Manufacturing Commons^™

Microstructure And Interface Characteristics Of B4c, Sic And Al2o3 Reinforced Al Matrix Composites: A Comparative Study, Haseeb Asma

Haseeb ASMA

Three aluminium metal matrix composites containing reinforcing particles of B4C, SiC and Al2O3 (0-20 vol.%) were processed. The stir-casting manufacturing route followed by hot extrusion was utilized, being one of the cost-effective industrial methods. A clear interfacial reaction product/layer was found at Al-SiC interface for composites held for a relatively long processing time (>30 min). No reaction product was observed at Al-B4C and Al-Al2O3 interfaces at the resolution limit of the SEM used. On the other hand, two secondary phases (alumina and another phase containing aluminium, boron and carbon) were found in the aluminum matrix away from the interface …

Why Toyota And Honda Topped The 2002 J.D. Power Quality Study, Susan Lightle, Kenneth Yale Rosenzweig, John Talbott

Accounting Faculty Publications

Toyota again topped the annual J. D. Power and Associates quality study released in late May of 2002. Toyota scored the highest mark ever with l 07 defects per l 00 vehicles, while Honda came in second with 113 defects. The study was based on responses of approximately 65,000 new car owners queried during their first 90-days of ownership.

These results do not surprise us, as we have been fortunate to make numerous sojourns to the Toyota plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, and observe the manufacturing processes. These trips were normally facilitated by a former Japanese student of ours, Minako Yanke, …

The Effects Of Nationality In The Intercultural Relationship In A Maquila Environment, Cultural Dimensions A Practical Approach, Daniel Martin Reynoso Ortiz

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The Maquiladora Industry has enhanced economic development in the U.S. and Mexico border region. Initially, investors came to set up assembly lines requiring a small amount of technical skill; however, increases in the technological level of products have created the need for companies to require more technical expertise from their staff. Today, the requirement is for the design or redesign of some of their products and the manufacturing processes required to make these products. This brings managerial problems in dealing with technical people in cross cultural environments. These problems deal with staffing issues such as getting the right people and …

A Descriptive Performance Model Of Small, Low Cost, Diskless Beowulf Clusters, Curtis R. Nielson

Theses and Dissertations

Commodity supercomputing clusters known as Beowulf clusters, have become a low cost alternative to traditional supercomputers. Beowulf clusters combine inexpensive computers and specialized software to achieve supercomputing power. The processing nodes in a diskless Beowulf cluster do not have a local hard disk unlike the nodes in most commodity clusters. Research has provided performance information for diskless clusters built with expensive, high performance equipment. Beowulf clusters use commodity off-the-shell hardware, and little information is available about their performance. This research includes the construction of several diskless Beowulf clusters. Using the NAS Parallel Benchmarks, the performance of these clusters was measured. …

Modeling For The Control Of The Laser Aided Manufacturing Process (Lamp), Mallikharjuna R. Boddu, Vishnu P. Thayalan, Robert G. Landers

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Many state-of-the-art Rapid Prototyping (RP) technologies adopt lasers to fabricate 3-D solid parts by material deposition in layers. The ability of these RP technologies to control the process requires a thorough understanding of the process mechanics. This paper presents the analysis of an analytical, dynamic model explaining the complex phenomenon of Laser Aided Manufacturing Process (LAMP). The equilibrium of the dynamic model is analyzed and dynamic simulations are performed to determine its stability characteristics. This model forms the basis for the real-time control of the LAMP.

Process Control Of Laser Metal Deposition Manufacturing -- A Simulation Study, Robert G. Landers

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The laser metal deposition process is a rapid manufacturing operation capable of producing functional prototypes with complex geometries and thin sections. This process inherently contains significant uncertainties and, therefore, extensive experimentation must be performed to determine suitable process parameters. An alternative is to directly control the process on-line using feedback control methodologies. In this paper, a nonlinear control strategy based on feedback linearization is created to automatically regulate the bead morphology and melt pool temperature. Extensive simulation studies are conducted to validate the control strategy.

Application Of A Diagnostic Tool In Laser Aided Manufacturing Processes, Sashikanth Prakash, Mallikharjuna Rao Boddu, Frank W. Liou

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Lasers play a vital role in producing parts with high dimensional accuracy, strength and quality in today's rapid prototyping industry. In the process of Laser Metal Deposition, many problems are encountered where the part quality does not meet the required standards. This could be due to the nonconformity of control parameters or unnecessary interactions between the control factors. This paper discusses the implementation of Dr. Genichi Taguchiï's optimization techniques using Design of Experiments (DOE) where a series of fractional factorial experiments are performed on the laser deposition process. The results from these experiments are evaluated with respect to the rate …

