Desktop Factory Research Articles

Concepts, methods and tools for individualized production

The main objective of the paper is to give an overview of prerequisites and enablers for individualized production from the perspective of flexible, agile and sustainable production of customized and personalized products. Increasing volatility in the global and local markets, shortening innovation and product life cycles, as well as a tremendously increasing number of variants, call for production facilities and networks and operations management which comply with these changing demands. The paper presents a set of developed concepts, methods and tools based on the recognized needs of manufacturing companies. The observed manufacturing domain is characterized with highly customized and personalized products produced in competitively in a high-cost country with short delivery times and high quality requirements. Micro and desktop factories can be seen as one type of solution to point-of-need manufacturing of customized and personalized products, such as hand-held consumer electronics or medical implants. The LeanMES concept and associated solution blocks aim for more efficient operation via digital tools. The Competitive Sustainable Manufacturing Hotel (CSM-Hotel) concept of a platform targeted for SMEs collaborating under same factory roof or in the same area. The A-NET vision offers a new holistic framework for industrial supply networks to manage development more agilely and for deeper strategic cooperation.

Concept to Support the Flexibility of Manufacturing System through Reconfigurable Structure Based on Modular Design

This article deals about the challenges of structural changes in manufacturing conditions. The objective of this paper is to present the modular workstations concept based on miniaturization and re-configurability trends. The article is aimed at problems of designing of production systems with a modular construction structure. The modular structure allows an individual and flexible adaptation to varying requirements but also the realization of low-cost solutions for creation of new or modernized production base. The goal is to present the example of modular workstations solutions that correspond with new designing approach. The specification of basics principles, which should help to designing flexible manufacturing systems, discussed in this paper are: modularity; integrability; convertibility; diagnosability; customization. The theoretical part provides an overview of fundamental design principles in manufacturing structures. In the first part of this article are discussed the specification of basic flexibility types in production system and the main impacts influencing design of manufacturing structures. The closing section of the article provides the specification of example solution of adjustable production platform with modular frame (called desktop factory).

Micro and Desktop Factories for Micro/Meso-Scale Manufacturing Applications and Future Visions

Micro and desktop factories are small-size production systems suitable for the manufacture of small products with micro and/or macro size features. The development originates in Japan, where small machines were developed in order to save resources when producing small products. In the late 1990’s, the research spread around the world, and since then multiple miniaturized production systems have been developed. However, the level of commercialization and industrial adoption is still relatively low and the breakthrough remains unseen. This paper discusses the potential application areas of micro- and desktop factory solutions. The research has been carried out as a mixed-method research combining extensive literature survey and 18 semi-structured interviews in Europe. The interviewees are both from academia and industry, including equipment and component providers, as well as users and potential users.

Development of Pipe Structure Frame for CNC Lathe – Adaptation of Thermal Displacement Control

The miniaturization of many machine parts for machine tools is desired for the purpose of effective utilization of space, energy saving, and realization of desktop factory. To develop a compact and miniaturized NC machine tool, new downsized small parts such as hydraulic parts, pneumatic parts, electric parts and mechanical parts must be developed. These parts are not always satisfied for the practical usage in the present industrial level. Therefore, in spite of many requirements toward the miniaturization of the machine tool from the market, the miniaturized NC machine tool has not been put to practical use. The old-style structure of machine tools is one of the reasons of obstacle to solve this problem. We have proposed a newly developed ultra small size CNC lathe by using the pipe frame structure. The heat transfer between pipe elements and connecting block is affected strongly to the axial displacement. Therefore, the heat transfer between pipes can be insulated by the heat control on the connecting block. The thermal displacement control is realized by using the Peltier devices set on the connecting block. The results on the thermal displacement control of this structure and the effects on the cutting results are reported.

