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Furniture production is one of the activities that has the potential to generate income for educational institutions. The furniture production process is generally carried out by experienced students utilizing industry-standard facilities, namely the Wood Construction workshop along with its machinery equipment. Therefore, the implementation of Quality Control in the production process is necessary. This study aims to determine the impact of Quality Control implementation on improving the productivity and quality of furniture products. The method used is quantitative with 4 stages of Quality Control, including product design, process planning, Incoming Quality Control (IQC), and In-Process Quality Control (IPQC). Productivity measurement is divided into 3 parts: partial productivity, total factor productivity, and total productivity, which includes labor productivity, time, and production output. Meanwhile, product quality measurement is obtained from assessments by practitioners and product quality testing according to ISO 19682. Data is processed using the path analysis method with the help of a smart PLS application. The research results show that the productivity of production output is 87.5%, categorized as good, with labor productivity of 0.125 pieces/person/day and work hour productivity of 0.25 pieces/hour/day. Product quality based on production processes is categorized as good at 83%. Meanwhile, product quality testing, including visual aspects is good (82.3%), product stability (normal), strength (normal), durability (normal), stiffness (normal 34mm/m), and drop test (normal). Based on path analysis, it is known that quality control including product design, process planning, Incoming Quality Control (IQC), and In-Process Quality Control (IPQC) has an impact on improving the productivity and quality of furniture products. the quality control carried out to increase productivity and product quality can be said to be good with the validation of the final result of 0.188 including in the good category. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literature on occupational risks among organic farmers is scarce. This study explored safety practices and non-fatal injuries among organic producers, and the role of sociodemographic, work, and farm characteristics on safety and injury. Cross sectional survey of certified organic crop producers in the Southwest (SW) region of the United States (US). The Organic Integrity Database was used for recruitment. Data were collected through an electronic and paper survey. Analyses were conducted on 115 cases; response rate was estimated at 25%. A high majority of respondents owned their operation and were younger than 65 years, male, educated beyond high-school, and non-Hispanic whites. Less than half had more than 10 years of experience in organic farming; one-third worked off the farm year-round. Safety practices were very basic despite the widespread use of equipment and machinery, and limited to wearing normal clothing and apparel such hats and glasses. About half of respondents (52.6%) reported non-fatal injuries in the past year; and one-third (32.7%) time lost due to injuries. The overall cumulative incidence rate was estimated at 5.3 injuries per 10 workers within the last year. The injury rate decreased with hours worked. Significant differences were found on gender and education level and safety practices, with female respondents and the more educated being more proactive in practicing safety. Those working less than 40 h/week, in farms smaller than 50 acres, using light machinery or compact utility tractors, and tractors without roll-over protection reported significantly higher injury frequency compared to their counterparts. This study contributes unique data on an essential workforce not captured by current occupational injury and illness surveillance systems. It identifies important personal and contextual factors that may contribute to safety and injury in this population. The findings indicate the need to promote safety and prevent injuries that result in work time lost. This study may also inform future occupational safety and health research and practice, including surveillance, injury prevention programs that target certain workers and production practices, and policies that support and protect the organic farmer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Noise is a common harmful physical factor in the work environment. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to prioritize noise control methods using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) in a tire factory. METHODS: The study, which adopted a cross-sectional, descriptive, analytical design, was conducted in the baking hall of an Iranian tire manufacturing factory in 2018. 