International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing http://www.inderscience.com/browse/index.php?journalID=326&year=2011&vol=2&issue=4 Inderscience Publishers Ltd en-uk International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing 1757-8817 1757-8825 © 2011 Inderscience Publishers Ltd editor@inderscience.com https://www.inderscience.com/images/files/coverImgs/ijrapidm_scoverijrapidm.jpg http://www.inderscience.com/browse/index.php?journalID=326&year=2011&vol=2&issue=4 http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=44700 Wood has several advantages that are transferable to various derivates allowing the introduction of a sustainable material into the product lifecycle. The objective of this paper is to apply a design for manufacturing approach based on wood flour rapid prototyping, while associating the requirements of the 'mass customisation' in the implementation of a customised product. New collaborative software allows consumers to be involved in the design process. Prototyping processes allow direct manufacturing of products. Characterisation of beech wood pulp towards sustainable rapid prototyping
Julien Gardan; Lionel Roucoules
International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing, Vol. 2, No. 4 (2011) pp. 215 - 233
Wood has several advantages that are transferable to various derivates allowing the introduction of a sustainable material into the product lifecycle. The objective of this paper is to apply a design for manufacturing approach based on wood flour rapid prototyping, while associating the requirements of the 'mass customisation' in the implementation of a customised product. New collaborative software allows consumers to be involved in the design process. Prototyping processes allow direct manufacturing of products.

]]> 10.1504/IJRAPIDM.2011.044700 International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing, Vol. 2, No. 4 (2011) pp. 215 - 233 Julien Gardan; Lionel Roucoules Mechanical Engineering and Technology, 4 Pl Henri Manceau – 08390, Marquigny, France ' Arts et Métiers ParisTech, CNRS, LSIS, 2 cours des Arts et Métiers, 13617 Aix-en-Provence, France mass customisation collaborative product design design for manufacturing DFM DOE design of experiments modified starch rapid prototyping user co-creation wood flour beech wood pulp sustainable materials design process. 2012-01-03T23:20:50-05:00 2 4 215 233 2012-01-03T23:20:50-05:00 http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=44701 This work proposes a system for modelling and simulation of rapid prototyping (RP) process called selective laser sintering (SLS). The system aims to reduce the manufacturing risks in fabricating bio-medical components by SLS process. The system takes the computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging data of the patient and it is processed into stereolithography (STL) format by using medical image processing software. It involves modelling and simulation of SLS system, which facilitates visualisation and testing the effects of process parameters on the part quality. Modelling of RP is based on qualifying the measures of part quality, which includes accuracy, build-time and efficiency of the SLS process. The model incorporates various process parameters such as layer thickness, hatch space, bed temperature, laser power, sinter factor, etc. It has been integrated with the simulation system to provide a test-bed to optimise the process parameters. Modelling and simulation of bio-medical components by selective laser sintering
Y. Ravi Kumar
International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing, Vol. 2, No. 4 (2011) pp. 234 - 257
This work proposes a system for modelling and simulation of rapid prototyping (RP) process called selective laser sintering (SLS). The system aims to reduce the manufacturing risks in fabricating bio-medical components by SLS process. The system takes the computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging data of the patient and it is processed into stereolithography (STL) format by using medical image processing software. It involves modelling and simulation of SLS system, which facilitates visualisation and testing the effects of process parameters on the part quality. Modelling of RP is based on qualifying the measures of part quality, which includes accuracy, build-time and efficiency of the SLS process. The model incorporates various process parameters such as layer thickness, hatch space, bed temperature, laser power, sinter factor, etc. It has been integrated with the simulation system to provide a test-bed to optimise the process parameters.

]]> 10.1504/IJRAPIDM.2011.044701 International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing, Vol. 2, No. 4 (2011) pp. 234 - 257 Y. Ravi Kumar Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Warangal, Andhra Pradesh, India CT/MRI computed tomography magnetic resonance imaging medical image processing modelling optimisation parameter tuning RP rapid prototyping simulation SLS selective laser sintering STL stereolithography biomedical components part quality. 2012-01-03T23:20:50-05:00 2 4 234 257 2012-01-03T23:20:50-05:00 http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=44702 Bio-inspirations have paved a way for finding new and novel ways of optimisation in several application scenarios. Virtual pheromones have been used widely for routing in mobile ad-hoc networks and wireless sensor networks as also for communication among robots. In this paper, we describe a multi-robot system wherein mobile agents act as code carriers and in turn facilitate execution of tasks by the robots. Networked robots that need a code to execute an allotted task diffuse, onto their neighbours, pheromones that specifically attract those mobile agents that carry the required code as their payload. The agents move around the network in a conscientious manner but on sensing a pheromone, home onto the concerned robot and provide the code. We compare this pheromone-conscientious method with other mobile agent-based patrolling and resource discovery strategies and portray the relevant results and conclude that the pheromone-conscientious strategy is more conservative in terms of both time and energy consumed. A bio-inspired technique for servicing networked robots
W. Wilfred Godfrey; Shivashankar B. Nair
International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing, Vol. 2, No. 4 (2011) pp. 258 - 279
Bio-inspirations have paved a way for finding new and novel ways of optimisation in several application scenarios. Virtual pheromones have been used widely for routing in mobile ad-hoc networks and wireless sensor networks as also for communication among robots. In this paper, we describe a multi-robot system wherein mobile agents act as code carriers and in turn facilitate execution of tasks by the robots. Networked robots that need a code to execute an allotted task diffuse, onto their neighbours, pheromones that specifically attract those mobile agents that carry the required code as their payload. The agents move around the network in a conscientious manner but on sensing a pheromone, home onto the concerned robot and provide the code. We compare this pheromone-conscientious method with other mobile agent-based patrolling and resource discovery strategies and portray the relevant results and conclude that the pheromone-conscientious strategy is more conservative in terms of both time and energy consumed.

