The product development process for the automotive industry is normally complicated, lengthy, expensive, and risky. Hence, a study on a new concept for Low Volume Automotive Manufacturing (LVAM), used for niche car models manufacturing, is proposed to overcome this issue. The development of a hybrid Knowledge Based (KB) System, which is a blend of KB System, Gauging Absences of Pre-requisites (GAP), and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is proposed for LVAM research. The hybrid KB/GAP/AHP System identifies all potential elements of LVAM issues throughout the development of this system. The KB System used in the LVAM analyses the gap between the existing and the benchmark organisations for an effective implementation. The novelty and differences in the current research approach emphasises the use of Knowledge Based (KB) System in the planning and designing stages by suggesting recommendations of LVAM implementation, through: a) developing the conceptual LVAM model; b) designing the KBLVAM System structure based on the conceptual LVAM model; and c) embedding Gauging Absences of Pre-requisites (GAP) analysis and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach in the hybrid KBLVAM System. The KBLVAM Model explores five major perspectives in two stages. Planning Stage (Stage 1) consists of Manufacturer Environment Perspective (Level 0), LVAM Manufacturer Business Perspective (Level 1), and LVAM Manufacturer Resource Perspective (Level 2). Design Stage (Stage 2) consists of LVAM Manufacturer Capability ¿ Car Body Part Manufacturing Perspective (Level 3), LVAM Manufacturer Capability ¿ Competitive Priorities Perspective (Level 4), and LVAM Manufacturer Capability ¿ Lean Process Optimisation Perspective (Level 5). Each of these perspectives consists of modules and sub-modules that represent specific subjects in the LVAM development. Based on the conceptual LVAM model, all perspectives were transformed into the KBLVAM System structure, which is embedded with the GAP and AHP techniques, hence, key areas of potential improvement are recommended for each activity for LVAM implementation. In order to be able to address the real situation of LVAM environment, the research verification was conducted for two automotive manufacturers in Malaysia. Some published case studies were also used to check several modules for their validity and reliability. This research concludes that the developed KBLVAM System provides valuable decision making information and knowledge to assist LVAM practitioners to plan, design and implement LVAM in terms of business organisation, manufacturing aspects and practices. / Universiti Malaysia Pahang and Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia

The complexity of sustainable building maintenance environment requires managers to define and implement appropriate quality benchmark system suitable for this function. Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is one of the most effective process improvement and optimization philosophy that maintenance organisations can implement in their environment. However, literature review has shown that 90% of failures in LSS implementations are due to lack of readiness to change, the unawareness of the required benchmark organisation capabilities, and improper control of priorities. The contribution of the current research approach is in developing a hybrid Knowledge-Based (KB)/GAP/AHP System, consisting of three stages (Planning, Designing and Implementation) and containing over 2500 KB rules. The KB System can assist the decision-makers in identifying the obstacles behind the organisation readiness to change into a benchmark LSS maintenance environment. Thus the KB System will be used to achieve benchmark standards by determining the gap existing between the current environment and the benchmark goal, and then suggest a detailed plan to overcome these hurdles in a prioritised and structured manner, thus achieving cost benefits. To ensure its consistency and reliability, the KB System was validated in three Oman-based maintenance organisations, and one published case study for a UK-based organisation. The results from the validation were positive with the System output suggesting list of top priorities and action plans for achieving benchmark LSS standards for these organisations. The research concludes that the developed KB System is a consistent and reliable methodology for assisting decision-makers in designing, planning, and implementing LSS for benchmark sustainable building maintenance.