4 criteria (namely implementation and maintenance cost, method applicability, method effectiveness and efficiency, and intervention in the process) and 8 alternatives (including reducing individuals' noise exposure time, designing and installing sound isolation chamber for operators, using of earmuffs and earplug simultaneously, changing processes or operational procedures in machinery with excessive noise generation, forming noise control engineering teams, requiring people in charge to quickly fix the leaks and change baking press washers on time, using acoustic panels in the ceiling and walls, and designing and manufacturing silencer and nuzzle for the steam and compressed air outlet of baking press machinery) were selected. Then, to prioritize noise control methods based on objectives, criteria, and alternatives, an AHP questionnaire was developed and completed by domain experts and noise control specialists. Data analysis was performed using Expert Choice V. 11 and Excel. RESULTS: The results showed that the inconsistency rate in all cases was less than 10%, hence the consistency of responses was approved. Based on experts' opinion about the selected criteria, "implementation and maintenance cost" had the highest weight (0.481), while "method effectiveness and efficiency" recorded the lowest one (0.046). With regard to the alternatives, "change in the process" registered the greatest weight (0.193), whereas "individuals' noise exposure time" had the lowest weight (0.046). CONCLUSIONS: Based on the final weights, the most appropriate noise control methods in this industry are changing processes in machinery with excessive noise generation, forming noise control engineering team, and manufacturing silencer and nuzzle for the steam and compressed air outlet of baking press machinery. Furthermore, AHP is a suitable approach for prioritizing decisions related to noise control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Control selection in heavy machinery may be a problem due to the poor compatibility of the commonly-used single line of vertical levers for controls. OBJECTIVE: This study examined the effects of control arrangements on directional compatibility and participant responses in terms of choice/function of controls. METHODS: We investigated experimentally, for a number of new designs of control arrangements, the selection of controls for requested functions of four different machines: fork lift trucks, excavators, tower cranes, and telescopic cranes. Control arrangements were designed with different levels of directional compatibility and participants were requested to nominate which control was related to each of the machine motions and to make ratings of certainty of response. A second part required participants to rank the various control arrangements in terms of their compatibility. RESULTS: The in-line control arrangement was worst for each machine and increased directional compatibility improved the stereotype strength, certainty of response and ranking of control arrangement. CONCLUSIONS: Directional compatibility is the main factor in the design of control/machine output arrangements due to its effect on stereotype strength and correct selection of control of a given function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Polytechnic is the property of Journal of Polytechnic and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Featured Application: This work can extract fault features of vibration signals of rotating machinery. Fault characteristic extraction is attracting a great deal of attention from researchers for the fault diagnosis of rotating machinery. Generally, when a gearbox is damaged, accurate identification of the side-band features can be used to detect the condition of the machinery equipment to reduce financial losses. However, the side-band feature of damaged gears that are constantly disturbed by strong jamming is embedded in the background noise. In this paper, a hybrid signal-processing method is proposed based on a spectral subtraction (SS) denoising algorithm combined with an empirical wavelet transform (EWT) to extract the side-band feature of gear faults. Firstly, SS is used to estimate the real-time noise information, which is used to enhance the fault signal of the helical gearbox from a vibration signal with strong noise disturbance. The empirical wavelet transform can extract amplitude-modulated/frequency-modulated (AM-FM) components of a signal using different filter bands that are designed in accordance with the signal properties. The fault signal is obtained by building a flexible gear for a helical gearbox with ADAMS software. The experiment shows the feasibility and availability of the multi-body dynamics model. The spectral subtraction-based adaptive empirical wavelet transform (SS-AEWT) method was applied to estimate the gear side-band feature for different tooth breakages and the strong background noise. The verification results show that the proposed method gives a clearer indication of gear fault characteristics with different tooth breakages and the different signal-noise ratio (SNR) than the conventional EMD and LMD methods. Finally, the fault characteristic frequency of a damaged gear suggests that the proposed SS-AEWT method can accurately and reliably diagnose faults of a gearbox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Extended product life and reuse are cornerstones of the circular economy vision. Remanufacturing is one strategy that could be used to facilitate more reuse. Research on remanufacturing often addresses the use phase of a product from the perspective of the remanufacturer, not of the end-user of the product. Results are often described in terms of barriers and drivers, with end-user awareness of and trust in remanufactured products being common themes. It can be argued that such explanations are not sufficient for understanding why remanufacturing doesn't happen because they marginalize events during the use phase and the effects of end-user action. The study described here focuses on the use phase and the end-users' role in product remanufacturing outcome. The study is based on the case of one type of mechanical component, prolific in industry and society at large, and ten of its end-users in heavy industry. The component is already remanufacturable and a functioning remanufacturing system for it is already in place, yet the bulk of used component s are scrapped by end-users instead of being sent for