Gualtiero Fantoni, Salam Qaddoori Al-Zubaidi, Elena Coli and Daniele Mazzei
This work reports on a developing method time measurement system for measuring manufacturing and assembly processes automatically. This automatic system enables the production…
Abstract
Purpose
This work reports on a developing method time measurement system for measuring manufacturing and assembly processes automatically. This automatic system enables the production engineers and management to detect, process, and display concise and accurate information about the operations in real time.
Design/methodology/approach
This system is based on Internet of things technology and RFID-antenna. This methodology consists of seven main steps and one final optimization step. Mainly, the operator is equipped by RFID reader, and the work station tools and devices are provided by RFID tags. Responding the RFID tags to the reader will refer to the certain operations, the difference time between start and end of the operations will be collected immediately and calculated by the microprocessor of the system.
Findings
This automatic system is promising, considering the accurate time measurements and recommendations that obtained from the case study which includes measuring manual assembly operations to be followed in order to overcome the limitations which are not only technical but also managerial, legal and organizational.
Research limitations/implications
The acquired data about timing and duration of individual operations are anonymized to guarantee the compliance with respect to the privacy laws (GDPR and Italian work's laws).
Originality/value
This work presents a unique system to measure the time instead of traditional methods in the factories environment and satisfies the requirements to study the recommendations in order to overcome the challenges.
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M. Braglia, G. Fantoni and M. Frosolini
The purpose of this paper is to provide a structured methodology for performing build‐in reliability (BIR) investigation during a new product development cycle.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a structured methodology for performing build‐in reliability (BIR) investigation during a new product development cycle.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology in this paper represents an extension of the Quality Functional Deployment/House of Quality (QFD/HoQ) concepts to reliability studies. It is able to translate the reliability requisites of customers into functional requirements for the product in a structured manner based on a Failure Mode And Effect Analysis (FMEA). Besides, it then allows it to build a completely new operative tool, named House of Reliability (HoR), that enhances standard analyses, introducing the most significant correlations among failure modes. Using the results from HoR, a cost‐worth analysis can be easily performed, making it possible to analyse and to evaluate the economical consequences of a failure.
Findings
The paper finds that the application of the proposed approach allows users to identify and control the design requisites affecting reliability. The methodology enhances the reliability analysis introducing and managing the correlations among failure modes, splitting the severity into a detailed series of basic severity aspects, performing also cost/worth assessments.
Practical implications
It is shown that the methodology enables users to finely analyse failure modes by splitting severity according to the product typology and the importance of each Severity criterion according to laws or international standards. Moreover the methodology is able to consider the “domino effects” and so to estimate the impact of the correlation between the causes of failure. Finally a cost/worth analysis evaluates the economical consequences of a failure with respect to the incurred costs to improve the final reliability level of the product.
Originality/value
The paper proposes a completely new approach, robust, structured and useful in practice, for reliability analysis. The methodology, within an integrated approach, overcomes some of the largely known limits of standard FMECA: it takes into account multiple criteria, differently weighted, it analyses the product considering not only the direct consequence of a failure, but also the reaction chain originated by a starting failure.
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Wenhui Fu, Qiang Wang and Xiande Zhao
The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the platform literature and synthesize the various topics of research into a common framework to reveal the relations between…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the platform literature and synthesize the various topics of research into a common framework to reveal the relations between platform-based service innovation, system design and other platform-related factors.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative descriptive analysis led to an overview of the distribution of research focuses of the 187 sample articles identified by a well-established search strategy. A qualitative in-depth review was then used to clarify the detailed research topics and generate an overall conceptual model to link them, with a focus on platform-based service innovation and system design.
Findings
In total, 11 research topics of three research perspectives were identified and linked by a framework that accounts for the relationships between platform-based service innovation and system design and their influences on platform evolution. A small panel of industry experts validated the accuracy and utility of the proposed framework.
Originality/value
This paper provides an integrated framework for separately developed research perspectives and the topics investigated in the platform literature. Through the proposed framework, this paper helps to improve the knowledge on platform study and management, and lays a foundation for exploring the research opportunities in platform-based service innovation and system design.
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Leonello Trivelli, Andrea Apicella, Filippo Chiarello, Roberto Rana, Gualtiero Fantoni and Angela Tarabella
Circumstances that are have a significant impact on it. In particular, environmental sustainability related to the increase of worldwide population, and market demand for…
Abstract
Purpose
Circumstances that are have a significant impact on it. In particular, environmental sustainability related to the increase of worldwide population, and market demand for agricultural products (with consumers more and more aware about cultivation and breeding techniques and interested in healthy and high-quality products) represent two of the key challenges that the agricultural sector is going to face in next years. In such a landscape, technological innovations that can support organizations and entrepreneurs to face these problems become increasingly important, and Industry 4.0 is the most striking example. Indeed, the Industry 4.0 paradigm aims to integrate digital technologies into business processes to raise productivity levels and to develop new business models. Accordingly, digital technologies play a similar role in the precision agriculture domain, and the purpose of this paper is to understand if the technologies at the basis of these two paradigms are the same or not.
