Enterprise networks offer a wide range of new business opportunities, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises that are usually more flexible than larger companies. In order to be successful, however, performances and expected benefits have to be carefully evaluated and balanced: enterprises must ensure they become a member of the right network for the right task and must find an efficient, flexible, and sustainable working practice. A promising approach to finding such a practice is to combine analytical methods and knowledge-based approaches, in a distributed context.

Tools for metal cutting have many shapes and features, each of which is described by its angles or geometries. The selection of the right cutting tool geometry is critical because it directly affects the integrity of the machined surface, tool life, power needed for machining, and thus the overall machining efficiency. Geometry of Single-Point Turning Tools and Drills outlines clear objectives of cutting tool geometry selection and optimization, using multiple examples to provide a thorough explanation.

The establishment of clear bridges between cutting theory, tool geometry, and...

Mass customization (MC) has been hailed as a successful operations strategy across manufacturing and service industries for the past three decades. However, the wider implications of using MC approaches in the broader industrial and economic environment are yet not clearly understood. In addition, monographs on MC place only a small emphasis on the design and implementation of mass customized services. Mass Customization: Engineering and Managing Global Operations presents emerging research on the role of MC and personalization in today's international operations context. The...

Advances in Design examines recent advances and innovations in product design paradigms, methods, tools and applications. It presents fifty-two selected papers which were presented at the 14^th CIRP International Design Seminar held in May 2004 as well as the invited keynote papers. Dr. Waguih ElMaraghy was the conference Chair and Dr. Hoda ElMaraghy was on the program committee. The International Institution for Production Research (CIRP), founded in 1951, is the top production engineering research college worldwide. The CIRP is subdivided into Scientific and Technical...

Manufacturing systems, regardless of their size, have to work with scarce resources in dynamic environments. Managers are asked to assign production facilities over time to parallel activities respecting operational constraints and deadlines while keeping resource costs as low as possible. Thus, classic scheduling approaches are not adequate when (i) a task simultaneously requires a set of different resources and (ii) a trade-off between different objectives (like time, cost and workload balance) should be reached. In such a case, more sophisticated models and algorithms should be brought...

Efficient assembly line design is a problem of considerable industrial importance. Unfortunately, like many other design processes, it can be time-consuming and repetitive. In addition to this, assembly line design is often complex owing to the number of multiple components involved: line efficiency, cost, reliability and space for example. The main objective is to integrate the design with operations issues, thereby minimising its costs.

Since it is impossible to replace a designer s intelligence, experience and creativity, it is important to provide him with a set of...