Dans cette thèse, nous apportons la contribution à la conception de robots médicaux, en proposant une démarche de conception simultanée de la structure mécanique du robot. Par opposition à une vision séquentielle naturelle de la conception, la formalisation du processus créatif permet une simultanéité, ouvrant la voie à des structures innovantes dédiées : en robotique médicale, faible masse et faible compacité de la structure mécanique sont souvent recherchées. A partir d’un descriptif de démarches existantes, nous effectuons la conception d’un robot de télé-échographie et d’un robot de chirurgie mini-invasive. Pour les deux applications, de fortes contraintes sont présentes. En télé-échographie, la portabilité est très recherchée, requérant une faible compacité. Pour la chirurgie mini-invasive, les moto-réducteurs du robot in vivo doivent être dimensionnés au plus juste. Ici, nous avons formalisé l’amélioration de la compacité d’une structure parallèle pour la télé-échographie. Les résultats montrent une amélioration de la compacité de l’ordre de 5%. Dans le même esprit, nous avons formalisé la synthèse dimensionnelle de deux robots 2R-R-R de chirurgie mini-invasive in vivo. Nous réalisons l’optimisation simultanée entre le dimensionnement des moto-réducteurs et des longueurs des corps pour tendre vers une simultanéité totale du processus créatif, ce qui nous permet d’améliorer les performances en termes de force et vitesse à l’effecteur. Ces expériences de conception montrent les limites à une simultanéité stricte. Nous indiquons le besoin d’adapter outils et méthodes de conception mécatronique pour une simultanéité en conception robotique tenant compte de l’aspect imparfait du processus créatif. / In this thesis, we propose a contribution to the design of medical robots, by offering a concurrent design or simultaneous approach. As opposed to a natural sequential view of the design process, the formalization of the creative process allows simultaneity, paving the way for innovative structures, dedicated: in the medical robotic field, low mass and low compactness of the mechanical structure are often sought. From a description of existing approaches, we design a tele-ultrasound robot and a minimally invasive surgery robot. For both applications, high physical integration is required. For tele-ultrasound robots, portability is highly sought, requiring low compactness. For minimally invasive surgery, geared motors of the in vivo robot must be sized correctly. Here, we formalized the improvement of compactness of an existing parallel structure for remote ultrasound application. The results show an improvement of compactness of around 5%. In the same way, we formalize the dimensional synthesis of two robots 2R-R-R for in vivo minimally invasive surgery. The results show the under-sizing of some actuators. We perform simultaneous optimization between the design of geared motors and lengths of the body of a robot 2R-RR, tendering towards full simultaneity of the creative process, allowing to improve minimal force and velocity at the end-effector of the robot. These experiments of design show limits to a strict simultaneity. We indicate the need to adapt the tools and methods of mechatronic design for simultaneous robotics design, taking into account the imperfect aspect of the creative process.

[pt] O mercado tecnológico é movido pela demanda por inovações frequentes e substanciais e a consequente agilidade dos processos. Em busca de inovação, não raro as empresas se contentam com melhorias incrementais para apresentar produtos antes de seus concorrentes e garantir o retorno esperado pelos investidores. Com o objetivo de incrementar a criatividade das equipes desenvolvedoras essa pesquisa se concentrou na seguinte hipótese: se a produção criativa do brainstorming com crianças fosse utilizada nos processos de design de produtos o grau de inovação e a quantidade de produtos inovadores aumentaria. Os métodos e técnicas utilizados para essa investigação foram: entrevistas com CEOs de empresas de tecnologia digital; questionário para desenvolvedores de produtos desse tipo; entrevistas com professoras e psicopedagogas; experimento no qual crianças, equipe de desenvolvimento e designers experientes foram envolvidos. Os resultados dessa pesquisa apontaram para a refutação da hipótese, já que o processo de design do desenvolvimento de produtos digitais inovadores não foi otimizado com a produção criativa das crianças. Apesar dos resultados a inserção da variável fez com que fosse gerada uma maior quantidade de boas ideias. Foi possível criar um passo-a-passo para que o brainstorming com a influência da produção criativa das crianças possa ser replicado em processos de Design. / [en] The demand for frequent and substantial innovations and the consequent agility of the processes is driven by the technological market. In search of innovation, companies are often content with incremental improvements to present products before their competitors and to ensure investors expected return. In order to increase the creativity of the creative teams, this research focused on the following hypothesis: if the creative production of brainstorming with children was used in the Design processes, the degree of innovation of the products and the number of solutions for innovative digital products would increase. The methods and techniques used for this investigation were: interviews with CEOs of digital technology companies; questionnaire for developers of such products; interviews with teachers and psycho-pedagogues; experiment in which children, development team and experienced designers were involved. The results of this research pointed to the refutation of the hypothesis, since the design process of the development of innovative digital products was not optimized with the creative production of the children: in spite of the results, the insertion of the variable resulted in the generation of more good ideas. It was possible to create a step-by-step approach so that brainstorming with the influence of children s creative output can be replicated in Design processes.

