as an insulator in various electronics
MICA SHIELDS or Gauge Glass Mica can be used to secure the liquid level gauges from corrosive and acidic solutions.

3-D printing has entered the consumer market because of recent radical price declines. Consumers can save substantial money by offsetting purchases with DIY pre-designed 3-D printed products. However, even more value can be obtained with distributed manufacturing using mass customization. Unfortunately, the average consumer is not technically sophisticated enough to easily design their own products. One solution to this is the use of an overlay on OpenSCAD parametric code, although current solutions force users to relinquish all rights to their own designs. There is thus a substantial need in the open source design community for a libre 3-D model customizer, which can be used in any design repository to democratize design. This study reports on the design, function, and validation of such software: the Free Open Source 3-D Customizer. It is demonstrated with a case study of the customization of 3-D printable external breast prosthetics. The results showed that novice users can adjust the available parameters according to their needs and save these to a new file on a website. This PHP (recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) library is free and open source and has potential for increasing the usefulness of online repositories to enable distributed manufacturing using consumer customized 3-D printable products.

Market globalization has brought us not only new opportunities, but also new challenges. The theme of innovation has become a mandatory topic for all industries -it has become a focal point for the enterprise, society and the world. The goal of innovation is to create business value by developing worthwhile ideas into a customer-centric marketable reality. This, for most companies, is difficult to achieve due to the lack of a methodology and tools for systematic innovative thinking. This paper introduces the concept and strategies for product-service innovation based on a Dominant Innovation Design approach. An innovation toolset that effectively combines an Innovation Matrix, Application Space Map, and QFD tools is explained. This methodology enables the identification of hidden customer needs and gaps as they relate to product-service requirements. This paper also shares two case studies of how this tool-set can be utilized for real product-service innovation. The case study includes an overall IT-enabled service solution for a traditional product, which encompasses service thinking, blueprint planning, technical solution evaluation, service platform implementation, and service operation. Combining these elements can lead manufacturing industries into new service business model based on their core product while creating more value to their customers.

Within microbiology, a shift is taking place from simple laboratory studies toward greater use of risk assessment and management]. Sometimes these approaches form part of a drug company’s total quality system; sometimes they exist as stand-alone techniques. The most important guidelines for pharmaceutical microbiology are described in ICH Q9, including the tools of FMEA (Failure Modes and Effects Analysis); FTA (Fault Tree Analysis); and HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points). The two most commonly used within microbiology are HACCP (which originated in the food industry) and FMEA (developed for engineering). This article explores these two approaches, first with a description of HACCP, followed by a description and case study of FMEA in sterility testing.

Secretaria Geral do Cedeplar Maristela Dória (secretária-geral) Simone Basques Sette (editoração) http://www.cedeplar.ufmg.br * Trabalho desenvolvido no NEMEA (Núcleo de Estudos em Modelagem Econômica e Ambiental Aplicada) do Cedeplar-UFMG, com o apoio da Agência Brasileira de Desenvolvimento Industrial (ABDI), por meio do projeto de pesquisa "Subsídios para políticas comercial e industrial a partir de modelos econômicos de simulação". As análises e opiniões neste

The anaerobic digestion of glycerol derived from biodiesel manufacturing, in which COD was found to be 1010 g/kg, was studied in batch laboratory-scale reactors at mesophilic temperature using granular and non-granular sludge. Due to the high KOH concentration of this by-product, H 3 PO 4 was added to recover this alkaline catalyst as agricultural fertilizer (potassium phosphates). Although it would not be economically viable, a volume of glycerol was distilled and utilised as reference substrate. The anaerobic revalorisation of glycerol using granular sludge achieved a biodegradability of around 100%, while the methane yield coefficient was 0.306 m 3 CH 4 /kg acidified glycerol. Anaerobic digestion could be a good option for revalorising this available, impure and low priced by-product derived from the surplus of biodiesel companies. The organic loading rate studied was 0.21-0.38 g COD/g VSS d, although an inhibition phenomenon was observed at the highest load.

