Traditional Manufacturing Industry Research Articles

Research on the Integration of Industrial Design and Mechanical Product Design

The purpose of this paper is to integrate industrial design into mechanical design, improve the core competitiveness of mechanical products, and become a benign development path for the transformation and upgrading of traditional machinery enterprises. To provide perfect and feasible ideas, theories and concrete methods and means for traditional enterprises; Through the research and analysis of the present situation of the development of traditional machinery industry, this paper finds out a series of problems existing in the upgrading and transformation of traditional manufacturing industry in the emerging stage, combined with the core ideas of informatization and industrialization under the background of industrial design 4.0, taking Anshan old industrial base as an example. An innovative development model suitable for the integration of industrial design and regional machinery manufacturing industry is developed. Relying on the platform of Anshan Industrial Design Center, the development model of “industrial design industrial alliance + association + university” led by the government is established. And take the industrial design public service as the support, adjust measures to the local conditions. Focusing on “public service, platform construction, design competition, talent training, publicity and promotion, brand activities, standard formulation, basic research” and other aspects, to achieve the integration of new industrial design industry ecological model of machinery manufacturing industry.

On the Influence of Platform Economy on Transformation and Upgrading of Chinese Traditional Manufacturing Industry - A Case Study of Red Collar Group

The profitability of the traditional manufacturing industry is sluggish and fails to well adapt to the current trend of economic globalization. In the context of industry 4.0, it is imperative for the traditional manufacturing industry to transform and upgrade in an all-round way in the market-oriented and government-led environment. At this time, platform economy furnishes a good impetus for the transformation and upgrading of traditional manufacturing industry. Traditional manufacturing industry adapts to the needs of the external market environment through platform structure, adjusts factor input premised on dynamic changes in factor endowment, integrates scientific and technological revolution, and gradually cultivates competitiveness through continuous technological innovation, thereby achieving the transformation and upgrading of industry. In the background of conversion of era, this paper explores the innovation of traditional enterprises in the current historical background from the angle of evolution, attempting to reveal that platform economy helps traditional manufacturing enterprises to update their production methods, restructure their management structures and set up supply chain thinking, thereby pushing forward their transformation and upgrading. Taking the transformation and upgrading of Red Collar Group as an example, this paper analyzes the process of rapid learning, resource integration, innovation iteration, self-fission, and continuous evolution of the enterprise premised on platform economy, thereby proving the positive impetus of platform economy to the transformation of traditional manufacturing industry and testing its logical rationality. The research concludes that platform economy will become one of the significant strategic modes of transformation and upgrading of traditional manufacturing industry in China.

Manpower Constraints and Corporate Policies

Manpower constraints are the pervasive lack of specialized high- and low-skill workers, irrespective of the wage firms might offer. For a panel of German firms, we show manpower-constrained firms have higher capacity utilization and longer backlog of orders (measured in months). They are more willing to increase their capital expenditures, and more willing to grow their employment in the following year. Manpower constraints vary substantially over time and across industries, being higher on average in traditional manufacturing industries and lower in high-tech industries. For identification, we exploit the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the subsequent differential fluxes of Eastern immigrants across Western states, which followed the pre-existing patterns of Eastern German immigration immediately after WWII. We construct a Manpower Constraint (MPC) Index calibrating the loadings on firm-level financials that are also available in commonly used data set for US, European, and Asian firms. Our results help inform relevant debates such as the reform of immigration policies and the investment in public and private education for low-skilled workers.

Green Reformation of Chinese Traditional Manufacturing Industry: Approach and Potential for Cooperation

Regarding China’s traditional manufacturing industry there is a large gap compared with developed countries in terms of green manufacturing development. As environmental problems become more serious, resources and environmental constraints prevent its further development. China has now incorporated green manufacturing into an urgent future development strategy, and the green manufacturing system has been gradually integrated into its industrial development strategy. This paper analyses the gap between China’s traditional manufacturing and the rest of the world’s industry-leading level. It discusses the structure of China green manufacturing development and operation model in progress. It further expounds the complementarity between China and Germany in green manufacturing while emphasizing the Sino-German cooperation methods and approaches.

