Manufacturing Commons^™

Do Middle Managers Contribute To Their Organisation's Strategy?, Tony Kealy

Conference Papers

This paper presents an empirical study on the contribution made by middle managers to the development of strategy in an organisation. The data was collected using semi-structured interviews with four managers in randomly-chosen companies. Two of the participant managers held senior management positions while the other two held middle manager positions. The data was analysed using a qualitative approach. Previous studies in this field were found to be wide and varied. An early study by Mintzberg (1978) found that strategy mainly forms from emergent influences at middle and lower levels of the organisation, as well as from deliberate influences emanating …

Small-Scale Wind Turbines: An Appraisal, Tony Kealy

Conference Papers

This research seeks to evaluate the economic benefits to be gained by installing a small-scale wind turbine for a customer with a three-phase electrical supply requirement. The evidence for the claims made in this paper is obtained by using actual data obtained from the installed equipment over a three year period. The objective is to accurately appraise the financial investment using real data. There appears to be limited studies conducted into this type of research, possibly because the renewable energy sector is in the infancy stage in the host country, Ireland. There are some wind energy installations with financial appraisal …

Probabilistic Simulation Of Solidification Microstructure Evolution During Laser-Based Metal Deposition, Jingwei Zhang, Frank W. Liou, William Seufzer, Joseph William Newkirk, Zhiqiang Fan, Heng Liu, Todd E. Sparks

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A predictive model, based on a Cellular Automaton (CA) - Finite Element (FE) method, has been developed to simulate microstructure evolution during metal solidification for a laser based additive manufacturing process. The macroscopic FE calculation was designed to update the temperature field and simulate a high cooling rate. In the microscopic CA model, heterogeneous nucleation sites, preferential growth orientation and dendritic grain growth kinetics were simulated. The CA model was able to show the entrapment of neighboring cells and the relationship between undercooling and the grain growth rate. The model predicted the dendritic grain size, structure, and morphological evolution during …

Effect Of Architecture And Porosity On Mechanical Properties Of Borate Glass Scaffolds Made By Selective Laser Sintering, Krishna C. R. Kolan, Ming-Chuan Leu, Greg Hilmas, Taylor Comte

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The porosity and architecture of bone scaffolds, intended for use in bone repair or replacement, are two of the most important parameters in the field of bone tissue engineering. The two parameters not only affect the mechanical properties of the scaffolds but also aid in determining the amount of bone regeneration after implantation. Scaffolds with five different architectures and four porosity levels were fabricated using borate bioactive glass (13-93B3) using the selective laser sintering (SLS) process. The pore size of the scaffolds varied from 400 to 1300 μm. The compressive strength of the scaffolds varied from 1.7 to 15.5 MPa …

Development Of Freeze-Form Extrusion Fabrication With Use Of Sacrificial Material, Ming-Chuan Leu, Diego A. Garcia

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The development of Freeze-form Extrusion Fabrication (FEF) process to fabricate three-dimensional (3D) ceramic parts with use of sacrificial material to build support sections during the fabrication process is presented in this paper. FEF is an environmentally friendly, additive manufacturing process that builds 3D parts in a freezing environment layer-by-layer by computer controlled extrusion and deposition of aqueous colloidal pastes based on computer-aided design (CAD) models. Methyl cellulose was identified as the support material, and alumina was used as the main material in this study. After characterizing the dynamics of extruding alumina and methyl cellulose pastes, a general tracking controller was …

Additive Manufacturing Laser Deposition Of Ti‐6al‐4v For Aerospace Repair Applications, Nanda Kumar Dey, Frank W. Liou, C. Nedic

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Parts or products from high performance metal are very expensive, partly due to the processing complexities during manufacturing. The purpose of this project is to use additive laser deposition and machining processes to repair titanium parts, thus extending the service life of these parts. The study broadly included preparing the defects, laser deposition, machining, sample preparation and mechanical tests. Comparative study of mechanical properties (UTS, YS, percentage elongation) of the repaired samples to the ideal conditions was undertaken. The research throws up interesting facts where the data from the test sample shows enhancement of properties of the repaired part.

