L
Logistic Curves
Peter Nyhuis
Institut f€
ur Fabrikanlagen und Logistik, Leibniz
Universit€at Hannover, Garbsen, Germany
Synonyms
Production operating curves
Definition
Logistic Operating Curves (LOC) qualitatively
and quantitatively depict the interaction between
logistic objectives in the form of curves.
Extended Definition
The company’s internal supply chain comprises
the core processes: source, make, and deliver
(Fig. 1, upper). Each of these core processes
focuses on different logistic objectives. These
objectives to some extent both contradict and
complement one another. A field of tension is
created between logistic performance and logistic
costs (Fig. 1, middle). Finding an optimum within
this field of conflict is impossible for companies.
They have to position themselves in the field of
tension between the logistic objectives. Among
other uses, Logistic Operating Curves provide an
excellent tool for accomplishing this (Fig. 1,
lower).
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_7-3
Usually, the actual procurement process is
decoupled from the production via a warehouse
of raw and/or semifinished goods. In order to
guarantee a strong logistic performance, this
store is supposed to ensure a high service level
with a minimum delivery delay while at the same
time maintaining as little stock as possible in order
to keep the logistic costs down. As the Storage
Operating Curves (Lutz 2002; Gl€assner 1995;
Nyhuis 1996) show, these targets are to some
extent contradictory. In this case, the logistic
objective “stock level” is also the controlled var-
iable which can, for example, be set via the reor-
der point in the ERP system. When the stock level
is high, a high service level and minimum delivery
delay are to be expected since all of the stored
parts are generally available. As the average stock
level decreases, fewer of the demands on the store
can be met. As a result, the service level sinks and
the mean delivery delay increases.
In the field of production, the logistic objec-
tives “throughput time” and “schedule reliability”
(logistic performance) as well as “utilization” and
“WIP” (logistic costs) are of key importance. The
Production Operating Curves show that when
there is a high WIP level, the output rate and
with that the utilization of a workstation is for
the most part independent of the WIP. Should
the WIP, however, fall below a certain value,
utilization problems arise due to a temporary
lack of work. In comparison, the throughput
time grows for the most part proportional to the
increasing WIP. Short throughput times as a result
2 Logistic Curves
source
Core Process
Service Level (SERL)
Logistic
Delivery Delay (DD)
Performance
Logistic Costs Stock Level (SL)
Storage Operating Curves
Logistic
Operating SERL
Curves
DD
SL
Logistic Curves, Fig. 1 Core processes, objectives, and exemplary Logistic Operating Curves
of low WIP are also generally related to minimal
variance. From the perspective of the subsequent
production areas, the greater planning certainty
arising from this causes greater schedule reliabil-
ity (Nyhuis and Wiendahl 2009).
If we assume a make-to-stock production when
discussing the distribution core process, the Stor-
age Operating Curves, already outlined above in
regard to procurement, can be applied. In compar-
ison, with a make-to-order production, the logistic
objectives from the perspective of performance
are high schedule compliance and short delivery
times, whereas from the cost perspective the
objective is a small store of finished orders, that
is, completed orders should only wait briefly
before being shipped to the customer. In this
case, the controlled variable is the delivery time
buffer. If a larger delivery time buffer is selected,
the majority of promised delivery dates can be
met. The delivery time buffer also directly impacts
the delivery time extending it by the same amount.
Moreover, a very large number of orders will be
completed before the actual planned delivery date,
subsequently giving rise to a bigger store of fin-
ished products. As can be seen in the Schedule
Compliance Operating Curves, with shorter deliv-
ery time buffers, the delivery times and the stores
of finished products also decrease. When the static
make deliver
Schedule Compliance (SC)
Throughput Time (TTP)
Delivery Time (TD)
Work in Process (WIP)
Finished Goods Stock (SF)
Output Rate (ROUT)
Production Operating Schedule Compliance
Curves Operating Curves
ROUT
SC
TD
SF
TTP
WIP Delivery Time Buffer
distribution of the lateness is constant in the pre-
ceding production area, the schedule compliance
decreases (Schmidt et al. 2013).
Theory and Application
The Logistic Operating Curves are impact models
derived either from deductive or deductive/exper-
imental modeling. They depict interactions
between logistic objectives. Their mathematically
calculated progression is dependent on various
parameters. If the parameters change, the shape
of the operating curve adjusts. This allows logistic
measures to be evaluated with the aid of the
Logistic Operating Curves.
The shape of the Storage Operating Curves is
dependent on both the fluctuating demands on the
store output side as well as the replenishment time
and the quality of the supplier’s delivery (i.e., with
regard to quantity and due date). For example, the
greater the supplier’s due date reliability, the
steeper is the slope of the Service Level Operating
Curve. This means that, compared to initial state, a
lower stock level is required to ensure a desired
service level.
A number of parameters, for example, techni-
cal disruptions, load variance, capacity flexibility,
Logistic Curves
Logistic Curves,
Fig. 2 Application areas
for Logistic Operating
Curves
or lot sizes, among others, are taken into consid-
eration by the Production Operating Curves.
Logistic measures that impact these parameters
can thus be evaluated based on the changes in
the operating curves.
The Schedule Compliance Operating Curves
are determined by the distribution of the output
lateness of the preceding production stage. Logis-
tic measures such as those for improving the due
date reliability or for narrowing the distribution of
the due date reliability directly impact the shape of
the Schedule Compliance Operating Curves. Thus
with less variance in the lateness, a shorter deliv-
ery time buffer is occasionally necessary in order
to realize a defined target due date compliance.
A variety of possible applications for the
Logistic Operating Curves arise from the connec-
tions demonstrated here. These are summarized in
Fig. 2. Since the Logistic Operating Curves
describe the correlations between the logistic
objectives and the possibility of influencing
them, they represent an ideal foundation for
increasing and monitoring the certainty and capa-
bility of logistic processes in an enterprise. The
Logistic Operating Curves can thus be drawn
upon for evaluating processes within the frame
of monitoring logistic process in enterprises par-
ticularly in the production as well as for deriving
potential. They show, for example, which
throughput times and WIP level can be achieved
with the existing structural conditions without
3
having to expect noteworthy breaks in the mate-
rial flow or a loss of output. When applying them
within the frame of production planning and con-
trol, the system parameters such as the delivery
time buffer, safety stock, or throughput times can
be derived and set in agreement with the goals.
Depicting the logistic objectives in a diagram also
makes it possible to determine which of them
should be weighted the most depending on the
current operating and/or market situation as well
as depending on the system specific conditions. At
the same time, it can be shown how the changes in
the parameters impact the logistical quality
indicators.
Should it turn out that the set target values are
not attainable without supporting measures, the
operating curves can be drawn upon according
to the possibilities introduced here for reinforcing
and evaluating planning activities and thus work
as an aid in stabilizing the process certainty. Thus
alternative, implementable planning and control
strategies can be evaluated and selected according
to logistic criteria. Logistic Operating Curves can
also be directly integrated into planning and con-
trol methods (e.g., lot sizing, scheduling, order
release). Moreover, applying them provides con-
tinual, method-based support for orienting the
planning and control on the logistic objectives.
When designing production processes, Logistic
Operating Curves can be implemented as an aid
to resolving diverse problems. They can, for
4 Logistic Curves

example, assist in evaluating alternative References

manufacturing principles (in view of logistics) or
new logistic concepts, determining the customer Gl€assner J (1995) Modellgest€ utztes Controlling der
beschaffungslogistischen Prozesskette [Model-based
decoupling point or planning the layout. The basis
controlling of the purchasing process-Chain]. VDI,
for all of the mentioned applications is a Logistic D€usseldorf (in German)
Positioning which provides the target values and Lutz S (2002) Kennliniengest€ utztes Lagermanagement
thus also represents a link between all of the [Characteristic diagram-based stock-management].
VDI, D€ usseldorf (in German)
individual functions.
Nyhuis P (1996) Lagerkennlinien – ein Modellansatz zur
Unterst€utzung des Beschaffungs- und Bestandscon-
trollings [Stock characteristics – a model-based
approach for purchasing and inventory controlling].
Cross-References In: Baumgarten H, Holzinger D, R€ uhle H, Sch€afer H,
Stabenau H, Witten P (eds) RKW-Handbuch Logistik
▶ Changeable Manufacturing [The German productivity and innovation centre: logis-
tics handbook]. Erich Schmidt, Berlin, pp 5066/
▶ Factory 1–5066/30 (in German)
▶ Logistics Nyhuis P, Wiendahl H-P (2009) Fundamentals of produc-
▶ Machine Tool tion logistics – theory, tools and applications. Springer,
▶ Manufacturing Berlin
Schmidt M, Bertsch S, Nyhuis P (2013) Schedule compli-
▶ Manufacturing System ance operating curves and their application in designing
▶ Production the supply chain of a metal producer. Prod Plan Control
▶ System Manag Oper 25(2):123–133
CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
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# CIRP 2014

Industrial Product-Service System

Horst Meier* and Henning Lagemann
Fakult€at f€
ur Maschinenbau/Lehrstuhl f€
ur Produktionssysteme, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany

Synonyms
Integrated product-service offering (IPSO); Integrated solutions; Product-service system (PSS);
Technical product-service system (technical PSS)

Definition
An industrial product-service system (IPS2) is characterized by the integrated and mutually deter-
mined planning, development, provision, and use of products and services including immanent
software. IPS2 are offered in business-to-business markets; they address industrial applications only.
An IPS2 represents a knowledge-intensive socio-technical system (Meier et al. 2010).
An IPS2 is a customized solution, which comprises products, services, and immanent software in
an integrated manner in order to deliver a particular value instead of a pure functionality to industrial
customers. Hence, an IPS2 aims at replacing product-focused business strategies by use-oriented
strategies. Consequently, all physical and nonphysical components of IPS2 need to be planned,
developed, and operated together, considering all interdependencies between the components.
During the provision of IPS2, provider abilities need to be adaptable to dynamically changing
customer requirements (Meier et al. 2010).

Theory and Application

History and Related Research

The oldest known example of an IPS2 is the steam engine developed and offered by James Watt and
Matthew Boulton from 1775 onward. Instead of selling steam engines, they assembled and
maintained the steam engine free of charge and derived their profits from the customers’ annual
savings compared to the previous, less efficient steam engine, which had a much higher coal
consumption.
In literature, the paradigm change toward product-service integration originates from the research
on the servitization of manufacturing, which was initialized by Vandermerwe and Rada in 1988.
They described servitization as the increased offering of “fuller market packages or “bundles” of
customer-focused combinations of goods, services, support, self-service, and knowledge,” in which
“service is beginning to dominate” (Vandermerwe and Rada 1988). During the last two decades, the
development of manufacturers to service providers has received an increasing attention in various
scientific disciplines. Hence, a multitude of terms has emerged in different scientific fields to
describe the concept of integrated products and services: product-related services, integrated
solutions, customer solutions, dematerialization, integrated product-service offering, extended

*Email: meier@lps.ruhr-uni-bochum.de

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products, and functional products. The topic has also become more important from the perspective
of life cycle management. In this context, uncertainties and risks due to a stronger service orientation
and long-term partnerships are of great importance (Erkoyuncu et al. 2011).
In German literature, the terms leistungssystem, hybrides produkt, hybride wertschöpfung,
verbundsystem, and hybride Leistungsb€ undel describe the same idea.
The term product-service system (PSS) originates from Scandinavian research on the social,
economic, and environmental sustainability of product-service combinations. In 1999, Goedkoop
et al. published their definition of a product-service system: “A Product Service system (PS system)
is a marketable set of products and services capable of jointly fulfilling a user’s need.” Their
approach was followed by a multitude of definitions, but a consistent definition of the term
product-service system (PSS) does not exist. Some authors address business-to-business markets,
others business-to-consumer markets. The different approaches reveal different understandings of
the relative importance of products and services and of the environmental improvements that can be
realized with the help of PSS (Goedkoop et al. 1999; Mont 2002; Meier et al. 2010).
Although the research on PSS initially was mostly driven by environmental improvements, the
focus has shifted more on engineering and business-related aspects of product-service integration.
According to Tukker, PSS has a potential to enhance environmental sustainability, but only if such a
potential has been exposed during a PSS’s development, which may not always be achievable
(Tukker 2004). In a very recent publication, Lindahl et al. (2014) quantitatively showed that PSS can
improve environmental aspects with the help of three case studies. Lindahl et al. (2014) argue that
three enablers play an important role in enhancing the sustainability of PSS: (1) development of
innovative technology, (2) desire to form deeper relationships with customers, and (3) increased
asset utilization.
Aside from environmental benefits, the differentiation from competitors due to customized offers
and the increase of profit margins are associated with PSS as well (Goedkoop et al. 1999; Mont
2002; Baines et al. 2007). An analysis of such advantages revealed that offering PSS demands an
appropriate amount of financial resources, high organizational and management skills, as well as a
systematic development. Furthermore, it is of particular importance to know a customer’s business,
which means to distinguish between customers who really ask for novel, nontraditional business
offers and those who are advised best to focus on a product-centered business model (Goedkoop
et al. 1999; Mont 2002; Tukker 2004; Baines et al. 2007).
From the research area of PSS with a strong focus on sustainability, the research field of industrial
product-service systems (IPS2) has developed. As opposed to PSS, IPS2 are confined to business-to-
business markets and focus on highly complex investment goods such as machine tools, industrial
cranes, or aircraft engines (Meier et al. 2010). Research on IPS2 is particularly aimed at providing
methods and tools for the planning, development, and operation of IPS2 with regard to specific
business models in different fields of application. It is a highly interdisciplinary research area with a
strong focus on the life cycle-oriented engineering of integrated products and services.

Services Versus Products

Whereas it is a common understanding that the notion “product” describes a physical artifact, in
service research, a commonly accepted definition of the term service does not exist. Nonetheless, the
majority of authors explain services with the aid of several constitutive characteristics, which result
from three service dimensions: the capability, process, and result dimension. With regard to the
capability dimension, a service is understood as the ability and willingness of a provider to deliver
the service. Therefore, unlike physical goods, services are considered intangible, which is the first
constitutive characteristic used to define a service. With reference to the process dimension, a service

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is characterized by its simultaneous consumption and production as well as by the integration of

external factors. Examples for such factors are customer’s personnel, goods, rights, or information.
In this regard, the term “external” points up that a service’s provider is never part of its customer’s
company. Hence, the “inseparability” of service production and consumption (also described as
uno-actu-principle) and the “integration of external factors” result from the process dimension.
Resulting from the inseparability and the integration of the external factor is the perishability of
services, which means that a service cannot be stored. The definition of the notion service, which
follows from the result dimension, is the most discussed one. While some authors argue that a
service results in tangible and intangible outputs, others persist that a service has an intangible output
only. The “heterogeneity” of service processes is strongly determined by the integration of the
external factors. In services marketing literature, intangibility, heterogeneity, inseparability, and
perishability are referred to as the IHIP characteristics of service (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons
2006).

Life Cycle Phases of IPS2

Different life cycle concepts have been introduced for IPS2 in order to describe and systematize the
characteristics and activities of IPS2 (e.g., Aurich et al. 2004). According to Meier and Boßlau
(2012), the life cycle of IPS2 consists of five phases: planning, development, implementation,
operation, and closure. This life cycle concept supports an iterative understanding – e.g., repeated
phases of planning and development can occur in case of changing customer requirements during
IPS2 operation (see Fig. 1).
The planning and development of IPS2 bears great challenges due to its interdisciplinary and
integrative nature. In contrast to the current situation in most companies which offer product-related
services, services within IPS2 have to be designed simultaneously with the product, as they are an
integral part of the solution (Maussang et al. 2009). A generic PSS development process model has

end of business
relationship

closure training planning

availability
quality
productivity
tooling

safety ramp up

operation real virtual development

implemen-
tation

Fig. 1 Life cycle of an IPS2 (Meier and Boßlau 2012)

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Fig. 2 Generic PSS development process model (M€uller and Stark 2010)

been developed by M€ uller and Stark (2010), which is based on the classic V-model of systems
engineering processes (Fig. 2). The development process, which consists of subsequent and
simultaneous activities, is subdivided in different levels of detail. After having identified the
customer needs on the market/customer/environment level during IPS2 planning, the concept
model and the business model are developed simultaneously to describe the way in which customer
value is generated without confining to specific technical solutions. This level is characterized by a
strong integration of products, services, and software. However, on the subsystem level, domain-
specific methods and tools are required for the simultaneous design of product and service modules.
An important software tool, which has been developed to support service engineering within IPS2
development, is the service CAD system (Arai and Shimomura 2004). This tool provides the
possibility of designing, visualizing, evaluating, simulating, and reviewing service processes within
IPS2. Its underlying concept is based on the widespread service blueprinting method.
An overview over different methods and tools that provide support during IPS2 design is given by
Shimomura and Akasaka (2013). The authors therein subdivide the design process in the phases
“value analysis,” “embodiment,” and “evaluation.” The tools and methods, which have been
developed or are currently being developed, are integrated into the scheme according to the phase
and the perspective (customer, business, and environmental) they address. Examples of those
methods and tools are the persona/scenario analysis, the PS system simulator, and the service
FMEA (Shimomura and Akasaka 2013).
The IPS2 development phase ends with the implementation of the IPS2. The tasks during this phase
include the manufacturing of products, logistical processes, and the provision of resources to perform
the delivery processes during IPS2 operation. These resources are provided by the IPS2 network,
consisting of the IPS2 provider, the customer, and a multitude of suppliers. The network partners
deliver products, services, or IPS2 modules either to the IPS2 provider or directly to the customer.
A particular challenge during IPS2 implementation and IPS2 operation is to define the required
resource capacity, because various factors result in high levels of demand and supply uncertainty in
service delivery (Erkoyuncu et al. 2011). IPS2-specific business models allow the IPS2 provider to
gain in-depth knowledge regarding expected service demands and to have greater responsibility in

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operating and initiating IPS2 delivery processes. Hence, they provide possibilities of reducing
uncertainties during IPS2 operation. IPS2-specific flexibility options (e.g., utilization of alternative
processes, alternative resources, and partial substitution of product and service shares) present
possibilities of matching capacity supply to demand and guaranteeing the effective and efficient
IPS2 delivery.
Finally, at the end of the IPS2 life cycle, the IPS2 closure ends the contractual relationship between
a provider and its customer.

IPS2 Business Models

The offering of IPS2 enables innovative business models, which are beneficial to both the customer
and the IPS2 provider. IPS2 business models are of dynamic nature. They can change several times
over the IPS2 life cycle. Business models consist of various partial models, e.g., the value model, the
architecture of value creation, the organizational model, the risk distribution, and the revenue model
(Meier and Boßlau 2012; Rese et al. 2012).
The core of each business model is the value model. Tukker (2004) clarified the shifting of
ownership between a provider and its customer by introducing product-oriented services,
use-oriented services, and result-oriented services. Whereas in the context of product-oriented
services the business model is still geared toward the sales of products with some additional services,
in the context of use-oriented services, the product stays in the ownership of the provider. In this
regard, the product itself is made available to one or even several customers in a different,
nontraditional form. In the case of result-oriented services, the provider and its customer agree on
a certain result without specifying a particular product. In line with this, the underlying value models
are usually characterized as function oriented, availability oriented, and result oriented (Fig. 3). The
type of value model is characteristic for the type of relationship between the IPS2 provider and
customer, with various consequences for production responsibility, supply of operating personnel,
service initiative, ownership of the product, supply of maintenance personnel, and service turnover
(Rese et al. 2012).

Fig. 3 IPS2 operation and business models (Tukker 2004)

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Cross-References
▶ Product Life Cycle Management
▶ Sustainability

References
Arai T, Shimomura Y (2004) Proposal of service CAD system – a tool for service engineering. CIRP
Ann Manuf Technol 53(1):397–400
Aurich JC, Fuchs C, DeVries MF (2004) An approach to life cycle oriented technical service design.
CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 53(1):151–154
Baines TS et al (2007) State-of-the-art in product-service systems. Proc Inst Mech Eng Part B J Eng
Manuf 221(10):1543–1552
Erkoyuncu JA, Roy R, Shehab E, Cheruvu K (2011) Understanding service uncertainties in
industrial product–service system cost estimation. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 52(9–12):1223–1238
Fitzsimmons MJ, Fitzsimmons JA (2006) Service management. Operations, strategy, and informa-
tion technology, 5th edn. McGraw-Hill/Irwin, Boston
Goedkoop M, van Halen C, Te Riele H, Rommens P (1999) Product-service systems – ecological
and economic basis. Report for the Dutch ministries of environment and economic affairs
Lindahl M, Sundin E, Sakao T (2014) Environmental and economic benefits of integrated product
service offerings quantified with real business cases. J Clean Prod 64:288–296
Maussang N, Zwolinski P, Brissaud D (2009) Product-service system design methodology: from the
PSS architecture design to the products specifications. J Eng Des 20(4):349–366
Meier H, Boßlau M (2012) Dynamic business models for industrial product-service systems. In:
Proceedings of the 30th international conference of the system dynamics society, 13th PhD
Colloquium, Plenary Session. St. Gallen, Switzerland
Meier H, Roy R, Seliger G (2010) Industrial product-service systems (IPS2). CIRP Ann Manuf
Technol 59(2):607–627, Keynote paper
Mont O (2002) Clarifying the concept of product–service system. J Clean Prod 10(3):237–245
M€uller P, Stark R (2010) A generic PSS development process model based on theory and an
empirical study. In: Marjanović D, Štorga M, Pavkovic N, Bojcetic N (eds) Design 2010.
Proceedings of the 11th International Design Conference, Dubrovnik, 17–20 May 2010. Faculty
of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb
Rese M, Meier H, Gesing J, Boßlau M (2012) An ontology of business models for industrial
product-service systems. In: Shimomura Y, Kimita K (eds) The philosopher’s stone for sustain-
ability. Proceedings of the 4th CIRP international conference on industrial product-service
systems, Tokyo, 8–9 Nov 2012. Springer, Berlin, pp 191–196
Shimomura Y, Akasaka F (2013) Toward product-service system engineering: new system engi-
neering for PSS utilization. In: Meier H (ed) Product-service integration for sustainable solutions.
Proceedings of the 5th CIRP international conference on industrial product-service systems,
Bochum, 14–15 Mar 2013. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, pp 27–40
Tukker A (2004) Eight types of product–service system: eight ways to sustainability? Experiences
from SusProNet. Bus Strat Env 13(4):246–260
Vandermerwe S, Rada J (1988) Servitization of business: adding value by adding services. Eur
Manag J 6(4):314–324

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R

Reflectivity wavelength interval dl, a surface area dA, and a

pencil of solid angle dOr. The specular spectral
Han Haitjema reflectivity is defined as the part of the incoming
Mitutoyo RCE, Best, The Netherlands radiation that is reflected specularly in Eq. 2:

I r ðyi , fi  p, lÞ
Rs ðyi , fi , lÞ ¼ (2)
Synonyms I i ð yi , f i , lÞ

Reflectance; Reflection coefficient This is reduced to the normal specular spectral

reflectance when the incident radiation is normal
to the surface (yi = 0 in (2)). The part of the
incoming radiation which is reflected from the
Definition surface, indifferent in which direction, is called
the directional hemispherical spectral reflectance
Fraction of incoming light that is reflected at an
and is obtained by integrating the bidirectional
interface.
spectral reflectance over a hemisphere, see Eq. 3:
ð ð
1 2p p
Theory and Application Rh ðyi , fi , lÞ ¼ Rðyi , fi , yr , fr , lÞ
2p 0 0
sin ðyr Þ cos ðyr Þdyr dfr
The most general definition of a reflection quan- (3)
tity is the bidirectional spectral reflectivity. The
relevant angles are defined in Fig. 1, where the When taking the total intensity of a light source
surface is in the x-y plane (see Fig. 1, Haitjema where the intensity over a wavelength interval dl
1989): is given by I(l)dl, the total directional hemispher-
This is expressed in Eq. (1): ical reflectivity is given by Eq. 4 (Siegel and
Howell 1972):
I r ð yr , f r , lÞ
Rðyr , fr , yi , fi , lÞ ¼ , (1)
I i ðyi , fi , lÞ

where the radiant intensity Ii of the incoming

radiation is defined for an infinitesimal

# CIRP 2017
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_15-3
2 Reflectivity
ð ð 2p ð p
1
I ðlÞ  Rðyi , fi , yr , fr , lÞ sin ðyr Þ cos ðyr Þdyr dfr dl
Rt , h ð y i , f i Þ 2p l 0 0 Ð
¼ (4)
l I ðlÞdl
This is what is normally considered as
“reflectivity.”
Reflectivity at a Plane Interface
If an interface is mathematically flat, the reflectiv-
ity at that interface can well be described using
Fresnel coefficients. The “mathematically” flat
implies that the flatness deviations are negligible
compared to the wavelength of the reflected radi-
ation involved and that the area considered is
much larger than the beam size of the radiation.
If these conditions are met, the interface will be
specularly reflecting (see Eq. 2).
If the complex refractive index of this flat
surface is given by n = n-ik, and the light propa-
gates in air (nair  1), the normal specular reflec-
tivity is given by Eq. 5 (Heavens 1990):
Reflectivity, Fig. 1 Parameters used in the definition of
bidirectional reflectance
ð nð lÞ  1Þ 2 þ k 2 ð lÞ
R⊥ ð lÞ ¼ (5)
ð nð lÞ þ 1Þ 2 þ k 2 ð lÞ
If the light enters under an angle, the reflectiv-
ity will depend on the polarization state of the
radiation. The measurement of this polarization
state can be used to derive conclusions about the
refractive index of this material and even about
thin films present. This is called ellipsometry.
Reflectivity at Stratified Planar
Structures
The reflectivity at stratified planar structures
becomes more complicated if thin film structures
are present. Still methods are available to make a
straightforward calculation of the reflectivity. For
thin film structures, a matrix method has been
developed that still gives an analytical solution
for the calculated reflectance (Azzam and Bashara
1977; Jackson 1998).
Reflectivity at a Rough Surface
A rough surface will give a more diffuse reflec-
tion. For a general calculation, the Maxwell equa-
tions need to be solved for the geometry that is
extremely tedious. With some approximation, the
reflectance can be calculated for periodic profiles
or for rather smooth surfaces where the roughness
is much smaller than the wavelengths involved.
This is further treated by Ogilvy (1991).
Cross-References
▶ Ellipsometry
▶ Roughness
▶ Surface Texture
Reflectivity
References
Azzam RMA, Bashara NM (1977) Ellipsometry and polar-
ized light. North Holland Physics Publishing,
Amsterdam
Haitjema H (1989) Spectrally selective tinoxide and
indiumoxide coatings. PhD thesis, TU Delft, Delft
3
Heavens OS (1991) Optical properties of thin solid films.
Dover publications, New York
Jackson JD (1998) Classical electrodynamics. Wiley,
New York
Ogilvy JA (1991) Theory of wave scattering from random
rough surfaces. Adam Hilger, Bristol
Siegel R, Howell JR (1972) Thermal radiation heat trans-
fer. Mc Graw-Hill, New York
B
Bar Extrusion
Erman A. Tekkaya and Sami Chatti
Institute of Forming Technology and Lightweight
Design, Technische Universität Dortmund,
Dortmund, Germany
Synonyms
Extrusion; Extrusion of sections
Definition
Pushing a billet enclosed in a container through a
die to form an extrudate.
Theory and Application
Introduction
Bar extrusion is a process in which a block of
metal (billet) is forced to flow by compression
through a tool (die) opening of a smaller cross-
sectional area than that of the original billet. There
are two basic types of bar extrusion: direct and
indirect. The most important and common method
used is the direct extrusion (Lange 1988). Fig. 1
shows the principle of direct bar extrusion where
the billet is placed in the container and pushed
through the die by moving a ram towards the die
(Saha 2000).
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_20-4
In indirect bar extrusion, the die at the front end
of the hollow ram moves relative to the container,
but there is no relative displacement between the
billet and the container as shown in Fig. 2. There-
fore, indirect extrusion is characterized by the
absence of friction between the billet surface and
the container. The absence of friction leads to
reduced axial extrusion forces compared to direct
extrusion. Therefore, indirect extrusion is used for
the forming of heavy extrudable alloys. But the
major disadvantage of the method is the strong
limited die design due to the required hollow ram
geometry.
A third type of bar extrusion, which is rarely
applied, is hydrostatic bar extrusion. This process
utilizes a hydrostatic medium and there is no
direct contact between ram and billet (Fig. 3).
The pressure of the ram is transferred though the
hydrostatic medium to the billet. In hydrostatic
extrusion, friction as well as shear forces take
place only between the billet and the die (Bauser
et al. 2001; Sheppard 1999). It is difficult to seal
the container, which is a drawback of the hydro-
static extrusion.
Stages of Bar Extrusion
In the most common direct extrusion process,
pressure reaches a maximum when the material
filled the container. The process can be described
with three different phases:
2 Bar Extrusion

1. The billet is upsetting and pressure rises to its

peak value.
2. The pressure decreases as the billet length is
decreasing.
3. The pressure shows a sharp rise as the discard
material is compressed (usually the process
Bar Extrusion, Fig. 1 Direct bar extrusion ends at this point and the rest material is
removed).

A typical force-displacement curve is shown in

Fig. 4.
3 2 4 The parameters that influence the force can be
5
1 given as:
1 Extruded Material
2 Die
3 Billet • Temperature of container, die, and associated
4 Container tooling
5 Ram
• Billet material
Bar Extrusion, Fig. 2 Indirect bar extrusion • Extrusion temperature
• Extrusion speed
• Extrusion ratio

Neglecting the shear forces at the die interface,

the total extrusion force in direct bar extrusion can
5 7
2 be calculated as:
7 1 Extruded Material
2 Die
3 Billlet Ftotal ¼ Fram ¼ Fideal þ Fshear, container þ Fshear, die
4 Container
5 Hydrostatic medium
 
6 6 Ram Acontainer
3 4 1 7 Sealing Fideal ¼ C  ln  Acontainer :sfm
Aextrudate
Bar Extrusion, Fig. 3 Hydrostatic bar extrusion
where C is a constant, Acontainer and Aextrudate
are cross-sectional areas of container and

Bar Extrusion,
Fig. 4 Force-displacement 1 2 3
curve in direct extrusion
Ram force

Ffriction

Die filling Billet extrusion

Fideal

Ram stroke lrest

S1
l0
Bar Extrusion 3

extrudate, respectively, and sfm is the mean flow 2008). The variety of producible profile cross
stress. sections is immense: solid sections of bars and
Maximum shear force can be calculated as rods and hollow sections with open and closed
profiles as well as tubes (Fig. 5).
Fshear, max ¼ p  Dcontainer  t  ðl0  lrest Þ
Closed hollow profiles and tubes can be further
processed by hydroforming and bending for the
where t is shear strength of the material,
manufacturing of profile structures.
Dcontainer is the diameter of the container, and
(l0  lrest) is the ram displacement from the end
of upsetting till reaching the position of the rest Material Flow
material. In Fig. 6 deformation zones in bar extrusion of
AlMgSi0.5 can be seen. With the help of AlSi5.5
pins embedded in AlMgSi0.5, the material flow,
Materials and Products of Bar Extrusion
i.e., shear and dead zones, is made visible
Materials with high formability are suitable for bar
(Schikorra et al. 2006).
extrusion: aluminum and its alloys, copper, etc. The
common materials and their extrusion temperatures
are listed in Table 1 (Bauser et al. 2001).
Utilizing bar extrusion, long profiles can be
produced (Ostermann 2007; Fritz and Schulze

Shear zone Dead Zone

Bar Extrusion, Table 1 Ordinary bar extrusion materials

with suitable extrusion temperatures Press direction
Temperature Material
100–260  C Lead
150–300  C Zinc AlMg Si0.5
300–400  C Magnesium
350–500  C Aluminum AlSi5.5
550–1,000  C Copper
1,000–1,200  C Steel Bar Extrusion, Fig. 6 Deformation zones in bar extru-
sion of AlMgSi0.5

Bar Extrusion, Fig. 5 Typical bar extrusion products: solids, open and closed hollow profiles, and tubes
4 Bar Extrusion

Cross-References Lange K (1988) Umformtechnik, Bd. 2:

Massivumformung [Metal forming, Vol. 2: bulk metal
forming]. Springer, Berlin. (in German)
▶ Bending (Tubes, Profiles) Ostermann F (2007) Anwendungstechnologie Aluminium
▶ Hydroforming (Sheets and Tubes) [Technological application of aluminum]. Springer,
Berlin. (in German)
Saha PK (2000) Aluminum extrusion technology. ASM
International, Materials Park
References Schikorra M, Donati L, Tomesani L, Kleiner M (2006)
Role of friction in extrusion of AA6060 aluminum
alloy, process analysis and monitoring. In: Proceedings
Bauser M, Sauer G, Siegert K (2001) Strangpressen [Bar
of the advances in materials and processing technolo-
extrusion]. Aluminium Verlag, Düsseldorf.
gies (AMPT) conference, Las Vegas, 30 July
(in German)
2006 – 3 Aug 2006
Fritz AH, Schulze G (2008) Fertigungstechnik [Production
Sheppard T (1999) Extrusion of aluminum alloys. Kluwer,
engineering], 8th edn. Springer, Berlin. (in German)
Dordrecht
C
Capacity Planning
Hoda ElMaraghy1 and Ahmed M. Deif2
1
Intelligent Manufacturing Systems Center,
University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada
2
Orfalea College of Business, California
Polytechnic State University (CAL POLY), San
Luis Obispo, CA, USA
Synonyms
Productive volume planning
Definition
Capacity is defined, in the context of manufactur-
ing, as the maximum rate of production and the
ability to yield production. Capacity planning is
concerned with defining all resources and factors
that affect the ability of a manufacturer to produce
including equipment, labor, space, and time (i.e.,
number of shifts). The outcome of capacity plan-
ning is an investment strategy and resource utili-
zation plan defined based on optimal policies that
try to fulfill demand and its variation while con-
sidering various system’s operational objectives
and constraints.
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6388-3
Theory and Application
History
Capacity planning is motivated by manufacturers’
desire to meet customers’ demand. Uncertainty of
the customer’s demand increases the complexity
of capacity planning. Capacity planning is often
confused with scheduling since both deal with
managing production to meet demand. However,
a major distinction between both activities is that
capacity planning is focused on meeting the antic-
ipated demand on the strategic and tactical level,
while scheduling focuses on how to meet demand
on the shop floor operational level. This distinc-
tion brings about different scope, strategies,
models, and tools used in meeting the capacity
and resource scheduling demands. A classic
example of how a scheduling is addressed as a
capacity problem is the typical formulation to
solve an allocation problem of a set of unrelated
machines which process a group of products by
trying to determine the optimal values of the allo-
cation variables which assign portion of each of
the machine’s time to each of the considered prod-
ucts to improve a specific performance metric
(a typical example can be found in Leachman
and Carmon 1992).
Capacity planning was classically addressed as
a problem of capacity expansion. However, mod-
ern planning is concerned with both the reduction
and expansion of capacity given the turbulence in
markets today. Another major difference between
classical and modern capacity planning is their
2 Capacity Planning
enabling technologies. The techniques used for
planning capacity expansion are classical tech-
niques such as adding work shifts, manpower,
new production facilities, and subcontracting,
whereas for modern capacity planning technolo-
gies such as modular design, reconfiguration,
open control architectures, and changeability
strategies are used, in addition to classical
approaches, to implement more scalable, flexible,
and successful capacity planning policies.
Theory
About the Capacity Planning Problem
The major decisions in any capacity planning
activity are:
• What is the best magnitude of capacity expan-
sion/reduction?
• When is the best time to expand/reduce pro-
duction capacity?
• What is the best type of capacity expansion/
reduction?
• What is the best location for expansion/
reduction?
The word “best” (sometimes called optimal) in
the previous questions means satisfying the mar-
ket demand at a minimum cost, effort, and/or time.
A capacity planning policy should answer the
previous questions. However, in practice it is dif-
ficult to devise a capacity planning policy that
satisfies all questions at the same time in an opti-
mal manner.
The main inputs required to answer the previ-
ous questions are (a) the planning horizon, (b) the
costs of capacity expansion and/or reduction,
(c) the different system constraints and time
parameters, (d) the production strategic policies,
and (e) the demand forecast.
The demand pattern is a very important param-
eter in developing any capacity planning policy or
plan. It describes the demand over a certain time
horizon which is usually the capacity planning
period indicated by management. The demand
patterns can take deterministic or stochastic
forms depending on the desired accuracy in
Market Demand
How much?
Capacity
Which type?
When? Time
Capacity Planning, Fig. 1 Capacity planning problem’s
questions
capturing uncertainty-associated demand as well
as availability of information. Figure 1 illustrates
the main dimensions of the capacity planning
problem.
Capacity Planning in Various Manufacturing
Systems
Dedicated Mass Production Systems
Capacity planning for dedicated manufacturing
lines and mass production systems is carefully
optimized a priori to define the best size of
manufacturing facilities and resources given the
expected steady and large production volume.
These systems sometimes face the need to expand
or shrink production capacity due to changes in
market conditions. Such changes beyond the ini-
tial design are not easy to implement in dedicated
production systems and may require duplication
of the lines or of certain machines in the line or
even the expansion of the whole facility into mul-
tiple facilities if justifiable. It can be said that
capacity planning in these dedicated systems is
normally done on a macroscale at the system level
and without considering potential capacity reduc-
tion/expansion (except in very few cases). This is
understandable since these dedicated mass pro-
duction systems were economically justified and
designed for production of a specific part/product
at high volume without dealing with variety or
mix of products. Typically capacity expansion
methods in dedicated systems have the objective
of minimizing the discounted costs associated
with expansion. These include expansion cost,
congestion, idle capacity, shortages, maintenance,
Capacity Planning
Capacity Planning,
Fig. 2 Capacity planning
approach in dedicated
production systems
(Reprinted with author’s
permission from “Capacity
management via feedback
control in reconfigurable
manufacturing systems”, by
Asl and Ulsoy (2002))
ti
and inventory (examples include Kalotay (1973)
and Erlenkotter 1977). Figure 2 shows the capac-
ity planning approach in dedicated production
systems.
Flexible Manufacturing Systems
Capacity planning for flexible manufacturing sys-
tems (FMS) is considered a complicated task.
Functionality planning usually receives much
more attention in FMS than capacity planning,
and it is mainly accomplished by using
multipurpose, multiaxes CNC programmable
machines. The problem of capacity planning in
FMS arises from the great alternatives of identical
and nonidentical machines available in the system
with multiple functionalities. Capacity planning is
very expensive in flexible manufacturing systems
since these systems are planned for producing a
product family defined a priori in the mid-volume
and mid-variety range of products.
Capacity planning in these systems is viewed
as optimally satisfying the demand for multiple
products within the existing family boundary
using existing built-in capacity change alterna-
tives (programmable machines). The capacity
planner will aim to find the optimal control of
production flow (alternatives) within the FMS
systems to balance between investment cost and
lost sales cost (Kimemia and Gershwin 1983).
Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems
Capacity planning in advanced manufacturing
systems such as reconfigurable manufacturing
systems (RMS) and changeable manufacturing
systems is usually referred to as “capacity scal-
ability.” ElMaraghy (2005) explains the
3
Demand
Optimum capacity based on
Xi
minimal discounted cost
Time
dimensions of capacity scalability in RMS by
identifying and classifying the scalability charac-
teristics into “physical scalability” and “logical
scalability” attributes. Examples of physical
capacity scalability enablers include the adding
or removing of material handling equipment,
machines, machine modules, such as axes of
motions or heads, as well as tools or other com-
ponents. Examples of logical capacity scalability
enablers include increasing or decreasing the
number of shifts or the number of workers as
well as outsourcing. Modular components’ design
and interfaces as well as open control architecture
are basic enabling technologies required for
“plug-and-play” cost-effective way of achieving
physical capacity scalability in RMS (Koren
et al. 1999). A good reference on capacity scal-
ability definitions, approaches, and examples can
be found in Putnik et al. (2013).
Modeling Capacity Planning Problems
The interest in modeling the capacity planning
problem goes back to the middle of the nineteenth
century. A capacity planning model typically uses
deterministic demand that grows linearly with
time and balances between the cost of installing
capacity before it is needed and the economies of
scale savings of capacity expansion/reduction.
The model determines the type and sizes of
facilities to be added/removed and when so that
the present worth of all capacity changes is min-
imized while meeting forecasted demand. Exam-
ples of such classical and static models can be
found in Manne (1967) and Freidenfelds (1981),
while a good review on classical capacity expan-
sion models can be found in Luss (1982).
4 Capacity Planning
Various researchers attempted to enhance such
basic notion and models by considering stochastic
demands and dynamic lot sizes, accounting for
various expansion costs, considering inventory
along with capacity, and finally implementing
different classical optimization techniques.
Modeling and formulating capacity planning
problems were further considered from a more
dynamic perspective due to the increased level
of uncertainty as well as the fast advancements
in manufacturing systems technologies. Dynamic
modeling approaches included the application of
control theoretic methods and feedback loops to
control capacity under uncertainty with real-time
information of both the market and production
system. Examples of this approach include the
work of Wiendahl and Breithaupt (2000), Duffie
and Falu (2002), and Deif and ElMaraghy (2006).
System dynamics was used to capture the dynam-
ics associated with the capacity planning or scal-
ability problem and the various parameters
influencing it. An example of this approach for
capacity planning includes the work of Deif and
ElMaraghy (2009). Other approaches to under-
stand the dynamic nature of capacity planning
were through the application of nonlinear
dynamic analysis, chaos theory, dynamic optimi-
zation, simulation, and stochastic analysis
(examples include Radons and Neugebauer 2005
and Scholz-Reiter et al. 2002). More recently, the
dynamic capacity problem was modeled in the
emerging cloud-based manufacturing using sto-
chastic petri nets (Wu et al. 2015).
The common objective of all such methods and
models is to determine the best capacity planning
policies which advise manufacturers on which,
when, where, and how to expand/reduce capacity
in response to varying and often uncertain
demand.
Importance of Capacity Planning
Sound capacity planning models and strategies
are essential to maximize the potential of satisfy-
ing demands while minimizing cost and
remaining profitable. Any unmet demand is a
lost opportunity, and any unused production
capacity is a waste of money and resources. Effec-
tive capacity planning is needed more than ever
today to match demands to ability to produce and
to rationalize outsourcing and subcontracting.
Cross-References
▶ Manufacturing System
▶ Production Capacity
▶ Production Planning and Control
References
Asl FM, Ulsoy AG (2002) Capacity management via feed-
back control in reconfigurable manufacturing systems.
In: Mitsuishi M, Kurfess TR (eds) Proceedings 2002
Japan-USA symposium on flexible automation: Inter-
national conference on new technological innovation
for the 21st century, July 14–19, 2002 Hiroshima,
Japan. The Institute of Systems, Control and Informa-
tion Engineers (ISCIE), Kyoto, Japan
Deif A, ElMaraghy W (2006) A control approach to
explore the dynamics of capacity scalability in
reconfigurable manufacturing systems. J Manuf Syst
25(1):12–24
Deif A, ElMaraghy H (2009) Modeling and analysis of
dynamic capacity complexity in multi-stage produc-
tion. Prod Plan Control 20(8):737–749
Duffie N, Falu I (2002) Control-theoretic analysis of a
closed-loop PPC system. Ann CIRP 51(1):379–382
ElMaraghy H (2005) Flexible and reconfigurable
manufacturing systems paradigms. Int J Flex Manuf
Syst 17(4):261–276 (Special issue on reconfigurable
manufacturing systems)
Erlenkotter D (1977) Capacity expansion with imports and
inventories. Manag Sci 23(7):694–702
Freidenfelds J (1981) Capacity expansion: analysis of sim-
ple models with applications. Elsevier North Holland,
New York
Kalotay AJ (1973) Capacity expansion and specialization.
Manag Sci 20(1):56–64
Kimemia J, Gershwin SB (1983) An algorithm for the
computer control of a flexible manufacturing system.
IIE Trans 15(4):353–362
Koren Y, Heisel U, Jovane F, Moriwaki T, Pritschow G,
Ulsoy G, Van Brussel H (1999) Reconfigurable
manufacturing systems (Keynote paper). CIRP Ann
Manuf Technol 48(2):527–540
Leachman R, Carmon T (1992) On capacity modeling for
production planning with alternative machine types.
IIE Trans 24(4):62–72
Luss H (1982) Operation research and capacity expansion
problems: a survey. Oper Res 30(5):907–947
Manne AS (ed) (1967) Investments for capacity expansion:
size, location, and time-phasing. MIT Press, Cam-
bridge, MA
Capacity Planning
Putnik C, Sluga A, ElMaraghy H, Teti R, Koren Y, Tolio T,
Hon B (2013) Scalability in manufacturing systems
design and operation: state-of-the-art and future devel-
opments roadmap. CIRP Ann 62(2):751–774
Radons G, Neugebauer R (eds) (2005) Nonlinear dynamics
of production systems. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim
Scholz-Reiter B, Freitag M, Schmieder F (2002) Model-
ling and control of production systems based on
nonlinear dynamics theory. Ann CIRP 51(1):375–378
5
Wiendahl H, Breithaupt J (2000) Automatic production
control applying control theory. Int J Prod Econ
63(1):33–46
Wu D, Rosen DW, Schaefer D (2015) Scalability planning
for cloud-based manufacturing systems. J Manuf Sci
Eng 137(4):041007–1–041007–13
A
Adiabatic Shearing in Metal
Machining
Tom Childs
Faculty of Engineering, University of Leeds,
Leeds, UK
Synonyms
See sections “Definition” and “Extended
Definition”
Definition
Adiabatic shearing in metal machining is plastic
straining to form a chip so quickly that the heat
generated has no time to flow away. If the heating
causes the metal to soften (overcoming the strain
hardening), further straining may concentrate in
the soft part so that it becomes even hotter and
softer. Shearing becomes localized in a narrow
band of increasingly hot metal.
Extended Definition
Strain softening, shear localization, and shear
banding are all associated with adiabatic shearing,
but they are not synonyms as they can also occur,
for other reasons, in isothermal conditions.
Shear localization or banding due to thermal
softening does not require truly adiabatic (i.e., no
heat flow) conditions. All that is required is a
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6392-4
condition in which enough heating occurs. The
term catastrophic thermal shear covers this. It
focuses more on the observed behavior, less so
on its cause. Catastrophic thermal shear leads to
chips with a segmented or serrated or sawtooth
form when viewed from a direction normal to the
cutting tool’s cutting edge (see section “Applica-
tions” for examples). It is theory and applications
of shear localization, leading to segmented, ser-
rated, or sawtooth chip formation which is the
subject of this entry.
Theory and Application
The kinematic and geometrical conditions of ser-
rated chip formation are more complex than those of
deformation in simple shear, torsion, compression,
and punching tests that are commonly used to study
adiabatic shearing fundamentals. Fig. 1 shows a
cycle of flow during serrated chip formation from
(a) localized shear in a shear band to (b) mixed
localized flow and upsetting (upsetting is needed
to accommodate the displacement of the cutting
edge into the work material as the shear band
moves up the rake face), to (c) homogeneous flow
as the shear band moves out of the chip formation
region (the shear band is deformation rather than
load driven), and to (d) localized flow again (h is the
uncut chip thickness, vc the cutting speed).
The role of theory is to determine the condi-
tions of h, vc, tool geometry (rake angle), and
work material thermo-physical-mechanical
2 Adiabatic Shearing in Metal Machining
Adiabatic Shearing in Metal Machining,
Fig. 1 Numerical simulation of serrated chip formation
at relative displacement intervals (a–d) of the work toward
properties that give rise to serrated rather than
continuous or other classifications of chips and,
in the conditions of serrated chip formation, to
predict such measurable features of the serration
as the maximum and minimum chip thickness h1
and h2, the angle y at which the saw teeth are
inclined to the back face of the chip, the teeth
face separation L, and the shear band width d. If
such quantities are predicted, then the cycles of
temperature and stress in the tool will also be
known.
Critical Conditions for Shear Localization
Strain softening is necessary for shear localization
to occur but is not always due to adiabatic shear.
Fig. 2a, b shows example dependencies of shear
stress t on shear strain g from simple shear tests.
The data are from tests on a free-machining mild
steel but are intended to be considered qualita-
tively. In both figures, strain hardening at low
the tool of 0.5 h, from the author’s work. The particular
strain-rate values are associated with h = 0.1 mm and
vc = 50 m/min
strains gives way to strain softening at higher
strains.
In Fig. 2a, from data in Shaw (2004), the test
conditions are at room temperature and low strain
rate. Conditions are isothermal, and strain softening
is due to the nucleation and growth of voids. The
different curves result from applying compressive
pressure p to the shear plane. The larger the ratio
p/k, where k is the peak shear flow stress from the
test, the larger is the strain g at which dt/dg = 0.
Fig. 2b considers the effect of heating on the
stress–strain curve. The curve marked “isother-
mal” is that for p/k = 0.6 from Fig. 2a. That
marked “adiabatic” is obtained from the isother-
mal curve assuming all of the plastic work is
converted to heat and that the shear flow stress
reduces with temperature rise at the rate of
30 MPa per 100  C (a reasonable value). The
two curves marked “intermediate” suppose
one-third and two-thirds of the heat to be
Adiabatic Shearing in Metal Machining
Adiabatic Shearing in Metal Machining, Fig. 2 The influences of (a) imposed pressure and (b) heating on a metal’s
stress versus strain behavior (example of a low carbon re-sulfurized steel)
conducted away. In these cases, softening is the
result of heating. The strain at which dt/dg = 0
increases from the adiabatic to the isothermal
condition.
As has already been written, the conditions of
serrated chip formation are more complicated than
those of simple shear. Even continuous chip for-
mation (Fig. 3a) is more complicated than simple
shear. In the primary shear zone of a continuous
chip, strain increases along a streamline, for
example, from A to B, so strain softening is
most likely at the exit boundary. Along the exit
boundary, both temperature and pressure vary.
Small amounts of softening can be supported,
without a change from continuous to banded
flow, by hydrostatic pressure variations in the
flow field. If shear localization does develop, it
will occur during the buildup to continuous chip
formation, not after the steady state has been
established. Nonetheless, the conditions in which
a continuous chip flow gives way to shear locali-
zation can be qualitatively considered in terms of
the material behavior shown in Fig. 2 (assuming
localization to set in when dt/dg  0) and the
flow field of continuous chip formation.
Theories of heating in metal cutting show that
conditions in the primary shear zone of a contin-
uous chip change from isothermal to adiabatic as
the thermal number hvctanf/a increases through
the range  1–100 where f is the shear plane
angle and a is the thermal diffusivity (the ratio of
3
thermal conductivity to heat capacity) of the
machined material. In Fig. 3b, the critical strains
from Fig. 2 at which dt/dg = 0 are plotted against
the thermal number. Although the strain axis
could have been labeled from 0 to 10, from the
data in Fig. 2, numbers have been omitted because
it is intended that the figure’s use be qualitatively
generalized beyond its particular example. At low
values of the thermal number (isothermal condi-
tions), critical strains are due to void nucleation
and growth. As the number increases through the
range  10–100, thermal softening becomes the
critical factor. Critical strains for void nucleation
vary with pressure (Fig. 2a), but only one level is
shown in Fig. 3b.
Fig. 3b also includes, as the thin lines, the
variation with thermal number of a range of pos-
sible variations of shear strains associated with
continuous chip formation. For case A, these
strains are greater than the critical strains for
shear localization at all values of the thermal
number. With increasing magnitude of the product
hvc, a transition will occur from serrated or saw-
tooth chip formation resulting from instability due
to void formation to such chips caused by thermal
instability. In case B, a change from continuous to
serrated chip formation will occur as the thermal
softening boundary is crossed. In case C, serrated
chip formation will not occur at any value of hvc.
Observed dependencies of the critical hvc com-
binations for the onset of adiabatic shear banding
4 Adiabatic Shearing in Metal Machining
Adiabatic Shearing in Metal Machining, Fig. 3 (a)
Continuous chip formation; (b) shear strain dependencies
on thermal number, thick lines for the initiation of shear
localization due to void nucleation and thermal softening,
and thin lines A to C for different circumstances of contin-
uous chip formation considered in main text
on the material being machined and the tool
geometry may be considered in terms of Fig. 3b.
Observed transitions to localized shear and ser-
rated chip formation with increasing h and vc are
only likely to be due to increasingly adiabatic
conditions if hvctanf/a is in the range  10–100.
Certainly any transition at hvctanf/a <1 or >100
is unlikely to be the result of adiabatic shear. Heat
treatments that increase machined material hard-
ness and reduce strain hardening, or prior working
that also reduces strain hardening, will reduce the
process strain at which thermal softening occurs
and will reduce the critical values of h and vc for
serrated chip formation. Reducing the tool rake
angle will increase the strain level of continuous
chip formation and thus will also reduce the
critical values of h and vc at which serrated chips
occur.
Developing a quantitative theory of the condi-
tions for shear localization is the subject of ongo-
ing numerical (finite element-based) research.
Key earlier papers are as follows: Recht (1964)
in which the instability criterion dt/dg = 0 was
first applied, Semiatin and Rao (1983) in which it
was argued that dt/dg needed to be substantially
negative, and Hou and Komanduri (1997) in
which the complexities of temperature distribu-
tions in shear localized chips were examined in
more detail than in previous work. Adiabatic
shearing has been the subject of a number of
general reviews, for example, Walley (2007),
and books, for example, Bai and Dodd (1992).
These mention but do not have a main focus on
machining. Walley (2007) mentions nine earlier
reviews.
Development of Shear Localization
Once shear localization is initiated, flow of heat
from the shear band is predominantly normal to
its surface. From the theory of heat diffusion
and given that a shear band is active (Fig. 1) for a
time  (h/vc), the minimum width over which con-
ditions may be considered adiabatic  (a[h/vc])0.5.
This is expected to be the minimum width d of an
adiabatic shear band, or (d/h)min  (a/[hvc])0.5.
For typical machining conditions, dmin is of the
order of 10 mm. Experiments generally do show d
to be of this order and reducing with reducing h/vc
but not always to the power of 0.5.
Furthermore, d depends on material properties
in addition to a. d may not achieve its minimum
value. The thinning of a shear band is driven by
the slope of the strain-softening curve. This varies
widely between metals. Microstructural transfor-
mations, for example, dynamic recrystallization
and phase changes (e.g., ferrite to austenite trans-
formations in steels or a to b transformations in Ti
alloys), greatly affect softening behavior and are
observed in the shear bands of serrated chips at
high cutting speeds. A metal’s softening response
as well as its thermal diffusivity determines its
shear band thickness.
How the homogeneous deformation (Fig. 1c)
develops between shear bands, in response to the
Adiabatic Shearing in Metal Machining 5

stresses acting on it from the just formed shear treatment and tool geometry would be well
band and from the tool, determines segmentation advised to carry out their own experiments, for
shape – such dimensions as h1, h2, L, and y. example varying cutting speed over their range of
Softening in the shear band thus influences seg- interest at a fixed uncut chip thickness. However,
mentation shape as well as shear band thickness. some guidelines can be given in terms of Fig. 3b’s
Quantitative modeling and simulation of all three cases A to C.
these matters is the subject of ongoing research a and a-b titanium alloys almost always follow
and cannot be sensibly reviewed in a short entry case A behavior although a small number of
such as this. exceptions (case B behavior) may be found.
Fig. 4 shows a change from irregularly (void
nucleated) to regularly (adiabatic sheared) ser-
Applications
rated chips for a Ti-6Al-4 V alloy as hvc increases.
Table 1 lists, for a range of metals of interest to
By contrast, nickel-base superalloys and fer-
machining and from published literature, experi-
rous alloys almost always show case B behavior
mentally observed minimum values of the product
(with zero or negative rake tools; behavior can
of h and vc for serrated chip formation due to
change to type C with increasingly positive rake
adiabatic shear localization. They are to be
angle). Fig. 5 shows changing chip form from
regarded only as indicative as in fact they depend
continuous to serrated with increasing speed for
on rake angle, a factor not considered in collecting
an Inconel 718 alloy, while Fig. 6 shows forms
material for the table and on material heat treat-
obtained for an AISI 1045 steel quenched and
ment, sometimes not recorded in the literature.
tempered to HRC50. In Fig. 5, the shear bands
Furthermore, transitions from one chip form to
show deformed microstructure up to the highest
another are not sharp.
speed, but in Fig. 6 a transformed shear band is
Although the minimum values of hvc range
seen at vc = 240 m/min.
from <100 to >1,000 mm2/s, when divided by
Finally, aluminum alloys show highly variable
thermal diffusivity a, a narrower range of 20–100
responses. Behavior of a single composition can
is obtained. Considering that typical values of
vary from case A to case C dependent on heat
continuous chip shear plane angle are 20–40 ,
treatment. Fig. 7 shows overaged and underaged
hvctanf/a values are in the range expected from
AA7075 chips. The overaged chip is continuous
Fig. 3b.
even though hvctanf/a >100 (type C). The
In practice, the ranges in Table 1 are so broad
underaged chip is serrated. It maintains this to
that machinists or other interested people with a
the lowest cutting speeds (type A).
particular need to know the transition to adiabatic
shearing for a particular work material heat

Adiabatic Shearing in Metal Machining, Table 1 Minimum values of hvc for serrated chip formation by adiabatic
shearing
Metal  (hvc)min (mm2/s)a Representative a (mm2/s) hvc/a
Ti-6Al-4 V 70–150 3.5 20–40
Inconel 718 100–170 3.5 30–50
AISI 1045 steel: Q&T HRC50 300–330 15 20–22
AISI 1045 steel: Q&T HRC35 430–480 15 29–32
AISI 1045 steel: normalized 1500b 15 100
Austenitic stainless steels 100–300 4 25–75
AA7075-T651 700–1,000 60 12–17
a
To convert to the more practical (mm)  (m/min) unit, multiply by 0.06
b
Limited data
6 Adiabatic Shearing in Metal Machining

Adiabatic Shearing in Metal Machining, Fig. 4 Chip forms for a Ti-6Al-4 Valloy, tool rake angle 6 , and scale bars
100 mm (From original work of J. Barry, see “Acknowledgments”)

Adiabatic Shearing in Metal Machining, Fig. 5 Chip
forms for Inconel 718, tool rake angle 6 , and
h = 0.07 mm (From E. Uhlmann and R. Zettier
“Experimentelle und Numerische Untersucungen zur
Spanbildung beim Hochgeschwindigkeitsspanen einer
Nickelbasislegierung”. Ch. 18 in Tönshoff HK, Hollmann
F (eds) Hochgeschwindigkeitsspanen Metallischer
Werkstoffe. Copyright # 2005 by John Wiley & Sons,
Inc. Reprinted by permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)

More examples can be found in two textbooks:
Shaw (2004), which takes the view that fracture
(void nucleation) is more important than adiabatic
shear for the initiation of serrated chip formation,
and Trent and Wright (2000), which considers
secondary shear (stick–slip motion between the
chip and tool) as additionally influencing behav-
ior, and one research monograph (Tönshoff and
Hollmann 2005).
Adiabatic Shearing in Metal Machining 7

Adiabatic Shearing in Metal Machining, Fig. 6 Chip forms for AISI 1045 steel, HRC50, tool rake angle 10 , and
h = 0.15 mm (From original work of C.Z. Duan and L.C. Zhang, see “Acknowledgments”)

Adiabatic Shearing in Metal Machining, Fig. 7 Chip
forms for AA7075 vc = 7,000 m/min and tool rake angle
0 : (a) overaged, h = 0.14 mm and (b) underaged,
h = 0.07 mm (From C M€ uller, S. Landua, R. Bl€
umke,
HE Exner “Microstructure-A Dominating Parameter for
Chip Forming During High Speed Milling”. Ch. 15 in
Tönshoff HK, Hollmann F (eds) Hochgeschwindig-
keitsspanen Metallischer Werkstoffe. Copyright # 2005
by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reprinted by permission of
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)

Acknowledgments I wish to thank the following people ▶ Cutting Temperature

for making available chip section pictures from their orig- ▶ Cutting, Fundamentals
inal work and allowing me to include them in this entry:
J. Barry (Element Six), Fig. 4; E. Uhlmann and R. Zettier ▶ Hard Material Cutting
(Technical University of Berlin), Fig. 5; C.Z. Duan and ▶ High Speed Cutting
L.C. Zhang (University of New South Wales), Fig. 6; and
C. M€uller (Technical University of Darmstadt), Fig. 7.