The Causes, Problems and Countermeasures of Super Network Platform

Super network platform is the product of the development of the times, together with the drive of modern information technology, market competition and capital. Super network platform plays an increasingly important role in economic and social life. Super network platform is an important part of the digital economy. It not only becomes a new business form, but also drives the transformation and upgrading of traditional manufacturing industry, and promotes employment and entrepreneurship, and changes people's way of life, work and learning. However, part of the rights and responsibilities of the super network platform have gone beyond the scope of the enterprise. The platform has become the direct manager of hundreds of millions of users, has infrastructure resources related to national economy and people's livelihood, and has the initiative of media discourse. If we let bad behavior go unchecked, it will bring many threats to consumer rights, fair competition of business, government governance and national security. Governance of super network platform is a new complex problem faced by all countries in the world. We need to stand at a higher angle, balance the relationship between development and governance, take an inclusive and prudent attitude, crack down on unfair competition, prevent and reduce system security risks, and give full play to the value of super network platform.

Decomposition Analysis of CO2 Emissions Embodied in the International Trade of Russia

Our study improves the decomposition method based on the input–output approach to analyze CO2 emissions embodied in the international trade of Russia over the period from 1995 to 2014. The research finds out that carbon was transferred from the upstream resource sectors to the downstream manufacturing sectors and service sectors in Russia. Moreover, Russia was a net exporter of CO2 emissions. 31.46% of Russia’s CO2 emissions were generated for other countries’ consumption in 1999 while 10.68% in 2013. Basic resource and energy sectors were the significant emitters of exporting CO2 emissions. Sectors from traditional manufacturing industries and modern technical industries played an important role in importing embodied CO2 emissions of Russia. Moreover, the effect of modern technical industries on importing embodied CO2 emissions was increasing. The period after 2003 witnessed a substantial decline in Russia’s carbon intensities, which was majorly due to the transformation of the energy structure. Decomposition analysis of CO2 emissions embodied in the international trade can show the trading effect on embodied CO2 emissions from both exporting and importing perspectives. Russia’s case is able to provide instructive implications to the global climate mitigation policy. Countries that burden CO2 emissions for other countries’ consumption are encouraged to participate in the climate negotiation effectively and internalize environmental costs by products’ and services’ pricing in the international trade.

Fabrication of a Large-Area, Fused Polymer Micromold Based on Electric-Field-Driven (EFD) μ-3D Printing.

An electric-field-driven (EFD), μ-3D printed, fused polymer technique has been developed for the fabrication of large-area microscale prototype molds using typical polymer materials, including microcrystalline wax (MC-wax), polycaprolactone (PCL), and polymathic methacrylate (PMMA). This work proposes an alternative for large area microscale modes and overcomes the limitation of high cost in the traditional mold manufacturing industry. The EFD principle enables printing of fused polymers materials more than one order of magnitude lower than the nozzle diameter, contributing to the necking effect of the Taylor cone jet, which is the key factor to achieve the microscale manufacturing. Numerical simulation of electric field distribution between the meniscus and substrate was carried out to elucidate the dependence of electric field distribution on the meniscus condition of three types of polymers under printable voltage, and the electrical field parameters for the EFD μ-3D printing were determined. A number of experiments were printed successfully using a large range of viscosity materials, ranging from tens of mPa·s to hundreds of thousands of mPa·s of PCL and PMMA. The differences in parameters of different materials, such as viscosity, tensile properties, and surface energy, were studied to assess their use in different fields. Using proper process parameters and a nozzle with an inner diameter of 200 μm, three different application cases were completed, including a Wax microarray and microchannel with a minimum dot diameter of 20 μm, a PCL mesh structure with a minimum line width of 5 μm, and a PMMA large-area mold with a maximum aspect ratio of 0.8. Results show that the EFD μ-3D printing has the outstanding advantages of high printing resolution and polymer material universality.

