Manufacturing Perspective Research Articles

Prioritizing industry 4.0 technologies (I4.0T) through an interpretive ranking process (IRP): a design and manufacturing perspective

Prioritizing industry 4.0 technologies (I4.0T) through an interpretive ranking process (IRP): a design and manufacturing perspective

Maintenance plan adaptation based on health ratings of servitised machines through a fleet-wide machine clustering method

The increased requests for value-added services to integrate product performance push manufacturing companies to extend their service offerings to meet customers’ needs. In this context, maintenance planning can leverage new possibilities offered by digital technologies for data analytics services. The present research then proposes an approach for maintenance plan adaptation based on a data-driven method applied over a fleet of machines installed in different production sites. The method relies on collaborative prognostics to develop a clustering of machines’ behaviour aimed at providing the health ratings of the machines and the subsequent maintenance plan adaptation due to the deviation from the expected behaviour. The method is adopted from the perspective of an Original Equipment Manufacturer, as part of a transformation path towards an advanced provision of digitalization for maintenance service offerings. The method is validated in the context of two lines at selected customer’s premises. This demonstrates the viability and effectiveness of adapting the maintenance plans thanks to the data analytics in light of the current behaviour of the machines within the lines.

Impact Quality Indicators onto Sustainable Manufacturing

This paper dealt study effect quality indicators of crushing Limestone process in quarries onto Sustainable Manufacturing. Sustainable Environment was achieving through minimizing quality indicators which were use resources and lead time during crushing of limestone in position. Non-value added time and use resources are studied in this paper. This paper aims to show impact key performance indicators of quality which were production efficiency, efficiency of manufacturing cycle and efficiency of use resources onto Operational and environmental sustainability in order to reduce environmental and operational impacts onto environment and human health. Crushing Limestone process had been employing on one year as a case study to evaluate operational and environmental sustainability of an Iraqi industry. Program of Minitab-Version 17 was employed to analyze information of production process. Results illustrated that the rate of efficiency of utilized resources and waste of resources on one year were 95% and 5%. Conclusions shown lead time was an important performance measure of quality from sustainable Manufacturing perspective.

Numerical investigation on machining of additively manufactured CFRP composite with different build orientations and layer widths

Additive manufacturing (AM) is now a widely researched manufacturing technology in the past two decades to adopt in industry for its added advantage of customization and adopting complex geometries with comparatively low buy-to-fly ratio. Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite has found applications in different high-performance industries for its greatest benefit of high strength-to-weight ratio. Additive manufacturing of CFRP composite (AM-CFRP) opens up the possibility of enhancing mechanical strength using different printing orientations and enables producing complex shapes maintaining sustainable manufacturing perspective. However, Limitation of AM parts of having surface irregularities and questionable dimensional accuracies. To use AM-CFRP parts in high precision assembly or industrial applications, post processing machining is often required to meet the customers’ specification of geometrical tolerances and acceptable surface finish. In this study, the influence of AM parameters on machinability of AM-CFRP composite has been evaluated using finite element analysis (FEA) based numerical simulation. The slot milling operation was simulated with a tungsten carbide end milling tool and AM-CFRP workpiece with four different printing directions, i.e., 0°-90°, 45°-135°, 0°-90°-45°-135°, two different layer widths, i.e., 50 µm and 100 µm, and two in-fill patterns, i.e., solid and perforated structures. The machinability of the 3D printed CFRP has been analyzed based on cutting forces, stress at first contact and maximum stress generation, and temperature increases at the interface during slot milling of AM-CFRP under different AM parameters. Evolution of failure mechanisms of AM-CFRPs under various machining conditions, such as, delamination, matrix rupture etc., have been discussed and chip and burr formation mechanisms have been analyzed. Finite Element analysis (FEA) package ABAQUS/Explicit was used to model 3D micro slot milling operation of AM-CFRP workpiece with appropriate damage and constitutive models, such as, damage initiation, progression and cohesion in adjacent passes and layers.