Design/methodology/approach
The present work investigates how the two domains of Industry 4.0 and precision agriculture are connected to one another by analyzing the most used technologies in both the fields in order to highlight common patterns and technological overlaps. To reach such goal, an approach combining manual and automated analysis was developed.
Findings
The research work generated three main results: a dictionary of precision agriculture technologies including 324 terms; a graph, describing the connections between the technologies composing the dictionary; and a representation of the main technological clusters identified.
Originality/value
These show how the two domains under analysis are directly connected and describe the most important technologies to leverage when approaching digital transformation processes in the agricultural sector.
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Katherine Kaneda Moraes, Gilberto Miller Devós Ganga, Moacir Godinho Filho, Luis Antonio Santa-Eulalia and Guilherme Luz Tortorella
The integration of blockchain technology (BT) in supply chain management (SCM) is at the forefront of technological advancements, yet it faces significant barriers that hinder its…
Abstract
Purpose
The integration of blockchain technology (BT) in supply chain management (SCM) is at the forefront of technological advancements, yet it faces significant barriers that hinder its widespread adoption. This study aims to delve into these challenges, employing the diffusion of innovations (DOI) theory to systematically investigate and propose a strategic framework for overcoming the technological barriers to BT adoption within SCM.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a comprehensive systematic literature review (SLR) of 155 publications, complemented by rigorous content analysis and expert interviews, this research identifies and categorizes 16 primary technological barriers, including scalability and privacy issues, that impede BT integration.
Findings
The proposed framework, informed by DOI theory, outlines tailored strategies across three critical adoption stages: initiation, where the focus is on mitigating high energy consumption and scalability issues; adoption decision, emphasizing the formulating international standards for blockchain architecture, embedding abstraction layers within software projects; and implementation, concentrating on enhancing security, interoperability and system efficiency.
Originality/value
This research contributes significantly to both academic literature and practical applications. Academically, it extends the DOI theory within the SCM context and enriches the blockchain literature by providing a nuanced understanding of the specific barriers to BT adoption. Practically, it offers a roadmap for industry practitioners, delineating actionable strategies to navigate the adoption process effectively. This study not only bridges the gap between theoretical insights and practical implementations but also serves as a vital resource for policymakers and standard-setting bodies in facilitating and regulating BT adoption in SCM, thereby fostering innovation and competitive advantage in the marketplace.
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Lorenzo Fiorineschi, Susanna Papini, Luca Pugi, Andrea Rindi and Federico Rotini
The purpose of this study is to identify an innovative solution for the power transmission gearbox of concrete mixers, according to the specifications provided by the company.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify an innovative solution for the power transmission gearbox of concrete mixers, according to the specifications provided by the company.
Design/methodology/approach
A tailored systematic design approach (inspired to the German systematic framework) has been adopted to comprehensively gather the company specifications and perform in-depth design space explorations. Subsequently, an iterative embodiment design approach has been followed to identify the size of the components for the preferred concept, by using acknowledged mechanical design procedures and finite element analysis tools.
Findings
An innovative cycloidal gearbox has been developed, by merging the kinematics underpinning the classical cycloidal drives and the Wolfrom planetary gearbox. The resulting concept provides high reduction rates with a very high overload capacity.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of the studies is the absence of in-depth evaluations usually performed in the detail design phase. However, this limitation is a direct consequence of the company specifications, which only asked to find a preferred concept and to perform preliminary evaluations. Accordingly, the subsequent design optimization are intended to be performed by the company’s staff.
Originality/value
The present paper shows an original design approach, opportunely tailored to the design of innovative gearboxes. It can be conveniently adapted and reused by designers involved in similar tasks. Moreover, the designed cycloidal gearbox paves the way for important innovations in the field of concrete mixers, allowing to design more robust and compact devices.
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Xubo Yu, Jianghong Zhao and Xin Li
The Bernoulli gripper fixedly installed on the manipulator is subject to limitations such as a small-working region and poor anti-interference capacity. This paper aims to propose…
Abstract
Purpose
The Bernoulli gripper fixedly installed on the manipulator is subject to limitations such as a small-working region and poor anti-interference capacity. This paper aims to propose a novel Bernoulli gripper design that involves the connection of a positive stiffness component such as a spring in series, based on the force characteristic curve synthesis method, to optimize the mechanical performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed gripper is designed and manufactured. In the suction procedure, the force characteristic curve of the proposed gripper is theoretically and experimentally investigated. In the hovering detection procedure, a dynamic model of the manipulator-gripper-workpiece system is established, and an apparatus is set up to compare the displacements of the workpiece and the manipulator. The proposed gripper is finally applied in the lifting procedure, showing good impact resistance.