remanufacturing. Interviews were conducted with maintenance personnel at ten paper, steel and cement factories. These personnel were asked how they determine when a component is obsolete and how they make decisions about whether to send them for remanufacturing. Responses were analyzed with the help of theories from maintenance management and decision-making. The analysis is presented as a conceptual model of the 'End-user system' of the component , in which complicating factors such as machine irregularities and tough work environments are mitigated by maintenance personnel with component replacement and remanufacturing protocols and where rigidities related to system-level risks and costs make it difficult for personnel to change. This study reveals the systemic nature of component remanufacturing outcomes, and specifically, how maintenance activities of both components and the machines around them influence such outcomes. Moreover, it highlights that while certain replacement protocols lend themselves to remanufacturing, convincing end-users to choose remanufactured products may be more difficult than just making them aware and confident in the remanufacturing offering. Highlights • Investigates why remanufacturable machine components in heavy industry are routinely scrapped. • Maintenance personnel are interviewed about component obsolescence and remanufacturing. • Presents a model of the end-user system from interviews, maintenance and decision-making theories. • Indicates that increasing end-user choice of remanufacturing requires a systemic approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The remaining useful life is key to the decision-making of machinery maintenance. The online prediction of remaining useful life has become a very urgent need for mechanical equipment with high reliability requirements. The aim of this paper is to provide a simple and effective method for predicting the remaining life of the machine under the condition of small sample. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test theory is used to extract the health state feature of the machine. Based on the Long and Short Term Memory (LSTM) theory, an online method of remaining useful life prediction is proposed. The bearing life vibration data verification shows that the Kolmogorov-Smirnov distance is sensitive to the development and expansion of the defects. Furthermore, the proposed method of remaining useful life prediction based on LSTM theory has high prediction accuracy. The technician can then use this method to take appropriate maintenance operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on data of the equivalent stress from the ANSYS for a loaded hollow shaft, the correlation between a mechanical part's elastic modulus and the corresponding Von Mises stress is statistically verified in this paper. Using the Copula correlation theory, a static reliability model involving stress-strength interference is built. According to the performance degradation data of mechanical parts with long-life and high-reliability, deterministic time series models are used to extract the characteristic information of the distribution of degradation variables, and then a method is proposed for estimating the characteristic parameters of degradation strength and integrated stress. Two-stage maximum likelihood estimation is applied to determine the scalar degree of correlation between both, and then a reliability assessment of long-life mechanical parts is completed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new and versatile automatic feeding and orienting system is described and analysed both experimentally and theoretically. The system is particularly suitable for orienting laminar parts and can utilize both the geometry and mass distribution of the part as orienting aids. Unlike the vibratory bowl feeder, where orientation is generally achieved by the rejection of incorrectly oriented parts, in the system described, orientation is achieved principally by the use of re-orienting techniques. Further, the performance of this system is readily predictable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new vector-field-based streamline smoothing method in the parametric space and a tool orientation optimization technique for five-axis machining of complex compound surfaces with torus-end cutters. Iso-planar tool path is widely used in the machining of various types of surfaces, especially for the compound surface with multiple patches, but the operations of intersecting the compound surface with a series of planes have depended considerably on the complicated optimization methods. Instead of intersecting the surface directly with planes, a novel and effective tool path smoothing method is presented, based on the iso-planar feed vector fields, for five-axis milling of a compound surface with torus-end cutters. The iso-planar feed vector field in the parametric domain is first constructed in the form of stream function that is used to generate the candidate streamlines for tool path generation. Then, a G1 blending algorithm is proposed to blend the vector fields within the adjacent parametric domains to ensure smooth transition of cross-border streamlines. Based on the smoothened streamlines in the parametric domains, pathlines along with their correspondent side sizes are selected as desirable tool paths. Concerning a high performance machining, detailed computational techniques to determine the tool axis orientation are also presented to ensure, at each cutter contact (CC) point, the torus-end cutter touches the part surface closely without gouging. Both the computational results and machined examples