Low-power laser scanning techniques provide a powerful tool for a diverse range of automatic inspection tasks. They are more suitable for high component feed rates, less sensitive to changes in ambient lighting and their output requires less processing power than CCD vision systems. In earlier papers, the authors have described typical automotive-related areas of application for laser scanning. The current paper describes recent work concerned with data capture and signal
processing techniques necessary for fully automatic inspection systems with particular reference metal cutting machine tools.

A high-power high-performance variable-speed drive system using a cycloconverter-fed synchronous motor is described. The control uses the field-orientation principle to give the drive system good steadystate and dynamic performance criteria. The accuracy of the field orientation is improved with the use of current regulators operating in the airgap flux reference frame. The system was manufactured to deliver 16 000 hp to the twin propeller shafts of a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker. The electric components of the system were tested as a unit in the factory and the desired system performance was achieved.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the organizations and society because of its pervasiveness capacity. AI refers to machines (robots, computers, etc.) making tasks that typically demand specific human intelligence. Moreover, AI with its sub-field 'Machine Learning' (ML) is the core of the new era of Data-oriented Manufacturing 4.0 of nowadays. For industrials, these two paradigms are becoming an absolute critical key to success to remain competitive. AI approaches are the most enabler techniques of the 'intelligent' industry through process automation, industrial robotics, predictive decision-aid, Big Data cyber-integration, cyber-physical systems, IoT connectivity, and so forth. In AI-powered manufacturing, the traditional theory-oriented management is being replaced by Data-oriented management where Data is taking the central in guiding processes 'intelligently' instead of old best practices. Therefore, mutations are already in their way of affecting completely the industrial worldwide networks by eliminating inefficiencies, assisting workers, and creating new opportunities, but also in engendering unexpected challenges by altering the current operations. The objective of this special session is to call academics to debate and examine the way AI approaches are influencing the industrial processes under the new era of Manufacturing 4.0.

One of the key advantages of additive manufacturing (AM) is its digital thread, which allows for rapid communication, iteration, and sharing of a design model and its corresponding physical representation. While this enables a more efficient design process, it also presents opportunities for cyber-attacks to impact the physical word. In this paper the authors examine potential attack vectors along the Additive Manufacturing process chain. Specifically, the effects of cyber-physical attacks, and potential means for detecting them, are explored. Based on the results of this study, recommendations are presented for preventing and detecting cyber-physical attacks on AM processes.

STEP-compliant CNC is the next-generation CNC controller, taking the STEP-NC data model as the interface scheme between CAM and CNC and carrying out various intelligent functions. At the moment, efforts are being made worldwide to establish an international standard for the new interface scheme (so-called STEP-NC), formalized as IS0 14649. In the near future, the new interface scheme will be completed and announced as the international standard. Upon completion, the standard will replace the conventional scheme based on IS0 6963, so-called M&G codes. Further, the new interface scheme will impact the CAD-CAM-CNC process chain and the advancement of the CNC controller. This paper develops an integrated STEP-compliant CNC system (or STEP-CNC) based on the new interface scheme. The system is composed of five modules: (1) Shop Floor Programming System (PosSFP), (2) Tool Path Generator (PosTPG), (3) Tool Path Viewer (PosTPV), (4) Man Machine Interface (PosMMI), and (5) CNC Kernel (PosCNC). The developed system is a prototype but very comprehensive, including all the modules required for realizing "art-to-part" through the new CAD-CAM-CNC chain. Architecture and functional details are presented together with a realistic demonstration.

The Economist (UK) invited me to participate in their periodic online debate series with World Bank economist, Wolfgang Fengler, about the need for industrialization in Africa. The 3-part series was posted online during March 12 – 22, 2013. Readers votes determine the winner.

