Development of Knowledge Based Process Planning System for Non-Symmetrical Sheet Metal Forming Processes. Sheet metal and automotive industries need to continually improve their strategic competitive advantages with flexibility and cost-effectiveness to remain competitive in a changing world economy. In order to achieve this, the primary objective in the proposed research is to design and develop a knowledge-based process planning system for non-symmetrical products produced by deep drawing pro ....Development of Knowledge Based Process Planning System for Non-Symmetrical Sheet Metal Forming Processes. Sheet metal and automotive industries need to continually improve their strategic competitive advantages with flexibility and cost-effectiveness to remain competitive in a changing world economy. In order to achieve this, the primary objective in the proposed research is to design and develop a knowledge-based process planning system for non-symmetrical products produced by deep drawing processes. This objective will be achieved by investigating the effect of process variable on drawability of sheet material, by obtaining relevant process information through necessary experimentation and finite element analysis and by development of a rule base by acquiring process information from domain experts selected from number of sheet metal manufacturing industries.Read moreRead less
An innovative system for accurate bending of fracture fixation plates in orthopaedic surgery. Bone fractures cost the Australian healthcare system about 1 billion annually, with the costs associated with non optimal surgical outcomes due to post-operative complications being much higher. The novel system developed in this project will not only shorten surgical procedures but also result in anatomically better fitting plates which will improve the functional outcome and reduce the need for surgic ....An innovative system for accurate bending of fracture fixation plates in orthopaedic surgery. Bone fractures cost the Australian healthcare system about 1 billion annually, with the costs associated with non optimal surgical outcomes due to post-operative complications being much higher. The novel system developed in this project will not only shorten surgical procedures but also result in anatomically better fitting plates which will improve the functional outcome and reduce the need for surgical implant removal. It will further lessen degenerative changes in adjacent joints as a result of incorrect fracture alignment. It can be expected that these improvements in surgical techniques will translate into reduced healthcare expenditure and ensure patient's quality of life.Read moreRead less
Design surface feature recognition for near net shaped manufactured components. The aim of this project is to investigate methods and techniques that, given an ab initio design requirement, allow databases of knowledge from previous designs to be intelligently searched for similar patterns, both geometric and physical state, that will assess the likelihood of a successful design and suggest potential alternatives based on previous experience
The plan is to approach the research problem from a m ....Design surface feature recognition for near net shaped manufactured components. The aim of this project is to investigate methods and techniques that, given an ab initio design requirement, allow databases of knowledge from previous designs to be intelligently searched for similar patterns, both geometric and physical state, that will assess the likelihood of a successful design and suggest potential alternatives based on previous experience
The plan is to approach the research problem from a machine learning/pattern recognition point of view. By mapping the characterized properties into a search space of reduced dimensionality in which feature patterns have been pre-classified through supervised training, it should be possible to identify similar features.
Read moreRead less
Application of Knowledge-Based Engineering (KBE) Technology to Intelligent Design Engineering Systems. Knowledge Based Engineering (KBE) is a systematic approach to the integration of design and manufacturing of products and their related processes, from concept to disposal. Typical for KBE applications is that it accepts design rules and procedures. This makes the design process more efficient, which reduces development cost and product lead time. It also enables knowledge and experience to be ....Application of Knowledge-Based Engineering (KBE) Technology to Intelligent Design Engineering Systems. Knowledge Based Engineering (KBE) is a systematic approach to the integration of design and manufacturing of products and their related processes, from concept to disposal. Typical for KBE applications is that it accepts design rules and procedures. This makes the design process more efficient, which reduces development cost and product lead time. It also enables knowledge and experience to be captured and retained which reduces training cost and makes new staff more effective. The aim of the project is to develop a KBE environment for wire and conduit routing through complex structures and verify the benefits in an industry environment.Read moreRead less
An intelligent design support system for manufacturing of palletising machinery. The food and beverage manufacturing process in most Australian enterprises is a highly automated process, where food cartons, bottles or cans are required to move at a controlled speed for filling or assembly operations. These operations require highly efficient and reliable material handling machinery such as palletising systems. The outcome of this research will be of direct economic benefit to Australian manuf ....An intelligent design support system for manufacturing of palletising machinery. The food and beverage manufacturing process in most Australian enterprises is a highly automated process, where food cartons, bottles or cans are required to move at a controlled speed for filling or assembly operations. These operations require highly efficient and reliable material handling machinery such as palletising systems. The outcome of this research will be of direct economic benefit to Australian manufacturers and suppliers of such machinery in reducing the cost and lead time of designing and delivering highly automated flexible palletising and de-palletising systems with maximum performance.Read moreRead less