Investigation and strategies for precision of miniaturized robots with micro gears

PurposeEconomic, flexible and efficient micro production needs new miniaturized automation equipment (desktop factories). Micro assembly processes make demands on precision of miniaturized robots used in desktop factories and the driving concepts, as well as miniaturized machine elements. The purpose of this paper is to investigate miniaturized drives using micro harmonic drive gears, which are promising driving concepts.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis of the miniaturized precision robot Parvus (using micro harmonic drive gears) shows a good repeatability but also room for improvement concerning the path accuracy. Thereby the transmission error of the micro gears is identified as main disturbing influence concerning the robot's precision characteristics. Owing to the size reduction of the micro harmonic drive gear and the slightly different working principle compared to larger harmonic drive gears, the transmission error are more pronounced. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss approaches to compensate for this effect.FindingsA very promising approach is the use of a simplified model of the kinematic error within the robot control to compensate for this disturbing effect. Measurement data of the transmission error is mathematically transformed into the frequency domain and filtered to the most important frequency modes of the function. These modes are used to build up a simplified mathematic model of the gear transmission error. A final test using this model as compensation function demonstrates that it is possible to reduce the transmission error of the micro gears by more than 50 percent.Originality/valueThe paper presents the first investigation into compensation of the transmission error of micro harmonic drive gears.

Building of Efficient, Energy-Saving Lines with an Extremely-Compact Machining Center and CNC Lathe

Industrial products today are expected to be smaller, lighter, and more multi-functioned, and such products consist of numbers of extremely small and precise components. Yet, turnovers of such products are short, and their production volumes fluctuate at extreme. The production engineering for such components, however, which should correspond to, and optimized for this situation is still in progress, even though such components are growing in numbers and kinds: becoming even smaller in size and the demand fluctuates more. We have developed extremely compact machining center and CNC lathe, which covers these points: most optimum means of production for small or microscopic components. We have also built a concept of a production system, today commonly called “desktop factory” by using multiple numbers of these “desktop” machines.

Our molecular future: how nanotechnology, robotics, genetics, and artificial intelligence will transform our world

What Alvin Toffler's Future Shock was to the 20th century, Our Molecular Future will be to the 21st century. What will happen to our jobs, health care, and investments when the molecular revolution hits? How might artificial intelligence transform our lives? How can molecular technologies help us cope with climate changes, earthquakes, and other extreme natural threats? Our Molecular Future explores some intriguing possibilities that answer these questions and many others. Douglas Mulhall describes the exponential changes that are about to be wrought by the nanotechnology and robotic revolutions, which promise to reduce the scale of computing to the nanometer - a billionth of a meter - while increasing computing power to almost unimaginable levels. The resulting convergence of genetics, robotics, and artificial intelligence may give us hitherto undreamed-of capacities to transform our environment and ourselves. In the not-so-distant future, our world may include machines that scour our arteries to prevent heart disease, cars and clothes that change color at our whim, exotic products built in our own desktop factories, and enhancements to our personal financial security despite greatly accelerated obsolescence. But while technology is making these fantastic leaps, we may also encounter surprises that throw us into disarray: climate changes, earthquakes, or even a seemingly improbable asteroid collision. These extremes are not the nightmare scenarios of sensationalists, Mulhall stresses, nor are many of them human induced. Instead, they may be part of nature's cycle - recurring more often than we've thought possible. The good news is that this convergence of catastrophe and technological transformation may work to our advantage. If we're smart, according to Mulhall, we can use molecular machines to protect ourselves from nature's worst extremes, and harness their potential benefits to usher in an economic renaissance. This visionary link between future technology and past disasters is a valuable guide for every one of us who wants to be prepared for the twenty-first century.

Desktop Microdrilling System by Multiple Miniature Robots

Recently the demand for microparts fabrication is increasing because many products are miniaturized due to portable use. A new production system such as a ""Desktop Factory"" is very interesting in microsystem assembly. The microrobots system has the potential to play an important role in such applications with respect to transporting, manipulating, and putting down microobjects. This paper describes a unique system in which many microrobots can collaborate to execute a microdrilling task on the desktop. This micro production system can provide cost saving benefits with accurate and flexible microfabrication.