Just in case

Just-in-case manufacturing (JIC) is a term sometimes applied to traditional manufacturing systems used before the influence of modern technologies and newer transportation infrastructures. It is the contrary in many ways to the recently evolved Just In Time manufacturing system.
Operation.
In JIC, manufacturers need to maintain large inventories of supplies, parts, warehousing resources, and extra workers to meet production contingencies. These contingencies, more common in less industrialized countries, can be poor transportation infrastructure, poor quality control, vulnerability to other suppliers' production problems, and natural disasters. These supply-chain instabilities could lead to costly production inefficiencies therefore a manufacturer may maintain and pay for excess inventory and backups of "fragile" production stages which could get out of sync, cause production shutdowns, or create supply-chain delays for other manufacturers. In JIC, manufacturers reorder stock before it reaches the buffer level or minimum level to allow themselves to have inventories to be sold while the suppliers are supplying the goods. This time range from the time the firm reorders the stock to the time the supplier provides the new stock is known as lead time. Thus a JIC inventory system tries to keep a minimum level of inventories just in case of emergencies, hence the name "Just In Case".
One major reason for practicing a more costly JIC system are the potential losses paid (i.e. permanent loss of major customers, loss of suppliers, supply-chain collapse) if supply-chain shocks occur on several occasions. If the JIT response contingencies are too slow or fail to keep production flowing additional costs may be incurred. Under these circumstances the additional costs due to maintaining extra storage, resources, and system resiliency may potentially be more cost effective than using a more efficient JIT system. A JIC examples of buyers would be the military or hospitals who need to maintain large inventories because waiting for JIT producers to ramp up production for needed supplies may result in losses (i.e. wars, lives).


Design for logistics

Design for logistics is a series of concepts in the field of supply chain management involving product and design approaches that help to control logistics costs and increase customer service level. These concepts were introduced by Professor Hau Lee of Stanford University, and have the three key components: Economic packaging and transportation, Concurrent and parallel processing, and Standardization.
Economic packaging and transportation.
There are three levels, moving from operational, to tactical and finally strategic.
Concurrent and parallel processing.
Modify the manufacturing process so that steps that were previously performed in a sequence can be completed at the same time. This will help reduce manufacturing lead time, lower inventory costs through improved forecasting, and reduce safety stock requirements, among other benefits.
Standardization.
The idea of standardization is to exploit economies of scale, and doing things once that can be applied many times. Standardization can be done through:


Delayed differentiation

Delayed differentiation or Postponement is a concept in supply chain management where the manufacturing process starts by making a generic or family product that is later differentiated into a specific end-product. This is a widely used method, especially in industries with high demand uncertainty, and can be effectively used to address the final demand even if forecasts cannot be improved.
An example would be Benetton and their knitted sweaters that are initially all white, and then dyed into different colors only when the season/customer color preference/demand is known. It is usually necessary to redesign the product specifically for delayed differentiation, and resequencing to modify the order of production manufacturing steps.
See also.
Typically all paint companies were burdened with the problem of having more than 200 shades, each available in more than 5 container sizes, making more than 1000 Stock keeping Units (SKUs). The cost of keeping so many final products was almost killing the business.
Paint companies changed their process to make white paint and the dyes of three basic colours. The final mixing was done by a machine at the retail end. This minimised the inventory kept by the retailer whilst improving customer service by giving the customer a choice of millions of shades in the exact quantity required.


Magnetorheological finishing

Magnetorheological finishing (MRF) is a precision surface finishing technology. Optical surfaces are polished in a computer-controlled magnetorheological (MR) finishing slurry. Unlike conventional rigid lap polishing, the MR fluid's shape and stiffness can be magnetically manipulated and controlled in real time. The optic's final surface form and finishing results are predicted through the use of computer algorithms.
Literature.
 W.I. Kordonski (2014). "Magnetorheological Fluid-Based High Precision Finishing Technology." Magnetorheology: Advances and Applications, Norman M. Wereley, Ed., RSC Smart Materials, Cambridge, UK, Chapter 11, 261–277.
DOI:10.1039/9781849737548-00261
 S.D. Jacobs, W.I. Kordonski, I.V. Prokhorov, D. Golini, G.R. Gorodkin, T.D. Strafford (2002). "Deterministic Magnetorheological Finishing." US Patent: US5449313A
 Shorey et al. "Experiments and Observations Regarding the Mechanisms of Glass Removal in Magnetorheological Finishing", abstract and full text (pdf)
 Chunlin Miao, et al., "Shear stress in magnetorheological finishing for glasses," Applied Optics 48, 2585-2594 (2009)
 Chunlin Miao, et al., "Process parameter effects on material removal in magnetorheological finishing of borosilicate glass," Applied Optics 49, 1951-1963 (2010)


Crescent Machine Company

Crescent Machine Company was founded in Leetonia, Ohio in 1893. It manufactured a line of industrial woodworking machinery, particularly band saws. In 1940, it was bought by Pittsburgh Equitable Meter and Manufacturing Company, which became the Rockwell Manufacturing Company in 1946.
Third party website: http://wiki.vintagemachinery.org/CrescentHistory.ashx
References


Grupo Industrial Ramirez

Grupo Industrial Ramirez was the first Mexican automotive company and also the first Mexican company to ever produce pickup trucks and vans.
History.
The company was started in 1946 by Gregorio Ramirez Gonzalez, with a small shop to reconstruct dry van trailers. It later grew into a larger corporation with a full list of products in which he invited his brothers to participate.
Trailers de Monterrey.
The flagship of the Corporation was Trailers de Monterrey, which began as a dry van fabricator and grew into making trucks and buses under the Ramírez and Sultana brands.
Industria Automotriz.
In 1957 Industria Automotriz, S.A. was established, manufacturing rims, stampings, assembly and sub assembly.
Berg de Mexico.
In 1964 Berg de Mexico, S.A was established to produce air brakes for heavy vehicles. In 1982 it was renamed to Industrias Vortec, S.A.
Holding company.
By 1978 Grupo Industrial Ramirez was established as a holding company, controlling all of the group's interests.


Flatness (manufacturing)

In manufacturing and mechanical engineering, flatness is an important geometric condition for workpieces and tools. Flatness is the condition of a surface or derived median plane having all elements in one plane.
In the manufacture of precision parts and assemblies, especially where parts will be required to be connected across a surface area in an air-tight or liquid-tight manner, flatness is a critical quality of the manufactured surfaces. Such surfaces are usually machined or ground to achieve the required degree of flatness. High-definition metrology, such as digital holographic interferometry, of such a surface to confirm and ensure that the required degree of flatness has been achieved is a key step in such manufacturing processes. Flatness may be defined in terms of least squares fit to a plane ("statistical flatness") or worst-case (the distance between the two closest parallel planes within). It can be specified for a given area and/or over an entire surface.
Two parts that are flat to about 1 helium light band (HLB) can be "wrung" together, which means they will cling to each other when placed in contact. This phenomenon is commonly used with gauge blocks.
Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing has provided geometrically defined, quantitative ways of defining flatness operationally.
History.
Joseph Whitworth popularized the first practical method of making accurate flat surfaces during the 1830s, using engineer's blue and scraping techniques on three trial surfaces, in what is known as Whitworth's three plates method. By testing all three in pairs against each other, it is ensured that the surfaces become flat. Using two surfaces would result in a concave surface and a convex surface. Eventually a point is reached when many points of contact are visible within each square inch, at which time the three surfaces are uniformly flat to a very close tolerance.
Up until his introduction of the scraping technique, the same three plate method was employed using polishing techniques, giving less accurate results. This led to an explosion of development of precision instruments using these flat surface generation techniques as a basis for further construction of precise shapes.


Boron nitride aerogel

Boron nitride aerogel is an aerogel made of highly porous boron nitride (BN). It typically consists of a mixture of deformed boron nitride nanotubes and nanosheets. It can have a density as low as 0.6 mg/cm3 and a specific surface area as high as 1050 m2/g, and therefore has potential applications as an absorbent, catalyst support and gas storage medium. BN aerogels are highly hydrophobic and can absorb up to 160 times their mass in oil. They are resistant to oxidation in air at temperatures up to 1200 °C, and hence can be reused after the absorbed oil is burned out by flame. BN aerogels can be prepared by template-assisted chemical vapor deposition at a temperature ~900 °C using borazine as the feed gas. Alternatively it can be produced by ball milling h-BN powder, ultrasonically dispersing it in water, and freeze-drying the dispersion.


Ping test (engineering)

A ping test is a physical test to determine the natural frequency of an object or assembly. The test consists of instrumenting the object or assembly with measuring devices and then tapping it with another metallic object (usually a hammer.) The undamped system will then vibrate at its natural frequency. The ping test is used on assemblies and objects where vibration can be an issue.


