Computer Aided Production Management

The control of manufacturing operations is of crucial importance in industry. The correct regulation of manufacturing activities makes the difference between meeting and missing customer requirements. Nowadays computerised solutions are available as an aid to production management. However, many companies proceed to use sophisticated computer tools without first understanding the basic operating principles. This book is written for students of manufacturing systems as well as people in industry who need a concise explanation of the concepts of Computer Aided Production Management (CAPM) or who may be looking for new ideas.

The purpose of this book is to discuss the state of the art and future trends in the field of computerized production management systems. It is composed of a number of independent papers, each presented in a chapter. Some of the widely recognized experts in the field around the world have been asked to contribute. lowe each of them my sincere gratitude for their kind cooperation. I am also grateful to Peter Falster and Jim Browne for their kind support in helping me to review topics to be covered and to select the authors. This book is a result of the professional work done in the International Federation of Information Processing Technical Committee IFIP TC5 "Com puter Applications in Technology" and especially in the Working Group WG5. 7 "Computer-Aided Production Management". This group was established in 1978 with the aim of promoting and encouraging the advancement of the field of computer systems for the production management of manufacturing, off shore, construction, electronic and similar and related industries. The scope of the work includes, but is not limited to, the following topics: 1) design and implementation of new production planning and control systems taking into account new technology and management philosophy; 2) CAPM in a CIM environment including interfaces to CAD and CAM; 3) project management and cost engineering; 4) knowledge engineering in CAPM; 5) CAPM for Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) and Flexible Assembly Systems (F AS); 6) methods and concepts in CAPM; 7) economic and social implications of CAPM.

Modem manufacturing systems involve many processes and operations that can be monitored and controlled at several levels of intelligence. At the highest level there is a computer that supervises the various manufacturing functions, whereas at the lowest level there are stand alone computer controlled systems of manufacturing processes and robotic cells. Until recenty computer-aided manufacturing systems constituted isolated "islands" of automation, each oriented to a particular application, but present day systems offer integrated approaches to manufacturing and enterprise operations. These modem systems, known as computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) systems, can easily meet the current performance and manufacturing competitiveness requirements under strong environmental changes. CIM systems are much of a challenge, and imply a systemic approach to the design and operation of a manufacturing enterprise. Actualy, a CIM system must take into account in a unified way the following three views : the user view, the technology view, and the enterprise view. This means that CIM includes both the engineering and enterprise planning and control activities, as well as the information flow activities across all the stages of the system.

Broad coverage of digital product creation, from design to manufacture and process optimization This book addresses the need to provide up-to-date coverage of current CAD/CAM usage and implementation. It covers, in one source, the entire design-to-manufacture process, reflecting the industry trend to further integrate CAD and CAM into a single, unified process. It also updates the computer aided design theory and methods in modern manufacturing systems and examines the most advanced computer-aided tools used in digital manufacturing. Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing consists of three parts. The first part on Computer Aided Design (CAD) offers the chapters on Geometric Modelling; Knowledge Based Engineering; Platforming Technology; Reverse Engineering; and Motion Simulation. The second part on Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) covers Group Technology and Cellular Manufacturing; Computer Aided Fixture Design; Computer Aided Manufacturing; Simulation of Manufacturing Processes; and Computer Aided Design of Tools, Dies and Molds (TDM). The final part includes the chapters on Digital Manufacturing; Additive Manufacturing; and Design for Sustainability. The book is also featured for being uniquely structured to classify and align engineering disciplines and computer aided technologies from the perspective of the design needs in whole product life cycles, utilizing a comprehensive Solidworks package (add-ins, toolbox, and library) to showcase the most critical functionalities of modern computer aided tools, and presenting real-world design projects and case studies so that readers can gain CAD and CAM problem-solving skills upon the CAD/CAM theory. Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing is an ideal textbook for undergraduate and graduate students in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, and industrial engineering. It can also be used as a technical reference for researchers and engineers in mechanical and manufacturing engineering or computer-aided technologies.

Innovation in all aspects of mechanical engineering and management Computer Aided Production Engineering is a compilation of papers presented at the 17th International CAPE Conference in 2001. Featuring the work of leading innovators from academia and industry, this book explores the forefront of mechanical engineering technology and practices to provide insight for today and direction for tomorrow. Broad in scope yet rich in detail, these papers cover topics ranging from supply chain management, nontraditional processes, and quality control, to machining processes, concurrent design and engineering, rapid prototyping, virtual reality applications, and much more.