The pace of development in aviation technology is increasing, and there is a constantneed for new concepts to keep up. An innovative concept is desired to reach the netzero emission and sustainability target visualized in Flight path 2050. Introducing digital models and virtualization into aviation fields reduces time consumption onmanual modelling and increases design accuracy. Digital mock-up models also helpin minimizing costs due to errors in the later stage of development or manufacturing. The Institute of Systems Architecture in Aeronautics at German AerospaceCenter (DLR) works in digitizing cabin design environments with extensive implementation of the Knowledge-Based Engineering (KBE) approach. The virtual cabindesign system tool also known as Fuselage Geometry Assembler (FUGA) providesa digital model of the cabin of both single and twin aisle configurations of commercial aircraft. The information of aircraft characteristics is provided to FUGA using Common Parametric Aircraft Configuration Schema (CPACS). CPACS coupled with FUGA provides the user with a consistent model of aircraft and cabindesign, when viewed through a virtual platform provides an immersive experienceto be inside an aircraft cabin before physical production. The multidisciplinary capability of FUGA provides experts from different disciplines to perform analysis such as vibration analysis on the cabin environment. For ease of usage and better visualization of information from FUGA, a web-based application through Flask is hosted for FUGA. This enables the user to access the FUGA tool without the needof installing the tool on their devices. With the world now moving towards a greener approach, an alternative propulsion system may require a different fuel tank configuration. Retro-fit of liquid hydrogen fuel tank into an existing aircraft’s fuselage is done using FUGA tool and aircraft performance analysis is conducted and the outcomes are studied. The enhanced and advanced model of twin-aisle configuration, now on par with single-aisle configuration is used for hydrogen tank sensitivity analysis. The comparative study of different aisle configurations retro-fitted with liquidhydrogen fuel tank is further conducted for arriving at an optimal design point fora balance in range and passenger capacity.

One group of games studied within game theory are grid-based pursuit evasion games of imperfect information. A pursuit evasion game is in essence a game where there exists a set of pursuers which have as their objective to capture a set of evaders. This thesis aims to develop a formalisation of this type of games as well as describing and integrating vital game theoretical concepts such as order of knowledge into this game. With the developed formalism at hand, the concept of knowledge-based strategies is then introduced, which is essential when searching for the way to play the game most efficiently. The formalisation of the game is then followed by a simulation, measuring the performance of some older and some newly developed knowledge-based strategies. The thesis concludes that the formalisation is applicable on a more general class of pursuit evasion games and enables a wider study of the game. The simulation results indicate that knowledge-based strategies of higher order do not always perform better compared to simpler strategies of lower order of knowledge. Furthermore, strategies which allow for communication between agents are found to be superior to communication-less strategies. / En typ av spel som studeras inom spelteori är rutnätsbaserade jakt-flykt-spel med ofullständig information. Ett jakt-flykt-spel går ut på att det existerar en samling jagande aktörer som försöker fånga en samling flyende aktörer. Denna uppsats söker utveckla en formalism för denna typ av spel såväl som att beskriva och integrera ett antal nyckelkoncept inom spelteori såsom kunskapsordning. Med hjälp av den utvecklade formalismen, framställs så kallade kunskapsbaserade strategier, vilka är av fundamental vikt i sökandet efter sätt att spela spelet på det effektivaste sättet. Kapitlet om formalismen följs sedan av simuleringar där några äldre och några nyare kunskapsbaserade strategier prövas. Slutsatsen dras att den nya formalismen kan vara applicerbar på en bredare samling jakt-flykt-spel än den initialt påtänkta. Vidare underlättar formalismen en generalisering till andra sätt att beskriva spel. Simulationsresultaten indikerar att kunskapsbaserade strategier av högre ordning inte alltid presterar bättre än enklare strategier av lägre ordning. Till yttermera visso visar sig kommunikationslösa strategier vara underlägsna strategier som tillåter kommunikation. / Kandidatexjobb i elektroteknik 2022, KTH, Stockholm