Printed electronics

Printed electronics is a set of printing methods used to create electrical devices on various substrates. Printing typically uses common printing equipment suitable for defining patterns on material, such as screen printing, flexography, gravure, offset lithography, and inkjet. By electronic-industry standards, these are low-cost processes. Electrically functional electronic or optical inks are deposited on the substrate, creating active or passive devices, such as thin film transistors; capacitors; coils; resistors. Some researchers expect printed electronics to facilitate widespread, very low-cost, low-performance electronics for applications such as flexible displays, smart labels, decorative and animated posters, and active clothing that do not require high performance.
The term "printed electronics" is often related to organic electronics or plastic electronics, in which one or more inks are composed of carbon-based compounds. These other terms refer to the ink material, which can be deposited by solution-based, vacuum-based, or other processes. Printed electronics, in contrast, specifies the process, and, subject to the specific requirements of the printing process selected, can utilize any solution-based material. This includes organic semiconductors, inorganic semiconductors, metallic conductors, nanoparticles, and nanotubes.
For the preparation of printed electronics nearly all industrial printing methods are employed. Similar to conventional printing, printed electronics applies ink layers one atop another. So the coherent development of printing methods and ink materials are the field's essential tasks.
The most important benefit of printing is low-cost volume fabrication. The lower cost enables use in more applications. An example is RFID-systems, which enable contactless identification in trade and transport. In some domains, such as light-emitting diodes printing does not impact performance. Printing on flexible substrates allows electronics to be placed on curved surfaces, for example: printing solar cells on vehicle roofs. More typically, conventional semiconductors justify their much higher costs by providing much higher performance.
Resolution, registration, thickness, holes, materials.
The maximum required resolution of structures in conventional printing is determined by the human eye. Feature sizes smaller than approximately 20 µm cannot be distinguished by the human eye and consequently exceed the capabilities of conventional printing processes. In contrast, higher resolution and smaller structures are necessary in most electronics printing, because they directly affect circuit density and functionality (especially transistors). A similar requirement holds for the precision with which layers are printed on top of each other (layer to layer registration).
Control of thickness, holes, and material compatibility (wetting, adhesion, solubility) are essential, but matter in conventional printing only if the eye can detect them. Conversely, the visual impression is irrelevant for printed electronics.
Printing technologies.
The attraction of printing technology for the fabrication of electronics mainly results from the possibility of preparing stacks of micro-structured layers (and thereby thin-film devices) in a much simpler and cost-effective way compared to conventional electronics. Also, the ability to implement new or improved functionalities (e.g. mechanical flexibility) plays a role. The selection of the printing method used is determined by requirements concerning printed layers, by the properties of printed materials as well as economic and technical considerations of the final printed products.
Printing technologies divide between sheet-based and roll-to-roll-based approaches. Sheet-based inkjet and screen printing are best for low-volume, high-precision work. Gravure, offset and flexographic printing are more common for high-volume production, such as solar cells, reaching 10,000 square meters per hour (m2/h). While offset and flexographic printing are mainly used for inorganic and organic conductors (the latter also for dielectrics), gravure printing is especially suitable for quality-sensitive layers like organic semiconductors and semiconductor/dielectric-interfaces in transistors, due to high layer quality. If high resolution is needed, gravure is also suitable for inorganic and organic conductors. Organic field-effect transistors and integrated circuits can be prepared completely by means of mass-printing methods.
Inkjet printing.
Inkjets are flexible and versatile, and can be set up with relatively low effort. However, inkjets offer lower throughput of around 100 m2/h and lower resolution (ca. 50 µm). It is well suited for low-viscosity, soluble materials like organic semiconductors. With high-viscosity materials, like organic dielectrics, and dispersed particles, like inorganic metal inks, difficulties due to nozzle clogging occur. Because ink is deposited via droplets, thickness and dispersion homogeneity is reduced. Using many nozzles simultaneously and pre-structuring the substrate allows improvements in productivity and resolution, respectively. However, in the latter case non-printing methods must be employed for the actual patterning step. Inkjet printing is preferable for organic semiconductors in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), but also OFETs completely prepared by this method have been demonstrated. Frontplanes and backplanes of OLED-displays, integrated circuits, organic photovoltaic cells (OPVCs) and other devices can be prepared with inkjets.
Screen printing.
Screen printing is appropriate for fabricating electrics and electronics due to its ability to produce patterned, thick layers from paste-like materials. This method can produce conducting lines from inorganic materials (e.g. for circuit boards and antennas), but also insulating and passivating layers, whereby layer thickness is more important than high resolution. Its 50 m2/h throughput and 100 µm resolution are similar to inkjets. This versatile and comparatively simple method is used mainly for conductive and dielectric layers, but also organic semiconductors, e.g. for OPVCs, and even complete OFETs can be printed.
Aerosol jet printing.
Aerosol Jet Printing (also known as Maskless Mesoscale Materials Deposition or M3D) is another material deposition technology for printed electronics. The Aerosol Jet process begins with atomization of an ink, via ultrasonic or pneumatic means, producing droplets on the order of one to two micrometers in diameter. The droplets then flow through a virtual impactor which deflects the droplets having lower momentum away from the stream. This step helps maintaining a tight droplet size distribution. The droplets are entrained in a gas stream and delivered to the print head. Here, an annular flow of clean gas is introduced around the aerosol stream to focus the droplets into a tightly collimated beam of material. The combined gas streams exit the print head through a converging nozzle that compresses the aerosol stream to a diameter as small as 10 µm. The jet of droplets exits the print head at high velocity (~50 meters/second) and impinges upon the substrate.
Electrical interconnects, passive and active components are formed by moving the print head, equipped with a mechanical stop/start shutter, relative to the substrate. The resulting patterns can have features ranging from 10 µm wide, with layer thicknesses from tens of nanometers to >10 µm. A wide nozzle print head enables efficient patterning of millimeter size electronic features and surface coating applications. All printing occurs without the use of vacuum or pressure chambers. The high exit velocity of the jet enables a relatively large separation between the print head and the substrate, typically 2–5 mm. The droplets remain tightly focused over this distance, resulting in the ability to print conformal patterns over three dimensional substrates.
Despite the high velocity, the printing process is gentle; substrate damage does not occur and there is generally minimal splatter or overspray from the droplets. Once patterning is complete, the printed ink typically requires post treatment to attain final electrical and mechanical properties. Post-treatment is driven more by the specific ink and substrate combination than by the printing process. A wide range of materials has been successfully deposited with the Aerosol Jet process, including diluted thick film pastes, conducting polymer inks, thermosetting polymers such as UV-curable epoxies, and solvent-based polymers like polyurethane and polyimide, and biologic materials.
Recently, printing paper was proposed to be used as the substrate of the printing. Highly conductive (close to bulk copper) and high-resolution traces can be printed on foldable and available office printing papers, with 80°Celsius curing temperature and 40 minutes of curing time.
Evaporation printing.
Evaporation printing uses a combination of high precision screen printing with material vaporization to print features to 5 µm. This method uses techniques such as thermal, e-beam, sputter and other traditional production technologies to deposit materials through a high precision shadow mask (or stencil) that is registered to the substrate to better than 1 µm. By layering different mask designs and/or adjusting materials, reliable, cost-effective circuits can be built additively, without the use of photo-lithography.
Other methods.
Other methods with similarities to printing, among them microcontact printing and nano-imprint lithography are of interest. Here, µm- and nm-sized layers, respectively, are prepared by methods similar to stamping with soft and hard forms, respectively. Often the actual structures are prepared subtractively, e.g. by deposition of etch masks or by lift-off processes. For example, electrodes for OFETs can be prepared. Sporadically pad printing is used in a similar manner. Occasionally so-called transfer methods, where solid layers are transferred from a carrier to the substrate, are considered printed electronics. Electrophotography is currently not used in printed electronics.
Materials.
Both organic and inorganic materials are used for printed electronics. Ink materials must be available in liquid form, for solution, dispersion or suspension. They must function as conductors, semiconductors, dielectrics, or insulators. Material costs must be fit for the application.
Electronic functionality and printability can interfere with each other, mandating careful optimization. For example, a higher molecular weight in polymers enhances conductivity, but diminishes solubility. For printing, viscosity, surface tension and solid content must be tightly controlled. Cross-layer interactions such as wetting, adhesion, and solubility as well as post-deposition drying procedures affect the outcome. Additives often used in conventional printing inks are unavailable, because they often defeat electronic functionality.
Material properties largely determine the differences between printed and conventional electronics. Printable materials provide decisive advantages beside printability, such as mechanical flexibility and functional adjustment by chemical modification (e.g. light color in OLEDs).
Printed conductors offer lower conductivity and charge carrier mobility.
With a few exceptions, inorganic ink materials are dispersions of metallic or semiconducting micro- and nano-particles. Semiconducting nanoparticles used include silicon and oxide semiconductors. Silicon is also printed as an organic precursor which is then converted by pyrolisis and annealing into crystalline silicon.
PMOS but not CMOS is possible in printed electronics.
Organic materials.
Organic printed electronics integrates knowledge and developments from printing, electronics, chemistry, and materials science, especially from organic and polymer chemistry. Organic materials in part differ from conventional electronics in terms of structure, operation and functionality, which influences device and circuit design and optimization as well as fabrication method.
The discovery of conjugated polymers and their development into soluble materials provided the first organic ink materials. Materials from this class of polymers variously possess conducting, semiconducting, electroluminescent, photovoltaic and other properties. Other polymers are used mostly as insulators and dielectrics.
In most organic materials, hole transport is favored over electron transport. Recent studies indicate that this is a specific feature of organic semiconductor/dielectric-interfaces, which play a major role in OFETs. Therefore, p-type devices should dominate over n-type devices. Durability (resistance to dispersion) and lifetime is less than conventional materials.
Organic semiconductors include the conductive polymers poly(3,4-ethylene dioxitiophene), doped with poly(styrene sulfonate),  and poly(aniline) (PANI). Both polymers are commercially available in different formulations and have been printed using inkjet, screen and offset printing or screen, flexo and gravure printing, respectively.
Polymer semiconductors are processed using inkjet printing, such as poly(thiopene)s like poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene co-bithiophen) (F8T2). The latter material has also been gravure printed. Different electroluminescent polymers are used with inkjet printing, as well as active materials for photovoltaics (e.g. blends of P3HT with fullerene derivatives), which in part also can be deposited using screen printing (e.g. blends of poly(phenylene vinylene) with fullerene derivatives).
Printable organic and inorganic insulators and dielectrics exist, which can be processed with different printing methods.
Inorganic materials.
Inorganic electronics provides highly ordered layers and interfaces that organic and polymer materials cannot provide.
Silver nanoparticles are used with flexo, offset and inkjet. Gold particles are used with inkjet.
A.C. electroluminescent (EL) multi-color displays can cover many tens of square meters, or be incorporated in watch faces and instrument displays. They involve six to eight printed inorganic layers, including a copper doped phosphor, on a plastic film substrate.
CIGS cells can be printed directly onto molybdenum coated glass sheets.
A printed gallium arsenide germanium solar cell demonstrated 40.7% conversion efficiency, eight times that of the best organic cells, approaching the best performance of crystalline silicon.
Substrates.
Printed electronics allows the use of flexible substrates, which lowers production costs and allows fabrication of mechanically flexible circuits. While inkjet and screen printing typically imprint rigid substrates like glass and silicon, mass-printing methods nearly exclusively use flexible foil and paper. Poly(ethylene terephthalate)-foil (PET) is a common choice, due to its low cost and moderately high temperature stability. Poly(ethylene naphthalate)- (PEN) and poly(imide)-foil (PI) are higher performance, higher cost alternatives. Paper's low costs and manifold applications make it an attractive substrate, however, its high roughness and high wettability have traditionally made it problematic for electronics. This is an active research area, however, and print-compatible metal deposition techniques have been demonstrated that adapt to the rough 3D surface geometry of paper.
Other important substrate criteria are low roughness and suitable wet-ability, which can be tuned pre-treatment by use of coating or Corona discharge. In contrast to conventional printing, high absorbency is usually disadvantageous.
History.
Albert Hanson, a German by birth, is credited to have introduced the concept of printed electronics. in 1903 he filled a patent for “Printed Wires,” and thus printed electronics were born. Hanson proposed forming a Printed Circuit Board pattern on copper foil through cutting or stamping. The drawn elements were glued to the dielectric, in this case, paraffined paper. The first printed circuit was produced in 1936 by Paul Eisler, and that process was used for large-scale production of radios by the USA during World War II. Printed circuit technology was released for commercial use in the US in 1948 (Printed Circuits Handbook, 1995). In the over a half-century since its inception, printed electronics has evolved from the production of printed circuit boards (PCBs), through the everyday use of membrane switches, to today's RFID, photovoltaic and electroluminescent technologies. Today it is nearly impossible to look around a modern American household and not see devices that either uses printed electronic components or that are the direct result of printed electronic technologies. Widespread production of printed electronics for household use began in the 1960s when the Printed Circuit Board became the foundation for all consumer electronics. Since then printed electronics have become a cornerstone in many new commercial products.
The biggest trend in recent history when it comes to printed electronics is the widespread use of them in solar cells. In 2011, researchers from MIT created a flexible solar cell by inkjet printing on normal paper. In 2018, researchers at Rice University have developed organic solar cells which can be painted or printed onto surfaces. These solar cells have been shown to max out at fifteen percent efficiency. Konarka Technologies, now a defunct company in the US, was the pioneering company in producing inkjet solar cells. Today there are more than fifty companies across a diverse number of countries that are producing printed solar cells.
While printed electronics have been around since the 1960s, they are predicted to have a major boom in total revenue. As of 2011, the total printed electronic revenue was reported to be at $12.385 (billion). A report by IDTechEx predicts the PE market will reach $330 (billion) in 2027. A big reason for this increase in revenue is because of the incorporation of printed electronic into cellphones. Nokia was one of the companies that pioneered the idea of creating a “Morph” phone using printed electronics. Since then, Apple has implemented this technology into their iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR devices. Printed electronics can be used to make all of the following components of a cellphone: 3D main antenna, GPS antenna, energy storage, 3D interconnections, multi-layer PCB, edge circuits, ITO jumpers, hermetic seals, LED packaging, and tactile feedback.
With the revolutionary discoveries and advantages that printed electronic gives to companies many large companies have made recent investments into this technology. In 2007, Soligie Inc. and Thinfilm Electronics entered into an agreement to combine IPs for soluble memory materials and functional materials printing to develop printed memory in commercial volumes. LG announce significant investment, potentially $8.71 billion in OLEDs on Plastic. Sharp (Foxconn) will invest $570m in pilot line for OLED displays. BOE announce potential $6.8 billion in flexible AMOLED fab. Heliatek has secured €80m in additional funding for OPV manufacturing in Dresden. PragmatIC has raised ~ €20m from investors including Avery Dennison. Thinfilm invests in new production site in Silicon Valley (formerly owned by Qualcomm). Cambrios back in business after acquisition by TPK.
Applications.
Printed electronics are in use or under consideration include wireless sensors in packaging, skin patches that communicate with the internet, and buildings that detect leaks to enable preventative maintenance. Most of these applications are still in the prototyping and development stages. There is a particularly growing interest for flexible smart electronic systems, including photovoltaic, sensing and processing devices, driven by the desire to extend and integrate the latest advances in (opto-)electronic technologies into a broad range of low-cost (even disposable) consumer products of our everyday life, and as tools to bring together the digital and physical worlds.
Norwegian company ThinFilm demonstrated roll-to-roll printed organic memory in 2009.
Standards development and activities.
Technical standards and road-mapping initiatives are intended to facilitate value chain development (for sharing of product specifications, characterization standards, etc.) This strategy of standards development mirrors the approach used by silicon-based electronics over the past 50 years. Initiatives include:
IPC—Association Connecting Electronics Industries has published three standards for printed electronics. All three have been published in cooperation with the Japan Electronic Packaging and Circuits Association (JPCA):
These standards, and others in development, are part of IPC's Printed Electronics Initiative.