Does the way in which a firm interacts with its network partners influence its formulation of product innovation strategies

This paper examines how network embeddedness influences firms' formulation of product innovation strategies. We explored firms' interactions with two types of network partners (business partners and technical partners) along two dimensions (relational and structural) of network embeddedness. The moderating effect of change dynamics on the interplay between network embeddedness and firms' strategy formulation was also examined. Data were collected from 310 firms in five Chinese high-tech and three traditional manufacturing industries. Our findings indicate that strong, weak and non-redundant contacts are conducive to the formulation of product innovation strategies. Firms' interaction with technical and business partners is also positively associated with the strategy formulation. However, geographic dispersion of partners has no impact. In addition, although technological dynamics exert a positive moderating effect on the relationship between network embeddedness and the formulation of product innovation strategies, radical changes in market conditions had no impact on firms' engagement with network contacts, and consequently on strategy formulation.

Service Supply Chain Research: A Conceptual Model Based on Business Processes

When economy transfers from tangible manufacturing to intangible services, it is extremely important to understand whether the lessons learned from manufacturing industries can be directly applied to service supply chains. This paper aims to compare traditional manufacturing industries with service supply chain sector and the results emphasize that the similarities and differences do exist between these two sectors — demonstrating that effective supply chain strategies in one sector may not be appropriate in the other sector. Based on the unique characteristics of service, this study builds a conceptual model of service supply chain.

Simulation Study on Exhaust Effect of Common Exhaust Equipment in Traditional Electrical Manufacturing Enterprises

Based on fully understanding of the setting and operation of local exhaust facilities in traditional electrical manufacturing industry, the software FLUENT is applied to simulate the airflow field of universal arm exhaust hood in the process of removing welding dust. And the exhaust effect of typical welding dust universal arm exhaust hood and its influencing factors were analyzed. The results show that the exhaust effect of welding fume is mainly affected by the exhaust wind speed, the size of the hood, the angle between the hood and airflow, the distance from the pollutant source to the center of the hood, etc. When practical operation is feasible, the best combination of exhaust effect and economy is achieved when the vertical upward suction is adopted and the cover opening is 20-25cm away from the solder joint and the exhaust velocity is controlled at 0.4-0.6m/s.

COOPERATION FOR INNOVATION AND ITS IMPACT ON TECHNOLOGICAL AND NON-TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FOR EUROPEAN SMES IN TRADITIONAL MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES

Drawing on a sample of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in traditional manufacturing industries from seven EU regions, this study investigates how cooperation with external organisations affects technological (product and process) innovations and non-technological (organisational and marketing) innovations as well as the commercial success of product and process innovations (i.e., innovative sales). Our empirical strategy takes into account that all four types of innovation are potentially complementary. Empirical results suggest that cooperation increases firms’ innovativeness and yields substantial commercial benefits. In particular, increasing the number of cooperation partnerships has a positive impact on all measures of innovation performance. We conclude that a portfolio approach to cooperation enhances innovation performance and that innovation support programs should be demand-led.

Digital Sharing Economy

The modernization of traditional manufacturing industries and service industries, organization of trading and purchasing procedures, related financial and logistics operations, changes in consumption patterns in the presence of thorough penetration of information technologies and digitalization of economic processes creates the basis for forming new markets and new conditions of their operation. One of the effects of global technological changes and digitalization of consumer experience was the development of a new form of trade and property relations – a share economy. Reorientation of consumer behavior from purchasing to sharing, exclusion of intermediaries from a “client – contractor” chain, strengthening the role of online reputation and self-regulation of the community to ensure the quality of services revolutionize a business model in many areas. Digital share economies will evolve and transform over the next few years. In this regard, it becomes important to study the essence, principles of functioning, and development of new business models.

