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•Qualitative empirical study on blockchain in OM and manufacturing with experts.•Detailed analysis of identified potentials and barriers of blockchain technology.•Potential such as ...disintermediation and increased collaboration was identified.•Barriers are a lack of standardization, unclear governance and legal uncertainties.•Further dissemination through improved interoperability of protocols expected.
Transparency, visibility, and disintermediation are some of the prospects of the aspiring blockchain technology in the business-to-business context. The digital transformation and Industry 4.0 trends also facilitate blockchain applications in operations management (OM) and manufacturing. However, scientific contributions and successful industrial applications in this area are still scarce and mainly at a proof-of-concept stage. The empirical research in this article is based on an expert interview study to uncover and analyse the potential and barriers to the adoption of blockchain technology in OM and manufacturing from within the industry. Semi-structured interviews with industry experts are employed to elaborate on promising practices for the industry to efficiently promote blockchain adoption and meaningful research directions for scholars. Findings include unexplored potential regarding distributed production networks and collaboration, expected evolutionary steps of IoT, disintermediation leading to new business models like tokenisation, and short-term rather than long-term relationships. Current barriers include staff difficulties, legal uncertainties, missing infrastructure and standardisation, and unclear governance structures. Improving smart contract security and interoperability of private and public protocols will enable further dissemination of the technology. Managers and academic scholars can address these findings and new propositions of this study in future application development and implementation.
•Fructose dehydration to 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) in a biphasic microreactor.•Stable operation with maximum HMF yield of 93% at a residence time of 2 s.•HMF space–time yield higher by 10 – ...2,500-fold than published reports.•Increased solvent-dependent performance above the extraction thermodynamic limit.•Exposed mass transfer limitations at longer residence times.
We conduct an experimental study of fructose dehydration to 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) in a biphasic microreactor as a function of residence time, temperature, and sugar loading using methyl butyl iso-ketone (MIBK) and 2-pentanol as extracting solvents. We demonstrate stable operation with maximum HMF yields of 93% and 87% in the two solvents, respectively, at 200 °C and a residence time of 2 s for a 5 wt% fructose aqueous feed. We report the highest optimal HMF space–time yield of 60 kg/L-hr at 200 °C (10 – 2,500-fold higher than published reports). Unexpectedly, an optimum organic-to-water ratio exists that depends on the solvent. Notably, we observe experimentally an increased fructose rate and HMF yield well above the extraction thermodynamic limit and hypothesize that the solvent plays a dual role, that of an extractant to protect HMF from degradation and a modifier of the fundamental chemistry. We expose mass transfer limitations of microreactors at longer residence times and higher temperatures and provide reactivity maps for their design. We show that batch reactors are unfit for high throughput and distributed manufacturing where small, farm-based systems are necessary.
There are many different types of manufacturing distributions, ranging from subsistence do-it-yourself (DIY) to centralized industrial production. In this paper, a taxonomy is introduced of ...alternative manufacturing distributions for sustainable production. First, different types of manufacturing distributions are explained. Second, the importance of location-specific considerations is illustrated through a case study of Turkish car production. Third, comparative sustainability analysis for different manufacturing distributions is provided. This includes economic, ecological, social and institutional sustainability. Fourth, factors affecting the sustainability of all manufacturing distributions are explained. Fifth, the taxonomy is introduced, together with an example of comparative sustainability analysis for two alternative types of manufacturing distributions. Overall, it is argued that different manufacturing distributions have different strengths and weaknesses depending on multiple factors. Moreover, in some situations, centralized manufacturing can have higher potential for sustainable production than other distributions of manufacturing. Hence, the taxonomy is introduced to facilitate increased specificity and balance in debate concerning alternative manufacturing distributions for sustainable production.
•Taxonomy relates 12 manufacturing distributions to four categories of sustainability.•The taxonomy provides increased specificity for analyses of alternative distributions.•Each manufacturing distribution has strengths and weaknesses for sustainability.•Sustainable production can involve centralized manufacturing.
Cloud-based design manufacturing (CBDM) refers to a service-oriented networked product development model in which service consumers are enabled to configure, select, and utilize customized product ...realization resources and services ranging from computer-aided engineering software to reconfigurable manufacturing systems. An ongoing debate on CBDM in the research community revolves around several aspects such as definitions, key characteristics, computing architectures, communication and collaboration processes, crowdsourcing processes, information and communication infrastructure, programming models, data storage, and new business models pertaining to CBDM. One question, in particular, has often been raised: is cloud-based design and manufacturing actually a new paradigm, or is it just “old wine in new bottles”? To answer this question, we discuss and compare the existing definitions for CBDM, identify the essential characteristics of CBDM, define a systematic requirements checklist that an idealized CBDM system should satisfy, and compare CBDM to other relevant but more traditional collaborative design and distributed manufacturing systems such as web- and agent-based design and manufacturing systems. To justify the conclusion that CBDM can be considered as a new paradigm that is anticipated to drive digital manufacturing and design innovation, we present the development of a smart delivery drone as an idealized CBDM example scenario and propose a corresponding CBDM system architecture that incorporates CBDM-based design processes, integrated manufacturing services, information and supply chain management in a holistic sense.