Promising Drug Delivery System for Cervical Cancer – A Future Approach

There is evidence that peptide targeting can be applied in cervical cancer therapy and for diagnosis involving the use of molecular imaging, hence developing peptide probes for this disease. Cervical cancer, which also has a high possibility of being prevented, is among the common tumors affecting women globally. Despite the occurrence being reduced greatly by screening, the illness remains fatal and its claims many lives annually, especially in the developing nations. In exercising such a perspective, specific public health efforts known to encourage physical activity, proper diet, and early detection of cervical cancer must begin to be taken seriously. When combined, doctors, health officers, and lawmakers could speed up the global deployment of such programs. California’s American Cancer Society, the present review enlists a host of pharmaceutical goods available in the market. This perspective of present-day research and manufacturing is devoted to the development of various types of nanocarriers for possible utilization in medication transport. Thus, overall cancer mortality appears to be not substantially different, though cancer incidence rates for both sexes are 50% lower in impoverished countries when compared to affluent nations. At the moment, there are new peptide probes that are developed solely for cervical cancer-perfectly suitable for targeting peptides applicable in therapeutic and diagnostic imaging. M13KE phage dodecapeptide (12-mer) peptide library was screened for recognition of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) by immunofluorescence and flow cytometry; the S7 clone was identified as most suitable. A disease that affects many women is gynecologic health problems, and cervical cancer is the leading presenting complaint experienced regularly. Among these studies, QSAR, drug-likeness, PCA, dynamic cross-correlation matrix, molecular docking, molecular dynamics and quantum calculation properties can be listed. In the first literature survey, after identifying the potent antibacterial and anticancer activity of the molecule apigenin, some other promising derivatives were identified and more research has been carried out on them, focusing on their synthesized derivatives as inhibitors of DNA polymerase theta and cervical cancer caused by human papillomavirus. The results were streamlined by the use of in-silico molecular docking, which showed that all Apigenin derivatives and the targeted proteins had potential energy-binding relationships. Further validation is essential because this study used in-silico computational methodologies and produced excellent results. Applying in-silico molecular docking made the data more comprehensible, which showed the possible energy bindings of the targeted proteins and all the Apigenin variants. Due to the fact that this work utilized in-silico computational methods and obtained significant results, further validation is required. Hence, the present wet-lab experiments coupled with both in-vitro and in-vivo conditions, additional validation of the results.

Perspective on Water-Soluble Two-Photon Initiator for Two-Photon Polymerization.

Two-photon polymerization (TPP) as an unparalleled technology empowers the rapid prototyping of customized three-dimensional (3D) micro/nanostructures, garnering noticeable interest in tissue engineering, drug delivery, and regenerative medicine. These applications have a high requirement on the biocompatibility and integrity of 3D structures. Therefore, it is important to develop two-photon initiator with good water-solubility, initiation efficiency, and biocompatibility. Here, we share our insights into the development of a water-soluble two-photon initiator (WTPI) and applications from the material and manufacturing perspective. We highlight the nonlinear optical properties and the synthesis of WTPI through three pathways. Then we further demonstrate the applications of the TPP technique in the aqueous phase in the fields of tissue engineering, 4D printing, and ceramic manufacturing. Finally, a general conclusion and outlook are provided for the future development and application of WTPI.

Mitigating yield uncertainty from the perspectives of contract manufacturing and technology licensing

In the low-carbon environment, green manufacturing by manufacturers often requires upstream to provide precision components. However, the lack of production experience of high-tech upstream leads to yield uncertainty. To explore the impact of yield uncertainty on green supply chain operations and analyze its solution, we propose a contract manufacturing mode with technology licensing and further consider pricing licensing or production licensing. The Stackelberg game is employed to construct these three models and a benchmark model without contract manufacturing. Moreover, we discuss the supplier’s mode preference by numerical analysis. Our findings reveal that the contract manufacturing mode with technology licensing mitigates the detrimental influence of yield uncertainty, boosting supplier profitability by 49.00% and manufacturer profitability by 61.76% when the expected yield rate is small or the expected yield rate is large with a small yield fluctuation. Furthermore, when both expected yield rate and profit-sharing ratio are low, increased yield fluctuation predominantly affects the downstream, whereas a win–win–win situation can be achieved through increased profit-sharing ratio. Additionally, compared with contract manufacturing mode with technology licensing, additional pricing licensing or production licensing augments supplier profitability by more than 10.56% in certain cases. Interestingly, improving production efficiency may not enhance the contract manufacturer profitability in both modes due to potential trade-offs with competition and the high cost. This paper contributes to the development of contract manufacturing policies, guiding suppliers and contract manufacturers towards achieving synergetic economic and environmental development. Future research could examine the applicability of the proposed contract manufacturing mode in various industries or identify additional factors affecting supplier profitability.

Innovation's influence on working capital management and profitability: A Chinese high‐tech manufacturing perspective

AbstractThis study investigates the role of corporate innovation in moderating the impact of working capital management on profitability for a Chinese high‐tech manufacturing industry. Using a two‐way fixed effect model and subgroup analysis, we found that net working capital (NWC) negatively impacted corporate profitability, while corporate innovation magnified the inverse association between the NWC and profitability. This moderating effect was stronger in non‐state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) than in SOEs, and different company sizes exhibited varying effects. This study enhances our understanding of the role of corporate innovation financial management and provides valuable insights for innovation research in emerging economies.

