Manufacturing 4 U

Technology: Google's unmanned car!

2011-05-25T10:14:00.005-05:00

Hi everybody!!!

I hope that you are all doing great and having an amazing day. Today I wanted to share with you Google's newest adventure and breakthrough: unmanned cars!

Ok, although this might sound a bit futuristic, Admit it!!! It's amazing!!!

So Google is now your search engine, your web browser, your cellphone, your TV, soon they will also be on your Laptop and now they are trying to be in your car??? Will you marry with Google?

I think that's the only place Google won't be!

I found an article that said that Google lobbied quietly in the state of Nevada in favor of a legislation to be the first state where cars could be operated legally on public roads without someone at the wheel.

But the big question is this:

Does Google plan to extend their digital expertise within the automotive industry as a supplier, a partner or a manufacturer of digital equipment?

With unmanned car research, Google is exploring an area that has plagued automotive engineers for years. Even a driving enthusiast, as the vice president of General Motors, Bob Lutz, agreed that autonomous cars are the future.

Benefits:

Reduce congestion on roads
Reduce the number of accidents
Maximize fuel efficiency
Leave the crew to perform other tasks.

But while they focus on Android operating system, it seems like they are seeking to conquer new worlds. With 15 million new cars sold each year in the United States and 60 million worldwide, the potential market for unmanned vehicles is enormous.

As Google explains, cars use automated video cameras, radar sensors and laser seekers to 'see' the traffic and detailed maps to navigate the road. The advantage of Google comes from its information centers, which can process vast amounts of information gathered by their cars at the time of mapping their land. Pretty cool isn't it?

Their automated cars have traveled from Mountain View in Northern California, to Santa Monica and from Hollywood Boulevard to Southern California, they have crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, and have also crossed the Pacific Coast Highway and have surrounded the Lake Tahoe. In total, its fleet of seven cars without driver has covered 225.300 miles without an accident.

What is the future of Google in the automotive industry?

As the exclusive provider of proprietary software, the automated management system from Google has the potential to become the operational standard for all cars in the world.

Google has the ability, ambition and resources. With 36.000 million in the bank, and more money every day, it is hard to imagine a better investment, both for Google and the future of personal transportation.

So tell me my friends:

When do you think unmanned cars will be on the roads?

Leave your comments below!

Thanks again for following!!

And remember: Everyday is a great day to improve!!

Lean Manufacturing 101: Value Stream Mapping

2011-05-17T10:03:00.001-05:00

Hi everybody!

Today I wanted to talk about the foundation of Lean Manufacturing and where to start your Lean implementation.

First things first, what is Lean?

Lean manufacturing's philosofy is to identify, reduce and eliminate waste in the process in order to generate value. Many people start their Lean Manufacturing training by explaining what waste is and the different kinds of waste a process may have. However, I think it is more important to first explain and understand what value is and how can We determine how much value are We adding throughout the process.

Value:

In my personal oppinion value could be defined by the following statements

"Everything the customer is willing to pay for"
"Fulfilling customer requirements."

So whenever you want to start your Lean implementation before you start with Kaizen and many other Lean Tools to start making your business more productive first you have to determine your value chain and how your current operations are adding value to your products or services.

The best tool you can use to determine your value chain is Value Stream Mapping, a Lean Manufacturing technique used to analyze and design the flow of materials and information required to bring a product or service to a consumer. At Toyota, where the technique originated, it is known as "material and information flow mapping".

A simple process of what VSM is looks like this:

Value Stream Mapping example.

This is a brief introduction of what Value Stream Mapping is, for more information and detail please post any doubts or questions you might have.

So tell me my friends:

What does value means to you?

Leave your comments below!

Thanks again for following!!

And remember: Everyday is a great day to improve!!

Gadget - Nokia's Morph (Concept)

2011-05-12T08:56:00.000-05:00

Hi everybody!!