The subject of this splitted article is the commissioning of a new application that may be part of a processing machine. Considering the example of the intermittent transport of small-sized goods, for example, chocolate bars, ideas for increasing the maximum performance are discussed. Starting from an analysis, disadvantages of a conventional motion approach are discussed, and thus, a new motion approach is presented. For realising this new motion approach, a virtual process model has to be built, which is the subject of this article. Therefore, the real process has to be abstracted, so only the main elements take attention in the modelling process. Following, important model parameters are determined and verified using virtual experiments. This finally leads to the possibility to calculate useful operating speed–dependent trajectories using the process model.

Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Chemical Engineering In the FACULTY OF ENGINEERING 2014 / In South Africa only 5% of the coal fly ash produced annually by power stations finds use. Due to the high quantities of Si and Al in the coal fly ash researchers have explored the opportunity to use the fly ash as a feedstock in zeolite synthesis. Two principal methods have been successfully employed on a micro scale namely the 2-step method and fusion assisted method. However, in order to scale-up these processes some fundamental process design changes are required. Fly ash contains various elements including highly toxic elements such as As, Pb and Hg. The fate of these elements during the synthesis processes is not known. Both these processes generate large quantities of liquid supernatant waste. Disposal of these wastes would be expensive and environmentally harmful, thus making these processes industrially unfeasible. The well known fusion assisted process, contains an energy intensive fusion step operating at 550 C. Construction and operation of a furnace to implement fusion would be too expensive on an industrial scale. The 2-step method has a time consuming pre-hydrothermal treatment step (aging step). In order to improve the feasibility of the 2-step process the processing time of the aging step needs to be reduced. In order to breach the scale gap between micro and pilot plant scale a principal reactor design has been suggested. However, to date, no consideration has been given to the safety and operational reliability of this design. A HAZOP study is required to prevent costly incidents from occurring during the operation of this reactor. The aim of this study formed part of the overall initiative to scale-up the synthesis of zeolites to pilot and ultimately do at industrial scale. The aim of this study specifically was to perform some principal process design activities in order to prepare these processes for scale-up. The objectives were to perform material balances on the two principals synthesis approaches in order to determine the distributional fate of elements. Secondly, to make critical process design changes and develop protocols whereby the supernatant waste resulting from these processes can be minimised. Thirdly, to replace the fusion step (used in the fusion assisted process) and the aging step (used in the 2-step process) with a short high intensity sonochemical treatment step. Lastly, to perform a HAZOP study on the principal bench scale reactor design, and make design changes based on the outcome of the study. Material balances illustrated that most of the elements originating from the coal fly ash (Fe, Mn, Mg, Ca, Ti, Ba, Ce, Co, Cu, Nb, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sr, Y and Zn) do not leach out into solution during either of the two synthesis approaches. This was due to the CaO content in the ash retarding the mobility of these elements. This meant that during the 2-step process these elements reported to the overall zeolite product but did not form part of the zeolite crystal structure. On the other hand, during the fusion assisted process these elements reported to the solid residue waste. The yield efficiency of the fusion assisted process was found to be poor with only 19.6% of the Si and 21.6% Al reporting to the zeolite A product. The 2-step process on the other hand incorporated 72.2% of the Si and 81.5% Al into the zeolite product. However, the 2-step process produced a mixed phase zeolite product while the fusion assisted process produced a pure phase zeolite A product. Therefore there is a trade-off between yield efficiency and product purity. It was found that the liquid supernatant waste produced during both the synthesis processes contained toxic elements such as As, Pb, Hg, Al and Nb. This highlighted the importance to minimise the liquid supernatant waste generated. The waste minimisation studies illustrated that the liquid supernatant waste can be recycled while still producing highly crystalline zeolite products, in both the synthesis approaches. During the 2-step process the supernatant waste was recycled as a source of NaOH. By recycling the waste it was found that 40% of the supernatant could be recycled. However, by making a minor process design change a protocol was developed whereby 100% of the supernatant waste could be recycled. Also, by recycling the liquid waste, zeolite analcime became the dominant phase due to the accumulation of Si in the waste. In the fusion assisted process, protocols were developed whereby the liquid supernatant waste was recycled as a source of water. It was found that 100% of the supernatant could be recycled without compromising the relative crystallinity and purity of the zeolite A product. Both the fusion step (used in the fusion assisted approach) and the 48 hr aging step (used in the 2-step process) could be replaced with 10 min of sonochemical treatment. It was found in both cases that the introduction of ultrasound, during the pre-hydrothermal stage, increased the rate of crystal formation during the hydrothermal treatment step. It was also found that by replacing the high temperature fusion step, in the fusion assisted process, the required hydrothermal treatment temperature could be reduced to 90 C. By introducing sonochemical treatment in these two synthesis approaches their synthesis time and energy demands could be reduced successfully. A HAZOP study on the principal bench scale reactor design enabled design changes to be made preventing future loss during operation. A final optimised reactor design was proposed based on the outcome of the HAZOP study. This study effectively prepared both zeolite synthesis approaches for up-scale operation. Scale-up of this process will reduce disposal of coal fly ash offering relief to the financial and environmental strain caused to the country.