Barriers to electric vehicle battery recycling in a circular economy: An interpretive structural modeling

An increasing number of electric vehicle batteries will reach the end of their life cycle with the fast growth of electric vehicles. Since the recycling of retired electric vehicles batteries is of great significance in the light of resource utilization, ecological protection, energy saving and economic benefits, the proper management of electric vehicle battery recycling (EVBR) is crucial for achieving sustainable development. However, due to the involvement of multiple stakeholders, there are many potential barriers in the process of EVBR, and analyzing these barriers can significantly help the recycling management of waste electric vehicle batteries towards a circular economy. Although the literature has focused on analyzing obstacles to implementing reverse logistics for electric vehicle lithium battery recycling from a manufacturer's perspective, less attention has been paid to analyzing barriers to EVBR from a multi-stakeholder perspective. This paper thus aims to investigate the barriers to EVBR from a multi-stakeholder point of view, identify the main barriers affecting battery recycling, and analyze the interrelationships and hierarchies between these barriers. Based on expert opinions and literature reviews, this paper identifies twenty major barriers to EVBR and uses interpretive structural modelling (ISM) method to determine the interrelationships and hierarchies between the barriers, and finally classifies the barriers to EVBR into a seven-level structural model. Furthermore, matriced impacts corises-multiplcation appliance classement (MICMAC) analysis is applied to categorize the identified barriers to EVBR, and the twenty barriers are finally classified into three categories, namely dependent barriers, linkage barriers, and driver barriers. This paper discusses theoretical insights, managerial and practical implications, and measures to overcome EVBR barriers based on the results, which show that the lack of more appropriate incentives is a major barrier to EVBR implementation. This paper provides a solid theoretical foundation for the further development of battery recycling policies, and will also help relevant stakeholders and governments to better understand these barriers and adopt effective approaches to address them.

Paper fiber-reinforced polypropylene composites from nonwoven preforms: A study on compression molding optimization from a manufacturing perspective

This work optimizes compression molding manufacturing for wet-formed nonwoven paper and polypropylene fiber mats. A central composite designed experiment investigated the effects of fiber reinforcement concentration, compression molding temperature, pressure, and time on composite laminate performance. We assess the composites’ density, panel thickness, water uptake, flexural behavior, and Izod impact strength. Models predicted and optimized composite performance using objective function analysis with penalties applied for undesirable conditions, such as processing time or low reinforcement concentration. Paper fiber content has the largest impact on composite properties, followed by processing time, molding pressure, and temperature. Composite optimization depends on penalty conditions; low fiber content penalties favor low fiber content panels with short processing times, while high fiber content penalties favor high fiber content panels with long processing times. This work suggests that molding composites with a greater fraction of renewable feedstock requires a commensurate increase in processing intensity.

An integrated multi-criteria decision-making approach for sustainable supply chain performance evaluation from a manufacturing perspective

An integrated multi-criteria decision-making approach for sustainable supply chain performance evaluation from a manufacturing perspective

The dimensions of humanity in terms of the concept of sustainable management – the assessment from the perspective of manufacturers of technical subassemblies for means of agricultural transport

The dimensions of humanity in terms of the concept of sustainable management – the assessment from the perspective of manufacturers of technical subassemblies for means of agricultural transport

Identification and Classification of Herbal Medicine Marketing Problems from the Perspective of Manufacturers, Pharmaceutical Distribution Companies, Pharmacies, and Consumers in Iran

