This book presents recent advances in the integration and the optimization of product design and manufacturing systems. The book is divided into 3 chapters corresponding to the following three main topics : - optimization of product design process (mechanical design process, mass customization, modeling the product representation, computer support for engineering design, support systems for tolerancing, simulation and optimization tools for structures and for mechanisms and robots), -optimization of manufacturing systems (multi-criteria optimization and fuzzy volumes, tooth path generation, machine-tools behavior, surface integrity and precision, process simulation), - methodological aspects of integrated design and manufacturing (solid modeling, collaborative tools and knowledge formalization, integrating product and process design and innovation, robust and reliable design, multi-agent approach in VR environment). The present book is of interest to engineers, researchers, academic staff, and postgraduate students interested in integrated design and manufacturing in mechanical engineering.

This book presents a selection of papers related to the fifth edition of book further to the International Conference on Integrated Design and Manufacturing in Mechanical Engineering. This Conference has been organized within the framework of the activities of the AIP-PRIMECA network whose main scientific field is Integrated Design applied to both Mechanical Engineering and Productics. This network isorganized along the lines of a joint project: the evolution, in the field of training of Integrated Design in Mechanics and Productics, in quite close connection with the ever changing industrial needs over the past 20 years. It is in charge of promoting both exchanges of experience and know-how capitalisation. It has a paramount mission to fulfil, be it in the field of initial and continuous education, technological transfer and knowledge dissemination through strong links with research labs. For the second time, in fact, the IDMME Conference has been held abroad and, after Canada in 2000, the United Kingdom, more particularly Bath University, has been retained under the responsibility of Professor Alan Bramley, the Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the conference. The Scientific Committee members have selected all the lectures from com mplete papers, which is the guarantee for the Conference of quite an outstanding scientific level. After that, a new selection hasbeen carried out to retain the best publications, which establish in a book, a state-of-the-art analysis as regards Integrated Design and Manufacturing in the discipline of Mechanical Engineering.

The 33 papers presented in this book were selected from amongst the 97 papers presented during the sixth edition of the International Conference on Integrated Design and Manufacturing in Mechanical Engineering during 28 sessions. This conference represents the state-of-the-art research in the field. Two keynote papers introduce the subject of the Conference and are followed by the different themes highlighted during the conference.

SMC COLOMBIER FONTAINE is a company in the AFE METAL group, which uses a sand casting process to manufacture steel primary parts. To reduce the "time to market", primary part producers need to reduce the time and cost of the industrialisation process. These factors, in addition to the global goal of improving process performance levels, brought SMC to develop numerical technologies and traceability from quotation to part delivery [1]. Nowadays, these improvements are incorporated into company culture. The next step in reducing the time and cost of the production process is to introduce a complete methodology of use and experience feedback of these new models and methods. To be able to generalise this approach, a CAD methodology is essential and thus becomes a step in the industrialisation process. The amount of improvements engendered by the numerical technologies largely justifies the time investment made to obtain a numerical definition of all the different elements in the sand casting process [2]. The objective of our approach is to optimise the product and its production process by generating a complete numerical reference, through the integration of quotation, CAD, simulation, new manufacturing technologies and effective production processes.

This book gives a comprehensive view of the most recent major international research in the field of tolerancing, and is an excellent resource for anyone interested in Computer Aided Tolerating. It is organized into 4 parts. Part 1 focuses on the more general problems of tolerance analysis and synthesis, for tolerancing in mechanical design and manufacturing processes. Part 2 specifically highlights the simulation of assembly with defects, and the influence of tolerances on the quality of the assembly. Part 3 deals with measurement aspects, and quality control throughout the life cycle. Different measurement technologies and methods for estimating uncertainty are considered. In Part 4, different aspects of tolerancing and their interactions are explored, from the definition of functional requirement to measurement processes in a PLM approach.

In this book, the authors present in detail several recent methodologies and algorithms that they developed during the last fifteen years. The deterministic methods account for uncertainties through empirical safety factors, which implies that the actual uncertainties in materials, geometry and loading are not truly considered. This problem becomes much more complicated when considering biomechanical applications where a number of uncertainties are encountered in the design of prosthesis systems. This book implements improved numerical strategies and algorithms that can be applied to biomechanical studies.

Uncertainties play a dominant role in the design and optimization of structures and infrastructures. In optimum design of structural systems due to variations of the material, manufacturing variations, variations of the external loads and modelling uncertainty, the parameters of a structure, a structural system and its environment are not given, fi

This is the first book of robotics presenting solutions of uncoupled and fully-isotropic parallel robotic manipulators and a method for their structural synthesis. Part 1 presents the methodology proposed for structural synthesis. Part 2 presents the various topologies of parallel robots generated by this systematic approach. Many solutions are presented here for the first time. The book will contribute to a widespread implementation of these solutions in industrial products.

This book presents a broad view of the current state of the art regarding the dynamic response of composite and sandwich structures subjected to impacts and explosions. Each chapter combines a thorough assessment of the literature with original contributions made by the authors. The first section deals with fluid-structure interactions in marine structures. The first chapter focuses on hull slamming and particularly cases in which the deformation of the structure affects the motion of the fluid during the water entry of flexible hulls. Chapter 2 presents an extensive series of tests underwater and in the air to determine the effects of explosions on composite and sandwich structures. Full-scale structures were subjected to significant explosive charges, and such results are extremely rare in the open literature. Chapter 3 describes a simple geometrical theory of diffraction for describing the interaction of an underwater blast wave with submerged structures. The second section addresses the problem of impact on laminated composite structures with chapters devoted to ballistic impacts on pre-stressed composite structures, tests developed to simulate dynamic failure in marine structures, damage mechanisms and energy absorption in low velocity impacts, perforation, the numerical simulation of intra and inter-ply damage during impact, and hail impact on laminated composites. Sandwich structures with laminated facings are considered in Section 3 with chapters dealing with the discrete modeling of honeycomb core during the indentation of sandwich structures, the behavior of fold core sandwich structures during impact, and impact on helicopter blades. The fourth section consists of two chapters presenting experimental results and numerical simulation of composite structures subjected to crash. This volume is intended for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and engineers interested and involved in analysis and design of composite structures.

"This book explores the recent advancements in the areas of lean production, management, and the system and layout design for manufacturing environments, capturing the building blocks of lean transformation on a shop floor level"--