Sheet metal joining process selector

This contribution highlights the significance of support methods for the early stages of sustainable product development and culminates in the introduction of a comprehensive framework in this domain. The framework aims at assisting designers and product engineers in generating and evaluating ideas for the development of product systems with high sustainability potential. The multi-iterative framework, whose effectiveness has already been demonstrated in diverse workshops, leverages a fusion of creativity and evaluation techniques, identified through an extensive comparison of techniques.

Success in the market place is very much dependent on the ability to translate satisfaction into product properties and to do it as early as possible in the product development process. This paper addresses this translation process and problems of linking customer satisfaction to the early stages of product development. In the paper Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and a framework for linking internal quality and customer satisfaction are used as a theoretical basis for a case study from Volvo Car Corporation. The case study illustrates how QFD is used as a tool in the translation process and how Volvo by linking satisfaction to design in the improvement of the transmission system of the Volvo 850 achieved outstanding results.

A group multi-granularity linguistic-based methodology for prioritizing engineering characteristics under uncertainties

The early stages of product development are arguably the most important in the design of successful products. This paper describes different approaches to the conceptual design phase of product development, how they are taught to undergraduate engineering students, and how they are practiced in industry both in Germany and in the United States. The authors note that teaching the early stages of product development to future engineers at German Universities is more focused on methodology and processes. In the United States teaching design is more about being creative and overcoming individual constraints in order to find good and unconventional concepts. To understand how the conceptual phase is implemented in industry, the authors interviewed 16 companies in Germany and the United States. A thematic analysis was performed on the responses. In German industry, the authors observe uncertainty about how to apply process management in the very early stage of product development where different concepts are developed and evaluated. In U.S. industry most companies do not claim to follow a process during the early stage of concept development. Observing the differences between what is taught to engineering students in school and what is practiced in industry some conclusions recommendations are drawn. The observations demonstrate a weakness in process reliability during the early stage of product development both, in German and U.S. industry that should motivate academia to adapt its pedagogy in order to enable future engineers to create successful concepts.

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">Accelerated adoption of electric propulsion system in mobility industry has stressed the time and iterations of product development cycle which was traditionally known to go over multiple iterations and phases. Current market demands a timely introduction of compelling products that brings high value to end user. Further, a growing emphasis over reducing mineral content using sustainable options and process, adds further complexity to multi-objective-optimization of electric drive systems. At BorgWarner our engineers use Digital-Twins, physics-based models which closely represent BorgWarner products in greater dept (physics) thus allowing an improved assessment of product design (components and systems) to target application at very early stage in product development. The spring success with Digital-Twin, BorgWarner furthered enhanced the model through introducing Artificial Intelligent (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies in both modelling and virtual sensing.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper will provide reader an in-depth view of technology aspects with Digital-Twin and introduce AI and ML algorithms within Digital-Twin, beginning with a brief introduction on AI and ML technologies, the paper will also go in depth on in-use applications of these technologies at BorgWarner, such as, Deep learning virtual sensors usage. The paper will include a clear description of specialty tools and methods adopted by BorgWarner for data cleaning, model training and validation. The paper will provide reader an insight into how such trained AI-ML models were developed and trained using data provided by validated 1D and high-fidelity models from Amesim and COMSOL respectively, where each of those reference datasets were verified using real hardware tested in a vehicle environment. Although scope within BorgWarner product development was surrounding integrated drive module, for the purpose of showcasing an example the paper will provide technical insight to “Deep Learning Virtual Sensor for Power Module”. Towards conclusion, our goal is to showcase the method of integrating AI-ML models in Digital Twin and how those learnings can be translated into a product feature which could minimize controls complexity while enhancing accuracy and safety of the electrified propulsion system.</div></div>

SummaryIn this study, we examine the role of founders' need to belong andtertius iungensorientation (i.e., the tendency of bringing people together and coordinating among others) in the context of new ventures. We propose and document evidence that a founder's tendency to engage intertius iungensoriented networking is positively associated with new venture performance. We also reveal that a founder's need to belong is a significant motivational antecedent of the founder'stertius iungensorientation. Further, the need to belong–networking orientation linkage is stronger for founders in new ventures at the early product development stage than those at the late product development stage. We tested our hypotheses using survey data collected with a two‐wave sample of new ventures in China. We discuss the theoretical significance of studying the need to belong andtertius iungensorientation for social networks and entrepreneurship literatures, as well as the practical implications for managing a successful new venture.

Characteristics of food products are commonly assessed in series of sensory studies to gain insight which can be used, for instance, for product development. Sensory studies are very time‐consuming and susceptible to large sources of variation. Assessing information about (new) products by means of instrumental measurements would be very beneficial for numerous reasons, including repeatability, reproducibility and, most of all, the fact that instruments do not suffer from fatigue or adaptation. Measurements simulating sensory assessment of product properties can be performed at different stages of consumption and on different types of sensory attributes. In this study the relation between rheological parameters and creamy mouthfeel was investigated. The goal was to discover whether a model using a limited mechanical characterization, namely parameters describing bulk rheological behaviour, would suffice to describe the sensory attribute ‘creamy mouthfeel’, also called creaminess. The two main reasons for performing this study were (i) to investigate the possibility of using rheological measurements for high‐throughput screening of newly developed custard products without the need for involving sensory panels already at an early stage of product development and (ii) to gain knowledge about the correlation between rheological measurements and the multidimensional attribute creamy mouthfeel. The resulting model shows that prediction of creamy mouthfeel by means of rheological measurements is possible only to a certain extent ($Q_{\rm CV}^2=0.48$). Reasons that can be mentioned for deviations between measured creaminess and modelled creaminess are (i) variation in measured creamy mouthfeel scores (variation in y‐variable) and (ii) lack of description of surface properties of the food product by the rheological measurements used here. The results show that instrumental measurements are complementary to sensory analysis and can greatly facilitate the task for the practitioner at an early stage of product development, making high‐throughput screening of novel products feasible. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Photogrammetry-based 3D scanning for supporting design activities and testing in early stage product development