Today I wanted to share with you one of the coolest gadgets (concept) I've ever seen!! Before sharing my point of view, please watch the following video:

Morph concept technologies might create fantastic opportunities for mobile devices:

Newly-enabled flexible and transparent materials blend more seamlessly with the way we live
Devices become self-cleaning and self-preserving
Transparent electronics offering an entirely new aesthetic dimension
Built-in solar absorption might charge a device, whilst batteries become smaller, longer lasting and faster to charge
Integrated sensors might allow us to learn more about the environment around us, empowering us to make better choices

In addition to the advances above, the integrated electronics shown in the Morph concept could cost less and include more functionality in a much smaller space, even as interfaces are simplified and usability is enhanced. All of these new capabilities will unleash new applications and services that will allow us to communicate and interact in unprecedented ways.

source: http://research.nokia.com/morph

You:

Dude, I am still wondering if this is a manufacturing blog? How will I use this technology to solve my problems or make my processes better?

MFG4U:

Well, although it might seem a little bit futuristic, the applications we can give to this type of technology inside a manufacturing environment are endless: From having a fully automated HMI (Human-Machine Interface) that can give feedback about the quality of the process and that will also be durable and keep itself clean, to having inteligent devices that can tell us of any risk of gas inhalation or any environment condition that might produce damages or injuries to our co-workers.

One of the greatest things of the Morph concept is the "Nano-grass" that helps it to recharge without having to use a battery charger. Can you imagine applying these to a car? As I said, applications are endless!

So tell me :

How would you use Nokia's Morph in a Manufacturing environment?

Thanks again for following, please leave your comments below!

And remember: Everyday is a great day to improve!!

Energy: Automated Process start-up (Energy usage optimization)

2011-05-05T10:52:00.001-05:00

Hi everybody!!

Today I wanted to talk about an idea I had while I was working for an automotive parts manufacturing company in the United States. They had tons of automation everywhere (conveyors, fixtures, robots, transfers, etc...) to assemble parts for our clients and normally they had to work two shifts a day in most of the processes and because of the amount of automation that they had, it was better to always have all the equipment on and consuming energy in standby mode.

They told me that they had to do this because of the ammount of energy that was consumed when you turn on all of the processes, therefore it was better to keep them on all the time.

Although this is logical due to the current and voltage peak that will be generated when we turn on the equipment, however I knew that there could be a different solution to this situation that could result in a lower energy consumption.

What would happen if instead of turning on all of the processes at the same time and having that ammount of energy peak instead we progresively turn on one by one all of the equipment with an automated equipment (PLC with a customized control relay array).

A simple comparative of how the energy consumption rate will behave:

This is just an idea of how we can apply automation to reduce our cost and also help the environment.

So tell me:

How many of you could apply this type of controls and how much would this reduce your energy consumption rate?

Thanks again for following, please leave your comments below!

And remember: Everyday is a great day to improve.

Materials: OLED - Organic Light-Emiting Diode

2011-05-03T16:13:00.000-05:00

Hi everybody!

Today I'll be talking about one of the coolest things I've seen so far. This new technology has many applications and most of the mobile devices in the future will use this systems.

What is OLED?

OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode. The "organic" in OLED refers to organic material. Carbon is the basis of all organic matter. The "LED" stands for "Light Emitting Diode" and describes the process of converting electric energy into light. There are two types of OLEDs small molecule OLED and polymer OLED. Sony uses the small molecule type because it has a longer lifespan.

Is a flat light emitting technology, made by placing a series of organic thin films between two conductors. When electrical current is applied, a bright light is emitted. OLEDs can be used to make displays and lighting. Because OLEDs emit light they do not require a backlight and so are thinner and more efficient than LCD displays(which do require a white backlight).

This also allows OLED to have flexibility and this makes them perfect for any type of application. Your imagination is the limit, clothes, cars, mobile devices, anything!

Oled-Display.net & Oled-info.com are both great sources for OLED info, you should check them out, I have been following them for about a year now and they always have good content and news about this technology.

