This report focuses on three parts which are market research, marketing- and sales strategies, and product development for a start-up company in Italy called ARS Meccanica Dolomiti and their new product, Quikky. The main objective was to find a strategy which the company could use to attract customers. In the market research both potential customers and competitors were identified. Similar products that could be a threat for the product were also investigated. Most of the information came through own research via Internet. However, a visit to the CeMAT fair in Hannover was also helpful since potential customers, competitors and other partners were gathered at the same place. The main results from this research are that there are a lot of potential customers for the product. The reason for this is that it was discovered that the product could be used in different application areas, resulting in a broader market for the product. However, there are many competitors since the product is mostly directed towards the lifting industry which is already an attractive market. As for the product development it was early recognised that the product could be designed in many different ways. Both mini Quikky and symmetric Quikky, which are two new versions of the original Quikky, could be new products that the company could sell. By having several versions of the product, the company can more easily attract customers. / Rapporten fokuserar på tre områden som är att utföra en marknadsundersökning, marknadsförings- och försäljnings- strategi samt produktutveckling för ett nystartat företag i Italien, ARS Meccanica Dolomiti och deras nya produkt, Quikky. Målet med arbetet var att komma fram till en strategi som företaget kan använda för att locka till sig kunder. I marknadsundersökningen identifierades både potentiella kunder samt konkurrenter. Liknande produkter som kan utgöra ett hot undersöktes också. Det mesta av informationen kom genom egna undersökningar via Internet. Ett besök till CeMAT mässan i Hannover var även mycket hjälpsam, då en hel del potentiella kunder, konkurrenter och andra samarbetspartner var samlade på ett och samma ställe. Resultatet visar på att det finns en hel del potentalla kunder för produkten. Anledningen till detta är att produkten kan användas i olika tillämpningsområden vilket medför att en större marknad blir möjlig. Nackdelen är att det redan finns många konkurrenter då produkten främst är riktad mot lyftindustrin som är en attraktiv marknad. När det gäller produktutveckling blev det snabbt tydligt att produkten kan utformas på flera andra sätt. Både mini Quikky samt symmetriska Quikky, är två nya versioner av den ursprungliga designen. Dessa två kan vara produker som ARS Meccanica kan sälja. Genom att ha flera versioner av produkten, kan företaget dessutom attrahera till sig fler kunder.

We prove a new bound on a version of the sum-product problem studied by Chang. By introducing several combinatorial tools, this expands upon a method of Croot and Hart which used the Tarry-Escott problem to build distinct sums from polynomials with specific vanishing properties. We also study other aspects of the sum-product problem such as a method to prove a dual to a result of Elekes and Ruzsa and a conjecture of J. Solymosi on combinatorial geometry. Lastly, we study two combinatorial problems on sumsets over the reals. The first involves finding Freiman isomorphisms of real-valued sets that also preserve the order of the original set. The second applies results from the former in proving a new Balog-Szemeredi type theorem for real-valued sets.

Shift Design & Strategy AB, härifrån förkortat till Shift, driver idag ett sidoprojekt i egenregi. De skall i marknadsföringssyfte ta fram en trehjuling för företag inomanläggningsbranschen. Shift har gett en högskolestuderande möjlighet att komma medkonstruktörslösningar för att driva projektet närmare nästa steg, vilket är prototyptillverkning.I examensarbetet genomförs en grundläggande analys av vilka konstruktionsutmaningarprojektet står framför. Med utvalda metoder och verktyg arbetas flertalet lösningsförslagfram. Efter utvärdering av lösningsförslagen tas en totallösning fram och presenteras i form aven CAD-modell samt text. Avslutningsvis ges rekommendationer om hur Shift bör tolkaresultaten. / Shift Design & Strategy AB, here abbreviated to Shift, currently runs it’s own side project.They will develop a tricycle with marketing purposes for companies in the constructionindustry. Shift offers a student to find construction solutions to pursue the project closer totheir goal.In the thesis an analysis of what construction problems the project are facing is made.Selected methods and tools are then used to generate several solutions. After evaluation of theproposed solutions a comprehensive solution is developed and presented in the form of aCAD-model as well as in text. Finally, recommendations will be given to Shift on how tointerpret the results of the work, which has been done.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

