The smart factories that are already beginning to appear employ a completely new approach to product creation. Smart products are uniquely identifiable, know their current status and alternative routes to achieving their target state. The embedded manufacturing systems are vertically networked with business processes and horizontally connected to disperse value networks that can be managed in real

Being able to predict temperature rise inside a machine is as important as predicting its performance and life. Because temperature measurements and computational thermal simulations can be time consuming, thermal paths inside the through-flow universal motor were described by means of simple lumped parameter thermal network. Once the model was built, its unknown convection coefficients were tuned

The results of a numerical simulation of meshing polymer and composite gears are presented in the paper. The numerical model used for simulations was built in Ansys Workbench 15.0, using the finite element method to obtain the solution. The results are related to the gear tests, performed by the authors and presented in the literature. A detailed stress and strain analysis of meshing gears is pres

This paper numerically investigates the flow around a moving vehicle sheltered by a wind barrier. Flow control strategy aimed at reducing the aerodynamic loads on the road vehicles requires a detailed knowledge of the reference flow. Exploratory study is conducted in under-standing the flow physics involved in the wind barrier vehicle protection. Transient nature of the crosswind gust is represent

The paper presents an application of concurrent process planning and scheduling into the manufacturing company of turned parts. The first topic is strategic resource optimisation in the phase of new products process plan development. The second topic is how to handle consequences of unplanned events like urgent order from an important customer or a machine brake down. In order to optimise the effi

Supply chain management and early involvement of suppliers into product development process is one of the key elements of concurrent engineering. Internet based Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system can improve communication between customers and suppliers. In the case study is presented a communication model and configuration of the PLM system that supports a second tier system supplier in au

Technical innovations in the area of manufacturing logistics are being introduced partially and thus not exploiting their full potential. In order to optimise the efficiency of turning manufacturing processes, the process has been analysed and fundamentally re-engineered. All data from production (operations, quantities, date, time duration of operations, etc.) are now located in ERPsystem. It pro

After detecting the customer needs it is possible to define functional requirements and set the design goal. The latter is represented by a target defined specification list of requirements. Such defined functions can serve as a basis for the concept, created by means of the morphological matrix. The optimum solution is selected after a rough assessment of results from the technical and economic p

The presented work describes a computational method for carrying out a detailed and thorough examination of the flash temperature rise (i.e. the local’instantaneous’ temperature increase on a contact interface, due to frictional effects) present on the tooth flanks of a polymer gear pair, composed of a combination of POM and PA66 thermoplastics, during a given meshing cycle. The method involves a

The existing models for the conversion and design of polymer gears are only valid for involute gears. This research was focused on S-gears, a specific type of gear profile which has more favorable contact conditions and greater root thickness when compared to involute gears. S-gears design is currently based on tests, experience, and the use of numerical simulations. Due to the lack of a simple ca

Tropical evergreen forests contribute an important part to the interannual variability (IAV) of the global terrestrial gross primary productivity (GPP). Due to its year-round growing-season, high minimum carbon uptake (GPPmin) and dry season greening-up, the key processes driving the GPP variability across seasonal to interannual scale are still in debate. Here, we analyzed the time-series of FLUX

Agricultural ecosystems have faced dramatic changes during past decades, resulting in a dramatic loss of farmland biodiversity. The Corn Bunting Emberiza calandra is considered a suitable indicator for the conservation value of farmland habitats, and has recently suffered strong declines throughout much of its European range. As a basis for targeted conservation measures, we investigated the habit

The tropical carbon balance dominates year-to-year variations in the CO2 exchange with the atmosphere through photosynthesis, respiration and fires. Because of its high correlation with gross primary productivity (GPP), observations of sun-induced fluorescence (SIF) are of great interest. We developed a new remotely sensed SIF product with improved signal-to-noise in the tropics, and use it here t

The potential for replacing the fossil-based Polyoxymethylene (POM) and Polyamide 66 (PA 66) in polymer gear applications with a bio-based Polyamide 6.10 (PA 6.10) was studied and is presented in the article. The use of bio-based plastics is increasing but mostly in undemanding applications like packaging. High-performance plastics are needed in polymer gear transmissions since their operational c

Application of concurrent engineering (CE) to machinery has to consider the type of production (individual, serial), product complexity and level of design. Product development (PD) involves four characteristic levels of design that requires specific activities. The characteristic design levels require definitions of the activities for providing the necessary software and other support for all pha

Currently, it is important to develop strategic frameworks to support the selection of sustainable resource recovery solutions. This study applies a new framework for planning, implementation, and assessment of resource recovery strategies for a full-scale wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in São Paulo megacity. The framework comprises several steps based on case study-specific data and informatio

Purpose: In the context of the general funding scarcity in the nonprofit sector, this paper aims to inquire into the governance challenges facing nonprofit aid organizations in a donor–recipient partner relationship. In particular, the authors focus on the challenges of commercial diversification as the espoused alternative to aid-funding. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative design was depl