YOU:

But wait a second... Isn't this blog called Manufacturing 4 U ??? Shouldn't it be about manufacturing? Why are you talking about this ?? This has nothing to do with manufacturing...

MFG4U:

Not yet! However, can you imagine the possibilities? The first thing that comes to my mind is to have a HMI (Human-Machine Interface) that allows workers to interact with the process anywhere over any surface. Maybe some gages that allow you to place the OLED device over the part that you are about to assembly and after that, you select where you want to apply the welding or cutting on the part and the device will automatically send this data to the robot and the robot will automatically adjust its path. This would work fabulously in custom manufacturing systems or detail processes.

As I said, your imagination is the limit!!!

So tell me: How would you apply OLED in a manufacturing environment?

Thanks for following please leave your comments below!

And remember: Everyday is a great day to improve!

For more detailed info please visit:
http://www.oled-display.net/how-works-the-oled-technology
http://www.oled-info.com/introduction

Process: CMT - Cold Metal Transfer Technology

2011-05-02T10:19:00.002-05:00

Hi everybody!!!

Today I wanted to talk about a new welding process I had the opportunity to see when I was working for an automotive parts company. Although there are many ways and processes on the GMAW family, most of them are based on the short-circuting system that allows the wire electrode to join two materials with a flow of voltage and current.

The process is called "Cold Metal Transfer" and it is basically a new approach to the GMAW current process mainly because instead of having the wire cut pulse to allow the continuous flow of the wire electrode, it mechanically pulls back and forward the wire electrode. Developed by Fronius, CMT has a lot of advantages that will keep your assembly process competitive.

CMT Advantages:

Low Heat Input:

CMT welding allows a dramatical decrease on heat input -- as much as 20-30% less.

Weld Appearance: CMT provides cosmetic welds with no spatter or distortion. The weld seam is neatly produced because of the quickly retracting weld wire that leaves behind just one droplet at a time. When welding thin or dissimilar materials (especially aluminum and steel) CMT is one of the best ways to produce attractive welds.  
Increased Speed: CMT is an extremely high-speed welding process -- faster than traditional MIG welding or even TIG. CMT welding speed results in dramatically reduced cycle times.  
No Post-Weld Machining: Compared to traditional arc welding, the Fronius-developed CMT method does not require corrective machining and clean up after a weld has been made. This contributes to a much faster cycle time. In addition, reworking often creates dust that contributes to problems for products and workers.
Simplified Fixturing: Because of the threat of distortion, more planning and more elaborate fixturing is required when configuring a MIG process. CMT, on the other hand, doesn't pose the same threat to the materials, so fewer fixtures are necessary. 
Savings: Robotic CMT welding systems allow companies to cut back on manual labor and streamline production. With faster cycle times, increases in quality, and no rework, CMT offers many ways to save.

For more detailed information please visit:

http://www.fronius.com/cps/rde/xchg/fronius_international/hs.xsl/79_9399_ENG_HTML.htm

Thanks for following please post your comments below.

And remember: Everyday is a great day to improve!

Welcome!!! Willkommen!! Bienvenidos!! Benvenuti!! Etc...

2011-04-29T11:40:00.000-05:00

Hi Everybody!!

I welcome you to Manufacturing 4 U! This new blog is aimed for manufacturing professionals and students looking for new and innovative ways to solve problems, improve quality and increase productivity!

I will do my best to bring to you useful information in subjects such as:

Materials: New materials, applications, trends, etc...
Technology: Evolution of current technologies and how they could be applied to different systems.
Gadgets: Tools and devices that are just amazing and useful
Processes: New ways on doing things, innovative solutions for current manufacturing.
Energy: New methods for delivering energy to your systems and improving the enviroment.

I will post once a week a special I'd like to call:
A remanufactured world, change is up to You.

Feel free to contact me through my twitter account @mfg4Ublog.

Thank you very much for following, and I am looking forward for your comments and oppinion.

And remember: Everyday is a great day to improve!