Experimental Investigation Of Different Cellular Lattice Structures Manufactured By Fused Deposition Modeling, Osman Iyibilgin, Cemil Yigit, Ming-Chuan Leu

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Experimental tests were conducted to evaluate the compressive properties (yield strength and compressive modulus) and build time for five different cellular lattice structures fabricated by the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) process. The lattice structures had repeating unit cells, and the shapes of the unit cell under study included honeycomb, square, diamond, triangle, and circle. Test specimens were manufactured by a Stratasys Fortus 400mc machine using ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) as the part material. The five different lattice structures were compared with each other and also with the sparse and sparse-double dense build styles that are directly available from the Fortus …

Numerical Analysis Of Thermal Stress And Deformation In Multi-Layer Laser Metal Deposition Processes, Heng Liu, Todd E. Sparks, Frank W. Liou, David M. Dietrich

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Direct metal deposition (DMD) has gained increasing attention in the area of rapid manucooling rate, resulting in residual stresses and distortion. This paper presents a 3D sequentially coupled thermo-mechanical finite element model to predict residual stresses and deformations. The temperature distribution, thermal stress field and geometry deformation across domain are illustrated. The effect of deposition parameters on residual stress and deflections are also explored. A set of validation experiments for mechanical effects were conducted using laser displacement sensor. The comparisons between the simulated and experimental results show good agreement

Vision-Based Process Monitoring For Laser Metal Deposition Processes, Sreekar Karnati, Niroop Matta, Todd E. Sparks, Frank W. Liou

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Laser Metal deposition is a process with immense scope and promise for becoming a robust manufacturing technology in the near future. Monitoring process variables is very instrumental in process planning and output monitoring. The current work deals with realizing the effect of power modulation on size of the high temperature region during deposition with varying powder feed. A thermal camera was used to visualize and analyze the deposition process. The area of the high temperature region through the deposition was identified and compared to realize the effect of each variable parameter during deposition. The power modulation was fruitful in modulating …

Low Volume Dispensing With High Speed Dispensers, Sunny Agarwal

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

With the high pace of innovation in the semiconductor manufacturing industry, there has been an increasing demand for more energy efficient and environmental friendly products. This research relates to a complex process of fluid dispensing at low volumes on a printed circuit board. Currently, a more refined non-contact dispensing terminology named “Streaming” is widely used to stream out material at low volumes for various applications. The key solution is to frame a dispensing method that lends itself most closely to the requirements of a specific production process.

This study represents a detailed approach of dispensing low volumes of materials in …

Development Of Hydrodynamic Channel Routing Model Of The Lower Rio Grande River To Assist In Flood And Stormwater Management, Andrew W. Leeper

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Flooding and stormwater management of the Lower Rio Grande River (LRG) has become a major issue throughout the years with local entities along the river. The purpose of this study is to develop a hydrodynamic channel routing model to predict water surface elevation changes due to flooding. The study area consists of the LRG from Los Ebanos to Brownsville, Texas. This hydrodynamic model displays the hydraulics of the water flow through the LRG and determines where potential flood hazards exist. To verify the accuracy of the model a series of calculated output hydrographs were established at the Progreso Bridge and …

A Comparative Analysis Of Energy Modelingmethods For Commercial Buildings, Spencer Mark Salmon

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis researched the accuracy of measured energy data in comparison to estimated hand calculation data and estimated building energy performance simulation data. In the facility management industry, there is minimal evidence that building energy performance software is being used as a benchmark against measured energy usage within a building. Research was conducted to find examples of measured energy data compared to simulated data. The study examined the accuracy of a simulation software and hand calculations to measured energy data. Data suggests that comparisons may be made between building energy performance simulated data and measured data, though comparisons are solely …

The Sustainability Of Lean Manufacturing As A Competitive Advantage, Louis G. Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Since the early 1990s lean manufacturing has been employed by companies looking to reduce costs, increase efficiencies and improve quality. Academic studies of the financial benefits of lean manufacturing are mixed in their results, where some show benefit and others do not. The objective of the current work was to confirm a financial benefit of lean manufacturing, while also establishing whether such a financial advantage was sustainable. Financial data was collected for a large number of companies in the manufacturing sector, over the period from 1990 to 2010. The data were used to show correlation between inventory turns and return …