The Turkish textile and ready-made industry is mostly export-oriented and has a salient place both in our country's economy as well as in the world market. In this study, according to the lower area of the textile sector in Turkey, it is aimed to create a network analysis of export figures by network analysis of their productions according to region and provinces. Gephi 0.9.2 program was used in the study. Gephi is open-source software that is based on data mining and it visualizes the complex relationships between data through a network structure. Sector production data were used from TOBB and export data was obtained from TURKSTAT. The weighted values of the producer information belonging to the regions according to the NACE classification of the textile sub-sectors were used on the Gephi program. It has been observed that the textile sector has spread to all regions, and it has been found that the regions where the sector concentration is highest are the Marmara, Aegean, and Southeastern Anatolia regions.

This paper discusses what is known about the life-cycle burdens of lithium ion batteries. Constituent-material production and the subsequent manufacturing of batteries are emphasized. Of particular interest is estimation of the impact of battery material recycling on battery manufacturing. Because some materials come from comparatively less plentiful resources, the recycling of lithium ion batteries and the potential impact on battery-production life-cycle burdens are discussed. This effort represents the early stage of lithium ion battery life-cycle analysis, in which processes are characterized preparatory to detailed data acquisition. Notwithstanding the lack of data on production of battery materials, it is estimated that the energy use and greenhouse gas emissions associated with battery manufacturing make up only a small percentage of a plug-in hybrid vehicle's total life-cycle energy use. Further, the recycling of battery materials potentially can significantly reduce the...

A digital seismic measuring chain is an electromechanical system able to record the lowest natural ground motions observable on Earth but also to measure signals from largest earthquakes. Its cornerstones are an inertial seismometer and a digitizer. As equipments available on the market don't answer to all seismological applications CEA/DASE (Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique/Departement analyse, surveillance, environnement) is interested in, it has developed the adequate digital seismic measuring chains. Today, the technologies used have reached their maturity. New sensing techniques need to be developed. Optical sensors are now widely used in vibrometry and displacement measurements. Such devices generally use interferometry to achieve subnanometric resolution with a large dynamic range. We have developed a prototype digital motion transducer from a Michelson interferometer in order to evaluate the potential of this technology for seismological applications. Tests were carried out to validate the operation of this transducer and to estimate its main characteristics for seismological applications. We focused on transducer motion range and intrinsic noise. Results are promising. Prototype intrinsic noise reaches levels as small as 100 fm/√Hz around 8 Hz and is better than that of present transducers all over the bandwidth of interest, motion range also. Interesting seismological applications can be considered leading to more accurate seismic measuring chains, easier to manufacture, deploy and operate.

For the past three years the Design Innovation Group at the Open University in collaboration with Vivien Walsh at UMIST has been examining the processes, practices and management of product design, development and innovation in several sectors of manufacturing industry. This paper presents some of the findings, in particular flora the survey of the plastics products sector, but with additional evidence fiom a preliminary analysis of data in the office furniture, domestic heating equipment and electronic business equipment industries. The focus of the paper is on the employment and activities of product designers and their role as 'gatekeepers', who, in the commercially successful, 'design-conscious" firms, manage to integrate the contributions of marketing, design and production in new product development. The paper also includes some evidence on the relationship between 'good design' and business performance.

Large amounts of fly ash (FA) and limestone powder (LP) wastes are accumulating in countries all over the world. Most of these wastes are abandoned and cause certain serious environmental problems and health hazards. In this study, LP waste and class-C FA were used to produce a composite material without the addition of portland cement. LP was mixed with the FA at levels of 10, 20 and 30% by volume in the samples. LP and FA were mixed, wetted and compressed under high pressure in a steel mould. The compressive and flexural strengths were measured, and ultrasonic pulse velocity tests were performed on samples at ages of 7, 28 and 90 days. Density, water absorption and thermal conductivity values were also determined for the samples aged for 28 days. Preliminary results obtained from the tests indicate that masonry composites can be produced using LP, FA and water.

