How to rethink innovation and revitalize America's declining manufacturing sector by encouraging advanced manufacturing, bringing innovative technologies into the production process. The United States lost almost one-third of its manufacturing jobs between 2000 and 2010. As higher-paying manufacturing jobs are replaced by lower-paying service jobs, income inequality has been approaching third world levels. In particular, between 1990 and 2013, the median income of men without high school diplomas fell by an astonishing 20% between 1990 and 2013, and that of men with high school diplomas or some college fell by a painful 13%. Innovation has been left largely to software and IT startups, and increasingly U.S. firms operate on a system of “innovate here/produce there,” leaving the manufacturing sector behind. In this book, William Bonvillian and Peter Singer explore how to rethink innovation and revitalize America's declining manufacturing sector. They argue that advanced manufacturing, which employs such innovative technologies as 3-D printing, advanced material, photonics, and robotics in the production process, is the key. Bonvillian and Singer discuss transformative new production paradigms that could drive up efficiency and drive down costs, describe the new processes and business models that must accompany them, and explore alternative funding methods for startups that must manufacture. They examine the varied attitudes of mainstream economics toward manufacturing, the post-Great Recession policy focus on advanced manufacturing, and lessons from the new advanced manufacturing institutes. They consider the problem of “startup scaleup,” possible new models for training workers, and the role of manufacturing in addressing “secular stagnation” in innovation, growth, the middle classes, productivity rates, and related investment. As recent political turmoil shows, the stakes could not be higher.

Introduction to Advanced Manufacturing was written by two experienced and passionate engineers whose mission is to make the subject of advanced manufacturing easy to understand and a practical solution to everyday problems. Harik, Ph.D. and Wuest, Ph.D., professors who have taught the subject for decades, combined their expertise to develop both an applied manual and a theoretical reference that addresses many different needs. Introduction to Advanced Manufacturing covers the following topics in detail: • Composites Manufacturing • Smart Manufacturing • Additive Manufacturing • Computer Aided Manufacturing • Polymers Manufacturing • Assembly Processes • Manufacturing Quality Control and Productivity • Subtractive Manufacturing • Deformative Manufacturing Introduction to Advanced Manufacturing offers a new, refreshing way of studying how things are made in the digital age. With academics and industry professionals in mind, Introduction to Advanced Manufacturing paves the ground for those interested in the new opportunities of Industry 4.0.

This book presents a framework and specific methods and tools for the selection and configuration of the capacity of Advanced Manufacturing Systems (AMS). AMS include Flexible Manufacturing Systems, Dedicated Manufacturing Systems, and Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems. Starting from the characteristic of the competitive environment, the directions given by the company strategy, data regarding the products, and information regarding the different system architectures, the decision support system described here aids the decision maker by means of a formalized methodology that follows the various steps required to define the type and timing of 'capacity' acquisition and to define the detailed configuration of AMS along its life cycle. The decision making framework and tools illustrated in this volume combine decision-making theory, optimization theory, discrete event simulation and queuing networks. It will be of interest to graduate students and researchers involved in manufacturing engineering, industrial engineering and operations research.

The 1980s have witnessed a tremendous growth in the field of computer integrated manufacturing systems. The other major areas of development have been computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing, industrial robotics, automated assembly, cellular and modular material handling, computer networking and office automation to name just a few. These new technologies are generally capital intensive and do not conform to traditional cost structures. The net result is a tremendous change in the way costs should be estimated and economic analyses performed. The majority of existing engineering economy texts still profess application of traditional analysis methods. But, as was men tioned above, it is clear that the basic trend in manufacturing industries is itself changing. So it is quite obvious that the practice of traditional economic analysis methods should change too. This book is an attempt to address the various issues associated with non-traditional methods for evaluation of advanced computer-integrated technologies. This volume consists of twenty refereed articles which are grouped into five parts. Part one, Economic Justification Methods, consists of six articles. In the first paper, Soni et at. present a new classification for economic justification methods for advanced automated manufacturing systems. In the second, Henghold and LeClair look at strengths and weaknesses of expert systems in general and more specifically, an ap plication aimed at investment justification in advanced technology. The third paper, by Carrasco and Lee, proposes an enhanced economic methodology to improve the needs analysis, conceptual design and de tailed design activities associated with technology modernization.

“Changeable and Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems” discusses key strategies for success in the changing manufacturing environment. Changes can often be anticipated but some go beyond the design range, requiring innovative change enablers and adaptation mechanisms. The book presents the new concept of Changeability as an umbrella framework that encompasses paradigms such as agility, adaptability, flexibility and reconfigurability. It provides the definitions and classification of key terms in this new field, and emphasizes the required physical/hard and logical/soft change enablers. The book presents cutting edge technologies and the latest research, as well as future directions to help manufacturers stay competitive. It contains original contributions and results from senior international experts, together with industrial applications. The book serves as a comprehensive reference for professional engineers, managers, and academics in manufacturing, industrial and mechanical engineering.

This book includes recent theoretical and practical advancements in green composite materials and advanced manufacturing technology. It provides important original and theoretical experimental results which use nonroutine technologies often unfamiliar to some readers and covers novel applications of more familiar experimental techniques and analyses of composite problems. Green Materials and Advanced Manufacturing Technology: Concepts and Applications provides insight and a better understanding into the development of green composite materials and advanced manufacturing technology used in various manufacturing sectors. It highlights recent trends in the fields of green composites, metal matrix composites, ceramic matrix composites, surface modification using laser cladding, types of dust collectors in waste management and recycling in industries, machinability studies of metals and composites using surface grinding, drilling, electrical discharge machining, joining of metals using friction stir welding, shielded metal arc welding, and linear friction welding. This book is written for engineering students, postgraduate students, research scholars, faculty members, and industry professionals who are engaged in green composite materials and development of advanced manufacturing technology.

This book disseminates recent research, theories, and practices relevant to the areas of surface engineering and the processing of materials for functional applications in the aerospace, automobile, and biomedical industries. The book focuses on the hidden technologies and advanced manufacturing methods that may not be standardized by research institutions but are greatly beneficial to material and manufacturing industrial engineers in many ways. It details projects, research activities, and innovations in a global platform to strengthen the knowledge of the concerned community. The book covers surface engineering including coating, deposition, cladding, nanotechnology, surface finishing, precision machining, processing, and emerging advanced manufacturing technologies to enhance the performance of materials in terms of corrosion, wear, and fatigue. The book captures the emerging areas of materials science and advanced manufacturing engineering and presents recent trends in research for researchers, field engineers, and academic professionals.