S-graph

The S-graph framework is an approach to solving batch process scheduling problems in chemical plants. S-graph is suited for the problems with a non-intermediate storage (NIS) policy, which often appears in chemical productions, but it is also capable of solving problems with an unlimited intermediate storage (UIS) policy.
Overview.
The S-graph representation exploits problem-specific knowledge to develop efficient scheduling algorithms. In the scheduling problem, there are products, and a set of tasks, which have to be performed to produce a product. There are dependencies between the tasks, and every task has a set of needed equipment that can perform the task. Different processing times can be set for the same task in different equipment types. It is possible to have more pieces of equipment of the same type, or define changeover times between two tasks performed on a single piece of equipment.
There are two types of the scheduling problems that can be handled:


Electrohydraulic forming

Electrohydraulic forming is a type of process in which an electric arc discharge in liquid is used to convert electrical energy to mechanical energy and change the shape of the workpiece. A capacitor bank delivers a pulse of high current across two electrodes, which are positioned a short distance apart while submerged in a fluid (water or oil). The electric arc discharge rapidly vaporizes the surrounding fluid, creating a shock wave. The workpiece, which is kept in contact with the fluid, is deformed into an evacuated die.
The potential forming capabilities of submerged arc discharge processes were recognized as early as the mid-1940s (Yutkin L.A.). During the 1950s and early 1960s, the basic process was developed into production systems. This work principally was by and for the aerospace industries. By 1970, forming machines based on submerged arc discharge were available from machine tool builders. A few of the larger aerospace fabricators built machines of their own design to meet specific part fabrication requirements.
Electrohydraulic forming (EHF) is based on the ultra-high-speed deformation of metal using shockwaves in water. Using the discharge of current from a capacitor bank, an electric arc is generated in water between two electrodes. This electric arc vaporizes the surrounding water, converting electrical energy into an intense shockwave of mechanical energy.
The shockwave simultaneously transforms the metal workpiece into a visco-plastic state and accelerates it into a die, enabling forming of complex shapes at high speeds in cold conditions. All of which happens in a matter of milliseconds; total cycle time of seconds including charging time of the system. This process is not limited by size and allows forming of parts up to a few square meters in size. An array of electrodes can be placed over a large workpiece, enabling pressure distribution according to the product’s topology, still using a one-sided die to create complex shapes and fine details.
Very large capacitor banks are needed to produce the same amount of energy as a modest mass of high explosives - which is expensive for large parts. On the other hand, the electrohydraulic method was seen as better suited to automation because of the fine control of multiple, sequential energy discharges and the relative compactness of the electrode-media containment system.
Advantages of EHF