Project Based Learning In Engineering Economics: Teaching Advanced Topics Using A Stock Price Prediction Model, Lizabeth Schlemer

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

A graduate level advanced engineering economics class taught at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, includes a thorough review of time value of money, investment evaluation, inflation, risk and return, financing decisions, corporate investment strategies, risk analysis and decisions incorporating non-monetary considerations. Historically this course was taught using an advanced text where the topics were covered sequentially. A redesign of the course now includes the construction of a stock price prediction model for a company of the student’s choice. Through the model, the topics are covered and discussed in the context of the large model-building project. For instance, inflation …

Exploring A High-Tech Approach To Subterranean Dwelling Environments For Commercial Implementation, Matthew Richard Gordon

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

People are always looking to experience something interesting and unique when on vacation. What could be more unique than staying in a hotel that is completely underground? While people have always been amazed at natural caves and other subterranean structures, the idea of spending the night in one of these is a somewhat untried area, although it could be quite the selling point. This being the case, the idea of a subterranean hotel is not so farfetched, however there are a number of issues that arise with this project. These issues include construction and selecting the proper site and building …

Cal Poly Chocolates, Jason Ferrel, Taylor Fitzpatrick

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Our design for this project began with building a strong understanding of the current production process. A meeting with the manager, Anna Nakayama, provided a detailed overview of the entire process and outlined some areas of concern. In addition, she provided us with access to critical data such as standard operating procedures and inventory spreadsheets. From there, time studies were conducted for each of the 8 types of chocolate. These time studies helped identify three main issues facing Cal Poly Chocolates. The first issue is in the packaging area of production. The process is entirely manual and has become a …

Qualification Of A New Glass Bottle With E&J Gallo Winery, Danielle Leanne Medeiros

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This paper will further examine the procedures involved in transitioning to a new bottle type made by Glass Company B, on a specific bottling line within E&J Gallo’s bottling facility. For this project Bottling Line X will require thorough testing as well as the creation of a changeover choreography plan. The testing procedure will follow a 3 phase process utilizing project management and statistical skills to ensure quality standards are upheld with the transition. Since Bottling Line X is not familiar with transitioning between bottle types, lean manufacturing techniques will be required to create a changeover document ensuring operators are …

Application Of Data Envelopment Analysis To Identify Undervalued Equities On The Dow Jones Industrial Average, Ryan L. Kotzebue

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Two factors that drive investors to and away from the stock market are reward and risk, respectively. By using a stock selection strategy that is quantitative, investors may feel more comfortable and secure with their decisions. However, there lacks a quantitative strategy that can produce increased returns with lower risk by purchasing a small number of stocks. The objective of this project was to formulate a quantitative stock trading strategy that produced exceptional returns with low risk while also fulfilling additional requirements to benefit the common investor.

By using a linear programming based operations research technique known as data envelopment …

Facility Redesign At The Systech Corporation, Jacob J. Rucker

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This senior project is a redesign of Systech’s manufacturing floor as they move to their new facility to be able to support the expected increase in customer demand. As of January 2013, Systech was working near full capacity, and because of their new product release, they expect the demand to outstrip the production capabilities of the current facility. Because of this, Systech is moving their final testing operations in San Diego to a larger building. During this transition, they have expressed interest in redesigning the current floor layout in order to maximize the productivity of their employees. To accomplish this, …

Wart Eliminator Project Report, Colton Story, Kyle Shipman

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The Wart Eliminator is a product based on the theory of resonant frequency and its ability to devitalize pathogens with the use of electronic pulses. Using the resonant frequency of the wart’s pathogen, the device is operated by the user with two switches for power and a probe connected by a wire to the device for applying to the affected area of the user while running three minute cycles. The product is in the beginning stages with only a prototype made. The product needed a proper ergonomic design to be easily used by the user and a cost analysis to …