]]> 10.1504/IJRAPIDM.2011.044702 International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing, Vol. 2, No. 4 (2011) pp. 258 - 279 W. Wilfred Godfrey; Shivashankar B. Nair Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, India ' Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, India multi-robot systems multiple robots mobile agents mobile agent migration mobile agent patrolling virtual pheromones bio-inspired systems multi-agent systems agent-based systems networked robots. 2012-01-03T23:20:50-05:00 2 4 258 279 2012-01-03T23:20:50-05:00 http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=44703 In this paper, an approach to multi-robot exploration where key issue is to decrease the exploration time is presented. A popular concept for the exploration problem is based on the notion of frontiers from where target points are allocated to multiple robots. Exploring an environment is then about entering into the unexplored area by moving towards the targets. To do so, they must have an optimal path planning algorithm that finds the shortest route with minimum time. Our main contributions are three fold: (1) a wave front-based path planning algorithm for robot navigations; (2) an assignment method to better distribute the robots over the environment and (3) a concept of frontiers pruning for reducing the computation burden. The proposed approach has been tested through computer simulation. Multi-robot exploration using wave front algorithm
Anshika Pal; Ritu Tiwari; Anupam Shukla
International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing, Vol. 2, No. 4 (2011) pp. 280 - 298
In this paper, an approach to multi-robot exploration where key issue is to decrease the exploration time is presented. A popular concept for the exploration problem is based on the notion of frontiers from where target points are allocated to multiple robots. Exploring an environment is then about entering into the unexplored area by moving towards the targets. To do so, they must have an optimal path planning algorithm that finds the shortest route with minimum time. Our main contributions are three fold: (1) a wave front-based path planning algorithm for robot navigations; (2) an assignment method to better distribute the robots over the environment and (3) a concept of frontiers pruning for reducing the computation burden. The proposed approach has been tested through computer simulation.

]]> 10.1504/IJRAPIDM.2011.044703 International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing, Vol. 2, No. 4 (2011) pp. 280 - 298 Anshika Pal; Ritu Tiwari; Anupam Shukla Soft Computing and Expert System Laboratory, ABV-Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India ' Soft Computing and Expert System Laboratory, ABV-Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India ' Soft Computing and Expert System Laboratory, ABV-Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India multi-robot systems multiple robots area exploration frontiers robot path planning wave front algorithm pruning assignment method target point allocation multi-robot exploration robot navigation simulation. 2012-01-03T23:20:50-05:00 2 4 280 298 2012-01-03T23:20:50-05:00 http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=44704 The purpose of this research was to find a cost-effective and repeatable method for releasing high-quality micro-parts from a silicon substrate by bulk micromachining technology. Crystallographic shape removal technology on the finally released silicon oxide parts was put into scrutiny. Several methods were approached as possible solutions. These methods include ethylenediamine pyrocatechol water etchant, the addition of a boron dopant to the silicon dioxide layer, pre-thinning of wafers and the use of polyimide coatings to thin the silicon substrate subsequent to part release. The combined method of boron doping and polyimide coating produced the best results. Crystallographic edge removal of silicon dioxide micro-parts in bulk micromachining
Dugan Um; Bahram Asiabanpour; Dave Foor; Mathew Kurtz; Mary Tellers; M. Todd McGregor
International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing, Vol. 2, No. 4 (2011) pp. 299 - 315
The purpose of this research was to find a cost-effective and repeatable method for releasing high-quality micro-parts from a silicon substrate by bulk micromachining technology. Crystallographic shape removal technology on the finally released silicon oxide parts was put into scrutiny. Several methods were approached as possible solutions. These methods include ethylenediamine pyrocatechol water etchant, the addition of a boron dopant to the silicon dioxide layer, pre-thinning of wafers and the use of polyimide coatings to thin the silicon substrate subsequent to part release. The combined method of boron doping and polyimide coating produced the best results.

]]> 10.1504/IJRAPIDM.2011.044704 International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing, Vol. 2, No. 4 (2011) pp. 299 - 315 Dugan Um; Bahram Asiabanpour; Dave Foor; Mathew Kurtz; Mary Tellers; M. Todd McGregor Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX, USA ' Texas State University – San Marcos, San Marcos, TX, USA ' Austin Community College, Austin, TX, USA ' Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA ' University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA ' Austin Community College, Austin, TX, USA MEMS microelectromechanical systems bulk micromachining microgears SiO2 silicon dioxide crystallographic shape removal boron doping polyimide coatings. 2012-01-03T23:20:50-05:00 2 4 299 315 2012-01-03T23:20:50-05:00