Assembly cost is one of the major contributing factors in the totalmanufacturing cost equation. It has been estimated, particularly in themechanical and electrical industries…
Abstract
Assembly cost is one of the major contributing factors in the total manufacturing cost equation. It has been estimated, particularly in the mechanical and electrical industries, that assembly costs can account for over 50 per cent of the overall manufacturing costs. Discussed is the development of a low‐cost PC‐based computer assisted tool, used to analyse the component geometric features from an engineering drawing for automatic assembly. A description of the algorithms used to evaluate the overall geometric dimensions, its alpha and beta symmetries from a DXF file will also be made. Goes on to compare the results between the simulated runs and the actual ones of various complex 2‐D and 21/2‐D components and this has been found to be satisfactory. Quicker estimates of the component handling times for assembly can therefore be achieved.
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Chuchom Somchai, Sun‐Woh Lye and Hin‐Yuen Yeong
During handling and transportation, a product may be damaged due to mechanical shocks resulting mainly from impact. The current design practice of expandable polystyrene (EPS…
Abstract
During handling and transportation, a product may be damaged due to mechanical shocks resulting mainly from impact. The current design practice of expandable polystyrene (EPS) protective packaging hinges on two main aspects: the determination of the size of the basic features of the buffer cushions (procedural); and the selection of an appropriate buffer configuration and its related arrangements (heuristics), and depends largely on the designer’s competence and experience. Discusses an integrated design approach for protective packaging, which aims to integrate both these aspects into a seamless design process, using multiple layers of neural networks to characterise the cushioning curve patterns of EPS materials, determine cushioning configurations and arrangements based on package‐to‐product characteristics, and size the buffer features. The favourable results obtained from a study comparing manually‐designed and network‐generated buffer configuration solutions highlight the potential of the approach.
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Sun‐Woh Lye, Siang‐Guan Lee and Hin‐Yuen Yeong
Styrofoam materials have been used for some time as packaging for consumer goods to protect against damage during transportation and handling. The moulds for the fabrication of…
Abstract
Styrofoam materials have been used for some time as packaging for consumer goods to protect against damage during transportation and handling. The moulds for the fabrication of these materials have traditionally been made by sand‐casting, a relatively inexpensive process but one which is not always cost‐effective. Machined moulds, however, offer a more viable alternative. Outlines the development of a computer‐automated process planner for the machining of moulds for styrofoam packaging. A feature‐based modelling module analysed and interpreted the geometric features of the CAD model of the styrofoam packing, before transforming them into machining features in the machining model. The proposed methodology is an effective solution in simultaneous engineering for the fabrication of moulds for expanded polystyrene foam packaging materials.