are demonstrated for verification and validation of the proposed methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In this paper, vibration isolation and control for two types of representative engineering equipment are considered, i.e. sensitive equipment and machinery equipment.Design: Isolation designs for the two equipments are carried out, respectively, for the purpose of chasing an optimal strategy and in which latest swarm intelligence—particle swarm optimization (PSO)—technique is adopted.Methods: In the investigation of single-stage system for sensitive equipment, transmissibility of displacement of equipment and relative displacement between equipment and foundation show that this design cannot obtain a desired isolation effect, but an implementation using multi-objective PSO (MOPSO) technique can overcome this when both the objectives are balanced. Then a two-stage system is investigated, and the transmissibility indicates that the disadvantages can be effectively eliminated, and the obtained gbest solutions using MOPSO can prove this. Based on the two-stage passive isolation, active control is proposed for better vibration attenuation, which is focused on H∞ criterion, and the control outputs are consisted of multi-objective fitness functions, and the latter strategy can seize the control effect of the two objectives well compared with the single-objective PSO-based H∞ control. Following the strategies for the sensitive equipment, similar strategies for machinery equipment are performed promptly. In the single-stage system, transmissibility derivations of transmitted force to the foundation and inertial force of equipment are same with the ones of displacement and relative displacement of single-stage design of sensitive equipment; in addition, chunk foundation is often utilized for machinery equipment, and the vibration of which should be taken into consideration. In view of these, a two-stage system is proposed, and the transmissibility indicates a drift for entering into the desired isolation region is feasible and the MOPSO-based validation is presented. After this, active vibration control is also investigated, and a multi-objective control using H∞ method is also performed using MOPSO, and the validations further confirm the importance and necessity of a multi-objective control.Conclusion: Single-objective and multi-objective vibration controls should be taken into account for sensitive and machinery equipment, by which a balanced and optimized control can be performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the technical state of the device for the alignment of a coal-mining machine after the technical expertise. The rehabilitation to which the control cabinet will be subjected will be carried out by performing the intervention works that will restore the normal operating parameters of both the structural part and the functional part. In the paper are presented: the means of verification of the device and the proposed technical solutions for the repair of the device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To describe the influence of design parameters on energy consumption, a structured information description framework oriented to energy-saving design of machinery equipment is proposed, which is composed of two sub-models: the energy consumption description model, and the design – energy consumption information correlation model. Firstly, the energy consumption composition of running procedures is analysed and the energy balance equations based on the kinetic energy theorem are built. Furthermore, a structured energy consumption description model – energy breakthrough structure (EBS) – is proposed; EBS is composed of some interrelated energy factors, and the energy factors are divided into two types: the energy element (EE) and the energy control unit (EC), where EE is the basic energy consumption description unit, and EC is the upper lower of energy factor, which is determined by the lower-level EE and EC. The relationships among energy factors can be divided into three types: Or, And, Proportional And; the energy relationships could be determined based on working conditions, design proposals or product structures. Additionally, based on the bond graph theory, the extracting method of energy features (such as force, displacement, pressure and flow) is brought forward, and a model related to the design parameters and energy was built. Finally, the feasibility of these models and methods was illustrated by taking the horizontal machining centre feed system as an example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate online health prognostics is considered as a significant part of the condition-based maintenance (CBM), and it contributes to reduce downtime and achieve the most reliable running condition for machinery equipment. In this paper, an online machine health prognostics approach is proposed based on the modified duration-dependent hidden semi-Markov model (MDD-HSMM) and the high-order particle filter (HOPF) method. In the MDD-HSMM, the health state transition probabilities and the observation probabilities are both defined not only as state dependent like traditional HSMM does, but also as duration dependent, which is more realistic to describe the state space model to model the mechanical failure propagation process. And a new forward-backward algorithm is developed to facilitate the training process and to reduce computational complexity of the proposed MDD-HSMM. Then, the HOPF method with an online update scheme is applied to recognize the health states and predict the residual useful lifetime (RUL) value of machine in real time, which