References

Bai Y, Dodd B (1992) Adiabatic shear localization: occur-

Cross-References rence, theories and applications. Pergamon Press,
Oxford
▶ Chip Forms, Chip Breakability and Chip Hou ZB, Komanduri R (1997) Modeling of thermome-
chanical shear instability in machining. Int J Mech Sci
Control
39:1273–1314
▶ Cutting of Inconel and Nickel Base Materials
8 Adiabatic Shearing in Metal Machining

Recht RF (1964) Catastrophic thermoplastic shear. J Appl
Mech 31:189–193
Semiatin SL, Rao SB (1983) Shear localization during
metal cutting. Mater Sci Eng 61:185–192
Shaw MC (2004) Metal cutting principles, 2nd edn.
Oxford University Press, Oxford, Chs. 9, 22
Tönshoff HK, Hollmann F (eds) (2005) Hochgeschwindig-
keitsspanen metallischer Werkstoffe [High speed metal
cutting]. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim (in German)
Trent EM, Wright PK (2000) Metal cutting, 4th edn.
Butterworth Heinemann, Newton, Ch. 11
Walley S (2007) Shear localization: a historical overview.
Metall Mater Trans A 38(11):2629–2654
F
Facility Planning
Hans-Peter Wiendahl1 and Peter Nyhuis2
1
Institut f€
ur Fabrikanlagen und Logistik,
University of Hannover, Hannover, Germany
2
Institut f€
ur Fabrikanlagen und Logistik, Leibniz
Universit€at Hannover, Garbsen, Deutschland
Synonyms
Factory design; Factory planning; Layout
planning
Definition
Facility planning is the process of planning a
factory from the first idea up to the start of pro-
duction. The process is systematic and task ori-
ented, structured in phases, and carried out with
methods and tools (after VDI 5200).
Facility planning can also concern any adjust-
ment following later in the regular operation. The
process may have different causes and also con-
tain different planning cases. The tasks can be
processed in the form of projects and steered by
means of methods of project management by a
team (after VDI 5200).
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6401-3
Theory and Application
History
Facility planning developed step by step during the
course of the industrial development. A rigid divi-
sion of work was predominant in the first mechan-
ical factories around the year 1900. Due to the
central drive systems, using steam engines and
transmission belts, the machines had to be placed
together very closely. A directed flow of material
according to the necessary operations was not pos-
sible. Facility planning concentrated on the produc-
tion processes, machines, and their drives as well as
the transport of material. The electric motor engine,
available later, allowed for the machines to be
distributed liberally throughout the factory build-
ing. Therefore, facility planning consequently
focused on the optimization of the material flow
and the capacity utilization of the machines.
In the 1970s–1980s, the rising diversity of
variants initiated the lay out of the meantime
automated facilities toward the customers, so as
to be able to deliver quickly and punctually.
Beside the costs, facility planning now also had
to consider stock, cycle times, and good schedule
performance. Since the 1990s, globalization and
the correlated cross-linked production brought
along new challenges, especially for the internal
and external logistics, together with a decreasing
2 Facility Planning
vertical integration. In addition, it became neces-
sary to adapt rapidly to new products, production
processes, and lot size alterations, which led to the
segmented, lean, and changeable factory. Nowa-
days, facility planning is considered an interdisci-
plinary task between technologists, logisticians,
work designers, architects, and construction out-
fitters, who cooperate in a project team aiming for
sustainability in economical, ecological, and
social respect (Wiendahl et al. 2009; Schenk
et al. 2010).
Theory
Planning Fields
Facility planning can be divided into seven plan-
ning fields and concentrates on four core fields,
which are each directed to a characteristic term
(Fig. 1) (Wiendahl 2010).
The starting point of each facility planning is a
strategy, which determines the long-term produc-
tion concept based on a vision and mission as part
of the corporate planning frame. This often leads
to the matter of the extent of in-house production
and the facility location. It is then the aim of
location search to concretize the variants new
building, relocation or merger of several loca-
tions, so far that statements about the basic feasi-
bility, costs, and realization periods are possible.
Facility Planning,
Fig. 1 Fields of facility
planning
The production processes with their main par-
tial functions work piece production, assembly,
and logistics as well as the existing facility instal-
lations are the basis for each facility planning.
Operating equipment, such as machine tools,
devices, tools, measuring equipment, as well as
storage and transport installations, is necessary to
carry out these processes. Thus, this planning field
primarily deals with technological issues.
The assignment of staff and their organization
is tightly linked with the processes and facility
installations. On the one hand, the number and
qualification level of the employees have to be
determined; on the other hand, the sequence of
the single production steps has to be decided.
Thus, the staff and organizational planning deals
with the issues of work economy and
organization.
A final decision about the production concept
cannot be made until the material flow has been
examined and a logistics concept becomes appar-
ent. The aim is a production with low stock, min-
imum cycle times, and rapid reactions. Therefore,
this planning field determines the arrangement of
the facilities and considers not only the internal
material flow, but also the connections to suppliers
and the distribution of the finalized products to
their place of use. The concept of the material
flow and the logistics is compiled in interplay
Facility Planning
between technological, organizational, and logistic
aspects, which are refined step by step.
Equipment, staff, and material need a space,
which represents the fourth important reference
dimension of facility planning. The alignment and
space dimensioning of the facility subzones are
the task of the corresponding planning field. In
turn, the spaces are the basis of the building con-
cept and site planning. At this, higher-ranking
aspects of the appearance, building site prepara-
tion, and later expansion possibilities are to be
considered. Therefore, aspects of civil engineer-
ing and architecture are at the fore in this planning
field. The form and type of the buildings, their
internal and external design, their alignment as
well as the site development considering outdoor
facilities and also the scenic and urban integration
of the facility as a whole are to be regarded. Thus,
the facility appearance becomes part of the
company’s corporate identity.
When the entire concept has taken on clearer
outlines, the necessary auxiliary equipment, such
as service stations and testing facilities, the infra-
structure for power and machine supply (electric
power, water, pressurized air, steam), as well as
the communication structure (local nets) have to
be planned. Special attention must be paid to the
minimization of power consumption as well as the
accumulation, storage, conditioning and disposal
of waste water and waste products. Finally a
changeability which is appropriate to the market
environment has to be realized (see ▶ Change-
ability; ▶ Changeable Manufacturing).
Facility planning projects of a larger scale pre-
suppose the cooperation with many internal and
external partners and therefore require an exten-
sive project management. Its task is the structur-
ing of the project into subprojects, the
establishment and supervision of time and cost
plans, the draft of the project organization and
the reporting to the management as well as the
organization of the production installation within
the framework of the realization.
Planning Course
The previously described planning fields are to be
detailed in a structured planning process. For this,
numerous suggestions have been developed,
3
which are more or less similar and follow the
classic pattern of project planning. Examples can
be found in Tompkins et al. (2010) and Schenk
et al. (2010). The VDI guide line 5200 divides the
process of facility planning into seven planning
phases (Fig. 2).
At the beginning, each facility planning
requires a preparatory phase. It starts on the man-
agement level with the target specification (phase
1). Mainly, this phase serves to specify the facility
planning tasks and the basic structuring of the
project into work packages.
The following basis analysis (phase 2) pro-
vides and evaluates the data and information rel-
evant for the facility planning. The first step of this
planning phase is about obtaining information. In
the second step, the collected data is initially
summarized and then evaluated with regard to
the specified facility targets. Thus, weaknesses
of the current state are pointed out and the bases
for the following planning steps are provided, e.g.,
the production program, the number of staff, and
the rough space requirements.
In the concept planning phase (phase 3), the
fundamental solutions for the facility structure are
created in an iterative approach. For this, the func-
tional and organizational units as well as their
mutual correlations and their communication
among each other are initially defined in the struc-
ture planning and visualized in an ideal function
chart. Subsequently the production and assembly
structures as well as storage and transport con-
cepts are to be specified based on this ideal func-
tion chart and on the communication concept. In
the following step, spaces and logistics facilities
are dimensioned. Here, spaces are based on the
dimension of the necessary equipment and staff
capacities. To dimension the logistics installa-
tions, the function chart from the structure plan-
ning is used. Based on this ideal function chart, a
spatially scaled function chart is worked out in the
first step of the ideal layout planning, using the
established production spaces. Here, partial areas,
such as the incoming goods department, the
manufacturing, the assembly, and the shipping
area, are to be considered. In the next step, the
ideal alignment of the single functional areas is
defined under consideration of material, staff, and
4 Facility Planning
Facility Planning,
Fig. 2 Phases of facility
planning (VDI 5200)
communication flows (if necessary, also power
and media flows). In this step, operational restric-
tions are usually not taken into account. In the
following step, the real layout planning, the ideal
layout is transferred into scaled real layouts and
construction drafts, considering all restrictions
present. It is important to work out layout variants,
which are to be evaluated in detail concerning
their target performance under technological,
logistic, and economic aspects.
Within the next facility planning phase, the
detail planning (phase 4), all elements of the
planned facility are described and graphically
displayed in detail. For this purpose, the fine lay-
out planning initially deals with the development
of machine positioning plans, the design of single
workplaces, e.g., under ergonomic aspects, as
well as with the detailed planning of material,
information, and communication flows, which
are visualized with the aid of fine layouts. Mod-
ern, digital planning tools, such as the Digital
Factory, even allow the visualization of object
movements (equipment, products, staff, etc.) by
means of an integrated simulation as well as trans-
mitting a visual impression of the planned facility
by using virtual 3D models. After issuing the
requests for approval, the detail planning con-
cludes with the compilation of functional, respec-
tively, detailed performance descriptions.
After the termination of the actual planning of a
facility, it is necessary to implement the planning
results. This takes place in the phases realization
preparation (phase 5), realization supervision
(phase 6), and ramp-up support (phase 7). Here,
it is essential ensuring a tight project management
concerning quality, costs, and adherence to sched-
ules, especially in the case of extensive projects. It
is important to prepare the official permit proce-
dure at an early stage. After all, the relocation of
the existing facilities to the new location should be
organized in such a way that the interruptions of
the on-going production are reduced to a
minimum.
Application
For a better understanding of the planning system-
atics, the phase concept planning will be
represented and explained using the example of
a factory producing pumps (Wiendahl et al. 2009).
Facility Planning
Facility Planning, Fig. 3 Ideal rough layout of a pump factory
The regarded factory consists of an incoming
goods department, a manufacturing area, a service
station, a testing area, an office, a warehouse, an
assembly area, and a shipment area (Fig. 3). After
passing the incoming goods department, the raw
material is provided in four manufacturing areas,
which are divided into three product groups namely
large-scale (sprinters), small-scale (runners), and
single-item manufacturing (exotics). The sprinter
section is divided into one steel and one stainless
steel segment since the material must not be mixed.
The service manufacturing station for all pump
types is located between the sprinter and the runner
area together with the testing area. The parts are
produced in fixed lot sizes according to prognosis
and taken to the intermediate warehouse (make-to-
stock) and from there on called forward by the
assembly department (make-to-order). After the
assembly, the pressure test of the finalized pumps
is carried out. The pumps are packed and provided
for shipping in the shipment area. These correla-
tions are initially displayed in an ideal rough layout
as shown in Fig. 3.
5
A real rough layout is developed from the ideal
rough layout considering the construction factors.
In the first step, different alignment variants of the
single functional areas, considering the required
transport routes, are elaborated. Figure 4 shows
the development from the ideal to the real rough
layout using the example of the pump factory.
The known ideal rough layout from Fig. 3 is
represented in a more exact and scale-compliant
form on the left side of picture. Production islands
have been installed for each component in the
manufacturing segments. They consist of an
U-shaped alignment of the machines, which are
necessary for the according manufacturing step.
Furthermore, the restrictions, which have to be
taken into account for the compilation of the real
rough layout are itemized, e.g., site access, exten-
sion possibilities, power supply, etc. The essential
step consists of a merger of the site plan and the
building concept with the ideal to the real layout.
For a better integration of the later users and to
shorten the planning duration, a three-
dimensional visualization has proved itself.
 6

Facility Planning, Fig. 4 Development of a real rough layout (example pump factory)
Facility Planning
Facility Planning 7

Facility Planning,
Fig. 5 3D-model incl.
rough layout (example
pump factory) (Reichardt)

Figure 5 shows the logistic and spatial concept of References

the pump factory with the administrative func-
tions integrated into the modular factory building Schenk M, Wirth S, M€ uller E (2010) Factory planning
manual. Situation-driven production facility planning.
(Wiendahl et al. 2009, p. 478). With this concept a
Springer, Heidelberg
high changeability and intensive communication Tompkins JJ et al (2010) Facilities planning, 4th edn.
between all employees of the order processing Wiley, Hoboken
department are guaranteed. VDI-Richtlinie 5200: Fabrikplanung (2009) Planungs-
vorgehen. Beuth Verlag, Berlin (VDI Guide Line fac-
tory planning. Planning procedere. VDI The
Association of German Engineers Berlin 2009)
Cross-References Wiendahl H-P (2010) Betriebsorganisation f€ur Ingenieure
(Company organization for engineers), 7th edn.
Hanser, M€unchen
▶ Changeable Manufacturing
Wiendahl H-P, Reichardt J, Nyhuis P (2009) Handbuch
▶ Factory Fabrikplanung. Konzept, Gestaltung und Umsetzung
▶ Machine Tool wandlungsf€ahiger Produktionsst€atten (Handbook fac-
▶ Manufacturing tory planning. Concept, design and realization of
changeable production sites). Hanser, Munich
▶ Manufacturing System
▶ Production
C
Centerless Grinding
Barbara Linke
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering,
University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA
Synonyms
Centerless grinding
Definition
Centerless grinding is a cylindrical grinding pro-
cess variant without fixing the workpiece along its
axis between centers.
In external centerless grinding, the workpiece
lies between grinding wheel, workrest plate, and
control wheel which regulates the speed of the
workpiece. In internal centerless grinding, the
workpiece lies between rolls or shoes and is
driven by a control wheel or a faceplate.
Theory and Application
Basic Principles
In 1853, Schleicher developed the first centerless
grinding machine for needle grinding. In 1917,
Heim introduced workrest plate and control
wheel, which improved the performance and
enlarged the field of application (Hashimoto
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6420-4
et al. 2012). Since then, centerless grinding is
highly applicable for large batch and mass pro-
duction. No clamping steps and no center holes on
the workpiece faces are required, which elimi-
nates process steps, reduces time, and diminishes
possible form errors (Marinescu et al. 2007).
Workpiece loading can be easily automated.
Moreover, the linear workpiece support through
workrest plate and control wheel enables machin-
ing of thin components or machining with high
removal rates and minimal deformations (Klocke
2009). Besides the advantages in process perfor-
mance, machine setup in centerless grinding is
complex and needs experienced and skilled
workers for highest efficiency.
The control wheel, also known as regulating
wheel, is a conventional grinding wheel or a steel
body with a cemented carbide coating. It slows the
workpiece down during grinding through friction.
Ideally tangential slipping is negligible, and work-
piece speed, vw, depends only on control wheel
speed, vcw, and control wheel tilt angle, acw (see
Fig. 1). Centerless grinding commonly works in
down grinding, i.e., grinding wheel speed and
workpiece speed are same directional in the con-
tact zone:
vw ¼ vcw  cos acw (1)
The workrest plate, also known as workrest
blade, work blade, or workplate, needs to be
highly wear-resistant and consists of tool steel or
2 Centerless Grinding
Centerless Grinding, Fig. 1 Centerless throughfeed grinding, after (Klocke 2009)
cast iron with hardened surfaces, cemented car-
bide inserts or coatings of PCD, or other hard
material. Workrest plate angle is important for
grinding force directions and process stability.
A large workrest plate angle, b, results in com-
paratively high horizontal forces on the workrest
plate which can lead to deflection or resonance
vibrations (Meyer 2011). Small workrest plate
angles are therefore preferred for large grinding
forces, e.g., in the case of high material removal
rates. For too small workrest plate angles, how-
ever, the normal force between control wheel and
workpiece can get too small to controllably decel-
erate the workpiece (Meyer 2011). A typical value
for the workrest plate angle is b = 30 (Marinescu
et al. 2007).
If possible, control wheel and workrest plate
support the workpiece on the machined circum-
ferential area to avoid bending. However, this
three-point support can induce self-regenerative
roundness errors as explained in the next section.
In centerless grinding, the depth of cut is half of
that in grinding between centers, because the feed
is relative to the workpiece diameter and the
workpiece center moves away from the grinding
wheel during centerless grinding (Marinescu
et al. 2007). Therefore, the depth of cut, ae, per
workpiece revolution can be calculated as
vfr
ae ¼ (2)
2nw
with radial feed rate, vfr, and number of workpiece
revolutions, nw.
Roundness Errors
In centerless grinding, the workpiece is machined
and supported on its circumferential area, which
can lead to roundness errors. If an error on the
workpiece comes into contact with the control
wheel or workrest plate, the workpiece center
will move, and the depth of cut at the grinding
wheel will change. The error regenerates itself at
another position on the workpiece circumference.
Therefore, this phenomenon is called “regenera-
tive effect.”
Several causes of roundness errors in center-
less grinding can be identified (Rowe et al. 1989;
Marinescu et al. 2007; Klocke 2009):
• Geometric stability, also known as lobing sta-
bility (Dall 1946; Rowe 1964; Reeka 1967;
etc.)
• Dynamic stability (Furukawa et al. 1971;
Hashimoto et al. 2000; Miyashita et al. 1982;
etc.)
• External disturbances, excited vibrations
However, these mechanisms are interrelated
and were analyzed by several researchers. A lot
of work has been done on workpiece rounding
mechanisms in centerless grinding and possible
implementation in software systems (Bhateja and
Levi 1984; Hashimoto et al. 2000; Friedrich 2004,
Zeppenfeld et al. 2008; Barrenetxea et al. 2009;
etc.).
Centerless Grinding
Geometric Stability
The geometric position of the workpiece in the
grinding gap is crucial for the geometric form of
the workpieces. The connection between the
grinding wheel center, Cgr, and control wheel
center, Ccw, might be tilted with the angle, l, to
the horizon (Fig. 2). The distance of the workpiece
center, Cw, from the center connection is defined
as workpiece center height, h. Above-center
grinding, i.e., centerless grinding with positive
center heights, is generally advantageous against
below-center grinding with more theoretical areas
for geometric process stability. Workpiece change
is easier for above-center grinding, but it allows
workpieces to jump so that covers are necessary.
In below-center grinding, the workpiece is
enclosed from all sides, and more force can be
applied, but geometric stability is worse than
above-center.
The tangent angles, ggr and ggr, affect geomet-
ric stability strongly and, therefore, the likeliness
of wave formation on the workpiece circumfer-
ence (Dall 1946; Reeka 1967). Cloud diagrams or
software programs help to choose stable grinding
conditions (Fig. 3).
Dynamic Stability
Chatter occurs at frequencies near the machine
structural resonant frequencies. If it occurs, chat-
ter is typically more severe than geometric insta-
bility. Models on dynamic instability include the
contact deformation between grinding wheel,
control wheel, and workpiece (Hashimoto
et al. 2000).
Most research on stability focuses on center-
less plunge grinding as a two-dimensional setup.
However, Meis, Barrenextra, and others deducted
stability conditions for throughfeed grinding
adding a third dimension to the stability condi-
tions (Meis 1981; Barrenetxea et al. 2009; etc.).
Both geometric and dynamic stability are
superimposed during centerless grinding and
should be modeled together (Brecher and Hannig
2008).
External Centerless Plunge Grinding
In centerless plunge grinding, the grinding wheel
moves with radial feed towards the workpiece.
3
This process produces cylindrical steps, profiles,
or tapers with a single grinding wheel or a set of
wheels (Fig. 4). To ensure the axial position of the
workpiece, the control wheel is tilted at a small
angle, acw (often below 0.5 ), and a stop is
installed at the face of the workpiece. Centerless
plunge grinding includes roughing, finishing, and
a spark-out phase similar to cylindrical grinding
between centers. The control wheel is commonly
dressed with a stationary diamond dressing tool,
whereas the grinding wheel is either dressed with
a stationary or rotating tool depending on the grit
type.
External Centerless Throughfeed Grinding
In centerless throughfeed grinding, the work-
pieces move along the grinding wheel with axial
feed. Cylindrical, slightly conical, or slightly con-
vex form elements on the workpiece are generated
(Fig. 4). The control wheel is inclined along work-
piece feed direction with the control wheel angle,
agw (often between 1 and 3 ) (Fig. 1). Without
axial slip, the control wheel generates a force on
the workpiece in axial direction. Therefore, work-
piece feed rate, vfa, results from control wheel
speed, vcw, and control wheel tilt angle, acw:
vfa ¼ vcw  sin acw (3)
The control wheel has a complex shape to realize
line support of the workpiece. The control wheel
profile is influenced by control wheel inclination
angle, workpiece center height, and workpiece
diameter. Dressing rulers or NC programs with
corresponding calculations help to profile the con-
trol wheel accordingly to the actual process setup,
commonly with a single-point diamond dresser
(Fig. 5). The control wheel profile affects the
workpiece speeds and can be optimized for max-
imum speed control and longevity of the control
wheel (Meyer 2011).
Moreover, the grinding gap must narrow in
axial feed direction to decrease the workpiece
diameter. This is achieved by profiling grinding
wheel into corresponding zones or pivoting the
control wheel. The grinding wheel is commonly
profiled and sharpened by stationary or rotating
diamond dressing tools. Dressing can happen
4 Centerless Grinding

Centerless Grinding,
Fig. 2 Grinding gap, after
(Zeppenfeld et al. 2008)

Centerless Grinding, Fig. 3 Stability charts (Source: Schaudt Mikrosa GmbH, reprinted with permission)

intermittently or during grinding, but in the latter Other Process Variants

case, the respective parts will need to be scrapped. Internal centerless grinding works with grinding
wheel, control wheel, support roll, and pressure
roll to fix the workpiece. The external workpiece
Centerless Grinding 5

Centerless Grinding,
Fig. 4 Parts manufactured
by centerless plunge and
throughfeed grinding
(Source: Schaudt Mikrosa
GmbH, reprinted with
permission)

Centerless Grinding,
Fig. 5 Centerless
throughfeed grinding
machine (Source: Schaudt
Mikrosa GmbH, reprinted
with permission)

surface provides the reference for concentricity
and roundness of the inner diameter (Marinescu
et al. 2007).
Shoe centerless grinding can be applied to
external and internal cylindrical surfaces and is
especially important for small length-to-diameter
ratio. In shoe grinding, the component is posi-
tioned by metal plates, which are called shoes,
instead of control wheel and workrest plate
(Marinescu et al. 2007). This allows to apply
additional vibrations through the shoe (Fig. 6)
(Wu et al. 2004).
6 Centerless Grinding
Centerless Grinding,
Fig. 6 Principle of
PZT
ultrasonic shoe centerless
grinding (Reprinted from
Journal of Materials
Processing Technology,
Volumes 155–156, Wu Y,
Fan Y, Kato M,
Kuriyagawa T, Syoji K,
Tachibana T, Development
Power
of an ultrasonic elliptic- Amplifier
vibration shoe centerless
grinding technique, #2004
with permission from
Vsin w t
Elsevier)
Wave Function Generator
References
Barrenetxea D, Marquinez JI, Bediaga I, Uriarte L (2009)
Continuous workpiece speed variation (CWSV): model
based practical application to avoid chatter in grinding.
CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 58(1):319–322
Bhateja CP, Levi R (1984) Current state of the Art of
workpiece roundness control in precision centerless
grinding. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 33(1):199–203
Brecher C, Hannig S (2008) Simulation of plunge center-
less grinding processes. Prod Eng 2(1):91–95
Dall AH (1946) Rounding effect in centerless grinding.
Mech Eng 68(4):325–329
Friedrich D (2004) Prozessbegleitende Beeinflussung des
geometrischen Rundungseffektes beim spitzenlosen
Aussenrundeinstechschleifen [Process-accompanying
manipulation of geometric rounding in centerless
infeed grinding], PhD thesis, RWTH Aachen Univer-
sity (in German)
Furukawa Y, Miyashita M, Shiozaki S (1971) Vibration
analysis and work-rounding mechanism in centerless
grinding. Int J Mach Tool Des Res 11:145–175
Hashimoto F, Zhou SS, Lahoti GD, Miyashita M (2000)
Stability diagram for chatter free centerless grinding
and its application in machine development. Ann
CIRP 49(1):225–230
Hashimoto F, Gallego I, Oliveira JFG, Barrenetxea D,
Takahashi M, Sakakibara K, Stalfelt H-O, Staadt G,
Ogawa K (2012) Advances in centerless grinding tech-
nology. Ann CIRP 61(2):747–770
Klocke F (2009) Manufacturing processes 2 - grinding,
honing, lapping (RWTH edition). (Kuchle A, Trans).
Springer, Berlin
Marinescu ID, Hitchiner M, Uhlmann E, Rowe WB,
Inasaki I (2007) Handbook of machining with grinding
wheels. CRC Press, Boca Raton
Meis, FU (1981) Geometrische und kinematische
Grundlagen für das spitzenlose Durchlaufschleifen
Elliptic Motion
Ultrsonic Elliptic
Vibration Shoe
Workpiece
Metal Elastic Plate
g
f
Power
Amplifier
Blade
Vsin(w t +y)
Grinding
Wheel
[Geometrical and Kinematical Fundamentals for
Throughfeed Centerless Grinding]. PhD-thesis at
RWTH Aachen University, Westdt. Verlag, EAN
(in German)
Meyer, B (2011) Prozesskräfte und Werkstückgeschwin-
digkeiten beim Spitzenlosschleifen [Process forces and
workpiece speeds in centerless grinding], PhD thesis,
RWTh Aachen. Apprimus Verlag, Aachen (in German)
Miyashita M, Hashimoto F, Kanai F (1982) Diagram for
selecting chatter free conditions of centerless grinding.
CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 31(1):221–223
Reeka D (1967) Zusammenhang zwischen Schleifspalt-
geometrie, Bearbeitungsbedingungen und
Rundheitsfehlern beim spitzenlosen Schleifen [The
Interdependence of Grinding-Gap Geometry, Process-
Parameter and Roundness Error in Centerless Grind-
ing]. PhD-thesis at RWTH Aachen University
(in German)
Rowe WB (1964) Some studies of the centerless grinding
with particular reference to the roundness accuracy.
PhD-thesis at University of Manchester
Rowe WB, Miyashita M, Koenig W (1989) Centerless
grinding research and its application in advanced
manufacturing technology. Ann CIRP 38(2):617–624
Wu Y, Fan Y, Kato M, Kuriyagawa T, Syoji K, Tachibana
T (2004) Development of an ultrasonic elliptic-
vibration shoe centerless grinding technique, J Mater
Process Technol, volumes 155–156, Proceedings of the
International Conference on Advances in Materials and
Processing Technologies: Part 2, pp. 1780–1787. http://
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S09240136
04005011. [Date of access: 10/25/2016]
Zeppenfeld C, Meyer B, Klocke F, Krajnik P (2008)
Rundheitsfehler beim Spitzenlosschleifen [Roundness
error in centerless grinding]. wt-online 6–2008,
pp. 446–451 (in German)
D

Dressing grinding capability of the grinding wheels.

Dressing is classified in subtasks profiling,
Eduardo Weingärtner1, Konrad Wegener2 and respectively, truing, and sharpening (Spur
Mohammad Rabiey3 1989). Profiling is used to obtain the
1
New Manufacturing Technologies, ETA SA macrogeometry, i.e., the dimensions and shape
Manufacture Horlogère Suisse, Grenchen, of the grinding wheel. It is also used for structur-
Switzerland ing vitrified or resin-bonded grinding wheels,
2
Institut f€
ur Werkzeugmaschinen und Fertigung aiming to enhance the cutting condition of each
(IWF), ETH Z€ urich, Z€
urich, Switzerland abrasive grain and reduce heat generation. Sharp-
3
Manufacturing Technology, ABB ening is necessary for generating the grinding
Turbocharger, Zurich, Aargau, Switzerland wheel microgeometry, in which worn grains are
removed or partially broken and new cutting
edges as well as chip pocket are generated.
Synonyms In reality, dressing can be done in just one process
step, where both functional aspects of dressing
Grinding wheel preparation occur simultaneously, which is common for vit-
rified bonded grinding wheels, or in two subse-
quent steps as truing and sharpening, which is
Definition typically the case for resin- and metal-bonded
grinding wheels. Dressing processes, together
The term dressing refers to different processes with cleaning processes, are grouped under the
used to prepare and regenerate the macro- and term conditioning.
microgeometry of grinding wheels. While in the past only mechanical-based
dressing processes were known, today, thermal,
chemical, and hybrid processes are also used, and
Theory and Application the number of dressing processes is continuously
growing. Figure 1 shows a classification system
Introduction of dressing processes currently known (Wegener
Dressing has to be applied, since grinding wheels et al. 2011).
are subjected to mechanical, thermal, and chem-
ical loads during grinding, which lead to wear. Mechanical Dressing
Radial and edge wear has to be compensated, and Mechanical dressing can be done by fixed or
grain protrusion is to be generated to ensure the rotating dressing tools. As shown in Fig. 2,
# CIRP 2015
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6421-3
2 Dressing

Dressing,
Fig. 1 Classification
system for grinding wheel
dressing

Form dressing Profile dressing

Dressing diamond
Vfad axial feed nr Roller
velocity revolutions speed
Vfrd
Vfrd radial feed
velocity Diamond profile roller

Grinding wheel Grinding wheel

Grinding wheel Grinding wheel

nsd nsd revolutions speed
revolutions speed

Dressing, Fig. 2 Form and profile dressing

mechanical dressing is classified in form dressing and radial direction, generally CNC controlled.
and profile dressing (Malkin and Guo 2008). The The process is called profile dressing if the
dressing process is termed form dressing if the desired profile of the grinding wheel is fully
geometry is created by leading the tool in axial shaped as a negative in the conditioning tool,
Dressing 3

Dressing,
Fig. 3 Kinematics of rotating dressing tools
rotating dressing tools
profiling with diamond gear for
profile roller form roller
SiC-wheel grinding worms

Vftd
Vfad Vfshd
Vfad

Vfrd Vfrd Vfrd

milling crushing crushing

cup wheel
dressing roller profile roller form roller

Vfad
Vfad

Vfrd Vfrd Vfrd

pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
and the grinding wheel profile emerges by radial apd 1 2r pd aed
plunge of the conditioning tool into the grinding Ud ¼ ¼ þ (1)
f ad 2 f ad
wheel.
Rotating dressing tools have a better wear where apd is the active width of cut and fad repre-
resistance when compared to fixed dressing sents the axial dressing feed per grinding wheel
tools, since the dressing task is carried out by revolution.
numerous grains. For this reason, rotating dress- By filling in the following equations for the
ing tools are specially used in the case of width of cut apd and the active width bd of the
superabrasive grinding wheels. Moreover, dress- dressing roller and considering that aed is much
ing with rotating tools is more suitable for gener- smaller than rp, then
ating grinding wheels with more complex
profiles. Figure 3 shows the different kinematic 1
possibilities by rotating tools. apd ¼ ðbd þ f ad Þ (2)
2
Dressing parameters are indicated by subscript
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
“d,” to distinguish them from those well-known bd ¼ 8r pd aed (3)
grinding parameters, which are indicated by sub-
script “s.” The dressing input parameters depend Assuming that the width of cut equals the active
on the dressing tool and dressing process as width of the dressing tool, the overlapping rate is
presented in Fig. 4 (Klocke and König 2005).
The depth of dressing cut aed is required to pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
bd 8r pd aed
determine the active width of the dressing tool bd, Ud ¼ ¼ (4)
f ad f ad
while rpd is the radius of the dressing tool. The
number of contacts of the grinding wheel surface
Dressing processes with rotating dressing tools
and the dressing tool is given by the overlapping
are highly affected by the ratio qd of dressing
rate in dressing Ud, which can be written as
speeds, which is defined as the ratio between the
dressing tool circumferential speed vrd and of
4 Dressing
Dressing, Fig. 4 Cutting
conditions in dressing
aed
grinding wheel circumferential speed during
dressing vcd:
vrd
qd ¼ (5)
vcd
Equivalent to the grinding ratio G, the dressing
ratio Gd is the ratio between dressed grinding
wheel volume Vsd and dresser wear volume Vd,
which is used to characterize the efficiency of the
dressing process:
V sd
Gd ¼ (6)
Vd
Thermal Dressing
Thermal dressing can be categorized to laser
dressing, electro-discharge dressing (EDD),
electro-contact discharge dressing (ECDD), and
electrochemical discharge machining dressing
(ECDM).
In laser dressing, laser beam can be applied
both tangential and radial to the grinding wheel
surface for dressing. Dressing is accomplished
with defined, laser-generated grooves on the
grinding wheel surface by scanning the surface
with parallel laser paths. In the electro-discharge
dressing process, the grinding wheel can be
connected either to the positive or negative pole
or a DC generator. The other electrode will be
either a metal wire in the case of wire electro-
discharge dressing (WEDD) or a rotary or sta-
tionary electrode tool (graphite, copper, or brass)
Vfad
Dressing tool
rp
Rt,th
apd fad
bd Grinding wheel
ns
in the case of sink electro-discharge dressing
(SEDD). The mechanism of ECDD method is
based on the erosion of the bond material and
thus generation of grain protrusion. The combi-
nation of electrochemical and electro-discharge
dressing is used in ECDM.
Chemical and ECM Dressing
Electrochemical dressing can be categorized into
two main processes: electrochemical in-process
control dressing (ECCD) and electrolytic
in-process dressing (ELID).
The ELID process is characterized as self-
sustaining because the electrolyte generates with
the bond metal an oxide-hydroxide insulating
layer referred to as an oxide layer, whereas
ECCD requires an electronic gap control. For
both processes, the grinding wheel is the positive
electrode and the negative electrode is mounted
within a gap to the grinding wheel. The ELID
process is primarily designed for in-process
dressing. Grinding wheels conditioned by ELID
usually generate the best ground surfaces
available.
Hybrid Dressing
The main hybrid dressing methods can be cate-
gorized to ultrasonic-assisted dressing, laser-
assisted dressing, and dry electro-discharge-
assisted dressing (DEDD).
In ultrasonic-assisted dressing, high-
frequency and low-amplitude vibrations are
superimposed on the movement of the dressing
Dressing 5

or grinding tool. In laser-assisted dressing, the Cross-References

irradiation of laser is applied to a grinding
wheel, and simultaneously a diamond dresser ▶ Grinding
does the conventional mechanical dressing. In ▶ Grinding Wheel
DEDD, electro-discharge machining is combined ▶ Superabrasives
with mechanical dressing to improve the dressing ▶ Wear Mechanisms
process.

Continuous Dressing
Dressing is normally carried out inside the grind-
ing machine in sequence to the grinding process,
i.e., as soon as a predefined tool-life criterion is
reached, the grinding process is interrupted and
dressing is carried out. Since dressing represents
a nonproductive time, grinding productivity can
be increased if dressing time is reduced. This
nonproductive time can even be eliminated if a
continuous dressing is applied. Continuous dress-
ing (CD) is the term used when the grinding
wheel is dressed during grinding (Wimmer
1995) and is characterized by constant contact
between grinding wheel and dressing tool. Thus,
this method allows steady sharp cutting edges and
high cutting power. In-process dressing is another
way of dressing during grinding, which occurs
not necessarily in a continuous way but can be
rather designed to be carried out at predefined
time steps during grinding. In both cases, dress-
ing means less nonproductive time and a more
constant grinding process.
References
Klocke F, König W (2005) Fertigungsverfahren-schleifen,
honen, läppen, vol 2, 4th edn. Springer, Berlin, [Pro-
duction methods-grinding, honing, lapping]
(in German)
Malkin S, Guo C (2008) Grinding technology – the way
things can work: theory and application of machining
with abrasives, 2nd edn. Industrial Press, New York
Spur G (1989) Keramikbearbeitung. Schleifen, honen,
läppen, abtragen. Hanser, M€ unchen, [Ceramics
processing. Grinding, honing, lapping and etching]
(in German)
Wegener K, Hoffmeister H-W, Karpuschewski B,
Kuster F, Hahmann WC, Rabiey M (2011) Condition-
ing and monitoring of grinding wheels. CIRP Ann
60(2):757–777
Wimmer J (1995) Konditionieren hochharter
schleifscheiben zum schleifen von hochleis-
tungskeramik [The dressing of ultra-hard grinding
wheels for high-performance ceramics]. German PhD
thesis, Uni-Kaiserslautern (in German)
CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6423-4
# CIRP 2015

Grinding Monitoring
Konrad Wegener*
Institut f€
ur Werkzeugmaschinen und Fertigung (IWF), ETH Z€urich, Z€urich, Switzerland

Synonyms
Condition monitoring

Definition
Grinding monitoring comprises all technologies that enable to observe and analyze the grinding process,
the energy conversion, the grinding tool, and the finished workpiece properties.

Theory and Application

Introduction
The process “high-performance grinding,” from which high material removal rates, best surface quality
and integrity, and high geometrical accuracy are required, is a highly sensitive process subject to
numerous influences. Some of those influences today can hardly be predicted and also can hardly be
directly controlled by input parameters to the grinding machine system. Especially the wear of the
grinding tool, consisting of macro wear and micro wear, a truly complicated process, which is still
today not fully understood, introduces unpredictable transient changes to the grinding wheel and thus into
the process. Therefore, observation of the process becomes necessary. But observation alone is insofar not
sufficient as only by help of suitable process and measuring theory the necessary informations for the
evaluation and subsequently control or even closed-loop control of the process can be distilled out. The
accessible data stem from the different sources: direct access to the wheel surface by optical means reveals
directly the deterioration of the tool. Energy conversion, forces, power, heat generation, and acoustic
emission comprise different aspects of the process behavior, and finally, measuring the workpiece
discloses the grinding results to decide. All three groups can be used to take corrective measures only
after interpretation. Also contact detection by acoustic emission, though it is not used for continuous
monitoring of the process, is subgrouped to grinding monitoring, and it is one of the most frequently
applied methods in industry.
Wear is the prevailing process responsible for transient behavior of the grinding process. Besides the
contact detection, all monitoring is at the same time an indirect or direct wear monitoring. Macro wear
deteriorates the workpiece geometry, whereas micro wear is responsible for the change of the process and
is made up from attritious wear, pullout, grain break, wear of the bond, and loading of the grinding wheel
as reviewed in Wegener et al. (2011). There also can be found further literature on monitoring. Depending
on the control data also chatter might be detected that can also be affected by wear.

*Email: wegener@iwf.mavt.ethz.ch

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Monitoring of Macro Wear

Detecting macro wear requires measurement of the diameter, the profile, and the geometric runout.
Runout yields signals varying with the rotation angle and thus can be detected by measuring the force
or power signal such that it also portrays a unique footprint within the AE signals. The diameter is directly
derived from the positional data of the dressing device on the grinding machine, because the valid profile
is the envelope of all meridian lines of the grinding wheel. Direct probing becomes impossible because the
single meridian is insufficient as data to characterize the profile and because of probe wear when scanning
the profile. Profile data is thus gathered by transmission of the grinding wheel in some workpiece, which
then can be scanned by mechanical means and can thus be part of the final part inspection. With the help of
quality control cards, the feedback into the process is achieved. This profile measurement can also be
carried out by plunge grinding into some soft material like graphite. Another possibility is the measure-
ment of the outer envelope of the profile by optical means as described in where laser probes and light
screens can be used in between process steps.

Monitoring of Micro Wear

Despite the fact that alterations of the process behavior are due to micro wear, the most common grinding
monitoring deals with direct process data such as forces and power and thus allows without knowledge of
the real reasons for this behavior from the view of the process corrective actions such as redressing. The
primary goal for micro wear detection is essentially to decide whether an abrasive layer is still sufficiently
good for grinding or not. This is already a demanding challenge, since this decision needs to survey the
totality of the abrasive surface. Only one bad area of the surface is able to degrade the grinding wheel to
uselessness. Other classes of monitoring strategies are therefore direct observation of the abrasive layer
and evaluation of the geometry in different directions. In total according to Wegener et al. (2011), the
following technologies exist:

1. Force monitoring
2. Temperature/heat monitoring
3. Power monitoring
4. Acoustic emission
5. Optical observation
6. Optical observation of profile
7. Scanning electron microscopy
8. Monitoring of fluid flow characteristics
9. Tactile probing of the surface
10. Magnetic properties of the surface

Direct process monitoring (indirect wear monitoring) needs the definition of a threshold to decide on a
good or bad process, which is dependent on the workpiece material and all other process parameters such
as feed, cutting speed, coolant flow, and wheel characteristics. But also, closed-loop controls, warning,
and shut down levels can be specified. Somewhat unique is the use of acoustic emission (AE), since this
does not give direct information from the grinding process but delivers indirect signals, from which the
process properties may be derived. AE is much more related to the direct monitoring from the evaluation
point of view, as it yields continuous signals from which the relevant data needs to be extracted and then
correlated to the process. AE can be evaluated in the direction of spectral composition in frequencies by
FFT or for the detection of transients by wavelet transform. Furthermore, amplitude, RMS value, and also
time patterns are extracted. With changing penetration depth and also with the number of grit interactions,
the AE signal will change. AE is used to monitor the state of the grinding wheel during grinding as well as

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# CIRP 2015

Fig. 1 AE RMS signals for cast iron grinding wheel after different material removal and depending on the interaction area
(half circle) (From Stephenson et al. 2006)

during dressing. The AE sensor typically is placed nearest to the process, mostly on the workpiece holder,
or the dresser, sometimes in the grinding wheel with telemetric or slide ring data transfer, and also on
tailstock or spindle head.
Figure 1 shows the sampling procedure for AE measurements and the significant change in AE with
wear. Also it can be seen that the AE signal depends also on the interaction area, which means that the
thresholds must be taught in for each new grinding process, which makes it useful only for high volume
production. But it is also reported that the reliability of AE is limited due to changes in the machine’s
behavior.
In Gomes de Oliveira and Dornfeld (2001), an AE analysis is developed, where the AE signal is
correlated to the position on the grinding wheel with a sampling rate, that allows for detection of each
collision between a truing diamond and the grinding wheel as seen in Fig. 2.
Thus, a complete image of the interaction between the wheel and truer can be developed, showing the
density of active grains at low cutting depth. Furthermore, application of the system during grinding
shows wear behavior by characteristic changes of the noise.
Optical observation of the layer gathers enormous amount of data and thus must be condensed to a few
parameters which can be correlated to the behavior of the grinding wheel and are significant. Optical
detection of the abrasive layer yields:

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# CIRP 2015

Fig. 2 Image construction procedure for fast AE RMS analysis (From Gomes de Oliveira and Dornfeld 2001)

Fig. 3 Image processing to extract shiny areas, depicted area: 2.1  1.6 mm (From Feng and Chen 2007)

1. Reflectivity
2. Gray levels
3. Topographical data

Scanning electron microscopy today is impossible for in-process measurement but yields fine topo-
graphical information.
Reflectivity measurements are used to detect loaded areas, as they become shiny. The image processing
is shown in Fig. 3. The derived parameters are the total loaded area fraction or parameters of some fractal
analysis of the contour of the shiny areas (Feng and Chen 2007). Gray levels furnish the database for
texture analysis, where especially in Arunachalam and Ramamoorthy (2007), some investigation on the
suitability of first- and second-order parameters is shown, indicating wear states of the grinding wheel.
It was shown that change in the gray level co-occurrence matrix indicates wear and the arithmetic
average of the gray level can be correlated to wear, but no causality could be derived. From full 3D

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# CIRP 2015

Specific Energy
20 = 0.54 J/mm2
Average Height 78 µm
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15

Specific Energy
= 0.41 J/mm2
20
Average Height 52 µm
0
[%]

0 0.05 0.1 0.15

Specific Energy
= 0.33 J/mm2
20
Average Height 43 µm
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15
Before dressing

20 Average Height 27 µm

0
0 0.05 Height [mm] 0.15

Fig. 4 Change of the distribution asperity heights due to wear (From Chen et al. 2003)

topographical data in Chen et al. (2003), the distribution of asperity heights is deduced and it can be shown
that the distribution when dressing significantly changes to a more even distribution as shown in Fig. 4.
In Brown et al. (2007), F-tests on optically detected volume-filling distributions are used to differentiate
between surface layers generated by different dressing conditions and can thus be used to differentiate
between worn and new state of the grinding wheel.
For monitoring with the help of fluid flows, the fluid is applied through a flapper nozzle, issuing air and
measuring the flow resistance/pressure. For free chipping space, the flow resistance is smaller than for
loaded or worn grinding wheels. Monitoring the flow field of the coolant is yet to be found in literature.
Surface monitoring through magnetic field changes and detection has yet to be developed but can be
applied for loading detection. All these monitoring strategies can be and partially are utilized during
grinding to detect the degradation of the wheel and during dressing to detect the degree of regeneration
achieved.

Cross-References
▶ Dressing
▶ Grinding Wheel
▶ Wear Mechanisms

References
Arunachalam N, Ramamoorthy B, Part B (2007) Texture analysis for grinding wheel wear assessment
using machine vision. Proc IMechE 221(Part B):419–430
Brown CA, Hahn RS, St. Gelais RM, Powers B, Geiger DJ, Bergstrom TS (2007) Grinding wheel texture
and diamond roll plunge dressing feed-rates, on CD: ISAAT 2007. In: Precision grinding and abrasive
technology at SME international grinding conference, Dearborn, 26–28 Sept 2007

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DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6423-4
# CIRP 2015

Chen M, Sun F, Liu G, Jian X, Li X (2003) Theoretical and experimental research on generation
mechanism of grinding wheel topography by laser dressing and 3D laser scanning. Key Eng Mater
233–236:497–502
Feng Z, Chen X (2007) Image processing of grinding wheel surface. Int J Adv Manuf Technol
32(5/6):452–458
Gomes de Oliveira JF, Dornfeld DA (2001) Application of AE contact sensing in reliable grinding
monitoring. CIRP Ann 50(1):217–220
Lezanski P, Rafalowicz J, Jedrzejewski J (1993) An intelligent monitoring system for cylindrical
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Stephenson DJ, Sun X, Zervos C (2006) A study on ELID ultra precision grinding of optical glass with
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Wegener K, Hoffmeister H-W, Karpuschewski B, Kuster F, Hahmann W-C, Rabiey M (2011) Condition-
ing and monitoring of grinding wheel. CIRP Ann 60(2):757–777

Page 6 of 6
G
Grinding
Jan C. Aurich1, Christian Effgen2 and
Benjamin Kirsch1
1
FBK – Institute for Manufacturing Technology
and Production Systems, University of
Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
2
Günter Effgen GmbH, Herrstein, Germany
Definition
Grinding is defined as machining applying tools
with a large number of geometrically undefined
cutting edges with negative rake angles, which are
composed of natural or synthetic abrasive material
retained by a bonding material. The chip forma-
tion is characterized by a noncontinuous contact
and a high relative velocity between the abrasive
grains and the workpiece. The cutting motion is
either linear or rotating.
Theory and Application
Introduction
Grinding is a manufacturing process that belongs
to the group of material removal processes. Mate-
rial removal processes where a chip is formed can
be subdivided into the groups of cutting processes
and abrasive processes. Grinding differs from
other abrasive processes such as honing, lapping,
# CIRP 2017
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6427-5
polishing, and blasting by the tools that are used,
the depth of cut, and the kinematics during chip
formation. The tools that are used for grinding are
grinding wheels, pins, and belts, where the abra-
sive grains are retained in a bonding material.
In the German DIN 8589-13 Standard (2003),
the process of “honing by linear cutting motion”
is also defined as a grinding process. Honing, in
contrast to “honing by linear motion,” is charac-
terized by a cutting motion composed by two
components, as defined in DIN 8589-14 Standard
(2003). At least one of the motion components in
honing is reciprocating. For both honing and
“honing by linear motion” stones are used as
tools.
The main advantages of grinding are:
• The good machinability of hard and brittle
materials
• The high shape and dimensional accuracy
• The excellent achievable surface quality
Figure 1 shows an exemplary grinding process
without the use of coolant (dry grinding). As
illustrated by the fire sparks, most of the energy
in the material removal process is being dissipated
into thermal energy. A consequence of improper
process design due to the high thermal energy can
be thermal damages (Brinksmeier et al. 1982).
2 Grinding

Grinding, Fig. 1 Fire

sparks while surface
grinding without coolant
(Reprinted with permission)

Grinding Processes (Féderation Européenne des Fabricants de Pro-

Regarding to the DIN standards, the different duits Abrasifs). Special wheel shapes beyond the
grinding processes can be classified by several standard for specific grinding tasks are also com-
specific attributes (See Table 1). mon in the grinding industry. Grinding wheels are
divided into two main categories, conventional
Grinding Tools and superabrasive grinding wheels. This separa-
Common grinding tools (also grinding wheels) tion results from the used abrasive, such as
have a round wheel shape. The standard wheel aluminum oxide (Al2O3) or silicon carbide (SiC)
shapes and sizes are defined in the FEPA standard for conventional grinding wheels and diamond
(natural or synthetic) or cubic boron nitride
Grinding, Table 1 Attributes and resulting grinding pro- (cBN) for superabrasive grinding wheels (see
cesses (according to DIN 8589–11 Standard 2003) also “▶ Grinding Wheel”).
Attribute Grinding process Other grinding tools are belts for ▶ belt
Kind of area that has Surface grinding, cylindrical grinding or stones for “honing by linear cutting
to be ground grinding, screw grinding, gear motion.” Belts are composed by conventional
grinding, profile grinding,
form grinding
abrasives that are commonly bonded via synthetic
Position of the area External (cylindrical) grinding, resin. Stones are comparable to conventional
that has to be ground internal (cylindrical) grinding grinding wheels with regard to abrasives
Active surface of the Face or side grinding, and bond.
grinding tool peripheral grinding
Feed direction Longitudinal or traverse Grinding Wheel Preparation
grinding, plunge grinding,
angle grinding Before a grinding wheel can be used or after
Kind of feed control Free form grinding, form it is worn, it needs to be conditioned. Condition-
grinding, kinematic form ing includes the subcategories dressing and
grinding, NC form grinding cleaning. Dressing is subdivided into profiling
Kind of rolling Continuous gear shape (regeneration of the macro geometry) and sharp-
motion grinding, discontinuous gear
grinding
ening (regeneration of the micro geometry).
Feed and infeed Creep (feed) grinding, Cleaning in this case means removing chips out
combination pendulum or reciprocating of the bond with a high-pressure coolant jet,
grinding aimed directly at the bond (see, e.g., Heinzel and
Surface quality Rough grinding, finish Antsupov (2012)). More about conditioning can
grinding, fine grinding be found in Dressing or Wegener et al. (2011).
Feed and cutting Down grinding, up grinding
Recent research aims to structure wheels via
speed combination
dressing to increase the grinding performance
Grinding 3

(see, e.g., da Silva et al. (2016) or Warhanek Grinding Machines

et al. (2015). A wide variety of machines are used for grinding,
e.g.,
Coolants/Metal Working Fluids
• Sanders mostly for belt grinding
Grinding is a thermodynamically dominated pro-
• Handheld power tools such as angle grinders
cess due to the high friction in the contact area.
• Bench grinders
Hence, coolants are always necessary for high-
• Various machine tools, here ▶ grinding
performance grinding processes. Their three
machines in a narrow sense
main tasks are (VDI 3397 Part 1 2007):

• Lubricate the contact area for reducing the
friction
• Dissipate the heat from the contact area, e.g.,
by cooling
• Flushing chips out of the contact area and
transport them to the coolant filter equipment
A distinction for coolants in grinding is drawn
between oil-based (base oils with and without
additives) and water-based coolants (emulsions
or solutions). In general, oil-based coolants have
much better lubricating properties than water-
based coolants but comparatively bad cooling
properties. The coolant supply to the contact
area has to be set up for every specific grinding
task with the right quantity, velocity, and direction
(see Heinzel et al. (2015)). For further information
see “▶ Grinding Fluids” (coolants) and Brinksmeier
et al. (2015).
Widely used grinding machines are flat and
profile grinding machines, such as those shown
in Fig. 2. Those machines are able to grind a wide
range of workpieces starting with geometric sim-
ple parts like linear guideways or profiled parts
like broachs. Typical grinding operations with this
kind of machines are surface and form grinding
done as peripheral grinding. If the machine is
also equipped with an index table or additional
spindle (coordinate grinders), it is also possible to
perform internal circle grinding, gear grinding,
etc. Standard are three linear axes and one spindle
for the grinding wheel.
Another popular kind of grinding machines are
tool grinders (Fig. 3). Those machines are used for
production or resharpening of drills, mills, tread
cutters, inserts, etc. To fulfill these operations,
CNC tool grinders have at least five full CNC-
controlled axes (in the example of Fig.3, three
translational and two rotational axes).