Le contrôle thermique des réactions dans les réacteurs à lits fixes nécessite la maîtrise du transfert thermique en proche paroi. Afin d’optimiser leur conception et en particulier de maintenir un chemin réactionnel le plus proche possible de l’isothermicité, un modèle de transfert thermique pertinent dans un tel milieu est indispensable. Deux premières thèses au Laboratoire d'Energétique et de Mécanique Théorique et Appliquée ont permis de mettre au point un modèle dispersif utilisable à cœur de réacteur. La présente thèse met en évidence un effet de paroi non négligeable causé par la variation de porosité du lit à l’approche de la paroi. Ce travail propose un raccordement du cœur, où le modèle thermique précédent est légitime, à la paroi, par une couche homogénéisée. Cette approche est validée par une caractérisation expérimentale des paramètres du modèle sur un dispositif de laboratoire en utilisant une méthode d’inversion originale reposant sur une approche Bayesienne. Une validation de cette caractérisation dans une géométrie plus proche d’un réacteur industriel est également effectuée / Thermal control for chemical reactions conducted in fixed-bed reactors requires a fine knowledge about heat transfer in the near-wall region of the bed. In order to optimize the process design, to minimize the mass of catalyst that is needed, one must attempt to maintain the operational path of the reactor the closest of the isotherm functioning. A pertinent and reliable heat transfer model is then required. Two thesis were realized in the Laboratoire d'Energétique et de Mécanique Théorique et Appliquée in order to construct a corresponding dispersive model. This model can be used at the core of the reactor, where the porous medium can be homogenized. This thesis shows a wall effect that cannot be neglected. This wall effect is directly caused by the important variation of the porosity distribution near the wall of the bed. This work proposes a junction between a core layer, where the previous model is still valid, and the wall through an homogenized near-wall layer. This approach is validated by the mean of an experimental characterization of the model parameters, using an original inversion technique based on a Bayesian approach. A validation of this characterization in another geometry is also done. This geometry is closer to an industrial reactor

This thesis focuses in production business and its management. Theses propose and describe a manufacturing process for particular product. Production process is based on an analysis of final product. Production is scheduled in process form, so it includes process maps of production stages. Simultaneously with the planning, it also determines human needs for production, and calculation of its economics. Thesis also deals with the issue of product quality and suggests way to ensure quality in production.

The thesis deals with design of new processes of business department in IT company which provides server hosting, web hosting and domain registration services. These processes come from identification and analysis of current processes and the theory of business department management. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were set for selected processes which can be used for managing the company as a whole. Models of processes were created due to EPC notation. New processes were designed to continuously create data in CRM information system providing evidential and information support necessary for business department management, including the possibility of measuring its performance. Processes also automatize often repetitive activities and provide relevant information to other affected business units within the company. Contribution of the thesis lies in results of analysis of current identified processes containing solution proposals of discovered problems and newly created process models. Both can be used as a pattern for optimization of current processes in already existing organization or for designing new process models in new organization in the same or similar field of business.

The subject of this splitted article is the commissioning of a new application that may be part of a processing machine. Considering the example of the intermittent transport of small-sized goods, for example, chocolate bars, ideas for increasing the maximum performance are discussed. Starting from an analysis, disadvantages of a conventional motion approach are discussed, and thus, a new motion approach is presented. For realising this new motion approach, a virtual process model has to be built, which is the subject of this article. Therefore, the real process has to be abstracted, so only the main elements take attention in the modelling process. Following, important model parameters are determined and verified using virtual experiments. This finally leads to the possibility to calculate useful operating speed–dependent trajectories using the process model.

Obwohl virtuelle Ideencommunities (VIC) ein erfolgreiches Mittel zur Externalisierung von Kundenwissen darstellen, ist der Ausarbeitungsgrad der erzeugten Ideen oftmals zu gering, was zu einer verschlechterten Adaptierbarkeit der Ideen führt. Aus diesem Grund wird in der vorliegenden Arbeit ein Workshopdesign theoretisch entwickelt, welches zur gemeinschaftlichen Ausarbeitung und Strukturierung von Ideen, die in VICs erzeugt wurden, verwendet werden kann. Zur Erarbeitung des neuen Designs wird auf die Prinzipien des Collaboration Engineering zurückgegriffen, mit Hilfe dessen sich kollaborative Aufgaben systematisch analysieren und Gestaltungsempfehlungen für deren Design ableiten lassen. Als Resultat entsteht ein neues Workshopdesign, welches mit Hilfe einer detaillierten Agenda dargestellt wird. Damit liegt ein Konzept zur nahtlosen Erweiterung der, aus einer VIC resultierenden, Zusammenarbeit zwischen Kunden und Unternehmen im Rahmen des Open Innovation vor.