Background: Despite the increase in the desire to consume herbal medicines and the growing concern of people about their health, as well as the increase in the number of specialized herbal medicine manufacturing companies and pharmacies, these products still have a small market share in the domestic market. Therefore, this research seeks to identify and categorize the marketing problems of herbal medicines with a systemic approach from the perspectives of actors active in this chain (companies producing herbal medicines, pharmaceutical distribution companies, pharmacies and consumers) and provide practical solutions to improve these problems. Methods: The current research is exploratory in nature and qualitative in type. To better identify the marketing problems of herbal medicines, semi-structured interviews were used, and using purposive and snowball sampling methods, interviews were conducted with knowledgeable people in 14 manufacturing companies, 13 pharmaceutical distribution companies, 22 pharmacies and 40 consumers of herbal medicines in 2022. Quantitative content analysis was also used to analyze the text of the interviews. Results: The identified problems are in three short-term, medium-term and long-term time frames, and from another perspective, these problems are located at the three organizational, industrial and macro level. About half of the marketing problems of herbal medicines are located in the three houses of the matrix, i.e. in the houses of organization-mid-term (16 %), industry-short-term (15 %) and organization-short-term (14 %). Also, based on the normalized data, about half of the marketing problems of herbal medicines are related to the non-availability of these medicines (7.7 %), lack of scientific visits by doctors (6.8 %), lack of appropriate and sufficient advertising (6.2 %), returns due to expiration dates (5 %), lack of confidence in the effectiveness (4.8 %), low offers and discounts (4.4 %), high prices (4.1 %), difficulty in collecting claims (3.6 %), low variety of products (2.9 %) and long production time (2.8 %). Conclusion: The government managers of the country can address macro-level issues by controlling the inflation rate, accelerating the settlement time of insurance and government organizations with distribution companies, reducing the time of collecting claims, and raising public awareness regarding herbal medicines. In the industry sector, there is a need to establish national distribution companies for herbal medicines and enhance the research, supply, production, and distribution processes. It is also important to improve the collaboration between manufacturers and pharmacies, as well as facilitate communication with international scientific societies. At the organizational level, managers can boost productivity by enhancing the quality of products and packaging, conducting scientific visits, and publishing credible scientific articles to convince doctors and consumers about the benefits of herbal medicines

The Platform Technology Approach to mRNA Product Development and Regulation.

mRNA-lipid nanoparticle (LNP) medicinal products can be considered a platform technology because the development process is similar for different diseases and conditions, with similar noncoding mRNA sequences and lipid nanoparticles and essentially unchanged manufacturing and analytical methods often utilised for different products. It is critical not to lose the momentum built using the platform approach during the development, regulatory approval and rollout of vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. This review proposes a set of modifications to existing regulatory requirements for mRNA products, based on a platform perspective for quality, manufacturing, preclinical, and clinical data. For the first time, we address development and potential regulatory requirements when the mRNA sequences and LNP composition vary in different products as well. In addition, we propose considerations for self-amplifying mRNA, individualised oncology mRNA products, and mRNA therapeutics. Providing a predictable development pathway for academic and commercial groups so that they can know in detail what product characterisation and data are required to develop a dossier for regulatory submission has many potential benefits. These include: reduced development and regulatory costs; faster consumer/patient access and more agile development of products in the face of pandemics; and for rare diseases where alternatives may not exist or to increase survival and the quality of life in cancer patients. Therefore, achieving consensus around platform approaches is both urgent and important. This approach with mRNA can be a template for similar platform frameworks for other therapeutics and vaccines to enable more efficient development and regulatory review.

Unveil the carbon footprint of textiles dyed with different reactive dyestuff recipes from an industrial manufacturing perspective

Unveil the carbon footprint of textiles dyed with different reactive dyestuff recipes from an industrial manufacturing perspective

Reliability modeling and warranty optimization for products with self-healing under a dynamic shock environment

As modern products evolve in intelligence, self-healing mechanisms have been gaining prominence in the field of reliability. In actual operation, the performance of a product is inevitably influenced by external environments and user interactions. However, existing warranty studies often overlook these factors, leading to oversimplifications in product reliability modeling. This paper offers a comprehensive and realistic view of the product failure process by integrating the dynamic shock environment, inherent self-healing property, and post-sale consumer utilization. The constructed reliability evaluation model accounts for fatal and non-fatal shocks with a dynamic time-varying failure threshold. We introduce the concept of self-healing trigger/delay time, considering a generalized self-healing process. The approximate product reliability is derived, and its accuracy is validated using Monte Carlo simulations. Then, derived from real-world practices, we propose a novel two-stage warranty policy which combines lemon law principles with preventive maintenance. By minimizing the expected cost rate throughout the warranty service period, a preventive maintenance schedule optimization model is developed from the manufacturer's perspective. Finally, a numerical case is presented to reveal the influences of different factors on product reliability and demonstrate the existence of the optimal solution.