•We present a new paradigm in digital manufacturing and design innovation, namely cloud-based design and manufacturing (CBDM).•We identify the common key characteristics of CBDM.•We define a requirement checklist that any idealized CBDM system should satisfy.•We compare CBDM with other relevant but more traditional collaborative design and distributed manufacturing systems.•We describe an idealized CBDM application example scenario.
Here we conduct an experimental study of fructose dehydration to 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) in a biphasic microreactor as a function of residence time, temperature, and sugar loading using methyl ...butyl iso-ketone (MIBK) and 2-pentanol as extracting solvents. We demonstrate stable operation with maximum HMF yields of 93% and 87% in the two solvents, respectively, at 200 °C and a residence time of 2 s for a 5 wt% fructose aqueous feed. We report the highest optimal HMF space–time yield of 60 kg/L-hr at 200 °C (10 – 2,500-fold higher than published reports). Unexpectedly, an optimum organic-to-water ratio exists that depends on the solvent. Notably, we observe experimentally an increased fructose rate and HMF yield well above the extraction thermodynamic limit and hypothesize that the solvent plays a dual role, that of an extractant to protect HMF from degradation and a modifier of the fundamental chemistry. We expose mass transfer limitations of microreactors at longer residence times and higher temperatures and provide reactivity maps for their design. We show that batch reactors are unfit for high throughput and distributed manufacturing where small, farm-based systems are necessary.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) wood-based rack designs support distributed manufacturing, have lifetimes equivalent to PV warranties, have lower embodied energy and carbon emissions and cost less than ...conventional racking. Unfortunately, wood racking does not enable the standard front surface attachments. To overcome this challenge this study introduces novel 3D printed clamps for front-surface PV mounting on wood racking. Four topologies (square spacer, H-shaped spacer, U-shaped clamp and T-shaped clamp) of 3D printed parts are designed, modeled and analyzed using finite element analysis (FEA) for PETG, ASA and PC. The designs were fabricated, field tested and economically analyzed. The highest stress was observed in U-shaped spacer for spacer (4.53 MPa – PC material), bolt (32.01 MPa – PETG material) and frame (37.30 MPa) and for washer in the H-spacer (42.77 MPa). Mises stresses for all designs, however, are found within allowable limits qualifying the clamping technique to be adopted for future installations. Financial analysis of the clamps found up to 66 % savings for the solutions. The T-shaped clamp is the recommended mounting technique with the lowest stresses while square spacer provides the least cost. The practical implications of the results indicate that 3D printing could provide an economic means of mounting PV modules and reducing solar energy costs.
Quarantine conditions arising as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) have had a significant impact on global production-rates and supply chains. This has coincided with increased demands for ...medical and personal protective equipment such as face shields. Shortages have been particularly prevalent in western countries which typically rely upon global supply chains to obtain these types of device from low-cost economies. National calls for the repurposing of domestic mass-production facilities have the potential to meet medical requirements in coming weeks, however the immediate demand associated with the virus has led to the mobilisation of a diverse distributed workforce. Selection of appropriate manufacturing processes and underused supply chains is paramount to the success of these operations. A simplified medical face shield design is presented which repurposes an assortment of existing alternative supply chains. The device is easy to produce with minimal equipment and training. It is hoped that the methodology and approach presented is of use to the wider community at this critical time.
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Over the past decade, rapid development of new technologies and smart gadgets has digitized the world. The high penetration of smart phones, internet, social media and online shopping in our ...day-to-day life have significantly changed the shopping habits of buyers and ultimately the demand patterns, imposing huge pressure on organizations to transform their business model. Today, manufacturing companies are trying to switch from mass production to mass customization by adopting emerging technologies owing to the reason that modern customer’s expectations are very high. Adopting emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), 3D printing (3DP), Internet of things (IoT), etc. in production system can be a viable solution to overcome these challenges. This article aims at exploring the impact and benefits of emerging digital technologies of industry 4.0 in manufacturing. The research is based on literature review which unfolds the advantages of emerging technologies and challenges to their adoption. The digital technologies discussed in this paper having revolutionary impact on industrial manufacturing are 3D printing, Robotics, Sensors, IoT, Big data analytics (BDA), AI, Nanotechnology and social technologies. This study is an attempt to present insights toward utilization of these technologies in production systems which will enable digital manufacturing.
This discussion paper aims to set out the key challenges and opportunities emerging from distributed manufacturing (DM). We begin by describing the concept, available definitions and consider its ...evolution where recent production technology developments (such as additive and continuous production process technologies), digitisation together with infrastructural developments (in terms of IoT and big data) provide new opportunities. To further explore the evolving nature of DM, the authors, each of whom are involved in specific applications of DM research, examine through an expert panel workshop environment emerging DM applications involving new production and supporting infrastructural technologies. This paper presents these generalisable findings on DM challenges and opportunities in terms of products, enabling production technologies and the impact on the wider production and industrial system. Industry structure and location of activities are examined in terms of the democratising impact on participating network actors. The paper concludes with a discussion on the changing nature of manufacturing as a result of DM, from the traditional centralised, large-scale, long lead-time forecast-driven production operations to a new DM paradigm where manufacturing is a decentralised, autonomous near end user-driven activity. A forward research agenda is proposed that considers the impact of DM on the industrial and urban landscape.
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