An experiment on surface coating of ceramic tiles with titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigmented acrylate formulations have been done using UV-curing system. A coating formulation is the mixture of epoxy acrylate resin (80 mass% aromatic epoxy acrylate in 20 mass% hexandiol diacrylate), tripropylene glycol diacrylate (TPGDA) monomer, titanium dioxide pigment and photoinitiator of 2,2-dimethyl-2-hydroxy acetophenone (Darocur 1173). Coating on ceramics was carried out with a wire bar coater to get film thickness of around 150 μ m. UV-curing was conducted by using 80 Watt/cm intensity UV-source at a fixed photoinitiator concentration and exposure time (represented by conveyor speed). Concentrations of titanium dioxide and TPGDA in the coating formulation were varied to evaluate their effect on physical, mechanical and chemical properties of cured films. A fixed photoinitiator concentration and conveyor speed used in the experiment were determined after evaluating the pendulum hardness of cured films in a sequence of experiments. Parameters observed were viscosity, contact angle, pendulum hardness, gloss, adhesion, color value, and chemical, solvent and stain resistance.

A 25k gate Test Chip was designed and manufactured to evaluate different test methods for scan-designed circuits. The design of the chip, the experiment, and preliminary experimental results were presented at ITC'95. This paper presents results for different clock speeds and clocking modes (at-speed and delay), and uses this data to characterize the behavior of the defective parts. It was found that timing-related defects are common, and the escape rate for different test techniques on these parts is discussed.

The fixed partial denture produced by conventional method is greatly relied on the skill and experience of dental technician. Its quality and accuracy depends mostly on the technician's subjective judgment. In addition, the manual process involves many procedures that require a long time to complete. Most important, it does not preserve any quantitative information for future retrieval. In this article, a new device for scanning denture images and reconstructing 3D digital information of dental model by abrasive computer tomography (ACT) was designed in-house and proposed. The fixed partial denture was then produced by the rapid prototyping (RP) and computer numerical control (CNC) machining methods based on ACT scanned digital information. A force feedback sculptor (FreeForm system, Sensible Technologies Inc., USA) accompany with 3D Touch technology was applied to modify the morphology design of denture. It enables the dentist to perform digital manipulation of denture profile ...

Porous silicon carbide (SiC) ceramics with different pore size were prepared from SiC powders, an aluminum yttrium garnet (Y3Al5O12, YAG) as a sintering additive, and three different sizes of templates (polymer microbeads) by a sacrificial template technique. Their microstructure and mechanical strengths were evaluated as a function of template size, i.e., pore size. Porosity of these porous SiC ceramics increased with increasing the template content, regardless of template size. Pore size was proportional with the template size. The growth of faceted grains was accelerated with increasing the template size. Both flexural and compressive strengths decreased with increasing the porosity whereas both strengths increased with decreasing the template size, i.e., pore size. Typical flexural and compressive strengths of the porous SiC ceramics fabricated using 8 μm-templates were ~55 MPa and ~240 MPa at ~45% porosity, respectively.

Porous cordierite ceramics with controlled porosity were fabricated via a reaction sintering using expandable microspheres as sacrificial templates and ceramics-filled polysiloxane as a precursor for cordierite ceramics. The influence of the sintering temperature, the template content, and the additive composition on the microstructure, porosity, and compressive strength has been investigated. The results showed that the template content, the sintering temperature, and the sintering additive composition have a significant effect on the porosity. By controlling the template content, the sintering temperature, and the sintering additive composition, it was possible to produce porous cordierite ceramics possessing a wide range of porosities ranging from 11! to 72!. The compressive strength was influenced by both the porosity and the additive composition. The compressive strength of the porous cordierite ceramics containing 6 mass! kaolin as a sintering additive was Ĭ150 MPa at 35! porosity.

The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-Ray analysis of the Al-Fe alloy revealed the formation of varying ironaluminide intermetallic compounds. The Al-Fe alloys were produced by varying the composition of Fe. The pure 'Al' billets were heated up to 750 о c and in the molten condition of aluminium 'Fe' powder was added resulting in an exothermic reaction. The exothermic reaction raised the molten bath temperature to ~ 1400 о c which activated the formation of intermetallic compound.