is based on the health state space model established by the MDD-HSMM and the online sensing monitoring data. And, a sliding window with variable length, which represents the relationship between current state and several previous states, is applied to adjust the order of HOPF. Finally, a real case study is used to illustrate the prognostics performance of the proposed approach and the experiment results indicate that the proposed approach has higher effectiveness than conventional HSMM methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effects that the increase in the importation of machinery parts and components and the changes in the supplier composition had in the trade of final products and parts and components inside Latin America. In our analysis, we consider these effects according to two dimensions: a quantity one that captures whether there was an intensification of trade and a quality one that captures changes in the sophistication of the traded goods. The research employs disaggregated trade data obtained from UN Comtrade for 17 Latin American countries between 1996 and 2011. We find evidence that an increase in the importation of parts and components from Latin America had positive impacts on both the quantity and quality dimensions. Subregional heterogeneities revealed that, in general, imports from East Asia had positive effects on the quantity dimension, nurturing the expansion of machinery production networks inside Latin America, and on the quality dimension, increasing the sophistication of the products traded inside Latin America, especially for Mercosur member exports. Imports from North America had positive quantity effects, especially for exports of countries from the Andean Community, Central America, Chile, and Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Przegląd Elektrotechniczny is the property of Przeglad Elektrotechniczny and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Amongst different methods of cooling in machining, application of air is considered to be the cleanest and most environmentally friendly one. The aim of this paper was to explore the possibility of chilled air-cooling considering the corrosion resistance when turning martensitic stainless steel X20Cr13. Thus, a comparison between an alternative cooling technique where compressed air is refrigerated and jetted to the cutting zone by means of Ranque-Hilsch counter- flow vortex tube and the conventional flood cooling with oil-in-water emulsion was done. The corrosion resistance was determined by electrochemical testing and the surface condition was analysed with both Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). From the results presented herein, it can be concluded that the specimen cooled with chilled air has better resistance to corrosion activity after a certain longer time in relation to the specimen cooled with emulsion. In addition, the specimen cooled with chilled air has lower surface roughness, which has a positive effect on the corrosion resistance. Hence, in the scope of environmentally friendly machining the vortex tube based chilled air-cooling can be successfully applied when turning difficult-to-cut martensitic stainless steel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cold bulk forming is a technology that is commonly used in many industrial enterprises. Even though nowadays high demands are posed on labour productivity, quality and own production costs, the findings from practice suggest that not sufficient attention is paid to the issue of tool management. Also, theoretical backgrounds and knowledge in this area are not processed in a sufficiently detailed and comprehensive way. This paper deals with the issue of prediction of the wear surface of the forming tools and their subsequent renewal. The research at selected materials was focused on the course of their straining in contact of the blank with the tool in the process of cold bulk forming. The experiments were based on a simple performance of the conventional upsetting test. On the basis of analysis of the results the mechanism of tool wear by abrasion was determined and its impact on the service life time of the tool and also the possibility of influencing the quality of final parts were evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the interdependence between the operational planning level of development and the effectiveness of the production process. The operational planning level of development has been measured by the scale of six intensity levels (1–6) to evaluate each of the eight targeted tasks (planning raw and materials, work planning, planning tools and equipment, capacity planning, termination of production, scheduling by work centres, drafting and launching of work documentation and various records terms and performance), while the effectiveness of the production process has been measured by the following indicators: productivity, stock turnover rate, capacity utilisation rate, delivery time and fallout ratio. The results have shown that enterprises with higher operational planning level of development present better effectiveness of the production process in comparison to enterprises with less operational planning level of development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Traditional vibration isolation design often aims to suppress vibrations from machinery equipment, while vibrations in the foundation are usually ignored. In this paper, the "machinery equipment - single-stage (double-stage) isolators - thin plate foundation" is considered as a composite vibration isolation system, with equipment deployed at four positions on the plate. The forces