Findings
The optimization of mechanical performance of the proposed gripper is realized. The proposed gripper has the effect of increasing the stiffness of the negative stiffness part of the force characteristic curve and reducing the stiffness of the positive stiffness part, increasing the working region. The stability and the anti-interference ability of the workpiece under high-frequency vibration are improved. Meanwhile, the impact resistance in the lifting procedure is enhanced, compared with the original one.
Originality/value
This research proposes a novel design for the Bernoulli grippers to optimize the mechanical performance. The proposed gripper has advantages of a larger working region, better anti-interference ability and better impact resistance. These findings serve as important theoretical and experimental references for the design of the Bernoulli gripper.
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Jianping Wang, Jinzhu Shen, Xiaofeng Yao and Fan Zhang
The purpose of this paper is to gain an in-depth understanding into the research progress, hot spots and future trends in smart gripping technology in the field of apparel smart…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to gain an in-depth understanding into the research progress, hot spots and future trends in smart gripping technology in the field of apparel smart manufacturing.
Design/methodology/approach
This work scrutinised the current research status of the five automatic grasping methods for garment fabrics including the pneumatic suction grasping, the electrostatic grasping, the intrusive grasping and the dexterous grasping. Specifically, the principles, characteristics, main devices and the impact on garment production were discussed.
Findings
In particular, soft finger of the dexterous grasping method has good flexibility and adaptability in the process of fabric grasping, which provides a new solution for garment production automation. Up to now, the reviewed method in general exhibit good grasping speed, high grasping stability and flat grasping process. However, in the face of complex fabric materials which are thin and flexible and do not return their original shapes when deformed in practical applications, the gripper for automatic fabric grasping need new technological breakthroughs in the positioning accuracy, grab efficiency and flexible grasping.
Originality/value
The outcomes offered an overview of the research status and future trends of the automatic grasping methods for garment fabrics in the field of apparel intelligent manufacturing. It could not only provide scholars with convenience in identifying research hot spots and building potential cooperation in the follow-up research but also assist beginners in searching core scholars and literature of great significance.
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Lorenzo Fiorineschi, Tommaso Bacci, Francesco Saverio Saverio Frillici, Simone Cubeda, Yary Volpe, Federico Rotini, Monica Carfagni and Bruno Facchini
This paper aims to present the design of a particular non-reactive test rig for combustion swirlers and first stage turbine nozzles. The test rig is required for important…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present the design of a particular non-reactive test rig for combustion swirlers and first stage turbine nozzles. The test rig is required for important experimental activities aimed at the optimization of a specific class of gas turbines.
Design/methodology/approach
A multi-disciplinary team performed the design process by following a tailored design approach, which has been developed for the specific case. The design outcomes allowed to build a fully functional test rig to be introduced in a test cell and then to perform preliminary experiments about the fluid dynamic behaviour of the turbine elements.
Findings
The followed design approach allowed to efficiently perform the task, by supporting the information exchange among the different subjects involved in both the conceptual and the embodiment design of the test rig. Additionally, the performed experiments allowed to achieve a final configuration that makes the test rig a valuable test case for combustor-turbine interaction studies.
Research limitations/implications
The study described in this paper is focused on the design of a specific test rig, used for first validation tests. However, the achieved results (both in terms of design and test) constitutes the underpinning of the in-depth investigations to be performed in the next steps of the experimental campaign.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present paper is the first one that comprehensively describes the design activity of an experimental test rig for turbine application, also providing indications about the specific methodological procedure used to manage the process.
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Dong Liu, Minghao Wang, Naiyu Fang, Ming Cong and Yu Du
Varied shapes and sizes of different products with irregular rough surface and fragile properties give a challenge to traditional contact gripping. Single Bernoulli grippers are…
Abstract
Purpose
Varied shapes and sizes of different products with irregular rough surface and fragile properties give a challenge to traditional contact gripping. Single Bernoulli grippers are not suited to handle fragile objects as the impact of center negative pressure force could result in large deformation and stress which damage the materials, and they are also have some limitations for gripping objects with different large and small shapes. Thus, this paper aims to design a non-contact gripper for soft, rough-surfaced and fragile objects gripping with multi Bernoulli heads, which have optimal structures and parameters.
Design/methodology/approach
The compressed air is ejected into four Bernoulli heads through radial and long flow channels, then passes through four strip-shaped narrow gaps after fully developing in the annular cavity to provide negative pressure. Based on the mathematic model and the computational model, the key structural parameters affecting the gripping performance are selected, and parameters optimization of the gripper is performed by computational fluid dynamics simulation analysis and performance evaluation. The orthogonal method is used and L16 orthogonal array is selected for experimental design and optimization. The characteristics of the designed gripper are tested from the aspects of pressure distribution and lifting force.
Findings
From the applications in gripping different objects, the designed non-contact gripper can grip varied shapes and sizes of soft, rough-surfaced, fragile and sliced objects with little effect of torque.
Originality/value
In this paper, a non-contact gripper is designed for handling soft, rough-surfaced and fragile objects based on the Bernoulli principle. A systematic approach, which consists of modeling, simulation, optimization and measurement is provided for the non-contact gripper design and tests.