This paper presents an overview of manufacturing, static/dynamic test and validation work carried out on composite rail vehicle structures. Two case studies, detailing the development and experimental validation of a composite bodied people mover and a foam core composite roof for a regional train are presented, demonstrating new and novel applications of composite materials within the rail ind...

Three approaches to development of new manufacturing systems are discussed. The technology oriented approach is exemplified through Computer-IntegratedManufacturing (CIM). A human oriented approach is also described. The utmost alternative is called Human-Integrated-Manufacturing (HIM). A third, combined, approach is called Computer-Human-Integrated-Manufacturing (CHIM). Swedish manufacturers a...

Lean Manufacturing initiatives try to understand where the sources of waste are in a manufacturing process in order to minimize or avoid them and to add value to the stakeholders. The improvement actions related to lean methods are always incremental, fast and easy; mainly based on people’s experience and on simple tools. For example, a Value Stream Map (VSM) is created to have a visual represe...

Recently, high-performance lightweight materials with outstanding mechanical properties have opened up their way to some sophisticated industrial applications. As one of these systems, aluminum matrix composites/nanocomposites (AMCs) offer an outstanding combination of relative density, hardness, wear resistance, and mechanical strength. Until now, several additive manufacturing methods have be...

This research will analyze and discuss the inner behavior of a flexible manufacturing cell in order to buildup its object-oriented simulation system. An object-oriented Petri Net will be built to model a flexible manufacturing cell. The objects of the object-oriented Petri Net are directly mapped from physical objects of a flexible manufacturing cell. This cell includes a robot, several machine...

The following paper advocates an active rural employment policy in order to reduce rural poverty in the development countries and initiate a sustainable development process. The permanent large increases in the population call for a significant number of employment and income opportunities. As the agricultural sector’s capacity to provide employment is limited, the only alternative is the rural...