Production support

Production support covers the practices and disciplines of supporting the IT systems/applications which are currently being used by the end users. A production support person/team is responsible for monitoring the production servers, scheduled jobs, incident management and receiving incidents and requests from end-users, analyzing these and either responding to the end user with a solution or escalating it to the other IT teams. These teams may include developers, system engineers and database administrators.
The importance of production support.
In order to understand the importance of production support, one needs to take a few factors into account.
From the factors listed above, one can see that the way in which production support is managed is extremely crucial.
Production Support Steps.
The major steps for Production Support are as below. These Production Support steps are in context of the Batch processing.
Recording Production Error.
Usually a batch job or group of related batch jobs (schedule/stream) runs to accomplish one or more business functions. These batch jobs run unattended and normally complete without any errors or issues. However, sometimes the batch job can have a break/interruption/abend/abort. There could be several reasons why a job could abend.
When a job abends, it can send out an automated alert notification via e-mail, page, text. Also, data center or operations team is also actively monitoring the jobs. They also send alert notification using e-mail, page, text or they can call the on call person responsible for the recovery of the abended job.
The on call person acknowledges the e-mail, page, text or phone call for the abended job. The on call person also records the abended job details in a production issue tracking system. Sometimes, the abended job automatically records the job abend details along with job standard list (job log) in a production issue tracking system. The abended job details (job standard list, error log files, etc.) are available in the production job scheduler tool. The Production issue tracking tool creates a request number and this request number is given to the support team. This request number is used to track the progress of the production support issue. The request is assigned to on call support team person.
Notification of Production Error.
For critical Production Errors (e.g. Production job is in critical path and is likely to delay the batch completion SLAs and if the Production error is impacting business data), an e-mail is sent to entire organization or impacted teams so that they are aware of the issue. They are also provided with the estimated time for Production error recovery.
Investigation or Analysis of Production Error.
The Production support team on call person collects all the necessary information about the Production error. This information is then recorded in the Production error tracking tool using the correct support request number previously assigned. All the details such as data, environment, process, program logic that failed is used in the investigation. Production batch job, program used or any tool/utility used is reviewed for any possible errors.
Resolution of Production Error.
If similar Production error occurred in the past then the issue resolution steps are retrieved from the support knowledge base and error is resolved using those steps. If it is a new Production error then new Production error resolution steps are created and Production error is resolved. The new Production error resolution steps are recorded in the knowledge base for the future usage. For major Production errors (critical infrastructure or application failures), a phone conference call is initiated and all required support persons/teams join the call and they all work together to resolve the error. This is also called as an Incident Management. If a problem occurs repeatedly then it is recorded and tracked using appropriate tools and processes until it is resolved permanently. This is also called as Problem Management. The issue is closed only after the customer or end user agrees that the problem is resolved.
Production job/program code correction.
If the Production error occurred due to programming errors then a request is created for the Development team to correct programming errors. Problem is identified, defined and root cause analysis is performed. The programming error is fixed using normal SDLC process - analysis/design/programming/QA/testing/release. The new version of the Production job/program is deployed and verified/validated.
Production Process correction.
If the Production error occurred due to job/schedule dependency issues or sequence issues then further analysis is done to find the correct sequence/dependencies. The new sequence/dependencies are verified and validated in test environment before Production deployment.
Infrastructure Issue correction.
If the Production error occurred due to infrastructure issues then the specific infrastructure team is notified. The infrastructure team then implements permanent fix for the issue and monitors the infrastructure to avoid same error again.
Production Support Billing.
If the Production error occurred due to unexpected consequences of infrastructure changes then most often the infrastructure team is not able to bill the time spent in resolving of the issue at the full rate. In some cases hours are completely disqualified from being billed.
Production Support - Follow up and Reporting.
The Production error tracking system is used to review all issues periodically (daily, weekly and monthly) and reports are generated to monitor resolved issues, repeating issues, pending issues. Reports are also generated for the IT/IS management for improvement and management of Production jobs.


Product teardown

A product teardown, or simply teardown, is the act of disassembling a product, such that it helps to identify its component parts, chip & system functionality, and component costing information. For products having 'secret' technology, such as the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25, the process may be secret. For others, including consumer electronics, the results are typically disseminated through photographs and component lists so that others can make use of the information without having to disassemble the product themselves. This information is important to designers of semiconductors, displays, batteries, packaging companies, integrated design firms, and semiconductor fabs, and the systems they operate within.
This information can be of interest to hobbyists, but can also be used commercially by the technical community to find out, for example, what semiconductor components are being utilized in consumer electronic products, such as the Wii video game console or Apple's iPhone. Such knowledge can aid understanding of how the product works, including innovative design features, and can facilitate estimating the bill of materials (BOM). The financial community, therefore, has an interest in teardowns, as knowing how a company's products are built can help guide a stock valuation. Manufacturers are often not allowed to announce what components are present in a product due to non-disclosure agreements (NDA). Teardowns can also play a part in evidence of use in court and litigation proceedings where a company's parts may have been used without their permission, counterfeited, or to show where intellectual property or patents might be infringed by another firm's part or system.
Identifying semiconductor components in systems has become more difficult over the past years. The most notable change started with Apple's 8GB iPod nano, which were repackaged with Apple branding. This makes it more difficult to identify the actual device manufacturer and function of the component without performing a 'delid' – removing the outer packaging to analyze the die within it. Typically there are markings on the die inside the package that can lead experienced engineers to see who actually created the device and what functionality it performs in the system.


Tube beading

Tube beading is a metal forming process that forms a bead on the end of a tube. Tube beads can be used to help hold a hose on the end of a tube or to strengthen the end of the tube. There are two forming processes: "internal roll forming" and "ram forming".
Internal roll forming.
Internal roll forming is generally slower than ram forming but it holds tight tolerances. Serrated clamp jaws are used to hold the tube while radial pressure is applied by an internal roller to form the bead.
Ram forming.
Ram forming is quicker and usually preferred when speed of production is a concern. The automotive industry usually uses this process over internal roll-forming. A clamp is used to hold the tube, the tube is expanded to desired diameter by an expansion punch, and then another punch is used to reduce the tube back to pilot diameter. Multiple beads are possible using this process.


Notching

Notching is a metal-cutting process used on sheet-metal or thin bar-stock, sometimes on angle sections or tube. A shearing or punching process is used in a press, so as to cut vertically down and perpendicular to the surface, working from the edge of a work-piece. Sometimes the goal is merely the notch itself, but usually this is a precursor to some other process: such as bending a corner in sheet or joining two tubes at a tee joint, notching one to fit closely to the other.
Notching is a low-cost process, particularly for its low tooling costs with a small range of standard punches. The capital cost of the punch press can be expensive though, so small fabrication shops often out-source their notching work to a press shop or notching specialist. Notching of large or heavy sections, particularly for large tube fabrication or HVAC, is increasingly carried out by plasma-cutting rather than punch tools. The first punch & die type tool for notching tube & pipe was invented in Chicago by Julius Vogel, who was issued a US patent in 1938.
The accuracy of punch notching is good, depending on the care with which it's carried out. For manual folding work, prior notching can often improve resultant accuracy of the folding itself.
The speed of notching is usually limited by manual handling when loading the workpieces into the press. Pieces some feet long may be manually loaded into a single-stroke press. Smaller pieces are still generally hand-fed, limiting speeds to perhaps 100 strokes / minute.
Almost any workable metal can be notched. It's particularly suitable where the metal is otherwise awkward to drill, such as stainless steels, titanium or previously heat-treated aluminium alloys.
It is an operation of removing a small part of metal sheet of desired shape from edge of metal sheet
Tube notching.
Tube notching is commonly performed before joining light-gauge tubes to make a tee or similar joint, as by welding. Either one or both tubes may be notched before assembly. A familiar example of tube notching is in the manufacture of bicycle frames.
End notching works the "end" of the tube, such as a semicircular concavity to make the base of a tee, or a convex vee to fit into a mitre.
Side notching (also called offset notching) works the "side" of a tube with a vee notch for bending, semicircular or vee notches for tee joint.
Tube being hollow, it's not practical to use a simple punch operation to notch it, as it would be squashed. Although punching is possible, it requires support mandrels and awkward handling. Where tube is worked with a punch press other than for side notching, this is generally described as "slotting".
Tube notching for fabrication of circular tube is thus most commonly done with a rotary hole saw in which a hole saw of the diameter of the tube being attached to is fed into the stock to be notched at a semi-perpendicular angle. This produces a semi-circular notch. Rather than using large presses, such saw notching may only require a simple jig, also making it suitable for on-site working.
A much more accurate way of notching the end of tube stock is to use a specially made milling cutter called an end mill. The stock to be notched is clamped into a vise and can then be fed slowly and accurately into a rotating, hardened metal, end mill. The equipment required for this method is considerably more expensive than the hole saw method and does not lend well to the same portability of the hole saw method as the machine is usually bolted to the floor for stability and safety reasons. This method of end notching is much faster and thus greatly minimizes the chance of damaging the stock either by warping due to heat build up or by squashing as can still happen with a hole saw.
Notching in thin-wall tube may also be carried out by abrasive tools, reducing some of the risk of damage from a hole saw snatching. This also allows more complex shapes to be performed, such as vee notches. In some cases, a helical end mill cutter may be used.
Computer numerical control (CNC) notching is enabling designers to work with more complex geometries.
Notch and bend.
Vee notches in tube, particularly square tube, may be cut so deep as to cut almost through the tube: three sides of a square tube. This then allows torner, usually finished by welding.
On a smaller scale for jewellery making, this operation is performed by hand-filing precious-metal strip before bending and soldering to make box frames or stone mounts.


Martempering

Martempering is also known as stepped quenching or interrupted quenching. In this process, steel is heated above the upper critical point (above the transformation range) and then quenched in a hot-oil, molten-salt, or molten-lead bath kept at a temperature of 150-300 °C. The workpiece is held at this temperature above martensite start (Ms) point until the temperature becomes uniform throughout the cross-section of the workpiece. After that, it is cooled in air or oil to room temperature. The steel is then tempered. In this process, austenite is transformed to martensite by step quenching, at a rate fast enough to avoid the formation of ferrite, pearlite, or bainite.
In the martempering process, austenitized metal part is immersed in a bath at a temperature just above the martensite start temperature (Ms). By using interrupted quenching, the cooling is stopped at a point above the martensite transformation region to ensure sufficient time for the center to cool to the same temperature as the surface. The metal part is then removed from the bath and cooled in air to room temperature to permit the austenite to transform to martensite. Martempering is a method by which the stresses and strains generated during the quenching of a steel component can be controlled. In martempering, steel is heated to above the critical range to make it all austenite.
The drawback of this process is that the large section cannot be heat treated by this process.


Curling (metalworking)

Curling is a sheet metal forming process used to form the edges into a hollow ring. Curling can be performed to eliminate sharp edges and increase the moment of inertia near the curled end. Other parts are curled to perform their primary function, such as door hinges.
Operation.
In the curling operation, the flare, or burr, should always be turned away from the die. This will help prolong the life of the die by avoiding unnecessary damage due to scratching. The stroke of the die must be as long as the curl. Curling is often performed as part of a high production, multiple operation progressive forming.
Tooling.
The curling die is designed to curl a material of specific thickness. Dies are generally made of hardened tool steel because of the amount of wear caused by the operation. Their smooth, rounded cavities are often lapped and polished to help curl the material uniformly.