Resistance spot welding is widely used as a sheet metal joining process, especially in automotive and rail coach manufacturing industries. Ferritic stainless steel (FSS) is used for structural applications in these areas, owing to its superior corrosion resistance compared to conventional carbon steels. In this paper, mechanical properties and microstructure of resistance spot welded FSS joints to grade AISI 409M was investigated. Tensile shear test and micro hardness test were carried out to assess the mechanical properties and failure characteristics of weld joints. Microstructure was evaluated with optical microscopy. The effect of welding current on nugget growth, peak load, fusion zone (FZ) hardness, failure energy and failure mode were analyzed at various current ratings, keeping electrode force, weld cycle time and electrode tip diameter as constants. The results showed that, with the increment in welding current, tensile shear strength increased. Nugget diameter was found to be increasing with increase in current, in expulsion free welds. At low currents, failure mode was found to be interfacial and the pull out mode of failure occurred, at relatively higher current values. Average FZ hardness was found to be more than that of base metal (BM) but less than that of maximum hardness at heat affected zone. Grain enlargement was noticed at high temperature heat affected zone. FZ microstructure consists of predominantly columnar ferrite. Failure occurred at the BM region in all the samples welded above 10 KA current.

In the early stages of product development, designers need to take environmental performance into account together with traditional design objectives. Sustainable products are products that are fully compatible with nature throughout their entire life cycle. This paper presents a case study in which the integration of environmentally conscious quality function deployment (ECQFD) and life cycle assessment (LCA) has been applied to enable sustainable product development of an electric vehicle. In this study, ECQFD has been used to handle environmental and traditional quality requirements of the product, whereas LCA has been used for assessing the environmental impact of products and processes. A cost model has been developed by integrating production and environmental costs as well as the technical status of an old part product for reuse. The results obtained from the case study reveal that integration of ECQFD and LCA considers the equal importance of environmental requirements to the traditional requirements of cost and quality thereby ensuring sustainability in product design in an electric vehicle.

The choice of the right process for casting components is a complexactivity, and impacts directly on the design and manufacturing of the product. A single failure in the casting process selection can increase design and production time and, in critical cases, result in a collapse of the manufacturing and assembly of components. This process is usually based on guidelines scattered in the literature, or based on the designer's accumulated experience, but this action could be carried out by software containing a casting process database that can be employed during the product development stage, assisting the designer. In this context, our goal is to adapt a method for selection of casting processes previously developed into a web platform to support casting process definition. The adopted selection method uses Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and Design for Manufacturing (DFM) principles to provide a structure to support casting selection decision based on part features and process demand. The proposed software was developed for the Web using HTML and JavaScript, providing better usability than the previous format of the proposed selection method using spreadsheets. For validation, ferrous and nonferrous cast parts were analyzed using the proposed web platform. The results were compared with the selector provided by the American Foundry Society and with processes actually used in the industry. Thus, the results showed a good relationship with the other methods, also providing a quantitative classification (prioritization) of the results. In addition, this software supports the design of the manufacturing process by means of a checklist to adapt the part to the metal casting process presented to the designer.

From a lean philosophy viewpoint, the huge amount of fasteners used in airframes appears to be the inverse of what the design for manufacturing should seek. New design concepts with integral joints may be produced using welding processes, simplifying and optimizing the design for manufacturing and assembly process; however, crack arrest capability may be compromised. An introductory quality function deployment (QFD) analysis applying the Cross method evaluates the main design goals in the application of new joining processes in lightweight reinforced structures. The analysis shows that new welding process can improve airframe structures provided the structural integrity is ensured.

Build orientation effect on Ti6Al4V thin-wall topography by electron beam powder bed fusion

Surface properties and biofilm formation on resins for subtractively and additively manufactured fixed dental prostheses aged in artificial saliva: Effect of material type and surface finishing

In case of solid phase welding, it is necesary to heat the joining materials at last above recrystalization temperature of either one. And in the joining process, the pressure and surface tension of the materials are important factor to accelerate the joining. For these reasons, the materials which have high melting point could be solid-phase-welded during 30-60 seconds at a temperature little higher than their recrystalization temperature by use of the powder as medium.By the joining method mentioned above, tungsten, tungsten carbide, quartz and etc. were solid-phasewelded with each other by use of powder of appropriate materials as medium, and its strength was close to that of the materials. when this joining method was applied to common metals, the results were obtained as indicated in the following examples, the joining strength, when Cr-steel was welded by use of Co-powder as medium, was about 65kg/mm2 and that, when Cr-steel welded by Ni-powder, was about 50kg/mm2.