Process models and control strategies for abrasive waterjet precision cutting of amorphous magnetic metal parts for energy efficient electrical machines. Amorphous magnetic metal (AMM) is the most energy-efficient material for electrical machines and can save more than 36% of the energy wasted by an electrical motor using an ordinary core material. Since electrical motors consume about 70% of all the electricity generated, energy saving of approximately $900 million annually in electricity bills ....Process models and control strategies for abrasive waterjet precision cutting of amorphous magnetic metal parts for energy efficient electrical machines. Amorphous magnetic metal (AMM) is the most energy-efficient material for electrical machines and can save more than 36% of the energy wasted by an electrical motor using an ordinary core material. Since electrical motors consume about 70% of all the electricity generated, energy saving of approximately $900 million annually in electricity bills, and an annual reduction of 2.5 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia are expected. This project will develop a unique technology able to cut AMM to the required quality and productivity. It targets the national research priorities in Frontier Technologies and An Environmentally Sustainable Australia. Read moreRead less
Modelling the cutting process and cutting performance in contour and multipass abrasive waterjet machining. This project will develop important new cutting techniques to increase the cutting capability and application domain of the abrasive waterjet (AWJ) cutting technology. It will gain a fundamental understanding of the cutting phenomenon and develop new mathematical models for predicting the cutting performance in AWJ contouring and multipass cutting. This project will further develop into a ....Modelling the cutting process and cutting performance in contour and multipass abrasive waterjet machining. This project will develop important new cutting techniques to increase the cutting capability and application domain of the abrasive waterjet (AWJ) cutting technology. It will gain a fundamental understanding of the cutting phenomenon and develop new mathematical models for predicting the cutting performance in AWJ contouring and multipass cutting. This project will further develop into a new branch of manufacturing science by uncovering the cutting mechanisms in AWJ machining with and without nozzle oscillation, and have significant impact to the manufacturing industry by providing machining information and cutting performance models to increase the technological and economic performance of AWJ machining.Read moreRead less
Development of micro abrasive water jetting technology for micro machining and polishing on small complex curved surfaces. The fabrication of micro-parts such as those used in integrated sensors and micro-actuators is a new challenge for the rapid development of this industry. Many existing technologies either find limitations or result in defects on the machined surfaces. This project will develop an innovative abrasive water-jetting technology for micro machining and polishing. It will deve ....Development of micro abrasive water jetting technology for micro machining and polishing on small complex curved surfaces. The fabrication of micro-parts such as those used in integrated sensors and micro-actuators is a new challenge for the rapid development of this industry. Many existing technologies either find limitations or result in defects on the machined surfaces. This project will develop an innovative abrasive water-jetting technology for micro machining and polishing. It will develop the fundamentals and prototype for further development by industry. New nozzle designs will be analyzed and optimized by computational fluid dynamics studies and experimental investigations using a Particle Image Velocimeter. Mathematical models for the processing performance will also be developed for use in process control.Read moreRead less
An Intelligent Computer Aided Engineering Environment for Design and Production of Blow Moulded PET Bottles. The aim of this research proposal is to develop an intelligent computer aided engineering environment for design and manufacturing of blow moulded PET bottles. Current techniques involve a mixture of trial and error leading to high costs in time and money. The proposed research will adopt a concurrent engineering approach and integrating intelligent knowledge based systems for optimum p ....An Intelligent Computer Aided Engineering Environment for Design and Production of Blow Moulded PET Bottles. The aim of this research proposal is to develop an intelligent computer aided engineering environment for design and manufacturing of blow moulded PET bottles. Current techniques involve a mixture of trial and error leading to high costs in time and money. The proposed research will adopt a concurrent engineering approach and integrating intelligent knowledge based systems for optimum part design of PET bottles, PET preform and moulds based on user specific requirements. The work is expected to provide a highly efficient environment able to design and produce a new PET bottle economically and quickly with maximum functional performance.Read moreRead less
Modelling the jet characteristics and process performance for abrasive waterjet micro-machining. This project will develop a new manufacturing science and technology for micro-machining using a micro-abrasive waterjet. The new technology will provide an effective means for micro-cutting, etching and super-finish polishing on various micro-parts, particularly for advanced materials such as ceramics and glasses that are being increasingly used by industry while other technologies either experience ....Modelling the jet characteristics and process performance for abrasive waterjet micro-machining. This project will develop a new manufacturing science and technology for micro-machining using a micro-abrasive waterjet. The new technology will provide an effective means for micro-cutting, etching and super-finish polishing on various micro-parts, particularly for advanced materials such as ceramics and glasses that are being increasingly used by industry while other technologies either experience difficulties or result in defects in processing them. This technology will increase the capacity of the Australian manufacturing industry to exploit new leading technologies and products.Read moreRead less