Filing (metalworking)

Filing is a material removal process in manufacturing. Similar, depending on use, to both sawing and grinding in effect, it is functionally versatile, but used mostly for finishing operations, namely in deburring operations. Filing operations can be used on a wide range of materials as a finishing operation. Filing helps achieve workpiece function by removing some excess material and deburring the surface. Sandpaper may be used as a filing tool for other materials, such as wood.
Band filing.
Band Filing takes place on a machine similar to a belt sander or band saw. Band files are sectioned similarly to a saw chain so that they can be made from stiff material, as they need to be to effectively remove material yet still work in a constant feed. A band filing operation can be used to remove small amounts of material with good accuracy. The cutting teeth of the file are arranged closely on the file and are used as part of a finishing process.
Reciprocating filing.
Reciprocating filing takes place on a flat surface where workpieces are fed into the file. The file teeth are angled so that material is removed on each downstroke of the tool. Chips removed from the workpiece fall through a cavity in front of the file.


ZQ8

ZQ8 is an RPO code designation for the Chevrolet S-10, GMC Sonoma, and Chevrolet Colorado.
Chevrolet S-10 and GMC Sonoma.
The ZQ8 option suspension package comes standard on the 1999-2003 S-10 Xtreme and 1996-1998 S-10 SS models, but was also available as a sports package on either the S-10 or GMC Sonoma. The package included a total lowered ride height of approximately 2" over stock (1.5" from suspension, ~0.5" from shorter tire diameter), thicker front sway bar (33mm), rear sway bar (23mm), quicker ratio (12:1) steering box, upgraded Decarbon or Bilstein gas shock absorbers, and a frame brace. Some ZQ8 models were also equipped with a frame to axle "anti-hop" shock.
The lowered stance was achieved using front coils with a different spring rate, and a 3-leaf rear spring pack.
Wheels and tires were also upgraded to cast aluminum rim with 235/55/16 Goodyear Eagle GA tires. The Xtreme package used a different style rim than a standard truck equipped with the ZQ8 option. There are 2 versions of "ZQ8" wheels - 1996-2000 (also standard on 1996-1998 SS trucks), similar in design to 3rd generation Camaro wheels, and 2001-2003 (also used on Blazer Xtremes from 2004-2005), which bear a resemblance to an IROC Z28 wheel. Another variation among different models was in the center caps. S-10s and Sonomas used a grey center cap with the exception of the 2002-2003 S-10s, which featured a chrome center cap.
The suspension package can be retrofit to any 1982-2003 2wd S-Series truck, although some parts require modification, such as drilling for sway bar mounts or boring the hub on the wheels for a 1982-1993 truck. Also of note, since the package came on I4 and V6 trucks, spring rates in the coils do vary.


Plasma cutting

Plasma cutting is a process that cuts through electrically conductive materials by means of an accelerated jet of hot plasma. Typical materials cut with a plasma torch include steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass and copper, although other conductive metals may be cut as well. Plasma cutting is often used in fabrication shops, automotive repair and restoration, industrial construction, and salvage and scrapping operations. Due to the high speed and precision cuts combined with low cost, plasma cutting sees widespread use from large-scale industrial computer numerical control (CNC) applications down to small hobbyist shops.
The basic plasma cutting process involves creating an electrical channel of superheated, electrically ionized gas i.e. plasma from the plasma cutter itself, through the workpiece to be cut, thus forming a completed electric circuit back to the plasma cutter through a grounding clamp. This is accomplished by a compressed gas (oxygen, air, inert and others depending on material being cut) which is blown through a focused nozzle at high speed toward the workpiece. An electrical arc is then formed within the gas, between an electrode near or integrated into the gas nozzle and the workpiece itself. The electrical arc ionizes some of the gas, thereby creating an electrically conductive channel of plasma. As electricity from the cutter torch travels down this plasma it delivers sufficient heat to melt through the workpiece. At the same time, much of the high-velocity plasma and compressed gas blow the hot molten metal away, thereby separating, i.e. cutting through, the workpiece.
Plasma cutting is an effective way of cutting thin and thick materials alike. Hand-held torches can usually cut up to thick steel plate, and stronger computer-controlled torches can cut steel up to thick. Since plasma cutters produce a very hot and very localized "cone" to cut with, they are extremely useful for cutting sheet metal in curved or angled shapes.
The arcs are generated in a three step process. A high voltage spark briefly ionizes the air within the torch head. This makes the air conductive and allows the "pilot arc" to form. The pilot arc forms within the torch head, with current flowing from the electrode to the nozzle inside the torch head. The pilot arc begins to burn up the nozzle, a consumable part, while in this phase. The air then blows the plasma out the nozzle towards the work, providing a current path from the electrode to the work. When the control system senses current flowing from the electrode to the work, it cuts the electrical connection to the nozzle. Current then flows from the electrode to the work, and the arc forms outside the nozzle. Cutting can then proceed, without burning up the nozzle. Nozzle life is limited by the number of arc starts, not cutting time.
History.
Plasma cutting grew out of plasma welding in the 1960s, and emerged as a very productive way to cut sheet metal and plate in the 1980s. It had the advantages over traditional "metal against metal" cutting of producing no metal chips, giving accurate cuts, and producing a cleaner edge than oxy-fuel cutting. Early plasma cutters were large, somewhat slow and expensive and, therefore, tended to be dedicated to repeating cutting patterns in a "mass production" mode.
As with other machine tools, CNC (computer numerical control) technology was applied to plasma cutting machines in the late 1980s into the 1990s, giving plasma cutting machines greater flexibility to cut diverse shapes "on demand" based on a set of instructions that were programmed into the machine's numerical control. These CNC plasma cutting machines were, however, generally limited to cutting patterns and parts in flat sheets of steel, using only two axes of motion (referred to as X Y cutting).
Safety.
Proper eye protection and face shields are needed to prevent eye damage called arc eye as well as damage from debris. It is recommended to use green lens shade #5. OSHA recommends a shade 8 for arc current less than 300 A, but notes that "These values apply where the actual arc is clearly seen. Experience has shown that lighter filters may be used when the arc is hidden by the workpiece." Lincoln Electric, a manufacturer of plasma cutting equipment, says, "Typically a darkness shade of #7 to #9 is acceptable." Longevity Global, Inc., another manufacturer, offers this more specific table for eye protection for plasma arc cutting at lower amperages:
Leather gloves, an apron and a jacket are also recommended to prevent burns from sparks and hot metal.
Working in a clean area free of flammable liquids, materials and gases is very important. Sparks and hot metal from a plasma cutter can quickly cause fires if they are not isolated from flammable objects. Plasma cutters can send hot sparks flying up to 1.5 meters (5 feet) away in certain situations. Machine operators are typically blind to any fire that has started because they are behind their face shields.
Starting methods.
Plasma cutters use a number of methods to start the arc. In some units, the arc is created by putting the torch in contact with the work piece. Some cutters use a high voltage, high frequency circuit to start the arc. This method has a number of disadvantages, including risk of electrocution, difficulty of repair, spark gap maintenance, and the large amount of radio frequency emissions. Plasma cutters working near sensitive electronics, such as CNC hardware or computers, start the pilot arc by other means. The nozzle and electrode are in contact. The nozzle is the cathode, and the electrode is the anode. When the plasma gas begins to flow, the nozzle is blown forward. A third, less common method is capacitive discharge into the primary circuit via a silicon controlled rectifier.
Inverter plasma cutters.
Analog plasma cutters, typically requiring more than 2 kilowatts, use a heavy mains-frequency transformer. Inverter plasma cutters rectify the mains supply to DC, which is fed into a high-frequency transistor inverter between 10 kHz to about 200 kHz. Higher switching frequencies allow smaller transformers resulting in overall size and weight reduction.
The transistors used were initially MOSFETs, but are now increasingly using IGBTs. With paralleled MOSFETs, if one of the transistors activates prematurely it can lead to a cascading failure of one quarter of the inverter. A later invention, IGBTs, are not as subject to this failure mode. IGBTs can be generally found in high-current machines where it is not possible to parallel enough MOSFET transistors.
The switch mode topology is referred to as a dual transistor off-line forward converter. Although lighter and more powerful, some inverter plasma cutters, especially those without power factor correction, cannot be run from a generator (that means manufacturer of the inverter unit forbids doing so; it is only valid for small, light portable generators). However newer models have internal circuitry that allows units without power factor correction to run on light power generators.
CNC cutting methods.
Some plasma cutter manufacturers build CNC cutting tables, and some have the cutter built into the table. CNC tables allow a computer to control the torch head producing clean sharp cuts. Modern CNC plasma equipment is capable of multi-axis cutting of thick material, allowing opportunities for complex welding seams that are not possible otherwise. For thinner material, plasma cutting is being progressively replaced by laser cutting, due mainly to the laser cutter's superior hole-cutting abilities.
A specialized use of CNC plasma cutters has been in the heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) industry. Software processes information on ductwork and creates flat patterns to be cut on the cutting table by the plasma torch. This technology has enormously increased productivity within the industry since its introduction in the early 1980s.
CNC plasma cutters are also used in many workshops to create decorative metalwork. For instance, commercial and residential signage, wall art, address signs, and outdoor garden art.
In recent years there has been even more development. Traditionally the machines' cutting tables were horizontal, but now vertical CNC plasma cutting machines are available, providing for a smaller footprint, increased flexibility, optimum safety and faster operation.
CNC plasma cutting configurations.
There are three main configurations of CNC plasma cutting, and they are largely differentiated by the forms of materials before processing, and the flexibility of the cutting head.
2-dimensional / 2-axis plasma cutting.
This is the most common and conventional form of CNC plasma cutting. Producing flat profiles, where the cut edges are at 90 degrees to the material surface. High powered cnc plasma cutting beds are configured in this way, able to cut profiles from metal plate up to 150 mm thick.
3-dimensional / 3+ axis plasma cutting.
Once again, a process for producing flat profiles from sheet or plate metal, however with the introduction of an additional axis of rotation, the cutting head of a CNC plasma cutting machine can tilt whilst being taken through a conventional 2-dimensional cutting path. The result of this is cut edges at an angle other than 90 degrees to the material surface, for example 30-45 degree angles. This angle is continuous throughout the thickness of the material. This is typically applied in situations where the profile being cut is to be used as part of a welded fabrication as the angled edge forms part of the weld preparation. When the weld preparation is applied during the CNC plasma cutting process, secondary operations such as grinding or machining can be avoided, reducing cost. The angular cutting capability of 3-dimensional plasma cutting can also be used to create countersunk holes and chamfer edges of profiled holes.
Tube and section plasma cutting.
Used in the processing of tube, pipe or any form of long section. The plasma cutting head usually remains stationary whilst the workpiece is fed through, and rotated around its longitudinal axis. There are some configurations where, as with 3-dimensional plasma cutting, the cutting head can tilt and rotate. This allows angled cuts to be made through the thickness of the tube or section, commonly taken advantage of in the fabrication of process pipework where cut pipe can be provided with a weld preparation in place of a straight edge.
New technology.
In the past decade plasma torch manufacturers have engineered new models with a smaller nozzle and a thinner plasma arc. This allows near-laser precision on plasma cut edges. Several manufacturers have combined precision CNC control with these torches to allow fabricators to produce parts that require little or no finishing.
Costs.
Plasma torches were once quite expensive. For this reason they were usually only found in professional welding shops and very well-stocked private garages and shops. However, modern plasma torches are becoming cheaper, and now are within the price range of many hobbyists, less than $300. Older units may be very heavy, but still portable, while some newer ones with inverter technology weigh only a little, yet equal or exceed the capacities of older ones.