Modeling and Optimization for Automobile Mixed Assembly Line in Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 promotes the development of traditional manufacturing industry to digitization, networking, and intellectualization. Smart factory is composed of network that includes production equipment, robot, conveyor, and logistics system. According to the characteristics of the mixed flow assembly, a simulation platform of automobile mixed flow assembly is built based on industry 4.0 in the paper, which operates and manages automobile assembly, logistics warehouse, and CPS effectively. On this basis, FlexSim software is adopted to establish the auto-mixed assembly model that finds out the bottleneck of auto-mixed assembly problem. By means of parameter adjustment, rearrangement, and merger of process, the whole assembly time of the 500 automobiles dropped by 33 hours, the equipment utilization rate increased by 20.19%, and the average blocked rate decreased by 21.19%. The optimized results show that the proposed model can greatly increase manufacturing efficiency and practical application in industry 4.0.

Identification of Urban Functional Areas Based on POI Data: A Case Study of the Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone

Functional areas are the basic spatial units in which cities or development zones implement urban plans and provide functions. Internet map big data technology provides a new method for the identification and spatial analysis of functional areas. Based on the POI (point of interest) data from AMap (a map application of AutoNavi) from 2017, this paper proposes an urban functional areas recognition and analysis method based on the frequency density and the ratio of POI function types. It takes the Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone as a case study to analyze the main function and spatial distribution characteristics of the detailed functional areas. The research shows the following: (1) The POI frequency density index and the function type ratio can effectively distinguish the functions of the grid units and analyze the spatial distribution characteristics of a complex functional area. (2) The single functional area is the most common area type in the Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone. The largest proportion of all areas is allocated to traditional manufacturing industry functional areas, followed by high-tech enterprises, catering and entertainment, real estate, and education and health care, in descending order. The smallest proportion is allocated to finance and insurance functional areas. (3) The current layout of the functional areas in the Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone conforms to the overall requirements and planning objectives of the central and local government. The layout and agglomeration of different blocks within the economic development zone are consistent with local industry’s target orientation and development history.

Digital Twin of an Automotive Brake Pad for Predictive Maintenance

Abstract The traditional manufacturing industry is being challenged globally with the comprehensive growth in digital technologies and big data. Digital Twin (DT) technology is one such vision that refers to a comprehensive physical and functional description of a physical component, product or an entire system with all the operational data. The Digital Twin of a product establishes a physical-virtual connection that paves way to real time monitoring all through the entire life cycle of the related product. This paper describes the advance of a digital twin that supports in the predictive maintenance of an automobile brake system. As a proof of concept, brake pressure was measured at different vehicle speeds using ThingWorx Internet of Things (IoT) platform. The data captured using the platform was used to demonstrate the prediction of brake wear using the CAD model implemented in CREO Simulate.

Intelligent Manufacturing: a Way to Upgrade Manufacturing Industry

From manufacturing industry to intelligent manufacturing industry, China’s manufacturing industry is entering a new intelligent production mode on a large scale. With the implementation of 4.0 policies in China’s industry, it has further stimulated the endogenous power of the development of intelligent manufacturing in Chinese enterprises, and accelerated the development of intelligent factories and digital production workshops. The new production system of intelligent manufacturing emerges as the times require. In intelligent manufacturing, manufacturing enterprises implement individualized flexible production and control production cost according to market demand. This undoubtedly puts forward many new requirements for its production mode. 2018 can be said to be the key year to promote the development of intelligent manufacturing in China. In this trend, the traditional manufacturing industry upgrading is particularly important and has attracted much attention.

