Technology Development in the Use of Computer-Aided Manufacturing Technologies - Research Paper Example

CAM technologies Name: Course: Lecturer: Institution: City & State: Date: Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Abstract 3 1.Introduction 3 1.1.Aims of the report 4 1.2.Problem statement 5 2.Literature review 5 2.1.Advantages of CAM technologies 6 2.2.Limitations of CAM technologies 6 3.Methodology 7 3.1.Roughing 8 3.2.Semi-finishing 8 3.3.Finishing 8 3.4.Counter milling 8 4.Discussion 8 5.Conclusion and Recommendations 10 References 11 CAM technologies Abstract Product modeling is the key sense of designing products with complete variants that become more applicable in the future development of the technology. Different engineering domains give different variations of designs that have subsequent development using the CAM technologies. The essential task here is to develop an investigative approach that will define the current, new, emerging trend and industrial challenges that need automation. This report gives a comprehensive view of the technology development in the use of CAM technologies in the assessment of the experience-based aspects in the CAM technologies. Further, this summary of this report will provide system developers researchers and engineers with current situation that needs orientation in the IT field in the development of the manufacturing industry. 1. Introduction Use of CAM technologies leverages the manufacturing professionals with the required knowledge to create simulations that are required in the development of the required tools that apply the optimization knowledge. An early commercial application of CAM was only in industries like aerospace and automotive for tooling and developing the required body parts. Initially, the use of CAM was perceived as to have shortcomings in that it created furrows, which was because of the software code. Nevertheless, with time this challenge has been overcome by the current advancement in technology. To lower the historical challenges in the use of the CAM shortcomings, three arenas of the software have been modified to ensure that the CAM technology fits a wide range of users and applications. These arenas include making the software easy to use, reducing the manufacturing complexity and inclusion of the programmable logic machines in the automation systems. The need to automate systems is to increase the productivity, increase safety for operation and develop components that fit their specific functions. In this report, CAM technologies are the key focus in study. In the recent past automation has led a notable range of developments that have given industries a remarkable revolutionary answer to production. Adoption of the CAM technologies in the modern designs has influenced revolutionalized the industries. The state of art technology to use IT and computer science has greatly influenced the development of the manufacturing industry. This industrial evolution has forced most manufacturing industries to adopt in the automation to fit in the global market of completion. It is clear that the use of CAM in the manufacturing of components adds value the final product that fits better in the desired system. Therefore, the automation of tools in one key area that must be adopted in the manufacturing industry, since it triggers increased production and ensures safety of the operators. Adoption of the automation of the manufacturing tools in great part helps to reduce work force needed and distributed other areas of work within the industry. The introduction of the CAM technologies in the manufacturing industries has created diversity and advancement in the manufacturing industry. 1.1. Aims of the report Objectives of this report entail investigation to determine the advantages and limitation that related to the CAM technologies and their manufacturing of components both in small batches as well as in large batches. Further, this report investigates the advancements and areas in which CAM technologies that need improvements in future. 1.2. Problem statement The need to study the advancement in the use of CAM technologies in the manufacturing industries and the possible areas where the technology may be applied call the study of their position in the industry. Further, the need to have revolution in the industries needs to have a thorough investigation on how most of other industrial processes can be automated thus increasing the production rate. 2. Literature review Historically, the CAM technologies were used in specific industries like the automotive and aerospace. This has overtime been overcome by the techno-advancement in the IT field and computer science. The greatest challenge that the techno-advancement field is facing is lack of the professional experience required to change the automation systems. Overtime the professional advancement is easy to realize while that of machining tools is at a constant level. Thus, the machining tools need the professional advancement to code the automation systems as well as development of the out-dated system. Essentially, the designers are in the companies that use the automated systems to keep on updating the systems to perform various tasks that need automation to increase production. The designers have a task to deal with the packages of large and smaller software requirements. The major tool that the designers use is the principle of rationalizing the processes in the manufacturing industry. The recent advancements in the manufacturing industry base its production increase on the adoption of the CAD/CAM technologies to develop the components of machines. This in future may focus in the advancement of the use of automation system in the construction industries as well as other areas of engineering where the technology has not ventured. 2.1. Advantages of CAM technologies Generally, the use and application of the CAM technologies in the manufacturing of components by the use of automated tools leads to an increase in thorough productivity and output for large batches of productions. Unlike the human workforce, an automated machine will continuously produce the number of set components for manufacture maintaining the cycle of production. For example, when manufacturing a batch of 500 components per month it needs one to use automated system of tools that will produce an exact copy of the other component. In addition, when using the automated machine tools in manufacture of components, there is quality improvement on the component as well as predictability of quality. Lastly, the use of the automated systems leads to manufacture and development of components that have consistency (improved robustness) of the final product. The use of automated tools in the manufacturing of components is to ensure that there is safety, increased productivity, and the function of the components is attainable. 