Castability

Castability is the ease of forming a quality casting. A very castable part design is easily developed, incurs minimal tooling costs, requires minimal energy, and has few rejections. Castability can refer to a part design or a material property.
Part design.
Part design and geometry directly affect the castability, with volume, surface area and the number of features being the most important attributes.
If the design has undercuts or interior cavities it decreases castability due to tooling complexity. Long thin sections in a design are hard to fill. Sudden changes in wall thickness reduce castability because it induces turbulence during filling; fillets should be added to avoid this. Annulars in the path of flow should be avoided because they can cause cold shuts or misruns. A design that causes isolated hot spots decreases castability. An ideal design would have progressive directional solidification from the thinnest section to the thickest.
Location of the mold's parting line also affects castability, because a non-planar parting line also increases tooling complexity.
If a design requires a high degree of accuracy, fine surface finish or defect free surface it reduces the castability of the part. However, the casting process can be very economical for part designs that require intricate contoured surfaces, thickness variations, and internal features.
Quantitative analysis.
The castability of a design can be partially quantitatively determined by the following three equations. Better castability is denoted by a larger number.
Where Vc is the volume of the casting and Vb is the volume of the smallest box that the casting could fit in.
Where Vc is the volume of the casting and Ac is the surface area of the casting
Where nf is the number of features (holes, pockets, slots, bosses, ribs, etc.)
Material properties.
Material properties that influence their castability include their pouring temperature, fluidity, solidification shrinkage, and slag/dross formation tendencies.


Key (engineering)

In mechanical engineering, a key is a machine element used to connect a rotating machine element to a shaft. The key prevents relative rotation between the two parts and may enable torque transmission. For a key to function, the shaft and rotating machine element must have a keyway and a keyseat, which is a slot and pocket in which the key fits. The whole system is called a keyed joint. A keyed joint may allow relative axial movement between the parts.
Commonly keyed components include gears, pulleys, couplings, and washers.
Types.
There are five main types of keys: "sunk", "saddle", "tangent", "round", and "spline".
Sunk key.
Types of sunk keys: "rectangular", "square", "parallel sunk", "gib-head", "feather", and "Woodruff".
Parallel keys.
"Parallel keys" are the most widely used. They have a square or rectangular cross-section. Square keys are used for smaller shafts and rectangular faced keys are used for shaft diameters over or when the wall thickness of the mating hub is an issue. Set screws often accompany parallel keys to lock the mating parts into place. The keyway is a longitudinal slot in both the shaft and mating part.
where
Woodruff keys.
Woodruff keys are semicircular, fitting partly into a circular segment keyway with the remainder fitting into a longitudinal slot keyway in the mating part. The circular segment can be cut directly by plunge cutting with a circular Woodruff cutter without any reliefs. The main advantage of the Woodruff key is the elimination of milling near shaft shoulders, where stress concentrations, and concentricity would be affected. The latter is particularly important for high speed operation. The more exact fit of the key and keyway also reduces play, and stress concentrations in, and improves the reliability of the key. An additional advantage is a stuck key can be removed from a shaft with a hammer blow, the circular profile will push the key out of the slot, as opposed to a standard key which will need to be pushed axially, or pulled out of its slot. Common applications include machine tools, automotive applications, snowblowers and marine propellers.
This type of key was developed by William N. Woodruff of Hartford Connecticut. In 1888, he was awarded the John Scott Medal by the Franklin Institute for his invention.
Tapered keys.
The tapered key is tapered only on the side that engages the hub. The keyway in the hub has a taper that matches that of the tapered key. Some taper keys have a "gib", or tab, for easy removal during disassembly. The purpose of the taper is to secure the key itself, as well as to firmly engage the shaft to the hub without the need for a set screw. The problem with taper keys is that they can cause the center of the shaft rotation to be slightly off of the mating part. It is different from a tapered shaft lock in that tapered keys have a matching taper on the keyway, while tapered shaft locks do not.
Others.
A "Scotch key" or "Dutch key" features a circular keyway hole (instead of rectangular), produced by drilling axially into the assembled hub and shaft, with a metal dowel pin serving as the key. If the hole and key are tapered, the key is referred to as a "Dutch pin", which is driven in and optionally finished by cutting or grinding flush with the end of the shaft. If a straight Dutch keyway hole is optionally tapped with a thread, then an ordinary screw serves as the threaded Dutch key.
Spring pins are an alternative Dutch key component, instead of solid dowel pins. A spring pin is self-fastening and does not work loose under vibration. Hollow spring pins provide a weaker shear strength than a solid dowel pin, and the strength may be varied by varying the wall thickness. This limited shear strength specification is designed to sustain normal operation, but then give way in the event of excessive shaft torque, thus protecting the rest of the machine from damage.
Introducing an additional bushing component between hub and shaft improves the performance and convenience of keyed joints. "Taper-Lock" bushings are keyed hub fittings which provide three threaded Dutch keyways and two setscrews as Dutch keys, in addition to the rectangular keyway. The Dutch keyways are threaded only on the alternate hub side or shaft side, with a thread clearance hole form on the opposite side. By simply driving setscrews into selected holes, the hub mechanism conveniently operates to rigidly lock or definitely release from the shaft, without hammering or hub-pulling. Quick-disconnect ("QD") bushings work similarly, but place a circular pattern of three unthreaded and three fully threaded holes further out from the shaft axis on a bushing flange, instead of across the bushing-to-hub interface.
A Hirth joint is similar to a spline joint but with the teeth on the end of the shaft instead of on the surface.
Saddle keys.
These types of keys are generally attached to the driving member (e.g. shafts). These types of keys have less strength as compared with the sunk keys. These are rarely used keys, to transmit lower power to the driven members (e.g. couplings)
Tangent keys.
Tangent keys are used in high-torque heavy-duty applications. What would have been the side of each keyway forms heels against which the key sits, and transfers force compressively. This latter point means that for reversible motion of the shaft, another key along a tangent outwards in the opposing direction is needed. Typically this will be offset by 90° or 180° on the shaft. The key may be wedge, rectangular, or square shaped, but particularly rectangular double-taper keys are used.
Spline key.
This type of key uses multiple keyways in the hub to transmit high power.
Keyseating.
"Keyseating" is the creation of the slots in the mating items. Keyseating can be done on a variety of different machines including a broach, a keyseater, wire-cut EDM, a shaper or vertical slotting machine, either a vertical or horizontal mill, or with a chisel and file.
Broaching.
Broaching is primarily used to cut square cornered internal keyways. The specific broach, bushing and guide are used for each given keyway cross-section, which makes this process more expensive than most of the alternatives. However, it can produce the most accurate keyway out of all the processes. There are three main steps in broaching a keyway: First, the workpiece is set on the arbor press and the bushing is placed in the opening of the workpiece. Next, the broach is inserted and pushed through, cutting the keyway. Finally, shims are placed between the bushing and the broach to achieve the correct depth necessary for the key.
Keyseater.
"Keyseaters", also known as "keyseating machines" and "keyway cutters", are specialized machines designed to cut keyways. They are very similar to vertical shapers; the difference is that the cutting tool on a keyseater enters the workpiece from the bottom and cuts on the down-stroke, while the tool on a shaper enters the workpiece from the top and cuts downward. Another difference is a keyseater has a guiding system above the workpiece to minimize deflection, which results in a closer tolerance cut. The process starts by clamping the workpiece to the table with a fixture or vise. The workpiece is properly located and then the reciprocating arm is started. Some models have a stationary table so the cutter is fed horizontally into the workpiece, while others have a movable table that feeds the workpiece into a fixed cutter. These machines can cut other straight sided features other than keyways (see the picture). They can also produce blind slots, which are slots that do not extend through the whole workpiece.
Wire-cut electrical-discharge machining (EDM).
Wire-cut electrical-discharge machining (EDM) is primarily used for small production lot sizes where either extreme precision is required or other cutting technologies are not readily available. Wire-cut EDM cuts keyways by eroding material away from the workpiece through a series of rapid electric current discharges between a spooling wire and the workpiece through a dielectric liquid. Computer numerical control (CNC) wire-cut EDM machines allow for a wide variety selection of keyways to be cut, inclusive of multiple keyways on the same hub. The main limitations of CNC wire-cut EDM is the time it takes to cut a keyway as well as the size of parts a given wire-cut EDM machine can accommodate.
Shaping or slotting.
Shaping or slotting is largely used for cutting keyways that do not extend through the full length of the part. Like keyseating, shaping uses a single-point cutting tool for cutting, however, shapers are not guided through the cut on a fixed post. As such, shaper cuts are generally more susceptible to deflection than keyseater cuts.
Milling.
Parallel, tapered, and Woodruff keyways can be produced on a milling machine. End mills or slotting cutters are used for parallel and tapered keyways, while a Woodruff cutter is used for Woodruff keyways.
For internal keyways that are not too long, the keyways can be milled if a radius is acceptable.
Chiseling.
One of the earliest forms of keyseating was done by chiseling. The keyway is roughed out using a chisel and then filed to size; the key is tried frequently to avoid over filing. This technique is long, tedious, and rarely used anymore.
Keyed joints.
A "shear key" is a feature intended to fail and avoid further damage should the machinery be accidentally operated in excess of its design limits. Shear keys may be any of the designs described above, but are made from a weaker material than the shaft. The shear key is easily and inexpensively replaced, and avoids more serious damage to the mechanism that would be costly or difficult to repair. For example, a steel shaft and pulley may employ a brass key. When excessive torque is applied to the joint, the steel edges shear the brass key into two pieces, leaving the pulley spinning loosely on the shaft and relieving the rest of the machine from possible damage.
Two parallel keys can be used if the shaft connection requires a higher torque rating.
Improperly machined keyways that had cutter deflection or drifting occur, may not be strong enough for the required application.