transmitted from the equipment to the foundation were derived using a mechanical four-pole connection principle, and the displacement admittance of the junctions between the equipment and the plate was used as the key intermediate variable. Multi-objective optimization for the proposed system was subsequently performed, using fitness functions to reduce the maximum power flow transmitted to the plate and ensure a uniform vibration of the machinery equipment. A multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm was used as the optimization tool which offers the advantages of fewer parameter settings, fast convergence, a strong optimization capability, and possession of a unique, global and optimal solution (gbest solution) based on Pareto dominance. The power flow that induced plate vibrations from the machinery isolation system was introduced in this study, which was used to consider the transmitted force and velocity on the plate simultaneously. An advanced theory of clamped plate vibration aptly supported this strategy, and inspiration was also provided by an innovative optimization strategy based on artificial intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the methods of program control for forming of the quality parameters and operational properties of surfaces of machine components by the set law both using universal metal cutting machines and NC machine-tools are considered. The working principle of the programming system of surface plastic deformation having an elastic effect with the use of universal lathes is presented. Using the example of a technological system, featuring the preliminary cutting and finishing surface plastic deformation processing, a method of controlling quality parameters and operational properties of surfaces of machine components taking into account technological heredity is considered. Several dependencies received on the basis of physical-statistical models are shown which give an opportunity to envisage the results of controlling the machining processes or to determine the required machining regimes. The results of controlling the parameters of roughness of a flat surface following the trapezoidal law of changing the load during the diamond burnishing of the processed part are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors offer a kinetic model of machine components degradation failure development process by the material strength energy criterion at the stage of research and development. On the basis of this model, they developed an algorithm and a program, which will make it possible to estimate the design service life of the load element in various conditions of external loading. Theoretical results of the research work were verified and their practical application under production conditions was described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following paper discusses the benefits arising from introduction of productivity fluid management (PFM) and their impact on the performance of machinery and equipment. It discusses the benefits and impacts of introduction of oil maintenance for machines and their components and it also addresses the economic and the technical objective of PFM introduction. Based on real examples from practice it highlights the benefits of a PFM introduction into service in company and what is the cost savings after the introduction, due to maintenance, unplanned downtime reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper deals with the operations and equipment of the machine in the process of organizing production. During operation machines require maintenance and repairs, while in case of failure or machine wears it is necessary to replace them with new ones. For the process of replacement of old machines with new ones the term renewal is used. Qualitative aspects of the renewal process observe renewal theory, which is mainly based on the theory of probability and mathematical statistics. Devices lifetimes are closely related to the renewal of the devices. Presented article is focused on mathematical deduction of mathematical renewal models and determining optimal lifetime of the devices from the aspect of expenditures on renewal process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a method to determine the optimal number of operators to be assigned to a given number of machines, as well as the number of machines that will be run by each operator (a numerical partition). This determination should be made with the objective of minimizing production costs or maximizing profits. Design/methodology/approach – The method calculates the machines interference rate via the binomial distribution function. The optimal assignment is calculated by transformation of a partition problem into a problem of finding the shortest path on a directed acyclic graph. Findings – The method enables the authors to calculate the adjusted cycle time, the workload of the operators, and the utility of the machines, as well as the production yield, the total cost per unit, and the hourly profit for each potential assignment of operators to machines. In a case study, the deviation of the output per hour of the proposed method from the actual value was about 2 percent. Practical implications – The paper provides formulas and tables that give machine interference rates through the application of binomial distribution. The practicability of the proposed method is demonstrated by a real-life case study. Originality/value – The method can be applied in a wide variety of manufacturing systems that use many identical machines. This includes tire presses in tire manufacturing operations, ovens in pastry manufacturing