Enhancing Manufacturing Process Education via Computer Simulation and Visualization

Abstract

Acharya joined RMU in Spring 2005 after serving 15 years in the Software Industry. With US Airways, Acharya was responsible for creating a conceptual design for a Data Warehouse which would integrate the different data servers the company used. With i2 Technologies he led the work on i2's Data Mining product "Knowledge Discover Framework" and at CEERD (Thailand) he was the product manager of three energy software products (MEDEE-S/ENV, EFOM/ENV and DBA-VOID) which were/are used in Asian and European countries by both governmental and non-governmental organizations. Acharya has a M.Eng. Enhancing Manufacturing Process Education via Computer Simulation and Visualization AbstractIndustrially significant metal manufacturing processes such as melting, casting, rolling, forging, machining, and forming are multi-stage, complex processes that are labor, time, and capital intensive. Mathematical modeling of these processes provides a theoretical framework for understanding the process variables and their effects on productivity and quality. However it is usually difficult to provide the students with hands-on experience of experimentation with process parameters to arrive at optical process design. In order to solve this problem, interdisciplinary student projects were undertaken at author's institution to develop computer simulation tools that would facilitate process visualization, experimentation, exploration, design and optimization.The first system described in this paper is the visualization of metal ingot production schedule in an industrial setting that provides a basis for interactive decisions. A metal ingot casting is simulated by designing the abstract machine models to visualize capacity and loading of the production schedule. The graphical user interface is created to visualize the schedule according to the specific characteristics of the machines. The application of computer tools may also be extended to support other important functionalities such as tracking availability of raw materials, projection of inventory due to production overage, as well as critical business analysis. The students thus are exposed to the comprehensive process analysis. Another example of process simulation presented in this paper is the design and analysis of flexible rolling technology in industrial processing of C -Mn and Low C -microalloyed steels. Process simulation tools designed by the students allow new process sequences to be generated by breaking down existing process routes in to key elements and then by recombining them to generate novel alternative and more efficient hot processing sequences. This enables the identification of an optimal process sequence for specified steel compositions that also satisfies simultaneous design criteria such as process feasibility and property maximization.It is proposed that incorporation of such computer simulation tools in the pedagogy would be highly effective to enhancing and enriching undergraduate manufacturing education.