Direct digital manufacturing

Additive manufacturing of tools, tool inserts, dies, and molds in the sense of direct digital manufacturing. 

We have also seen the mix of manufacturing processes, both traditional processes and the emerging area of Direct Digital Manufacturing (Chap. 7) which has the possibility to create complex structures at the nano to macroscopic structural scales. Much of this is driven by applications in the medical field including regenerative medicine (Murphy and Atala 2014). The successes of the twentieth century in delivering mass production so that we could all benefit from the industrial revolution may be replaced by mass customization in this so-called Third Industrial Revolution. 

One industrial facility that has done exhaust system retrofit is the Eldec Corporation, an aerospace electronic manufacturer. With the help of the local utility, Eldec implemented a control project to reduce exhaust air by up to 30% for the first shift and 60% for the rest of the time and achieved great savings with one year simple payback. The project closed the exhaust inlets with dampers and controlled the exhaust fan speeds with variable frequency drives (VFD). The exhaust fans are now monitored and controlled by the building direct digital controls (DDC) system to ensure proper operation and save energy. 

Automated qualification software is yet another area of CDS development that has been affected by regulatory compliance. When you look at today s CDS solutions, it is typical to see the system providing direct digital control of the instrumentation. Many CDS manufacturers offer software tools that are capable of automating the installation qualification (IQ) and operational qualification (OQ) process. In addition, some manufacturers also offer software that can automate the performance qualification (PQ) for the various forms of instrumentation that it is capable of controlling. These automated software tools are not only time savers for the laboratory, but they also help to properly document the system qualification effort. 

Discs Discs of nickel electroformed on to mandrels bearing grooves modulated with recorded sound have been used for many years for stamping sound recording discs. This process has been adapted and refined for the manufacture of digital records, including video discs . Video disc stampers must be hard, stress-free, and flat to within 0.1 m results of a short investigation directed towards these requirements have been reported ". 

The choice of test equipment and methods has become extremely wide and, apart from large, integrated, electronic colorimetric and spectrophotometric instrumentation, field personnel can choose from miniburettes, direct-reading titrators (modified syringes), digital titrators, drop tests, tablet tests, permanent color standard comparators, indicator papers, portable colorimeters, immunoassays, etc. Today, field-test methods tend to be tailored by equipment manufacturers to their own analytical systems, and consequently the specified use of particular standard methods for the examination of water, from any one technology or official body, is probably not realistic. Rather it is the fitness-for-purpose rule that is more relevant. 

Monomer conversion has traditionally been determined gravitimetrically by drying emulsion samples to constant weight. The procedure is slow, requiring several hours for analysis, and precludes automated data acquisition. A new method has been developed based on the DMA-series digital densitometers manufactured by Anton Paar of Austria, and marketed in the United States by Mettier Instrument Corporation. (Very recently Dr. Kirk Abbey made us aware of his parallel work in these directions and of some initial data reported from his laboratory [1, 2]). This instrument is capable of immediate determination of the density of any test fluid, and, if equipped with a flow cell, can continuously monitor the density of a process stream. Results are displayed locally and can be transmitted digitally to a data acquisition computer. 

A standard is now available, specifically, IEC 61158, Digital Data Communications for Measurement and Control. In most industries, a standard defines only one way of doing something, but not in the computer industry. IEC 61158 defines five different communications technologies. Several manufacturers had selected a direction, and standards are not immune to commercial considerations. The net result is that one person s field bus might not be the same as another s. Most plants select one technology for their field bus, although it is possible to have multiple field bus interfaces on a control system and not have all the same type. 

Results of on-line, real-time instrumental analyses are posted directly to the database, with or without processing, as soon as the instrument presents the analytical data. All results are available for review and validation immediately after being posted -a feature critical to effective laboratory management. Data is acquired from laboratory instrumentation of virtually any manufacturer or function. Instruments are interfaced to the computer via analog to digital conversion, RS-232C, current loop, IEEE-4888, binary coded decimal (BCD) or bit parallel techniques. 

Phase 2 Analog To Digital In The Host, The laboratory manufacturers follow by connecting their devices directly to the data processing system. These... 

---