Examensarbetet som detaljeras i denna rapport är utfört på uppdrag av företaget Xperdi AB, designautomationsexperter vars önskemål med projektet var en demonstration av effekten avdesignautomation. Projektförslaget innefattar utveckling och användningen av ett automationsramverk för automatisk generering av unika hydraulcylindermodeller efter specifika designkrav. För att genomföra arbetet har olika verktyg och metoder kombinerats. Modellens delkomponenter konstruerades i CAD-programmet SolidWorks och kompletterades med nödvändiga data för att förbereda CAD-filerna för konfiguration. XCC (Xperdi CAD Configurator) är ett konfigurationsverktyg som hanterar datan från CAD och erbjuder extern styrning och konfiguration av CAD-modellen. För att automatisera konfigurationen som möjliggörs av XCC har ett gränssnitt för designval och olika verkställande operationer skapats i programmet Visual Studio, med tillhörande kod skriven i det objektorienterade språket Visual Basic. Koden i Visual Studio kommunicerar med XCC och innehåller konfigurativa instruktioner för modellen baserat på valda inputs, men även direkt med SolidWorks för verkställandet av specifika SolidWorks-funktioner. Projektet har resulterat i en anpassningsbar hydraulcylindermodell vars specifikationer styrs från gränssnittet, med funktionalitet för automatisk generering av hålbilder och ritningar för samtliga unika konfigurationer i designrymden. Även tidsvinsterna av designautomation har undersökts. Resultaten indikerar att arbetet med att upprätta ett automationsramverk har betydande fördelar, dels med avseende på hastigheten av designändringar som uppmätts, dels med avseende på mervärdet som tillkommer vid reduktion av repetitivt arbete. Dock tas i beaktning att fördelarna av designautomation bör vägas mot resursinvesteringarna som krävs. / The thesis detailed in this report was carried out on behalf of the company Xperdi AB, designautomation experts whose goal for the project was to demonstrate the effectiveness of designautomation. The project proposal includes development and use of an automation framework for automatic generation of unique hydraulic cylinder models based on specific design requirements. To execute the work, various tools and methods were combined. The model's subcomponents were constructed in the CAD program SolidWorks and supplemented with the necessary data to prepare the CAD files for configuration. XCC (Xperdi CAD Configurator) is a configuration tool that manages data from CAD and offers external control and configuration of the CAD model. To automate the configuration enabled by XCC, an interface for design choices and various executive operations was created in the Visual Studio program, with accompanying code written in the object-oriented language Visual Basic. The code in Visual Studio communicates with XCC and contains configurative instructions for the model based on selected inputs, as well as directly with SolidWorks to perform specific SolidWorks functions. The project has resulted in an adaptive hydraulic cylinder model whose specifications are controlled from the interface, with functionality for automatic generation of hole patterns and drawings for all unique configurations in the design space. The time savings of design automation have also been examined. The results indicate that the work of establishing an automation framework has significant benefits, both in terms of the speed of design changes measured and the added value that comes from reducing repetitive work. However, it should be noted that the benefits of design automation should be weighed against the resource investments required.

The dependency of maintenance as a manufacturing logistic function has made the considerations of maintenance decisions complex in nature. The importance of maintenance has escalated significantly by the increasing of automation in manufacturing processes. This condition switches the traditional maintenance perspective of “fire-fighter” into the business competitive driver. As a consequence, maintenance needs to consider other related aspects of decision making to achieve competitive advantage. This research aims to develop a hybrid Knowledge-Based (KB) System/GAP/AHP methodology to support the integration of maintenance decision with business and manufacturing perspectives. It constructs over 2000 KB rules on Strategic Stage (business and manufacturing aspects) and Maintenance Operations Stage (maintenance aspects). Each aspect contains KB rules attached with GAP analysis to assess the gap between current and prerequisite condition. AHP analysis is then deployed to compare those aspects structurally in a pair-wise manner to identify the critical ones to be rectified. This hybrid KB system is useful in reviewing the existing maintenance system performance and provides reasonable recommendations to improve maintenance performance with respect to business and manufacturing perspectives. Eventually, it indicates the roadmap from the current state to the benchmark goals for the maintenance system. This novel methodology of KBS/GAP/AHP to support maintenance decision is developed for a particular application in the automotive environment. The validation is conducted in two automotive companies in Indonesia and one published case study in an automotive company. The result confirms that the developed KB system can provide the valid, reasonable and consistent result to propose structured recommendation for maintenance improvement priority.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.