Demonstration and Analysis of Conditions to Obtain a High Strength Inconel 625 to Stainless Steel 304L Interface by Directed Energy Deposition

Functional grading (FG) is often used to bond dissimilar metals. However, that approach is complicated from a manufacturing perspective, and the associated challenges can outweigh the benefits of FG. Here, we investigate a directly bonded interface by transitioning from stainless steel 304L (SS304L) to Inconel 625 (IN625) using powder-feed directed energy deposition with a laser beam energy source (DED-LB). Both cracking and the presence of carbide phases have been reported in this multi-materials system. Conditions that unambiguously achieve crack-free joints have not yet been established. With DED-LB, we consistently observe solidification cracking in melt pools containing > 50 wt pct SS304L, while no cracking is observed in melt pools with < 40 wt pct SS304L. Variations on the most up-to-date solidification cracking model are applied to gain insight into the cracking dependencies. Parameters that give rise to defect-free single layers also enable defect-free multilayer prints despite the additional thermal cycling. Upon printing and testing full-sized ASTM E8 tensile specimens, the interface is sufficiently strong that failure occurs solely within the SS304L region, indicating a joint strength of > 650 MPa. Thus, a simple method to attain high strength joints for these dissimilar metal alloys is demonstrated.

Lithium Plating at the Cell Edge Induced by Anode Overhang during Cycling in Lithium-Ion Batteries: Part I. Modeling and Mechanism

The anode overhang is usually cited to prevent lithium plating at the cell edges of lithium-ion batteries. Still, numerous reports in the literature show lithium plating at the cell edge, which is typically referred to as edge plating. Edge plating is often attributed to inhomogeneous lithium distribution, thermal gradients, or pressure-dependent effects. This work presents an easy-to-implement two-dimensional electrochemical model demonstrating inhomogeneous lithiation induced by the anode overhang, which can explain experimentally observed edge plating. First, the mechanism of inhomogeneous lithiation due to the anode overhang is explained in detail. Then, a parameter study on charge protocol and geometric cell properties is presented, and the implications for cell applications are analyzed. Finally, the findings are discussed and put into a broader perspective of cell design, manufacturing, and fast charging application. In Part II of this work, the simulation is validated experimentally using multi-reference electrode single-layer pouch cells.

Evaluation of sustainable manufacturing performance – A case illustration with multistakeholder perspective

Increasing awareness on achieving the targets of sustainable development goals led to the various discussions on sustainability in manufacturing applications. Sustainable manufacturing has been considered as one of the key factors for achieving sustainable consumption and production. Considering the advantages, sustainable manufacturing has been discussed with various perspectives in order to improve the sustainable manufacturing performances. This study considers one of the perspectives where other studies are limited within the context of sustainable manufacturing performances, multi-stakeholder perspectives. The sustainable manufacturing performances has been collected and evaluated with multi criteria decision making methodology, best worst method. The three multi stakeholder perspectives have been considered for this study which includes manufacturer perspective, customer perspective and government perspective. The collected sustainable manufacturing performances were evaluated based on these different multi-stakeholder perspectives, in order to understand the similarities and differences among multiple stakeholders in the implementation of sustainable manufacturing through its performances. The detailed discussion of obtained results was explored and acknowledged with existing literature support along with the response from case industrial managers. The similarities and differences of opinion among different stakeholders has been explored to provide fruitful contributions to both academic and scientific community. The key managerial implication of this study is that assisting the industrial managers to focus on influential sustainable manufacturing performances instead of focussing less influential ones based on the opinions of different stakeholders.

Lean and sustainability assessment in the sawmill industry using Sus-VSM: A case study in the context of Fiji

Waste from the perspective of lean manufacturing and sustainability has a huge influence on economic, environmental, and societal aspects. The inefficiency of the current manufacturing systems poses a huge risk to small and medium size sawmills going out of business as current prices of fossil fuel and associated emissions continue to rise at an alarming rate. In this case study, a local sawmill has been investigated to improve process efficiency using sustainable value stream mapping in the context of Fiji. The produced timber with the highest demand is selected as the product and a complete assessment is done on the downstream operation to compile data and develop the current state map. The current state map incorporates sustainability pillars to address the lacking factors such as energy and water consumption, raw material usage, labor physical load, and workspace noise level along with standard lean manufacturing time-based metrics. Sustainable value stream mapping allowed the research team along with a panel of experts to identify processor 2 as the root cause of bottlenecking, unnecessary material movement/transportation, and high physical load index score. Implementing a multi-blade horizontal bandsaw in place of processor 2 reduces; energy consumption for transport, energy consumption for processing, VAT, NVAT, process water consumption, raw material usage, and carbon emission by; 34.9%, 8.72%, 6.37%, 20%, 24.71%, 3.05%, and 10.33% respectively without compromising productivity. The findings of this research suggest evaluating and assessing sustainability performance using Sus-VSM in the sawmill industry unveils potential economic, environmental, and societal benefits.