Inconel

Inconel is a nickel-chromium-based superalloy often utilized in extreme environments where components are subjected to high temperature, pressure or mechanical loads. Inconel alloys are oxidation- and corrosion-resistant, when heated, Inconel forms a thick, stable, passivating oxide layer protecting the surface from further attack. Inconel retains strength over a wide temperature range, attractive for high-temperature applications where aluminum and steel would succumb to creep as a result of thermally-induced crystal vacancies. Inconel's high-temperature strength is developed by solid solution strengthening or precipitation hardening, depending on the alloy.
Inconel alloys are typically used in high temperature applications. Common trade names for
History.
The Inconel family of alloys was first developed before December 1932, when its trademark was registered by the International Nickel Company of Delaware and New York. A significant early use was found in support of the development of the Whittle jet engine, during the 1940s by research teams at Henry Wiggin & Co of Hereford, England a subsidiary of the Mond Nickel Company, which merged with Inco in 1928. The Hereford Works and its properties including the Inconel trademark were acquired in 1998 by Special Metals Corporation.
Composition.
Inconel alloys vary widely in their compositions, but all are predominantly nickel, with chromium as the second element.
Properties.
When heated, Inconel forms a thick and stable passivating oxide layer protecting the surface from further attack. Inconel retains strength over a wide temperature range, attractive for high-temperature applications where aluminium and steel would succumb to creep as a result of thermally induced crystal vacancies (see Arrhenius equation). Inconel's high temperature strength is developed by solid solution strengthening or precipitation strengthening, depending on the alloy. In age-hardening or precipitation-strengthening varieties, small amounts of niobium combine with nickel to form the intermetallic compound Ni3Nb or gamma double prime (γ″). Gamma prime forms small cubic crystals that inhibit slip and creep effectively at elevated temperatures. The formation of gamma-prime crystals increases over time, especially after three hours of a heat exposure of , and continues to grow after 72 hours of exposure.
Strengthening Mechanisms.
The most prevalent hardening mechanisms for Inconel alloys are precipitate strengthening and solid solution strengthening. In Inconel alloys, one of the two often dominates. For alloys like Inconel 718, precipitate strengthening is the main strengthening mechanism. The majority of strengthening comes from the presence of gamma double prime (γ″) precipitates. Inconel alloys have a γ matrix phase with an FCC structure. γ″ precipitates are made of Ni and Nb, specifically with a Ni3Nb composition. These precipitates are fine, coherent, disk-shaped, intermetallic particles with a tetragonal structure.
Secondary precipitate strengthening comes from gamma prime (γ') precipitates. The γ' phase can appear in multiple compositions such as Ni3(Al, Ti). The precipitate phase is coherent and has an FCC structure, like the γ matrix; The γ' phase is much less prevalent than γ″. The volume fraction of the γ″ and γ' phases are approximately 15% and 4% after precipitation, respectively. Because of the coherency between the γ matrix and the γ' and γ″ precipitates, strain fields exist that obstruct the motion of dislocations. The prevalence of carbides with MX(Nb, Ti)(C, N) compositions also helps to strengthen the material. For precipitate strengthening, elements like niobium, titanium, and tantalum play a crucial role.
Because the γ″ phase is metastable, over-aging can result in the transformation of γ″ phase precipitates to delta (δ) phase precipitates, their stable counterparts. The δ phase has an orthorhombic structure, a Ni3(Nb, Mo, Ti) composition, and is incoherent. As a result, the transformation of γ″ to δ in Inconel alloys leads to the loss of coherency strengthening, making for a weaker material. That being said, in appropriate quantities, the δ phase is responsible for grain boundary pinning and strengthening.
Another common phase in Inconel alloys is the Laves intermetallic phase. Its compositions are (Ni, Cr, Fe)x(Nb, Mo, Ti)y and NiyNb, it is brittle, and its presence can be detrimental to the mechanical behavior of Inconel alloys. Sites with large amounts of Laves phase are prone to crack propagation because of their higher potential for stress concentration. Additionally, due to its high Nb, Mo, and Ti content, the Laves phase can exhaust the matrix of these elements, ultimately making precipitate and solid-solution strengthening more difficult.
For alloys like Inconel 625, solid-solution hardening is the main strengthening mechanism. Elements like Mo are important in this process. Nb and Ta can also contribute to solid solution strengthening to a lesser extent. In solid solution strengthening, Mo atoms are substituted into the γ matrix of Inconel alloys. Because Mo atoms have a significantly larger radius than those of Ni (209 pm and 163 pm, respectively), the substitution creates strain fields in the crystal lattice, which hinder the motion of dislocations, ultimately strengthening the material.
The combination of elemental composition and strengthening mechanisms is why Inconel alloys can maintain their favorable mechanical and physical properties, such as high strength and fatigue resistance, at elevated temperatures, specifically those up to 650°C.
Machining.
Inconel is a difficult metal to shape and to machine using traditional cold forming techniques due to rapid work hardening. After the first machining pass, work hardening tends to plastically deform either the workpiece or the tool on subsequent passes. For this reason, age-hardened Inconels such as 718 are typically machined using an aggressive but slow cut with a hard tool, minimizing the number of passes required. Alternatively, the majority of the machining can be performed with the workpiece in a "solutionized" form, with only the final steps being performed after age hardening. However some claim that Inconel can be machined extremely quickly with very fast spindle speeds using a multifluted ceramic tool with small depth of cut at high feed rates as this causes localised heating and softening in front of the flute.
External threads are machined using a lathe to "single-point" the threads or by rolling the threads in the solution treated condition (for hardenable alloys) using a screw machine. Inconel 718 can also be roll-threaded after full aging by using induction heat to without increasing the grain size. Holes with internal threads are made by threadmilling. Internal threads can also be formed using a sinker electrical discharge machining (EDM).
Joining.
Welding of some Inconel alloys (especially the gamma prime precipitation hardened family; e.g., Waspaloy and X-750) can be difficult due to cracking and microstructural segregation of alloying elements in the heat-affected zone. However, several alloys such as 625 and 718 have been designed to overcome these problems. The most common welding methods are gas tungsten arc welding and electron-beam welding.
Uses.
Inconel is often encountered in extreme environments. It is common in gas turbine blades, seals, and combustors, as well as turbocharger rotors and seals, electric submersible well pump motor shafts, high temperature fasteners, chemical processing and pressure vessels, heat exchanger tubing, steam generators and core components in nuclear pressurized water reactors, natural gas processing with contaminants such as H2S and CO2, firearm sound suppressor blast baffles, and Formula One, NASCAR, NHRA, and APR, LLC exhaust systems. It is also used in the turbo system of the 3rd generation Mazda RX7, and the exhaust systems of high powered Wankel engined Norton motorcycles where exhaust temperatures reach more than . Inconel is increasingly used in the boilers of waste incinerators. The Joint European Torus and DIII-D tokamaks' vacuum vessels are made of Inconel. Inconel 718 is commonly used for cryogenic storage tanks, downhole shafts, wellhead parts, and in the aerospace industry -- where it has become a prime candidate material for constructing heat resistant turbines.
Automotive.
Rolled Inconel was frequently used as the recording medium by engraving in black box recorders on aircraft.
Alternatives to the use of Inconel in chemical applications such as scrubbers, columns, reactors, and pipes are Hastelloy, perfluoroalkoxy (PFA) lined carbon steel or fiber reinforced plastic.
Inconel alloys.
Alloys of inconel include:
In age hardening or precipitation strengthening varieties, alloying additions of aluminum and titanium combine with nickel to form the intermetallic compound or gamma prime (γ′). Gamma prime forms small cubic crystals that inhibit slip and creep effectively at elevated temperatures.