Innovation in suburban development zones: Evidence from Nanjing, China

AbstractWhile suburban areas have been typically related with urban sprawl, low density, cheap land price and low‐end manufacturing industries, relatively little attention has been paid to the spatial organization of innovation in suburban areas. In some Chinese cities, development zones (kai fa qu) in their suburban areas which are generally regarded as major spaces for traditional manufacturing industries have been transforming into spaces for innovation. This paper provides a case study of Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province in Eastern China by investigating and explaining the learning and innovation processes in suburban development zones. Drawing upon a unique database on 733 state‐certified high‐tech firms in Nanjing from 2008 to 2012 which contains detailed information on their addresses and number of patents, we observe strong spatial disparity in the distribution of innovation. Suburban districts of Nanjing where its three national‐level development zones and many provincial‐level development zones are located have become major spaces for innovation of the city. The planning of industrial clusters in development zones, the place‐based investment in the suburbs, and the suburbanization of universities are three major mechanisms behind the learning and innovation processes in Nanjing’s suburban development zones.

Identifying Comprehensive Key Criteria of Sustainable Development for Traditional Manufacturing in Taiwan

The traditional manufacturing industry has suffered from changing global demands and rapid technology upgrades. It is critical to incorporate innovation into contemporary manufacturing for sustainable development. A comprehensive interpretation of the determinants and directions of technical change is greatly needed. Therefore, this study aims to explore innovative applications that can enhance the value of manufacturing and examine the key factors associated with these innovations. In this paper, three traditional manufacturing industries are analyzed using the research methodologies analytic hierarchy processing (AHP) and Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL), resulting in a set of six key criteria for innovative manufacturing. The causal relationships considering the six criteria in three industries are analyzed. The main contribution of this study is to establish a new framework for the sustainable development of traditional manufacturing industries. This could help to support conceptual innovation in these industries and establish a pragmatic approach to increase sustainable development. From the research results, the following suggestions can be made. The traditional manufacturing industries in Taiwan should focus on design and innovation. This can enhance the value-added and international competitiveness of industrial chains, enterprises, and products. Ultimately, it can lead to the sustainable development of Taiwan’s traditional industries.

Promoting cooperation in innovation ecosystems: evidence from European traditional manufacturing SMEs

We investigate whether public support for innovation increases the propensity of SMEs in traditional manufacturing industries to cooperate for innovation—in particular, for incremental innovation—with other firms and external knowledge providers. Using data from seven EU regions, we find that support programmes do not promote cooperation with competitors, marginally promote cooperation with customers and suppliers and strongly promote cooperation with knowledge providers. These findings suggest that, in this case, the role of public policy is systems conforming rather than systems creating. Innovation support programmes can assist SMEs in traditional manufacturing industry to consolidate and/or extend their innovation ecosystems beyond familiar business partners by promoting cooperation with both private and public sector knowledge providers. Finally, our findings suggest that evaluation studies of innovation support programmes should be designed to capture not only input and/or output additionality but also behavioural and systemic effects.

The Effect of Open Innovation on Technology Value and Technology Transfer: A Comparative Analysis of the Automotive, Robotics, and Aviation Industries of Korea

With the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the Korean industrial environment has been rapidly changing. As a result, several industries are facing different innovation conditions, including: the automotive industry, which is a traditional manufacturing industry in Korea; the aerospace industry, which has been vertically integrated, and has been led by a single large company—Korea Aerospace Industries—since Korea went through an economic crisis in the 1990s; and the robotics industry, which is currently emerging. This study used parameters related to patents originating from the automobile, robotics, and aerospace fields. The patents subjected to analysis were those registered in Korea from 2001 to 2014, and included those that were applied for, jointly applied for, or registered by Korean companies. This study analyzed the differences caused by the effect of open innovation in the three industries. According to our results, first, the three industries experienced different effects of open innovation. Second, when large companies controlled a given industry, open innovation either worked a little or did not work at all. According to this research result, the Korean robotics industry, which has a weak dominance of large companies, experienced a strong effect of open innovation, in that joint patent applications led to economic gains from the patents and an increase in technology transfer and technology value. The aerospace industry of Korea, which has the highest dominance of large companies, experienced a slight effect of open innovation, as the effect of joint patent application only improved the technology value. Finally, the automotive industry of Korea had an intermediate level of open innovation, between the aerospace and robotics sectors.