Grinding,
Fig. 2 Schematic view of a
flat grinding machine
(Reprinted with permission)
 4 Grinding
Application
Grinding, as a key technology for manufacturing
advanced products and surfaces, can be found
where one or more of the following factors apply
(Marinescu et al. 2007):
• High accuracy
• High removal rate
• Machining of hard/brittle materials
High Accuracy
Due to its high accuracy, grinding is used to pro-
duce parts with high requirements for accuracy
and tolerance as well as surface roughness and
Grinding, Fig. 3 Schematic view of a 5-axis CNC tool
grinding machine (Reprinted with permission)
Grinding, Fig. 4 Crank
shaft for a 2-cylinder
motorbike engine with
ground bearing seats
(Reprinted with permission)
performance. The range varies from large parts
like hardened machine tool slideways to small
parts such as medical injection needles.
High Material Removal Rate
Grinding is recommended particularly for mate-
rials that are hard to machine (like tungsten car-
bide or some kinds of nickel-base alloys). The
achievable material removal rates are much higher
compared to other machining processes. Exam-
ples are the flute grinding of mills and drills out of
solid tungsten carbide rods in one pass with super-
abrasive grinding wheels or fir tree slotting on
turbine vans (nickel-base alloys) with conven-
tional grinding wheels in one pass.
Machining of Hard/Brittle Materials
Grinding is the predominate process while
machining brittle materials such as glass,
ceramics, or even diamond at high accuracy. The
ability to machine those materials makes grinding
also the first choice for finishing tasks. Examples
are grinding of hardened bearing seats or machin-
ing engineering ceramics. Figure 4 shows a crank
shaft with ground bearing seats.
Cross-References
▶ Abrasive Material
▶ Belt Grinding
▶ Bonding Materials
▶ Chip Formation (Abrasive Process)
▶ Dressing
Grinding
▶ Grinding Machines
▶ Grinding Wheel
▶ Honing
▶ Lapping
▶ Polishing
References
Brinksmeier E, Cammett JT, König W, Leskovar P,
Peters J, Tönshoff HK (1982) Residual stresses – mea-
surement and causes in machining processes. CIRP
Ann Manuf Technol 31(2):491–510
Brinksmeier E, Meyer D, Huesmann-Cordes AG, Herrmann C
(2015) Metalworking fluids – mechanisms and perfor-
mance. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 64(2):605–628
da Silva EJ, Bottene AC, Oliveira JFG, Atoatte A,
Rodrigues AS (2016) Grinding process for profiled
texturing. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 65(1):337–340
DIN 8589–11 Standard (2003) Fertigungsverfahren
Spanen. Teil 11: Schleifen mit rotierenden
Werkzeugen; Einordnung, Unterteilung, Begriffe
[Manufacturing processes chip removal – Part 11:
grinding with rotating tools. Classification, subdivi-
sion, terms and definitions]. Beuth, Berlin (in German)
DIN 8589–13 Standard (2003) Fertigungsverfahren
Spanen. Teil 13: Hubschleifen; Einordnung,
5
Unterteilung, Begriffe [Manufacturing processes chip
removal – Part 13: Honing by linear cutting motion.
Classification, subdivision, terms and definitions].
Beuth, Berlin (in German)
DIN 8589–14 Standard (2003) Fertigungsverfahren
Spanen. Teil 14: Honen; Einordnung, Unterteilung,
Begriffe [Manufacturing processes chip removal – Part
14: Honing and superfinishing. Classification, subdivi-
sion, terms and definitions]. Beuth, Berlin (in German)
Heinzel C, Antsupov A (2012) Prevention of wheel clog-
ging in creep feed grinding by efficient tool cleaning.
CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 61(1):323–326
Heinzel C, Meyer D, Kolkwitz B, Eckebrecht J (2015)
Advanced approach for a demand-oriented fluid supply
in grinding. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 64(1):333–336
Marinescu ID, Hitchiner M, Uhlmann E, Rowe WB,
Inasaki I (2007) Handbook of machining with grinding
wheels. CRC, Boca Raton
VDI 3397 Part 1 Standard (2007) Metalworking fluids.
VDI, Düsseldorf
Warhanek M, Walter C, Hubera S, Hänni F, Wegener
K (2015) Cutting characteristics of electroplated dia-
mond tools with laser-generated positive clearance.
CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 64(1):317–320
Wegener K, Hoffmeister H-W, Karpuschewski B, Kuster F,
Hahmann W-C, Rabiey M (2011) Conditioning and
monitoring of grinding wheels. CIRP Ann Manuf
Technol 60(2):757–777
G
Grinding Fluids
Ekkard Brinksmeier
University of Bremen and IWT Bremen, Bremen,
Germany
Synonyms
Cooling lubricants; Metalworking fluids
Definition
Grinding fluids belong to metalworking fluids.
These are engineering media which are used to
allow for higher productivity in material removal
processes, i.e., cutting and abrasive processes.
Theory and Application
Introduction
Metalworking fluids (Brinksmeier et al. 2015)
play a significant role in machining operations
(in particular grinding) and have a substantial
impact on tool life, shop productivity, and work-
piece quality. In machining processes such as
turning, milling, grinding, and many other mate-
rial removal processes, metalworking fluids per-
form several essential functions. One of the main
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6428-3
functions of coolants is to lubricate. This is
achieved by reduction of the friction which results
from energy conversion in the contact zones
between tool and workpiece as well as between
tool and chip. Heat dissipation, i.e., cooling of the
workpiece and washing chips away from the con-
tact zone, is a further important function of the
coolant (Brinksmeier et al. 1999, 2004; Inasaki
et al. 1993; Howes 1990). The combined lubrica-
tion and cooling effect reduces tool wear,
enhances surface quality and dimensional accu-
racy of the workpiece, and allows for higher mate-
rial removal rates. Cooling and lubrication
requirements differ in every application and
mainly depend on process conditions. Coolants
should, ideally, be composed to suit each specific
case. Every coolant consists of a base fluid, to
which other products such as anti-wear, anti-
corrosion, or emulsifying agents (additives) are
added. According to DIN 51385, coolants are
divided into oil-based and water-based types
(Brinksmeier et al. 1999).
Oil-Based Coolants
In order to decrease friction, at high pressures and
temperatures during machining processes, it is
necessary to create separation films (consisting
of coolant and specific additives) between the
solid surfaces of the tool and workpiece.
Oil-based coolants normally consist of 80–95 %
base oil and can be divided into four groups:
2 Grinding Fluids
• Straight oils without additives
• Straight oils with chemically active additives
• Straight oils with surface-active additives
• Straight oils with chemically active additives
and extreme pressure additives (additives that
form stable adsorption layers)
Water-Based Coolants
For high cooling efficiency and washing-away
capabilities, water-based emulsions or solutions
are employed. Their main disadvantage is suscep-
tibility to leakage oils and microbial effects mak-
ing high-maintenance costs unavoidable.
Furthermore, the water and oil phases must be
separated before disposal. Water-based solutions
consist of inorganic and/or organic substances and
water and very seldom contain mineral oils.
Water-based emulsion concentrates contain
20–70 % base oil (mostly mineral oil). For metal
grinding operations, oil-in-water emulsions are
common; the amount of oil determines the lubri-
cation ability of the emulsion. Common oil con-
centrations in emulsions for grinding operations
are between 2 % and 15 % of the concentrate in
85–98 % water. Water-based coolants contain up
to 20 different chemical components in which
each of the components can themselves be multi-
component mixtures. Defined or (based on micro-
bial effects) undesired changes of the chemical
composition of the metalworking fluid consider-
ably influence the thermomechanical load of the
process.
Additives
Additives are added to base fluids to broadly
optimize particular types of production process:
each one is aimed at improving specific coolant
properties. Additives can be divided into four
main groups:
• Enhancers of physical coolant characteristics
• Enhancers of chemical coolant characteristics
• Enhancers of chemical and physical coolant
characteristics
• Other additives
Grinding Fluids
The main characteristic of grinding in comparison
to other machining processes is the relatively large
contact area between the grinding wheel and the
workpiece and the high friction between the abra-
sive grits and the workpiece surface. This leads to
difficulties in supplying coolant to the grinding
arc, thus resulting in a high risk of thermal damage
to the workpiece surface layer as well as loading
and wear of the grinding wheel. Thermo-
mechanical processes in the contact zone are
defined by tribological relationships between the
grain cutting edge, the grinding wheel bonding,
the workpiece, and the chip as it forms, so that
cooling lubrication plays a decisive role during
grinding with respect to heat generation and dis-
sipation. In addition, the coolant type, composi-
tion and filtration, and coolant supply (nozzle
position, nozzle geometry, supplied flow rate,
and jet characteristics) can influence process pro-
ductivity, workpiece quality, and tool wear con-
siderably. Coolants should, ideally, be composed
to suit each specific case (Brinksmeier et al. 1999;
Huesmann-Cordes et al. 2014).
In grinding, the chip is formed as material is
deformed by the grit or grain cutting edge and
displaced sideways or forward according to the
orientation of the cutting edge. When the material
shear stress is exceeded, the chip flows over the
face of the grain. The coolant in the contact zone is
building up a lubricant film. The evaporation
behavior and rheology of this lubricant film help
to lower frictional forces and cool both the work-
piece and tooling surfaces.
As the lubrication effect increases, there is a
corresponding increase in elastic–plastic deforma-
tion under the cutting edge of the abrasive grain,
resulting in a decrease in workpiece roughness
(Fig. 1). By reducing friction forces, friction heat
is reduced and therefore also the total process
heat. However, too much lubrication can cause
negative thermal effects, as the efficiency of the
cutting process is reduced, and relatively more
energy is used in the shearing and deformation
processes (Vits 1985).
Another important influence of coolants on
lubrication is the lowering of friction along the
chip flow line, i.e., between the chip, the grain
Grinding Fluids 3

Grinding Fluids,

Fn
in the contact zone t
Fig. 1 Effects of water-

F
based and oil-based

the contact zone

temperature in

friction coefficient
grinding fluids

water-based

water-based

oil-based
coolants

coolants

coolants
oil-based
coolants
cooling lubricating
effect effect

grinding forces Fn, Ft

of workpiece Ra, Rz
surface roughness
water-based water-based
coolants coolants

oil-based oil-based
coolants coolants

material removal rate Qw material removal rate Qw

cutting edge, and the grinding wheel bond. This
reduces bond abrasion and grinding wheel wear
(Vits 1985). Effects of coolant lubrication and
cooling, respectively, are influenced by the type
of coolant (straight oil, emulsion, solution) and its
composition (emulsion concentration, additives)
(Brinksmeier et al. 2009).
Cooling Supply in Grinding
The heat flux during grinding can create form
deviations of the workpiece and subsurface dam-
age. The grinding fluid in the contact zone
between workpiece and tool counteracts these
undesirable effects by building a lubricant film
which reduces friction forces between the acting
partners and by cooling the contact zone. To
achieve the greatest cooling effect, a variety of
coolant nozzles is available for different grinding
processes. In grinding, flooding nozzles like jet
nozzles and shoe nozzles (a nozzle which covers
the grinding wheel partly) have proven to be
favorable. Using jet nozzles the required cooling
is often tried to be realized by an oversupply of
coolant in front of the grinding arc instead of an
optimum wetting of the grinding wheel. The posi-
tioning of the nozzles has another considerable
effect on the cooling ability of the fluid in the
contact zone (Brinksmeier et al. 2000; Heinzel
et al. 2015). With increasing coolant flow rate,
an improvement of the cooling effect is achievable
in principle but reaches saturation when exceed-
ing a critical coolant flow rate (Klocke
et al. 2000). The benefit of using shoe nozzles is
the significant reduction of required coolant
amount (Brinksmeier et al. 1999; Heinzel 1999).
Cross-References
▶ Abrasive Material
▶ Grinding
▶ Grinding Wheel
▶ Machinability
▶ Roughness
▶ Wear Mechanisms
References
Brinksmeier E, Heinzel C, Wittmann M (1999) Friction,
cooling and lubrication in grinding. Ann CIRP
48(2):581–598
Brinksmeier E, Heinzel C, Wittmann M (2000) Visualiza-
tion of coolant flow in shoe nozzles and their effect on
the residual grinding stresses. Ann WGP VII/I:9–12
4 Grinding Fluids
Brinksmeier E, Walter A, Lucca DA (2004) Chemical
aspects of machining processes. Ann CIRP
53(2):685–699
Brinksmeier E, Garbrecht M, Heinzel C, Koch T,
Eckebrecht J (2009) Current approaches in design and
supply of metalworking fluids. Tribol Trans
52(5):591–601
Brinksmeier E, Meyer D, Huesmann-Cordes AG, Herr-
mann C (2015) Metalworking fluids – mechanisms
and performance. Ann CIRP 64(2):605–628
DIN 51385:2103–12. Schmierstoffe – Bearbeitungsmedien
für die Umformung und Zerspanung von
Werkstoffen – Begriffe [Lubricants – Processing fluids
for forming and machining of materials – Terms].
Beuth, Berlin (in German)
Heinzel C (1999) Methoden zur Untersuchung und
Optimierung der Kühlschmierung beim Schleifen
[Investigation and optimization methods for cooling
lubricants for grinding]. German PhD thesis, Univer-
sity of Bremen, Shaker-Verlag (in German)
Heinzel C, Meyer D, Kolkwitz B, Eckebrecht J (2015)
Advanced approach for a demand-oriented fluid supply
in grinding. Ann CIRP 64(1):333–336
Howes TD (1990) Assessment of the cooling and lubrica-
tive properties of grinding fluids. Ann CIRP
39(1):313–316
Huesmann-Cordes AG, Meyer D, Brinksmeier E, Schulz J
(2014) Influence of additives in metalworking fluids on
the wear resistance of steels. Procedia CIRP
13:108–113
Inasaki I, Tönshoff HK, Howes TD (1993) Abrasive
machining in the future. Ann CIRP 42(2):723–732
Klocke F, Baus A, Beck T (2000) Coolant induced forces
in CBN grinding with shoe nozzles. Ann CIRP
49(1):241–244
Vits R (1985) Technologische Aspekte der
Kühlschmierung beim Schleifen [Technological
aspects of cooling lubricants for grinding]. Rheinisch-
Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, Shaker-
Verlag (in German)
G
Grinding Wheel
Jan C. Aurich and Benjamin Kirsch
FBK – Institute for Manufacturing Technology
and Production Systems, University of
Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
Synonyms
Grinding tool
Definition
A grinding wheel is an axisymmetric tool,
consisting of the basic body and the abrasive
body. It is used for most grinding processes
(surface grinding, cylindrical grinding, screw
grinding, gear grinding, profile grinding, etc.)
with very few exceptions (e.g., belt grinding or
other special grinding processes).
Theory and Application
Introduction
In general, grinding wheels are distinguished in
conventional and high-performance wheels.
While conventional grinding wheels are
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6429-4
completely made of abrasive body, high-
performance grinding wheels consist of a basic
body covered with an abrasive body. For both
types, the abrasive body consists of the abrasive
grains and the bond (See Fig. 1).
As indicated by their names, conventional
grinding wheels are commonly used for conven-
tional grinding processes with low material
removal rates and grinding wheel speeds. High-
performance grinding wheels are used with the
primary goal to achieve high removal rates. High
removal rates require high grinding wheel speeds
which conventional grinding wheels cannot with-
stand. Because of the high grinding wheel speeds
and material removal rates, the basic body has to
provide high mechanical stability, good damping,
and thermal conductivity. Materials used for the
basic body of high-performance grinding wheels
are:
• Metal (aluminum, steel, bronze)
• Synthetic resin (with metallic and nonmetallic
filler)
• Fiber-reinforced synthetic resin
• Ceramics
Commonly, aluminum or steel is used for the
basic body of high-performance grinding wheels.
They provide sufficiently high mechanical stabil-
ity and thermal conductivity, thereby over-
compensating their poor damping.
2 Grinding Wheel
Grinding Wheel, Fig. 1 High-performance grinding wheel and a close-up of an abrasive body
The geometry of grinding wheels ranges from
plain cylindrical to complex grooved profiles
(DIN ISO 525 2015). The materials of the bond
and the abrasive grains for both grinding wheel
types will be outlined in detail below.
Bond
The bond is responsible for the retention of the
abrasive grains until they are blunt. Blunt grains
should ideally break out of the bond to allow
subsequent sharp grains to participate in the mate-
rial removal process. The bond has to provide
room for chips and cooling lubricant (either by
pores or by space between grains). There are three
types of bond that are commonly used for grind-
ing wheels:
• Synthetic resin
• Elastic
• Ceramic
• Metal (also galvanic)
The ideal bond would provide the following
properties (Yegenoglu and Thurnbichler 1995):
• Good dimensional stability
• High toughness
• Good thermal conductivity
• Good damping
• Good temperature stability
• Potentiality to be profiled
None of the available bond types provides all
these properties. Figure 2 shows the different
types of bonds and their properties. While, for
example, synthetic resin bond is easy to profile
and provides good damping, its temperature sta-
bility is low, and it provides poor thermal conduc-
tivity. Wheels with metal bond possess excellent
temperature stability and thermal conductivity but
only low damping and are hard to profile, or, in the
case of galvanic bond, they cannot be profiled at
all.
The bond is chosen depending on the intended
application: the material to be removed, the
required quality, and the grinding parameters
(cutting speed, depth of cut, feed rate). Synthetic
resin bond is commonly used for conventional
grinding processes and is the most economical
bond. Elastic includes bond like rubber, being a
very soft bond. This is favorable for, e.g.,
polishing of gears. Ceramic bond is used for ther-
mally critical processes and high removal rates. Its
porosity can be adjusted, which offers the possi-
bility to generate large pores for grinding fluid
delivery and chip transport. The main advantage
of metal bond compared to the aforementioned,
specifically galvanic and brazed bonds, is their
extreme high grain retention force. This enables
material removal rates of 50–300 mm3/(mms) in
industrial applications (Tawakoli 1990). Grinding
wheels with metal bond provide high grain pro-
trusion heights and do not need dressing, while
conventional grinding wheels have to be dressed
regularly.
Grinding Wheel 3

Grinding Wheel,
Fig. 2 Properties of bond
(Zitt 1999)

Abrasive Grains provide (Klocke and König 2005; Yegenoglu and

The abrasive grains are the cutting edges of the Thurnbichler 1995):
grinding wheel, embedded in the bond, that per-
form the actual material removal. They have to • High hardness and toughness
4 Grinding Wheel

Grinding Wheel, Table 1 Physical properties of abrasives (Zitt 1999)

Al2O3 Sol-Gel SiC cBN Diamond
Density (g/cm3) 3.96 3.87 3.15 3.48 3.52
Hardness (HK01) 1850–2000 1900–2400 2450–5000 4500–5000 5000–7000
Hardness (HV01) 2100 – 2500 6000 Not specified in
reference
Modulus of elasticity 400 – 400 680 890
(GPa)
Poisson’s ratio 0.20 – 0.17 0.17 0.20
Coefficient of friction 0.34 0.34 – 0.19 0.05–0.15
Melting point ( C) 2050 – 2300 2730 3700
Temperature stability ( C) 1750 2000 1500 1200 900
Coefficient of thermal 7.4 (<500  C) – 4.7 3.6 0.8 (RT) 1.5–4.8
expansion (10 6/K) 7.5–8.5 (>500  C) (>500  C)
Thermal conductivity 30 (RT) 14 (400  C) 30 (RT) 14 110 (RT) 55 200 600–2000 (RT)
(W/mK) (400  C) (600  C) (400  C)
Heat capacity (J/gK) 1.08 (400  C) 1.08 1.1 (500  C) 1.57 6.19 (RT)
(400  C) (400  C)

• High thermal conductivity and thermal
(alternating) resistance
• High chemical resistance
The abrasive grains used for grinding wheels
today are synthetic. Natural abrasives are rarely
used because they provide low stability, except for
diamond; natural diamonds of small size or with
flaws are used for grinding wheels and dressing
tools (Klocke and König 2005). Similar to the
grinding wheel itself, the abrasive grains can be
subdivided into:
• Conventional abrasive grains (silicon carbide
(SiC), aluminum oxide or corundum (Al2O3),
sol-gel corundum)
• High-performance abrasive grains (diamond,
cubic boron nitride (cBN))
As indicated by their names, conventional
abrasive grains are commonly used for conven-
tional grinding wheels and high-performance
abrasive grains for high-performance grinding
wheels. This is due to the fact that diamond and
cBN are much harder and much more wear resis-
tant than conventional abrasive grains. The phys-
ical properties of the abrasive grains are depicted
in Table 1.
Besides the type of abrasive grains used for a
grinding wheel, the grain size and grain concen-
tration significantly influence the grinding process
and the workpiece quality. Generally, higher grain
sizes lead to a smaller grain concentration,
resulting in increased surface roughness of the
ground surface. This can be attributed to the
higher undeformed chip thickness, because the
same amount of material has to be removed by a
smaller number of grains. Therefore, in ultra-
precision grinding, very small grain sizes and
high grain concentrations are applied to generate
high surface finish.
When using a specific grain size, the grain
concentration itself can be increased or decreased.
Decreasing the grain concentration can bring
advantages concerning the material removal
behavior (Aurich et al. 2008; Tawakoli
et al. 2007). This is realized by lowering the
number of stochastically placed grains. For high-
performance grinding wheels, this can also be
realized by structuring the grinding wheel or by
using defined grain patterns. A lower grain con-
centration when using a specific grain size leads
to:
• Higher chip space
• Less number of rubbing and plowing grains
Grinding Wheel
• Higher undeformed chip thickness
• Smaller grinding forces and power, resulting in
smaller thermal loads of the ground workpiece
• Higher grain wear, resulting in a higher grind-
ing wheel wear
• Higher surface roughness
The surface roughness of ground surfaces is
also influenced by the sharpness of the grinding
wheel, specifically the sharpness of the grains.
Sharper grains lead to higher surface roughness.
While blunt grains lead to a lower surface rough-
ness, they also result in higher friction and hence
in higher thermal impact of the workpiece. The
sharpness of grinding wheels is influenced by the
dressing conditions.
A coding system for conventional wheels spec-
ifies abrasive grain type, grain size, wheel grade
(wheel grade specifies grain retention forces),
grain spacing (grain concentration), and wheel
bond. This coding is internationally normed in
ISO 525. It helps to identify and select grinding
wheels. The specification of grain sizes requires
careful handling, as it differs much in dependence
of the country of production (a comparison of
grain size codings can be found in Marinescu
et al. 2007). Similar coding is used for super-
abrasive wheels, as, e.g., defined by the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI) (Marinescu
et al. 2007). However, especially in the case of
superabrasive grinding wheels, many manufac-
turers do not comply with this coding, hampering
identification of grinding wheel properties.
Cross-References
▶ Dressing
▶ Grinding
▶ Grinding Fluid
5
▶ Grinding Parameters
▶ Grinding Tool Structuring
▶ Ultraprecision Grinding
References
Aurich JC, Herzenstiel P, Sudermann H, Magg T (2008)
High-performance dry grinding using a grinding wheel
with a defined grain pattern. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
57(1):357–362
DIN ISO 525 (2015) Schleifkörper aus gebundenem
Schleifmittel-Allgemeine Anforderungen [Bonded
Abrasive Products-General Requirements]. Beuth,
Berlin
Klocke F, König W (2005) Fertigungsverfahren 2:
schleifen, honen, läppen. [Production Methods 2:
Grinding, Honing, Lapping], 4th edn. Springer, Berlin
(in German)
Marinescu ID, Hitchiner M, Uhlmann E, Rowe WB,
Inasaki I (2007) Handbook of machining with grinding
wheels. CRC Press, Boca Raton
Tawakoli T (1990) Hochleistungs-flachschleifen – techno-
logie, verfahrensplanung und wirtschaftlicher einsatz [
High performance surface grinding – Technology, Pro-
cess Design and economic application]. VDI Verlag,
Düsseldorf (in German)
Tawakoli T, Westkämper E, Rabiey M (2007) Dry grinding
by special conditioning. Int J Adv Manuf Technol
33:419–424
Yegenoglu K, Thurnbichler M (1995) Hochleistungss-
chleifen: CBN-schleifscheiben als wichtige
systemkomponenten beim hochleistungsschleifen
[High Performance Grinding: CBN Grinding Wheels
as important system components in high-efficiency
grinding]. wt-produktion und management
85:517–522 (in German)
Zitt UR (1999) Modellierung und Simulation von
Hochleistungsschleifprozessen [Modelling and Simu-
lation of High Performance Grinding]. FBK Pro-
duktionstechnische Berichte 34. Dissertation, TU
Kaiserslautern (in German)
L
Lapping
Eckart Uhlmann
Fraunhofer Institut f€
ur Produktionsanlagen und
Konstruktionstechnik, Berlin, Germany
Synonyms
Free abrasive machining; Loose abrasive
machining
Definition
Lapping is an abrasive machining process in
which abrasive grains dispersed either in a paste
or a fluid are applied to the moving surface of an
opposing formed tool (the lap) so that the individ-
ual grains follow a disordered path (DIN 8589).
Theory and Application
Introduction
The manufacturing process “lapping” is used to
produce functional surfaces of highest geometri-
cally defined shape and having optimum condi-
tions of surface quality. According to DIN 8589,
lapping is part of the group of cutting with geo-
metrically undefined cutting edges, and it is suit-
able for processing almost every material.
Lapping is increasingly used to process
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6431-5
workpieces with sealing function, high geometri-
cal precision, as well as workpieces which show
characteristic crater surfaces (Spur and Stöferle
1980).
In principle, the process could be divided into
lapping without and lapping with a shaped coun-
terpart. Lapping without shaped counterpart, for
example, the lap blasting, inclines the optimiza-
tion of the surface topography of the workpiece.
Contrarily, lapping with shaped counterpart leads
to a higher material removal rate. Workpiece and
lapping tool, made up of shaped counterpart and
lapping mixture, move toward each other in pref-
erably disordered paths with many directional
changes. The loose abrasive, which is distributed
in the lapping mixture, is introduced into the con-
tact zone between counterpart and workpiece sto-
chastically and temporally. Due to the lapping
pressure, caused by the shaped counterpart, mate-
rial removal occurs whereby mostly undirected,
so-called isotropy, surface textures arise. The
advantages and disadvantages of this process are
listed in Table 1.
Concerning the cutting mechanism, there are
differences between processing ductile, metallic
materials and brittle hard materials such as glass
or ceramics. In case of ductile materials, micro-
plastic deformations of surfaces, hardening, and
embrittlement as well as breakaways of particles
rather appear. When processing brittle hard mate-
rials, micro cracks are induced and crack systems
occur, which lead to breakaways of particles
(Fig. 1). The structure of the workpiece surface
2 Lapping

Lapping, Table 1 Advantages and disadvantages of lapping

Advantages Disadvantages
Possibility of processing almost every material and part size Disposal of the lapping sludge as special
waste
Short changeover time as well as low costs for workpiece holders Comparatively low removal rates at high
wastage of grain
Processing several workpieces in one operation cycle of the machine Necessity of final cleaning of workpieces
Undirected process traces and isotropy surface structures Processability only of basic geometries
of workpieces
Minor action of heat, therefore no deformation or changes in structure of
the processed workpieces
Tension-free mounting of workpieces
Generating precise functional surfaces with exceedingly shape precision on
flatness and plane parallelism

Lapping, Fig. 1 Material

removal caused by grains

is significantly influenced by the applied lapping
pressure, lapping grain size, and the relative
velocity (Spur et al. 1989).
Tool: Lapping Mixture
The choice of material of the shaped counterpart
depends on the material which has to be
machined. According to the case of application,
tools of cast iron, copper, aluminum, or even glass
are used. The lapping medium is composed of the
lapping emulsion, a liquid or a paste, and loose
abrasive grains, which are allocated in the lapping
mixture. A criterion of the quality of the lapping
mixture is among others a good miscibility
(no agglomeration, no early settling). Oils and
mediums made of paraffin, Vaseline, petroleum,
or other impurities are used as the carrier
mediums. Lubrication is not necessary, but trans-
portation of the chips out of the contact zone
safely and sufficient cooling characteristics are
necessary. Furthermore, the application of too
high-viscosity compounding could lead to a
noneffective machining process. On the other
hand, a low-viscosity suspension could be the
trigger for damages caused by cold welding
between the workpiece and the lapping tool. Usu-
ally, the used lapping grain is composed of alumi-
num oxide, silicon carbide, or boron carbide, and,
in some cases, diamond (because it has to be
principally harder than the workpiece material).
In order to produce high-quality functional sur-
faces, the combinations of aluminum oxide for
Lapping
Face lapping
Single plate lapping
Double plate lapping
Workpiece
no
Vm
nu
Screw lapping Hob lapping
Vcs
Workpiece
Tool
Vw Workpiece with
external thread
Vw
Lapping, Fig. 2 Main groups of lapping according to DIN 8589 part 15
soft steel and cast iron, silicon carbide for alloy
steels as well as boron carbide, and diamond for
hard materials like ceramics appeared to be con-
venient. With coarse grains, the material removal
rate increases (rough lapping). To accomplish bet-
ter surface qualities, it is common to run the
machine a second time with finer grains and
corresponding lower material removal rate
(Marinescu et al. 2006; Sabotka 1991; Uhlmann
and Ardelt 1999).
Applications
According to DIN 8589 part 15, the lapping pro-
cedures with shaped counterpart are divided into
four groups, namely, the generated surface, the
kind of surface, the kinematic of the material
removal process and the form of the tool profile
(Fig. 2). Besides the screw, hob, and profile lap-
ping, there are two main lapping procedures called
face and cylindrical lapping, which are explained
in detail in the following.
Face lapping is used to process flat workpieces
and to produce functional surfaces with highest
standards in geometry and surface quality. At the
double-face lapping, two parallel flat surfaces are
processed simultaneously with minor measure
diversification and tight measure tolerances.
3
Cylindrical lapping
Workpiece
no
Vm
nu nu
Profile lapping
Vu
Lapping medium Vcr
Tool
Vu
Tool Workpiece
A typical field of application is the processing of
bearing rings. A characteristic is the relative
movement of the workpieces on cycloid trajecto-
ries caused by the special kinematic (Marinescu
et al. 2006; Uhlmann et al. 1998).
External cylindrical lapping is used to process
external surfaces of cylindrical parts. Therefore,
the workpieces are mounted radially on a work-
piece holder on a two-face machine, whereby the
parts scroll with an eccentric motion between the
lapping disks. This process is used to reach very
high shape precision, required, for instance, for jet
needles in injection pumps. Cylindrical lapping of
drilled holes is realized with cylindrical bushes,
which describe rotating and lifting movements.
Because of this kinematic, high surface qualities
are reached, which are unable to be accomplished
by other processes (Paulmann 1991).
Cross-References
▶ Grinding
4 Lapping
References
Marinescu I, Uhlmann E, Doi T (eds) (2006) Handbook of
lapping and polishing. Manufacturing engineering and
materials processing. CRC Press, Boca Raton
Paulmann R (1991) Schleifen, Honen, L€appen:
Grundlagen zu einem Verfahrensvergleich [Grinding,
honing and lapping: fundamentals of a process com-
parison]. Technische Universit€at Braunschweig, Dis-
sertation VDI, D€usseldorf (in German)
Sabotka I (1991) Planl€appen technischer Keramiken.
Forschungsberichte f€ ur die Praxis [Face lapping of
engineering ceramics. Research reports for practical
use. In: Spur G (ed) Planl€appen technischer Keramiken
[Face lapping of engineering ceramics]. Hanser,
M€unchen/Wien (in German)
Spur G, Stöferle T (1980) Handbuch der Fertigungstechnik
Band 3, Spanen Teil 2 [Production engineering hand-
book, vol. 3, machining, part 2]. Hanser, M€ unchen/
Wien (in German)
Spur G, Linke K, Sabotka I, Tio T-H, Uhlmann E (1989)
Keramikbearbeitung. Schleifen, Honen, L€appen,
Abtragen [Ceramics processing. Grinding, honing, lap-
ping, etching]. Hanser, M€ unchen/Wien (in German)
Uhlmann E, Ardelt T (1999) Influence of kinematics on the
face grinding process on lapping machines. Ann CIRP
48(1):281–284
Uhlmann E, Ardelt T, Daus N (1998) Kinematische Ana-
lyse von Zweischeibenmaschinen [Kinematical analy-
sis of double plate lapping machines]. Werkstatttechnik
88(6):273–276 (in German)
S
Superabrasives
Barbara Linke
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering,
University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA
Synonyms
Cubic boron nitride (CBN); Diamond; High-
performance abrasives
Definition
The term “superabrasives” denotes abrasive grit
materials with higher hardness (commonly higher
than 4,000 HK) and refers to cubic boron nitride
and diamond. Sometimes the term is also used to
describe the tools made of these abrasives.
Besides higher hardness, superabrasives are also
characterized by higher wear resistance standing
out from “conventional abrasives” like corundum
and silicon carbide.
Theory and Application
Superabrasives are distinguished from conven-
tional abrasives by their higher hardness, which
is accompanied by higher Young’s modulus and
heat conductivity but typically lower thermal sta-
bility (Table 1).
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6435-4
Diamond
Diamond is the hardest material in nature and
highly resistant against compaction (Knoop hard-
ness of 7,000–8,000). This is based on the dense
structure of the carbon atoms, their regular, sym-
metrical order, and the energy-rich covalent atom
bonds. Every carbon atom in diamond is
surrounded uniformly by four atoms (Fig. 1).
The angle between two neighboring atoms
amounts consistently to 109.5 . The crystal mor-
phology of diamond can range from a perfect cube
to a perfect octahedron (O’Donovan 1976).
The genesis of natural diamond takes place at
high pressures and temperatures within the Earth’s
mantle. The source of natural diamond is the
primary influence of its chemical and physical
properties. Today, natural diamond is mainly
used in dressing tools and has been replaced by
synthetic diamond in grinding tools.
The first artificial diamond synthesis was
conducted by the Swedish company ASEA with
a six-anvil press in February 1953 (Jackson and
Davim 2011). In 1955, General Electric
(GE) followed with the synthesis in a belt press
and in 1958 De Beers (Marinescu et al. 2007).
Metals of the eighth main group (nickel, cobalt,
iron, etc.) enable diamond synthesis at pressures
of 5–8 GPa and temperatures of 1,500–2,100 K
(O’Donovan 1976).
Diamond density is about 3.52 g/cm3
depending on pureness. Synthetic diamonds
expose metal inclusions of used catalysts. All
crystal defects such as substituted atoms and
2 Superabrasives

Superabrasives, Table 1 Physical properties of abrasive materials (Klocke 2009; Toenshoff and Denkena 2013; Rowe
2009)
Young’s Heat Thermal
Hardness modulus conductivity stability
Superabrasives Diamond 5,000–8,000 HK 890 GPa 600–2,100 W/m Up to 900  C
K
Cubic boron 4,500–5,000 HK 680 GPa 200–1,300 W/ Up to
nitride mK 1,370  C
Conventional Silicon carbide 2,400–3,000 HK 400 GPa 55–100 W/m K Up to
abrasives 1,500  C
Corundum 1,600–2,000 HK 400 GPa 6–35 W/m K Up to
2,000  C

(Gardinier 1988). Graphitization is a commonly

known state transition of diamond to graphite. In
the presence of oxygen, the diamond surface can
graphitize already at temperatures of 900 K (Field
1979). The thermal stability of diamond affects
how grinding tools are processed, e.g., within
inert atmosphere.
At room temperature, diamond is the material
with the highest known temperature conductivity
with a value between 600 and 2,000 W/(m*K)
depending on crystal purity (Marinescu
Superabrasives, Fig. 1 Structure of diamond (Bailey et al. 2007). To prevent destruction of the grit/
and Juchem 1998)
bond interface, often coatings of the diamond
grits with nickel, cobalt, or composite metals are
atoms between lattice sites or lattice vacancies are
applied (Klocke 2009). Coatings enhance heat
imperfections of diamond structure and enable
capacity and facilitate heat conducting into the
micro-splintering (O’Donovan 1976). Small grits
tool bonding.
are often tougher than large diamonds because
they have fewer and smaller defects and inclu-
sions (Field 1979). CBN
The hardness of single crystal diamond is The invention of cubic boron nitride (CBN) is
anisotropic and depends on the crystal orientation. closely linked to the synthesis of artificial dia-
This results from the different distances of the mond. Cubic boron nitride synthesis was
carbon atoms in different crystal planes. More- conducted first in 1957. CBN crystals are pro-
over, the cleavage behavior of diamond is defined duced from boron and nitrogen at high pressures
by the density of atom bonds in the different of 50–90 kbar, high temperatures between
diamond planes. Diamond has four cleavage 1,800  C and 2,700  C, and in the presence of a
planes (Gardinier 1988). catalyst (Klocke 2009). During the first years on
Diamond has a high affinity to the metals of the the market, CBN was seen as a competitor to
eighth main group as well as to Mn, Cr, Ra, and diamond. However, CBN proved to be a better
Nb. At temperatures above 800  C, diamond material for machining of hard-to-machine fer-
burns with oxygen and becomes carbon dioxide. rous materials than diamond due to the missing
Depending on the grit size, i.e., the specific sur- chemical affinity and the higher thermal stability.
face area, and the grit crystal type, reactions with CBN and diamond have similar structures. In
oxygen can occur already at 500–700  C CBN, each nitrogen atom binds to four boron
Superabrasives
atoms and vice versa, forming the bond angle of
109.5 (Fig. 2). In CBN, covalent bonds are pre-
dominant with a small degree of ionic bonding
which results from the fact that boron and nitrogen
are dissimilar atoms (Bailey and Juchem 1998).
Therefore, cubic boron nitride is less symmetric
than diamond. Therefore, its morphology is more
complex. CBN has six cleavage planes and the
Superabrasives, Fig. 2 Structure of CBN (Bailey and
Juchem 1998)
Superabrasives,
Fig. 3 Conventional wheel
versus superabrasive wheel
(bottom) (Metzger 1986)
(With copyright permission
from publisher)
3
crystal shapes range from octahedron to tetrahe-
dron and cubo-octahedron (Gardinier 1988).
CBN has a Knoop hardness of around 4,700
(Gardinier 1988). It is thermally stable in inert
atmosphere at temperatures up to 1,500  C. In
air, CBN forms a stable layer of boron oxide
preventing oxidation up to 1,300  C (Rowe
2009). Although this layer dissolves in water
under heat, CBN is successfully used with
water-based cooling lubricants. It is presumed
that the minimal contact times in grinding prevent
the reaction with water (Klocke 2009).
Tools with Superabrasives
In contrast to conventional grinding tools,
superabrasive tools are commonly built from an
abrasive layer applied to a carrier; a so-called
body (Fig. 3). The carrier has to provide sufficient
heat conductivity, high mechanical strength, and
good vibrational dampening. Common body
materials are aluminum, steel, bronze, synthetic
resin with metallic or nonmetallic fillers, and
fiber-reinforced synthetic resin or ceramics
4 Superabrasives

Superabrasives, Fig. 4 Example of notation of superabrasives after Saint-Gobain Diamantwerkzeuge GmbH &
Co. KG, (Klocke 2009) (With copyright permission from publisher)

(Klocke 2009). Design of carriers has to regard
expansion at rotation speed, damping behavior,
thermal expansion, etc.
Like conventional grits, superabrasives can be
held by resin, vitrified, or metallic bonds. Resin
and vitrified bonds, however, have to be adapted
to the chemistry and performance of
superabrasives. Metallic bonds are particularly
important for superabrasive grits and are nearly
used exclusively for this grit type. Sintered metal-
lic bonds, such as bronze, produce abrasive seg-
ments with several layers of grits. Electroplating
or brazing affix a single layer of superabrasives to
the carrier (Marinescu et al. 2007). Electroplated
CBN played a major role in the development of
high-efficiency deep grinding (HEDG) (Rowe
2009).
Figure 4 shows an example for the specifica-
tion of bonded grinding tools with superabrasives.
The common abbreviation for diamond grits is
(D) and (B) for CBN (Fig. 5). The size of
superabrasive grits is often given as mean diame-
ter in micrometer instead of mesh-like conven-
tional abrasives. Therefore, the specification of
grinding wheels has to be compared carefully
between conventional abrasives and
superabrasives. Concentration is given in carat
per volume for diamond tools or in volumetric
percentage for CBN tools (Klocke 2009).
Applications and Grinding Performance
In general, corundum and CBN are used for long-
chipping, ductile materials, whereas silicon car-
bide and diamond are used for short-chipping,
brittle materials, or titanium alloys (Fig. 6; Klocke
2009). Superabrasives are chosen in particular for
the higher precision or higher performance appli-
cations due to their low wear rate and ability to
hold close size tolerances (Rowe 2009).
Figure 6 summarizes the most important grit
characteristics in grinding technology. The reac-
tivity of diamond with transition metals such as
Superabrasives
Superabrasives, Fig. 5 Classification of abrasive grains with standardized letter symbols and application areas,
(Helletsberger et al. 2011) (With copyright permission from publisher)
nickel and iron limits the use of diamond to
machine these metals, especially steels. However,
there are some abrasive applications with ferrous
materials where diamond is the tool material of
choice, e.g., honing of cast iron (Marinescu
et al. 2007).
Superabrasives are in particular highly resis-
tant to wear when used at high grinding wheel
speeds. However, choosing superabrasives as
grinding tool material should follow a thorough
evaluation of the higher tool costs and the require-
ments on machine tool and cooling lubricant
supply.
The higher thermal conductivity of
superabrasives compared to conventional abra-
sives can reduce grinding temperatures drastically
(Rowe 2009). However, there is a common under-
standing that the surface finish is rougher with
CBN grits than with conventional wheels. The
reason is believed to be the sharper and more
pointed cutting edges leading to earlier chip for-
mation at a shallower initial depth (Malkin and
Guo 2008).
5
Multilayered superabrasive tools have longer
dressing intervals than conventional tools (Fig. 7).
Single-layered tools show an initial wear phase at
the beginning of their use. This is followed by a
quasi-stationary behavior until the tool end of life
is defined by thermal damage of the workpiece
(Klocke 2009). Single-layered tools are not pro-
filed or sharpened in the traditional sense,
although sometimes so-called touch-dressing is
applied to level protruding edges.
Dressing
Conditioning or dressing of superabrasive tools is
challenging because of the high grit wear resis-
tance. Often, lower toughness and hardness of
CBN compared to diamond allows successful
dressing of CBN grinding wheels with rotating
diamond tools (Marinescu et al. 2007). Neverthe-
less, the dressing forces for CBN are higher than
for conventional wheels, which can affect the
requirements on the dressing system (Jackson
and Davim 2011). Dressing is also done with
much smaller depth of cut than for conventional
wheels (Wegener et al. 2011).
6 Superabrasives

CBN Diamond

REAL ABRASIVE GRAINS

IDEAL GRAIN

hardness
ec low heat
Silicon carbide conductivity Boron carbide

chemical thermal
stability stability
toughness, strenght
GRAIN
CHRACTERISTICS METAL MATERIALS

sintered Al-oxides fused Al-oxides

(Sub mm) (pink or white)

Zr-Al-oxides
(25 %)

CBN Diamond

REAL ABRASIVE GRAINS

IDEAL GRAIN

hardness

ec low heat
Silicon carbide conductivity
Boron carbide
chemical thermal
stability stability
toughness, strenght
GRAIN
CHRACTERISTICS

NONMETAL MATERIALS

high
medium
low

criteria fulfilment Al-oxides

* versus workpiece materials and enviroment at grinding temperature

Superabrasives, Fig. 6 Comparison of abrasives at machining of ductile material (top) or brittle material (bottom),
(Helletsberger et al. 2011) (With copyright permission from publisher)

Dressing of diamond wheels with diamond devices or on driven truing spindles (Wegener
dressing tools is still limited. A more common et al. 2011). During this dressing procedure, the
method is the use of vitrified bonded silicon car- expendable and much cheaper silicon carbide
bide rollers either on brake-controlled truing
Superabrasives 7

multilayer coated single-layer superabrasive

effective surface

effective surface
roughness Rts
superabrasive grinding grinding wheels

roughness Rts
wheels

material removal Vw material removal Vw

effective surface

conventional grinding wheels

roughness Rts

caption:
increasing thermal stress
on the workpiece
material removal Vw

Superabrasives, Fig. 7 Schematic wear behavior of different grinding wheel types (With copyright permission from
Prof. Klocke, RWTH Aachen University)

wheel grinds the diamond tool (Malkin and Guo
2008).
Superabrasive grinding wheels with resin or
metal bond sometimes require a subsequent
sharpening process after the profiling process to
generate sufficient grain protrusion (Wegener
et al. 2011). The bonding can be set back with a
block sharpening process.
An established method for dressing metal-
bonded diamond wheels is the electrolytic
in-process dressing (ELID) (Rowe 2009). Addi-
tionally, more dressing procedures for metal
bonds using electrochemical and electrophysical
mechanisms exist (Wegener et al. 2011).
Cross-References
▶ Abrasive Material
▶ Dressing
▶ Grinding Wheel
References
Bailey MW, Juchem HO (1998) The advantages of CBN
grinding: low cutting forces and improved workpiece
integrity. IDR 3:83–89
Field JE (1979) The properties of diamond. Academic,
London
Gardinier CF (1988) Physical properties of superabrasives.
Ceram Bull 67(6):1006ff
Helletsberger H, Huber W, Larch C (2011) Grindology
movie GM2 – grinding stock removal. Tyrolit
Grindology College, Tyrolit Schleifmittelwerke
Swarovski KG, Schwaz
Jackson MJ, Davim JP (2011) Machining with abrasives.
Springer, New York. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-7302-3
Klocke F (2009) Manufacturing processes 2 – grinding,
honing, lapping (RWTH Edition) (trans: Kuchle A).
Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg
Malkin S, Guo C (2008) Grinding technology: theory and
application of machining with abrasives, 2nd edn.
Industrial Press, New York
Marinescu ID, Hitchiner M, Uhlmann E, Rowe WB,
Inasaki I (2007) Handbook of machining with grinding
wheels. CRC Press, Boca Raton
Metzger JL (1986) Superabrasive grinding. Butterworth,
Oxford, UK
O’Donovan KH (1976) Synthetische Diamanten.
Fertigung 2(76):41–48
Rowe WB (2009) Principles of modern grinding technol-
ogy. William Andrew, Norwich
Toenshoff HK, Denkena B (2013) Basics of cutting and
abrasive processes. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg.
doi:10.1007/978-3-642-33257-9
Wegener K, Hoffmeister H-W, Karpuschewski B, Kuster F,
Hahmann W-C, Rabiey M (2011) Conditioning and
monitoring of grinding wheels. CIRP Ann Manuf
Technol 60(2):757–777. doi:10.1016/j.
cirp.2011.05.003
S

Superfinishing three phases described are repeated. In compari-

son with honing and lapping, superfinishing
Hitomi Yamaguchi exhibits higher finishing efficiency (Matsui and
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nakasato 1965; Kawamura et al. 1989; Farago
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA 1980).

Synonyms
Theory and Application
Microhoning
History
The process was originally developed to eliminate
brinell marks from automobile wheel bearing sur-
Definition
faces that resulted from long-distance shipping.
When automobile wheels were blocked to prevent
Superfinishing is a process in which a rotating
rolling during shipping, only a few of the rollers or
workpiece is finished by a relatively soft stone
balls in the wheel bearings supported the weight
with fine abrasive oscillating parallel to the work-
of the automobile. Shipping vibration caused the
piece surface. The stone typically oscillates at an
hardened rollers or balls to press against the bear-
amplitude of 1–4 mm and a frequency of
ing components and form slight depressions: a
10–50 Hz, and it contacts the workpiece at light
process called brinelling. When the cars were
pressure, typically 0.1–0.2 MPa. The super-
put into service, the depressions caused excessive
finishing process consists of three phases: (1) the
noise. It was found that the brinelling could be
cutting phase, which is characterized by a high
eliminated by removing the “fuzz” generated in
material removal rate due to sharp cutting edges;
the grinding of the load-carrying surfaces of the
(2) the transition phase, which is characterized by
bearings. The development of fuzz-removing pro-
a decrease in the material removal rate due to
cesses led to the development of the super-
dulling and loading of the stone; and (3) the
finishing process, and early in 1934, the
finishing phase in which dulling and loading
principles of superfinishing were first conceived
results in only slight or no material removal. In
by D. A. Wallace of the Chrysler Corporation
the subsequent superfinishing process, the loaded
(Swigert 1940).
stone contacts the rough surface of the next work-
Wallace describes his development as follows:
piece to initiate self-dressing of the
stone – providing sharp cutting edges – and the

# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6436-3
2 Superfinishing
Superfinishing is the name of a method of mechan-
ically developing on metal parts a surface finish
which is optically smooth and metallurgically
free of any fragmented or smear metal, such as
is created by the dimensional operations of
turning, grinding, honing, lapping and/or bur-
nishing. The superimposing of this process over
previous machining operations removes the
defective boundary layer material and exposes,
for heavy duty load-carrying contact, the
unworked and undisturbed crystalline base
metal. The resultant Superfinished surface is a
true, geometrically developed, wear-proof bear-
ing area, free of oil-film rupturing protuber-
ances, and accurate to within submicroscopic
range. (Swigert 1940)
Theory
Abrasive Stone
A superfinishing abrasive stone is generally vitri-
fied bonded and has a hardness range of
HRH20–70. White aluminum oxide, silicon car-
bide, cubic boron nitride, or diamond abrasive is
used. Abrasive sizes in the JIS#300–#500 range
are used for coarse finishing, while
JIS#600–#1500 abrasives are used for a fine finish
(Matsui and Nakasato 1965; Onchi et al. 1995;
Varghese and Malkin 1998).
Finishing Mechanism
Figure 1 shows a schematic of the superfinishing
of a cylindrical workpiece. The stone follows a
sinusoidal path as a result of the workpiece rota-
tion combined with the stone oscillation in the
workpiece axial direction. The cutting velocity
v (m/min) and inclination angle y at any point
P are calculated with the following equations:
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
v ¼ vr 2 þ ðao cos otÞ2
y ¼ tan 1 ðao cos ot=vr Þ
where vr is the workpiece peripheral velocity
(m/min), a is the amplitude of the stone oscillation
(m), o is the angular velocity, and t is the finishing
time (min).
The cutting velocity v is maximum (vmax) at
A and C and minimum (vmin) at B and D. The
maximum cutting velocity and maximum inclina-
tion angle Y are calculated as:
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
vmax ¼ vr 2 þ ðaoÞ2 (3)
Y ¼ tan 1 ðao=vr Þ (4)
A large maximum inclination angle Y results
in continuous and significant changes in the direc-
tion of the stone. This encourages self-dressing of
the stone to maintain sharp abrasive cutting edges
and contribute to the high material removal rate.
Conversely, when the maximum inclination angle
Y is small, the self-dressing action is reduced, and
the loading of the stone is increased, which results
in a reduced material removal rate. Figure 2 shows
representative hardened steel (SUJ-2) surfaces
superfinished with (a) large inclination angle y
and (b) small inclination angle y.
The wear characteristics of the stone are also
affected by finishing pressure. If the finishing
pressure exceeds a critical pressure, stone wear
is drastically accelerated as the stone fractures or
abrasive is released. Although this increases the
material removal rate, it hardly achieves a fine
finish. Accordingly, it is important to maintain
the superfinishing pressure below the critical pres-
sure. If two-phase finishing is needed, it is
recommended that the initial pressure be slightly
over the critical pressure to facilitate the self-
dressing action of the stone and then reduce the
finishing pressure to slightly below the critical
pressure.
Figure 3 shows a case study in which the radial
stone wear is plotted against the finishing pres-
sure. In this case, the stone wear drastically
changes around 60 kPa, which is determined to
(1) be the critical pressure. In this case, therefore, the
finishing pressure should be set a little below
60 kPa to achieve fine finishing.
(2)
Asada’s work (which was reported others)
showed that the critical pressure in superfinishing
is influenced as follows (Matsui and Nakasato
1965):
(a) The critical pressure decreases with finer abra-
sive stones.
Superfinishing 3

Superfinishing, Fig. 1 Schematics of the superfinishing process: (a) processing principle, (b) sinusoidal abrasive path

Superfinishing, Fig. 2 Surfaces processed with superfinishing: (a) large inclination angle, (b) small inclination angle
(Courtesy of Dr. Hashimoto)

800 (b) The critical pressure increases as the bond

Stone: WA #2000, Vitrified bond strength increases.
Radial stone wear µm

600 (c) The critical pressure decreases as the maxi-

mum inclination angle Y increases.
400 (d) The critical pressure is generally not
influenced by the average cutting velocity.
200 (e) The critical pressure decreases with decreas-
ing workpiece material hardness.
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 Superfinishing improves surface roughness
Pressure kPa (producing surfaces smoother than 0.2 mm Ra)
and forms accuracy (e.g., out of roundness). The
Superfinishing, Fig. 3 Changes in radial stone wear
with finishing pressure
material removal mechanisms in superfinishing
are considered to be similar to those in grinding
and honing (Puthanangady and Malkin 1995). As
grinding and honing do, superfinishing produces
4 Superfinishing
an affected layer. In the superfinishing of hard-
ened steels, the layer thickness is about 1 mm,
which is about seven times thinner than the layer
produced in grinding (Asaeda 1952). The specific
energy is in a range of 50–700 J/mm3 (Chang
et al. 1997), and it is made up of cutting and
sliding actions. The specific energy due to cutting
consists of chip formation and plowing compo-
nents. The plowing component is dominant (over
80 % of the total cutting energy) when material
removal rate is low. When the material removal
rate is high, the ratio of the plowing component to
the chip-formation component is smaller
(Puthanangady and Malkin 1995).
Key Applications
Bearings
Automotive components (crankshafts, camshafts,
transmission shafts, gears, pistons, cam fol-
lower rollers, etc.)
Medical devices (orthopedic implants) (Chang
et al. 1997)
References
Asaeda T (1952) Superfinishing. J Metal Finish Soc Japan
3(5):165–168 (in Japanese)
Chang SH, Balasubramhanya S, Chandrasekar S, Farris
TN, Hashimoto F, Show MC (1997) Forces and specific
energy in superfinishing of hardened steel. Ann CIRP
46(1):257–260
Farago FT (1980) Abrasive methods engineering. Indus-
trial Press, New York
Kawamura S, Yano A, Higuchi M, Sugita T (1989)
Kakogaku Kiso 2, Kensakukako to Toryukako
(Fundamentals of machining technologies 2, Grinding
and abrasive technologies), 5th edn. (in Japanese).
Kyoritu Shuppan, Tokyo, pp 182–190
Matsui M, Nakasato S (1965) Choshiagesagyo to Sono
Genri (Superfinishing processes and their principles)
(in Japanese). Yokendo, Tokyo
Onchi Y, Matsumori N, Ikawa N, Shimada S (1995) Porous
fine CBN stones for high removal rate superfinishing.
Ann CIRP 44(1):291–294
Puthanangady TK, Malkin S (1995) Experimental investi-
gation of the superfinishing process. Wear
185:173–182
Swigert AM (1940) The story of superfinish. Lynn Pub-
lishing, Detroit
Varghese B, Malkin S (1998) Experimental investigation
of methods to enhance stock removal for super-
finishing. Ann CIRP 47(1):231–234
V
Virtual Reality
Roy Damgrave
Department of Design, Production and
Management, University of Twente, Enschede,
The Netherlands
Synonyms
Virtual environments
Definition
Virtual reality (VR) is an artificial reproduction of
a potential reality or use condition that enables
users to experience and/or modify and/or to inter-
act with. These computer-simulated environments
are experienced mainly through the senses of sight
and sound.
VR systems have the following key properties
(Burdea and Coiffet 1994):
• 3D-representation and perception
• Spatial interaction in real-time
• Sense of presence and immersion
Theory and Application
Virtual reality is the linkage between reality,
behavior (partly real, partly simulated), and
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6472-4
artifacts. VR handles the real-time integration
between computer-simulated environments and
human interaction (Cobb and Sharkey 2007).
A VR environment stimulates the users to experi-
ence an envisaged reality or use condition by
stimulating the right senses at the right moment,
to generate the right perception of the situation.
The envisaged reality is not a completely
predefined setting, but allows the user (or creator
of the environment) to modify it along time. The
main difference between a rendered static movie
and a VR environment is the possibility for the
user to interact with the system, the system will
respond to the given information and two, or
more, objects have effect upon each other. The
notion “virtual reality” depicts all kinds of prod-
ucts and services that support or enrich the real
world through enhancing it with virtual presenta-
tion or interaction with information. Virtual reality
therefore ranges from simple displays to full-
blown 3D environments using holograms and all
related ways to interact with them.
The envisaged reality in the simulated environ-
ment can be a best possible copy of the real world,
for use in simulation or training, or it can differ
significantly from the real environment (when the
link with the real world is unwanted).
According to Burdea (Burdea and Coiffet
2003), VR applications can be characterized
with the “3 I’s of Virtual Reality”: immersion,
interaction, and imagination. Immersion to let
the user feel to be a part of the actions taking
place in the virtual environment, interaction for
2 Virtual Reality

the response of the VR environment to the given development environments is sharing knowledge
user input, and imagination refers to the human by transferring information among other stake-
capacity to perceive nonexistent objects. holders within the project or communicating
Blach (Blach 2008) uses the following aspects ideas and results to outsiders.
to classify and characterize VR solutions:
Use of Virtual Reality
• Interaction modalities: Humans are capable of
A VR system needs to be composed of three
sending and receiving signals to the VR system
components: hardware, software, and applications
using the five senses, the VR application pro-
(Blach 2008). The hardware used in VR applica-
vides stimulants for one or more of these
tion can be roughly divided into visual displays,
modalities.
tracking devices, auditory feedback, and haptic
• Spatiality: The interaction and representation
feedback. The software part is often a combina-
of the VR system can have various levels of
tion of data produced within the product develop-
spatiality; this combines 1D, 2D, and 3D input
ment process, for example, CAD files, and
and output.
software used to link the different inputs from
• Degree of embedding the physical reality:
the user to the output possibilities of the VR
Interactions take place in both the real and the
system (Miedema 2010).
virtual world, VR can be seen as a form of
Within the engineering industry, virtual
mixed reality (as Augmented Reality).
prototyping is used extensively to evaluate (parts
• Collaboration level: VR can enable collabora-
of) the design at a lower cost than real
tion between multiple users, this also includes
prototyping. The main benefit is that it enables
the impact of different methodologies used in,
engineers to detect and recognize possible issues
and to create, the VR applications.
earlier in the process, as well as it facilitates better
• Space and time mapping: VR applications
communication among other engineers of varying
allow for scaling of objects (increase and
backgrounds (Cecil and Kanchanapiboon 2007).
decrease of size), as well as different time
VR is mainly used to communicate experi-
mappings.
ences that could not experienced in real life at
• Fidelity of the content: This describes the
that moment, due to time, costs, practical, or
requirements for the output components, what
other limitations.
level of representation is needed for the
desired goal.
• Experience objects which are invisible (or less
• Content dynamics: A VR application can
visible) normally.
respond to the input of the user; the reactivity
• Experience another location than the current
and to what extent the user can change the
one of the user.
virtual environment are described here.
• Experience things which are impossible (for
you) at this moment.
Application
Within an average engineering process, the main
In the notion of most people, VR provides
use for VR is on the area of communication. To
them with a solution for their problems. This is
create the synergy needed to maximize the quality
an incorrect assumption, because no VR applica-
of the outcome, the work of many different engi-
tion will provide a solution on its own, it can only
neers and other stakeholders should be combined
facilitate and stimulate the creation of possible
during the project. Due to the fact that engineering
solutions by the user of the tool. It might also be
processes often require much and intrinsically
able to simulate the possible results of choices and
complex communication between different stake-
guide the user in the process. It goes without
holders with their different backgrounds, the need
saying that without a good integration in the pro-
for supporting those processes is very high. The
cess, virtual reality will not by no means offer the
main benefit of using virtual reality in product
Virtual Reality 3

best achievable result, or even results that are tools and methods based on virtual reality. Springer,
demonstrable applicable. Dordrecht, pp 21–64
Burdea G, Coiffet P (1994) Virtual reality technology.
Wiley, New York
Burdea G, Coiffet P (2003) Virtual reality technology,
Cross-References 2nd edn. Wiley, New York
Cecil J, Kanchanapiboon A (2007) Virtual engineering
approaches in product and process design. Int J Adv
▶ Augmented Reality Manuf Technol 31:846–856
▶ Computer-Aided Design Cobb SVG, Sharkey PM (2007) A decade of research and
▶ Product Architecture development in disability, virtual reality and associated
▶ Product Development technologies: review of ICDVRAT 1996–2006. Int
J Virtual Real 6(2):51–68
Miedema J (2010) Synthetic environments in design pro-
cesses. PhD thesis, University of Twente, Faculty of
References Engineering Technology, Enschede, 17 Dec 2010

Blach R (2008) Virtual reality technology – an overview.