2.2. Limitations of CAM technologies Automated system may at times fail to simple logic rules; therefore, it can commit errors that are undetectable at the beginning of the installation. This poses vulnerability to safety of the operator as well as the automation system in general. There is an increase in development costs. In essence, the process of automation may be costly than the cost saved by the automation itself therefore, regardless of the automation process there is no increase in production since the automation process is costly that the production. Initial cost of installation of the automation system may require very high initial investment in comparison with the cost of unit products of the automation. However, the initial cost of installing may be spread over time amongst the many products in the system. Comparing the production of a batch of 500 components and a batch of 1 to 5 components, it would be economical to focus on producing a batch of 500 components than 1 to 5, although the two might have differences in level of robustness of the product. Further, it is clear that the process of automation is not adoptable to all manufacturing processes. Lastly, as the automation process increases in the manufacturing industry the labor saved is much less thereby leading to less improvement of quality leading the industry to have diminishing returns. 3. Methodology Most of the systems that need automation in the manufacturing industry need to have designers whose focus are to upgrade the systems to fit the daily requirements of the expected customer. Practicality and focus in the automation is the way forward to developing the ideal models that the manufacturing industries need to have to meet the customer requirements. In the recent past there have been a number of advancements in the manufacturing sector due to the incorporation of the CAD/CAM technologies which helps in ensuring safe and efficient production of the required components. The automation process involves a series of machining processes that are sequential to ensuring finalizing of the produced the component as to have the required specifications. The machining processes that are in different stages are: 3.1. Roughing In this stage, the process starts with feeding the raw stock, which is milled to have a rough final shape of the final model. 3.2. Semi-finishing In this stage, the process starts with the rough sections of the model that is cut unevenly to fit the required mode. The process uses pencil milling, raster passes and waterline passes. 3.3. Finishing This stage involve slow pass of the material through fine steps that aim at developing a finely produced part. This means that the system must have sow feed speed to the spindle thus helping to produce a fine and accurate surface. 3.4. Counter milling In this stage, the cutting surfaces and edges of the machine are tangential to the parts of the ideal features of the final component product. This helps in producing a surface that has excellent characteristics on the surface. 4. Discussion In the engineering field, the use of CAD/CAM technologies in the manufacturing of system components is the key area to focus on, as it requires consistency. This means that automation is the only way that accuracy can be attained in sense that there are parts that must replace those that fail in the machines due to wear and tear. Therefore, wear and tear of the machines is one of the reasons as to why we must practice to develop practicable and precise parts that can fit the required parts. Consistency is also a reason why the machining tools need to have automation when developing the machine components. From the different engineering fields, analyzing different processes, the higher number of CAM technologies are the mechanical engineering, and the automobile industry. These form an approximate of 75% and 25% respectively in the usage of the CAM technologies. Other engineering processes are as indicated in the graph of the fields in which CAM may be applicable. In essence, in enterprises where there are less 50 employees and 500 employees yield quite a good number of the desired approximation of the users of the CAM technology in the industry. Research as shown that time required to pass the process of production using the automated systems will have a direct effect on the number of required employees. This is as shown the bar graph below, which is a comparison of the percentage of the companies and the employees required in relation to system automation. Considering the number of employees that a certain company requires it is clear that the company that has adopted system automation has a relatively smaller number of the employees it requires. 5. Conclusion and Recommendations In respect to developing product variants, this report has outlined the technologies that are using the CAM technologies as well as the future methodologies that are preferable in the future to use with the CAM technologies. Further, this report is an orientation guide to the system developers, engineers and researchers to have an IT based decision-making. Creativity of the designers in the use of the CAM technologies in the manufacturing industries should be used in the rapid change of the customer to have liking of the products that are because of the CAM technologies. Revolutionizing the CAM technologies in the manufacturing industries should aim at combining designs that are beyond manual design. This way, more industries like medicine will apply the use of the CAM technologies in their research and developments in the medical field. In the development of the proper and the expected, design that suits the modules feeding calculations used in the machining help in the generation of the ideal models. References Daniel, S. et al, 2004, Digital Design and Manufacturing: CAD/CAM Applications in Architecture and Design, Wiley, New York p. 69 Stephen, F. K., & Arthur, R. G., 2003, Exploring Advanced Manufacturing Technologies, Industrial Press Inc, New York. p. 18-20 Ian, G., David, W. R, & Brent, S., 2010, Additive Manufacturing Technologies: Rapid Prototyping to Direct Digital Manufacturing, Springer, Singapore. P. 12 Richard, Z., 2010, Integration Technologies for Industrial Automated Systems, Taylor & Francis, New York. P114-115 Sharma, K., 2011, Overview of Industrial Process Automation, Elsevier, New York. P 97 Read More