Life Cycle Tools Research Articles

Integrated product policy (IPP) Workshop and Conclusions for the International Journal of LCA

Looking at the on-going discussions, integrated product policy seems to become important for the LCA community and should therefore be reflected in the International Journal of LCA. Reasons include that IPP: clearly follows life cycle thinking, encourages the usage of the life cycle tool box, e.g. for product-innovation, could become a political umbrella for a new co-operation along the life cycle - beyond the old roles of life cycle stakeholders acting on their own, faces similar issues as the LCA community looking e.g. at environmental value / objective setting.

Division XI: Space and High Energy Astrophysics(Astrophysique Spatiale et Des Hautes Energies)

The reporting period has shown that Space has become a firmly established domain in observational Astrophysics, also in the low energy astrophysics area. The launching of new spacecraft is always an important addition to the capabilities of the Astronomers, but the availability of space observatories is strongly affected by the fact that they disappear as their subsystems become damaged or, for other reasons, become inoperable. The relatively short life of astronomical space facilities has generated new dynamic in the life cycle of observational tools for the astronomer, rather different from that for ground facilities. Launch failures or the final in-orbit functionality verification can also very strongly affect the availability of observational capabilities in space astrophysics. The only spacecraft designed without this built-in life time restriction, is the Hubble Space Telescope, which can be serviced by the Space Shuttle.

Four Models of Design Definition: Sequential, Design Centered, Concurrent and Dynamic

Most organisations adhere to one form of product definition as the core of their product development process. The dominant design methodology employed is the foundation upon which the process has to be defined. This paper identifies four very different models for design definition: sequential, design centered, concurrent and dynamic. Using case studies from the automotive and aerospace industrial sectors, this paper illustrates the models identified, which appear to be based on the dominant and prevailing drivers of new product introduction for a given company. The sequential model shows the traditional functionally based organisation and explores how the design is developed through the various functions. The design centered model demonstrates the front end fixing of the design through the use of Design for Lifecycle tools and techniques. The concurrent definition model introduces the concept of concurrent engineering and stage gate systems, with the design definition being fixed at various gates in the process. Finally, the dynamic model demonstrates the interaction of the various functional skill groups and shows a radical departure in the way the design information is transferred in complex organisations.

Resharpening and Recycling of Flint Bifacial Tools from the Southern Levant Neolithic and Chalcolithic

This paper attempts at reconstructing the life cycle of flint bifacial tools in two major technological trajectories, each aimed at a different end. It is focused on discarded polished flint bifacial tools (axe, adze, chisel) and bifacial polished debitage items found in Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites (9th–6th millennium BP) from the Southern Levant.Recent studies of Holocene flint assemblages revealed special types of debitage items such as blades, flakes, cores and core trimming elements, all bearing traces of polish. The discovery of these polished debitage items in Levantine sites enabled a study of bifacial tool resharpening and recycling techniques, emphasising the exceptional attention paid to this tool category. Since polished bifacial tools appear in many old world Holocene archaeological contexts, the data and interpretation presented in this study have implications far beyond the Southern Levant and could relate to universal technological properties of flint axes and other bifacial tools.

工具運用計画のための工具データベースの設計法

This paper deals with a design method of a tool database to be used in tool use planning. To increase the efficiency of the tool use in a flexible automated manufacturing system, it is necessary for the tool database to support information used in the whole field of the tool life cycle and in the tool use. A management system sharing with some tools in some machine tools and using them, can make the best use of tool capacity. For the realization of this system, the tool use needs information to select tool instance and to deploy it in the place just in time, based on tool status and machining schedule. An activity model of such a system for FMS is constructed for clarifying requirements for a tool database. Then to design such a tool database for satisfying the requirements, this study introduces an object-oriented method such as STEP technology, and implements the database using EXPRESS, C++, and object oriented database system.