The two-part article aimed to investigate poloxamer 407-based microspheres as a novel platform for enhancing and controlling the delivery of atenolol across the oromucosal tissue. In the Part I of the work, atenolol-loaded poloxamers 407 microparticles were prepared by the solvent free spray congealing technology. This approach was feasible upon the high viscosity of the systems allowing for high loaded (20% w/w) non-aggregated microspheres. Several formulations were studied and the results demonstrated that the drug release patterns, solubility data, mucoadhesion to buccal tissue and gelling properties in saliva could be modified by adding different amount of an amphiphilic polymer-lipid excipient (Gelucire(®) 50/13) to poloxamer 407. Particularly, microspheres based only on poloxamer 407 exhibited very high solubility, mucoadhesive strength and gelling behaviour. To assess their potential as matrix for buccal application, the gelling property and the drug release from tablets obta...

Today, many knowledge-based technology applications form a business ecosystem: a set of complex products and services made by multiple firms in which no firm is dominant. For this paper the emerging radio frequency ID (RFID) ecosystem was built based on firms' alliance announcements, and propositions around the behavior of large, multi-line technology firms in this network were analyzed. The RFID network is used to empirically show that absorptive capacity, and exploration vs. exploitation theories may explain some behavior of large firms. Specifically, a propensity to form alliances in general makes it more likely large firms will join the RFID ecosystem, and more exploratory firms join earlier. Greater availability of slack resources also leads to the formation of more alliances in the network. The ecosystem perspective and these results may influence alliance decisions of firms entering into high cost technological innovations.

The standard operation of companies involves managing risk, whether that risk comes from safety or financial factors. Despite this fact, most companies do little or nothing to manage the safety or financial risk related to their controller automation. This is quite surprising for manufacturing and production companies that depend primarily on equipment and process automation. Those involved in industrial management, plant safety, maintenance and installation of automation equipment should give serious consideration to the risks involved with their PLCs. This article focuses on automation control, but the following approach should be applied to all aspects of manufacturing and production automation.

This paper presents an empirical study aimed at investigating the adoption of manufacturing intangible technologies in small manufacturing supplying firms that are located in late developing areas. Manufacturing intangible technologies are more or less formalised practices necessary to make hard technologies work, and to improve manufacturing process management and control. A survey was carried on collecting data from a sample including 291 small manufacturing supplying firms located in Southern Italy. Findings show that managers in a large number of firms have acquired awareness that the adoption of hard tangible technologies alone cannot lead to higher performance, but a change of the manufacturing system organisation or working routines with the adoption of soft technologies is often a necessary condition to preserve or enhance competitiveness. These firms – even coming up against obstacles many times – have been capable to translate their management awareness into practice, by introducing a number of identifiable intangible technologies in the manufacturing environment of their
organisations. Findings also reveal that industry type affects the adoption of intangible manufacturing technologies.

Recently, Ahmadi and Tang (1991) demonstrated how various manufacturing problems can be modeled and solved as graph partitioning problems. They use Lagrangian relaxation of two different mixed integer programming formulations to obtain both heuristic solutions and lower bounds on optimal solution values. In this note, we point to certain inconsistencies in the reported results. Among other things, we show analytically that the first bound proposed is trivial (i.e., it can never have a value greater than zero) while the second is also trivial for certain sparse graphs. We also present limited empirical results on the behavior of this second bound as a function of graph density.

Family businesses are important contributors to wealth and employment creation in any country. Indeed the economic landscape of most nations remains dominated by family firms. In Kenya, one of the Vision 2030 objectives is to create new jobs and the growth of family businesses is important to help achieve this objective. Unfortunately, many family businesses collapse within the first few years of operation and others stagnate leading to loss of jobs and greatly affecting the Kenyan economy.Succession can be defined as the process through which the leadership of the business is transferred from the outgoing generation to the successor generation, which can either be a family member or a non-family member. A number of researchers have stated that one of the most significant factors that determine continuity of the family firm from one generation to the next is whether the succession process is planned. Companies that do not have succession plans have a lot at stake. The founder of tho...