There are countless products that perform the same function but are engineered to suite a different scale. Designers are often faced with the problem of taking a solution at one scale and mapping it to another. This frequently happens with design-by-analogy and bioinspired design. Despite various scaling laws for specific systems, there are no global principles for scaling systems, for example from a biological nano scale to macro scale. This is likely one of the reasons that bioinspired design is difficult. Very often scaling laws assume the same physical principles are being used, but this study of products indicates that a variety of changes occur as scale changes including changing the physical principles to meet a particular function. Empirical product research was used to determine a set of principles by observing and understanding numerous products and natural analogies to unearth new generalizations. The function a product performs is examined at various scales to view subtle and blatant differences. Principles are then determined. A case study validating the principles is also presented. Future work will validate and measure the effectiveness of the principles for design.

Succinic Acid (SA) is an intermediate in the production of fine and commodity chemicals. No commercial SA bioproduction process exists due to process limitations including end product inhibition and high product separation costs, which account for 70% of total production costs. Two-Phase Partitioning Bioreactors (TPPBs) can increase volumetric productivity through in-situ product removal, although SA uptake by polymers requires a pH below the pKA2 of SA (4.2). Sparging CO2 gas into the bioreactor was proposed to temporarily lower the pH of the medium, allowing for SA uptake. At 1atm CO2 sparging lowered the pH of Reverse Osmosis (RO) water to 3.8 but only to 4.75 in medium, requiring the use of H2SO4 and KOH for pH adjustment in subsequent experiments. Polymers were screened for SA uptake and the effect of pH on uptake from 2.2 to 6.2 was also studied. Only Hytrel® 8206 showed non-zero uptake with a partition coefficient for SA of 1.3. Cell cultures of Actinobacillus succinogenes was exposed to pH 4.2 for times from 5 minutes to 4 hours to determine whether cells could grow after low pH exposure. A. succinogenes resumed growth after up to 4 hours of low pH exposure, giving a sufficient time span for SA uptake in the bioreactor. A single-phase run was operated as a benchmark for comparison to the TPPB system which removed SA from the fermentation broth by pH cycling; lowering the pH to 3.8 for uptake, then increasing it to 6.7 to continue bioproduction. Uptake from fermentation broth took 60 minutes, within the time causing no effect on cell growth from low pH exposure. The two-phase run yielded 1.39g/L•h, unchanged compared to the single-phase run which gave 39g/L of SA after 28 hours. Though pH cycling reduced the concentration of SA through polymer uptake, the salts added for pH adjustment hindered further cell growth. The TPPB system demonstrated that SA can be efficiently removed from solution without complex separation methods. Future work will use pressurized vessels to increase the solubility of CO2 and lower the pH of fermentation broth for SA uptake without the need for strong acids. / Thesis (Master, Chemical Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2011-04-18 08:07:51.379

Submitted in fulfillment for the degree of Master in Technology: Quality, Durban University of Technology, 2009. / This study examines employee perceptions of the impact of training and development on product quality. The study was undertaken on a sample of 106 individuals, drawn using the convenience sampling technique from a large manufacturing organisation situated in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal. The data was collected using a questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised of two (2) sections. The first section required the r(gender, age, grade and length of employmentespondents to provide biographical data ). The second section explored the impact of training and development on product quality (measured in terms of performance, features, reliability, conformance, durability, serviceability, aesthetics and perceived quality). Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics and the results were presented using tabular and graphical representation. This study found that: Significant intercorrelations exist among the dimensions of product quality (performance, features, reliability, conformance, durability, serviceability, aesthetics and perceived quality) as a result of training and development being conducted in the organisation. here is no significant difference in the perceptions of employees varying in biographical data (gender, age, and length of employment) regarding the influence of training and development on the dimensions of product quality respectively. Based on the findings of the study, a model was developed and presented. This model presents recommendations for enhancing product quality.