In: Talabã D, Amditis A (eds) Product engineering:
L

Laser Ablation place with electrons of the atoms, since the

nucleus weight is too large to follow the high-
Eduardo Weingärtner1, Konrad Wegener2 and frequency laser radiation field. According to
Claus Dold3 Dahotre and Harimkar (2008), the following set
1
New Manufacturing Technologies, ETA SA of equations describes the effects of linear
Manufacture Horlogère Suisse, Grenchen, absorption mechanisms for materials like metals
Switzerland or graphite. The imposed force on the electron
2
Institut f€
ur Werkzeugmaschinen und Fertigung can be described as
(IWF), ETH Z€ urich, Z€
urich, Switzerland
3
v 
Inspire AG, Swiss Federal Institute of F ¼ eE þ e H
Technology (ETH), Z€ urich, Switzerland c

where e represents electron charge, E the electric

Synonyms
Sublimation; Vaporization
Definition
Laser ablation describes a material removal
mechanism in which a material is removed in
gaseous state directly from a solid state by irra-
diating it with high optical intensities.
field, v the electron velocity, and c the speed of
light. The absorbed energy leads to heat genera-
tion inside the material due to the excitation
energy of bound electrons or the kinetic energy
of the free electrons. In the case of metal mate-
rials, this leads to lattice vibrations due to
electron-lattice collisions in case of free elec-
trons, which will carry heat into the material by
heat conduction. Absorption of laser radiation in
the material can be written as (Beer-Lambert law)
I ðzÞ ¼ ð1  RÞI o emz

where R is the reflectivity, I0 is the incident inten-

Theory and Application
sity, m is the absorption coefficient, and I(z) rep-
resents the intensity at depth z. The significant
Laser radiation consists of electromagnetic radi-
absorption depth can be written as (Craig and
ation with an electric field (E) and a magnetic
Welch 2001)
field (H). The absorption of radiation in materials
is done via excitation of electrons (free or bound)
inside the bulk material. Interaction will only take
# CIRP 2015
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6474-4
2 Laser Ablation
1
L¼
m
The absorption of laser radiation in opaque mate-
rials can be calculated as follows:
A¼1R
ð n  1Þ 2 þ k 2
R¼
ð n þ 1Þ 2 þ k 2
nc ¼ n  ik
where A is the absorption, R is the reflection,
n and k represent the refractive and extinction
coefficients, and nc is the complex refractive
index. The parameters n and k are the real and
complex parts of the refractive index, and these
strongly depend on wavelength and temperature
and are therefore important factors in laser-
material interaction. Laser ablation depends
strongly on the absorption characteristics of the
material (absorption coefficient, ablation thresh-
old), the pulsewidth, and the wavelength of the
used laser system. While for transparent mate-
rials very large intensities are required to excite
electrons across a large bandgap, the threshold
fluence (energy per area) in absorbing materials
can be considerably lower. In the latter case,
pulse durations in the nano-, pico-, and femtosec-
ond time regime can be used. Thermal ablation
characteristics are dominant in the case of nano-
second pulses going well into the picosecond
pulsewidth regime (athermal processing starts at
a pulsewidth of about t = tep = 10 ps where tep
stands for the interaction of the electron and the
phonon system). Material removal is accom-
plished by heating to the melt and then into the
vapor aggregation state. Transformation pro-
cesses are homogenous nucleation of gas bubbles
in a metastable liquid such as phase explosion or
explosive boiling, phase separation of a mechan-
ically unstable liquid by spinodal decomposition,
and normal vaporization of the outer surface. In
photochemical ablation, the breakup of molecu-
lar bonds is driven by strong, tensile pressure
waves which lead to spallation in solids and
1 fs Electron heating
Cold ablation
100 fs Electron relaxation
< 10 ps Heat conduction of electrons
Electron-lattice interaction
> 10 ps
Lattice heating
High lattice temperature
Unbalanced state
Electron-lattice balance
1 ns
Evaporation
Energy transfer light-matter interaction
Laser Ablation, Fig. 1 Pulsewidth ablation regimes in
pulsed laser ablation in the case of metals
cavitation mechanisms in liquids and dissociation
of a homogeneous, supercritical fluid into clus-
ters upon dilution in vacuum, such as fragmenta-
tion (Lewis and Perez 2010). The pulsewidth
dependency can be categorized in different abla-
tion regimes for linear absorbing matter as listed
below (Gillner et al. 2011):
• Absorption of optical energy by quasi-free
electrons tg < 10 fs
• Thermalization of the electrons called electron
system tee < 100 fs
• Interaction between the electron and the pho-
non system tep < 10 ps
• Thermalization of the phonon system
tpp < 100 ps
The corresponding pulsewidth is denoted by txx
where “xx” represents each interaction time regime.
These critical pulsewidth regimes are not sharp
edged but rather define a transition region in
which ablation characteristics change from one
mechanism to the other. Absorption characteristics
in dependency of the laser wavelength are also
strongly influenced by the used pulsewidth.
Whereas an optically transparent material such as
glass is transparent for a wavelength in the visible
Laser Ablation 3

regime using a pulsewidth of nanoseconds, it can be

processed using pulsewidths below 10 ps into the
µaE0
femtosecond regime. Another example for the
pulsewidth dependency, for metal materials, is
shown in Fig. 1. Another possible absorption char-

Laser Energy
acteristic is multiphoton absorption. For matter
with absorption bands in the deep ultraviolet, mod-
erate intensities will not lead to ablation by a
one-photon process. Within this mechanism, two
or more photons in the visible and infrared region
µaEth
are absorbed at the same time, which has the same
effect as a deep ultraviolet photon with an identical
energy level (Gillner et al. 2011). Since photon d
energy needs to be higher than bond energy in Ablation Thermal effects Uneffected region
order to break the molecular bonds of the material, Depth in material
ultraviolet radiation would provide these required
energies. If photon energy cannot exceed the Laser Ablation, Fig. 2 Distribution of absorbed laser
intensity in the depth of material (Dahotre and Harimkar
required energy level but two or more photons are 2008)
absorbed at the same time, the total incident energy
can exceed the molecular bond energy. Therefore, representation of absorbed energy distribution if
fragmentation of the workpiece can take place. a material is irradiated with incident laser energy
Modeling laser-material interactions between E0.
continuous wave and nanoseconds is a complex In the case for femtosecond pulsewidths, a
problem, requiring modeling of melting, boiling, two-temperature model is used. Here, decoupling
and vaporization phase transformations. Material of the effects of the electron and the phonon
removal is done by ejection of molten material or system takes place. The two primary equations are
vapor which is done via a plasma plume which is
 
already present while irradiation still occurs. dT e @ @T e  
ce ¼ ke þ S  m Te  Tp
Therefore, a part of the irradiated energy is dissi- dt @z @z
pated in the vapor plume, thus making the process
less efficient. Thermal modeling can be done as a dT p  
one-, two-, or three-dimensional heat conduction cp ¼ m Te  Tp
dt
problem. Therefore, a detailed description of
these effects will not be given here. In laser where Ce and Cp are the heat capacities of the
ablation, one important characteristic is the ther- electron and the phonon system, ke is heat con-
mal penetration depth, which is given by ductivity of the electron system, S represents the
incident optical energy, m is the electron-phonon
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ktp coupling constant, and Te and Tp are the tempera-
dtherm ¼2 tures of the two systems. One of the major differ-
cp r
ences between the short and ultrashort laser-
where k is the thermal conductivity, cp is the heat material interaction is the time dependency on
capacity, r is the mass density, and tp represents energy deposition into the material. Whereas in
the pulse duration. Dahotre et al. describe the continuous down to nanosecond laser energy
ablation model as a “blowoff” model which deposition takes place while the laser pulse is
assumes that a material is removed if an ablation incident on the material, in the pico- to femtosec-
threshold maEth is reached; here ma is the material ond range energy, deposition takes place a certain
absorption coefficient, and Eth is incident ablation time after the laser pulse is terminated.
threshold laser energy. Figure 2 presents a
4 Laser Ablation
Laser ablation finds applications, for instance,
in micromachining and nanomanufacturing, in
cases where feature sizes in the micro- and
submicrometer range are required. It is also
applied in surface processing and patterning,
e.g., in patterning of biomedical devices. More-
over, this technology is suitable for processing
polymers, precision removal of tissues, and film
deposition, among others.
Cross-References
▶ Laser Beam Machining
▶ Micromachining
References
Craig G, Welch A (2001) Optical and thermal response of
tissue to laser radiation. In: Waynant RW (ed) Lasers
in medicine. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 27–45
Dahotre NB, Harimkar SP (2008) Laser materials interac-
tions. In: Laser fabrication and machining of materials.
Springer, New York, pp 34–65
Gillner A, Horn A, Johnigk C (2011) Ablation. In:
Poprawe R (ed) Tailored light 2: laser application
technology. Springer, Berlin, pp 343–363
Lewis LJ, Perez D (2010) Theory and simulation of laser
ablation: from basic mechanisms to applications. In:
Sugioka K, Meunier M, Piqué A (eds) Laser precision
microfabrication. Springer, Berlin, pp 35–61
E
Electron Beam Machining
Akira Okada
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
Synonyms
Electron beam cutting; Electron beam drilling;
Electron beam processing; Electron beam remov-
ing; Electron beam welding
Definition
Electron beam machining (EBM) is a thermal
machining process in which high-velocity elec-
trons concentrated into a narrow beam are used
for instantly heating, melting, or vaporizing the
material. This process is used in many applica-
tions, including drilling, cutting, annealing, and
welding.
Theory and Application
Introduction
When high-speed electrons in a densely focused
beam impact with the workpiece surface, most of
the kinetic energy of the electrons is converted
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6480-4
into heat energy. This phenomenon has been well
understood since the development of electron
microscopy when attempts to use the electron
beam as a machining tool were made. The first
EBM equipment was built in the 1950s. The beam
is easily focused and deflected by electromagnetic
focusing lenses and deflection lenses. The power
density is also easy to control by modifying the
acceleration voltage. Therefore, the electron beam
enables various type of thermal machining. For
this reason, it can be applied to fast and accurate
drilling and high-precision welding with a deep
fusion zone in the industrial field.
Equipment
Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of an electron
beam machining equipment. It consists of an elec-
tron beam gun for the generating electron beam,
an electromagnetic coil for focusing the beam, a
deflection coil for scanning the beam, an XY table
for fixing the workpiece in an operating chamber,
and a vacuum system. Figure 2 shows the whole
view of a typical electron beam machine
(Mitsubishi Electric Corporation index type).
The cathode filament of the electron gun made
of tungsten or tantalum is heated to
2,500–2,800  C resulting in thermal emission of
electrons. The electrons are strongly accelerated
with high voltage loaded to an anode. The elec-
trons may achieve a velocity as high as
200,000 km/s. Upon leaving the anode, in order
to focus the electron beam to the workpiece sur-
face, the beam passes through the electromagnetic
2 Electron Beam Machining
High voltage supply
to cathode
Cathode cartridge
Insulator
Port for pump
Electron
gun Cathode filament
Control electrode
Electron
beam Anode
Electromagnetic
Operating
chamber coils
Deflection coils
Port for pump
Workpiece
X-Y table
Electron Beam Machining, Fig. 1 Schematic diagram
of electron beam machining equipment
coil. The spot size and the focal length are con-
trolled by the current flowing through the coil.
The size is usually from several microns to few
millimeters, but an electron beam less than 1 mm
in diameter can be obtained with relatively small
beam currents. The power density on the work-
piece surface required to melt or vaporize a metal
surface is 107–1010 W/cm2. Scanning of the beam
is sometimes necessary for drilling an arbitrarily
shaped hole. The electromagnetic deflection coil
system can be used to position and scan the beam
at high speed. The use of the beam scan with the
deflection coil is limited to small angle, because
beam aberration increases with the deflection
angle. For applications requiring larger work-
piece, an XY table is commonly translated.
Process
The type of processing requirement determines
power density of the electron beam which is uti-
lized. The power density on the workpiece surface
is varied with the beam spot size, the acceleration
voltage, and the beam current. Low power density
with low beam current and small spot size is
suitable for the EB exposure for patterning of
electronic circuits. On the other hand, high
power density with high current and high voltage
is needed for the welding or melting/evaporation
of metal.
In processes with relatively high power den-
sity, the material only within the spot is heated up
to a high temperature, and the material is removed
by melting and evaporation. The ratio between
them depends on the power density and the rela-
tionship of evaporation increases with the power
density. Figure 3 shows the material removal
mechanisms of different power densities of the
electron beam. In the case of a low power density,
the temperature at the center of beam on the sur-
face is nearly at the melting point of the workpiece
material, and the melt pool enlarges due to the
heat conduction. When the power density is
increased, vaporization of the material occurs at
the center and causes voids and keyholes. The
melted material is blown away due to the high
pressure associated with the vaporization. In the
case of higher power density, the temperature at
the spot exceeds the boiling point, and the pres-
sure in the keyhole becomes higher than the sur-
face tension of the melting pool. Thus, the ideal
material removal for the drilling of small and deep
holes is achieved, in which the material removal
effectively progresses along the depth direction.
This situation is realized when the power density
is 106–107 W/cm2.
Advantages
As compared with other thermal processing
methods, such as laser processing, the advantage
of electron beam machining arises from the fea-
ture of the electron beam itself (Closs and Drew
1978; Mesyats 1998; Schneider 1989). They are
as follows:
Small Spot
The beam can be electromagnetically focused to
an extremely small spot size. The spot size is
usually of the order of microns, and a diameter
of nanometer level can be achieved under a suffi-
ciently low current condition. Then, further pre-
cise micromachining is possible, compared with a
laser beam in which the spot size less than wave-
length of the light is principally impossible. Also
the focal depth of electron beam is longer.
Electron Beam Machining 3

Electron Beam
Machining,
Fig. 2 Electron beam
machine

Removal due to
Electron beam
high vapour pressure

Keyhole
Localized
heating
Small
voids
Irradiation time
Workpiece
Melt pool

(1) Low power density (2) Medium power density (3) High power density

Electron Beam Machining, Fig. 3 Material removal mechanisms of different power densities

High-Temperature Heating Deep Penetration

In addition to its extremely small spot size, an
electron can be accelerated to extremely high
velocity with the voltage of the anode. Thus,
very high power density can be obtained. Power
densities of 106–107 W/cm2 can be readily
achieved. High power density is very effective in
instantly heating a highly localized area.
With a high accelerating voltage, electrons pene-
trate to a specific depth. This interaction volume
can be calculated with a high degree of accuracy.
In other words, the heat energy is supplied inside
the workpiece. Thus, a deep keyhole can be gen-
erated easily inside the workpiece, and the mate-
rial removal effectively progresses along the
depth direction pulse by pulse. Consequently
deep penetration welding and micro deep hole
with extremely high aspect ratio are possible.
4 Electron Beam Machining

Electron Beam
Machining,
Fig. 4 Spinner head for
glass fiber production

Electron Beam
Machining, Fig. 5 Liner
strainer

High-Speed Beam Control thickest even by repeated pulse irradiations, but

The charge-to-mass ratio of an electron is high.
Therefore, the direction of an electron beam is
easy to control by electrostatic and electromag-
netic forces. Short pulse oscillation of the electron
beam is also possible. Synchronizing of the
deflection with the pulse oscillation enables dril-
ling of excessively large number of micro holes
with high speed and high accuracy. High-speed
scanning of the beam enables fabrication of a very
complex shape pattern for exposure masks for
photolithographic applications.
Application
Drilling and Cutting
The advantages of electron beam machining, such
as deep penetration and high-speed controllabil-
ity, enable the drilling of a large number of micro
holes at extremely high speed (Closs and Drew
1978; Schneider 1989). The drillable workpiece
thickness is less than several millimeters at
extremely high-speed process of about 100,000
holes is possible in case for small hole diameter
less than 100 mm. Therefore, the electron beam
drilling is applied to drillings of thousands of
simple holes and many holes in difficult-to-drill
material, such as cooling holes on the inlet ducts
of gas turbine engines, many types of filter, and
spinner heads for fiber production. The heat con-
ductivity of ceramics is so low that the high tem-
perature needed for material removal is easy to
obtain, which makes it possible to drill deep holes
into ceramic materials. It has also been applied to
drilling holes for drawing dies made of alumina
and also diamond.
Figure 4 shows a spinner head for glass fiber
production. As shown in the figure, so many small
holes are made in nickel-based alloy plate by the
electron beam drilling. The hole diameter is about
0.6 mm, and the thickness is about 5 mm
(furnished by Pacific Special Alloy Castings Co.,
Ltd.). Figure 5 is a liner strainer made of stainless
Electron Beam Machining
steel which is used as a filter to remove foreign
objects from fruit juice. The diameter is 0.25 mm.
By scanning the beam or moving an XY table,
the electron beam can cut metal sheets. The small
spot size produces a narrower kerf and a smoother
cut surface than other thermal cutting methods.
Welding
The electron beam welding is associated with the
power density of 106–107 W/cm2, which is higher
than that observed in the arc welding (Schultz
1994). A deep keyhole is easily generated inside
the workpiece, and the material removal effec-
tively progresses along the depth direction pulse
by pulse. Thus, an extremely narrow and deep
fused zone is produced. The aspect ratio is much
higher than that in the laser beam welding, and the
maximum fused thickness is also much thicker,
about 200 mm or more. Furthermore, welding
strain is small. The welding of chemically active
Electron Beam Machining, Fig. 6 Weld beads in elec-
tron beam welding of aluminum
Electron Beam
Machining,
Fig. 7 Welding of copper
and stainless steel plates
5
metals and different kinds of metal is also
possible.
Figure 6 shows the cross-sectional view of
welding beads in aluminum by an electron beam
welding. The welding bead becomes deeper with
the beam power, and it is about 23 mm at 6 kW,
while the bead width is only 2 mm. Figure 7 is an
example of electron beam welding of different
kinds of metal. Copper and stainless steel can be
welded by the electron beam welding (furnished
by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation).
Surface Finishing
A defocused electron beam spot of about several
hundred microns in diameter melts metal surface,
and rough surface becomes smooth due to the
surface tension of small melting pool (Uno
et al. 2005). By scanning the spot at high speed,
a large area can be finished, in which the surface
roughness decreases to less than 1.0 mm Rz under
certain conditions. Figure 8 is the optical image of
the treated surface by scanning defocused electron
beam machine (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
e-Flush).
Another method is a surface polishing using
large-area electron beam proposed by Nagata
Seiki Co., Ltd. and Sodick Co., Ltd. (Sodick
PIKA Finish). A high-power-density electron
beam can be produced without focusing the
beam by using an explosive electron emission
phenomenon (Mesyats 1998). Thus, a large-area
electron beam with a maximum diameter of
60 mm or more can be used to instantly melt the
metal surface. Figure 9 shows the surface
finishing of metal mold surface, and the surface
roughness can be reduced from 1.0 Ra to less than
6 Electron Beam Machining

Electron Beam
Machining,
Fig. 8 Surface finishing by
scanning defocused
electron beam spot

Electron Beam
Machining,
Fig. 9 Surface finishing by
large-area electron beam
irradiation

0.2 mm Ra in a few minutes. In this method, a thin References

resolidified layer with different structure of base
matrix is formed on the surface, which leads to the
increase in corrosion resistance and water repel-
lency among other effects. This method is often
applied to surface finishing of metal mold surfaces
and bio-titanium alloy products.
Cross-References
▶ Cutting, Fundamentals
▶ Drilling
▶ Welding
Closs WW, Drew J (1978) Electron beam drilling, SME
technical paper MR78-597, Society of mechanical
engineers, Dearborn
Mesyats GA (1998) Explosive electron emission.
URO-Press, Ekaterinburg
Schneider RW (1989) Electron beam machining. In: ASM
handbook, vol 16, Machining. ASM International,
Materials Park
Schultz H (1994) Electron beam welding. Abington Pub-
lishing, Cambridge
Uno Y et al (2005) High efficiency finishing process for
metal mold by large-area electron beam irradiation.
Precis Eng 29(4):449–455
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Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD)

Konstantinos-Dionysios Bouzakisa* and Nikolaos Michailidisb
a
Laboratory for Machine Tools and Manufacturing Engineering and Fraunhofer Project Center Coatings in Manufacturing
(PCCM)/Mechanical Engineering Department, School of Mechanical Engineering, Aristoteles University of Thessaloniki,
Thessaloniki, Greece
b
Physical Metallurgy Laboratory and Fraunhofer Project Center Coatings in Manufacturing (PCCM)/Mechanical Engineering
Department, School of Mechanical Engineering, Aristoteles University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

Synonyms
Plasma-assisted coating in vacuum

Definition
Physical vapor deposition (PVD) is a vacuum process allowing material transfer in the form of vapor
particles from a material source (target) to the substrate.

Theory and Application

History
The development of PVD techniques is directly linked to the evolution of vacuum, electronics, magnetism,
and plasma technologies as well as to the advances of gaseous chemistry. A combination of numerous
related achievements and inventions was the prerequisite for the first industrial application of PVD. In the
1930s, cathode sputtering was employed for the fabrication of coatings (Furth 1932), while sputtering by ion
bombardment was reported for commercial application in the 1950s (Wehner 1955). Evaporation tech-
niques like arcing were developing in parallel. Today, complicated techniques offer the potential to produce
nanostructured, single-, and multilayered coatings, with improved properties. Recent trends aim, among
others, at reducing the production cost, enhancing process reliability, increasing the deposition rates, and
alloying various elements for tailoring the film properties to application-specific needs.

Theory

Introduction
Physical vapor deposition (PVD) covers a broad family of vacuum coating processes in which the
employed material is physically removed from a source or “target” by evaporation or sputtering. Then,
it is transported by the energy of the vapor particles and condensed as a film on the surfaces of
appropriately placed parts, under vacuum. Chemical compounds are deposited either by using a similar
source material or by introducing reactive gases (nitrogen, oxygen, or simple hydrocarbons) containing
the desired reactants, thus reacting with metal(s) from the PVD target. Most of the PVD processes are
known by various phrases or acronyms, and they are typically named for the means for producing the
physical vapor. The major categories are evaporation and sputtering. Evaporation can be resistive,

*Email: bouzakis@eng.auth.gr

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inductive, electron beam, activated reactive evaporation, or arc evaporation (DC or alternate current
(AC)). Sputtering can be diode or triode, ion beam, or magnetron sputtering, i.e., direct current (DC),
radio frequency (RF), pulsed cathode, dual magnetron sputtering, or high-power pulsed magnetron
sputtering (HPPMS or HIPIMS: high-power impulse magnetron sputtering).

Sputtering
Sputtering is a nonthermal vaporization process where surface atoms are physically ejected by momentum
transfer from an energetic bombarding particle that is usually a gaseous ion accelerated from a plasma or
an “ion gun.” Sputter deposition can be performed in a vacuum or partial vacuum where the sputtered
particles do not suffer gas-phase collisions in the space between the target and the substrate. It can also be
done in a higher gas pressure (5 15 mTorr) where energetic particles that are sputtered or reflected from
the sputtering target are “thermalized” by gas-phase collisions before they reach the substrate. The most
common sputtering sources are the planar magnetrons where the plasma is magnetically confined close to
the target surface and ions are accelerated from the plasma to the target surface. In the unbalanced
magnetron configuration, the magnetic field is configured to allow electrons to escape and form a plasma
away from the target. The high sputtering rates attainable in magnetron sputtering allow reactive
deposition of compound films as long as the sputtering target is not allowed to react with the reactive
gas to form a low-sputtering-rate compound (target poisoning). Figure 1a shows the glowing plasma
produced in the deposition chamber in front of the sputtered targets during a typical magnetron sputtering
PVD process. As depicted in Figure 1b, the target material is placed on a cathode at a high voltage and
accelerated Argon gas atoms sputter the targets releasing ions and causing a glowing discharge to be
created. Moreover, a view of the chamber and the general direction of the magnetic field lines is
illustrated. In the demonstrated case of a TiN coating, accelerated atoms of Nitrogen (N2) act as the
reactive gas.
The most extensively investigated coating system is the (Ti,Al)N due to the ease of deposition parameters
and material’s content manipulation, as well as its potential to increase the cutting performance of tools. With
an augmentation of aluminum content, the oxidation resistance of coatings increases; however, a barrier is set

Fig. 1 Typical magnetron sputtering PVD process and glowing plasma produced during the deposition

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to PVD process technology by the deposition of insulating films at a film composition of approximately
65–67 mol% AlN. The high ionization sputtering (HIS) process technology renders possible an asymptotic
convergence toward this limit. The films become insulating, whereas the sputter sources remain conductive
(Erkens et al. 2003, 2011). Although TiN and AlN show no solubility under equilibrium conditions, a wide
solubility of these two phases can be achieved under the condition of nonequilibrium in PVD. This target is
fulfilled through the process control far away from equilibrium so that a metastable phase in a local,
kinetically determined energy minimum is formed. To overcome the situation just to converge toward the
conductivity limit of approximately 65–67 mol% AlN in the case of one variant of (Ti,Al)N-based nitrides, a
plasma-enhanced sputtering process has been developed, which is capable of depositing conductive and
insulating coatings in virtually any stoichiometry. The high ionization pulsing (HIP) process technology
maintains the glow discharge in front of the sputter sources and makes it possible to deposit films with an Al/Ti
ratio of up to 5. The realization of extremely dense plasmas becomes possible through the application of pulsed
plasmas and an increase of the potential difference between the pulse electrodes. Thus, the ion energy
contributes to the guidance of dense plasmas specifically to the substrate. This plasma enhancement is
necessary to shift the transition from the cubic B1 structure to the hexagonal Wurtzite one, toward higher
AlN content, and thus the high hardness of the well-known, commercially available coatings with Al/Ti ratios
of approximately 1 can be preserved. Plasma density results verify these evidences, as obtained by measure-
ments in a region very close to the substrate surface employing an energy-selective mass spectrometer (Bobzin
et al. 2009; Ehiasarian 2010). The Ti+ ion concentration is registered during the deposition of a (Ti,Al)N
coating in both deposition cases by conventional DC sputtering as well as during the HIS and HIP PVD
processes (Erkens et al. 2003, 2011). For the same basic PVD conditions, the HIP process delivers much higher
ionization close to the substrate in comparison to the conventional DC process. The high energetic slope of the
Ti+ ions contributes significantly to the formation of ultradense plasmas in front of the tool to be coated and
ensures an enhanced quality for nanocrystalline and nanostructured coatings together with nanocomposites. In
addition, it optimizes the deposition rates. HPPMS technology has been developed achieving a plasma density
which may exceed conventional ones by three orders of magnitude (Hovsepian et al. 2009; Ehiasarian 2010).
Normal sputtering leads to a plasma density of 1016 m3, while HPPMS reaches 1019 m3 (Bobzin et al. 2009;
Sarakinos et al. 2010). This is attained by pulsing the power to the source with average amplitude of
approximately 1 kW and peak power densities of about 0.4–0.5 MW per pulse but at a low duty cycle of
about 1–20 ms (see Fig. 2). In the developed hot and dense plasma area, the metallic atoms are highly ionized
Power

≈2ms
N N N ≈100μs
S S S
Source
Me Me hot Me Time
dense 500 500
voltage
plasma
A
Current Intensity

0
Voltage

−500 300

−1000 200

Me Me Me V current 100
intensity
−2000 0
0 40 80 μs 160
Time
Average power: ~1 kW, Peak power densities: ~0.4-0.5 MW/pulse,
Power of the three DC TiAl targets: ~3 • 12.5 kW
Average power of 3 kW to the HPPMS Cr-targets at a frequency of 500 Hz

Fig. 2 Plasma energy increase by HPPMS

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arc
electron
globules
atom

target

arc

target Source: HENZE BNP GmbH

Fig. 3 Typical arc PVD process and glowing plasma produced during the deposition

and subsequently deposited on the specimen surfaces with elevated kinetic energy. Considering the afore-
mentioned aspects regarding ions’ concentration and energy depending on the PVD technique, it is evident that
these techniques are expected to affect the properties of the produced films. The effectiveness of coating
deposited by HPPMS depends on the selection of an appropriate adhesive nanointerlayer, which immobilizes
the WC carbides in reacting with high-energy ions of the film material during their deposition on the substrate
(Hovsepian et al. 2009; Ehiasarian 2010). Cr/CrN-nanointerlayers have indicated a sufficient film adhesion
(Bouzakis et al. 2010). The latter is a pivotal property for coated cutting tool (Bouzakis et al. 2012).

Arcing
In arc vapor deposition, the vapor source is the vaporization of the anode or cathode of a low-voltage,
high-current electric arc in a good vacuum or low-pressure gas. The usual configuration is the cathodic arc
where the evaporization is from an arc that is moving over a solid cathodic surface. In the anodic arc
configuration, the arc is used to melt the source material that is contained in a crucible. The vaporized
material is ionized as it passes through the arc plasma to form charged ions of the film material. In the arc
vaporization process, molten globules (macros) can be formed and deposited on the substrate (droplets).
To avoid this problem, a plasma duct may be used to bend the charged particles out of the line of sight of
the source, and the macros will deposit on the walls of the duct. Figure 3 presents a typical arc PVD
process and the glowing plasma produced during the deposition.

PVD Coating Installations

For attaining improved cost-efficiency and high productivity rates as well as to meet the needs of cutting-
edge technologies in PVD, various industrial machines have been developed. These machines take
advantage of the experience gained over the last 30 years and render possible the commercial use of
PVD in various applications. A characteristic PVD chamber, where the targets and the substrates to be
coated are presented, appears in Fig. 4. Numerous devices, sensors, and complementary equipment, such
as vacuum pumps, valves, gas supplying bottles, cooling circuits, process control systems, and pyrom-
eters, contribute in controlling various parameters of the deposition process. The latter involves cleaning
of the substrates and the targets by Ar flow and deposition by adjusting the sputtering or evaporation
parameters, the bias voltage, and temperature, as well as adding reactive gases in the vacuum chamber.
Coating processes are exceptionally multiparametric functions so that their successful progress and
completion require a strict but flexible monitoring and control system (Bouzakis et al. 2002). There are
two main categories of sensing systems that are involved in the process. The first one focuses on the run-in
phase and includes testing and calibration of the coating device. From this aspect, these control systems are

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Fig. 4 A typical chamber employed in PVD and characteristic sensors for monitoring various deposition parameters

used by the research and development as well as by the maintenance divisions of coating device producers
and research institutes. For these reasons, the utilized equipment is removable, complicated, and expensive,
whereas it orients the state of the art in coating process sensing systems. The second category includes the
fixed sensing systems that are steadily implemented in the coating device and are necessary to monitor the
progress of the coating process by the coating producers, i.e., the end users of such devices. Herewith, the
first group of sensing systems ensures that the coating device is well constructed and standardized, whereas
the second group makes certain the quality of the final product, i.e., of the coated part. In this section, both
sensing system types will be presented, with respect to each deposition method.

PVD Coating Materials, Structure, Morphology, and Properties

The first industrially available PVD hard coating was titanium nitride (TiN) by electron beam ion plating.
Since then, a vast majority of coatings applied in production engineering are nitride based. Chromium
nitride (CrN) and titanium carbonitride (TiCN) were the next generation of industrial coatings. The
evolution of TiAlN allowed for higher hardness and high temperature strength and stability. Higher Al
contents increased the thermal resistance. The same tendency was attained when introducing Si in films’
composition. The hardness of AlCrN coating is similar to that of TiAlN, but what makes this coating
outstanding is its high adhesion with the substrate material, due to Cr content, and its high oxidation
resistance up to 1,200  C. Furthermore, by alloying or doping with Y, Zr, V, B, or O, tailored film
properties can be attained. High intrinsic hardness and compressive stresses inhibiting the crack growth
are among the beneficial properties of PVD.

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Fig. 5 SEM cross-section micrographs of (a) a Ti35Al65N fine-grained coating, (b) a g-Al2O3 coating on a TiAlN film, and (c)
a multilayered coating produced by PVD (Source: Sulzer Metaplas GmbH)

The wide spectrum of coatings produced by PVD include the deposition of single- and multilayer
systems, with amorphous, crystalline, or nanostructure. A typical cross-section view of a multipurpose
(Ti,Al)N coating is presented in Fig. 5a. Crystalline alumina PVD coatings offer high potential for
antifriction applications, since they offer a chemical inertness, high hot hardness, and high oxidation
resistance. One promising candidate is g-Al2O3, which can be deposited at low temperatures and is more
fine grained than a-Al2O3. The deposition of hard/lubricant coatings by combined cathodic arc evapora-
tion and magnetron sputtering is also possible and may result in dense adherent hard coatings having a
functional layer (Ti,Al)N plus a softer low friction g-Al2O3 layer on top (see Fig. 5b; Schuetze and Quinto
2003; Bobzin et al. 2010). Multilayer systems have the potential to compensate or adapt mechanical stress
and thermal conductivity and may contribute to reduce diffusion processes at high operation temperatures.
Figure 5c displays a SEM cross-section micrograph of a micro-alloyed coating, with alternating AlTiN
and TiSiXN layers, leading to delimited dislocation mobility. In this way, the properties of the nanostruc-
tured material are not anymore material specific but dominated by the structure itself. The high ratio of
grain boundaries causes a macro-ductility, resulting in higher toughness (Erkens 2008).

Key Applications
Applications of PVD coatings in production engineering can be found in:

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Fig. 6 Application examples of PVD in production engineering and products: (a) molds and dies (Source: a1: Balzers
Oerlikon, a2: Sulzer Metco), (b) cutting tools (Source: CEMECON AG), and (c) functional elements (Source: Sulzer Metco)

• Cutting/forming tools
• Molds and dies
• Machine elements
• Final parts, from plastic components to metal carbides and ceramics, even for decorative purposes

Depending on the application, the temperature may vary from 50  C to 600  C. Figure 6 presents some
examples of PVD applications related to production engineering.

Cross-References
▶ Coated Tools

References
Bobzin K, Bagcivan N, Immich P, Bolz S, Alami J, Cremer R (2009) Advantages of nanocomposite
coatings deposited by high power pulse magnetron sputtering technology. J Mater Process Technol
209(1):165–170
Bobzin K, Bagcivan N, Reinholdt A, Ewering M (2010) Thermal stability of g-Al2O3 coatings for
challenging cutting operations. Surf Coat Technol 205(5):1444–1448

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Bouzakis K-D, Vidakis N, Erkens G (2002) Sensors for process monitoring: coating processes. In:
Tönshoff H, Inasaki I (eds) Sensors in manufacturing, vol 1. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim
Bouzakis K-D, Makrimallakis S, Katirtzoglou G, Skordaris G, Gerardis S, Bouzakis E, Leyendecker T,
Bolz S, Koelker W (2010) Adaption of graded Cr/CrN-interlayer thickness to cemented carbide
substrates’ roughness for improving the adhesion of HPPMS PVD films and the cutting performance.
Surf Coat Technol 205(5):1564–1570
Bouzakis K-D, Michailidis N, Skordaris G, Bouzakis E, Biermann D, M’Saoubi R (2012) Cutting with
coated tools: coating technologies, characterization methods and performance optimization. CIRP Ann
Manuf Technol 61(2):703–723
Ehiasarian AP (2010) High-power impulse magnetron sputtering and its applications. Pure Appl Chem
82(6):1247–1258
Erkens G (2008) Hochleistungsbeschichtungen f€ ur Pr€azisionswerkzeuge der Zerspanung, der Ur- und
Umformung, der Formgebung und der Kunststoffverarbeitung [High-performance-layer for precision
tools in machining, casting, forming and plastics processing]. In: 2008 Jahrbuch Oberfl€achen, Band
64, Eugen G. Leuze Verlag, pp 116–118
Erkens G, Cremer R, Hamoudi T, Bouzakis K, Mirisidis J, Hadjiyiannis S, Skordaris G,
Asimakopoulos A, Kombogiannis S, Anastopoulos J (2003) Supernitrides: a novel generation of
PVD hardcoatings to meet the requirements of high demanding cutting applications. CIRP Ann
Manuf Technol 52(1):65–68
Erkens G, Vetter J, Mueller J, Brinke T, Fromme M, Mohnfeld A (2011) Plasma-assisted surface coating:
processes, methods, systems and applications. S€ uddeutscher Verlag onpact GmbH, M€ unchen
Furth HF (1932) Cathode sputtering: a commercial application. Physics 2:280
Hovsepian PE, Ehiasarian AP, Ratayski U (2009) CrAlYCN/CrCN nanoscale multilayer PVD coatings
deposited by the combined high power impulse magnetron sputtering/unbalanced magnetron
sputtering (HIPIMS/UBM) technology. Surf Coat Technol 203:1237–1243
Sarakinos K, Alami J, Konstantinidis S (2010) High power pulsed magnetron sputtering: a review on
scientific and engineering state of the art. Surf Coat Technol 204(11):1661–1684
Schuetze A, Quinto DT (2003) Pulsed plasma-assisted PVD sputter-deposited alumina thin films. Surf
Coat Technol 162(2–3):174–182
Wehner GK (1955) Cathode sputtering: a commercial application. In: Marton L (ed) Advances in
electronics and electron physics, vol 7. Academic, New York, pp 239–298

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D
Deep Drawing
Mathias Liewald
Institute for Metal Forming Technology,
University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
Synonyms
Stamping
Definition
Deep drawing is a sheet metal forming process by
which a sheet metal blank is slightly clamped
along its perimeter by a blank holder and radially
drawn into a forming die by use of a punch.
Theory and Application
According to DIN 8584–3 (2003), deep drawing
is a tensile compression metal forming process,
which shapes a sheet metal blank as a hollow body
open on the one side or of a projected hollow body
to one with a smaller cross section, without inten-
tionally modifying its wall thickness. Such cate-
gorization of deep drawing within this process
group is done due to radial tensile acting and
tangential acting compression stresses mainly
# CIRP 2017
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6502-3
acting in the forming zone when the punch is
drawing the part.
The deep drawing process basically can be
divided into three different kinds of load applica-
tion (Fig. 1): deep drawing using tools (most
commonly used method), deep drawing using
active media, and deep drawing by means of
active energy.
In the most simple case during the first draw, a
hollow body or a cup shape is produced from a
plane sheet metal blank (irregular or circular out-
line of blank, Fig. 2). The deep drawing tool ever
consists of three major components: deep drawing
punch, draw ring or die or matrice, and a blank
holder.
During deep drawing, first the blank is located
between die and blank holder. Forming process
starts when a blank holder linked to controllable
component of drawing press clamps the sheet
metal and applies required blank holder force.
Normal compression distribution applied by the
blank holder first induces retracting force onto
sheet metal surface by friction and second pre-
vents wrinkling (of the first degree) in the flange
area of the workpiece. Basically the forming pro-
cedure starts when biaxial stresses are applied to
the bottom area of the workpiece by the drawing
punch. In Fig. 2 deep drawing is depicted as so
called “hat profile”, where the drawing punch is
fixed on the lower platen, die is fixed to the ram
and blank holder is supported by cushion. When
travel of die (driven by ram of press) proceeds,
2 Deep Drawing

Deep Drawing, Fig. 1 Categorization of the deep drawing processes according to DIN 8584–3 (2003) with kind
permission of e.V

bottom
blank sidewall flange
rd
drawing ring
s0

(die)
rp
blank holder
Fbh
Fbh (drawing) punch

Fbh
Fp Fp Fbh
d0
D0

Deep Drawing, Fig. 2 Fundamentals of deep drawing during the first draw. D0 diameter of blank, d0 diameter of
(drawing) punch, s0 initial thickness of blank, rd radius of drawing ring (die), rp radius of (drawing) punch, Fbh force of
blank holder, Fp force of (drawing) punch (Reprinted with permission # IFU Stuttgart)

bottom and part sidewall region get hardened due
to tensile load and first material starts to flow into
the cavity being clamped between the die binder
surface and the blank holder. For that reason the
blank holder pressure distribution around the part
flange area acts as the most crucial process param-
eter in terms of thinning of material in part side-
wall and subsequent cracks in case of too strong
blank holder forces. Also defects in case too low
blank holder forces may occur: wrinkles between
outline of drawing punch and part bottom region
may emerge (wrinkles of second order).
The single deep drawing zones are designated
as the bottom, sidewall, and flange (Fig. 2). If the
workpiece is drawn entirely through the die, no
remaining flange might be found at the end of the
forming procedure; this is commonly referred to
as a “full draw.”
The forming zone during deep drawing is ben-
eficially within the flange area between the blank
holder and the die. Deep drawing in general
belongs to forming processes characterized by an
indirect application of forming forces. Here the
forming force is transferred from the part bottom
zone, which is in contact with the drawing punch
as a zone of initial force transmission via part
sidewall area (force transmission zone) to the
actual forming zone (flange area). Evidently the
size of the forming zone continuously decreases
during deep drawing process, although the blank
 Deep Drawing 3

Deep Drawing,
Fig. 3 Stress diagram in
the forming zone during
deep drawing (Reprinted
with permission # IFU
Stuttgart)

holder force still is acting (Altan and Tekkaya

2012).
Sheet metal forming in the flange zone of the
drawn part is characterized by compression
stresses in the normal direction sn, induced by
blank holder pressure distribution, as well as tan-
gential compression stresses st and radial tensile
stresses sr (Fig. 3).
The radial stress sr reaches its maximum value
near drawring radius and decreases to zero subse-
quently in the direction of the blank edge. The
mean stress sm can be calculated as follows:

sr þ st þ sn
sm ¼ (1)
3

Tangential compression stresses st occur dur-

d0
ing deep drawing in the residual flange at any
D0
moment of forming process due to shrinking of
the blank diameter, i.e., the continuously reducing
d0 diameter of (drawing) punch perimeter of the blank. For that reason tangential
D0 diameter of blank compression stresses decrease when material hav-
ing initially diameter D0 is drawn into a cavity
Deep Drawing, Fig. 4 Displaced blank volume in the which diameter is that of the drawing punch d0.
flange zone during deep drawing. d0 diameter of (drawing) Sheet material volume indeed is displaced in the
punch, D0 diameter of blank (Reprinted with permission #
IFU Stuttgart)
direction of the punch outline (Fig. 4). Due to load
conditions described, the flange tends to buckle,
4 Deep Drawing

Deep Drawing, Fig. 5 Maximum drawing limit ratio for different punch geometries, punch diameter 100 mm, material:
low carbon steel grade, thickness 1 mm (Reprinted with permission # IFU Stuttgart)

Deep Drawing,
Fig. 6 Working diagram of
Fbh
the blank holder force
fractures
(Reprinted with permission
# IFU Stuttgart)

Good parts

d0
D0
wrinkles of
1st order

β0,max drawing depth h

drawing ratio D0/d0

especially in the area of perimeter or outline of The fundamental forming process of circular
blank, which in fact leads to formation of wrinkles cups can be characterized by the drawing ratio
of first degree. Thus, buckling is prevented by the b0 (Fig. 5), which is defined as
rigid surface of the blank holder which applies
pressure on the flange. D0
b0 ¼ (2)
It can be assumed that material flow is rela- d0
tively small in the direction of the sheet thickness,
so that it can be further assumed that the wall
thickness of the deep-drawn workpiece does not The maximum possible drawing ratio is
change tremendously in this area. The surface of defined as
the initial blank and the surface of the drawn part
remain similar.
Deep Drawing 5

Deep Drawing, Ftotal

Fig. 7 Force-displacement
curve of a deep drawing Ftotal, max =
process, fully drawn Fpunch, max
(Reprinted with permission
# IFU Stuttgart)

hmax
dev . of bottom deep drawing process drawing depth h

Deep Drawing,
Fig. 8 Bodyshell
consisting of structural and
outer panels, with kind
permission of Daimler AG

D0, max
b0, max ¼
d0
The process limits of deep drawing depend
mainly on the mechanical properties of the sheet
material, the lubricant, the tool surface conditions,
the part geometry, and some other process param-
eters. The upper limit is determined by the occur-
rence of cracks and the lower process limit by the
appearance of wrinkles of second order. Such two
failure modes indeed limit the working range of
the blank holder force (Fig. 6).
The punch force Fpunch versus the drawing
depth h (Fig. 7) firstly increases, and after
reaching a maximum the force decreases again.
This can be explained by the fact that the strain
(3)
hardening effect is predominant in the first phase
of the process, whereas after reaching the maxi-
mum force, the effect of decreasing flange area
becomes predominant (Spur et al. 2012).
The most important application areas of deep
drawing can be found today in the automotive
industry (bodyshell consisting of structural and
outer panels, Fig. 8), in the aviation industry, in
components made of sheet metals for household
and catering sector (dishwashers and washing
machines, sinks, catering containers, etc.), as
well as in the medical area (kidney bowls, basins,
containers).
6 Deep Drawing

References forming under combination of tensile and compressive

Altan T, Tekkaya AE (2012) Sheet metal forming: funda-
mentals. ASM International, Materials Park
DIN 8584–3 (2003) Fertigungsverfahren Zugdruck-
umformen - Teil 3: Tiefziehen, Einordnung,
Unterteilung, Begriffe [Manufacturing processes
conditions Part 3: Deep drawing Classification, subdi-
vision, terms and definitions]. Beuth, Berlin
(in German)
Spur G, Neugebauer R, Hoffmann H (2012) Handbuch
Umformen [Metal forming handbook], 2nd edn.
Hanser, München. (in German)
D
Deformation (Dislocations)
Jun Yanagimoto
Institute of Industrial Science, The University of
Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Definition
Deviations from the strictly geometrical lattice
structure (Schmid and Boas 1950). Alternatively,
an interfacial region whose advance causes a fully
slipped region to grow at the expense of an
unslipped region (Cottrell 1967).
Theory and Application
Introduction
Large plastic deformation can be identified by the
accumulation of slips at the macroscopic scale as
well as at the atomic scale. During tensile defor-
mation, metal blocks slip on slip planes and rotate,
as schematically illustrated in Fig. 1. Increasing
plastic deformation results in numerous cross
slips. Such slips can be observed as L€ uders
bands in annealed low-carbon steel subjected to
tensile deformation. From the macroscopic view-
point, this is a visible example that proves that
plastic deformation involves the accumulation of
slips on slip planes. Such slips at the atomic scale
are called dislocations, which are deviations from
the strictly geometrical lattice structure (Schmid
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6503-3
and Boas 1950). Dislocations are the cause of
plastic deformation and are related to the strength,
microstructure evolution, and the controlling
technology of mechanical properties of structural
metals. Also, metallurgical phenomena such as
work hardening (Taylor 1934a, b), recovery, and
other phenomena that occur during forming or
machining are closely related to the behaviors of
dislocations or their motion in a polycrystal metal.
Slips at the Atomic Scale
The atoms of a metal are strongly connected by
metallic bonding. Changes in shape induced by
plastic deformation are caused by changes in the
arrangement of atoms in a lattice structure, which
may be induced by slips between atoms caused by
an applied external force. Although the bonding
strength in metals is reasonably high, metals can
plastically deform under a much smaller shear
stress than the metallic bonding strength. Let us
consider the sliding of two carpets by distance d as
an analogy of slipping between metal atoms, as
illustrated in Fig. 2. The interface between the two
carpets can be considered as a slip plane.
There are two mechanisms by which two car-
pets can slide in a slip plane: one is by sliding a
distance d without generating any wrinkles in the
upper carpet, the other is by sliding a distance
d while causing the formation of wrinkles in the
upper carpet. The first mechanism requires the
simultaneous breakage of bonds between atoms
facing the slip plane as illustrated in the right of
Fig. 3. The second mechanism requires only the
2 Deformation (Dislocations)

Deformation
(Dislocations),
Fig. 1 Macroscopic slips

Deformation (Dislocations), Fig. 2 Analogy of a dislocation as a wrinkle in a carpet

partial breakage of bonds between atoms, which
corresponds to the formation of a wrinkle. This
wrinkle moves rightward according to a shear
stress t, and it ultimately leads to sliding a dis-
tance d of upper carpet. The external force, or
shear stress t, required to cause sliding of distance
d by the second mechanism is much smaller than
that for the first mechanism. In fact, the stress
required to cause plastic deformation is much
smaller than the ideal strength required for the
simultaneous breakage of metallic bonds. Thus,
it is widely recognized that the second mechanism
Deformation (Dislocations)
Deformation (Dislocations), Fig. 3 Mechanism for the evolution of a slip at the atomic scale
is the source of plastic deformation. Atomic-scale
wrinkles are dislocation lines. Plastic deformation
takes place through the motion of numerous dis-
locations. Dislocations are defined as deviations
from the strictly geometrical lattice structure
(Schmid and Boas 1950) or an interfacial region
whose advance causes a fully slipped region to
grow at the expense of an unslipped region
(Cottrell 1967).
Nature of Dislocations
Structural metals have a polycrystal structure that
is characterized by three elements: grains, grain
boundaries, and precipitates. Structural metals
often include a solute such as niobium in steel,
which precipitates as niobium carbide below a
critical temperature. The grain boundaries are
regions with an irregular arrangement of atoms.
The atoms in a grain comprise a lattice struc-
ture such as a body-centered cubic (bcc) lattice, a
3
face-centered cubic (fcc) lattice, or a hexagonal
close-packed (hcp) lattice. The atoms in a lattice
are arranged regularly in a plane of the lattice, and
a smooth plane becomes an active slip plane in
which dislocations can move. In an fcc lattice, the
plane packed most closely with atoms is the (1 1 1)
plane, in which atoms are located at apexes of
regular triangles to cover the plane as shown in
Fig. 4. There are four equivalent planes with dif-
ferent orientations in an fcc lattice.
For the sake of simplicity, a simple rectangular
lattice is used to show the nature of dislocations in
the following. Three types of dislocations are
shown in Fig. 5. An edge dislocation is
represented by an additional atomic plane similar
to the edge of a knife. This edge is called disloca-
tion line, which corresponds to a wrinkle in a
carpet, that passes through a crystal to a grain
boundary. Another type of dislocation is a
screw-type dislocation, where the core of the
4 Deformation (Dislocations)
Deformation (Dislocations), Fig. 4 Slip planes in an
fcc lattice
screw is the dislocation line. The dislocation line
of an edge dislocation is perpendicular to the local
shear stress t, and the line moves in the same
direction as the local shear stress t. In contrast,
the dislocation line of a screw dislocation is par-
allel to the local shear stress t, and the line moves
in the perpendicular direction to the local shear
stress t. The dislocation lines of these two types of
dislocation should be straight, but there is also a
dislocation with a curved dislocation line known
as a mixed dislocation. A mixed dislocation is a
mixture of an edge dislocation and a screw dislo-
cation, and its curved dislocation line may form a
closed loop known as a dislocation loop.
A dislocation is characterized quantitatively by a
Burger’s vector b or b with overhead line in Fig. 5,
which models a lattice defect around a dislocation
line. The Burger’s vector b is uniquely determined
for each dislocation line. Each dislocation line can
only be terminated in a limited region such as a
grain boundary, an inclusion, or a dislocation with
a loop or network structure. Dislocations are
mobile if they are located on an active slip plane.
A crystal lattice is distorted by an additional plane
of atoms such as that in an edge dislocation to
generate an elastic stress field around a dislocation
line. The stress is compressive around the addi-
tional plane of atoms and tensile in the opposite
region relative to the slip plane.
Plastic Deformation and Dislocations
Plastic deformation results from the accumulated
motion of numerous dislocations at the atomic
scale. The dislocation density r is a parameter
representing the average amount of accumulated
plastic deformation or, in other words, the amount
of deviation from the strictly geometrical lattice
structure. The dislocation density r is defined as
the total length of dislocation lines per cubic cen-
timeter, and it is almost identical to the flow stress
of a metal under hot forming or the internal stress
sI. Numerous dislocations are introduced by
forming. For example, the initial dislocation den-
sity of a fully annealed structure r0 is about 108
(cm/cm3) but increases to 1012 (cm/cm3) or more
after metal forming.
Because such a large number of dislocations
exist in a crystal, dislocations often intersect, and
the interaction between dislocations results in var-
ious physical phenomena occurring in crystals.
The energy of a dislocation is proportional to the
square of its Burger’s vector b. Two dislocations
can coalescence spontaneously if the total energy
of the coalesced dislocation is smaller than the
sum of the energies of the two dislocations.
A pair of dislocations may vanish if two disloca-
tions of the same type with Burger’s vectors in
opposite direction meet each other. On the other
hand, two mobile dislocations may coalesce to
form an immobile dislocation if the dislocation
formed is not in an active slip plane (Lomer
1951; Cottrell 1952). As a result, many disloca-
tions become immobile during plastic
deformation.
As dislocations cannot pass through grain
boundaries because of the irregular arrangement
of atoms at the boundaries, they pile up in a slip
plane, which causes the slip plane to be
inactivated. Mobile dislocations appear to vanish
owing to pileup and coalescence but new disloca-
tions are simultaneously formed from their source
and propagate (Frank and Read 1950). In sum-
mary, in a metal during forming or subjected to
Deformation (Dislocations)
a b
Dislocation line
Edge dislocation
Shear stress
Slip direction
Shear stress
of lower block
y
x
z
c Mixed dislocation
Shear stress
–
b
Slip direction
of lower block Edge
y
x –
z b
Deformation (Dislocations), Fig. 5 Three types of dislocations
large plastic deformation, dislocations are formed,
propagate, vanish, coalesce to become immobile
dislocations, and pile up at grain boundaries to
form inactive slip planes and to inactivate the
source of further dislocations. The above evolu-
tion of dislocations induced by plastic deforma-
tion is schematically illustrated in Fig. 6.
Hot Forming
As already mentioned, dislocation density is
almost identical to the flow stress of a metal
under hot forming or internal stress sI. Thermal
activation at a higher temperature increases the
number of atomic vacancies, which annihilate
dislocations. This is the cause of annealing or
recovery from the macroscopic viewpoint. At the
same time, the thermal activation of a metal
microstructure with a high dislocation density, or
high internal energy, often promotes a transition to
a different structure, resulting in the release of
energy after the nucleation and growth of new
5
Screw dislocation
Shear stress
Dislocation line
Slip direction
of lower block
y
x
z
Screw
Shear stress
grains with low dislocation density. This phenom-
enon is recognized as recrystallization from the
microscopic viewpoint. In steels, the transforma-
tion from a deformed austenite structure with high
dislocation density generates a fine ferrite struc-
ture. Dislocations play an important role in the
microstructural control of structural metals.
Relationship Between Strength of Polycrystal
Metal and Dislocations
The interaction of dislocations increases the num-
ber of immobile dislocations. In other words,
resistance to deformation, or flow stress, is
increased by the dislocations themselves which
is known as dislocation hardening. A solid solute
causes the local distortion of lattices, and an addi-
tional dragging force is required to induce the
motion of dislocations. This dragging force
applied by a solid solute results in an increase in
strength of the metal, known as solution harden-
ing. Precipitates or inclusions act as a barrier to the
6 Deformation (Dislocations)

Plastic deformation (work hardening)

Source

(Grain)

(Precipitate)
(Solute)
(Grain Pile-up (Sub-grains or dislocation cells)
boundary)

Change in dislocation density r

r = r0 ≈ 108 [ cm / cm3 ] r ≥ 1012 [ cm / cm3 ]

Annealing (recovery)
(recrystallization)

Deformation (Dislocations), Fig. 6 Evolutions of dislocations during forming

motion of dislocations, resulting in the hardening
of a metal after precipitation. Such a mechanism is
called precipitation hardening. The pileup of dis-
locations at a grain boundary, which inactivate a
slip plane or dislocation source, is another barrier
to the motion of dislocations. Hence, the strength
of a metal with finer grains is higher; this is known
as hardening by grain refinement. These four
hardening mechanisms of structural metals, i.e.,
dislocation hardening, solution hardening, precip-
itation hardening, and hardening by grain refine-
ment, are closely related to the behaviors of
dislocations in polycrystal metals.
Dislocations in the static state can be observed
by transmission electron microscope (TEM) as
shown in Fig. 7. The dynamic behavior of dislo-
cations, which governs various phenomena at the
macroscopic scale, was first observed in the 1970s
(Nishino et al. 1981). A film showing the dynamic
behavior of dislocations was distributed world-
wide in the late 1970s.
Acknowledgement The author would like to express sin-
cere thanks to Dr. Kosaku Ushioda of Nippon Steel for
permission to reproduce the TEM images of steels in this
entry.
Deformation (Dislocations)
Deformation (Dislocations), Fig. 7 TEM micrograph of dislocations
References
Cottrell AH (1952) The formation of immobile disloca-
tions during slip. Phil Mag 43(341):645–647
Cottrell AH (1967) An introduction to metallurgy. Edward
Arnold, London
Frank FC, Read WT Jr (1950) Multiplication processes for
slow moving dislocations. Phys Rev 79:722–723
Lomer WM (1951) A dislocation reaction in the face-
centred cubic lattice. Phil Mag 42(334):1327–1331
7
Nishino Y, Suzuki M, Tono T, Saka H, Imura T (1981)
Straining apparatus for dynamic observation by X-ray
topography. Japan J Appl Phys 20:1533–1539
Schmid E, Boas W (1950) Plasticity of crystals.
F.A. Hughes, London
Taylor GI (1934a) The mechanism of plastic deformation
of crystals. Part 1, theoretical. Proc R Soc Lond
A 145:362–387
Taylor GI (1934b) The mechanism of plastic deformation
of crystals. Part 2, comparison with observations. Proc
R Soc Lond A 145:388–404
H
Hydroforming (Sheets and Tubes)
Elisabetta Ceretti1, Antonio Fiorentino1 and
Claudio Giardini2
1
Department of Mechanical and Industrial
Engineering, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
2
Department of Engineering, University of
Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
Definition
Hydroforming is a soft tool forming process,
where a liquid medium, generally water with a
small percentage of added oil, is pressurized and
controlled by means of a hydraulic circuit and
used to deform the workpiece, either a tube or a
sheet, into the final component shape.
Theory and Application
Introduction
Hydroforming is a well-known technology since
the Second World War, but it gained importance in
the manufacturing industries only in the recent
years, with the development of a broader knowl-
edge in the process and new presses and equip-
ments, which allowed it to be competitive with the
conventional forming processes.
Hydroforming is a soft tool forming process,
where a liquid medium, generally water with a
small percentage of added oil, is pressurized and
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6506-3
controlled by means of a hydraulic circuit and
used to deform the workpiece, either a tube or a
sheet, into the final component shape
(Schmoeckel et al. 1999; Zhang 1999; Vollertsen
2001).
Table 1 shows several manufacturing fields
currently interested in the hydroforming processes.
Some advantages common to different
hydroforming processes are generally outlined as
the possibility to obtain complex geometries with
a less number of operations required, a higher
degree of accuracy with a better surface finishing
compared to conventional forming processes, and
a reduction in the thickness of the components
since the torsional rigidity increases and a general
reduction in the tooling costs (Dohmann and Hartl
1997; Zhang et al. 2004).
The drawbacks of this technology include the
requirement for higher cycle times and more
sophisticated equipments.
Hydroforming processes are commonly
divided into two groups: tube hydroforming
(THF) and sheet hydroforming (SHF).
Tube Hydroforming (THF)
Tube Hydroforming Applications and Process
Parameters
Tube hydroforming (THF) process is based on the
introduction of a pressurized fluid coupled with an
axial compression in a tubular workpiece, closed
in a die cavity. The subsequent expansion forms
the final component (Alaswad et al. 2012).
2 Hydroforming (Sheets and Tubes)
Hydroforming (Sheets and Tubes), Table 1 Fields of application of hydroforming processes
Sector Assembly
Automotive industry, Chassis, exhaust components,
vehicles: road, water, drive systems, frames/bodywork
air, rail members
Chemical, gas, oil Piping and tank components,
industry, power station pipe fittings
construction
Domestic industry Symmetric and asymmetric pots
and cups
Bicycle industry Pipe fittings
Heating and ventilation, Frames, molded elements
air conditioning
Lighting industry Street lighting
Optics Telescopes, torches
Figure 1 summarizes the process sequence for
a typical THF operation. The upper die is closed
and the tube is filled with the fluid. An external
hydraulic circuit provides the required fluid pres-
sure, and at the same time, the axial punches apply
an axial compression and the material is forced
into the die cavity. At the end of the process, the
dies are opened and the final component is
removed.
A counterpunch can also be present when a T-
or Y-branch has to be manufactured (Jirathearanat
et al. 2003; Groche and Tibari 2006).
The success of a THF process is mainly depen-
dent on the right combination of the process
parameters, namely, axial compression, which is
provided by the axial punches, and internal fluid
pressure (Strano et al. 2001). Therefore, the pro-
cess window for obtaining a good part quality can
be really small, depending on the workpiece com-
plexity. A typical THF process window is shown
in Fig. 2.
When a THF process is set up, it is fundamen-
tal to define how pressure must increase during the
process and how the punches must move in order
to feed the correct material in the expansion zone.
In fact, if the pressure increases too much with
respect to the presence of the material, the tube
can explode, while if the material is too much fed
it can wrinkle a lot. In both cases, the piece must
be scrapped.
Component
Cross and side members, manifolds, roof rails,
spoilers, gear shaft, roof frame profile, engine cradles,
inner and outer panels
T-fittings, reducers, paneling
Housings
Pedal bearings, joints, frames
Structural members, joints, shells, shelves
Lamp shells, parabolic workpieces
Housings
As a consequence, it is important to consider
not only the maximum values of the media pres-
sure and punch strokes, but also how they vary
during the process. Moreover, the pressure and
strokes variations must be synchronized over the
time as reported in Fig. 3. The shown graph is also
called “pressure and strokes paths.”
The determination of these paths is not easy
and cannot be based on previous knowledge of the
technicians, but it needs to carry out FEM simu-
lations of the process in order to identify the
optimal pressure and strokes paths. Nevertheless,
a fine tune-up is necessary when the production
process starts.
Three typical defects deriving from non-
optimal paths can be generally observed during a
THF process: An excessive actuators movement,
before the tube walls are in contact with the die,
can cause buckling or wrinkling, while, an insuf-
ficient material feeding can lead to a premature
break (bursting) in the component or to an exces-
sive thinning in those regions where a high expan-
sion is required (Fig. 4).
THF presents the following advantages com-
pared to the traditional manufacturing processes,
which generally require a higher number of
assembly and welding operations:
• It allows complex shapes to be obtained from a
single tube with less welding operations
Hydroforming (Sheets and Tubes) 3

Hydroforming (Sheets
and Tubes),
Fig. 1 Example of THF
process. Production of a
T-piece (Schuler 1998)

Hydroforming (Sheets
and Tubes),
axial feeding

Fig. 2 Typical THF

process window, load
conditions and forming
results (Fann and Hsiao
2003) buckling
crack
wrinkling

process
window

elastic
stretching
leakage

internal preassure

required. Thus, the total number of operations
required on the final component is decreased.
• Stiffness is generally increased due to the less
number of welds. This determines a minor
springback on the hydroformed component
compared to the one formed by conventional
processes.
• The higher stiffness also allows a decrease in
the thickness of the component determining a
reduction of the weight.
• The calibration phase allows to obtain higher
accuracy in the contours and dimensions of the
final component.
• It allows a general saving on the total tool cost
due to the less number of operations required.
• A higher fatigue strength has been observed in
hydroformed exhaust components.
Drawbacks of this technology include slow
cycle time, expensive equipment, and a general
lack of extensive knowledge for process and tool
design.
4 Hydroforming (Sheets and Tubes)

Hydroforming (Sheets Axial feeding

and Tubes), 600 12
Fig. 3 Example of
pressure – strokes vs. time 500 10
curves for THF (pressure
and strokes paths)

Axial feeding [mm]

400 8

Pressure [bar]
300 6

200 4
Water pressure
100 2

0 0
0 4 5 9 10 20 22
Time [s]

Hydroforming (Sheets
and Tubes),
Fig. 4 Typical defects
during a THF process

The main THF applications are found in auto-
motive industries for the production of engine
cradles, exhaust systems, car body frames, roll-
over bar protection, side rails (Fig. 5) (Koç and
Altan 2001) and chassis frames (Hartl 2005).
Domestic and hydraulic industries also present
some interesting applications of THF processes
(Fig. 6).
Sheet Hydroforming
Sheet hydroforming is a relatively new forming
technology, even though its first applications
appeared more than 40 years ago.
However until recently, sheet hydroforming
was not considered especially by manufacturing
industries due to its drawbacks, mainly the higher
cycle time required by the process compared to
the conventional forming processes (Zhang
et al. 2004).
Sheet hydroforming is generally classified into
two groups depending on whether the fluid acts as
a punch or as a die. The first case is known as
Sheet Hydroforming with Punch (SHF-P) or also
as Hydromechanical Deep Drawing (HDD) pro-
cess, while the second is known as Sheet
Hydroforming with Die (SHF-D) process.
Hydroforming (Sheets and Tubes) 5

Hydroforming (Sheets
and Tubes),
Fig. 5 Examples of THF
process applied to
automotive parts. (a) Pure
expansion/compression
operation (b) expansion/
compression and local
calibrating (c) pure
calibration (d) exhaust
manifold example (Schuler
1998)

Hydroforming (Sheets
and Tubes),
Fig. 6 Hydroformed parts
for non-automotive
applications: (a) T-fittings,
(b) water tap and (c) conduit
pipe (Hartl 2005)