Idag utförs renmärkningen för att hålla koll på vilka renar som hör till vilken renägare. För att identifiera och särskilja renarna, räknas dem manuellt, alltså genom att personer går in i inhägnaden och prickar av renarna i en bok. Processen för att märka kalvarna kan ta upp mot två dagar beroende på om alla renarna har kommit in i inhägnaden, processen blir då lång och utdragen. Detta kommer vara utgångspunkterna i projektet, att identifiera renarna på ett mer effektivt och hållbart sätt. Detta är ett examensarbete för Högskoleingenjör Teknisk design vid Luleå tekniska universitet, som ska utveckla ett hållbart koncept genom att underlätta för renskötarna och effektivisera identifiering och dokumentering av renar. Genom att förena traditionell renmärkning med modern teknik tas ett hållbart koncept fram, som även minskar påfrestningen på renarna. Att kunna koppla ihop rätt kalv med rätt vaja och samla informationen på ett gemensamt ställe som är enkelt att hantera är ett krav på lösningen. Arbetet har följt IDEO:s trefasprocess för användarcentrerad design. Under faserna inspiration, ideation och implementation har olika metoder använts för att nå slutresultatet. Dessa metoder är exempelvis semistrukturerad intervju, benchmark, persona, workshops, Wireframes och simulering. Dessa metoder utgör en bra grund till arbetet och slutresultatet. Genom att ha återkommande kontakt med användaren har projektet genererat en lösning som är baserad på användarens behov. Resultatet blev en ny digitaliserad arbetsprocess innehållande RFID-chip som möjliggör automatisk hopparning och digital dokumentering. Denna arbetsprocess förenar den traditionella renmärkningen men effektiviserar de aktiviteter som idag tröttar ut renskötarna och renarna. Genom att ha bättre koll på renarna och deras avelsträd, gör att rätt ren i slutändan blir slaktad. Alltså renarna som är äldst eller har sämst förutsättningar. Det kan också bidra till att ekonomin blir stabilare då samma mängder renar slaktas varje år. Ur ett hållbarhetsperspektiv gynnar detta ekonomisk hållbarhet. Social hållbarhet gynnas genom att skapa transparens inom samebyn och möjliggör att fler kan vara delaktiga under processen. Genom att hopparningen sker automatisk behöver inte renen stressas upp av människor som går omkring i hagen. Eftersom renens välbefinnande är en del i naturens ekologi bidrar det till ekologisk hållbarhet. / Today, reindeer marking is performed to keep track of which reindeer belong to which reindeer owner. To identify and distinguish the reindeer, they are counted manually, i.e., by people entering the enclosure and dotting the reindeer in a book. The process for marking the calves can take up to two days depending on whether all the reindeer have entered the enclosure, the process then becomes long and drawn out. This will be the starting points in the project, to identify the reindeer in a more efficient and sustainable way.  This work is for a bachelor’s thesis in industrial design engineering at Luleå University of Technology, which will develop a sustainable concept by making it easier for reindeer herders and make the identification and documentation of reindeer more effective. By combining traditional reindeer marking with modern technology, a sustainable solution is developed that also reduces the strain on the reindeer. Being able to connect the right calf with the right sway and gather the information in a common place that is easy to handle is a requirement for the solution.  The work has been followed by IDEO's three-phase process for user-centered design. During the phases inspiration, ideation and implementation, different methods have been used to achieve the end result. These methods are, for example, semi-structured interview, benchmark, persona, workshops, Wireframes and simulation. These methods form a good basis for the work and the end result. By having regular contact with the user, the project has generated a solution that is based on the user's needs.  The result was a new digitized work process containing RFID chips that enables automatic pairing and digital documentation. This work process unites the traditional reindeer marking but make the activities that today tire out the reindeer herders and reindeer more effective. By having a better look at the reindeer and their breeding trees, the right reindeer will eventually be slaughtered. That is, the reindeer that are the oldest or have the worst conditions. It can also contribute to a more stable economy as the same quantities of reindeer are slaughtered every year. From a sustainability perspective, this benefits economic sustainability. Social sustainability is benefited by creating transparency within the Sami village and enabling more people to be involved during the process. Because the connection takes place automatically, the reindeer do not have to be stressed by people walking around in the enclosure. Since the reindeer's well-being is part of nature's ecology, it contributes to ecological sustainability.