systems, textile machines, and so on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In mechanical bearings, external loads are transferred from one raceway to another through the rolling elements. The load distribution on the rolling elements is uneven, and it depends on several intrinsic properties of the bearing’s geometry and load’s amplitude. It is mandatory to fully understand the load’s distribution in order to determine each load that is transferred through the rolling elements. Former assessment allows calculating the external loading applied to the bearing. In this paper an experimental device is developed by the means of capacitive probes. It accurately measures the displacements of the raceway as the rolling elements pass by. The relation between the displacements and the loads is proportional as we remain within the linear range of the material. The efforts can therefore be easily determined. Numerical simulations as well as prototype experiments confirm the relevance of the device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the trade of machinery parts and components between Thailand and the other Mekong countries though gravity model, for the purpose of assessing the existing production networks in Mekong region by applying fragmentation theory. The findings are: First, the evolution of production networks between Thailand and Vietnam was identified in terms of their two-way trade integration. Second, the trade intensity between Thailand and Vietnam was explained by the fragmentation factors, i.e., their gaps in per capita GDP and the relatively lower service-link costs in Vietnam. Third, the trade less-integration of Thailand with Cambodia and Myanmar was explained by their higher service-link costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with machine tool errors and its simulation on proposed experimental device which is currently being developed at Department of Automation and Production Systems, faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Zilina. Device is developed as teaching aid for training of machine tool precision measurement as part of technical diagnostics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some inverter-fed motors, particularly at higher power ratings, are supplied with a shaft brush in order to help mitigate bearing currents. As more inverters are applied to motors in Class I Division 1/Zone 1 and Class I Division 2/Zone 2 locations, there is a need to understand whether a shaft brush can be safely applied in such an environment. This paper addresses the physics of why this is a concern and a methodology to evaluate the relative safety of two example cases. These issues are considered from the perspective of users, manufacturers of inverters and motors, and certifying bodies. The question posed in the title of this paper is answered by considering whether the addition of a shaft brush to an inverter-fed motor in a Class I hazardous location makes the system more safe or less safe. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

SUMMARY In recent years, the reduction of total cost of ownership (TCO) from system architecture to start-up, operation and maintenance has risen rapidly with the demand for factory automation (FA). But due to the complexity and combination of functions of machines and devices, and to progress in meeting high-speed and high-accuracy demands, networking of controllers and amplifiers has come into use. However, conventional servo networks have had various problems in TCO reduction. The servo network proposed in this paper can obtain position and speed information from counterpart amplifiers in the synchronous control by communication between amplifiers, which is conventionally unattainable. Compared with the conventional system, high-speed, high-accuracy operation can be realized with the new synchronous compensation control utilizing data transferred between amplifiers, and improvements in operating productivity were verified with an actual machine. Conventional systems used multiple electrical signals, but the new network realizes optical communication over only a single pair of optical cables using optically isolated circuit technology, and it has also proved effective for increasing productivity in the setup and maintenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using firm-level data across developing countries, this paper estimates the effect of credit constraints on machinery and equipment imports (i.e. capital imports). We infer credit constraints from survey questions on the availability and cost of finance instead of relying on firms’ financial situation. After accounting for the potential endogeneity of self-reported credit constraints, the analysis suggests that the probability to import capital goods reduces to almost zero for credit constrained firms. This finding holds after controlling for other relevant firm characteristics and across various specifications and models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

this paper presents a synthesis of the theoretical and experimental research of the authors concerning the use of EDM in order to produce complex surfaces with revolution profiles. This research refers to the performances of the manufacturing by means of the working and productivity characteristics, dimensional accuracy, quality of the worked surfaces and the electrode wear characteristics. The experimental research has been carried out in the Nonconventional Technologies Laboratory (University of Oradea) with an ELER-01-GEP-50F ED machine, using a specially designed device to rotate the tool-electrode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]