ABSTRACT

The automobile is a truly complex consumer product whose design and manufacturing is influenced by national and international policies. Over the last century, the design, manufacture and operation of the automobile have grown into complex system integration paradigms cutting across applications of traditional disciplines in physical sciences, engineering, social and behavioral sciences, and business.

This seminar presents elements of the development of an up-armored vehicle within the V-model framework. Under this rubric, several research projects and their integration into the overall product design, development and execution are discussed. In particular, elements related to real-time electronic stability control, light weight / next generation materials and processing, and production system optimization for global companies will be presented in light of present and future capabilities. The development of an up-armored version of a commercial vehicle is an excellent example integrating all of these concepts. Such vehicles are produced by many OEM’s as well as government groups. The work presented in the seminar demonstrates that even some of the most basic assumptions are not valid when pushing the limits of the vehicle’s design and production. The ability to accurately model and simulate vehicle performance is critical to refine the up-armored vehicle design, before production is initiated. To realize cost effective production, integration of the up-armored vehicle into standard commercial production lines must be executed and presents a series of significant problems. Furthermore, the need for specialized components made of difficult to machine materials demands new and innovative approaches to process modeling and outsourcing strategies that lend themselves well to next generation cloud manufacturing concepts. The extrapolations of best practices for these operations are presented with respect to other market sectors. The talk concludes with the extending the discussion from automotive manufacturing to general manufacturing and highlights the needs of society, the nation and the globe for next generation capabilities of both hardware/software and personnel related to production.

AUTHOR BIO

Thomas R. Kurfess received his S.B., S.M. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from M.I.T. in 1986, 1987 and 1989, respectively. He also received an S.M. degree from M.I.T. in electrical engineering and computer science in 1988. Following graduation, he joined Carnegie Mellon University where he rose to the rank of Associate Professor. In 1994 he moved to the Georgia Institute of Technology where he rose to the rank of Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. In 2005 he was named Professor and BMW Chair of Manufacturing in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences. His research focuses on the design and development of advanced systems targeting the automotive sector (OEM and supplier) including vehicle and production systems. He has significant experience in high precision manufacturing and metrology systems. He is a Fellow of the AAAS, the SME and the ASME.