Sheet Hydroforming with Punch:
Hydromechanical Deep Drawing Process
In the HDD process, the sheet metal is forced
against the punch by means of hydraulic pressure
generated by the fluid contained in the lower die.
Figure 7 shows the process sequence for a HDD
process. At the beginning, the blank is positioned
on the lower die (chamber pressure) which is
completely filled with fluid. The blank is then
clamped by means of a blankholder and the
punch starts moving down. As the punch enters
the die, the fluid pressure increases rapidly and
pushes the blank toward the punch. When the
punch has traveled the required stroke, the fluid
pressure is released and the final workpiece is
obtained. A relief pressure valve is present to
6 Hydroforming (Sheets and Tubes)
Hydroforming (Sheets
and Tubes),
Fig. 7 Process sequence of
a HDD operation
control the increase in the pressure during the
process. The described sequence is typically
known as passive HDD since the fluid pressure
is generated only by the punch penetration into the
die. A possible alternative is the generation of the
fluid pressure by means of an external pump. In
this case, the process is known as active HDD
(Fig. 8) and a pre-stretching is obtained on the
blank before the punch starts moving down.
Forming of car hoods, roofs, and doors can be
difficult due to the low deformation achieved in
the central area of these parts. This can result in a
low dent resistance or in a negative crash resis-
tance of vehicles. For this reason, it is necessary to
produce a sufficient strain hardening of the mate-
rial in the central area of the part, so that sufficient
deformation is achieved. Active HDD process is a
valid tool to overcome this problem as it
introduces a pre-stretching into the material
before the HDD process starts.
HDD process presents several advantages
compared to the traditional forming processes:
• More uniform thickness on the component and
higher limiting drawing ratios (LDR) are
achievable in the process.
• The water pressure pushes the sheet against the
punch so that complicated parts can be drawn
in a single step or with less operations required.
• The tooling cost is lower compared to conven-
tional forming processes since the traditional
forming die is replaced by a chamber pressure
which can be adapted for different productions.
• Surface quality is generally higher due to the
contact with the fluid at high pressure. This
Hydroforming (Sheets and Tubes)
Blank Positioning
Punch
Female die
Blank
Pressure
medium
Blank holder
Hydroforming (Sheets and Tubes), Fig. 8 Die layout and productionprocess for active hydromechanical drawing
(HDD) process: combination of pre-stretching followed by HDD (Schuler 1998)
Hydroforming (Sheets and Tubes), Fig. 9 Sheet hydroformed components: (a) cover of a truck differential; (b)
funerary vase (c) stainless steel cup
allows a reduction of the surface finishing
operations on the component.
• The fluid pressure allows a reduction of the
friction between blank and die radius during
the forming process. Therefore bending forces
around the die radius can be neglected.
On the other hand, drawbacks of this process
include higher cycle time and higher presses
required compared to conventional forming pro-
cesses. LDR up to 3.0 for cylindrical cups can be
obtained.
A successful HDD process is mainly depen-
dent on the right combination of the counter pres-
sure and the blank holder force during the punch
movement.
As in conventional deep drawing, fracture and
wrinkling are the common defects during HDD
process. Flange wrinkling occurs when BHF is
too small, while side wrinkle occurs due to
7
Pre-stretching HDD process
insufficient pressure or tooling geometry, such as
tapered punch. Fracture occurs for excessive BHF
and/or insufficient pressure in the chamber.
Therefore, it can be seen that the determination
of the correct process parameters (pressure in the
pot versus punch stroke and BHF versus punch
stroke curves) is a fundamental step for a success-
ful HDD operation and it may require several trial
and error experiments. In order to avoid this, FE
simulations are a powerful tool to estimate the
optimum loading path for pressure in the pot and
BHF. Figure 9 shows some examples of SHF.
Sheet Hydroforming with Die: High Pressure Sheet
Hydroforming
In the Sheet Hydroforming with Die (SHF-D)
technology, the blank is pressed against the
forming die by means of an hydraulic pressure.
The process sequence of a sheet hydroforming
operation is shown in Fig. 10. The blank is
8 Hydroforming (Sheets and Tubes)
Hydroforming (Sheets
and Tubes),
Fig. 10 Process sequence
of sheet hydroforming with
die operation
positioned on the lower die and the blankholder
plate is closed to apply the clamping force. The
forming fluid is injected through the injection
channel in the blankholder plate. In the case of
double sheet hydroforming, the fluid is injected
between two blanks that are positioned between
die and blank holder (Merklein et al. 2005). The
material flow is controlled by the BHF applied, so
that the blank expands toward the shaping die
without any friction. The stretching of the material
results in a uniform strain hardening and the
forming die is completely reproduced with all
the details required. The springback on the com-
ponent is also negligible allowing tight dimen-
sional and geometrical tolerances.
The advantages of this process are as follows:
• Higher component accuracy due to the absence
of tool deflection.
• The blank is in contact with the die only at the
end of the process. This allows to obtain a very
good surface finishing in the final part free of
scratches.
• A sheet metal with applied surface finishing is
drawable.
Application of this process is mainly found in
the automotive or motorbike industry.
Potential of components for this technology
refer to interior faceplates, higher quality bumper,
and convertible components for luxury cars.
References
Alaswad A, Benyounis KY, Olabi AG (2012) Tube
hydroforming process: a reference guide. Mater Des
33:328–339. doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2011.07.052
Dohmann F, Hartl C (1997) Tube hydroforming – research
and practical application. J Mater Process Technol
71(1):174–186. doi:10.1016/S0924-0136(97)00166-0
Fann K-J, Hsiao P-Y (2003) Optimization of loading con-
ditions for tube hydroforming. J Mater Process Technol
40:520–524 Reprinted with permission from Elsevier
Groche P, Tibari K (2006) Fundamentals of angular joining
by means of hydroforming. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
55(1):259–262
Hartl C (2005) Research and advances in fundamentals and
industrial applications of hydroforming. J Mater Pro-
cess Technol 167:383–392 Reprinted with permission
from Elsevier
Jirathearanat S, Hartl C, Altan T (2003) Hydroforming of
Y-shapes product and process design using FEA simu-
lation and experiments. J Mater Process Technol
146(1):124–129
Koç M, Altan T (2001) An overall review of the tube
hydroforming (THF) technology. J Mater Process
Technol 108(3):384–393. doi:10.1016/S0924-0136(00)
00830-X
Merklein M, Geiger M, Celeghini M (2005) Combined
tube and double sheet hydroforming for the
manufacturing of complex parts. CIRP Ann Manuf
Technol 54(1):199–204
Hydroforming (Sheets and Tubes) 9

Schmoeckel D, Hielscher C, Huber R, Geiger M (1999) approach for wrinkle detection. CIRP Ann Manuf
Metal forming of tubes and sheets with liquid and other Technol 50(1):185–190
flexible media. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol Vollertsen F (2001) State of the art and perspectives of
48(2):497–513 hydroforming of tubes and sheets. J Mater Sci Technol
Schuler GH (1998) Metal forming handbook, chapters 4–5. 17(3):321–324
In: Altan T (ed) . Springer-Verlag, Berlin/Heidelberg/ Zhang SH (1999) Developments in hydroforming. J Mater
New York ISBN 3-540-61185-1. Reprinted with per- Process Technol 91(1–3):236–244
mission of Springer Zhang SH, Wang ZR, Xu Y, Wang ZT, Zhou LX
Strano M, Jirathearanat S, Altan T (2001) Adaptive FEM (2004) Recent developments in sheet hydroforming
simulation for tube hydroforming: a geometry-based technology. J Mater Process Technol
151(1–3):237–241
H
Hot Forging
Alan Bramley
Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath,
Bath, UK
Synonyms
Closed-die-forging; Die forging; Drop forging;
Hot forming; Open-die-forging; Stamping
Definition
The plastic deformation of a metal between
opposed dies while it is held above its crystalliza-
tion temperature thus avoiding work hardening of
the workpiece.
Theory and Application
Hot forging is one of the oldest metal forming
processes which is still used extensively for the
mass production of parts typically for the automo-
tive and aerospace industries.
It appears in many different forms. The sim-
plest being open-die-forging, illustrated in Fig. 1,
where the tools have flat or slightly curved
profiles.
Another common form is upsetting where
again flat die are used as illustrated in Fig. 2.
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6513-4
This process is often in conjunction with closed-
die-forging.
Heading is another form of open-die-forging
which is also used in conjunction with closed-die-
forging. This is illustrated in Fig. 3.
In closed-die-forging, illustrated in Fig. 4, the
tools envelope the workpiece and have a profile
corresponding to the shape being produced. An
important feature of the closed-die-forging pro-
cess is the use of a flash. The flash enables control
of the vertical dimensions while accommodating
the inevitable slight variations in the volume of
the original billet. It further acts as a trap to the
lateral flow of material thus facilitating the flow on
the workpiece material into the cavities of the die
impression. The variations in excess volume are
held in the flash gutter which is subsequently
removed by a trimming process Fig. 5.
A typical sequence of operations in closed-die-
forging involves performing, first impression,
finishing die, and trimming as illustrated in
Fig. 6. The compression force for forging can be
supplied by hydraulic presses (up to 75,000
tonnes) or from mechanical presses using fly-
wheels and linkages (up to 12,000 tonnes).
Mechanical systems are generally less powerful
but much faster than hydraulic systems and are
therefore more suitable for mass production and
not for forging operations where heat loss of the
workpiece might be critical. The compression
force can also be supplied by the energy stored
in a falling hammer. The mass can be up to
22,500 kg and may fall by gravity or be
2 Hot Forging

Hot Forging,
Fig. 1 Open-die-forging

Hot Forging,
Fig. 2 Upsetting

Hot Forging,
Fig. 3 Heading
Hot Forging 3

Hot Forging,
Fig. 4 Closed-die-forging

Hot Forging, Fig. 5 A typical closed-die-forging sequence

accelerated by steam, air, or hydraulics. This schematically in. Altan et al. (2004), Doege and
method is generally the cheapest and is often Behrens (2010) and Lange (2002).
referred to as drop forging. The different types
of metal forming machinery are illustrated
4 Hot Forging

Hot Forging, Fig. 6 Forging machines

Cross-References Doege E, Behrens B-A (2010) Handbuch umformtechnik:

grundlagen, technologien, maschinen [Metal forming
handbook: fundamentals, technologies, machines],
▶ Cold Forging 2nd edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg (in German)
▶ Forming Presses (Hydraulic, Mechanical, Lange K (ed) (2002) Umformtechnik-handbuch f€ ur
Servo) industrie und wissenschaft: grundlagen [Metal
forming-handbook for research and industry: funda-
mentals], 2nd edn. Berlin/Heidelberg, Springer
(in German)
References

Altan T, Ngaile G, Shen G (eds) (2004) Cold and hot

forging: fundamentals and applications. ASM Interna-
tional, Materials Park
C
Computer-Aided Process Planning
Hoda ElMaraghy1 and Aydin Nassehi2
1
Intelligent Manufacturing Systems Center,
University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
Synonyms
CAPP
Definition
Process planning, in the manufacturing context, is
the determination of processes and resources
needed for completing any of the manufacturing
processes required for converting raw materials
into a final product to satisfy the design require-
ments and intent and respect the geometric and
technological constraints. Process planning is the
link between product design and manufacturing
(Scallan 2003). At the “macrolevel,” the sequence
of operations and the selection of appropriate
resources are the main concerns, whereas at the
“micro” process planning level, the focus is on
defining parameters of each operation, determin-
ing the time it takes to perform that operation, and
selecting tools and fixtures as needed (ElMaraghy
1993). Computer-aided process planning (CAPP)
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6551-4
is the application of computer software to assist in
these activities.
Theory and Application
Theory and Methodologies
Process planning techniques can also be classified
into variant and generative. Variant (retrieval-
based) process planning techniques that rely on a
master template of a composite part are predicated
on a predefined part/part family with some com-
monality in geometry or manufacturing pro-
cessing. Upon retrieving a similar part, by visual
inspection or using a coding and classification
system, modifications are made to the process
plan to suit the new part and its features. However,
while this approach is fast, it results in less than
optimal process plans. Generative process plan-
ning generates process plans from scratch for each
part using rule- and knowledge-based systems,
heuristics, and problem-specific algorithms. It
requires full understanding and mathematical
models of the processes and sufficient knowledge
about its behavior, influencing factors, and con-
straints. Therefore, truly generative systems are
not yet a reality with few exceptions and hybrid/
semi-generative approaches have been developed
(Azab and ElMaraghy 2007a). Computerized pro-
cess planning involves mathematical formulation
of an optimization problem which seeks to mini-
mize some cost function such as total process time
and maximize resources utilization subject to
2 Computer-Aided Process Planning
several technological constraints, the most impor-
tant of which are the precedence constraints. Such
models aim to establish the best operation
sequence and resources required for each at the
macrolevel or the specific values of operations
parameters at the detailed microlevel. The chal-
lenges include knowledge representation
schemes, heuristics, and optimization algorithms
such as classical optimization algorithms, the
traveling salesperson formulation and solution,
precedence representation using graph, neural
nets, expert systems, etc. (Azab and ElMaraghy
2007b). The trade-off is often between the com-
plexity of the models, the solution time, and qual-
ity of the resulting process plan and its production
cost implications.
Hierarchy of Process Planning
Process planning and its outcomes can be divided
into several levels according to the fidelity and the
granularity of the activities (ElMaraghy 1993).
Generic process planning is used to refer to the
highest level of process planning where the over-
all production strategy and process type are
selected from the pool of available and feasible
technologies. Macro process planning encom-
passes routing and nonlinear planning activities
where alternate sets of resources that are capable
of realizing production goals are identified.
Detailed planning is at a lower level where the
sequence of operations on a single resource is
determined. Finally, at the lowest level, micro
process planning comprises all activities under-
taken to select appropriate operational parameters.
The four levels of process planning are shown in
Table 1. While in large manufacturing enterprises,
these levels are clearly identifiable, in smaller
manufacturing operations, the boundaries are
very fuzzy and the planners often work on differ-
ent levels at the same time.
Common Process Planning Approaches
There are two principal approaches for process
planning: manual process planning and
computer-aided process planning. There has
been some research in creating fully automated
process planning systems, but these efforts have
been largely abandoned due to challenges, both
technical and philosophical; it is often argued that
the best approach is to present viable alternatives
to a human expert planner.
Manual Process Planning
A significant portion of process planning is still
done manually. Here, the quality of the process
plan is reliant on the knowledge of the expert
planner about the product, the resources, and the
available processes. Development of such knowl-
edge is time consuming and expensive, and as
such computer-aided process planning systems
were introduced to move the knowledge from
the expert planner to a computer-based system
(Alting and Zhang 1989).
Computer-Aided Process Planning (CAPP)
Computer-aided process planning systems rely on
a computerized knowledge base to provide sup-
port for the expert process planner. Through their
use in process planning, it is possible to raise the
productivity, reduce the cost, increase the consis-
tency, and lower the skill requirements for the
expert process planner. Two major methods are
used for CAPP: generative CAPP and variant
CAPP (Marri et al. 1998).
Generative CAPP In this approach, decision
rules, optimization algorithms (Azab and
ElMaraghy 2007b) or artificial intelligence in its
various forms – i.e., intelligent agents (Nassehi
et al. 2009; Shen et al. 2006), evolutionary algo-
rithms (Li et al. 2010), etc. – are used to make
planning decisions. These systems essentially
simulate the decision process of a human expert.
In realization of these systems, the two principal
challenges – representation of the manufacturing
domain knowledge and the inference
mechanism – are still under research
(Xu et al. 2011).
Variant CAPP In this approach, an existing pro-
cess plan is retrieved and modified for use with a
new product similar to the one for which the
original process plan was prepared; process
plans are often prepared for part families that
have significant similarities.
Computer-Aided Process Planning 3

Computer-Aided Process Planning, Table 1 Levels of process planning (Adapted from ElMaraghy 1993)
Process
planning Main focus of planning at this Level of
level level detail Planning output at this level
Generic Selecting technology and Very Manufacturing technologies and processes, conceptual
planning rapid process planning low plans, and DFx analysis results
Macro Multi-domain Low Routings, nonlinear plans, alternate resources
planning
Detailed Single domain, single process Detailed Detailed process plans (sequence, tools, resources,
planning fixtures, etc.)
Micro Optimal conditions and Very Process/Operation parameters, time, cost, etc., NC
planning machine instructions detailed codes

Process Planning
Specification & Operation Determination
Resource
Design Requirement Selection and of Operational Manufacturing
Selection
Analysis Sequencing Parameters

Computer-Aided Process Planning, Fig. 1 Overall view of process planning activities (Adapted from Xu 2009)

Reconfigurable Process Planning (RPP) RPP
was first introduced by Azab and ElMaraghy
(2007a). It is a hybrid generative/retrieval
approach which develops a process plan for a
new part, some features of which are not within
the boundaries of the existing part families or its
composite part and master plan, i.e., the new part
belongs to an evolving parts family (ElMaraghy
2007). The master plan is modified to meet the
requirements of the new part and its features.
Portions of the process plan, corresponding to
the removed/added features (and their
manufacturing operations), are generated and
optimally positioned, similar to genetic mutation,
within the overall process plan. An innovative
mathematical formulation using 0–1 integer pro-
gramming is used for reconfiguring process plans
and minimizing the cost of disruption on the shop
floor.
Process Planning Activities
In the broadest sense, process planning is the
consolidation of planning activities that allow
manufacturing of the products to commence
after their design specifications have been
established. In this broad definition, process plan-
ning involves a wide variety of activities as shown
in Fig. 1:
• Component specification and requirement
analysis
• Operation selection and sequencing
• Resource selection
• Determination of appropriate operational
parameters
It is noteworthy that, in general, these activities
are not carried out in a sequential manner and
usually there are many iterations necessary until
process planning is completed and the
manufacturing of the product commences.
Component Specification and Requirement
Analysis
The first set of activities in process planning is
concerned with analyzing the design requirements
to identify the features that should be
manufactured. When manufacturing a product,
this activity manifests as identification of
4 Computer-Aided Process Planning
Computer-Aided Process
Planning, Fig. 2 3D CAD
drawing of a simple part
Computer-Aided Process
Planning,
Fig. 3 Manufacturing
features identified on the
component
manufacturing features and associating the
required tolerances with these features. For exam-
ple, the features and the tolerances in the 3D
drawing in Fig. 2 are identified as shown in Fig. 3.
Operation Selection and Sequencing
After the identification of features, it is necessary
to determine the appropriate types of manufactur-
ing operations and their sequence to create the
features according to the required specifications.
The operations required for producing a feature
can vary depending on the desired accuracy and
precision. For example, a simple drilling opera-
tion would suffice for machining a hole with low
tolerance and moderate surface roughness
requirements whereas machining the same hole
with finer surface finish and tighter tolerances
shall require the use of drilling operation followed
by a reaming operation. In most cases, there are
several ways to produce a design. Constraints
emerging from accessibility or setup require-
ments, or indeed limitations of resources, often
necessitate certain features to be manufactured in
certain orders. For example, in order to produce
the part in Fig. 4, it is necessary to machine pocket
1 in order to access pocket 2 and consequently,
machine pocket 2 has to be finished before pocket
3 can be machined.
In addition, the desired quantity of the product
or the service will also affect the selection and
Computer-Aided Process Planning
Computer-Aided Process Pocket 3
Planning, Fig. 4 A simple
milled part with three
pockets
sequencing of operations. For example, a
sequence of operations that is optimal for machin-
ing a metal component on a 3-axis vertical
machining center in a batch of 10 will not be
optimal for producing the same component on a
4-axis horizontal machining center in batches of
1000. It is necessary to establish criteria for com-
parison of operation sequences; usually, these
include the quality of the produced product and
the efficiency with which it is produced.
Resource Selection
In conjunction with the selection of the
manufacturing operations and their sequence, it
is essential to select the appropriate resource
required to produce the desired product. The
nature of required resources varies widely
depending on the nature of the product, the avail-
able technologies, the desired quantity, and so
forth. Some of the resource selection activities
that are often undertaken within the remit of pro-
cess planning for manufacturing metal products
are: selection of materials and workpieces; selec-
tion of machine tools; selection of cutting tools;
and, selection of auxiliary devices.
Selection of Materials and Raw Workpiece In
the manufacturing of products, the selection of the
5
Pocket 1 Pocket 2
appropriate raw workpiece from which the com-
ponent is made is an essential element of process
planning. The selection of the workpiece com-
prises of determination of attributes such as
shape, size, and material.
Selection of Machine Tools Machine tools are
fundamental resources in manufacturing of prod-
ucts and it is therefore imperative to select the
appropriate devices to meet product requirements.
The selection of machine tools is generally
influenced by workpiece-related factors, machine
tool-related factors, and production-related fac-
tors. Workpiece-related factors such as the mate-
rial or the size of the raw work piece have
implications for the possibility of machining the
components on a specific machine. The machine
tool-related factors comprise of the technological,
i.e., the capability of the machine to carry out the
required types of operation (e.g., turning or grind-
ing), tools that can be used on a machine and
auxiliary devices (i.e., tool changing arms and
loading and unloading robots and fixtures) that
can be utilized together with the machine tool.
Production-related factors are fundamentally
related to the unit cost of production, the quality
of the produced components, and the lead time for
the production.
6 Computer-Aided Process Planning
Selection of Cutting Tools Machining is real-
ized by controller motion of cutting tools in rela-
tion to the workpiece. An appropriate selection of
cutting tools is therefore a major part of process
planning. The tools are chosen with regard to the
attributes of the workpiece and product features as
well as to the machine tools and operations that
have been selected for production.
Selection of Auxiliary Devices In addition to the
machine tool and cutting tools, several auxiliary
devices are often necessary to accomplish produc-
tion goals. Work-holding devices such as jigs and
fixtures, clamps and chucks, loading and
unloading equipment are classified among these
devices. Furthermore, inspection equipment such
as on-machine probes and coordinate measuring
machines (CMM) that are used to guarantee the
dimensional accuracy of the produced parts are
also categorized as auxiliary production equip-
ment. In process planning, it is necessary to iden-
tify the auxiliary devices that are required to
achieve the production goals and meet the quality
requirements of the part.
Determination of Appropriate Operational
Parameters
Once the production resources have been selected,
it is necessary to select the appropriate values for
controllable parameters in manufacturing opera-
tions. In product manufacturing scenarios, param-
eters such as cutting speed, feed, and depth of cut
or width of cut need to be selected for each fea-
ture. In provision of services, parameters are more
context sensitive. For example, in providing a
helpdesk to technically support a software system,
the number of personnel is a parameter that needs
to be chosen. Various models are used for the
selection of operational parameters including the
minimum cost models that seek to minimize the
overall resource cost of the operation, maximum
production rate models that aim to realize the
highest possible throughput, and lead time-
oriented models that strive to lower the produc-
tion’s time to market.
Process Planning Application Domains
Process planning is required and applied to just
about any manufacturing process or operation in
many domains including metal removal, additive
manufacturing (Jin et al. 2013), assembly, bulk
and sheet metal forming, inspection, robot manip-
ulation and processing tasks, etc.
Process Planning for Combined Processes
While process planning of single processes is a
well-recognized problem, process planning for
combination of processes whether simultaneous
in the case of hybrid processes (Lauwers
et al. 2014) or sequential in the case of additive/
subtractive combinations (Nassehi et al. 2011) is
still under research. There are many challenges
due to the much larger solution space that results
from combining processes, requiring changes,
extensions, and enhancements of the traditional
process planning methods. Iterative methods
(Newman et al. 2015) and micro process planning
for a limited subset of processes (Luo et al. 2013)
have been investigated, but this is a beginning,
and more challenges require further research.
Cross-References
▶ Design Methodology
▶ Machine Tool
▶ Planning
References
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Scallan P (2003) Process planning: the design/manufacture
interface. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford
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Xu X, Wang L, Newman ST (2011) Computer-aided pro-
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and future trends. Int J Comput Integr Manuf
24(1):1–31
F
Factory
George Chryssolouris1, Hans-Peter Wiendahl2,
Loukas Rentzos1 and Sotiris Makris1
1
Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems and
Automation (LMS), Department of Mechanical
Engineering and Aeronautics, University of
Patras, Patras, Greece
2
Inst. f€
ur Fabrikanlagen und Logistik, University
of Hannover, Hannover, Germany
Synonyms
Manufacturing plant; Production site
Definition
Factory, manufacturing systems, and production
are closely related terms and often are not distin-
guishable, neither in literature nor in industry. In
the following essay, manufacturing and produc-
tion will be seen as functions for the generation of
products (Chryssolouris 2006), whereas the fac-
tory represents the physical and logical means of
performing production and manufacturing pro-
cesses. An industrial manufacturing site includes
the buildings, the manufacturing facilities, and the
ground on which they are located (CIRP Dictio-
nary of Production Engineering 2004).
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6553-4
Extended Definition
A factory is a local grouping of production factors
for the realization of the entire or a part of the
value chain of real goods. The main production
factors are material, facilities, work force, energy,
and information.
Theory and Application
History
The history of factories can better be described
from the viewpoint of their main change drivers.
Together with the increasing variety of the prod-
uct comes the steady permeation of technological
developments: new materials and manufacturing
processes, information and communication tech-
nology (ICT), Internet applications, RFID (radio
frequency identification devices), and virtual real-
ity, open up new possibilities for both the design
engineer and the factory planner. Furthermore,
there may be a different life cycle of factory ele-
ments such as processes, buildings, or sites com-
pared to a product life cycle produced in the
factory, while the time available for enterprises
to react to market changes decreases.
Developments in the last decade include con-
cepts such as lean production (Womack
et al. 1990), business reengineering (Hammer
and Champy 1993), and the fractal factory
(Warnecke 1998):
2 Factory
• Products and their production programs were
broken down into components, modules, and
subsystems, and key competencies concen-
trated on them. In-house manufacturing was
then drastically reduced, while orders for
required items were shifted to external sup-
pliers. In addition, the workforce was consid-
erably reduced as well.
• The entire procurement logic was restructured
in order to be differentiated and accelerated.
Supplies were delivered directly to the site and
permanent relationships with the suppliers of
modules and systems were developed.
A further example was the allocation of a com-
plete spectrum of the so-called C-parts,
namely, parts that are only worth 5–10 % of
the total product value but make up to 80 % of
the number of parts, to a logistics service
provider.
• The direct value-adding area of the
manufacturing and assembly was restructured
into segments and was decentralized. Based on
the 1960s group technology (Mitrofanow
1960) and the 1970s/1980s manufacturing
cells, the concepts of modular factories
(Wildemann 1998) and fractal factories
(Warnecke 1998) were created. The general
idea behind it was that part or component
groups, requiring similar manufacturing or
assembly technology, be produced as one unit
for a market segment with specific demands
regarding delivery times and reliability.
Factory,
Fig. 1 Influencing
parameters on a factory
Functions such as material and tool planning,
scheduling, servicing, and maintenance were
integrated into such a unit.
• Factories can be integrated into a network of
enterprises: Companies join together into a
virtual enterprise, appearing from the outside
like a large enterprise and offering all of the
services from “one place.” Such a concept
allows small and midsize enterprises to suc-
cessfully bid and develop large projects at
low overhead costs.
Influencing Parameters
A factory is the subject of many influencing
parameters which determine their configuration
and explain why any factory is unique (Fig. 1)
(Wiendahl et al. 2009).
The products to be manufactured and their
markets, the work force available, the local laws
and regulations, and the proposed processes deter-
mine typically the necessary facilities, the mate-
rial flow from the suppliers through the factory to
the customers, and the approach to planning and
controlling the orders. Special attention must be
given to the efficient use of material and energy.
Factory Components
Factory resources could be summarized under the
heading facilities, organization, and employees
(Wiendahl et al. 2009).
Facilities are grouped into core and support
functions. Core functions transform the raw
Factory
material into final components (manufacturing)
and products (assembly) and, thus, create an
added value. Support functions are necessary but
do not add value. These are logistic facilities
(mainly storage and transport equipment) and
ICT (Information and Communications Technol-
ogy) Systems. Their work schedule determines
the output of the factory. The dominating facilities
are those for manufacturing, assembly, and logis-
tics since they mostly determine due to their size,
weight, and energy consumption the factory
content.
Employees are grouped according to their qual-
ification level, which in turn is determined by the
technical level of the products, processes, and
equipment regarding complexity, precision, and
variation. The working conditions, namely, ergo-
nomic, room climate, lighting, and safety, take
care of the human needs and health. Finally, the
wage system (pay by hour or by performance) and
the incentive structure, in the long term, are essen-
tial for the quality of the output.
Factory, Fig. 2 Industrial buildings (Reichardt and Wiendahl 2009)
3
The organization determines, on the one hand,
the hierarchy in which the factory is structured
and corresponds to the layout levels. On the other
hand, the business processes have to be
documented, often in quality handbooks. Part of
the organization is finally the job assignment of
factory tasks, at a certain qualification level, of the
employees and the grouping into wage classes.
Buildings are – as already mentioned – for
many reasons necessary for the performance of
the processes and the protection of the employees
and products from outer disturbances such as
weather conditions and unauthorized people.
The buildings are statically structured, the outer
shell, the media routes, and the building equip-
ment for air conditioning, lighting, IT, and energy
provision. Typical forms of production building
are depicted in Fig. 2. The buildings are usually
one storey, but if the land price is very high or light
weight, products are to be manufactured there,
then multi-storey buildings are also utilized.
4 Factory
The site very much determines the material
supply into and from the factory, as well as other
factors, namely, climate, wages, and taxes. The
selection is a process on its own and is dominated
by long-term aspects.
Virtual Factory
The incorporation of virtual reality
(VR) technology for the digital simulation of the
modern operations, at factory level, has been
progressing rapidly in the last decade. It is mainly
used for virtually planning the layout and pro-
cesses of a factory, simulating tasks or evaluating
alternative designs prior to the start of production
(Chryssolouris et al. 2008a). Using such solu-
tions, the industry has implemented virtual factory
systems that allow greater reuse of engineering
data, better control of late engineering changes
in the design cycle, and more sophisticated simu-
lations of NC machining processes and factory-
floor layouts (Chryssolouris 2006).
Factory of the Future
The factory of the future is visualized as a factory
with enough intelligence to adapt with flexibility
to various market trends and demands or unex-
pected events, while maximizing the production
performance and minimizing the environmental
footprint of its operation, by utilizing advanced
ICT solutions and sustainable methods and strat-
egies (Jovane et al. 2008). It will also have to
invest heavily on the knowledge existing in the
system, especially the part that has to do with
humans. The technologies to be developed and
used for the factory of the future are ICT-based
systems that aim to increase the performance and
the adaptability of the production, while consid-
ering in real time the environmental aspects and
the quality of services (Chryssolouris
et al. 2008b).
Cross-References
▶ Changeable Manufacturing
▶ Machine Tool
▶ Manufacturing
▶ Manufacturing System
▶ Production
▶ System
References
Chryssolouris G (2006) Manufacturing systems: theory
and practice, 2nd edn. Springer, New York
Chryssolouris G, Mavrikios D, Papakostas N, Mourtzis D,
Michalos G, Georgoulias K (2008a) Digital
manufacturing: history, perspectives, and outlook.
Proc Inst Mech Eng B J Eng Manuf 222(5):451–462
Chryssolouris G, Papakostas N, Mavrikios D (2008b)
A perspective on manufacturing strategy: produce
more with less. CIRP J Manuf Sci Technol 1:45–52
CIRP Dictionary of Production Engineering
(2004) Manufacturing systems, vol 3, 1st edn. Springer,
Berlin
Hammer M, Champy J (1993) Reengineering the corpora-
tion: a manifesto for business revolution, 1st edn.
Harper Business Books, New York. German edition:
Business reengineering: Die radikalkur f€ ur das
unternehmen, so erneuern sie ihre firma, 7th edn.
Frankfurt am Main, 2003
Jovane F, Yoshikawa H, Alting L, Boër CR,
Westkamper E, Williams D, Tseng M, Seliger G, Paci
AM (2008) The incoming global technological and
industrial revolution towards competitive sustainable
manufacturing. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
57(2):641–659
Mitrofanow SP (1960) Wissenschaftliche grundlagen der
gruppentechnologie [Scientific fundaments of group
technology], 2nd edn. VEB Verlag Technik, Berlin
(in German)
Ohno T (1988) Toyota production system: beyond large-
scale production [English translation]. Productivity
Press, New York
Reichardt J, Wiendahl H-P (2009) Changeable factory
buildings – an architectural view. In: Elmaraghy H -
(ed) Changeable and reconfigurable manufacturing
systems. Springer, London, pp 389–401
Warnecke H-J (ed) (1998) Aufbruch zum Fraktalen
unternehmen – praxisbeispiele f€ ur neues denken und
handeln [On the move to the fractal
enterprise – examples for novel thinking and action].
Springer, Berlin (in German)
Wiendahl H-P, Reichardt J, Nyhuis P (2009) Handbuch
fabrikplanung. Konzept, gestaltung und umsetzung
wandlungsf€ahiger produktionsst€atten [Handbook fac-
tory planning. Concept, design and realization of
changeable production sites]. Hanser, Munich
(in German)
Wildemann H (1998) Die modulare fabrik – kundennahe
produktion durch fertigungssegmentierung [the modu-
lar factory – product segmentation as an approach to
customer-oriented manufacturing], 5th edn. TCW
transfer-centrum f€ ur produktions-logistik und
technologie-management [TCW Transfer Center for
Factory 5

Manufacturing Logistics and Technology] GmbH, institute of technology 5-million dollar 5-year study
M€unchen on the future of the automobile. Rawson Associates,
Womack JP, Jones DT, Roos D (1990) The machine that New York
changed the world: based on the Massachusetts
F

Flexible Manufacturing System Economy of Scope while achieving the efficien-

cies of the Economy of Scale (ElMaraghy 2006).
Hoda ElMaraghy1 and Alessandra Caggiano2 Moreover, flexible manufacturing is capable of
1
Intelligent Manufacturing Systems Center, responding quickly to increasing product variants
University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada and decreasing quantities per variant (ElMaraghy
2
Department of Industrial Engineering, et al. 2013).
Fraunhofer Joint Laboratory of Excellence on The reason behind the attribute “flexible” is
Advanced Production Technology (Fh-J_LEAPT that FMSs are capable of processing an assort-
Naples), University of Naples Federico II, Naples, ment of different part variants belonging to the
Italy same family simultaneously at the various work-
stations, and the mix of part styles and quantities
of production can be adjusted in response to
Synonyms changing demand patterns.
The ability to process many different parts
Adaptable production system; Adjustable within FMSs with minimum engineering effort
manufacturing system and changeover time requires both physical and
logical enablers (ElMaraghy 2006; Wiendahl
et al. 2007):
Definition Hard (physical) enablers:

A flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is an • Programmable machines and equipment

integrated group of processing CNC machines • Sensors for monitoring feedback
and material-handling equipment under computer • Modular design of machines and adaptable
control for the automatic processing of palletized HW equipment
parts. FMSs represent a compromise between the
high flexibility of versatile job shops and the high Soft (logical) enablers:
production rate of a dedicated mass production
system (e.g., transfer lines). It is capable of pro- • Group technology – A prerequisite for FMS
ducing limited number of preplanned part families implementation
and utilizes similarities between members of a • Adaptable process planning, setup, fixtures,
parts family based on group technology. FMSs and tools planning
are most suited for the mid-variety, mid-volume
production range, exploiting the benefits of the
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6554-4
2 Flexible Manufacturing System
• Adaptable scheduling, flexible routing/
sequencing
• Real-time control, decision-making, and fault
recovery
Theory and Application
Introduction
The concept of flexible manufacturing system
(FMS) was originally conceived in Britain in the
early 1960s. The first physical flexible
manufacturing system was established around
1967 in the United States (Groover 2000) in
response to a new demand for wider variety and
greater responsiveness to changes in products,
production technology, and markets. The objec-
tive of a FMS is to realize a single system able to
carry out the fabrication of several types of parts
that may change over time (ElMaraghy 2007),
with small conversion time, at the required vol-
ume and quality, so as to attain productivity and
flexibility together.
Flexible manufacturing systems are designed to
produce parts within a range of styles, sizes, and
processes based on the concept of group technol-
ogy. Thus, FMS flexibility is limited to the produc-
tion of a single part family or a limited range of part
families, where a part family is defined as a set of
parts with similar dimensions, geometric features,
and tolerances or processing requirements or both.
By taking advantage of these similarities between
parts in design and/or manufacture to achieve econ-
omy of scope, FMS can address changes in work
orders, production schedules, part-programs, and
tooling (Groover 2007).
Flexibility
Flexible manufacturing systems are based on the
concept of flexibility, which can be defined as the
capacity of a system to adjust itself in response to
changing requirements without significant
expense in terms of time, effort, cost, or perfor-
mance (Toni and Tonchia 1998). Flexibility has
been traditionally interpreted as “the ability of a
system to change its behavior without changing its
configuration,” while reconfigurability has been
defined as “the ability to change the behavior of a
system by changing its configuration” (Wiendahl
et al. 2007; Putnik et al. 2013).
The ability to process many different parts
within an FMS with minimum engineering effort
and changeover time requires both physical and
logical enablers (ElMaraghy 2006).
The concept of flexibility is wide and includes
the following categories:
• Machine flexibility: Various operations are
performed without setup change
• Production flexibility: Number of part types
that can be produced without major additional
capital equipment
• Mix flexibility: Ability to change product mix
without affecting the production quantity
• Product flexibility: Ease (time and cost) of
introducing new products into an existing
product mix
• Routing flexibility: Number of feasible alterna-
tive routes of all part types/number of part
types
• Volume flexibility: Capacity to vary the produc-
tion volume profitably within production
capacity
• Expansion flexibility: Ability of augmenting
capacity and capability when needed, with lim-
ited effort and cost (approaching
reconfiguration)
The flexibility that can be integrated into a
FMS is limited, as no manufacturing system is
able to produce an infinite range of parts or prod-
ucts; however, specific criteria have been defined
to qualify a manufacturing system as flexible.
A “focused flexibility” paradigm has been intro-
duced at the system level by identifying produc-
tion system solutions tailored on present and
future production requirements (Tolio 2009;
Tolio et al. 2010).
In literature, the following assessment tests of
flexibility have been identified for a manufactur-
ing system (Groover 2007):
1. Part variety. It concerns the system capacity to
process different part styles in a
nonbatch mode.
Flexible Manufacturing System
2. Schedule change. The system should be able to
readily accept changes in production schedule
as well as variations in either part mix or pro-
duction quantities.
3. Error recovery. The system’s ability to quickly
and easily recover from equipment faults and
breakdowns to avoid production interruptions.
4. Introduction of new parts. New part designs
should be introduced into the existing product
mix without too much effort.
In order to be classified as an FMS, a
manufacturing system should pass at least the
first three assessment tests.
FMS Architecture and Components
Flexible manufacturing systems are characterized
by an integral architecture in which hardware and
software make up an efficient and reliable unit.
FMS equipment and system are programma-
ble: for each product, a process cycle defining all
the technological specifications (e.g., type of
operations, required tools, feed motion, working
speeds, etc.) is available, so that the system has all
the required information for transforming raw
parts into finished products (Matta and Semeraro
2005).
Hardware Components
The building blocks of FMSs are represented by
Computer Numerical Control (CNC) manufactur-
ing equipment. The key hardware components
include workstations, material-handling systems,
and a computer control system; moreover, tools,
fixtures and pallets are required. Human labor is
primarily dedicated to load/unload and assembly
tasks, and the manual processes are significantly
reduced compared to traditional production
systems.
Workstations FMS workstations include
computer-controlled machines (CNC machine
tools, machining centers, assembly machines,
robots) and auxiliary stations (painting, washing,
heat treating, inspecting (CMM), etc.). In order to
deal with a variety of product and process require-
ments, system automation must be programmable
and easily adaptable and versatile machines
3
should be employed (Chryssolouris 2006). For
this reason, CNC machine tools and robotic work-
stations represent most of the equipment in these
systems, as their movements during the machin-
ing operations are locally controlled by a com-
puter. These machine tools are easily
reprogrammable, and they are provided with tool
changer and tool storage systems to accommodate
a variety of tooling.
Load/Unload Stations Load/unload stations are
employed to clamp/fixture parts on pallets before
entering the system and remove finished parts
after their process cycle has been completed.
These stations can employ human operators or
robots to accomplish the task.
Material-Handling Systems Several different
types of computer-controlled material-handling
systems are employed to move parts between
workstations automatically. Suitable handling
systems for FMS include conveyors, tow-carts,
stacker cranes, and industrial robots. Shuttles are
mechanisms for transferring work pieces between
stations and MHS, which are also used as limited
in-process buffer.
The selection of the type of material-handling
system is a function of several factors.
• First, the material-handling system must be
able to hold the part, its fixture, and pallet as
needed. Nonrotational parts are often moved
on pallet fixtures designed for the particular
handling system, and the fixtures are designed
to accommodate the various part family geom-
etries. Rotational parts are often handled by
robots, if their weight is within the robot car-
rying capacity. Large and heavy parts require
other handling systems such as roller con-
veyors, guided vehicles, or track-driven vehi-
cle systems.
• Second, the number of machines in the system
and the layout should be taken into consider-
ation, as the material-handling system should
be able to reach all the workstations.
• Third, the material-handling system must be
capable of moving parts from one machine to
4 Flexible Manufacturing System
another in a timely manner; otherwise, the
system will be unproductive.
Buffers These are the places where parts wait for
the availability of system’s resources. In-process
buffers are minimized in FMS by design and
central automated storage and retrieval systems
are commonly used for storing incoming and fin-
ished parts.
Tooling The tooling used in an FMS must be
capable of supporting a variety of products or
parts.
Fixtures and Pallets Fixtures are often dedi-
cated to specific products, but in recent years,
work has been focused on creating flexible fix-
tures able to support a variety of components. As
parts within an FMS are frequently moved from
one station to another on fixtures, these should be
designed so that the material-handling system can
easily handle them. Fixtures provide stability to
parts during processing and allow automatic
clamping of parts on pallets.
Human Operators In FMS, human operators do
not carry out processing, but they play a signifi-
cant role in system management, operation, and
control. Tasks performed by human workers
include:
• Loading and unloading of parts
• Supplying materials, tools, and fixtures
• Maintaining and repairing equipment
• Programming CNC machines and robots
• Managing the overall system
Computer Control System
FMSs incorporate a distributed computer system
that is interfaced to the workstations, material-
handling systems, and other hardware compo-
nents. It consists of microcomputers controlling
the individual machines and components and a
central computer that coordinates the activities
for the overall operation of the system. Tasks
performed by an FMS computer control system
include (Groover 2000):
• Workstation control
• Distribution of control instructions to
workstations
• Production control
• MHS traffic control
• Work piece monitoring
• Tools control (tool location, tool life
monitoring)
• Performance monitoring and reporting
• Diagnostics
FMS software consists of several modules
associated with the various functions performed
by the manufacturing system (part programming,
machines control, material-handling system con-
trol, tool management). Data and commands are
transmitted from the central computer to the single
machines and other hardware components, and
data on execution and performance are sent back
from the FMS modules to the central computer. In
order to support data transmission, local area net-
work (LAN) technology is commonly employed
in FMS.
Types of FMS
Flexible manufacturing systems can be classified
according to the number of machines in the sys-
tem as illustrated below:
• Single machine cell
• Flexible manufacturing cell (Fig. 1)
• Flexible manufacturing system
Another criterion for FMS classification is
based on the layout that can be one of the
following:
• In-line layout
• Loop layout
• Ladder layout
• Network layout that allows branching for flex-
ible routing
• Robot-centered cell layout
Flexible Manufacturing System
Flexible Manufacturing System, Fig. 1 Flexible manufacturing cell (Photo by courtesy of Pietro Carnaghi SpA,
http://www.pietrocarnaghi.com/)
FMS Planning, Design, and Operation
The FMS planning process involves a number of
steps. First of all, the analysis of the parts that will
be produced by the system should be carried out
according to the following issues:
• Application of group technology to form part
families, which is a prerequisite for
implementing FMS
• Identification of processing requirements, pro-
cess plans and precedence constraints, and pos-
sible alternate resources and routing (Azab and
ElMaraghy 2007)
• Identification of characteristics and features of
the work parts and machine capability
requirements
• Definition of the production volume and fore-
seen variation in market demands
Once the part family, production volumes, and
other part issues have been defined, the FMS
5
design process can be carried out by identifying
the following features:
• Types of workstations and their capabilities
• Variations in process routings and FMS layout
• Material-handling system and its
characteristics
• Work-in-process and storage capacity
• Tools, tool magazines, tool storage, and main-
tenance which is normally central
• Fixtures and pallets
In order to meet production requirements and
achieve operational objectives related to profit,
quality, and customer satisfaction, the FMS
existing resources must be optimized by dealing
with the following operational problems:
• Scheduling and dispatching priorities and rules
• Machine loading, system balancing, and takt
time
6 Flexible Manufacturing System
• Part routing including route flexibility/alter-
nate routes
• Part grouping into one or few preplanned parts
families
• Tool management policies
• Pallets and fixtures allocation
FMS Analysis
A number of quantitative analysis techniques
have been presented in literature for FMS analysis
(Matta and Semeraro 2005; Groover 2007). FMS
analysis techniques include deterministic and
queuing models, discrete events simulation, and
other approaches including heuristics.
To obtain early estimates of system perfor-
mance metrics such as production rate, capacity,
and utilization, deterministic models can be used.
Deterministic models do not allow the evaluation
of operating characteristics such as queues and
other dynamic behaviors that can impair the
FMS performance.
Queuing models, based on the mathematical
theory of queues, can be used to describe some
of the dynamics not accounted for in deterministic
approaches.
In the later stages of design, discrete event
simulation offers a more accurate method for
modeling an FMS by taking into consideration
aspects such as layout configuration, number of
machines, tools and fixtures, size of buffers, part
routing heuristics, and production scheduling
rules.
FMS Applications and Benefits
Flexible manufacturing systems typically address
mid-volume and mid-variety production. If a
product is required in high quantities with no
style variations, then a dedicated mass production
manufacturing system is most appropriate. For
products characterized by low volume and high
variety, then job shops with versatile machines or
even manual methods would be more suitable
(ElMaraghy 2007).
Historically, most of the applications of FMS
have been in milling and drilling operations
(nonrotational parts), and more recently in turning
(rotational parts), through the employment of
CNC machining centers. Other implementations
of FMS include assembly, inspection, sheet-metal
processing (punching, shearing, bending, and
forming), and forging.
FMS reduces or eliminates waste by ensuring
that non–value added tasks such as load/unload,
parts clamping and fixturing and setup, gauging,
tool changes, and maintenance occur outside the
processing cycle, hence achieving higher produc-
tivity. Its automated features, monitoring and
feedback adaptability, and fault recovery strate-
gies allow un-manned utilization of second and
third shifts which increases the utilization of its
expensive equipment. Example of FMS systems
can be found at https://www.mazakusa.com/ and
https://www.makino.com/.
Compared to conventional manufacturing sys-
tems, the benefits of FMS implementation
include:
• Increased machine utilization (as high as
90 %)
• Fewer machines required
• Reduction in necessary factory floor space
• Greater responsiveness to changes
• Reduced inventory requirements
• Reduced work-in-process (WIP)
• Lower lead times
• Reduced direct labor requirements and higher
labor productivity
• Opportunity for un-attended production
Some drawbacks of FMS include: complex
management of large number of products, signif-
icant capital investment, and sophisticated tech-
nology to be managed. Since flexible
manufacturing systems are designed to fulfill the
processing requirements for all members of the
parts family, the “Flexibility required for antici-
pated changes is built-in a priori. Hence, FMSs are
relatively costly and some of their capabilities are
often under-utilized as not all part variants are
processed at the same time” (ElMaraghy 2006).
Flexible Manufacturing System
Cross-References
▶ Computer Numerical Control
▶ Factory
▶ Machine Tool
▶ Manufacturing System
▶ Production
▶ Productivity
▶ Robot
References
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Hon B (2013) Scalability in manufacturing systems
design and operation: state-of-the-art and future devel-
opments roadmap. CIRP Ann 62(2):751–774
Tolio T (2009) Design of flexible production systems:
methodologies and tools. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg
Tolio T, Ceglarek D, ElMaraghy HA, Fischer A, Hu SJ,
Laperrière L, Newman ST, Váncza J (2010) SPECIES-
Co-evolution of products, processes and production
systems. CIRP Ann 59(2):672–693
Toni DE, Tonchia S (1998) Manufacturing flexibility: a
literature review. Int J Prod Res 36(6):1587–1617
Wiendahl H-P, ElMaraghy HA, Nyhuis P, Zaeh M,
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F
Fuzzy Logic
Alessandra Caggiano
Department of Industrial Engineering, Fraunhofer
Joint Laboratory of Excellence on Advanced
Production Technology (Fh-J_LEAPT Naples),
University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
Synonyms
Multivalued logic
Definition
The term fuzzy logic has two different meanings.
More specifically, in a narrow sense, fuzzy logic,
FLn, is a logical system which may be viewed as
an extension and generalization of classical multi-
valued logics. But in a wider sense, fuzzy logic,
FLw, is almost synonymous with the theory of
fuzzy sets (Zadeh 1975).
Extended Definition
Basically, fuzzy logic (FL) is a multivalued logic,
which allows intermediate values to be defined
between conventional evaluations like true/false,
yes/no, and high/low. Fuzzy logic is an extension
of the traditional logic to intermediate and approx-
imate values.
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6555-3
Theory and Application
Introduction
The concept of fuzzy logic emerged in 1965
within the development of the theory of fuzzy
sets by Lotfi A. Zadeh, professor of computer
science at the University of California in Berkeley
(Zadeh 1965).
Later, in 1972, Michio Sugeno of the Tokyo
Institute of Technology introduced the concepts of
fuzzy measure and fuzzy integral (Sugeno 1972).
One of the first control systems built using fuzzy
set theory was proposed in 1975 by Ebrahim
Mamdani of the University of London to control
a steam engine and boiler combination by synthe-
sizing a set of linguistic control rules obtained
from skilled human operators (Mamdani and
Assilian 1975). It is known as Mamdani fuzzy
inference method, and it is the most commonly
seen fuzzy methodology.
The basic concept underlying FL is that of a
linguistic variable, that is, a variable whose values
are words rather than numbers. In effect, much of
FL may be viewed as a methodology for comput-
ing with words rather than numbers. Although
words are inherently less precise than numbers,
their use is closer to human intuition. Further-
more, computing with words exploits the toler-
ance for imprecision and thereby lowers the cost
of solution. Fuzzy logic effectively deals with the
trade-off between significance and precision. FL
provides the opportunity for modeling conditions
2 Fuzzy Logic