Butterfly (company)

Butterfly also known as Butterfly Pictures was a film production company that produced and released films spanned as part of the Universal Film Manufacturing Company program from 1917 to 1918.
History.
On April 28, 1917, Butterfly Pictures was announced in "Motography" a new brand of feature films that would be released as part of the Universal exchanges. These films would be five reels in length and would be produced at the Universal Film Manufacturing Company studios in California.


Asteelflash Group

Asteelflash Group is a French multinational electronics contract manufacturing company specializing in printed circuit board assembly and also offering design and aftermarket services.
Headquartered in Neuilly-Plaisance, France, it is the second largest electronics manufacturing services(EMS) company in Europe and ranks among top 20 worldwide with manufacturing operations in 18 countries, totaling approximately 2 million square feet and 5,700 employees.
History.
In 1999, the company was founded in Paris, France as Asteel by Gilles Benhamou. The EMS company experienced rapid growth through acquisitions. Asteel then extended its operations into North Africa and Europe and acquired new premises in both Tunisia (in Mégrine and Fouchana) and the United Kingdom (in Bedford, England).
In 2008, Asteel acquired Flash Electronics, an American EMS company founded in 1994, and developed it into a multinational company, operating since then under the name Asteelflash. In so doing, the company reinforced its global footprint with new facilities in the USA (in Fremont, California) and in China (in Suzhou, Jiangsu).
In 2012, Asteelflash acquired American Catalyst Manufacturing Services, Inc. with plants in Raleigh, North Carolina and in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Hoping to establish a permanent foothold in the European market, Asteelflash acquired French TES Electronic Solutions in 2011 and German EN ElectronicNetwork in 2012.
In 2020, Asteelflash was acquired by USI, Universal Scientific Industrial (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. USI is a contract manufacturer (EMS and ODM) with a dual-headquarter in Shanghai and Taiwan.
Ranking No. 2 in Europe and among top 20 worldwide, Asteelflash's competitors are industry heavyweights such as: Flextronics (Singapore), Jabil (United States) or Foxconn (Taiwan), Benchmark (United States), Celestica (Canada), Plexus (United States) and Zollner (Germany).
Market segments.
Asteelflash has manufacturing operations in eight countries on four continents, totaling 18 plants, approximately 2 million square feet manufacturing surface and +6,000 employees.
Asteelflash Group demarcated its global footprint into four geographical divisions, listed below.
AMERICAS.
300,000 ft2, 400 employees
West EMEA.
610,000 ft², 2,044 employees
East EMEA.
329,000 ft2, 700 employees


Motorcycle design

Motorcycle design can be described as activities that define the appearance, function and engineering of motorcycles.
Professionally it is a branch of industrial design, similar to automotive design using identical techniques and methodology, but confined by a set of conventions about what is acceptable to the buying public. These conventions have been defined by the acceptance of the industry and media as a whole to the assumption that the public will only purchase machines that bear more than a passing resemblance to competition machines of whatever kind. In some large OEM motorcycle manufacturers, the term designer can also be applied to the project leader or chief engineer charged with laying down the principal architecture of the vehicle. In recent years, it has also become associated with custom or "chopper" builder culture.
Professional design.
Professional motorcycle designers almost always hold degrees in industrial design, industrial design engineering or similar, and have training in styling, modeling, as well as knowledge in aspects of technology associated with single track vehicles. Although no degree as a specialisation exists per se, the majority of candidates graduate through colleges and universities with established transportation design courses, and are trained as automotive designers.
Most OEM motorcycle manufacturers, such as Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, BMW, Ducati, Piaggio and others have in-house design studios dedicated to this purpose, while others such as Yamaha and KTM depend on specialised independent design consultancies.
Methodology.
Design and engineering relationships.
Due to the high importance of mechanical components or even exposed engines to motorcycle styling, almost always designers will have a greater sensitivity to and awareness of engineering than will typical car designers. In OEM situations, large teams of professional engineers and specialists will collaborate on each project development, allowing the designer to focus on the more intangible or subjective aspects of design, such as styling, human-machine interface psychology, and market and cultural relationships. In other matters such as pure mechanical ergonomics (such as seat height, handlebar placement, etc.), or basic layout (the location of major components, storage, etc.) there is usually considerable overlap between the designer and engineer. The designer will nominally approach each problem from a human interface, or "feel" or "irrational" point of view (example : "Does this material feel cold or warm, and is this feeling appropriate to this vehicle's target consumer?"), while the engineer will attack each problem with the "rational" or clinical approach of empirically weighing the cause and effect of each design decision against the project's technical and economic design targets (example : "Can this material be moulded into the designer's desired shape? Will that be too expensive to produce?")
Research and Concept Design.
In OEM motorcycle design, the normal procedure of developing a new motorcycle involves the same steps as in other professional design disciplines : identifying a target consumer, researching them to identify benchmarks and project targets, then proposing concept directions in a written form known as a Design Brief or QFD. From this point, artwork is developed to visually communicate the designer's ideas. These are presented in 2Db drawing or illustrated form, from which a winning direction is down selected for further development. Once a satisfactory design is established on paper (the term paper is a generalization that can include traditional hand renderings, digital artwork or CAD drawings), then full scale modeling begins to realise the design in tangible 3D form.
Styling.
Often used as an interchangeable term with "design", styling is in fact just one component of the design process. Typically, styling is developed through sketches, renderings and illustrations then realised in 3D form using automotive styling clay, specialised industrial modeling foams such as Sibatool, Renshape or Epiwood, or in increasingly limited cases plaster or body filler. As the most subjective part of the design process, the various members of the development team must depend heavily on the judgment, skill and experience of the appointed designer to create an appropriate look.
The most misunderstood element and the most dangerous to the success of a product, is the idea that team members should evaluate the design based on personal tastes or preferences. Industrial design is not an art form, but a focused creative expression using the scientific data and analysis in the Design Brief and QFD as ultimate guidelines. The target user, their needs and tastes should be reflected in the final design, not necessarily exclusively those of the design team. Of course, many complex variables such as the OEM brand identity, past successes and failures, and whimsical trends often skew or distort styling decisions. In instances where the factors are overwhelming, OEM's may err on the side of cautious conservative design.
Parallel development.
Because of the need to reduce development time and costs, the "styling" design model is usually developed in parallel with the engineering 3D design. While there is an increasing amount of digital design input in the modern OEM design process, nearly all major motorcycle manufacturers still rely on full scale clay models to render the master style model, then scan and import the styling surfaces into suitable 3D software packages (Alias, CATIA, ISEM Surf) for integration into the 3D engineering CAD platform (CATIA, ProEngineer, etc.). Once combined, the design team can virtually refine the motorcycle by optimising component assembly, checking for any undesirable interferences between parts, and predict and eliminate possible engineering problems. Typically, designers and engineers will have the greatest number of conflicts during this phase of development, as designers will fight to maintain the original styling and design of the clay model and artwork into the production vehicle, while the engineer will eliminate all problems in the most efficient manner possible. The success of the final product depends heavily on the level of cooperation between these often conflicting needs.
Amateur and specialists.
Custom builders.
In recent years, largely due to the popularity of television programs like "Orange County Chopper" and "Biker Build-off", the building of one of a kind "chopper" or "cruiser" type motorcycles has become more mainstream, leading to a flourishing builder industry. As a whole, these vehicles are not designed in the professional sense, but rather crafted by hand by metal workers and artisans using traditional skills. The resulting vehicles tend to be very elaborate, expensive and difficult or impossible to reproduce in mass production, but are highly valued for the same reasons.
Among custom motorcycle culture, certain names have become famous for their creations and have led to mainstream acceptance of previously unacceptable design solutions such as extreme ergonomics, totally rigid rear wheels without the benefit of suspension, minimal lighting and limited ground clearance for cornering. These design characteristics are purely emotional in nature, being led by styling and image rather than technical or performance considerations.
"Specials".
Custom and specials motorcycles are similar to the above but tend to be super sport type motorcycles, or at least high-performance based, using many special add-on parts, one-of-a-kind or limited series frames, racing wheels and parts or hand-made components to maximise performance. While modifying motorcycles is an activity as old as the motorcycle itself, the "special" culture or "streetfighter" began to flourish in the mid-1970s as a response to the myriad high performance Japanese motorcycles then available, but whose power far exceeded their handling. Individuals would choose premanufactured parts from catalogs or from other bikes and redesign their particular machine to suit their desires. In general this activity is limited to one-of-a-kind vehicles and, as with custom motorcycles, uses very little genuine engineering or design methodology, although some small-scale manufacturers exist who make limited runs of a given model. In some cases, these tiny specialists were successful enough to grow into full-scale OEM companies such as the Buell Motorcycle Company and Bimota of Italy.


Fujitsu Computer Products of America

Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc. is a subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited, the world's third largest IT products and services provider. FCPA designs, develops, and manufactures innovative computer products for the global marketplace. Current product and service offerings include high-performance hard disk drives, scanners and scanner maintenance, palm vein recognition technology, and 10Gb Ethernet switches and degaussers. FCPA is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is responsible for design and development, distribution, sales and marketing, finance and administration, and engineering and technical support for the Fujitsu document imaging scanner business and computing and storage products.
The company claims to have a "55 percent market share in the U.S. of the 20-to-49-pages-per-minute, high-performance scanner market."
List of FCPA product groups.
"Fujitsu sold its Enterprise Hard Disk Drive business to Toshiba as of October 1st, 2009."