Universal Mounting Bracket For Laser Targeting And Feedback System, Richard J. Kelin Ii

Patents (University of Northern Iowa)

A support bracket for mounting a device such as a laser targeting and feedback system to a spray gun. The bracket includes a bolt having a threaded end, a first collar disposed on the bolt opposite the threaded end and a second collar threadably engaged with the threaded end of the bolt. A compressible member is disposed on the bolt between the collars. Opposite the compressible member, a support arm used to support the device is attached to the second collar. The bracket is engageable with a portion of the spray gun body and is engaged therewith by deflecting the …

Analysis Of Performance Capacity Of Hand Grip Through An Integrated Learning Curve Model, Miguel Torres

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

There are few activities or work task in the manufacturing industry that does not involve grip strength. That is why it is in the best interest of the manufacturing industry to have an understanding of the optimum grip strength gain capacity over time that would lead to better performance, accuracy and most of all prevent hand grip related injuries. For that reason, this thesis was concentrated in discovering a possible basic working model for estimating grip strength over time for a specific grip strength activity. The first step was to observe the trend characteristics of the strength gain data over …

Expert System Development For Hard Disk Drive Failure Analysis, Fernando Rodriguez Rosas

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The Computer's Hard Disk Drive is a complex high technology device, diagnosis of a failure is difficult even using sophisticated test equipments. These Drives are expensive and returning a new one when it fails within the warranty period is not an option. The failed drive must be tested and repaired. In the repair process the analysis and diagnosis of the failures is a key point in the process where decisions regarding the repair process that the failed Drive will follow. Therefore, there is a requirement to perform an effective analysis and provide an accurate diagnosis. The standard system utilized for …

Human Reliability Analysis In The Performance Of Advanced Cardiac Life Support Tasks, Lucia Veronica Rosas

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Error reduction in the performance of medical emergency situations is an area of great concern in today's society. This is specially the case when the situation involves a cardiac arrhythmia. These situations are generally categorized as Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) events. The American Heart Association provides the proper procedures that practitioners of ACLS should follow to provide care to patients presenting heart arrhythmia problems. These situations occur inside and outside the hospital, outside the hospital being the most critical ones considering the limitation of equipment and availability of qualified care. Errors made by the practitioners of ACLS in this …

Analysis Of Lifting Performance Capacity Through An Integrated Learning Curve Model, Jose Roel Flores

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Physical fitness specific to job demands is necessary for jobs that require moderate or heavy effort. Fitness training is needed not just when a new job is learned but also when an individual has been away from the job for a few weeks and returns to perform the task. The basic problem is to have a good understanding of the dynamics of performance capacities to establish training and retraining regimes to prevent overexertion. To obtain this, a better understanding of the behavior of performance capacity over time is necessary. A performance capacity training regimen was designed for tasks that required …

Study On The Nature Of The Electrochemically Synthesized Hard Fe-15.4 Mass % Ni-0.70 Mass % C Alloy Film, Haseeb Asma

Haseeb ASMA

Electrochemical synthesis of hard Fe-15.4 mass% Ni-0.70 mass% C alloy film with a hardness 750 HV was carried out from sulfate-based bath containing a small amount of citric acid and L-ascorbic acid. The nature of the alloy was investigated by different characterization techniques including x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Mossbauer spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and magnetic measurements. The decomposition behavior of the alloy was also studied and compared with that of thermally prepared martensite. It was found that the electrochemically deposited Fe-Ni-C alloy exists in a state that is ahead of the freshly quenched …

The Design And Evaluation Of A Plc-Based Model Predictive Controller For Application In Industrial Food Processes, Bryan T. Griffen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Model Predictive Control (MPC) is a viable control strategy for industrial processes that display relatively large variations in the process variable, have complex process variable interactions, or display a large amount of process deadtime. The objective of using MPC in manufacturing is to reduce overall process variability, the result being an increase in process accuracy, precision and efficiency. This study focused on the implementation of model predictive control techniques on an industrial sugar cooking process. The goal was to implement a successful MPC solution directly on a programmable logic controller (PLC) rather than on a personal computer (PC). Although there …

Analytical And Fea Analysis Of Silicon Micro-Machined Capacitive Pressure Sensor, Eoghan O'Donoghue

Theses

This thesis is concerned with the electro-mechanical characterisation of MEMS capacitive pressure sensors and the determination of models to describe their behaviour.

The finite element software package ANSYS is validated as a tool for the examination of the electro-mechanical behaviour of capacitive pressure sensors. It is then used to incorporate the effects of applied load, voltage and residual stress into a model of the sensor structure. The capacitive pressure sensor is modelled both in 3D and also in 2D axis-symmetric modes. The error between the 2D and 3D models is quantified.

The behaviour of structures under electrostatic actuation is investigated. …