that are inherently imprecisely defined (Russell functions are built on the Gaussian distribution
and Norvig 2003). curve and have the advantage of being smooth and
nonzero at all points.
In summary:
Fuzzy Sets and Membership Functions
Fuzzy logic starts with the concept of fuzzy set.
• A fuzzy set admits the possibility of partial
A fuzzy set is a set without a crisp, clearly defined
membership in it.
boundary that can contain elements with only a
• The degree an object belongs to a fuzzy set
partial degree of membership. A fuzzy set defines
is denoted by a membership value between
a mapping between elements in the input space
0 and 1.
(usually referred to as the universe of discourse)
• A membership function associated with a
and values in the interval [0, 1] (Teti and Kumara
given fuzzy set maps an input value to its
1997). The basic concept of the theory is that of
appropriate membership value.
membership function, which specifies to what
degree an element belongs to a fuzzy set.
Fuzzy Propositions
Let X be a space of points (objects), with a
Fuzzy logic is a method for reasoning with logical
generic element of X indicated by x. Thus,
expressions describing membership in fuzzy sets.
X = {x}. A fuzzy set A in X is characterized by a
A fuzzy logic proposition, P, is a statement involv-
membership function fA(x) which associates with
ing concepts without clearly defined boundaries.
each point in X a real number in the interval [0, 1],
Linguistic statements that tend to express subjec-
with the value of fA(x) at x representing the
tive ideas and that can be interpreted slightly
“degree of membership” of x in A. Thus, the closer
differently by various individuals typically
the value of f A(x) to 1, the higher the grade of
involve fuzzy propositions. The most natural lan-
membership of x in A. When A is a set in the
guage is fuzzy, in that it involves vague and
ordinary sense of the term, its membership func-
imprecise terms. Statements describing a person’s
tion can assume only the two values 0 and 1, with
height or weight or assessments of people’s pref-
fA(x) = 1 or 0 according as x does or does not
erences about colors or menus can be used as
belong to A. Thus, in this case fA(x) reduces to the
examples of fuzzy propositions (Ross 2004). The
familiar characteristic function of a set A (Zadeh
truth-value assigned to a proposition P can be any
1965; fuzzy sets).
value in the interval [0, 1]. The assignment of the
A membership function (MF) can be seen as a
truth-value to a proposition is actually a mapping
curve characterizing how each point of the input
from the interval [0, 1] to the universe U of truth-
space is mapped to a membership value (degree of
values, T, as indicated:
membership or truth degree) between 0 and 1. The
membership function can be any arbitrary curve,
T : u  U ! ð0, 1Þ (1)
the shape of which can be defined as a function
suitable from the point of view of simplicity,
Fuzzy propositions are assigned to fuzzy sets.
convenience, speed, and efficiency. Typical mem-
Suppose proposition P is assigned to the fuzzy
bership function shapes are triangular, rectangu-
set A, then the truth-value of a proposition,
lar, trapezoidal, Gaussian, sigmoidal, etc. Of
T (P), is given by
these, the simplest is the triangular membership
function composed of three points forming a tri-
T ðPÞ ¼ mA ðxÞ where 0  mA  1 (2)
angle. The trapezoidal membership function is a
truncated triangle curve with a flat top. These
The equation above indicates that the degree of
straight-line membership functions have the
truth for the proposition P: x  A is equal to the
advantage of simplicity. Other membership
membership grade of x in the fuzzy set A.
Fuzzy Logic
The fundamental difference between classical
propositions and fuzzy propositions is in the range
of their truth-values. While each classical propo-
sition is required to be either true or false, the truth
or falsity of fuzzy propositions is a matter of
degree (Klir and Yuan 1995). Assuming that
truth and falsity are expressed by values 1 and 0,
respectively, the degree of truth of each fuzzy
proposition is expressed by a number in the unit
interval [0, l].
Fuzzy Quantifiers
In general, fuzzy quantifiers are fuzzy numbers
that take part in fuzzy propositions. They are of
two kinds. Fuzzy quantifiers of the first kind are
defined on R and characterize linguistic terms
such as about 10, much more than 100, and at
least about 5. Fuzzy quantifiers of the second kind
are defined on [0, 1] and characterize linguistic
terms such as almost all, about half, and most.
Linguistic Hedges
Linguistic hedges are special linguistic terms by
which other linguistic terms are modified.
A linguistic hedge or modifier is an operation
that modifies the meaning of a term or a fuzzy
set. For example, if hot is a fuzzy set, then very
hot, more or less hot, and extremely hot are exam-
ples of hedges that are applied to that fuzzy set
(Klir and Yuan 1995). Hedges can be viewed as
operators that act upon a fuzzy set membership
function to modify it. There are hedges that inten-
sify the characteristics of a fuzzy set (very,
extremely), that dilute the membership curve
(somewhat, rather, quite), that form the comple-
ment (not), and that approximate a scalar to a
fuzzy set (about, close to, approximately). The
mechanics underlying the hedge operation is gen-
erally heuristic in nature. For example, it is used
frequently to implement the hedge slightly.
Zadeh’s original definition of the hedge very
intensifies the fuzzy region by squaring the mem-
bership function at each point in the set. On the
other hand, the hedge somewhat dilutes the fuzzy
region by taking the square root of the member-
ship function at each point along the set. The
complement of very is a hedge group represented
by somewhat, rather, and quite. These hedges
3
basically dilute the force of a fuzzy set member-
ship function. A generalization of the dilator
hedge simply replaces the exponent of the inten-
sification function with a real positive number less
than unity, expressed as a fraction (1/n).
Fuzzy Operators
In fuzzy logic, operators such as AND, OR, and
NOT are implemented by fuzzy intersection or
conjunction (AND), fuzzy union or disjunction
(OR), and fuzzy complement (NOT). There are
various ways to define these operators, but com-
monly, AND, OR, and NOT logic operators are
implemented by the min, max, and complement
operators. The fuzzy truth, T, of a complex sen-
tence is evaluated in this way:
T ð A ^ BÞ ¼ minðT ðAÞ, T ðBÞÞ (3)
T ðA _ BÞ ¼ maxðT ðAÞ, T ðBÞÞ (4)
T ð Ac Þ ¼ l  T ð AÞ (5)
If-Then Rules
Fuzzy sets and fuzzy operators are the subjects
and verbs of fuzzy logic. The processing core of
FL is based on a collection of IF-THEN rule
statements used to formulate conditional fuzzy
propositions.
A single fuzzy IF-THEN rule assumes the form
if x is A, then y is B
where A and B are linguistic values defined by
fuzzy sets on the universes of discourse X and Y,
respectively. The if-part of the rule “x is A” is
called the antecedent or premise, while the then-
part of the rule “y is B” is called the consequent or
conclusion.
An example of such a rule might be (Teti and
Kumara 1997):
If service is good, then tip is average.
Fuzzy rule sets usually have several anteced-
ents that are combined using fuzzy operators. The
combination is called a “premise,” and it gener-
ates a single truth value that determines the rule’s
outcome. In general, one rule by itself is not
sufficient, but two or more rules that can play off
one another are needed. The output of each rule is
4 Fuzzy Logic
Fuzzy Logic, Fig. 1 Fuzzy inference steps
a fuzzy set, but in general, the output of an entire
collection of rules should be a single number.
Fuzzy Inference
The actual process of mapping from a given input
to an output using fuzzy logic is called fuzzy
inference and consists of the five steps illustrated
in Fig. 1 (Teti and Kumara 1997).
Step 1: Input variables fuzzification
This step consists in determining the degree to
which the inputs belong to each of the appropriate
fuzzy sets through membership functions.
Step 2: Application of fuzzy operators
If a given rule has several parts, once the inputs
have been fuzzified, the fuzzy operators are
applied to resolve the antecedents to a single
number between 0 and 1.
Step 3: Application of implication method
The implication method is defined as the shap-
ing of the output membership functions. The input
for the implication process is a single number
given by the antecedent, and the output is a
fuzzy set. Two commonly used methods of impli-
cation are the minimum and the product.
Step 4: Output aggregation
Aggregation is the process through which the
outputs of each rule are unified. The input to the
aggregation is the output fuzzy sets returned by
the implication process for each rule. The output is
the combined output fuzzy set. The most common
aggregation methods are MAX (maximum),
PROBOR (probabilistic or), and SUM (simply
the sum of each rule’s output set).
Step 5: Output defuzzification
The resulting set must be defuzzified or
resolved to a single number (crisp value). Some
defuzzification methods are center of area (CoA),
bisector, middle of maximum (MOM), largest of
maximum, and smallest of maximum (Teti and
Kumara 1997). Perhaps the most popular
defuzzification method is the center of area
(CoA), which returns the center of area under the
curve.
In Fig. 2, the fuzzy inference flow from lin-
guistic variable fuzzification to defuzzification of
the aggregate output is shown: it proceeds up from
the inputs in the lower left, then across each row,
or rule, and then down the rule outputs to end in
the lower right.
The described inference method, due to
Mamdani (1974), is the most popular: other infer-
ence methods for fuzzy systems based on linguis-
tic rules are Sugeno models and Tsukamoto
models (Mamdani 1974; Sugeno 1985).
Applications
In recent years, the number and variety of appli-
cations of fuzzy logic have increased significantly.
Applications in manufacturing cover a wide range
which includes the following.
Decision Support Systems and Artificial
Intelligence
Fuzzy models are employed to support decision-
making processes, sometimes combined with arti-
ficial intelligence paradigms. In the literature
related to manufacturing, fuzzy logic has been
exploited to support functions such as supplier
management, through a fuzzy multi-agent
decision-making strategy (Zhang et al. 2003), or
to select the best automated manufacturing sys-
tem, through a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process
(AHP) method able to manage uncertainty and to
consider productivity and flexibility issues
(Monitto et al. 2002). A fuzzy AHP method has
been also applied to support decision-making in
evaluating machine tool alternatives (Ayag and
Özdemir 2006). In another case, a fuzzy program-
ming model has been developed to select process
cutting speeds in a production plan as a compro-
mise between particular and global targets (Noto
La Diega et al. 1995). Fuzzy multi-criteria
Fuzzy Logic
Fuzzy Logic, Fig. 2 Fuzzy
inference flow
optimization methods have been efficiently
applied to the network design of integrated
e-supply chains, as they support decision-making
even in case of subjective and qualitative knowl-
edge (Dotoli et al. 2007). An innovative method-
ology based on morphological mathematics and
fuzzy logic has been proposed to support
decision-making on opportunistic maintenance
strategy based on the assessment of proximity
between components belonging to a same indus-
trial system: a list of all the components close to a
reference is built using a fuzzy set (Derigent
et al. 2009).
Fuzzy systems usually do not incorporate auto-
matic learning abilities and adaptive features. It
seems that a very high performance can poten-
tially be obtained by combining neural networks
(NN) and fuzzy logic approaches and integrating
their benefits (Monostori and Egresits 1994).
Thus, the neuro-fuzzy (NF) approach can comply
with real-time management, uncertainty handling,
and learning ability. As an example, a neuro-fuzzy
system is used to approach optimum tool inven-
tory sizing of CBN grinding wheels for nickel-
based alloy turbine blade fabrication (Teti and
D’Addona 2003). A fuzzy-based methodology
combining artificial neural networks and a fuzzy
inference system has been employed to reduce
computational complexity and to deal with multi-
ple performance criteria in the real-time schedul-
ing of dual-resource constrained (DRC) systems
5
where the shop capacity is constrained by
machine and worker capacity (Araz and Salum
2010). An intelligent approach combining fuzzy
logic and analytic hierarchy process (AHP),
referred to as fuzzy AHP, has been used for
machine tool selection to manage the large num-
ber of quantitative and qualitative attributes of the
existing alternatives (Ayag and Özdemir 2006).
A fuzzy approach has been proposed to select
the suitable material handling equipment in the
presence of vagueness (Onut et al. 2009).
Robotics
Fuzzy models have been employed in robotics to
establish the inverse dynamic model for a robot
manipulator in its joint space (Qiao and Zhu 2000)
or to avoid complex analytical formulation of
isotropic target impedance and uncertainty of
parameters related to the robot and environment
model through a new fuzzy impedance control
law (Petrovic and Milacic 1998). Furthermore,
fuzzy inference has been introduced into variable
structure adaptive control for the nonlinear robot
manipulator systems giving robustness against
system uncertainties and external disturbances
(Zhao and Zhu 1995).
Fuzzy Control
Fuzzy control is a methodology for constructing
control systems in which the mapping between
real-valued input and output parameters is
6 Fuzzy Logic
represented by fuzzy rules. Fuzzy control has
been very successful in commercial products
such as automatic transmissions, video cameras,
and electric shavers. In industrial automation,
fuzzy logic controllers can be used to minimize
work in progress, production surplus, and produc-
tion backlog. In the literature, methodologies
developed for the design of such controllers
within manufacturing systems involve the use of
evolution strategies rather than genetic algorithms
(Porter et al. 1997). Fuzzy logic controllers are
applied to manage complex production systems,
to develop optimal control of unreliable machines,
and to develop a manufacturing control system
able to respond to system-level disturbances
(Homayouni et al. 2009; Yuniarto and Labib
2005; Monfared and Yang 2004).
Pattern Classification with Fuzzy Sets
Fuzzy pattern recognition methods have been pro-
posed in the literature for several applications, and
they are the basis for classification expert systems.
As an example, they were used in manufacturing
to classify parts, based on the idea that any char-
acteristics of a part corresponding to a certain
class are fuzzy and an absolute distinction does
not exist (Zhu and Zhang 1987). They were also
used in manufacturing processes to monitor dia-
mond tool wear status, considering the ambiguity
in classification as well as the weakness of the
cutting force variation (Ko et al. 1992). In recent
years, pattern recognition algorithms for data min-
ing have greatly increased, from web data mining
to intelligent search engine and agents, as fuzzy
logic can be used in making useful, human under-
standable, deduction from semi-structured infor-
mation (Nikravesh et al. 2002; Pal and Mitra
2007).
Fuzzy Modeling and Simulation
Fuzzy modeling has been effectively applied in
machining: as an example, Takagi-Sugeno-Kang
(TSK) fuzzy modeling has been employed to
accomplish the integration of multisensor infor-
mation and tool wear information in turning pro-
cesses (Ren et al. 2011). Moreover, fuzzy logic is
particularly suitable to model flexibility strate-
gies; in the literature, applications of fuzzy
modeling to the problems of manufacturing flex-
ibility are illustrated (Zukin and Young 2001).
Modeling and simulation techniques such as
fuzzy discrete event simulation have been applied
to deal with production situations characterized
by uncertainties, which are often referred to as
fuzzy production environments (Perrone
et al. 2001). Fuzzy Petri nets have been employed
to represent knowledge about desired states or
changes where the degree of fulfillment is
expressed by membership functions or transitions
between states are modeled by fuzzy sets
(Eversheim and Hack 1996).
Soft Computing
Fuzzy logic represents one of the main elements
of soft computing. The latter differs from conven-
tional hard computing as it is tolerant to impreci-
sion, uncertainty, partial truth, and approximation.
The principle behind soft computing is to exploit
the tolerance for imprecision, uncertainty, partial
truth, and approximation to achieve tractability,
robustness, and low cost.
The principal constituents of soft computing
are the following: fuzzy logic, neural computing,
evolutionary computation, machine learning, and
probabilistic reasoning.
Cross-References
▶ Neural Network
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K
Knowledge-Based System
Tiziana Segreto
Department of Chemical, Materials and Industrial
Production Engineering (DICMAPI), University
of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
Fraunhofer Joint Laboratory of Excellence on
Advanced Production Technology
(Fh J_LEAPT), Naples, Italy
Synonyms
Decision support tools; Expert systems
Definition
Knowledge-based systems (KBSs) are computer
programs embodying knowledge about a narrow
domain for solving problems related to that
domain (Teti and Kumara 1997).
Theory and Application
Introduction
The first knowledge-based systems (KBSs)
appeared in the 1970s, and because they contained
high-level, domain-specific knowledge elicited
from human experts, they were called expert sys-
tems (ESs). Today, the terms KBS and ES are
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6557-4
often used synonymously, the only distinction
being the context in which the terms are utilized.
The ESs exist in many forms, from medical
diagnosis to investment analysis and from
counseling to production control. Due to the
advances of the last decade, today’s ESs users
can choose from dozens of commercial software
packages. At present, we accept as routine such
ESs as weather forecasting, online mapping and
driving directions, and diagnostic systems for
automotive repair shops.
Many large corporations use expert systems in
their business. The list of the companies using
expert systems technology is long and varied:
NASA; HP; Lockheed; Boeing; DaimlerChrysler
AG; various power, gas, and oil stations, etc.
Expert systems tend to be more effective than
other computer-based applications, because they:
• May combine the knowledge of many experts
in a specific field
• Can store an unlimited amount of information
and work much faster, than a human
• Are available 24 h a day and can be used at a
distance over a network
• Are able to explain their information requests
and suggestions
• Can process client’s uncertain responses and,
by combining several pieces of uncertain infor-
mation, may still be able to make strong
recommendations
• Can accumulate the knowledge of high-level
employees for any company, which is
2 Knowledge-Based System
especially useful when the company needs to
fire them due to worsened market conditions
History
In 1965 at Stanford University, B. Buchanan,
J. Lederberg, and E. Feigenbaum began to work
on the first ES, called DENDRAL, for forecasting
molecular structure (Buchanan et al. 1993).
Starting from DENDRAL, the ESs were
employed in the medical field (Lindsay
et al. 1980). The program simulated an expert
chemist’s analysis and decision-making capabil-
ity. In the mid-1970s, MYCIN was developed by
E. H. Shortliffe, a physician and computer scien-
tist at Stanford Medical School (Shortliffe 1976).
The problems associated with diagnosing a cer-
tain class of brain infections were an appropriate
area for ES research and an area of particularly
pressing human need because the first 24–48 h are
critical if the treatment of these illnesses is to
succeed. MYCIN’s inference engine, known as
E-MYCIN, was used by researchers at Stanford
and Pacific Medical Center to produce PUFF, an
ES that assists in diagnosing certain lung disor-
ders (Buchanan and Shortliffe 1984).
Duda et al. (1979) developed an ES, called
PROSPECTOR, to help geologists in exploring
for hard-rock mineral deposits; in 1980,
R1/XCON was developed by J. McDermott for
hardware configuration of complex PC
(McDermott 1982).
Since the 1990s, ESs are in commercial and
research use for a large number of fields (Liao
2012) such as medical treatment (e.g., automatic
tumor segmentation, therapy planning, isokinetic
interpretation), finance (e.g., personal finance
planning, financial analysis, business games),
engineering (e.g., design, monitoring and control,
planning and scheduling, knowledge manage-
ment, production management, decision making),
and environmental issues (e.g., waste manage-
ment, agricultural management and planning,
environmental protection, wastewater treatment,
chemical incident management, climate
forecasting).
Knowledge-Based System Structure
KBSs represent a branch of artificial intelligence
aiming to transfer the knowledge of human
experts in a computer program. This knowledge
is utilized by an execution system (inference
engine) to provide specific solutions to the prob-
lem (Leondes 2005).
A KBS usually comprises three main elements
(Brachman and Levesque 2004):
• A knowledge base
• An inference mechanism
• A user interface
The knowledge base contains domain knowl-
edge which may be expressed as any combination
of IF-THEN rules, factual statements, frames,
objects, procedures, and cases. The inference
mechanism allows to manipulate the stored
knowledge for solving problems. Knowledge
manipulation methods include the use of inheri-
tance and constraints (in a frame-based or object-
oriented KBS), the retrieval and adaptation of case
examples (in a case-based KBS), and the applica-
tion of inference rules (in a rule-based KBS)
according to some control procedure (“forward
chaining” or data-driven and “backward
chaining” or goal-driven) and search strategy pro-
cedure (“depth first” and “breadth first”).
Most KBSs are nowadays developed using
programs known as “shells.” These are essentially
ready-made KBSs complete with inferencing and
knowledge storage facilities but without domain
knowledge. Some sophisticated KBSs are
constructed with the help of “development envi-
ronments.” The latter are more flexible than shells
in that they also provide means for users to imple-
ment their own inferencing and knowledge repre-
sentation methods (Pham and Pham 2000).
The process of building a KBS or ES is called
knowledge engineering. It typically involves a
special form of interaction between the ES
builder, called the knowledge engineer, and one
or more human experts in some problem area. The
main players in the ES game are the ES itself, the
domain expert, the knowledge engineer, the ES
building, and the user (Fig. 1).
Knowledge-Based System
Knowledge-Based
System, Fig. 1 The
players in the ES game
(Reprinted from CIRP
Annual Manufacturing
Technology 46(2),
Intelligent computing
methods for manufacturing
systems. R. Teti and SRT
Kumara, pp 629–652,
#1997 with permission
from Elsevier. http://www.
sciencedirect.com/science/
article/pii/
S000785060760883X).
Applications in Manufacturing
In today’s market, manufacturing industries face a
number of significant difficulties and challenges:
global competition, shortened product life cycle,
changes in management, high-quality product
requirements, growth of customer expectations,
advances in manufacturing technology and sys-
tems, as well as development of new materials for
innovative design.
The strategy to address these challenges is
technological innovation understood as the opti-
mization of production processes and products.
Expert systems provide solutions to different
problems in manufacturing, from strategic plan-
ning of marketing to consulting in process
reengineering (Durkin 1994).
In the manufacturing environment, KBSs have
been applied as decision-making support systems
for a variety of tasks including selection of mate-
rials, machine elements, tools, equipment and
processes, signal interpreting, condition monitor-
ing, fault diagnosis, machine and process control,
design, process planning, production scheduling,
and system configuring.
In Mäntylä (1993), an example of KBSs
applied to the area of production planning is
reported. KBSs have been largely utilized in the
design of physical devices and processes, ranging
from high-level conceptual design to factory floor
configuration of manufacturing processes. In
Roucoules and Tichkiewitch (2015) knowledge-
based heterogeneous models are chained to trace
the design rationale to support the designer in the
3
decision-making process in order to integrate new
knowledge toward innovation.
Other instances of KBSs used in manufactur-
ing are reported in:
• Kimura et al. (2004): a knowledge-based
approach was developed for renovating design
and manufacturing processes.
• Abramovici et al. (2013): a knowledge-based
inference software was utilized to enhance
decision processes for the improvement of
standard mass-produced products.
• Bernard and Xu (2009): a knowledge manage-
ment tool based on an integrated knowledge
reference system was employed for the design
process and product development such as the
redesign of old mechanical systems.
In the field of process monitoring and con-
trol, KBSs have been utilized to analyze real-time
data from physical devices with the goal of notic-
ing anomalies, predicting trends, and controlling
for both optimality and failure correction. KBS
implementation for active monitoring processes
can be found in Cunha and Wiendahl (2005).
To date, the advanced efficiency of information
and communication technologies (ICT), the fast-
growing Internet networking infrastructure, and
the ability to master increasingly complex cyber-
physical systems (CPS) provide major opportuni-
ties to implement the next generation of open
platforms in order to obtain a multiplicity of inno-
vative devices, systems, and applications in the
4 Knowledge-Based System
Knowledge-Based System, Fig. 2 Expert system
remote diagnosis system
manufacturing field (Gao et al. 2015). The inte-
gration of KBSs with Internet services can be
utilized to build expert systems providing remote
diagnosis systems capable to interact with the user
or with other systems of a manufacturing com-
pany in order to carry out a cloud-based supervi-
sion and automatic optimization of advanced
manufacturing processes (Fig. 2).
An example is presented in Harms et al. (2010)
where distributed semantic web knowledge-based
technologies were utilized for the life cycle man-
agement of production facilities.
In Feldmann and Göhringer (2001), an
Internet-based diagnosis system was developed,
which can be used for both local and remote
diagnoses of machine tools, enabling machine
tool manufacturers to upgrade their services
using remote diagnosis systems.
Cross-References
▶ Adaptive Control
▶ Artificial Intelligence
▶ Decision Making
▶ Monitoring
▶ Process
▶ Scheduling
References
Abramovici M, Lindner A, Krause FL (2013) Knowledge-
based decision support for the improvement of standard
products. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 62(1):159–162
Bernard A, Xu Y (2009) An integrated knowledge refer-
ence system for product development. CIRP Ann
Manuf Technol 58(1):119–122
Brachman RJ, Levesque HJ (2004) Knowledge represen-
tation and reasoning. Morgan Kaufmann, Amsterdam
Buchanan BG, Shortliffe EH (1984) Rule-based expert
systems: the MYCIN experiments of the Stanford heu-
ristic programming project. Addison-Wesley, Reading
Buchanan BG, Feigenbaum EA, Lindsay R, Lederberg
J (1993) DENDRAL, a case study of the first expert
system for scientific hypothesis formation. Artif Intell
61(2):209–261
Cunha PF, Wiendahl H-P (2005) Knowledge acquisition
from assembly operational data using principal compo-
nents analysis and cluster analysis. CIRP Ann Manuf
Technol 54(1):27–30
Duda R, Gaschnig J, Hart P (1979) Model design in the
PROSPECTOR consultant system for mineral explora-
tion. In: Michie D (ed) Expert systems in the micro-
electronic age. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh,
pp 153–167
Durkin J (1994) Expert systems design and development.
Macmillan, New York
Feldmann K, Göhringer J (2001) Internet based diagnosis
of assembly systems. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
50(1):5–8
Gao R, Wang L, Teti R, Dornfeld D, Kumara S, Mori M,
Helu M (2015) Cloud-enabled prognosis for
manufacturing. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
64(2):749–772
Harms R, Fleschutz T, Seliger G (2010) Life cycle man-
agement of production facilities using semantic web
technologies. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 59(1):45–48
Kimura F, Ariyoshi H, Ishikawa H, Naruko Y, Yamato
H (2004) Capturing expert knowledge for supporting
design and manufacturing of injection molds. CIRP
Ann Manuf Technol 53(1):147–150
Leondes CT (2005) Intelligent knowledge-based systems:
business and technology in the new millennium. Vol.1.
Knowledge-based Systems. Kluwer, Boston
Liao SH (2012) Expert system methodologies and
applications – a decade review from 1995 to 2004.
Exp Syst Appl 39(4):4609–4617
Lindsay RK, Buchanan BG, Feigenbaum EA, Lederberg
J (1980) Applications of artificial intelligence for
organic chemistry – the DENDRAL project.
McGraw-Hill, New York
Knowledge-Based System
Mäntylä M (1993) Representation of process planning
knowledge for part families. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
42(1):561–564
McDermott J (1982) R1: a rule-based configurer of com-
puter systems. Artif Intell 19(1):39–88
Pham DT, Pham PTN (2000) Computational intelligence
for manufacturing. Chapter 1. In: Jun W -
(ed) Computational intelligence in manufacturing
handbook. CRC, Boca Raton
5
Roucoules L, Tichkiewitch S (2015) Knowledge synthesis
by least commitment for product design. CIRP Ann
Manuf Technol 64(1):141–144
Shortliffe EH (1976) Computer-based medical consulta-
tions: MYCIN. Elsevier/North Holland, New York
Teti R, Kumara SRT (1997) Intelligent computing methods
for manufacturing systems. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
46(2):629–652. doi:10.1016/S0007-8506(07)60883-X
M
Manufacturing
Tiziana Segreto1,2 and Roberto Teti1,2
1
Department of Chemical, Materials and
Industrial Production Engineering (DICMAPI),
University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
2
Fraunhofer Joint Laboratory of Excellence on
Advanced Production Technology
(Fh J_LEAPT), Naples, Italy
Synonyms
Fabrication; Production
Definition
The entirety of interrelated economic, technolog-
ical, and organizational measures directly
connected with the processing/machining of
materials, i.e., all functions and activities directly
contributing to the making of goods.
Note: “Manufacturing” is often used synony-
mously for “production.” However, its conceptual
content is larger than that of “production,” since it
also encompasses managerial functions.
Manufacturing is part of the supply chain between
suppliers and customers of a manufacturing com-
pany. It includes the value adding processes,
namely, fabrication and assembly, as well as the
organizational functions, namely, process plan-
ning and production planning and control.
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6561-4
Fabrication and assembly together are called pro-
duction (CIRP Dictionary of Production Engi-
neering 2004).
Theory and Application
History
The history of manufacturing begins with the
world itself. The term “manufacture” is derived
from two Latin words manu (by hand) and facere
(make); the combination means “to make by
hand” (Kalpakjian and Schmid 2002).
Manufacturing began around 5,000–4,000 BC
with the fabrication of various articles of wood,
ceramics, stone, and metal. From ancient times
until the eighteenth century, industry was prac-
ticed first within the family, based on slaves
work (e.g., Greece, Rome) or as temple activities
(e.g., Egypt) and later also as organized commer-
cial enterprises of limited production capacity. In
the East, industry prospered in the field of fabrics,
dyeing, and jewellery; whereas in the West, indus-
try started at the time of the Carolingians with the
birth of the most powerful industries: iron and
steel (first blast furnaces), weaving, papermaking,
etc. In the seventeenth century, the consolidation
of national monarchies and the consequent forma-
tion of larger nationwide markets, the develop-
ment of transports and banks, yielded favorable
conditions to the development of industry. In the
second half of the eighteenth century, the First
Industrial Revolution (1760–1830) marked the
2 Manufacturing
change from an economy based on agriculture and
handicraft to one based on industry and
manufacturing. The change began in England,
where a series of machines were invented and
steam power replaced water, wind, and animal
power. However, the revolution eventually spread
to other European countries and to North Amer-
ica. While England was leading the industrial
revolution, an important concept was being intro-
duced by Eli Whitney (1765–1825) in the United
States: interchangeable parts manufacture. This
would become a prerequisite for mass production.
The mid- and late 1800s witnessed the expansion
of railroads, steam-powered ships, and other
machines that created a growing need for iron
and steel. New steel production methods were
developed to meet this demand. Also during this
period, several consumer products were devel-
oped, including the sewing machine, bicycle,
and automobile. In order to meet the mass demand
for these products, more efficient production
methods were required. Some historians identify
developments during this period as the Second
Industrial Revolution, characterized in terms of
its effects on manufacturing systems by the fol-
lowing: (1) mass production, (2) scientific man-
agement movement, (3) assembly lines, and
(4) electrification of factories.
Henry Ford (1863–1947) introduced the
assembly line in 1913 at his Highland Park plant.
The assembly line made possible the mass pro-
duction of complex consumer products. In 1881,
the first electric power-generating station was
built in New York City, and soon electric motors
were being used as a power source to operate
factory machinery. This was a far more conve-
nient power delivery system than steam engines,
which required overhead belts to distribute power
to the machines. By 1920, electricity had over-
taken steam as the principal power source in the
factories of the twentieth century, a time of more
technological advances than in all other centuries
combined (Groover 2007). From the mid-1950s
up to the introduction of the first personal com-
puter in 1981, manufacturing started turning dig-
ital, thus marking the initiation of the Third
Industrial Revolution. Mechanical and electronic
technologies changed to digital with the wide
adoption in manufacturing of computers and
information and communication technology
(ICT), leading to the introduction of automated
machines, systems, and processes in manufactur-
ing (e.g., computer numerical control (CNC),
computer-aided process planning (CAPP), just
in-time production (JIT), cellular manufacturing,
flexible manufacturing systems (FMS), etc.).
To date, manufacturing covers approximately
21 % of the EU’s GDP providing more than
30 million jobs in 230.000 enterprises and is fac-
ing an intense and growing competitive pressure
in global markets. The guidelines for the revitali-
zation of the manufacturing industry pass through
innovation of production processes and systems
towards more efficient and smart solutions in
terms of costs, quality of work, and increased
competitiveness through research and develop-
ment in the technological know-how. By the end
of the twentieth century, industries have invested
in the relocation of resources to increase compet-
itiveness and reduce costs. Today, Europe has
become aware of the importance of innovation in
industrial production setting the goal to achieve,
by 2020, 20 % of the GDP’s manufacturing. This
means investing heavily in the review of
manufacturing processes and systems and there-
fore in automation.
In this framework, an ongoing paradigm shift
in manufacturing points toward global production
networks adopting new computing and Internet-
based technologies as key enabling technologies
to meet new challenges. This represents the
Fourth Industrial Revolution that someone has
recently called “Industry 4.0,” leading to the flex-
ible usage of diverse globally distributed, scal-
able, and service-oriented manufacturing
resources.
To realize the full-scale sharing, free circula-
tion, and transaction as well as on-demand use of
manufacturing resources and capabilities in
advanced production industries, cloud
manufacturing (CMfg) has been proposed as a
new service-oriented manufacturing approach.
CMfg can be defined as an integrated cyber-
physical system (CPS) that can provide
on-demand manufacturing services digitally and
physically for optimal resource utilization. It has
Manufacturing 3

been conceived as an extension of the cloud com- Manufacturing Activities

puting (CC) paradigm to the manufacturing sec-
tor. Compared with CC, the services managed in
CMfg include not only computational and soft-
ware tools but also various digital and physical
manufacturing resources that different users in an
industrial environment can remotely access on a
shared basis (Gao et al. 2015).
The timeline of the four successive industrial
revolutions is reported in Fig. 1.
Manufacturing can be defined as the application
of physical and chemical processes to modify the
properties of a given start material in terms of its
form, shape, size, mechanical characteristics,
external appearance, etc., in order to fabricate a
single part representing a product or multiple parts
to be assembled to form a complex product. In
order to perform a manufacturing process, it is
necessary to utilize appropriated machines, tools,
fixtures, energy, and manpower (Fig. 2).

Manufacturing, Fig. 1 Timeline of the four successive industrial revolutions

Manufacturing,
Fig. 2 Definition of Machines Tools
manufacturing as a
technological process

Raw Manufacturing Processed

Materials Processes Materials

Scrap
Energy Manpower and
Waste
4 Manufacturing
Manufacturing is generally a complex activity
involving people who have a broad range of dis-
ciplines and skills, together with a wide variety of
machinery, equipment, and tools with various
levels of automation, including computers, robots,
and material-handling equipment.
Manufacturing activities must be responsive to
several demands and trends:
1. A product must fully meet design requirements
and specifications and standards.
2. A product must be manufactured by the most
economical and environmental friendly
methods.
3. Quality must be built into product at each
stage, from design to assembly, rather than
relying on quality testing after the product
is made.
4. In a highly competitive environment, produc-
tion methods must be sufficiently flexible to
respond to changing market demands, types
of products, production rates, production quan-
tities, and to provide on-time delivery to the
customer.
5. New developments in materials, production
methods, and computer integration of both
technological and managerial activities in a
manufacturing organization must constantly
be evaluated with respect to their timely and
economic implementation.
6. Manufacturing activities must be viewed as a
large system in which all individual compo-
nents are interrelated. Such systems can now
be modeled in order to study the effects of
various factors, such as changes in market
demands, product design, costs, and produc-
tion methods, on product quality and costs.
7. The manufacturer must work with the cus-
tomer to get timely feedback for continuous
product improvement.
8. The manufacturing organization must con-
stantly strive for higher productivity, defined
as the optimum use of all its resources: mate-
rials, machines, energy, capital, labor, and
technology. Output per employee per hour in
all phases must be maximized.
Innovative Manufacturing Applications
Over the last 5 years (2010–15), the main
addressed manufacturing issues have been:
• Manufacturing systems design, modeling, sim-
ulation and optimization
• Production planning, scheduling, and control
• Intelligent manufacturing (evolutionary algo-
rithms, multi-agents, genetic algorithms,
knowledge management, data mining,
decision-making) (Ueda et al. 2009; Tolio
et al. 2010)
• Virtual and augmented reality for
manufacturing
• Supply chains and production networks
(Váncza et al. 2011)
• Reconfigurable, flexible, and changeable
manufacturing systems
• Globalization, scalability, and capacity plan-
ning (Putnik et al. 2013)
• Complexity manufacturing (ElMaraghy et al.
2012)
• Business models, strategic enterprise planning
for change
• Energy and resource efficient manufacturing
• Sustainable and green manufacturing (Ueda
et al. 2009)
• Advanced IT for manufacturing (virtual fac-
tory, cloud manufacturing, cyber-physical sys-
tems, Internet of things, Industry 4.0) (Gao
et al. 2015)
• Maintenance strategies
• Process planning and control
• Mass customization and personalization
• Customer driven products/production (Tolio
et al. 2010)
• X-to-Order (engineering, design, manufacture,
logistics)
• Production quality (Colledani et al. 2014)
• Sensors and sensing techniques for zero defect
manufacturing
• Logistics systems
• Inventory management
• Industrial product-service systems
• Additive manufacturing
• Bio-manufacturing
• Nano and micro manufacturing
• Human factors in manufacturing
Manufacturing 5

• Learning factories and manufacturing manufacturing. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol

education 61(2):793–814
Gao R, Wang L, Teti R, Dornfeld D, Kumara S, Mori M,
Helu M (2015) Cloud-enabled prognosis for
manufacturing. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
64(2):749–772
Cross-References Groover MP (2007) Fundamentals of modern manufactur-
ing: materials, processes, and systems. Wiley, Hoboken
▶ Assembly Kalpakjian S, Schmid SR (2002) Manufacturing processes
▶ Assembly Automation for engineering materials, 4th edn. Pearson, Upper
Saddle River
▶ Assembly Line Putnik G, Sluga A, ElMaraghy H, Teti R, Koren Y, Tolio T,
▶ Design Methodology Hon B (2013) A scalability in manufacturing systems
▶ Production design and operation: state-of-the-art and future devel-
opments roadmap. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
62(2):751–774
Tolio T, Ceglarek D, ElMaraghy HA, Fischer A, Hu SJ,
References Laperrière L, Newman ST, Váncza J (2010) SPECIES:
co-evolution of products, processes and production
systems. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 59(2):672–693
CIRP Dictionary of Production Engineering Ueda K, Takenaka T, Vancza J, Monostori L (2009) Value
(2004) Manufacturing systems, vol 3. Springer, Berlin creation and decision-making in sustainable society.
Colledani M, Tolio T, Fischer A, Iung B, Lanza G, CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 58(2):681–700
Schmitt R, Váncza J (2014) Design and management Váncza J, Monostori L, Lutters D, Kumara S, Tseng M,
of manufacturing systems for production quality. CIRP Valckenaers P, Van Brussel H (2011) Cooperative and
Ann Manuf Technol 63(2):773–796 responsive manufacturing enterprises. CIRP Ann
ElMaraghy W, ElMaraghy HA, Tomiyama T, Monostori Manuf Technol 60(2):797–820
L (2012) Complexity in engineering design and
M

Manufacturing System Extended Definition

Alessandra Caggiano
Department of Industrial Engineering, Fraunhofer
Joint Laboratory of Excellence on Advanced
Production Technology (Fh-J_LEAPT Naples),
University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
Synonyms
Production System
A manufacturing system can be defined as a com-
bination of humans, machinery, and equipment
that are bound by a common material and infor-
mation flow. The input material flow consists of
raw materials and energy, while the input infor-
mation is related to the customer demand for the
system’s products. The outputs of a manufactur-
ing system can likewise be divided into materials,
such as finished goods and scrap, and information,
such as measures of system performance
(Chryssolouris 2006).

Theory and Application

Definition
Introduction
An organization in the manufacturing industry for
According to the definition given in the CIRP
the creation of production. In the mechanical and
Dictionary of Production Engineering,
electrical engineering industries, a manufacturing
manufacturing systems are wide systems involv-
system, in general, has an integrated group of
ing people, equipment, and procedures organized
functions, e.g., the sales, design, production, and
to accomplish the manufacturing operations of a
shipping functions. A research function may pro-
company. Manufacturing systems include not
vide a service to one or more of the other
only the groups of machines and workstations in
functions.
the factory but also the support procedures that
Note: Despite the conceptual difference
make them work. In this entry, particular attention
between “production” and “manufacturing,” in
will be paid to those aspects of manufacturing
English usage, the term “manufacturing system”
systems that are of particular interest from the
addresses a complete enterprise or a group of
point of view of production technology.
enterprises, an individual production department
(e.g., foundry, turnery), or even a single work
History
station (CIRP Dictionary of Production Engineer-
Manufacturing historical roots date back to the
ing 2004).
eighteenth century: a number of different
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6562-4
2 Manufacturing System
manufacturing paradigms have been proposed
with the aim to meet the several targets defined
by the changing market requirements.
Research studies (Mehrabi et al. 2002) identify
three major periods that exemplify the key
changes in the focus of manufacturing systems:
• Precomputer numerical control
• Computer numerical control (CNC)
• Knowledge epoch
The first manufacturing paradigm introduced
in the pre-CNC epoch is mass production: this
paradigm enabled the manufacturing of high vol-
umes of one specific part type on dedicated
manufacturing systems (DMS), cost-effectively
and with the required quality. The core elements
of the dedicated manufacturing systems are trans-
fer lines, assembly stations, fixed tooling, and
dedicated automation processes. The emphasis
was focused on high production rates, since few
product variations were required.
In the CNC epoch, from the 1960s to the
1990s, the emphasis on cost-effectiveness of pro-
duction was enhanced together with a particular
focus on product quality improvement. This trend
was supported by the introduction of CNC
machines, as they were able to provide for more
accurate manufacturing process control and then
to achieve better quality products.
In this period, production paradigms devel-
oped in the Japanese manufacturing industry
became largely widespread. Among these are the
known kaizen, aimed at the continuous improve-
ment of products and processes; the just-in-time
(JIT) approach, supporting the elimination or min-
imization of inventory as the ideal target to reduce
costs; and total quality management (TQM),
focused on increased and faster communications
with customers in order to be able to better meet
their requirements.
An important paradigm conceived during the
CNC period is lean manufacturing, whose key
principles are perfect first-time quality, waste min-
imization by removing all activities that do not
add value, continuous improvement, and
flexibility.
Another relevant paradigm is cellular
manufacturing, aimed to improve productivity
through the employment of manufacturing cells.
The main concept behind cellular manufacturing
is the so-called group technology, which consists
in clustering parts into families with similar char-
acteristics that can be processed by the same
group of machines, tooling, and people with
only minor changes on procedure or setup.
Around the 1960s, flexible manufacturing sys-
tems (FMS) were introduced to address changes
in work orders, production schedules, part pro-
grams, and tooling for the production of a family
of parts. The objective of a FMS is to realize the
cost-effective manufacturing of several types of
parts that can change over time, with short
changeover time, at the required volume and qual-
ity always on the same system, in order to simul-
taneously achieve productivity and flexibility. The
main components of a FMS are CNC manufactur-
ing machines, tools to operate CNC machines,
robots, and automated material handling systems
(MHS).
The knowledge epoch was then characterized
by intensified global competition and progress in
computer and information technology. Every
effort is made by manufacturers to respond faster
to the market by producing higher quality prod-
ucts at lower costs and in smaller quantities. Agile
manufacturing was introduced as a new approach
to respond to rapid change due to competition.
In this context, reconfigurable manufacturing
systems (RMS) were introduced in the mid-1990s
as a cost-effective reaction to market demands for
responsiveness and customization (Koren
et al. 1999). A RMS is designed for rapid change
in structure, as well as in hardware and software
components, in order to quickly adjust production
capacity and functionality within a part family in
response to sudden changes in market. A subset of
reconfigurability is represented by scalability,
which implies changing configuration by adding
(or removing) the configuration elements, and is
one of the principle enablers of changeable
manufacturing (Putnik et al. 2013).
Finally, in recent years, new paradigms based
on the integration of ICT key enabling technolo-
gies such as cyber-physical systems and cloud
Manufacturing System
computing have been introduced (Monostori
2014; Wang et al. 2014).
Manufacturing Systems Components
Manufacturing systems include production facili-
ties (machines, manual workstations, automatic
plants, material flow systems, etc.) which are
linked with each other for a certain type of pro-
duction, as well as support systems, i.e., the pro-
cedures and systems to manage production and
solve the technical and logistics problems associ-
ated with designing the products, planning the
processes, ordering materials, controlling work
in process as it moves through the plant, and
delivering products to the customer.
As regards manufacturing facilities, in general,
two areas can be identified (Chryssolouris 2006):
• The processing area, where materials are
processed and individual parts or components
are fabricated
• The assembly area, where parts or components
are joined together in a subassembly or final
product
The main components of a manufacturing
facility are (Groover 2000):
• Production machines
• Tools, fixtures, and other related hardware
• Assembly/disassembly
• Material handling system
• Human workers
• Computer systems
Production Machines
In modern manufacturing systems, most of the
actual processing or assembly work is accom-
plished by machines or with the aid of tools.
Machines can be classified as (1) manually oper-
ated, (2) semiautomated, or (3) fully automated
(Groover 2000). Manually operated machines are
directed or supervised by a human worker, who
must be always present. A semiautomated
machine performs a portion of the work cycle
under some form of program control, and a
human worker performs loading and unloading it
3
or other tasks each cycle. An example of this
category is a CNC machine tool controlled for
most of the work cycle by a part program but
requiring a worker to unload the finished part
and load the next workpiece at the end of the
part program. On the other hand, a fully auto-
mated machine is capable to operate for extended
periods of time, longer than one work cycle, with
no human attention. A location in the factory
where a task or operation is accomplished by an
automated machine, a worker-and-machine com-
bination, or a worker using hand tools and/or
portable powered tools is called workstation.
Tools and Fixtures
Tooling requirements for any manufacturing oper-
ation depend on the process requirements, the size
and type of product, and the quantity of products
to be manufactured. Fixtures, clamps, and jigs are
the devices used to hold pieces in actual
manufacturing operations or for purposes of mea-
surement and inspection. Fixtures can be dedi-
cated, if designed and made for specific
workpiece shapes and dimensions and for specific
tasks, or they can be flexible, if capable to accom-
modate a range of shapes and dimensions.
Assembly/Disassembly Systems
Most products consist of many parts, and their
assembly requires considerable care and planning.
There are three basic categories of assembly sys-
tems: manual, high-speed automatic, and robotic
(Kalpakjian and Schmid 2002). Manual systems
are generally convenient for complex parts in
small lots. High-speed automated systems use
transfer mechanisms designed specifically for
assembly. In robotic assembly systems, one or
more robots can work at a single workstation or
at a multi-station assembly system.
Material Handling System
During a typical manufacturing operation, raw
materials and parts are moved from storage to
machines, from machine to machine, and from
inspection to assembly, to inventory, and finally
to shipment (Kalpakjian and Schmid 2002). Mate-
rial handling is defined as the functions and sys-
tems associated with the transportation, storage,
4 Manufacturing System
and control of materials and parts in the total
manufacturing cycle of a product. For small-
batch operations, raw materials and parts can be
handled and transported by hand, but this method
is time consuming and hence costly. Moreover, it
can be unsafe to the operator because of the
weight and shape of the parts or other environ-
mental factors.
Hence, several types of equipment can be used
to move materials, such as conveyors, rollers, self-
powered monorails, carts, forklift trucks, and var-
ious devices and manipulators. Automated guided
vehicles (AGVs) are used extensively as they
have high flexibility and they are capable of ran-
dom delivery to different workstations. AGVs are
guided automatically along defined pathways, and
their routing can be controlled so that the system
optimizes the movement of materials and parts in
case of congestion, machine breakdown, etc.
Moreover, loading, unloading, and transferring
of workpieces in manufacturing facilities can be
carried out reliably and repeatedly by industrial
robots.
Industrial Robots
Applications of industrial robots in manufacturing
systems involve not only material handling but
also other tasks such as spot welding, finishing
operations like deburring, grinding and polishing,
spray painting, automated assembly, and inspec-
tion. Different categories of robots are available
today: Cartesian, cylindrical, spherical, and
anthropomorphic. The selection of the most suit-
able robot depends on many factors such as the
required degrees of freedom, payload, work enve-
lope, and repeatability.
Human Workers
Human workers are referred to as direct labor if
they directly add to the value of the product by
performing manual work on it or by controlling
the machines that perform the work. In automated
manufacturing systems, direct labor is needed to
perform activities such as loading and unloading
parts to and from the system and changing tools.
Moreover, human workers are also needed to
manage or support the system as computer pro-
grammers, computer operators, part programmers
for CNC machine tools, maintenance and repair
personnel, and similar indirect labor tasks.
Computer Systems
In modern manufacturing systems, computers are
used extensively in all the stages involved in part
manufacturing, including product design, process
planning, production system design, and process
control (Mehrabi et al. 2002). Potential benefits of
using computers in manufacturing include
reduced costs and lead times in all engineering
design stages, improved quality and accuracy,
minimization of errors and their duplication,
more efficient analysis tool, and accurate control
and monitoring of the machines/processes.
Computer-aided design (CAD) involves the use
of computers in the design and analysis of prod-
ucts and processes. On the other hand, computer-
aided manufacturing (CAM) is defined as the
effective use of computer technology in
manufacturing planning and control. Computers
are employed to assist in all phases of product
manufacturing, including process and production
planning, scheduling, manufacture, quality con-
trol, and management. Applications of CAM can
be divided into two broad categories: manufactur-
ing planning and manufacturing control. An
important feature of CAD/CAM systems is the
possibility to program computer numerical con-
trol (CNC) machine tools that are directly con-
trolled and monitored by computers in real time.
More widely, computer-integrated manufacturing
(CIM) implements computer technology in all of
the operational and information processing activ-
ities related to manufacturing, from order receipt,
through design and production, to product ship-
ment. The CIM concept is that all of the opera-
tions related to production are incorporated in an
integrated computer system to assist, augment,
and automate the operations. The computer sys-
tem is pervasive throughout the organization,
touching all activities that support manufacturing,
and employs a large common database.
Concurrent engineering refers to an approach
used in product development in which the func-
tions of design engineering, manufacturing engi-
neering, and other functions are integrated to
reduce the elapsed time required to bring a new
Manufacturing System 5

product to market. Also called simultaneous engi- intelligently sensed and connected to the Internet,
neering, it might be thought of as the organiza- as well as remotely controlled and managed. This
tional counterpart to CAD/CAM technology. leads to the Internet of Things (IoT), which is the
basis to realize cloud manufacturing.
Cyber Physical Systems
Performance Measures
The recent developments of information technol-
A performance measure is a variable whose value
ogy have driven toward the emergence of new
quantifies an aspect of the performance of a
paradigms such as cyber-physical systems
manufacturing system. Performance measures
(CPS). A CPS is a physical and engineered system
are either benefit measures (the higher the better)
whose operations are monitored, coordinated,
or cost measures (the lower the better). They can
controlled, and integrated by a computing and
be divided into four categories: time, quality, cost,
communication core (Wang et al. 2014). Cyber-
and flexibility (Chryssolouris 2006). In general, a
physical systems are “integrations of computa-
number of performance measures will be relevant
tion, networking, and physical processes. Embed-
for a given manufacturing system. However, they
ded computers and networks monitor and control
will differ from one manufacturing system to
the physical processes, with feedback loops where
another.
physical processes affect computations and vice
Performance measures that characterize the
versa.” (Monostori 2014).
behavior of manufacturing systems are:
In the context of manufacturing systems, a
cyber-physical production system consists of
• Production rate or throughput
autonomous, self-configurable production
• Work in process
resources (production machines, robots, convey-
• Finished goods inventory
ing and storage systems, means of production),
• Probability of blockages and starvations
which:
• Residence time
• Due-time performance
• Directly acquire physical data by using sensors
• Reliability
and act on the physical world by using actors
• Fault tolerance
• Analyze and store the acquired data and inter-
• Productivity
act both with the physical and the virtual world
• Product quality
• Are networked among each other and within
• Cost
global information systems by wired or wire-
less communication means
Manufacturing System Design
• Use worldwide available data and services
A manufacturing system design can be defined as
• Dispose of several multimodal human-
the mapping from the performance requirements
machine interfaces
of a manufacturing system, as expressed by values
of chosen performance measures, onto suitable
CPS relying on the newest and foreseeable
values of decision variables, which describe the
further developments of computer science (CS),
physical design or the manner of operation of the
information and communication technologies
manufacturing system (Chryssolouris 2006).
(ICT), and manufacturing science and technology
Given performance requirements, the
(MST) are considered key elements that will lead
manufacturing system designer must describe a
to the fourth industrial revolution, also known as
suitable system design. This design can be cap-
Industry 4.0. A further step is represented by
tured numerically by specifying the values of an
the integration of sensor networks, embedded
appropriate collection of decision variables.
systems, radio-frequency identification (RFID),
Examples of decision variables are the number
GPS, etc., in a cloud so that manufacturing
of each type of machine in a manufacturing sys-
resources (machines, robots, AGVs, etc.) will be
tem. Designing manufacturing systems (mapping
6 Manufacturing System
performance measures onto decision variables) is
a difficult task because of several reasons:
• Manufacturing systems are large and have
many interacting components.
• Manufacturing systems are dynamic.
• Manufacturing systems are open systems,
which both influence and are influenced by
their environment.
• The relationships between performance mea-
sures and decision variables cannot usually be
expressed analytically. Well-behaved func-
tions do not apply.
• Data may be difficult to measure in a harsh
processing environment.
• There are usually multiple performance
requirements for a manufacturing system, and
these may conflict.
The fundamental activity in design is decision
making: the design of a manufacturing system is
the process of deciding the values of the decision
variables of the manufacturing system.
Manufacturing systems design methods and
tools fall into three major categories: operations
research, artificial intelligence, and simulation.
Operations research makes use of mathemati-
cal programming methods, a family of techniques
for optimizing (minimizing or maximizing) a
given algebraic objective function of a number
of decision variables. The decision variables
may either be independent of one another or they
may be related through constraints.
When mathematical models are difficult to cre-
ate, artificial intelligence tools, such as search and
rule-based systems, can be employed to solve
manufacturing design problems.
Finally, computer simulation can be employed
to examine the operation of a manufacturing sys-
tem. The input of a computer simulator is
represented by decision variables, which specify
the machine parameters (e.g., machine processing
and failure rates, machine layout), the workload
(e.g., arrivals of raw materials over time, part
routings), and the operational rules (e.g., “first
in, first out”) of a manufacturing system. Starting
from a defined initial state, the simulation follows
the operation of the model over time, tracking
events such as parts movement, machine break-
downs, machine setups, etc. At the conclusion of
the simulation, the output provided by the simu-
lator is a set of statistical performance measures
(e.g., the average number of parts in the system
over time) by which the manufacturing system
may be evaluated.
Manufacturing Systems Life Cycle
The significant reduction in product development
time brought about by the use of CAD tools was
not paralleled in the design and development of
manufacturing systems. These systems must be
designed to satisfy certain requirements and con-
straints that vary over time. Recent improvements
in productivity were attributed more to improve-
ments in the design and operation of manufactur-
ing systems, as well as the design of products,
than to manufacturing processes or technology
improvements. Some modern design theories
and methodologies have been applied to the
design of manufacturing systems. In the context
of manufacturing systems, one can envisage a life
cycle, which includes the initial system design
and synthesis, modeling, analysis and simulation,
realization and implementation, operation, and
redesign/reconfiguration phases. Both soft and
hard reconfiguration and flexibility can extend
the utility, usability, and life of manufacturing
systems.
Monitoring and Control of Manufacturing
Systems
Manufacturing systems control involves:
• Process monitoring and control, which is
concerned with observing and regulating the
production equipment and manufacturing pro-
cesses in the plant. Applications of computer
process control include transfer lines, assembly
systems, NC, robotics, material handling, and
flexible manufacturing systems. To achieve
precision in machining, manufacturing pro-
cesses can be controlled by using real-time
data collected from sensors located at different
locations of the workpiece, tool, and machine.
Manufacturing System
• Quality control, which includes a variety of
approaches to ensure the highest possible qual-
ity levels of the manufactured product.
• Shop floor control, which refers to production
management techniques for collecting data
from factory operations and using the data to
help control production and inventory of the
factory.
• Inventory control, which is concerned with
maintaining the most appropriate levels of
inventory in the face of two opposing objec-
tives: minimizing the investment and storage
costs of holding inventory and maximizing
service to customers.
Cross-References
▶ Computer-Aided Design
▶ Computer-Aided Manufacturing
▶ Computer Numerical Control
▶ Factory
▶ Flexible Manufacturing System
▶ Handling
▶ Machine Tool
▶ Manufacturing
▶ Production
▶ Productivity
▶ Robot
▶ Simulation of Manufacturing Systems
▶ System
7
References
Chryssolouris G (2006) Manufacturing systems: theory
and practice. Springer, New York
CIRP Dictionary of Production Engineering
(2004) Manufacturing systems, vol 3. Springer, Berlin
Groover MP (2000) Automation, production systems, and
computer-integrated manufacturing, 2nd edn. Prentice
Hall, Englewood Cliffs
Kalpakjian S, Schmid SR (2002) Manufacturing processes
for engineering materials, 4th edn. Prentice Hall,
Englewood Cliffs
Koren Y, Heisel U, Jovane F, Moriwaki T, Pritschow G,
Ulsoy G, Van Brussel H (1999) Reconfigurable
manufacturing systems: a keynote paper. Ann CIRP
48(2):527–540
Mehrabi MG, Ulsoy AG, Koren Y (2002) Manufacturing
systems and their design principles. In: Hurmuzlu Y,
Nwokah ODI (eds) The mechanical systems design
handbook: modeling, measurement, and control. CRC
Press, Boca Raton, pp 1–11
Monostori L (2014) Cyber-physical production systems:
roots, expectations and R&D challenges. In: Variety
management in manufacturing – proceedings of the
47th CIRP conference on manufacturing systems,
Procedia CIRP 17, pp 9–13
Putnik G, Sluga A, ElMaraghy H, Teti R, Koren Y, Tolio T,
Hon B (2013) Scalability in manufacturing systems
design and operation: State-of-the-art and future devel-
opments roadmap. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
62(2):751–774
Wang L, Gao R, Ragai I (2014) An integrated cyber-
physical system for cloud manufacturing. In: Proceed-
ings of the ASME International Manufacturing Science
and Engineering Conference (MSEC2014), Detroit,
Michigan, June 9–13, 2014/vol 1: Materials; Micro
and Nano Technologies; Properties, Applications and
Systems; Sustainable Manufacturing. ASME: New
York. Paper No. MSEC2014-4171, pp. V001T04A029
N
Neural Network
Doriana Marilena D’Addona
Department of Chemical, Materials and Industrial
Production Engineering, University of Naples
Federico II, Naples, Italy
Synonyms
Artificial neural network (ANN); Neural models
Definition
An artificial neural network (ANN), usually
called neural network (NN), is a mathematical
model or computational model that is inspired by
the structure and/or functional aspects of biologi-
cal neural networks. A neural network consists of
an interconnected group of artificial neurons, and
it processes information using a connectionist
approach to computation. In most cases, an
ANN is an adaptive system that changes its struc-
ture based on external or internal information that
flows through the network during the learning
phase. Modern neural networks are nonlinear sta-
tistical data modeling tools. They are usually used
to model complex relationships between inputs
and outputs or to find patterns in data.
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6563-3
Extended Definition
The term neural network was traditionally used
to refer to a network or circuit of biological neu-
rons (Hopfield 1982). Modern usage of the term
often refers to artificial neural networks, which are
composed of artificial neurons or nodes. Thus, the
term has two distinct usages:
1. Biological neural networks are made up of real
biological neurons that are connected or func-
tionally related in the peripheral nervous sys-
tem or the central nervous system. In the field
of neuroscience, they are often identified as
groups of neurons that perform a specific phys-
iological function in laboratory analysis.
2. Artificial neural networks are composed of
interconnecting artificial neurons
(programming constructs that mimic the prop-
erties of biological neurons). Artificial neural
networks may either be used to gain an under-
standing of biological neural networks or for
solving artificial intelligence problems without
necessarily creating a model of a real biologi-
cal system. The real, biological nervous system
is highly complex: Artificial neural network
algorithms attempt to abstract this complexity
and focus on what may hypothetically matter
most from an information processing point of
view. Good performance (e.g., as measured by
good predictive ability, low generalization
error), or performance mimicking animal or
human error patterns, can then be used as one
source of evidence toward supporting the
2 Neural Network
hypothesis that the abstraction really captured
something important from the point of view of
information processing in the brain. Another
incentive for these abstractions is to reduce the
amount of computation required to simulate
artificial neural networks, so as to allow one
to experiment with larger networks and train
them on larger data sets.
Brief History of Neural Networks
The research on the human brain dates back thou-
sands of years.
But it has only been with the dawn of modern
day electronics that man has begun to try and
emulate the human brain and its thinking
processes.
In 1943, neurophysiologist Warren McCulloch
and mathematician Walter Pitts wrote a paper on
the functioning of the neurons. In order to
describe how neurons work in the brain, they
modeled a simple neural network using electrical
circuits (McCulloch and Pitts 1943).
In 1949, Donald Hebb gave his contribution to
the development of the neural network technology
with a book, The Organization of Behavior:
A Neuropsychological Theory. The book pointed
out the fact that neural pathways are reinforced
each time they are utilized, a concept fundamen-
tally crucial to the method of human learning.
As computers became more advanced in the
1950s, it was finally feasible to simulate a hypo-
thetical neural network. In 1954, Marvin Minsky
wrote a doctorate thesis, “Theory of Neural-
Analog Reinforcement Systems and its Applica-
tion to the Brain-Model Problem,” which was
related to the research into neural networks
(Minsky 1961). His scientific paper entitled,
“Steps Towards Artificial Intelligence” (Minsky
1961) was one of the first papers to discuss AI in
detail. In 1956, the Dartmouth Summer Research
Project on Artificial Intelligence began
researching AI, what was to be the primitive
beginnings of neural network research.
In 1960, Bernard Widrow and Marcian Hoff of
Stanford developed models called “ADALINE”
and “MADALINE,” the acronymns of Multiple
ADAptive LINear Elements. ADALINE was
developed to recognize binary patterns so that if
it was reading streaming bits from a phone line, it
could predict the next bit (Widrow and Hoff
1960). MADALINE was the first neural network
applied to a real world problem, using an adaptive
filter that eliminates echoes on phone lines.
In 1962, Frank Rosenblatt (1962), a neurobi-
ologist at Cornell University started to work on
the perceptron. The perceptron was the first “prac-
tical” artificial neural network. Marvin Minsky
and Seymour Papert’s book of 1969 entitled,
Perceptrons: An Introduction to Computational
Geometry, described one major downfall of the
perceptron: its limited capabilities (Minsky and
Papert 1969).
In 1962, Widrow (1962) developed a learning
procedure that examines the value before the
weight adjusts it (i.e., 0 or 1) according to the
rule: Weight Change = (Pre-Weight line value)
* (Error/(Number of Inputs)). It is based on the
idea that while one active perceptron may have a
big error, one can adjust the weight values to
distribute it across the network or at least to adja-
cent perceptrons. Applying this rule still results in
an error if the line before the weight is 0, although
this will eventually correct itself. If the error is
conserved so that all of it is distributed to all of the
weights, then the error is eliminated. Despite the
later success of the neural network, traditional von
Neumann architecture (Von Neumann 1958) took
over the computing scene, and neural research
was left behind. Ironically, John von Neumann
himself suggested the imitation of neural func-
tions by using telegraph relays or vacuum tubes.
In 1972, Tuevo Kohonen (1972) and James
A. Anderson (1972) developed a similar network
independently of one another, which we will dis-
cuss more about later. They both used matrix
mathematics to describe their ideas but did not
realize that what they were doing was creating
an array of analog ADALINE circuits. The neu-
rons are supposed to activate a set of outputs
instead of just one. The first multilayered network
was developed in 1975, an unsupervised network.
In 1982, interest in the field was renewed. John
Hopfield presented a paper to the scientific com-
munity in which he stated that the approach to AI
should not be to purely imitate the human brain
but instead to use its concepts to build machines
Neural Network
that could solve dynamic problems. His ideas
gave birth to a new class of neural networks that
over time became known as the Hopfield model.
In February 1982, at a joint US–Japan confer-
ence in Kyoto on Cooperative/Competitive Neu-
ral Networks, Japan announced a new Fifth
Generation effort on neural networks, and US
papers generated worry that the USA could be
left behind in the field.
The year 1986 saw the first annual Neural
Networks for Computing conference that drew
more than 1,800 delegates. In 1986, David
E. Rumelhart, Geoffrey E. Hinton, and Ronald
J. Williams (1986) came up with similar ideas
which are now called back-propagation networks
because it distributes pattern recognition errors
throughout the network. The paper discussed
how back-propagation learning had emerged as
the most popular learning set for the training of
multilayer perceptrons.
Now, neural networks are used in several appli-
cations. The fundamental idea behind the nature
of neural networks is that if it works in nature, it
must be able to work in computers. The future of
neural networks, though, lies in the development
of hardware.
Theory and Application
NN Models
Neural network models in artificial intelligence
definitions are usually referred to as artificial neu-
ral networks (ANNs); these are essentially simple
mathematical models defining a function or a
distribution over or both, but sometimes models
are also intimately associated with a particular
learning algorithm or learning rule. A common
use of the phrase ANN model really means the
definition of a class of such functions (where
members of the class are obtained by varying
parameters, connection weights, or specifics of
the architecture such as the number of neurons
or their connectivity).
Network Function
The word network in the term “artificial neural
network” refers to the interconnections between
3
the neurons in the different layers of each system.
An example system has three layers. The first
layer has input neurons, which send data via syn-
apses to the second layer of neurons, and then via
more synapses to the third layer of output neurons.
More complex systems will have more layers of
neurons with some having increased layers of
input neurons and output neurons. The synapses
store parameters called “weights” that manipulate
the data in the calculations.
An ANN is typically defined by three types of
parameters:
1. The interconnection pattern between different
layers of neurons
2. The learning process for updating the weights
of the interconnections
3. The activation function that converts a neu-
ron’s weighted input to its output activation
Mathematically, a neuron’s network function
f(x) is defined as a composition of other functions
gi(x), which can further be defined as a composi-
tion of other functions. This can be conveniently
represented as a network structure, with arrows
depicting the dependencies between variables.
A widely used type of composition is the non-
linear weighted sum, where
X 
f ðx Þ ¼ K w g ðxÞ
i i i
(1)
where K (commonly referred to as the activation
function) is some predefined function, such as the
hyperbolic tangent (Wilson 2012). It will be con-
venient for the following to refer to a collection of
functions gi as simply a vector
g ¼ ðg1 , g2 , . . . , gnÞ . This figure depicts such a
decomposition of f, with dependencies between
variables indicated by arrows. These can be
interpreted in two ways (Fig. 1).
The first view is the functional view: The input
is transformed into a three-dimensional vector h,
which is then transformed into a two-dimensional
vector g, which is finally transformed into f. This
view is most commonly encountered in the con-
text of optimization.
4 Neural Network
Neural Network,
Fig. 1 ANN dependency
graph
Neural Network, Fig. 2 Recurrent ANN dependency
graph
The second view is the probabilistic view: The
random variable F ¼ f ðGÞ depends upon the
random variable G ¼ gðH Þ, which depends upon
H ¼ hðXÞ, which depends upon the random var-
iable X. This view is most commonly encountered
in the context of graphical models.
The two views are largely equivalent. In either
case, for this particular network architecture, the
components of individual layers are independent
of each other (e.g., the components of g are
independent of each other given their input h).
This naturally enables a degree of parallelism in
the implementation.
Networks such as the previous one are com-
monly called feed forward, because their graph is
a directed acyclic graph. Networks with cycles are
commonly called recurrent. Such networks are
commonly depicted in the manner shown at the
top of the figure, where f is shown as being depen-
dent upon itself. However, an implied temporal
dependence is not shown (Fig. 2).
Learning
What has attracted the most interest in neural
networks is the possibility of learning. Given a
specific task to solve, and a class of functions, F,
learning means using a set of observations to find
f   F , which solves the task in some optimal
sense. This entails defining a cost function
C : F ! ℝ such that, for the optimal solution,
f * Cðf  Þ  Cðf Þ8f  F 8f  F (i.e., no solution
has a cost less than the cost of the optimal solu-
tion). The cost function C is an important concept
in learning, as it is a measure of how far away a
particular solution is from an optimal solution to
the problem to be solved. Learning algorithms
search through the solution space to find a func-
tion that has the smallest possible cost.
For applications where the solution is depen-
dent on some data, the cost must necessarily be a
function of the observations, otherwise we would
not be modeling anything related to the data. It is
Neural Network
frequently defined as a statistic to which only
approximations can be made. As a simple exam-
ple, consider the problemhof finding the i model f,
which minimizes C ¼ E ðf ðxÞ  yÞ2 , for data
pairs (x, y) drawn from some distribution D. In
practical situations we would only have samples
from D and thus, for the above example, we would
XN
only minimize C b¼ 1 ðf ðxi Þ  yi Þ2 . Thus,
N i¼1
the cost is minimized over a sample of the data
rather than the entire data set. When N ! 1 ,
some form of online machine learning must be
used, where the cost is partially minimized as each
new example is seen. While online machine learn-
ing is often used when D is fixed, it is most useful
in the case where the distribution changes slowly
over time. In neural network methods, some form
of online machine learning is frequently used for
finite datasets.
Learning Process
The memorization of patterns and the subsequent
response of the network can be categorized into
two general paradigms:
• Associative mapping in which the network
learns to produce a particular pattern on the
set of input units whenever another particular
pattern is applied on the set of input units. The
associative mapping can generally be broken
down into two mechanisms:
– Auto-association: an input pattern is associ-
ated with itself and the states of input and
output units coincide. This is used to pro-
vide pattern completion, i.e., to produce a
pattern whenever a portion of it or a
distorted pattern is presented. In the second
case, the network actually stores pairs of
patterns building an association between
two sets of patterns.
– Hetero-association: is related to two recall
mechanisms:
• Nearest-neighbor recall, where the out-
put pattern produced corresponds to the
input pattern stored, which is closest to
the pattern presented and
• Interpolative recall, where the output
pattern is a similarity dependent
5
interpolation of the patterns stored
corresponding to the pattern presented.
Yet another paradigm, which is a variant
associative mapping is classification,
i.e., when there is a fixed set of catego-
ries into which the input patterns are to
be classified.
• Regularity detection in which units learn to
respond to particular properties of the input
patterns. Whereas in associative mapping the
network stores the relationships among pat-
terns, in regularity detection the response of
each unit has a particular “meaning.” This
type of learning mechanism is essential for
feature discovery and knowledge
representation.
Every neural network possesses knowledge
which is contained in the values of the connec-
tions weights. Modifying the knowledge stored in
the network as a function of experience implies a
learning rule for changing the values of the
weights.
Information is stored in the weight matrix W of
a neural network. Learning is the determination of
the weights. Following the way learning is
performed, we can distinguish two major catego-
ries of neural networks:
– Fixed networks in which the weights cannot be
changed, i.e., dW/dt = 0. In such networks,
the weights are fixed a priori according to the
problem to solve.
– Adaptive networks which are able to change
their weights, i.e., dW/dt not = 0.
Learning Paradigms
There are three major learning paradigms, each
corresponding to a particular abstract learning
task. These are supervised learning, unsupervised
learning, and reinforcement learning.
1. Supervised learning
In supervised learning, we are given a set of
example pairs (x, y), x  X, y  Y and the aim
is to find a function f : X ! Y in the allowed
class of functions that matches the examples.
6 Neural Network
In other words, we wish to infer the mapping
implied by the data: The cost function is related
to the mismatch between our mapping and the
data and it implicitly contains prior knowledge
about the problem domain.
A commonly used cost is the mean-squared
error, which tries to minimize the average
squared error between the network’s output,
f(x), and the target value y over all the example
pairs. When one tries to minimize this cost
using gradient descent for the class of neural
networks called multilayer perceptrons, one
obtains the common and well-known back-
propagation algorithm for training neural
networks.
Tasks that fall within the paradigm of super-
vised learning are pattern recognition (also
known as classification) and regression (also
known as function approximation). The super-
vised learning paradigm is also applicable to
sequential data (e.g., for speech and gesture
recognition). This can be thought of as learning
with a “teacher,” in the form of a function that
provides continuous feedback on the quality of
solutions obtained thus far.
2. Unsupervised learning
In unsupervised learning, some data is given
and the cost function to be minimized, which
can be any function of the data and the net-
work’s output, f. The cost function is depen-
dent on the task (what we are trying to model)
and our a priori assumptions (the implicit prop-
erties of our model, its parameters, and the
observed variables).
As a trivial example, consider the model
f ðxÞ ¼ a, where a is a constant and the cost
h i
C ¼ E ðx  f ðxÞÞ2 . Minimizing this cost will
give us a value of a that is equal to the mean of
the data. The cost function can be much more
complicated. Its form depends on the applica-
tion: For example, in compression it could be
related to the mutual information between x
and y, whereas in statistical modeling, it
could be related to the posterior probability of
the model given the data. (Note that in both of
those examples those quantities would be max-
imized rather than minimized).
Tasks that fall within the paradigm of
unsupervised learning are in general estimation
problems; the applications include clustering
and estimating statistical distributions, com-
pression, and filtering.
3. Reinforcement Learning
In reinforcement learning, data are usually not
given but generated by an agent’s interactions
with the environment. At each point in time t,
the agent performs an action yt and the envi-
ronment generates an observation and an
instantaneous cost, according to some
(usually unknown) dynamics. The aim is to
discover a policy for selecting actions that min-
imizes some measure of a long-term cost, that
is, the expected cumulative cost. The environ-
ment’s dynamics and the long-term cost for
each policy are usually unknown, but they
can be estimated.
More formally, the environment is modeled
as a Markov decision process (MDP) with
states S1 , . . . , Sn  S and actions
a1 , . . . , am  A with the following probability
distributions: the instantaneous cost distribu-
tion Pðct jjst Þ; the observation distribution
Pðxt jjst Þ, and the Pðstþ1 jjst , at Þ, while a policy
is defined as conditional distribution over
actions given the observations. Taken together,
the two define a Markov chain (MC). The aim
is to discover the policy that minimizes the
cost, that is, the MC for which the cost is
minimal.
ANNs are frequently used in reinforcement
learning as part of the overall algorithm.
Tasks that fall within the paradigm of rein-
forcement learning are control problems, games,
and other sequential decision-making tasks.
Learning Algorithms
Training a neural network model essentially
means selecting one model from the set of allowed
models (or, in a Bayesian framework, determining
a distribution over the set of allowed models) that
minimizes the cost criterion. There are numerous
algorithms available for training neural network
models; most of them can be viewed as a straight-
forward application of optimization theory and
Neural Network 7

statistical estimation. Recent developments in this • Robustness: If the model, cost function, and
field use particle swarm optimization and other learning algorithm are selected appropriately
swarm intelligence techniques. the resulting ANN can be extremely robust.
Most of the algorithms used in training artifi-
cial neural networks employ some form of gradi- With the correct implementation, ANNs can be
ent descent. This is done by simply taking the used naturally in online learning and large data set
derivative of the cost function with respect to the applications. Their simple implementation and the
network parameters and then changing those existence of mostly local dependencies exhibited
parameters in a gradient-related direction. in the structure allows for fast, parallel
Evolutionary methods, simulated annealing, implementations in hardware.
expectation-maximization, and nonparametric
methods are some commonly used methods for
Applications
training neural networks.
The utility of artificial neural network models lies
Temporal perceptual learning relies on finding
in the fact that they can be used to infer a function
temporal relationships in sensory signal streams.
from observations. This is particularly useful in
In an environment, statistically salient temporal
applications where the complexity of the data or
correlations can be found by monitoring the
task makes the design of such a function by hand
arrival times of sensory signals. This is done by
impractical.
the perceptual network.
Evolutionary methods (de Rigo et al. 2005),
gene expression programming (Ferreira 2006), Real-Life Applications
simulated annealing (Da and Xiurun 2005), The tasks in which artificial neural networks are
expectation-maximization, nonparametric applied to tend to fall within the following broad
methods, and particle swarm optimization categories:
(Wu and Chen 2009) are some commonly used
methods for training neural networks. • Function approximation, or regression analy-
sis, including time series prediction, fitness
approximation, and modeling
Employing Artificial Neural Networks
• Classification, including pattern and sequence
Perhaps the greatest advantage of ANNs is their
recognition, novelty detection, and sequential
ability to be used as an arbitrary function approx-
decision-making
imation mechanism that “learns” from observed
• Data processing, including filtering, clustering,
data. However, using them is not so straightfor-
blind source separation, and compression
ward and a relatively good understanding of the
• Robotics, including directing manipulators and
underlying theory is essential.
computer numerical control
• Choice of model: This will depend on the data
Application areas include system identification
representation and the application. Overly
and control (vehicle control, process control),
complex models tend to lead to problems
quantum chemistry, game-playing and decision-
with learning.
making (backgammon, chess, poker) (Balabin
• Learning algorithm: There are numerous trade-
and Lomakina 2009), pattern recognition (radar
offs between learning algorithms. Almost any
systems, face identification, object recognition,
algorithm will work well with the correct
and more), sequence recognition (gesture, speech,
hyperparameters for training on a particular
handwritten text recognition), medical diagnosis,
fixed data set. However, selecting and tuning
financial applications (automated trading sys-
an algorithm for training on unseen data
tems), data mining (or knowledge discovery in
requires a significant amount of
databases, “KDD”), visualization, and e-mail
experimentation.
spam filtering.
8 Neural Network