The study aims to examine the impact of liquidity and solvency management on the financial performance of Jordanian manufacturing companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange, for a period of 10 years from 2010 to 2019. The size of the company was used as a control variable. The study employs Return on Assets (ROA) and Earnings Per Share (EPS) to measure financial performance. Current ratio (CR) and total debts to total assets were used as proxies for liquidity and solvency management, while logarithm of total assets was used to measure the size. Correlation and multi regression analyses have been applied to analyze the data. The results show a statistically significant impact of independent and control variables (liquidity and solvency management and the size of the company) on financial performance, while the detailed results of the hypotheses indicate that liquidity has an insignificant reverse impact on financial performance. With respect to other variables, there is a significa...

Multi-axis slicing for solid freeform fabrication (SFF) manufacturing process can yield non-uniform thickness layers, or 3-D layers. Using the traditional parallel layer construction approach to build such a layer leads to a staircase which requires machining or other post processing to form the desired shape. This paper presents a direct 3-D layer deposition approach. This approach uses an empirical model to predict the layer thickness based on experimental data. The toolpath between layers is not parallel; instead, it follows the final shape of the designed geometry and the distance between the toolpath in the adjacent layers varies at different locations. Directly depositing a 3-D layer not only eliminates the staircase effect, but also improves the manufacturing efficiency by shortening the deposition and machining times. A single track deposition experiment has demonstrated these advantages. Thus, it is a beneficial addition to the traditional parallel deposition method.

Despite the claims on how stakeholders could benefit from electronic marketplaces (eMarketplaces), the actual user take-up of eMarketplaces have been modest and in many cases even failed to deliver their promises. We believe this is due to the lack of preparations in dealing with values of such ventures during the strategic planning of the organisations concerned. Given that values are

The manufacturing company under consideration recorded the high accident rates for last few years. These accidents cause the organization the heavy man-day loss, the production loss and heavy costs of insurance. The objective of health and safety department at the manufacturing company was to set and improve accidents prevention system. The paper presents how does the six-sigma technique will help to evaluate the safety and environmental hazards in performance of organizations? It is observed that the study helped the management to measure, analyze and improve overall safety plan to protect the life and health of the employees.

Effect of friction stir welding (FSW) tool geometries on aluminium welds were investigated using different tool shoulder and pin probe geometry profiles. A combination of 27 tool shoulder and pin profile geometries were used for the experimental purpose using a design matrix. The effect of these tool geometries on the friction stir welds like the weld strength, weld cross-section area and grain sizes were investigated. The effects of the tool geometries were predicted using artificial intelligence techniques such as artificial neural networks (ANN) and fuzzy logic modelling. It was observed that, for a combination of FSW tool geometries, the ANN model was not so effective in predicting the FSW weldment characteristics, while the fuzzy logic model was able to predict the same with much lower percentage of error for the test cases.

A reliability capability assessment process can assist OEMs and system integrators in assessing prospective suppliers for their ability to design and manufacture reliable products before they are delivered for use, and on an ongoing basis, help a company in ...

In this paper we ask what can account for the continuing strong preference for academic education in Africa where the level of development is so low and there are few wage jobs and which form of educational investment, the academic or vocational, is most profitable. We argue that the answers to these questions are linked through the shape of the earnings function and the importance of firm effects. High levels of academic education have far higher returns than those available either from vocational or lower levels of academic. However at lower levels the vocational return can exceed the academic.

The conversion of wood-based fiberboard materials into crack-free, monolithic, porous hard carbons is of significant interest due to their ability to perform in a multifunctional capacity. Three varieties of carbonized medium-density fiberboard (c-MDF) were studied for electrical, mechanical, and structural properties. X-ray diffraction data suggested that the volume fraction of large turbostratic crystallites increased with carbonization temperature (T). The volume fraction of large carb turbostratic crystallites had a positive correlation with elastic modulus and electrical conductivity. The c-MDF materials were approximately isotropic with respect to elastic modulus and exhibited increasing stiffness with increasing T (up to 4.5 carb GPa). Between 600 and 1400 8C, the electrical resistivity of c-MDF varied by seven orders of magnitude. The electrical resistivity of the hard carbon material in c-MDF 1400 8C was found to be within about an order of magnitude of polycrystalline graphite.