Neural Networks and Neuroscience there may exist many local minima. This depends
Theoretical and computational neuroscience is the on the cost function and the model. Secondly, the
field concerned with the theoretical analysis and optimization method used might not be
computational modeling of biological neural sys- guaranteed to converge when far away from a
tems. Since neural systems are intimately related local minimum. Thirdly, for a very large amount
to cognitive processes and behavior, the field is of data or parameters, some methods become
closely related to cognitive and behavioral impractical. In general, it has been found that
modeling. theoretical guarantees regarding convergence are
The aim of the field is to create models of an unreliable guide to practical application.
biological neural systems in order to understand
how biological systems work. To gain this under-
Generalization and Statistics
standing, neuroscientists strive to make a link
In applications where the goal is to create a system
between observed biological processes (data),
that generalizes well in unseen examples, the
biologically plausible mechanisms for neural pro-
problem of overtraining has emerged. This arises
cessing and learning (biological neural network
in convoluted or over-specified systems when the
models), and theory (statistical learning theory
capacity of the network significantly exceeds the
and information theory).
needed free parameters. There are two schools of
thought for avoiding this problem: The first is to
NN Theoretical Properties
use cross-validation and similar techniques to
check for the presence of overtraining and opti-
Computational Power
mally select hyperparameters such as to minimize
The multilayer perceptron (MLP) is a universal
the generalization error. The second is to use some
function approximator, as proven by the Cybenko
form of regularization. This is a concept that
theorem. However, the proof is not constructive
emerges naturally in a probabilistic (Bayesian)
regarding the number of neurons required or the
framework, where the regularization can be
settings of the weights.
performed by selecting a larger prior probability
Work by Hava Siegelmann and Eduardo
over simpler models, but also in statistical learn-
D. Sontag has provided a proof that a specific
ing theory, where the goal is to minimize over two
recurrent architecture with rational valued
quantities: the “empirical risk” and the “structural
weights (as opposed to full precision real
risk,” which roughly corresponds to the error over
number-valued weights) has the full power of a
the training set and the predicted error in unseen.
universal Turing Machine (Siegelmann and Son-
Supervised neural networks that use an MSE
tag 1991) using a finite number of neurons and
cost function can use formal statistical methods to
standard linear connections. They have further
determine the confidence of the trained model.
shown that the use of irrational values for weights
The MSE on a validation set can be used as an
results in a machine with super-Turing power.
estimate for variance. This value can then be used
to calculate the confidence interval of the output
Capacity
of the network, assuming a normal distribution.
Artificial neural network models have a property
A confidence analysis made this way is statisti-
called “capacity,” which roughly corresponds to
cally valid as long as the output probability distri-
their ability to model any given function. It is
bution stays the same and the network is not
related to the amount of information that can be
modified.
stored in the network and to the notion of
By assigning a softmax activation function on
complexity.
the output layer of the neural network (or a
softmax component in a component-based neural
Convergence
network) for categorical target variables, the out-
Nothing can be said in general about convergence
puts can be interpreted as posterior probabilities.
since it depends on a number of factors. Firstly,
Neural Network
This is very useful in classification as it gives a
certainty measure on classifications.
Cross-References
▶ Artificial Intelligence
▶ Computer Numerical Control
▶ Decision Making
▶ Robot
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O
Optimization in Manufacturing
Giuseppe Stecca1, Gisela Lanza2 and
Steven Peters2
1
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di
Analisi dei Sistemi ed Informatica “Antonio
Ruberti”, Rome, Italy
2
Institute of Production Science (wbk), Karlsruhe
Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe,
Germany
Synonyms
Operations research; Optimization; Production
planning and control
Definition
Optimization in manufacturing is the discipline of
finding the best alternative among a set, under a
specific criterion in the manufacturing
environment.
Theory and Application
Optimization Defined
Optimization can be thought as part of the opera-
tion research discipline. Operations research
translates a real decisional problem in a quantita-
tive one, finds the solution from the model, and
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6565-5
validates it in a real context. Under this view,
optimization covers the phase of finding a solution
from a model of the reality (Nemhauser
et al. 1989; Hillier and Lieberman 2009). Opera-
tions research and management science are
strictly related terms. In management science,
optimization is strictly related to mathematical
programming (especially integer and linear pro-
gramming) as one of the best developed and most
used branches of management science. Mathe-
matical programming concerns the optimal allo-
cation of limited resources among competing
activities, under a set of constraints imposed by
the nature of the problem being studied (Bradley
et al. 1977).
The applications and the importance of optimi-
zation go beyond the operation research disci-
pline. Almost all the scientific disciplines are
affected by optimization. Scientific journals
cover optimization, for instance, in production
and logistics, computer science, energy, food
processing, graphical models, banking, process
control, chemistry, biology, genetics, clinics, and
so on.
Generally speaking, the optimization problem
can be defined by specifying the following:
A set F
E (feasible set) which elements represent
feasible solutions. Solutions not included in F are
not feasible. The relation x  F is called constraint.
A function f: E ! R (objective function) and an
indicator of “min” (minimum) or “max”
(maximum).
2 Optimization in Manufacturing
The scope of optimization can be defined as
follows:
Every element x  F such f(x)  f(y), 8y  F, take
the name of optimum. The value v = f(x) of the
function evaluated in the optimum is called opti-
mum value.
A problem of maximum can be treated as a
problem of minimum by substituting f with  f.
Collection and Classification of Operations
Research
Figure 1 shows a collection and classification of
often used methods of operations research in a
production-related research (Fig. 1).
Linear and Nonlinear Optimization
Optimization problems in which objective func-
tion and/or constrains are not linear define
nonlinear optimization problems. While linear
optimization problems can be solved in polyno-
mial time, generally nonlinear optimization prob-
lems are much more difficult to solve. In discrete
optimization problems, variables are defined dis-
crete, and thus, they are nonlinear optimization
problems.
In a nonlinear problem, the optimal solutions
can occur at an interior point of the feasible region
or on the boundary of the feasible region, which is
not an extreme point, or at an extreme point of the
feasible region. As consequence, procedures
searching only the extreme points (i.e., the sim-
plex method) cannot be used (Bradley et al. 1977).
Convex Optimization
Nonlinear optimization can be treated in a special
case if the objective function is convex (concave),
and the feasible region is convex (concave). The
most notable property is that a local minimum of a
convex function on a convex feasible region is
also a global minimum. Thanks to this, special
optimization procedures can be developed. It is
to note that linear functions are convex.
Integer Optimization
In an integer optimization problem, integrality
restriction is defined in some (Mixed Integer Lin-
ear Programming (MILP)) or all (Integer
Programming (IP)) of the variables of the model.
Integrality is associated often with decisional
problems (e.g., which plant to open, which arc to
travel). In case the variable is 0–1, the optimiza-
tion problem is to decide between two possibili-
ties. To model this dichotomy, the decisional
variable x is assigned with 1 if a specific event
occurs (e.g., the opening of a facility) and with
0 otherwise. Integrality constrains introduce
nonlinearity and complexity to the problems. In
fact, integer programming is NP-hard
(nondeterministic polynomial-time hard). A big
variety of manufacturing and logistic problems
can be represented as discrete optimization prob-
lems. Production scheduling, machine sequenc-
ing, cutting stock, facility location, fixed charge
network, and vehicle routing are just few exam-
ples of manufacturing and logistic problems
represented as integer optimization problems
(Nemhauser et al. 1989; J€unger et al. 2010).
Fuzzy Optimization
Fuzzy optimization covers the optimization of
fuzzy models, involving non-probabilistic
uncertainty.
Stochastic and Robust Optimization
Stochastic optimization-based methods use ran-
dom parameters in order to find optimal values.
Often randomness is introduced inside a
metaheuristic framework in which perturbations
to predefined search heuristics allow to enhance
the search and escape local optima. Evolutionary
algorithms, particle swarm, variable neighbor
search, and simulated annealing are all examples
of stochastic optimization techniques.
In stochastic programming, the programming
model is built considering the variability of the
parameters. While in stochastic programming the
parameters are associated with known probability
distributions, in robust optimization, variability is
defined inside predefined bounds. The aim of
robust optimization is to find robust solutions
against all the possible occurrences of the uncer-
tain values.
 Stochastic
Modelling

Stochastic Single Random

OR
Processes Variables

Point
...
Process

Renewal
Optimization in Manufacturing

Process

Markov
Process

Markov
Chain

Scalar Pareto Queueing Graphs &

Decision Theory Simulation ...
Optimisation Optimisation Theory Networks

Evaluation Optimisation
Single Queueing Discrete
Deterministic Stochastic Fuzzy single of Decision Game Theory
Systems Networks Event
Decisions Processes

Discrete
Linear Non-linear Open Static Deterministic Stochastic Time

Continuous
Dynamic
Real-Valued
Convex Non-Convex Closed (e.g. Option Discrete Continuous
(e.g.Simplex)
Pricing Theory)
...
Finite Markow
Integer Local (e.g. Global (e.g. Multi-Criteria Finite
Mixed Decision
Programming Newton) evolut. Alg.) (e.g.Promethee) Semi-MOP
Process/MDP
Mixed Integer Infinite
Quadratic ... Infinite MOP
Programming Semi-MOP

... ...

Optimization in Manufacturing, Fig. 1 Classification of selected methods of operations research (compare Peters 2013). Methods in gray are detailed in the following
3
4 Optimization in Manufacturing
Multiobjective and Pareto Optimization
In practical situations, the optimization process
must take into account different objectives. Con-
sider, for example, the optimization of a product
design where designers seek for higher product
performances, while process designers desire
solutions having lower product manufacturing
costs. In these cases, the optimization function
can be split in different objective functions and
multiobjective optimization arises. In these set-
tings, it is very important to find the set of the
Pareto optimal solutions, defined as a set
consisting of feasible solutions in each of which
there exist no other feasible solutions that will
yield an improvement in one objective without
causing degradation in at least one other objective.
Often multiobjective optimization is solved by
applying evolutive approaches (Deb 2011).
Optimization in Manufacturing Systems
The aim of product manufacturing is to produce
products fulfilling required functions, perfor-
mances, qualities, and characteristics (Yoshimura
2010).
Optimization in production systems is used at
all levels (strategic, tactical, operative), and for
each level, objective and constraints must be
declared. At the strategic level, the objectives in
a production are defined with the aim to support
decisions such as the selection of product and
process, the construction of new plants, and the
acquisition of external resources. At the tactical
level, the objectives are defined in order to support
decisions such as production planning, resource
management, and identification of procedures.
Operative objectives are strictly related to deci-
sions of flow management (scheduling, inventory,
etc.), management and control of operations, and
quality control.
The general production model can be formu-
lated as a linear programming model, and its opti-
mization represents the optimal determination of
quantities to produce in order to maximize the
profit. In details, let the vector b the set of
resources of the production system to be
transformed in product quantities stored in the
variable vector x through the technological
modalities defined in matrix A. The final products
will be sold at a unitary costs stored in vector c and
they produce a total value of z. A is the techno-
logical matrix, and its generic element Aij defines
the resource of type needed to produce a unit of
product j.
Each row of the technological matrix defines
the quantity of resource needed for each different
product. Each column defines a specific product,
in particular the quantities of the different
resources which must be used to produce a unit
of the product. The multiplication of a row of A by
the vector x gives the quantity of resource that
must be used to produce the specified product mix
and that must be less than the available resource
(declared in the vector b). The objective of the
problem is to maximize the profit z. Therefore, the
problem can be formulated in the following way:
max z ¼ cx (1)
subject to:
Ax  b (2)
x  0 (3)
In discrete manufacturing the constraint (Eq. 3)
will be substituted with the expression x  ℕ
In manufacturing systems, optimization should
consider the life cycle dimension. In order to
optimize production, it is essential to design prod-
ucts in order to allow effective optimization. The
strong integration among design, production, and
distribution is a crucial element for holistic opti-
mization in manufacturing.
Decision Processes
Decision-making processes do not determine
individual optimal decisions but an optimal
sequence of decisions (policy) with regard to the
target system (Bamberg et al. 2008). In order to
reduce the overall computing time, one attempts
to decompose the simultaneous optimization of a
sequence of decisions into a sequence of individ-
ual decisions, which can be optimized a lot easier
(Bamberg et al. 2008). For this purpose, the
method of dynamic optimization is used
(Bellman 1957; Sniedovich 2011).
Optimization in Manufacturing
Finite horizon problems are, e.g., used to solve
capacity planning problems and usually use the
fundamental elements of a dynamic optimization
problem as presented below:
Discrete points in time as well as decision points
within a planning horizon
Each point of time contains a set of reachable
states and possible actions/decisions
State transitions (affected by actions)
Cost functions (depending on the respective
state and the chosen action)
Final costs of the last point in time
If required a discount factor
Bellman’s principle of optimality states that an
optimal strategy (a sequence of actions) of a deci-
sion process with T stages is characterized by the
fact that all remaining decisions T-1 after the
decision in t = 1 constitute an optimal strategy
for the resulting state in t = 2, regardless of the
initial state and the chosen action at t = 1 (Bellman
1957; Bamberg et al. 2008).
Cross-References
▶ Capacity Planning
▶ Decision Making
▶ Manufacturing
▶ Optimization in Manufacturing Systems,
Fundamentals
▶ Production Planning
▶ Scheduling
▶ Simulation of Manufacturing Systems
▶ Sustainable Manufacturing
5
References
Bamberg G, Coenenberg AG, Krapp M (2008) Betriebs-
wirtschaftliche Entscheidungslehre [Business decision
theory], 14th rev edn. Vahlen, Munich (in German)
Bellman RE (1957) Dynamic programming. Princeton
University Press, Princeton
Bradley SP, Hax AC, Magnanti TL (1977) Applied math-
ematical programming. Addison-Wesley, Reading,
MA, U.S.A.
Deb K (2011) Multi-objective optimisation using evolu-
tionary algorithms: an introduction. In: Wang L, Ng
AHC, Deb K (eds) Multi-objective evolutionary opti-
misation for product design and manufacturing.
Springer, London, pp 3–34
Hillier FS, Lieberman GJ (2009) Introduction to operations
research, 9th edn. McGraw-Hill, New York
J€
unger M, Liebling TM, Naddef D, Nemhauser GL,
Pulleyblank WR, Reinelt G, Rinaldi G, Wolsey LA
(eds) (2010) 50 years of integer programming
1958–2008, from the early years to the state-of-the-
art. Springer, Köln/Lausanne/Grenoble/Atlanta/
Somers/Heidelberg/Roma/Louvain-la-Neuve
Nemhauser GL, Rinooy Kan AHG, Todd MJ (eds)
(1989) Handbooks in operations research and manage-
ment science, vol 1, Optimization. Elsevier,
Amsterdam
Peters S (2013) Markoffsche Entscheidungsprozesse zur
Kapazit€ats- und Investitionsplanung von Produktions-
systemen [Markov Decision Processes to capacity and
investment planning of production systems]. Disserta-
tion, KIT, Aachen, Germany (in German)
Sniedovich M (2011) Dynamic programming: foundations
and principles, 2nd edn. CRC Press, Boca Raton
Yoshimura M (2010) System design optimization for prod-
uct manufacturing. Springer, London
P
Production Planning
Giuseppe Stecca
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di
Analisi dei Sistemi ed Informatica, Rome, Italy
Synonyms
Planning; Production programming
Definition
Production planning is the process of translating
customer orders to jobs for the manufacturing
plant with attached due dates.
Theory and Application
The production planning is not an isolated func-
tion, and its role is not only the production of a
plan for the operations function. Production plan-
ning is instead interrelated and dependent by the
information coming from procurement and sell-
ing, coordinated with the functions of marketing,
manufacturing, engineering, finance, and mate-
rials management.
The Planning Hierarchy
Production planning problems can be grouped in
terms of the level of detail and temporal horizon.
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6569-5
In these settings aggregate production planning,
production scheduling, and production control
problems can be configured. At the first stage,
problems arise to the decision of the quantity to
produce for each product on a weekly basis, while
the sequence of operations in a daily basis is
considered as a problem in the second stage. The
production control is instead characterized by
real-time decisions.
Figure 1 shows the information flows in a
manufacturing system and the production plan-
ning role.
The output of the production planning process
is a set of decisions in response to events in a
given time interval. The process can be defined
as (Kempf et al. 2011) an ongoing
supply–demand system, so a production plan
must be generated repeatedly on a regular basis
in many periods into the future. During the time
interval, the customer may place a tentative order,
change or cancel a tentative order, and confirm a
tentative order. In response to the cited events, the
producer’s decisions include (Kempf et al. 2011):
What tentative orders to accept on confirmation
How much material to release into the factory
What orders to fill with products exiting in the
factory
Framework for Production Planning
and Scheduling
Decision-making strategies are dependent on the
production environment (discrete, continuous, or
2 Production Planning

Production Planning, Fig. 1 Information flow diagram in a manufacturing system (#Planning and scheduling in
manufacturing and services, 2005, p. 9, Michael L Pinedo, Springer, New York/Heidelberg. With permission of Springer)

hybrid manufacturing systems). Nevertheless, it is granularity of 1 month. The module works on

possible to draw a general framework for produc-
tion planning and scheduling as suggested by
Silver et al. (1998), in which the production plan-
ning and scheduling system can be broken down
in different, interconnected modules. The main
modules of a general production planning and
scheduling system are detailed in aggregated
planning, demand management, master produc-
tion scheduling, finished production scheduling,
material planning, capacity planning, short-range
scheduling, capacity control, and production/
material control and feedback.
Aggregate Planning
The time horizon in the aggregate planning mod-
ule usually ranges from 6 to 24 months with a
aggregations of product families with the objec-
tive to establish production rates, work force size,
and inventory levels. The module is mostly used
in continuous manufacturing where it is important
to properly set and use capacity and where it is
easy to aggregate and subsequently disaggregate
in more detailed plans.
Demand Management
This function coordinates demand requirements
and supply information from different sources,
such as forecasting, distribution planning, order
entry, promises, and follow-up. Demand forecast-
ing will be more important in stock-oriented
manufacturing systems.
Production Planning
Master Production Scheduling
The master production scheduling acts as an inter-
face between marketing and production. Its func-
tion is the disaggregation of the aggregate
production plan into the production schedule of
specific products over time periods (weeks or
days). While in some situations it is appropriate
to master schedule the finished products, often it is
important to select the point where to apply the
master production scheduling. For example, the
subassembly stage may be more appropriated in
situations where many options may be configured.
Often the positioning is in the push–pull
boundary.
Finished Product Scheduling
When master production scheduling is not
performed in the finished product stage, the fin-
ished product scheduling module is used. In these
settings the master production schedule “pushes”
the products to the inventory, and the finished
product scheduling activates shipping schedules.
Material Planning
The function of material planning produces the
procurement and production schedules of all com-
ponents and materials. This is a crucial module in
assembly environments.
Capacity Planning
Capacity planning verifies the feasibility of the
plans at both aggregate and detailed levels. At
first stage, master production schedule feasibility
can be verified in an aggregated way. After mate-
rial planning is performed, capacity planning ver-
ification may induce adjustments in the detailed
plans. Also, the master production schedule can
be modified if capacity planning reveals feasibil-
ity problems.
Short-Range Scheduling
This module produces the detailed schedule, indi-
cating which order must be released in production
and when, based on the master production sched-
ule and the associated material plan. The short-
range scheduling works with finite capacity
constraints.
3
Capacity Control
Module used for the verification of the levels of
output against the planned ones.
Production/Material Control and Feedback
It provides monitoring and feedback of inventory
levels and production rates, including scraps. This
real-time information is used in order to propose
corrective actions in the production process.
MRP and Just in Time in Production Planning
Short-term production planning in discrete
manufacturing must coordinate the requirements
generated by the independent demand and all the
dependent demand. The dependent demand is
produced when the customer (independent)
demand for products is matched with the bill of
material of the product. Material requirement
planning systems define all the requirements for
dependent demand. If capacity checks are
performed, MRP works in closed loop with the
master production schedule in order to produce
feasible plans. MRP is not applicable in situations
where lead times are variable, lot size and
sequence-dependent setup times highly affect the
process, and safety stocks are costly. Moreover,
often MRP is applied under infinite capacity
hypothesis.
An alternative production planning and sched-
uling approach is represented by the just-in-time
(JIT) approach, firstly introduced in the Toyota
Motor Corporation. JIT is a total manufacturing
system and goes beyond the production planning.
The goal of JIT is to produce the right quantity of
products in the highest quality, at exactly the right
time, with zero inventory, zero lead time, and no
queues. Continuous improvement is the key to
address these objectives. Among all the required
steps to reach JIT, there is the reduction of setup
times, the reduction of lead times, the reduction
and standardization of lead times, evidence of
work in process, reduction of inventory in combi-
nation with the individuation of bottlenecks, and
cost-efficiency analysis for the required
improvements.
4 Production Planning
Distributed Production Planning
Complex and globally located production systems
impose the reconfiguration of centralized produc-
tion planning systems. New paradigms such as
virtual enterprises and extended enterprises, sup-
ply chains, and production networks (Wiendahl
and Lutz 2002) configure the production planning
over a network of production entities connected
with physical and information flows. These enti-
ties can have a degree of autonomy and distinct
objectives. To cope with these settings, new par-
adigms such as holonic manufacturing systems,
multiagent systems, and collaborative production
systems have been proposed. Distributed produc-
tion planning are practices and software systems
able to manage distributed production systems
defined as (Lima et al. 2006) composed by auton-
omous processing elements, with the capability of
rapid dynamic reconfiguration. In settings, pro-
duction planning often requires tight integration
with supply chain planning using distributed, col-
laborative (or cooperative or coordination-/
negotiation-based) planning and optimization
methods.
Cross-References
▶ ERP Enterprise Resource Planning
▶ Optimization in Manufacturing
▶ Scheduling
References
Kempf KG, Keskinocak P, Uzsoy R (eds) (2011) Planning
production and inventories in the extended enterprise: a
state of the art handbook, vol 1. Springer, New York/
Heidelberg
Lima RM, Sousa RM, Martins PJ (2006) Distributed pro-
duction planning and control agent-based system. Int
J Prod Res 44(18–19):3693–3709
Pinedo ML (2005) Planning and scheduling in manufactur-
ing and services. Springer, New York/Heidelberg
Silver EA, Pyke DF, Peterson R (1998) Inventory manage-
ment and production planning and scheduling. Wiley,
New York
Wiendahl H-P, Lutz S (2002) Production in networks.
CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 51(2):573–586
P

Productivity period of time and may provide useful indications

about whether the objectives of the organization
Sotiris Makris1, Nikolaos Papakostas2 and have been met or not. It may also lead to practical
George Chryssolouris1 suggestions about what changes are required for
1
Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems and increasing the efficiency of an organization.
Automation (LMS), Department of Mechanical Productivity has been used as a metric for
Engineering and Aeronautics, University of comparing the performance of nations and com-
Patras, Patras, Greece panies, as well as of industrial and commercial
2
School of Mechanical and Materials sectors.
Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin,
Ireland
Productivity Measures
For over two centuries, productivity, as a term
related to efficiency, has been used in many dif-
Synonyms
ferent scientific and technical disciplines. In prin-
ciple, productivity is used for measuring the ratio
Flexibility; Performance; Production capacity
of what is produced by a system, an operation, or a
process to what is necessary for producing it. In
particular, productivity in manufacturing systems
Definition
may often be defined as the relation between the
actual production volume and the resources
A measure of manufacturing system or process
required for achieving this volume, often in the
output per unit of input, over a specific period of
form of resources (labor, equipment, and raw
time, used as a metric of the production and the
materials). Increasing productivity worldwide is
engineering efficiency.
the result of the technological development in
manufacturing, requiring, however, higher level
of investment (Chryssolouris 2006).
Theory and Application
There are many different definitions and met-
rics. Some of them are included in the indicative
Introduction
list below (Tangen 2005), discussed also by
The productivity measurement has always been
Wazed and Ahmed (2008):
an important aspect for organizations. This mea-
surement may partially track the progress of an
• Productivity = units of output/units of input
organization in terms of performance over a long
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6570-4
2 Productivity
• Productivity = actual output/expected
resources used
• Productivity = value added/input of produc-
tion factors
• Productivity = output per hour of work
• Productivity = efficiency * effectiveness =
value adding time/total time
• Productivity = (output/input) * quality =
efficiency * utilization * quality
The use of productivity measures is not with-
out challenges (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons
1994; Wazed and Ahmed 2008):
• A major challenge in using productivity as a
measure of effectiveness is that output and
input factors are usually expressed in different
forms. For instance, output may be expressed
in physical terms, such as units or tons, while
input may be expressed by a variable such as
the number of employees required for the
manufacturing of a specific amount of products
or the quantity of the raw materials used.
• Another issue to address is the fact that the
absolute values of many productivity measures
may provide little or no useful information
about the effectiveness of a process or a sys-
tem. Usually, productivity has to be compared
over different periods of time to provide useful
insights about effectiveness and potential
improvements.
• A third major factor to take into consideration
when employing productivity measures is that
usually many different ratios may be used.
Other ratios have also been devised for mea-
suring productivity, including:
• The single-factor productivity (SFP): the out-
put of a product or service over the input
resources required for delivering the product
or service.
• The total-factor productivity (TFP): the ratio of
all products and services delivered over the
total resource inputs.
The comparison of production technologies in
different firms or even economies has also been an
important research field in the area of productivity
measurement. The Malmquist Index (Caves
et al. 1982) allows for the assessment of different
firms during the same or different time periods.
The measurement of environmentally sensitive
productivity growth has become increasingly
important during the last decades. In order to
include environmental factors in productivity
measurements, new indices have been devised,
such as the Malmquist-Luenberger productivity
index (Chung et al. 1997) and the Metafrontier
Malmquist-Luenberger productivity growth index
(Chung and Heshmati 2015).
Productivity Versus Flexibility
Although productivity may reveal useful informa-
tion about the capacity of a manufacturing system
at a specific period of time, it cannot reflect its
actual capability to adapt to the market demand
and its changes. In today’s global manufacturing
arena, the capabilities to change fast as well as to
satisfy the needs for more personalized and cus-
tomized production, producing more with less
(Chryssolouris et al. 2008), are of paramount
importance. During the last decades, a great
amount of research has been devoted to the
study of flexibility in manufacturing systems and
its measurement. Flexibility measurement
approaches, such as the DESYMA and
FLEXIMAC (Georgoulias et al. 2007), may pro-
vide a series of integrated metrics, utilizing a
limited range of data, reflecting the capability of
a manufacturing system to achieve its targets and
to satisfy demand.
Applications
In many cases, the productivity of different cate-
gories of industrial organizations is compared, so
that best practices or key technology factors may
be identified. A typical example of a manufactur-
ing productivity measure is the ratio of revenue of
outputs of all production lines over the cost of all
inputs of production lines such as salary and
wages, cost of entertainment, raw materials,
energy, and R&D (Shahidul and Syed Shazali
2010). In other cases, productivity measures may
Productivity 3

be used for comparing the efficiency and perfor-
mance of different manufacturing technologies,
especially in the area of advanced manufacturing
processes, such as Additive Manufacturing
(Baumers et al. 2016).
Cross-References
▶ Capacity Planning
References
Baumers M, Dickens P, Tuck C, Hague R (2016) The cost
of additive manufacturing: machine productivity, econ-
omies of scale and technology-push. Technol Forecast
Soc chang 102:193–201
Caves DW, Christensen LR, Diewert WE (1982) Multilat-
eral comparisons of output, input, and productivity
using superlative index numbers. Econ
J 92(365):73–86
Chryssolouris G (2006) Manufacturing systems – theory
and practice, 2nd edn. Springer, New York
Chryssolouris G, Papakostas N, Mavrikios D (2008)
A perspective on manufacturing strategy: produce
more with less. CIRP J Manuf Sci Technol 1(1):45–52
Chung Y, Heshmati A (2015) Measurement of environ-
mentally sensitive productivity growth in Korean
industries. J Clean Prod 104:380–391
Chung YH, F€are R, Grosskopf S (1997) Productivity and
undesirable outputs: a directional distance function
approach. J Environ Manage 51(3):229–240
Fitzsimmons JA, Fitzsimmons MJ (1994) Service manage-
ment for competitive advantage, 2nd edn. McGraw-
Hill, New York
Georgoulias K, Papakostas N, Makris S, Chryssolouris
G (2007) A toolbox approach for flexibility measure-
ments in diverse environments. Ann CIRP
56(1):423–426
Shahidul MI, Syed Shazali ST (2010) Dynamics of
manufacturing productivity: lesson learnt from labor
intensive industries. J Manuf Technol Manag
22(5):664–678
Tangen S (2005) Demystifying productivity and perfor-
mance. Int J Product Perform Manag 54(1):34–46
Wazed MA, Ahmed S (2008) Multifactor productivity
measurements model (MFPMM) as effectual perfor-
mance measures in manufacturing. Aust J Basic Appl
Sci 2(4):987–996
CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6571-4
# CIRP 2014

Scheduling
Giuseppe Stecca*
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Analisi dei Sistemi ed Informatica “Antonio Ruberti”, Rome, Italy

Synonyms
Executive planning; Machine scheduling; Programming; Sequencing

Definition
Scheduling deals with the allocation of resources to tasks over given time periods, and its goal is to
optimize one or more objectives (Pinedo 2008).

Theory and Application

Role and History of Scheduling
The role of scheduling is the assignment of resources to working jobs over time. Scheduling is an
operational decision-making process affecting company and organization performance and its
ability to add value and to respect contracts. The application of scheduling is wide, starting from
manufacturing and production systems to information processing environments as well as transpor-
tation and distribution systems. Typical scheduling problems are the sequencing of batches in
continuous and discrete manufacturing environments with the aim of minimization of the total
time spent on setups and/or the maximization of throughput while meeting the due dates, gate
assignments in airports, scheduling of tasks in computing processing units, scheduling of project
activities in a team, healthcare, and timetabling.
Scheduling theory and application was pioneered by Henry Gantt at the beginning of the twentieth
century; he developed the famous Gantt charts during the First World War. Gantt’s developments
were followed by the findings of Smith, Johnson, and Jackson (Lee et al. 1997; Pinedo 2008; Potts
and Strusevich 2009).

Elements of a Scheduling Problem

Usually, a scheduling problem is defined for a finite number n of jobs that need to be processed over
a finite number m of machines.
For each job j to be processed, a set of characteristics may be declared: the release date (rj), i.e., the
time when the job is ready for processing; the due date (dj), i.e., the completion date required for the
job; the weight (wj), i.e., the relative importance of the job in respect to the others; and the setup time
(sj), i.e., the time needed (e.g., for tooling) before processing the job j.
For each machine i and for each job j, pij defines the processing time.
Additional elements of a scheduling problem may be:

*Email: giuseppe.stecca@iasi.cnr.it
*Email: giuseppe.stecca@cnr.it

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• Precedence constraints among jobs (prec).

• The presence of sequence-dependent job setup times (SDJST): when immediately scheduling job
k after scheduling job j on machine i, a sijk setup time is required.
• Preemption (prmp): the job execution on a machine may be interrupted and continue in a
later time.
• Blocking constraints (block): blocking may arise in the presence of limited buffers among
machines arranged in series. The upstream machine will be blocked until the downstream buffer
is not full. The most common modeled situation foresees zero buffer size.
• No-wait constraints (nwt): jobs are not allowed to wait, during execution, between machines. This
is a normal situation in continuous manufacturing environments.
• Breakdown (brkdwn): machines are not continuously available mostly because of scheduled
maintenance or shifts.
• Batch processing (batch): the machine can process a number b of jobs simultaneously, and the
duration of the process is equal to the longest job processed in the batch.
• Common operations (cos): jobs share operations; once the shared operation i is completed, it is
completed for all the jobs j that require i.

With respect to machines and layout, the scheduling problems can be classified in:

• Single-machine problems: the simplest machine environment with a single machine.

• Flow-shop problems: when the m machines are arranged in series. Under this layout, the job is
constrained to visit the job in the same sequence from the first machine to the last machine
(permutation flow shop). More general hypothesis allows overtake of jobs (general flow shop).
Flexible flow shop is intended when the machines are arranged in stages. Jobs are constrained to
visit stages in sequence, but each stage has a set of identical machines, and in some cases,
transportation system may allow overtake (Baffo et al. 2013).
• Job-shop problems: machines are arranged in a job-shop layout and each job has its own route
among machines.
• Open-shop problems: The machines are multipurpose and the result of the scheduling is the
determination of the route of the jobs among the machine together with the sequencing of the job
processing.

Notation
The most commonly used notation for theoretical scheduling is the so-called three-field notation
introduced by Graham et al. (1979). The notation foresees three fields called a|b|g. The first field
defines the scheduling environment: a equal to F stands for flow shop, J for job shop, P for parallel
machines, and O for open shop. A number can be inserted to indicate the number of machines. The
second field specifies job characteristics indicating, for example, the preemption, ready times, and
additional resources. The third field specifies the performance index (objective). Some examples can
be the following: 1|sjk|Cmax denotes a single-machine problem with sequence-dependent setup times
and minimization of maximum completion time (makespan); Jm||Cmax denotes a job-shop problem
with m machines and makespan minimization.

Objectives
The objective of the scheduling problem is to minimize a performance indicator computed on the
schedule. A schedule is the specification of a feasible sequence of starting (and waiting) times of
operations for each job in each machine.

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CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
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# CIRP 2014

For a single job j, the most frequent performance indicators are:

• Cj: the completion time of job j intended as the date when the job j exits the system.
• Fj: the flow time of job j, i.e., the total time spent in the shop by the job j, Fj = Cj
rj.
• Lj: the lateness of the job j, Lj ¼ C j
dj .
• Tj: the tardiness of the job j, T j ¼ max 0, Lj .

• Ej: the earliness of the job j, E j ¼ max 0,
Lj .
• Uj: the job is late: Uj = 1 if Cj > dj, else U = 0.

Most common objectives of scheduling problems are the minimization of:


• makespan defined as C max ¼ maxðjÞ C j
• Maximum lateness Lmax
• Maximum tardiness
• Weighted sum of completion times
• Weighted sum of jobs tardiness
• Weighted sum of late jobs
• Weighted sum of lateness – earliness

Dynamic and Stochastic Scheduling

Dynamic scheduling is considered when the list of jobs to schedule is partially or totally unknown at
the beginning of the schedule. In this case, the three-field notation is expanded in a four-field
notation. The first field defines the distribution function of arrivals for jobs. A typical dynamic
scheduling environment is the task processing problem in computation and communication systems.
Stochastic scheduling, in a more general meaning, is defined when a scheduling problem has a
random feature. One common random feature considered may be the processing time of jobs.

Decentralized Scheduling
In decentralized or distributed scheduling, there are local schedulers responsible for local or shared
resources who must coordinate in order to compose a global, optimized schedule of given jobs. The
discipline of distributed scheduling is considered not only in manufacturing science (Shen 2002) but
also in distributed artificial intelligence, in multi-agent systems, and in economic theory. One of the
most famous applications of distributed scheduling is the contract-net protocol (CNP) proposed by
Smith (1980), where each resource is modeled as a local scheduler agent. The CNP coordinates task
allocation, providing dynamic allocation and natural load balancing. A way to connect the theoret-
ical classical scheduling framework with decentralized scheduling is proposed by research which
investigates the multi-agent scheduling problem in a formal way (Agnetis et al. 2004). Duffie and
Prabhu (1994) introduced real-time scheduling for decentralized, heterarchical manufacturing
systems. Recent research trends consider scheduling in distributed artificial intelligence and
swarm robotics.

Integrated Scheduling Problems

Together with decentralized scheduling, a current trend in deterministic scheduling is the so-called
integrated scheduling problem. Complex real manufacturing and logistics environments impose the
integrated analysis of planning and scheduling problems. Another direction of research is actually

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DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6571-4
# CIRP 2014

the integration along the supply chain of the scheduling problem, considering in the scheduling
problems inventory, distribution, and routing issues.

Complexity and Solution Approaches

Most of the scheduling problems proposed are NP-hard in the strong sense and difficult to solve even
for small instances. A list of complexity results for scheduling problems can be found on Brucker
and Knust (2009). Exact approaches for solving scheduling problems are indeed very rare. Heuris-
tics and metaheuristics are very often used. Relaxation techniques such as column generation,
Lagrangian relaxation, or branch and cut can be used when the mixed integer linear programming
(MILP) model of the scheduling problem is formulated. For dynamic and stochastic scheduling,
dispatching rules may be designed. Some classes of problems (e.g., problems with sequence-
dependent setup times) can be treated with graph theory.

Cross-References
▶ Artificial Intelligence
▶ Distributed Manufacturing
▶ Optimization in Manufacturing
▶ Planning
▶ Production Planning
▶ Statistical Process Control

References
Agnetis A, Mirchandani PB, Pacciarelli D, Pacifici A (2004) Scheduling problems with two
competing agents. Oper Res 52(2):229–242
Baffo I, Confessore G, Stecca G (2013) A decentralized model for flow shop production with
flexible transportation system. J Manuf Syst 32:68–77
Brucker P, Knust S (2009) Complexity results for scheduling problems. http://www.informatik.uni-
osnabrueck.de/knust/class/. Accessed 29 June 2009
Duffie NA, Prabhu VV (1994) Real-time distributed scheduling of heterarchical manufacturing
systems. J Manuf Syst 13(2):4–107
Graham RL, Lawler EL, Lenstra JK, Rinnooy Kan AHG (1979) Optimization and approximation in
deterministic sequencing and scheduling: a survey. Ann Discret Math 5:287–327
Lee C-Y, Lei L, Pinedo M (1997) Current trends in deterministic scheduling. Ann Oper Res
70(1):1–41
Pinedo M (2008) Scheduling: theory, algorithms and systems, 3rd edn. Springer, New York
Potts CN, Strusevich VA (2009) Fifty years of scheduling: a survey of milestones. J Oper Res Soc
60:41–68
Shen W (2002) Distributed manufacturing scheduling using intelligent agents. IEEE Intell Syst
17(1):88–94
Smith RG (1980) The contract net protocol: high-level communication and control in a distributed
problem solver. IEEE Trans Comput C-29(12):1104–1113

Page 4 of 4
A

Accuracy (ISO 99:2007, definition 2.13)

Wolfgang Knapp
IWF, ETH Zurich, Schleitheim, Switzerland
Theory and Application

Let us start with definition of (ISO 99:2007), the

Synonyms
International Vocabulary of Metrology (VIM), see
“Definition.”
Accuracy of measurement; Measurement
From this definition, we have to conclude that
accuracy
the term “accuracy” should be used just for gen-
eral comparison, i.e., a measurement or a measur-
ing instrument is more accurate than another. For
Definition
example, a roundness measurement carried out on
a roundness measurement machine (or roundness
Closeness of agreement between a measured
tester) is generally more accurate than a roundness
quantity value and a true quantity value of a
measurement carried out on a three axes coordi-
measurand.
nate measuring machine (CMM); if we use a high
precision CMM, apply a precision rotary table on
NOTE 1 The concept “measurement accuracy” is
the CMM, and apply a special probe system, then
not a quantity and is not given a numerical
the measurement with the CMM and the round-
quantity value. A measurement is said to be
ness measuring machine might be of the same
more accurate when it offers a smaller mea-
accuracy.
surement error.
Nevertheless, we may define accuracy classes,
NOTE 2 The term “measurement accuracy”
also according to the VIM (ISO 99:2007, defini-
should not be used for measurement trueness,
tion 4.25):
and the term “measurement precision” should
not be used for “measurement accuracy,”
which, however, is related to both these Accuracy Class
concepts. Class of measuring instruments or measuring sys-
NOTE 3 “Measurement accuracy” is sometimes tems that meet stated metrological requirements
understood as closeness of agreement between that are intended to keep measurement errors or
measured quantity values that are being attrib- instrumental uncertainties within specified limits
uted to the measurand. under specified operating conditions.
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6575-4
2 Accuracy

NOTE 1 An accuracy class is usually denoted by a measurement, intermediate precision condi-

number or symbol adopted by convention.
NOTE 2 Accuracy applies to material measures.
Material measure (ISO 99:2007, definition
3.6): measuring instrument reproducing or sup-
plying, in a permanent manner during its use,
quantities of one or more given kinds, each with
an assigned quantity value, e.g., line scale, gauge
block. And for gauge blocks, we know different
accuracy classes.
According to Note 2 of the definition, the term
“accuracy” is sometimes mixed up with “mea-
surement trueness” and “measurement precision.”
Therefore, we have a look at these two terms that
are defined in (ISO 99:2007, definitions 2.14 and
2.15):
Measurement Trueness (or Trueness
of Measurement or Trueness)
Closeness of agreement between the average of an
infinite number of replicate measured quantity
values and a reference quantity value
Note 1 Measurement trueness is not a quantity and
thus cannot be expressed numerically, but mea-
sures for closeness of agreement are given in
(ISO 5725).
Note 2 Measurement trueness is inversely related
to systematic measurement error, but is not
related to random measurement error.
Note 3 Measurement accuracy should not be used
for “measurement trueness” and vice versa.
tions of measurement, or reproducibility con-
ditions of measurement (see ISO 5725-
2:1994).
NOTE 3 Measurement precision is used to define
measurement repeatability, intermediate mea-
surement precision, and measurement
reproducibility.
NOTE 4 Sometimes “measurement precision” is
erroneously used to mean measurement
accuracy.
Figure 1 will help to explain the definitions of
“accuracy,” “measurement trueness,” and “mea-
surement precision.” Figure 1 shows the result of
three measurement series that each consists of a
large number of single measurements. Each series
is represented by its mean value and plus/minus
the standard deviation. Each measurement series
may have been carried out under different condi-
tions, such as different measurement equipments,
different operators, and different environmental
conditions.
– Measurement series 1 shows the best accuracy,
measurement series 3 the worst. Measurement
series 1, represented by its mean value plus/
minus the standard deviation, is closest to the
true quantity value.

Measurement Precision (or Precision)

Closeness of agreement between indications or
measured quantity values obtained by replicate
measurements on the same or similar object
under specified conditions.

NOTE 1 Measurement precision is usually

expressed numerically by measures of impre-
cision, such as standard deviation, variance, or
coefficient of variance under the specified con- Accuracy, Fig. 1 Different measurement series
represented by mean value and plus/minus standard devi-
ditions of measurement. ation. Best measurement accuracy: measurement series 1;
NOTE 2 The “specified conditions” can be, for best measurement trueness: measurement series 1 and 2;
example, repeatability conditions of best measurement precision: measurement series 3
Accuracy
– Measurement series 1 and 2 show similar mea-
surement trueness, measurement series 3 a
worse measurement trueness. The averages,
or the mean values, of measurement series
1 and 2 are closest to the true quantity value,
much closer than the mean value of measure-
ment series 3.
– Measurement series 3 shows the best measure-
ment precision, measurement series 2 the
worst. The standard deviation of measurement
series 3 is the smallest of all three measurement
series.
(ISO 5725) series deals with accuracy as a
combination of trueness and precision, stated by
systematic measurement error and random mea-
surement error.
In the simple case of a gauge block, three major
parameters define the accuracy class of a gauge
block: maximum permissible flatness error, max-
imum deviation from nominal length, and maxi-
mum permissible length error.
For a CMM standards like (ISO 10360) define
some parameters that could be used for defining
accuracy as a combination of systematic and ran-
dom errors, like the “error of indication of a CMM
for size measurement, E” and the “probing error,
P.” However, with these parameters, only a very
small application range of a CMM is covered: the
measurement of the distance between two nomi-
nally parallel planes approached from opposite
directions and the measurement of a precision
sphere. With these parameters, we hardly can
make a statement on accuracy of measurement
of, e.g., parallelism of bores and of squareness
between planes.
For a complex measuring instrument, like a
CMM, the definition of accuracy classes needs a
large set of well-defined parameters. Many of
those parameters still need to be defined.
Often we also want to apply “accuracy” to
machine tools, to processes, and to manufacturing
systems. For a machine tool, ISO:230-2:2014
defines accuracy of positioning of an axis. It is
3
the result of a well-defined procedure (with
selected target points, moving five times upwards
and downwards, calculating mean positioning
errors and standard deviation values in each target
point, combining those to the maximum range of
mean positioning errors plus repeatability, defined
as four times standard deviation values). In the
sense of the VIM definition of accuracy, this
parameter would be better named “positioning
performance.”
However, this accuracy of positioning
describes only a very small part of the accuracy
of a machine tool. For establishing accuracy clas-
ses of machine tools, we had to consider parame-
ters on geometric errors (positioning, straightness,
roll, pitch, yaw, squareness), contouring errors
(based on straightness error on straight lines in
space, circular error, etc.), stiffness of the machine
tool, dynamic errors, and thermally induced
errors.
Cross-References
▶ Error
▶ Form Error
▶ Precision
▶ Measurement Uncertainty
References
ISO 10360 (2000–2013) Geometrical product specifica-
tions (GPS): acceptance and reverification tests for
coordinate measuring machines (CMM), part 1–7.
ISO, Geneva
ISO 230-2:2014 Test code for machine tools – Part 2:
Determination of accuracy and repeatability of posi-
tioning numerically controlled axes. ISO, Geneva
ISO 5725 (1994–2005) Accuracy (trueness and precision)
of measurement methods and results, part 1–6. ISO,
Geneva
ISO/IEC Guide 99:2007 International vocabulary of
metrology: Basic and general concepts and associated
terms (VIM). ISO, Geneva
A
Atomic Force Microscopy
Francesco Marinello
TESAF, Dipartimento Territorio e Sistemi Agro-
Forestali, University of Padova, Legnaro, Italy
Synonyms
Scanning force microscopy
Definition
Atomic force microscopy, often abbreviated as
AFM, is one of the elected techniques for fine
surface and geometrical characterization. Atomic
force microscopes provide three-dimensional
reconstruction of surface topographies with
sub-nanometer vertical and lateral resolution,
over a range which is typically no larger than a
few tens or hundreds of micrometers.
Atomic force microscopes belong to the family
of scanning probe microscopy (SPM), a branch of
microscopy allowing imaging of surfaces by
means of a physical probe scanning the sample
surface. SPMs monitor the interaction between
the probe and the surface to produce an image or
a three-dimensional reconstruction of the surface.
SPMs classification is based on the specific phys-
ical principles causing the interaction (e.g.,
Marinello et al. 2010, 2014). When such interac-
tion is a force (magnetic, electrostatic, friction,
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6577-3
etc.), the scanning probe microscopes are also
classified as scanning force microscopes (SFMs).
Atomic force microscopy is a specific kind of
SFM, where the interaction is an interatomic
weak force called the van der Waals force.
Atomic force microscopy was firstly presented
in 1986 (Binnig et al. 1986), and commercial
systems have been available since 1989. Atomic
force microscopy is now a mature measuring tech-
nique, implemented not only for research but also
in production lines, where high-quality require-
ments call for high-resolution surface
characterization.
Theory and Application
The basic of an atomic force microscope is rela-
tively simple in concept. Its closest predecessor is
the stylus profilometer: AFM technology imple-
ments sharper probes and takes advantage of
lower interaction forces to produce high-
resolution topography reconstruction with no
damage of the sample surface. Surface topogra-
phies are then obtained by mechanically moving
the probe in a raster fashion over the specimen and
monitoring point by point, line by line the inter-
action between the probe and the surface as a
function of the position.
Technology
An AFM typically includes the following compo-
nents (Yacoot and Koenders 2011): a scanning
2 Atomic Force Microscopy
system, a probe, a probe motion sensor, a control-
ler, a noise isolator, and a computer.
The movement of the tip or sample is
performed by an extremely precise positioning
device, usually made from piezoelectric ceramics,
most often in the form of a tube scanner. Systems
based on other actuation principles, such as voice
coil, are also available. The scanner is capable of
sub-nanometer resolution in x, y, and z directions:
it is the most fundamental component and the
hearth of the microscope.
Another AFM key component is the probe.
The probe can be moved or stationary: in the
first case, it is vertically and horizontally scanned
over a standing sample or vertically moved over a
sample which is actuated in the horizontal plane;
in the second case, the actuation system
completely acts on the sample allowing it to
move under the standing probe. The surface is
probed through a sharp tip, located at the free
end of a cantilever that is normally
80–400 mm long.
The probe motion sensor controls the force
acting between the tip and the surface feedbacking
a correction signal for the vertical positioning of
the probe relatively to the sample, to keep the
force or the distance constant. An optical beam
deflection system (optical lever) is often applied
for this purpose, ensuring low noise, stability, and
versatility. The trend now is to replace the optical
lever with “self-sensing” means like, for instance,
piezoelectric, piezoresistive, or capacitive.
The control unit interfaces the probe motion
sensor with the scanning system and a computer.
It drives the horizontal and the vertical actuation
system supplying proper voltage, corrected with
the signal from the probe motion sensor to keep
the force or the distance between sample and tip
constant.
Additionally active or passive insulation sys-
tems are integrated to the instrument in order to
reduce external noise (mechanical and acoustic
vibrations, electrical and optical noise).
A computer and software interface finally is used
to drive the system and to process, display, and
analyze produced data.
As the tip is scanned over the sample, or the
sample is scanned under the tip, forces between
the tip and the sample surface cause spatial deflec-
tions and oscillations of the cantilever. The key
information gathered in AFM comes with mea-
suring those deflections, quantified by means of
an optical lever system, coupled with a position-
sensitive photodiode. In Fig. 1, an AFM is
represented in contact interaction with the sample
surface: during scanning, as z-displacements
cause cantilever flexions, the light from the laser
is reflected onto the split photodiode.
By measuring the different signal, changes in
the bending of the cantilever can be measured,
while an input is given to a servo system that
ensures the force or the distance between the
sample and the tip to be constant.
Several forces typically contribute to the
deflection of an AFM cantilever (Giessibl 2003).
The force most commonly associated with atomic
force microscopy is an interatomic weak force
called the van der Waals force. The dependence
of the energy associated with van der Waals effect
upon the distance between the tip and the sample
is shown in Fig. 2.
Two distance regimes are put in evidence in
Fig. 2:
• The violet-dotted zone, below the distance of
minimum energy (typically <1 nm), where the
interatomic force between the tip and sample is
repulsive
• The green-dotted zone, above the distance of
minimum energy (typically about 1–30 nm),
where the interatomic force between the tip and
sample is attractive
The repulsion regime is used for the so-called
contact mode: the tip is scanned across the sam-
ple, while a feedback loop maintains constant
cantilever deflection and force. Other two work-
ing modes are commonly used, noncontact and
intermittent contact, both operating in the repul-
sive force region. These are dynamic modes, since
the cantilever is oscillated close to its resonance
frequency, above the surface. For noncontact
AFM the force is measured by comparing the
frequency or the amplitude of the cantilever oscil-
lation relative to the driving signal. In the
Atomic Force Microscopy 3

Atomic Force
Microscopy,
Fig. 1 Optical lever for
detection of cantilever
deflections

Atomic Force
Microscopy, Fig. 2 Total
energy of interaction as a
function of the distance
between the tip and the
surface atoms

intermittent mode, the oscillation amplitude is other surface properties, that is still their primary
significantly higher (5–30 nm), and the tip rhyth- application.
mically touches the surface. Several industrial and research fields benefit
from AFM technology (Steffens et al. 2012).
A classification inspired is proposed in Table 1.
Application
This classification encompasses:
Atomic force microscopes are instruments
designed primarily for the characterization of sur-
• Product groups
face topographies with a very high spatial resolu-
• Instrument integration level
tion. In their first applications, AFMs were used
• Measurement tasks
mainly for measuring 3D surface topography, and,
although they can now be used to measure many
4 Atomic Force Microscopy

Atomic Force Microscopy, Table 1 Industrial and research applications of AFM technology, by industrial area and
level of usage

Measurements Integration
Product Group Applications
tasks level

Dimensions

Roughness

application
Geometry

Industrial

Industrial
Research

interest
Microgears
Mechanical Micromotors
parts ↑ ↑ ↑
Microactuators
Sensors
(accelerometers,…)
Microelectronics ↑ ↓ ↔ MEMS
Microphones
Biomedicine Microspeakers
and biology
↑ ↑ ↑ Hearing aids
Surgey devices
Implants (stents,…)
Chemistry ↑ ↓ ↑ Nano-particles
Microfluidics
Micropumps
Plasmon resonance
Optics ↓ ↑ ↑ sensors
Optical switch
Micromirrors
Data storage ↑ ↓ ↑ Lenses
Hard disks
Magnetic disks
Polymers
and coatings ↓ ↑ ↑ Thin Films
Micro-injected parts
↑ = high importance task for the product group; ↔= medium importance; ↓ = low importance.

“Product groups” run through the technical
areas and industries that are applying AFM tech-
niques. As shown in the table, the “integration
level” includes applied research studies, with
potential industrial interest, actual industrial inter-
est with some research tests, to conclude with the
highest level of integration in industrial
application.
An idea of the type and complexity of the
generic measurement tasks to be performed is
also given. The classification includes:
• Dimensions, defined as distances between
points and surfaces. For example, width,
height, or length
• Geometry or form, as defined by the distance
between the surface of the object and a pre-
defined reference. For example, flatness or
curvature
• Texture and roughness, defined as geometries
of surface structures whose dimensions are
small compared to the object under investiga-
tion. For example, widths, heights, or lengths.
For example, bearing analysis, smoothness, or
porosity
Typical applications are also reported, not with
the aim of exhaustively enumerating all the fields
where atomic force microscopy can play an
important role, but with the intent of showing
Atomic Force Microscopy
the wide and assorted range of technological clus-
ters where AFM brings relevant benefits.
Cross-References
▶ Scanning Electron Microscope
▶ Scanning Tunneling Microscope
References
Binnig G, Quate CF, Gerber C (1986) Atomic force micro-
scope. Phys Rev Lett 55(9):930–933
5
Giessibl FJ (2003) Advances in atomic force microscopy.
Rev Mod Phys 75(3):949–983
Marinello F, Schiavuta P, Carmignato S, Savio E (2010)
Critical factors in quantitative atomic force acoustic
microscopy. CIRP J Manuf Sci Technol 3(1):49–54
Marinello F, Schiavuta P, Cavalli R, Pezzuolo A,
Carmignato S, Savio E (2014) Critical factors in canti-
lever near-field scanning optical microscopy. IEEE
Sensors J 14(9):3236–3244
Steffens C, Leite FL, Bueno CC, Manzoli A, Herrmann
PSP (2012) Atomic force microscopy as a tool applied
to nano/biosensors. Sensors 12(6):8278–8300
Yacoot A, Koenders L (2011) Recent developments in
dimensional nanometrology using AFMs. Meas Sci
Technol 22(12):122001
E
Error
Wolfgang Knapp
IWF, ETH Zurich, Schleitheim, Switzerland
Synonyms
Error of measurement; Measurement error
Definition
Measured quantity value minus a reference quan-
tity value
NOTE 1 The concept of “measurement error”
can be used both
(a) When there is a single reference quantity
value to refer to, which occurs if a calibration
is made by means of a measurement standard
with a measured quantity value having a neg-
ligible measurement uncertainty or if a con-
ventional quantity value is given, in which
case the measurement error is known, and
(b) If a measurand is supposed to be represented
by a unique true quantity value or a set of true
quantity values of negligible range, in which
case the measurement error is not known
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6580-4
NOTE 2 Measurement error should not be
confused with production error or mistake.
(ISO Guide 99:2007, Definition 2.16)
Theory and Application
Let’s start discussing the term “error” with the
well-accepted definition of (ISO 99:2007), the
International Vocabulary of Metrology (VIM),
see “Definition.”
In Note 1, we recognize two concepts:
– Reference quantity value is known.
– Reference quantity value is not known.
In the introduction of (ISO 99:2007), the VIM,
these two concepts are named and explained in
more detail:
– Error approach (or traditional approach or true
value approach) and
– ▶ Uncertainty approach
In the error approach, where the reference quan-
tity value is known, the aim of the measurement is
to determine an estimate of the true value that is as
close as possible to that single true value. The
deviations from the true value consist of random
2 Error
Error, Fig. 1 Measurement
errors in the error approach.
E error, MPE maximum
permissible measurement
error, R random
measurement error,
S systematic measurement
error
and systematic errors that have to be treated differ-
ently. There are no rules, how systematic and ran-
dom errors combine to form the total error of
any measurement result. Usually the total error is
estimated as an upper limit of the absolute value.
This upper limit is sometimes loosely named
“uncertainty.”
In the uncertainty approach, where the refer-
ence quantity value is not known, the aim of the
measurement is not to determine a true value as
closely as possible but to assign an interval of
reasonable values to the measurand, based on the
assumption that no mistakes have been made in
performing the measurement. In this approach,
the interval of reasonable values assigned to the
measurand cannot be reduced to zero, because of
the definitional uncertainty, which is due to the
finite amount of detail in the definition of the
measurand.
Figure 1 illustrates the error approach. Mea-
sured quantity values show an error E to a refer-
ence quantity value, the error might change for
each measurement, due to the fact that we have a
random measurement error component R and a
systematic measurement error component
S. Errors, e.g., for measuring instruments, might
be limited by a statement on the maximum per-
missible measurement error MPE.
Figure 2 illustrates measurement errors in the
uncertainty approach. Here each measurement is
represented by the measured (or derived) quantity
value and the measurement uncertainty (or derived
uncertainty).
(ISO 98-1:2009), the Guide for Expression of
Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM), focuses on
the mathematical treatment of measurement
uncertainty through an explicit measurement
model under the assumption that the measurand
can be characterized by a unique value, i.e., the
definitional uncertainty is considered to be negli-
gible in comparison to other components of mea-
surement uncertainty. Moreover, GUM gives
guidance on the uncertainty approach in the case
of a single reading of a calibrated instrument, a
situation normally met in industrial metrology.
Within the uncertainty approach, we speak of
metrological compatibility of measurement results
(ISO 99:2007, definition 2.47).
Metrological Compatibility of Measurement
Results (or Metrological Compatibility)
Property of a set of measurement results for a
specified measurand, such that the absolute value
of the differences of any pair of measured quantity
values from two different measurement results is
Error
Error, Fig. 2 Measurement
errors in the uncertainy
approach. Each measured
quantity value is
accompanied by plus/minus
measurement uncertainty
smaller than some chosen multiple of the standard
measurement uncertainty of that difference.
NOTE 1 Metrological compatibility of mea-
surement results replaces the traditional concept
of “staying within the error,” as it represents the
criterion for deciding whether two measurement
results refer to the same measurand or not. If in a
set of measurements of a measurand, thought to be
constant, a measurement result is not compatible
with the others, either the measurement was not
correct (e.g., its measurement uncertainty was
assessed as being too small) or the measured
quantity changed between measurements.
NOTE 2 Correlation between the measure-
ments influences metrological compatibility of
measurement results. If the measurements are
completely uncorrelated, the standard measure-
ment uncertainty of their difference is equal to
the root mean square sum of their standard mea-
surement uncertainties, while it is lower for posi-
tive covariance or higher for negative covariance.
Independent from the approach, we can distin-
guish between systematic and random measurement
error (ISO 99:2007, definitions 2.17 and 2.19).
Systematic Measurement Error (or Systematic
Error of Measurement or Systematic Error)
Component of measurement error that in replicate
measurements remains constant or varies in a
predictable manner.
3
NOTE 1 A reference quantity value for sys-
tematic measurement error is a true quantity
value, or a measured quantity value of a measure-
ment standard of negligible measurement uncer-
tainty, or a conventional quantity value.
NOTE 2 Systematic measurement error, and its
causes, can be known or unknown. A correction
can be applied to compensate for a known sys-
tematic measurement error.
NOTE 3 Systematic measurement error equals
measurement error minus random measurement
error.
Random Measurement Error (or Random Error
of Measurement or Random Error)
Component of measurement error that in replicate
measurements varies in an unpredictable manner.
NOTE 1 A reference quantity value for a ran-
dom measurement error is the average that would
ensue from an infinite number of replicate mea-
surements of the same measurand.
NOTE 2 Random measurement errors of a set
of replicate measurements form a distribution that
can be summarized by its expectation, which is
generally assumed to be zero, and its variance.
NOTE 3 Random measurement error equals
measurement error minus systematic measure-
ment error.
Systematic measurement error is connected to
measurement trueness and to measurement bias.
4 Error
Therefore, these two definitions are repeated (ISO
99:2007, definitions 2.14 and 2.18) in order to
recognize the differences.
Measurement Trueness (or Trueness
of Measurement or Trueness)
Closeness of agreement between the average of an
infinite number of replicate measured quantity
values and a reference quantity value.
NOTE 1 Measurement trueness is not a quan-
tity and thus cannot be expressed numerically, but
measures for closeness of agreement are given in
(ISO 5725).
NOTE 2 Measurement trueness is inversely
related to systematic measurement error but is
not related to random measurement error.
NOTE 3 Measurement accuracy should not be
used for “measurement trueness” and vice versa.
Measurement Bias (or Bias)
Estimate of a systematic measurement error.
Furthermore, “maximum permissible error,”
“datum measurement error,” and “zero error” are
widely used and defined in (ISO 99:2007, defini-
tions 4.26, 4.27, and 4.28).
Maximum Permissible Measurement Error
(or Maximum Permissible Error or Limit
of Error)
Extreme value of measurement error, with respect
to a known reference quantity value, permitted by
specifications or regulations for a given measure-
ment, measuring instrument, or measuring
system.
NOTE 1 Usually, the term “maximum permis-
sible errors” or “limits of errors” is used where
there are two extreme values.
NOTE 2 The term “tolerance” should not be
used to designate “maximum permissible error.”
Datum Measurement Error (or Datum Error)
Measurement error of a measuring instrument or
measuring system at a specified measured quan-
tity value.
Zero Error
Datum measurement error where the specified
measured quantity value is zero.
NOTE Zero error should not be confused with
absence of measurement error.
“Maximum permissible error” (MPE) is also
called error bounds, error band, or error bar
(Ruhm 2005a). An example for MPE is the state-
ment of error of indication of a coordinate mea-
suring machine (CMM) for size measurement,
E (according to ISO 10360-2:2009). Any length
measurement on a gauge block carried out on a
CMM should stay within the stated MPE value.
(ISO 10360-2:2009) also described the detailed
procedure, how to prove this statement.
If we get one step further and take the view of
systems theory (Ruhm 2005b), any measurement
error is a signal. Therefore, a measurement error
may show all properties of a signal:
– The measurement error may show systematic
and/or random components, which was
discussed already.
– The measurement error might be time constant
or time variable; if parameters of the measuring
process and/or the measurement process
change with time, the measurement error will
also change in time; parameters of the measur-
ing process include disturbing quantities, like
variation of environmental temperature, as
well as parameters of the process, like any
drift caused by self-heating of the measuring
instrument.
– The measurement error might be divided into a
direct and an alternating component; the direct
component corresponds to the arithmetic mean
value of the error; the systematic measurement
error might have a direct component and an
alternating component, the random measurement
error will have an alternating component only.
– The measurement error might be described by
the mean error (arithmetic mean value), the
variance of the error, but also by the mean
square error, the mean error power, and the
root mean square error.
– If time dependencies of the measurement error
shall be considered, the error can be described
by the auto correlation function of the error, the
referred auto correlation function of the error,
and/or the spectral power density function of
the error.
Error
Error, Fig. 3 Production
error, tolerance zone, and
measurement uncertainty.
Measurement 1: product is
within specification;
measurement 2: fulfilling of
specification not proven;
measurement 3: product out
of specification
In the view of signal and system theory (Ruhm
2011), the main groups of measurement errors
are:
– The transfer response error, when the measure-
ment process has a nonideal transfer process,
like a noncorrected nonlinear behavior of a
length measuring instrument
– The disturbance quantity error, when distur-
bance quantities influence the measurement
result or when they influence the result differ-
ent from the nominal transfer function
(or model), like the temperature influence on
a laser interferometer length measurement
– The loading quantity error, when the measure-
ment disturbs the measurand or when the mea-
surement disturbs the measurand different
from the nominal transfer function
(or model), like mechanical deformation of
the measured object due to a measurement
force introduced by a length measuring device
– The disturbance/loading quantity error, when
disturbance quantities change the loading
quantity error, like a change of the effect of a
measuring force due to a change in environ-
mental temperature
If we have another look at the definition of
“error” (see “Definition”) we should pay some
attention to Note 2 of the VIM definition. This
5
note points to the fact that error is also used
outside of metrology, e.g., as “production error,”
which we might define as product out of specifi-
cation, e.g., a ground cylinder with diameter of
20.005 mm, whereas the specification asks for a
diameter of 19.997–20.003 mm (dia. 20.000 
0.003 mm).
Also here any measurement error is of impor-
tance. The measurement error, expressed by the
measurement uncertainty, has to be applied for
checking any specification: any measurement
uncertainty reduces the specification zone
(or tolerance zone) according to (ISO 14253-
1:1998). If the measurement results in a measured
quantity not within the specification zone
(reduced by the measurement uncertainty), we
observe a production error.
This concept is illustrated in Fig. 3. For evalu-
ating any production error (or product error), we
need a nominal value and the tolerance as well as
the measured quantity value plus/minus the mea-
surement uncertainty.
– In measurement 1, measured quantity value
plus/minus measurement uncertainty is fully
within the tolerance limits. Here no production
error is present, and the product conforms to
the specification.
– In measurement 2, measured quantity value
plus/minus measurement uncertainty is partly
6 Error
out of the tolerance zone. Therefore, it is not
sure if there is a production error. It is uncertain
that the product fulfills the specification. Mea-
surements shall be carried out with smaller
measurement uncertainty.
– In measurement 3, measured quantity value plus/
minus tolerance is fully outside the tolerance
zone. Therefore, we obey a production error.
For mechanical parts, we group production
errors in form error (e.g., flatness error, roundness
error, roughness error), size error (e.g., diameter
error, pitch error of a screw), and position and
orientation error (e.g., distance error between
two nominal parallel planes, squareness error,
coaxiality error).
For machine tools, we group errors in error
motions of spindles and rotary axes (e.g., axial
error motion, radial error motion), error motions
of linear axes (e.g., linear positioning error
motion, straightness error motion, pitch error
motion), and contouring errors (e.g., circular
error) (ISO 230-1:2012). Errors of machine tools
may be also grouped according to the error source:
geometric errors, errors of the numerical control,
dynamic errors, thermal errors, load errors, etc.
Cross-References
▶ Accuracy
▶ Form Error
▶ Measurement Uncertainty
▶ Precision
▶ Traceability
References
ISO 10360-2 (2009) Geometrical product specifications
(GPS): acceptance and reverification tests for
coordinate measuring machines (CMM) – part 2:
CMMs used for measuring linear dimensions. ISO,
Geneva
ISO 14253-1 (1998) Geometrical product specifications
(GPS): inspection by measurement of workpieces and
measuring equipment – part 1: decision rules for prov-
ing conformance or non-conformance with specifica-
tions. ISO, Geneva
ISO 230-1 (2012) Test code for machine tools – part 1:
geometric accuracy of machines operating under
no-load or finishing conditions. ISO, Geneva
ISO 5725 (1994–2005) Accuracy (trueness and precision)
of measurement methods and results, part 1–6. ISO,
Geneva
ISO/IEC Guide 98-1 (2009) Uncertainty of
measurement – part 1: introduction to the expression
of uncertainty in measurement. ISO, Geneva
ISO/IEC Guide 99 (2007) International vocabulary of
metrology: basic and general concepts and associated
terms (VIM). ISO, Geneva
Ruhm KH (2005a) Error bounds. Internet portal “measure-
ment science and technology”. Retrieved from www.
mmm.ethz.ch/dok01/d0000549.pdf
Ruhm KH (2005b) Properties of the measurement error.
Internet portal “measurement science and technology”.
Retrieved from www.mmm.ethz.ch/dok01/d0000551.
pdf
Ruhm KH (2011) Nonideal measurement process. Internet
portal “measurement science and technology”.
Retrieved from www.mmm.ethz.ch/dok01/d0000535.
pdf
I
Inspection (Precision Engineering
and Metrology)
Guido Tosello
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark, Kongens
Lyngby, Denmark
Definition
In the field of precision engineering and metrol-
ogy, inspection can be defined as the set of hard-
ware, software, procedures, and activities that can
provide measurements of geometric characteris-
tics of physical manufactured products.
Such geometric characteristics can refer to
absolute dimensions (e.g., diameter) and form
(e.g., free-form surfaces), to tolerances of dimen-
sions and form (e.g., flatness), as well as surface
parameters (e.g., average surface Roughness).
Theory and Application
The main goal of inspection is to ensure the func-
tionality of workpieces, products, and testing
devices and thus ensuring economical value of
products. As such, the main objective of inspec-
tion in the field of precision engineering and
metrology is to quantify the dimensional charac-
teristics of components by means of measure-
ments and to compare the results of those
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6585-3
measurements with the product specifications
(ISO 8015 2011).
Inspection is today very closely connected into
the manufacturing process as a whole, including
small/medium/large fabrication series, pro-
totyping, research and development, as well as in
standardization, accreditation of calibration labo-
ratories, and for trade purposes.
The task of inspection is the detection of qual-
ity features of a measured object. A measurement
object can be a manufactured workpiece, a stand-
alone product, a component of a more complex
assembly, an interchangeable part such as a tool, a
complete system such as a machine, or a measur-
ing device. The term inspection is closely related
with the concept of the testing of products. As a
matter of fact, inspection represents the assess-
ment of whether a characteristic of an object cor-
responds with the required specifications.
The testing can be conducted by applying
direct measurements or comparative assessment
using calibrated artifacts or gages. The inspection
is executed by means of measurements. The mea-
surable quality features of a product are of differ-
ent kinds such as material characteristics,
geometry, and function of a product. In particular,
the inspection of geometrical characteristics is the
most frequently used procedure in the inspection
of manufacturing system and products and covers
the large majority of the test and measurement
tasks.
2 Inspection (Precision Engineering and Metrology)
Typical inspection tasks of important work-
piece characteristics for the functionality of a
product are:
• Form measurements (e.g., squareness, flatness,
etc.) (ISO 1101 2014)
• Distance measurements (e.g., hole depth,
groove width, etc.)
• Orientation measurements (e.g., parallelism,
perpendicularity, etc.) (ISO 1101 2014)
• Surface properties (e.g., root mean square
roughness, bearing curve parameters, etc.)
(ISO 4287 1997)
An inspection system is composed by a num-
ber of entities:
• Hardware, i.e., the measuring device (e.g.,
coordinate measuring machine, roughness tes-
ter, optical microscope, white light interferom-
eter, gage/calibrated object, etc.) employed for
the inspection (a complete inspection of a com-
ponent may need more than one measuring
device or gage).
• Software, including the control system of the
measuring instrument and the collection/eval-
uation/representation of the measuring data
(these two functions can be either performed
by the same software or by two or even more
different softwares).
• Procedures and activities, i.e., the set of con-
ditions to be complied with and of actions to be
performed in order to carry out the inspection;
the methodology of inspection needs to be
highly specified; therefore, all aspects of the
inspection are thoroughly described (e.g., the
instrument to be employed, the environmental
conditions during the measurements, the num-
ber of repeated measurements to be performed,
the number of items to be measured, the num-
ber of probing points, the fixture to be
employed, and how the component has to be
fixed on the measuring instrument).
The result of inspection is the assessment of
whether a particular tolerance/specification for the
workpiece under inspection is achieved. In this
process, it is of paramount importance that the
estimated uncertainty (JCGM 100 2008; ISO
14253–2 2011) of the performed measurement is
taken into account when providing evidence for
conformance or nonconformance with specifica-
tion. Such rule of conformity has been established
and is described in the current regulation by the
standardization body (ISO 14253–1 2013). The
uncertainty of measurements carried out on
manufacturing process inspections reduces the
conformance and nonconformance zones (see
Fig. 1). When the uncertainty in a measurement
is evaluated and stated, the fitness for purpose of
the measurement can be properly judged.
A measurement carried out in manufacturing pro-
cess and product inspection should have an uncer-
tainty of measurement of 10–20% of the tolerance
range: U = T
(0.1 . . . 0.2) (Knapp 2001). In case
of inspection for precision manufacturing and
precision engineering applications, the 10–20%
U/T ratio could be reduced to 1–5% U/T to ensure
that the measurement uncertainty is sufficiently
small to be able to verify the specified tolerances
and to not introduce a too large spread and bias in
the process quality control. The risk is to intro-
duce an additional error during the inspection if
measuring instruments are involved in production
process/product assessment and their uncertainty
of measurement cannot be neglected in the evalu-
ation of results (Weckenmann and Rinnagl 2000).
In case the uncertainty of measurement overlaps
with process deviation, manufacturing processes
are assessed as being worse than they really are,
invalidating the inspection process and hampering
its economical function.
Inspection (Precision Engineering and Metrology)
LSL
2 1
–U +U
4 5
Inspection (Precision Engineering and Metrology),
Fig. 1 Rule of conformity: tolerance verification reduc-
tion due to the measuring uncertainty of the instruments
employed during the inspection. C workpiece design/spec-
ification phase, D manufacturing process verification
Cross-References
▶ Coordinate Measuring Machine
▶ Form Error
▶ Measurement Uncertainty
▶ Metrology
▶ Roughness
References
ISO 1101 (2014) Geometrical product specifications
(GPS): geometrical tolerancing – tolerances of form,
orientation, location and run-out. International Organi-
zation for Standardization (ISO), Geneva
ISO 14253–1 (2013) Geometrical product specifications
(GPS): inspection by measurement of workpieces and
measuring equipment – part 1: decision rules for prov-
ing conformity or nonconformity with specifications.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO),
Geneva
ISO 14253–2 (2011) Geometrical product specifications
(GPS): inspection by measurement of workpieces and
3
USL
2
D
–U +U
3 5 4
phase, 1 specification zone (in specification: tolerance T),
2 out of specification, 3 conformance zone, 4 nonconfor-
mance zone, 5 uncertainty range, 6 increasing measure-
ment uncertainty (U)
measuring equipment – part 2: guidance for the estima-
tion of uncertainty in GPS measurement, in calibration
of measuring equipment and in product verification.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO),
Geneva
ISO 4287 (1997) Geometrical product specifications
(GPS): surface texture – profile method: terms, defini-
tions and surface texture parameters. International
Organization for Standardization (ISO), Geneva
ISO 8015 (2011) Geometrical product specifications
(GPS): fundamentals – concepts, principles and rules.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO),
Geneva
JCGM 100 (2008) Guide to the expression of uncertainty
in measurement (GUM). Joint Committee for Guides in
Metrology. BIPM (Bureau International des Poids et
Mesures), Sèvres, pp i–viii, 1–132
Knapp W (2001) Tolerance and uncertainty. 5th interna-
tional conference on laser metrology, machine tool,
CMM and robot performance, LAMDAMP 2001,
pp 357–366
Weckenmann A, Rinnagl M (2000) Acceptance of pro-
cesses: do we need decision rules? Precis Eng
24(3):264–269
M
Metrology
José A. Yagüe-Fabra
Design and Manufacturing Engineering,
Universidad de Zaragoza Instituto de
Investigación en Ingeniería de Aragón (I3A),
Zaragoza, Spain
Synonyms
Measurement engineering; Measurement tech-
nique; Science of measurement
Definition
Technological field related to the procedures,
equipment, and techniques used in the perfor-
mance of measurements. Metrology includes all
aspects both theoretical and practical with refer-
ence to measurements, whatever their Uncertainty
and in whatever fields of science or technology
they occur. Metrology deals with units and stan-
dards, the principles of measurement, the methods
and the performance of measurement as well as
measuring instruments, the theory of errors, and
the determination of physical constants and mate-
rial properties by measuring.
Note: “Metrology” is more frequently used
than its synonyms “measurement engineering”
or “measurement technique,” particularly where
not only the mere technical realization of a
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6587-4
measuring task is addressed but also the scien-
tific/methodological background.
Theory and Application
History
Measurement has been an integral part of our
everyday lives since antiquity from commercial
transactions to building the pyramids (Bosch
1995). First reference standards were regional or
local, based on human morphology with units
such as the length of an arm or a foot. Therefore,
these units of measurement were not fixed and
they varied from one town to another, from one
occupation to another, and on the type of object to
be measured. This lack of a standardization was a
source of error and fraud in commercial transac-
tions and a strong limitation for international com-
merce and development of science. With the
expansion of industry and trade, there was an
increasing need for harmonization of measures.
This harmonization was sought by adopting stan-
dards based on Nature (étalon).
The meter was defined based on the size of the
Earth in a decree of the French National Assembly
on 7 April 1795 as being equal to the ten millionth
part of one quarter of the terrestrial meridian. The
length of the terrestrial meridian was calculated by
measurements undertaken between Dunkerque
and Barcelona. A further step for the harmoniza-
tion of measures was the Convention of the Meter,
signed in Paris on 20 May 1875 and amended in
2 Metrology
1921. This is a treaty that created the International
Bureau International des Poids et Mesures
(BIPM), Bureau of Weights and Measures, an
intergovernmental organization under the author-
ity of the General Conference on Weights and
Measures (CGPM), and the supervision of an
elected executive body, the International Commit-
tee for Weights and Measures (CIPM). The BIPM
acts in matters of world metrology, particularly
concerning the demand for measurement stan-
dards of an ever-increasing accuracy, range, and
diversity and the need to demonstrate equivalence
between national measurement standards. The
Convention of the Meter established a permanent
organizational structure for member governments
to act in common accord on all matters relating to
units of measurement.
This process of standardization further led to
the creation of the Système International d’Unités
(International System of Units, international
abbreviation SI) in 1948 through a resolution of
the ninth CGPM. Though this is not the official
system of units of all nations, the definitions and
specifications of SI are globally accepted and rec-
ognized (BIPM 2006, 2014). After the introduc-
tion of new units by the SI (Table 1), they are then
established and maintained through various agen-
cies or national metrology institutes in each coun-
try, and establish a hierarchy of measurement
standards that can be traced back to the
established standard unit, a concept known as
metrological Traceability.
The 11th CGPM in 1960 laid down rules for
the prefixes, the derived units, and other matters to
be used according to the SI. The base units are a
choice of seven well-defined units which by con-
vention are regarded as dimensionally indepen-
dent: the meter, the kilogram, the second, the
ampere, the kelvin, the mole, and the candela.
Derived units are those formed by combining
base units according to the algebraic relations
linking the corresponding quantities (JCGM
200 2012).
Categories of Metrology
Metrology is traditionally classified into three cat-
egories with different levels of complexity and
accuracy (EURAMET 2008):
1. Scientific or fundamental metrology: it deals
with the organization and development of mea-
surement standards and with their mainte-
nance. It concerns the establishment of
quantity systems, unit systems, the develop-
ment of new measurement methods, develop-
ment of measurement standards, and the chain
of traceability from these reference standards
to users in society. This can be considered as
the highest level of metrology.
2. Industrial metrology: it has to ensure the ade-
quate functioning of measurement instruments
used in industry, in production, and in testing
processes, for ensuring quality of life for citi-
zens and for academic research. It concerns the
application of measurement science to
manufacturing and other processes, calibration
of the instruments, and quality control of
measurements.
3. Legal metrology: it is concerned with measure-
ments where these influence the transparency
of economic transactions, particularly where
there is a requirement for legal verification of
the measuring instrument. Some examples of
fields where legal metrology applies are health,
public safety, enabling taxation, protection of
consumers, fair trade, etc.
Traceability Chain
A measurement standard or reference standard is a
material measure, measuring instrument, refer-
ence material, or measuring system intended to
define, realize, conserve, or reproduce a unit or
one or more values of a quantity to serve as a
reference.
The relation between a measurement result and
reference standards is obtained through a trace-
ability chain. A Traceability chain (see Fig. 1) is
an unbroken chain of comparisons, all having
stated uncertainties. This ensures that a measure-
ment result or the value of a standard is related to
references at the higher levels, ending at the pri-
mary standard.
A basic tool in ensuring the traceability of a
measurement is the calibration. Calibration deter-
mines the performance characteristics of an
instrument, system, or reference material. It is
usually achieved by means of a direct comparison
Metrology 3

Metrology, Table 1 Base units according to the SI

Base unit Symbol Definition
Meter m It is the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299,792,458
of a second
Kilogram kg It is the unit of mass; it is equal to the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram
Second s It is the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition
between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium 133 atom
Ampere A It is that constant current which, if maintained in two straight parallel conductors of infinite
length, of negligible circular cross section and placed 1 m apart in vacuum, would produce
between these conductors a force equal to 2  10 7 N per m of length
Kelvin K It is the unit of thermodynamic temperature; it is the fraction 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic
temperature of the triple point of water
Mole mol It is the amount of substance of a system which contains as many elementary entities as there
are atoms in 0.012 kg of carbon 12. When the mole is used, the elementary entities must be
specified and may be atoms, molecules, ions, electrons, other particles, or specified groups of
such particles
Candela cd It is the luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a source that emits monochromatic radiation
of frequency 540  1012 Hz and that has a radiant intensity in that direction of 1/683 W per sr

Metrology, WHO UNCERTAINTY WHAT

Fig. 1 Scheme of the
traceability chain International
BIPM Primary standard
/ Unit definition

National
Uncertainty ↑ down the traceability chain

metrology National primary

institutes standards

Calibration Reference
laboratories standards

Working
Industry, etc.
standards

Final user Measurements

against measurement standards or certified refer- Measurement uncertainty can be determined in

ence materials. Calibration establishesraceability
but it is also necessary to determine the Accuracy
of the instrument readouts.
Environmental conditions are an issue when
calibrations are carried out (Pfeifer 2002). There-
fore, calibrations are performed in metrology lab-
oratories (see Fig. 2).
Uncertainty is a quantitative measure of the
quality of a measurement result, enabling the
measurement results to be compared with other
results, references, specifications, or standards.
different ways. A widely used and accepted by
the accreditation bodies is the ISO-recommended
method described in the “Guide to the expression
of uncertainty in measurement” (GUM) (JCGM
100 2008).
Other Related Basic Concepts
When measuring and when expressing the result
of a measurement, some concepts of great impor-
tance apply. They have to be taken into account in
order to give an adequate result of the
4 Metrology

Metrology, Fig. 2 Picture

of a metrology laboratory
(University of Zaragoza,
Spain)

measurement. Some of these concepts have http://www.bipm.org/en/si/si_brochure/. Date of

already been mentioned here. Other key concepts Access 17 Jan 2017
Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM)
can be found in the following Cross-References (2014) The international system of units (SI), Supple-
section. ment 2014: updates to the 8th edn. (2006) of the SI
Brochure. www.bipm.org/utils/common/pdf/si_supple
ment_2014.pdf. Date of access 17 Jan 2017
European Association of National Metrology Institutes
Cross-References (EURAMET) (2008) Metrology – in short, 3rd edn.
http://www.euramet.org/publications-media-centre/do
cuments/metrology-in-short/. Date of access 17 Jan
▶ Accuracy 2017
▶ Error JCGM 100:2008. GUM 1995 with minor corrections
▶ Measurement Uncertainty (2008) Evaluation of measurement data – guide to the
▶ Precision expression of uncertainty in measurement (GUM)
(ISO/IEC Guide 98-3) joint committee for guides in
▶ Traceability metrology,1st edn. http://www.bipm.org/en/publica
tions/guides/gum.html. Date of access 01 Jan 2017
JCGM 200:2012 (2012) International vocabulary of
metrology – Basic and general concepts and associated
References terms (VIM) 3rd edition (ISO/IEC Guide 99). Joint
committee for guides in metrology. http://www.bipm.
Bosch JA (1995) Coordinate measuring machines and org/en/publications/guides/vim.html. Date of access
systems. Marcel Dekker, New York 17 Jan 2017
Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) Pfeifer T (2002) Production metrology. Oldenbourg,
(2006) The international system of units (SI), 8th edn. München
CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6594-4
# CIRP 2015

Roundness
Robert Schmitt*
Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering WZL, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

Definition
A form tolerance that prescribes the largest possible deviation of a circle from its geometrical ideal form
(Pfeifer and Schmitt 2010). The roundness tolerance determines that in each section perpendicular to the
axis of a toleranced cone-formed element, the actual profile, or the actual contour line, must lie between
two concentric circles within the same plane, which are at the distance of the tolerance value. For sphere-
formed elements, this tolerance is valid for each intersection through the center.

Theory and Application

The sample workpiece has a drill hole for the bearing with a roundness tolerance of 0.01 mm (Fig. 1).
Roundness tolerances can also be used for arcs of circles with less than 360 coverage (Pfeifer and Schmitt
2010).

Assessment
The roundness of a single toleranced feature is deemed to be correct when the feature is confined between
two concentric circles such that the difference in radii is equal to or less than the value of the specified
tolerance. The location of the centers of these circles and the value of their radii shall be chosen so that the
difference in radii between the two concentric circles is the least possible value (DIN EN ISO 1101).
An example for a particular cross section is given as follows (see Fig. 2):

Possible locations of the centers of the two concentric circles and their minimal difference in radii.
Center (C1) of A1 locates two concentric circles with difference in radii, r1.
Center (C2) of A2 locates two concentric circles with difference in radii, r2.
In the case of Fig. 2, r2 < r1.

Therefore the correct locations of the two concentric circles are the ones designated in A2. The
difference in radii r2 should then be equal to or less than the specified tolerance.

*Email: r.schmitt@wzl.rwth-aachen.de

Page 1 of 2
CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6594-4
# CIRP 2015

Fig. 1 Roundness

r1
A1

r2

C1
C2

A2
r2 < r1

Fig. 2 Roundness tolerance

Cross-References
▶ Detail Design

References
DIN EN ISO 1101 (2008) Geometrical product specifications (GPS): geometrical tolerancing – tolerances
of form, orientation, location and run-out. Beuth, Berlin
Pfeifer T, Schmitt R (2010) Fertigungsmesstechnik [Metrology in production], 3rd edn. Oldenbourg,
M€unchen (in German)

Page 2 of 2
S
Scanning Tunneling Microscope
Fengzhou Fang1 and Bingfeng Ju2
1
The State Key Laboratory of Precision
Measuring Technology & Instruments, Centre of
MicroNano Manufacturing Technology, Tianjin
University, Tianjin, China
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Synonyms
Scanning tunneling microscopy
Definition
Scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is an
instrument for imaging conductive solid surfaces
with an atomic resolution based on the concept of
quantum tunneling.
Theory and Application
Introduction
STM was originally developed in 1981 by Gerd
Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer (Binnig and Rohrer
1982), who were awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in
Physics for this great invention. Over the years,
the STM has been proved to be an extremely
versatile and powerful technique for many
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6596-4
disciplines in material science (Yao and Wang
2004), precision engineering (Weckenmann and
Hoffmann 2007; Hansen et al. 2006), physics,
biology, and so on (Gao 2010).
The STM can be used not only in ultrahigh
vacuum but also in ambient of air, water, liquid,
or gas and at temperatures ranging from near-zero
Kelvin to a few hundred degrees Celsius. Apart
from surface topograph imaging, since the quan-
tum tunneling also depends on the chemical
nature of sample and tip, the STM also serves
for characterization of electronic properties of
solid samples, atomic manipulation, and nano-
structure fabrication.
Physics Principle of Tunneling
Tunneling phenomena have been studied for long
time and can be well understood in terms of quan-
tum theory. Considering an one-dimensional vac-
uum barrier between two electrodes (the sample
and the tip) and assuming their work functions to
be the same and thus the barrier height to be F, if a
bias voltage of V is applied between the two elec-
trodes with a barrier width d, according to quan-
tum theory under first-order perturbation (Hansen
et al. 2006), the tunneling current is
2pe X  
I¼ f Em ½1  f ðEv þ eV Þ

m, v
 
 jMmv j2 d Em  Ev
2 Scanning Tunneling Microscope
where f(E) is the Fermi function, M m v is the
tunneling matrix element between states c m and
c n of the respective electrodes, and E m and E n
are the energies of c m and c n. The tunneling
matrix element Mmv can be expressed as
ð height of the tip to keep the tunneling current

2  
Mmv ¼ dS  cm • ∇cv  cv • ∇cm
2m
where the integral is over all the surfaces sur-
rounding the barrier region. To estimate the mag-
nitude of Mm v, the wave function of the sample
c n can be expanded in the generalized plane-
wave forma:
X h  1=2 i
cv ¼ Os 1=2 aG exp k2 þ jkG 2 Þ z
G
 expðikG  xÞ
where Os is the volume of the sample,
k ¼ h 1 ð2møÞ1=2 is the decay rate, ø is the
work function, kG ¼ k== þ G, k== is the surface
component of Bloch vector, and G is the surface
reciprocal vector.
The above formulas mean that the tunneling
current depends on the tunneling gap distance
d very sensitively. In the typical case, the tunnel-
ing current would change one order, while the gap
distance changes only 1 Å. This accounts for
extremely high vertical resolution of 0.1 Å
of STM.
Operation Principle of STM
The basic operation principle of STM is illustrated
in Fig. 1. A sharp conductive probe tip is fixed on
the top of a piezodrive (Pz) to control the height of
the tip above a surface. When the tip is brought
close enough to the sample surface, electron can
tunnel through the vacuum barrier between tip and
sample surface. Applying a bias voltage on the
sample, a tunneling current can be measured
through the tip, which is extremely sensitive to
the distance between the tip and the surface.
Another two piezodrives (Px and Py) are used to
scan the tip in two lateral dimensions. There are
two basic operation modes to acquire surface
images (Whitehouse 1994). Figure 2 shows the
schematic of the two operation modes in STM.
Constant Current Mode
A feedback controller is employed to adjust the
constant. During the tip scanning on the surface,
the height of the tip (the voltage supplied to Pz
piezodrive) is recorded as an STM image, which
represent the topograph of the surface. This oper-
ation mode of STM is called constant current
mode. Constant current mode is mostly used in
STM topograph imaging. It is safe to use the mode
on rough surfaces since the distance between the
tip and sample is adjusted by the feedback circuit.
Constant Height Mode
For a smooth surface, it is also possible to keep the
tip height constant above the surface. The varia-
tion of the tunneling current reflects the small
atomic corrugation of the surface. The constant
height mode has no fundamental difference to the
constant current mode. However, the tip could be
crashed if the surface corrugation is big. On the
other hand, the STM can scan very fast in this
mode for research of surface dynamic processes.
Key Applications
• Characterization of nanostructures with atomic
resolution
• The reconstruction illustration of materials
deposited on the surface of gold
• Morphological characterization of carbon
nanotubes
• Analysis of nanoparticles
• Determination of the structure in thin layers of
organic semiconductors
• Characterization of ceramic layers obtain from
the method of CVD/PVD
• Characterization of nanostructure conductors
and semiconductors by using STM
• Study of surface atomic dynamic processes
• Study of electronic properties of surfaces
• STM-based atomic manipulation
• STM-based fabrication
Scanning Tunneling Microscope 3

Scanning Tunneling
Microscope, Fig. 1 Basic
principal of STM system

Scanning Tunneling
Microscope, Fig. 2 Basic
operation mode in STM:
constant current mode and
constant height mode
(Reproduced from
“Scanning tunneling
microscopy,” PK Hansma
and J Tersoff,. J Appl Phys
61(2) 1987:R1–R23, with
the permission of AIP
Publishing)
4 Scanning Tunneling Microscope

Cross-References Hansen HN, Carneiro K, Haitjema H, De Chiffre L (2006)

▶ Metrology
References
Binnig G, Rohrer H (1982) Scanning tunneling micros-
copy. Helv Phys Acta 55:726–735
Gao W (2010) Precision nanometrology: sensors and mea-
suring systems for nanomanufacturing. Springer,
London
Dimensional micro and nano metrology. CIRP Ann
Manuf Technol 55(2):721–743
Hansma PK, Tersoff J (1987) Scanning tunneling micros-
copy. J Appl Phys 61(2):R1–R23
Weckenmann A, Hoffmann J (2007) Long range 3D scan-
ning tunneling microscopy. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
56(1):525–528
Whitehouse DJ (1994) Handbook of surface metrology.
Institute of Physics Publishing, Bristol
Yao N, Wang ZL (eds) (2004) Handbook of microscopy for
nanotechnology. Tsinghua University Press/Dordrecht,
Beijing
CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6597-4
# CIRP 2015

Straightness
Robert Schmitt*
Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering WZL, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

Definition
Straightness is a form tolerance that prescribes the largest possible deviation of a line from its geometrical
ideal form (Pfeifer and Schmitt 2010). For an axis, the straightness tolerance specifies that the derived
median line must lie within some cylindrical zone whose diameter is the specified tolerance. For the line
elements of a feature, the straightness tolerance specifies that each line element must lie in a zone bounded
by two parallel lines that are separated by the specified tolerance and that are in the cutting plane defining
the line element.

Theory and Application

Figure 1 shows an example for a tolerance of spatial straightness. The reference arrow is shown in the
extension of the dimension line of the largest cylinder, and therefore the tolerance of straightness is related
to the axis of this cylinder. The real axis must be over the whole length within the cylinder with a diameter
of the tolerance value, in the example shown 0.06 mm.
Straightness tolerances are necessary if the straightness is not sufficiently tolerated by another form
tolerance, e.g., flatness or cylinder form, or by a location tolerance, e.g., parallelism, perpendicularity,
angularity, symmetry, or position (Pfeifer and Schmitt 2010).

Assessment
The straightness of a single toleranced feature is deemed to be correct when the feature is confined
between two straight lines, and the distance between both is equal to or less than the value of the specified
tolerance. The orientation of the straight lines shall be chosen so that the maximum distance between them
is the least possible value (ISO 1101 2008).
An example for a particular cross section is given in Fig. 2.
Therefore the correct orientation of the straight lines is A1-B1. The distance h1 is to be equal to or less
than the specified tolerance.

*Email: r.schmitt@wzl.rwth-aachen.de

Page 1 of 2
CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6597-4
# CIRP 2015

Fig. 1 Straightness

A3

B2
h3

A1 B1

h1
A2
B3
h2

Possible orientations of the straight lines: A1-B1 A2-B2 A3-B3

Corresponding distances: h1 h2 h3
In the case of Figure B.1: h1 < h2 < h3

Fig. 2 Straightness tolerance

Cross-References
▶ Detail Design
▶ Tolerancing

References
DIN EN ISO 1101 (2008) Geometrical product specifications (GPS): geometrical tolerancing – tolerances
of form, orientation, location and run-out. Beuth, Berlin
Pfeifer T, Schmitt R (2010) Fertigungsmesstechnik [Metrology in production], 3rd edn. Oldenbourg,
M€unchen (in German)

Page 2 of 2
T
Traceability
W. Tyler Estler
National Institute of Standards and Technology,
Estler Associates, Adamstown, MD, USA
Definition
Property of a measurement result whereby the
result can be related to a reference through a
documented unbroken chain of calibrations, each
contributing to the measurement uncertainty
(JCGM 200:2012 International Vocabulary of
Metrology, Clause 2.41).
Note 1 For this definition, a “reference” can be a
definition of a measurement unit through its
practical realization or a measurement proce-
dure including the measurement unit for a
non-ordinal quantity or a measurement
standard.
Note 2 Metrological traceability requires an
established calibration hierarchy.
Note 3 Specification of the reference must include
the time at which this reference was used in
establishing the calibration hierarchy, along
with any other relevant metrological informa-
tion about the reference, such as when the first
W. Tyler Estler is retired.
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6598-4
calibration in the calibration hierarchy was
performed.
Note 4 For measurements with more than one
input quantity in the measurement model,
each of the input quantity values should itself
be metrologically traceable, and the calibration
hierarchy involved may form a branched struc-
ture or a network. The effort involved in
establishing metrological traceability for each
input quantity value should be commensurate
with its relative contribution to the measure-
ment result.
Theory and Application
Introduction
The term “traceability” as used in metrology is
taken to mean “metrological traceability,” which
is the term defined in the third edition of the
International vocabulary of metrology – Basic
and general concepts and associated terms
(VIM). The qualifier “metrological” distinguishes
the particular concept of “traceability” as it relates
to measurement from other unrelated uses in
manufacturing such as tracing the location in
space and time of a workpiece or a batch of
materials.
The VIM definition identifies metrological
traceability as a “property of a measurement
result,” but offers no guidance on how to assure
the existence of such a property for a particular
2 Traceability
measurement. This ambiguity raises a number of
basic questions:
• How does one decide whether a particular
measurement result has the property of
traceability?
• What set of information will support a claim of
traceability?
• A related question: With a valid uncertainty
budget, what value is added by a claim of
metrological traceability?
From the nature of these questions, it seems
clear that the formal VIM definition of metrolog-
ical traceability has to be accompanied by an
unambiguous interpretation order to facilitate
practical use of the concept in the marketplace of
buyers and sellers.
Realizing Metrological Traceability: National
Metrology Institutes
National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) typically
assert metrological traceability for their own mea-
surement and calibration results. The National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),
for example, in its statement of Traceability Pol-
icy, says that NIST “Establishes metrological
traceability of the results of its own measurements
and of results provided to customers. . .” (see
www.nist.gov/traceability/nist_traceability_policy_
external.cfm, date of access 2/4/2016), but does
not provide any detailed information as to how
such an establishment is realized.
Because NMIs operate at the highest level of
metrology, including maintenance of the basic
standards that realize the International System
(SI) of units, their assertions of metrological trace-
ability are accepted as valid as a matter of inter-
national practice.
A Practical Interpretation: ASME B89.7.5–2006
A practical interpretation of metrological trace-
ability that provides detailed guidance for its real-
ization is given by Technical Report
B89.7.5–2006, “Metrological Traceability of
Dimensional Measurements to the SI Unit of
Length.” While this document addresses the
particular application to dimensional metrology,
the general approach could be suitably modified
for measurements of other quantities of interest in
production engineering, such as material proper-
ties or errors of indication of measuring
instruments.
B89.7.5 describes requirements for a particular
interpretation of the VIM definition of metrolog-
ical traceability. The goal of the report is a usable
interpretation enabling producer/consumer trans-
actions outside of a formal accreditation environ-
ment. The report includes examples of
metrological traceability of factory floor measure-
ments made with calipers and coordinate measur-
ing machine (CMM) measurements.
General Aspects of Metrological Traceability
• Measurement results may be traceable to an SI
unit (the meter, e.g., for dimensional measure-
ments), but not to an institution or an instru-
ment. A claim of “traceability to an NMI”
(such as NIST or PTB) implies a documentary
link to the NMI realization of the unit. Phrases
such as “a traceable voltmeter” should be
avoided.
• Traceability implies a transaction in the mar-
ketplace: an assertion by a supplier of a mea-
surement result and an acceptance of such an
assertion by a “consumer” or user of the result.
Lacking such a transaction renders a claim of
traceability moot. Measurements performed at
the highest level, for example, experimental
determinations of new values for fundamental
constants reported in the international journal
Metrologia, are never accompanied by claims
of traceability. Such claims would serve no
purpose.
• The value of traceability in transactions lies in
facilitating commerce in a manner analogous
to laboratory accreditation, leading to
increased “consumer confidence.”
• Traceability does not imply low measurement
uncertainty. There is no logical connection
between a metrologically traceable measure-
ment result and the associated standard uncer-
tainty. The length of a workpiece could be
measured using a carpenter’s steel tape or a
high-accuracy CMM; the results of both
Traceability 3

measurements could be traceable, but the linking the realization of the unit (e.g., the meter)
corresponding uncertainties would in general to recognized standards via specified documen-
be quite different. tary requirements, metrological traceability can
enhance the confidence of the “consumer” of the
Requirements of B89.7.5 result that it can be used in subsequent decision
Demonstration of metrological traceability per making with an acceptable level of risk.
B89.7.5 requires the following:
Measuring and Test Equipment: EAL-G12
1. A clear statement of the measured quantity (the
The approach of B89.7.5 is aimed primarily at
measurand).
demonstrating traceability of dimensional mea-
2. Identification of the measuring system and the
surements to the SI unit of length, the meter.
standards used during the measurement.
A more general approach, with somewhat
3. An uncertainty statement compliant with the
more explicit requirements on supporting docu-
approach of the Guide to the Expression of
mentation, addresses the control, calibration, and
Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM).
maintenance of measuring and test equipment in
4. An uncertainty budget that describes and quan-
support of industrial quality systems. Valuable
tifies all significant contributors to the mea-
guidance is provided by EAL-G12, Traceability
surement uncertainty.
of Measuring and Test Equipment to National
5. “Documentation traceability” (e.g., calibration
Standards. [Note: The title refers to the traceabil-
reports) of length standards used in the mea-
ity of equipment, but the thrust of the document
surement to an appropriate terminus, including
concerns the real issue which is the traceability of
(a) an NMI, (b) a calibration laboratory
the results of measurements made with such
accredited per ISO 17025, or (c) an intrinsic
equipment.]
standard such as the vacuum wavelength of a
EAL-G12 describes in detail the components
stabilized laser.
of a calibration hierarchy whereby an instru-
6. A measurement assurance program that sup-
ment calibration made at a local level, such as an
ports the validity of the uncertainty budget.
industrial in-house calibration laboratory, is
Such a program might include such activities
linked to a national standard by a chain of com-
as operator training, periodic instrument cali-
parisons, with each step explicitly supported by
brations, maintenance of laboratory environ-
appropriate documentation. The document gives a
ments within specified limits, and so on.
number of excellent detailed examples for various
types of measuring instruments, including:
An important feature of this approach is that
only the standards that realize the unit of length
• A company dial micrometer linked via chained
require a documentary chain of evidence that links
calibrations to a stabilized laser wavelength
to the definition of the meter. In a typical dimen-
standard maintained by an NMI
sional measurement, there are many influence
• A local DC voltmeter linked via chained cali-
quantities that contribute to the uncertainty asso-
brations to an NMI-maintained Josephson volt-
ciated with the end result, such as workpiece
age standard
temperature and thermal expansion coefficient. If
• A working pressure sensor linked via chained
it were required that all such influence quantities
calibrations to a standard liquid manometer or
themselves be metrologically traceable, then since
piston gauge maintained by an NMI
each of the quantities depends on other quantities
and so on, such a requirement would lead to an
infinite regress. A useful checklist for assessment of the cali-
bration instruments, and traceability of measure-
The value and quality of a measurement result
is conveyed by the validity and acceptance of the ments made with them, is provided by Appendix
accompanying uncertainty statement. By formally A of EAL-G12. It is intended to be used for
4 Traceability

Traceability,
Fig. 1 Illustrating a
calibration hierarchy, also National standard accurate to
known as a traceability 0,002%
chain

Calibration laboratory 0,01%

Company’master’item 0,07%

Company production equipment 1%

Produced product 10%

internal quality audits and/or by assessors decid- References

ing conformance with quality control or accredi-
tation requirements. ASME B89.7.5-2006 (2006) Metrological traceability of
dimensional measurements to the SI unit of length. The
Figure 1 illustrates a simple calibration hierar-
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New York
chy for a manufactured product that is required to EAL-G12 (1995) Traceability of measuring and test equip-
conform with stated requirements. ment to national standards. European cooperation
for accreditation of laboratories, 1st edn. http://
www.european-accreditation.org/publication/ea-4-
07-m. Accessed 5 Feb 2016
Cross-References EN ISO 17025:2005 (2005) General requirements for the
competence of testing and calibration laboratories.
▶ Accuracy International Organization for Standardization, Geneva
JCGM 200:2012(E/F) (2012) International vocabulary of
▶ Calibration
metrology – basic and general concepts and associated
▶ Error terms (VIM), 3rd edn. Joint Committee for Guides in
▶ Measurement Uncertainty Metrology. www.bipm.org/utils/common/documents/
▶ Metrology jcgm/JCGM_200_2012.pdf. Accessed 4 Feb 2016
▶ Quality
M

Measurement Uncertainty side, there is the fitting of products or, if that

cannot be done directly, specifying products and
Han Haitjema testing whether these specifications are met.
Mitutoyo RCE, Best, The Netherlands On the other hand, there is the field of statistics,
taking samples out of a – limited or
unlimited – range of possible outcomes and esti-
Synonyms mating what the distribution will be behind the
outcomes when a limited set – down to one – of
Measurement uncertainty; Uncertainty of outcomes is available.
measurement
Basic Documents
Where in the past – and still – physicists are taught
Definition “correct for systematic errors and add all random
errors (i.e., standard deviations) quadratically,” it
A nonnegative parameter characterizing the dis- was not uncommon that mechanical engineers had
persion of the quantity values being attributed to a as a rule “add all maximum errors to minimize the
measurand, based on the information used risk.” Nowadays, it is agreed that “systematic”
(Source: JCGM 200:2012 (2012) (VIM)). and “statistical” errors are not so essentially dif-
ferent and that a harmonized approach is possible.
The approach as outlined in the “GUM” (GUM
Theory and Application 1995; JCGM 100:2008 2008) is most generally
agreed and available. This document has a sup-
Introduction plement 1 (JCGM 101:2008 2008) that looks less
Few subjects have generated so much debate in basic from the title; but, in fact, this second part is
the recent decennia as the concept “uncertainty,” considered the most fundamental basis. The dif-
better specified as “measurement uncertainty.” ference is that in supplement 1, uncertainty is
The need for a harmonized approach came from basically treated as the propagation of uncertainty
industry, standardization organizations, accredita- distributions, rather than uncertainties, and that
tion organizations, national metrology these can be simulated by Monte Carlo methods.
institutes, etc. The approach of these documents may look
Historically, measurement uncertainty is complicated, and for this reason, several hands-
closely related to the progress of science and on documents have appeared that claim to have a
adoption/rejection of theories. From the industrial more practical approach. Typical examples are the
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6599-3
2 Measurement Uncertainty
EA-document EA-4/02 M (2013) and the
“PUMA” approach explained in ISO 14253-2
(2011).
Basic Method
In practice, the precise uncertainty distribution,
correlation, and degrees of freedom consider-
ations may not be too relevant, and we will omit
these aspects from now on. With the risk of sim-
plifying things too much and without the
pretention of giving a definite simplified
approach, the basic method can be summarized
as follows:
In general, a measurement result y is a function
of n input quantities xi (i = 1,2,. . .n). These input
quantities can be measured values, known con-
stants, etc. This leads to the general functional
relationship, known as the “model function”
(EA-4/02 M 2013):
y ¼ f ðx1 , x2 , . . . xn Þ (1)
The model function incorporates the measurement
and the calculation procedure. It can be an analyt-
ical function, but also a complicated, iterative,
computer algorithm. The measurement data xi
can be grouped into two categories, depending
on the way they, and their uncertainty, are
obtained:
(a) Quantities where the value and its uncertainty
are directly obtained from the measurements
(b) Quantities where the uncertainties are
obtained from other sources, such as calibra-
tion data, used material constants, previous
measurements.
However, this grouping does not influence the
uncertainty evaluation; it is just essential that a
standard uncertainty uxi is attributed to any
influencing quantity xi.
The quantity Y is best approximated by using
the measurement result y, calculated from best
approximations for Xi: xi, which are usually the
measured data, in Eq. 1.
Now, the uncertainty uy can be written as:
!2
X  @y   
u2y ¼  D2i þ 2
i
@xi y
X  
@2y  
  Di  Dj (2)
i<j
@xi  @xj
where Di and Dj are the deviations from their true
value Xi of xi and xj, respectively; and <> denotes
the average over a large ensemble. The squared
expected deviation of xi from its real value <Di2>
is known as the variance, which is the square of
the standard uncertainty ui. So ui2 = <Di2>. The
product <Di  Dj> is known as the covariance of
the deviations in xi and xj. In the case of
uncorrelated measurement data xi and xj, Eq. 2
reduces to:
!2
X  @y 
u2y ¼  u2xi (3)
i
@x i y
This implies that the expected effects of all
influencing factors on the measurement result y
are added quadratically. It is common, e.g., in
EA-document EA-4/02 M (2013), to set up this
calculation in the form of a table as it is shown in
Table 1. In the table, we denoted the contributions
from the individual influencing factors with Di as
these deviations can be both positive and nega-
tive. They can also be written as ui with ui = |Di|;
where all contributions are squared in the end, this
makes no difference.
Such a table is known as an “uncertainty bud-
get.” It gives a rapid overview of all influencing
factors and their influences. From this, it can eas-
ily be seen which factors can best be decreased in
order to achieve a lower (better) final uncertainty.
For laboratories seeking accreditation, it is in gen-
eral compulsory that uncertainty budgets are
made for every quantity one is accredited for.
Monte Carlo Method
In the case of many measurement data and com-
plicated measurements, it can be impracticable to
set up a full uncertainty budget which includes all
quantities. Instead of varying the quantities one by
one, as it is shown in Table 1, one can vary all
Measurement Uncertainty
Measurement Uncertainty, Table 1 General form of an uncertainty budget
Quantity
Xi Value of quantity xi Standard uncertainty u(xi)
X1 x1 u(x1)
X2 X2 u(x2)
: : : :
XN xN u(xN)
Y y
parameters simultaneously. As the sign of all devi-
ations is not determined, the different influencing
factors can both amplify and weaken each other. If
we define a random number r as having an aver-
age of 0 and a standard deviation of 1, so
<r> = 0, <rirj> = di,j (d being the Kronecker
d-symbol with dij = 1 for i = j, otherwise 0) and
<r2>= 1, where <> denotes the average over a
large ensemble, then we can simulate a measure-
ment result by varying all input quantities at a
time, as following:
yr ¼ yðx1 þ r 1  uðx1 Þ, x2 þ r 2  uðx2 Þ, ::::, xN
þr N  uðxN ÞÞ
The average of yr is the expected value of y, and
the standard deviation of yr is the standard devia-
tion of y that can be used as a measure of the
uncertainty. Proofs of this are given by
Haitjema (2011).
The number of simulations (K) needed
depends on the purpose of the simulations. If
one wants to simulate different distributions for
each quantity, and consider the final uncertainty
distribution, then some hundreds of simulations
are needed. For a Gaussian distribution, an esti-
mate for the “standard deviation in the standard
uncertainty” s(u) is given by:
u • Correlations between quantities can be simu-
sðuÞ ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2K  2
This means that if one aims to have a “simulation”
uncertainty of about 10 % of the estimated uncer-
tainty, some 50 simulations must be carried out
3
Contribution to standard
Sensitivity uncertainty in y
@y
coefficient ci ¼ @x i
ci  uðxi Þ ¼ Di ðyÞ
c1 D1(y)
c2 D2(y)
:
cN Dn(y)
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Total:
u ð yÞ ¼ D21 þ :: þ D2n
(K = 50). Herewith, it must taken into consider-
ation that out of their nature, the uncertainties
which act as input for the simulations are seldom
estimated much better than 30 %.
This method of calculation of uncertainties has
the following characteristics and possibilities:
• The uncertainty distribution can be determined
where different input quantities have different
distributions
• One can choose either to determine the stan-
dard uncertainty or to calculate the 95 % con-
fidence interval. In the latter case, one must
consider the distribution of some hundreds of
(4)
simulations.
• The method accounts for higher-order terms if
the system formula contains products of terms
with nominal values of 0.
• The reality can well be approximated by keep-
ing an “unknown systematic error” constant in
each simulation, but vary it between simulations.
Examples are probe diameters, temperatures
and temperature gradients, calibration-
uncertainties of material measures, etc.
• A known systematic error which is not
corrected can be simulated with its value
taken as the standard uncertainty and the ran-
dom number r = 1. This can be considered
as a bi-modal distribution (Tyler Estler 1999).
(5) lated by correlating the used random numbers.
These characteristics make the Monte Carlo
simulation method, a potential tool for estimations
of uncertainties which are not possible when using
4 Measurement Uncertainty

the mainstream GUM uncertainty budget. Espe- measurement that enables a judgment. For a
cially for complicated measurements, such as car- recent example, an experiment can give as a result
ried out by a CMM, or by form measuring that neutrinos travel faster than the speed of light,
instruments, it is about the only feasible method. but the real scientific debate starts if their speed is
Some earlier publications on this subject in faster than the speed of light when the measure-
dimensional metrology were given by Schwenke ment uncertainty is taken into account with a
(1999; Schwenke et al. 2000). More specifically significant confidence interval.
about CMMs, a European research project was
carried out (Trapet et al. 1999). As a follow-up
Testing Against Specifications
of this, several participants continued the research
If the geometry of a product must satisfy certain
(Balsamo et al. 1999; van Dorp et al. 2001). This
specifications, it must do so including its uncer-
research was summarized by Wilhelm
tainty interval. If the uncertainty interval overlaps
et al. (2001). The general concept of using
the specification limit, there is a problem. The
Monte Carlo method in uncertainty evaluation is
probability of this problem can be reduced by
described by Cox et al. (2001).
reducing the uncertainty, but it cannot be elimi-
nated. In ISO 14253-1 (2013), it is stated that the
Uncertainty and Confidence Intervals
uncertainty is always a disadvantage for the inter-
Uncertainty can be expressed as a standard uncer-
ested party. So a manufacturer wanting to sell his
tainty u(y). The standard uncertainty can be mul-
instrument must show that this instrument can
tiplied by a number k such that it gives a confidence
meet the specification including the measurement
interval for the measurand Y. Then the probability
uncertainty interval. For a customer who wants to
of Y to be in the region [y  k  u(y);y + k  u(y)]
complain that a machine is outside its specifica-
can be expressed as a percentage, and the region is
tion, the measurement result including its confi-
called the confidence interval. With some approx-
dence interval must be outside the specification
imations and the assumption of a Gaussian distri-
limits.
bution, it can be stated that taking k = 2 will
generate a confidence interval of approximately
95 %. Calibration of Standards and Measurement
It can be discussed what is most useful: just the Instruments
standard uncertainty or a confidence interval. As The two actions mentioned previously can only be
an end result, the confidence interval is most use- carried out using calibrated instruments and stan-
ful for the user; however, if the uncertainty is to be dards. The uncertainty can only be calculated if
used in other uncertainty calculations (i.e., y the uncertainty of these calibrations is known.
becomes one of the quantities x in a further
measurement process), the standard uncertainty
Uncertainty and Traceability
is more useful.
Uncertainty and traceability appear to be different
concepts, but, in fact, they are identical twins. If a
Use of Uncertainty
measurement is traceable, an uncertainty budget
It is generally stated that a measurement result
can be made that includes the calibration of the
without indication of uncertainty has no value.
reference standard. The uncertainty of this refer-
However, how and for what this uncertainty is
ence standard can only be properly stated if it is
useful or can be used may vary. We give a few
traceable to a primary standard. On the other hand,
possibilities here:
if no uncertainty calculation can be made, a mea-
surement cannot be traceable, and if a measure-
Testing of Scientific Theories
ment is not traceable, no uncertainty can be
In order to prove that a theory must be wrong or to
calculated as the uncertainty of the used refer-
demonstrate the superiority of the one theory
ences is not known.
against the other, it is the uncertainty in the
Measurement Uncertainty
Cross-References
▶ Accuracy
▶ Calibration
▶ Error
▶ Traceability
References
Balsamo A, Di Ciommo M, Mugno R, Rebaglia BI,
Ricci E, Grella R (1999) Evaluation of CMM uncer-
tainty through Monte Carlo simulations. Ann CIRP
Manuf Technol 48(1):425–428
Cox MG, Dainton MP, Harris PM (2001) Software speci-
fications for uncertainty calculation and associated sta-
tistical analysis. National Physics Laboratory (NPL)
report CMSC 10/01. National Physics Laboratory,
Teddington
EA-4/02 M (2013) Expression of the uncertainty of mea-
surement in calibration, European co-operation for
accreditation. http://www.european-accreditation.org/
publication/ea-4-02-m-rev01-september-2013. Accessed
14 March 2016
GUM (1995) Guide to the expression of uncertainty in
measurements. ISO, Geneva
Haitjema H (2011) Task specific uncertainty estimation in
dimensional metrology. Int J Precis Technol 2:226–245
ISO 14253-1 (2013) Geometrical product specifications
(GPS) – inspection by measurement of workpieces
and measuring equipment, part 1: decision rules for
proving conformance or non-conformance with speci-
fications. ISO, Geneva
ISO 14253-2 (2011) Geometrical product specifications
(GPS) – inspection by measurement of workpieces
and measuring equipment. Part 2: guidance for the
estimation of uncertainty in GPS measurement, in cal-
ibration of measurement equipment and in product
verification. ISO, Geneva, 1998
JCGM 100:2008 (2008) Evaluation of measurement
data – guide to the expression of uncertainty in mea-
surement (GUM 1995 with minor corrections). Bureau
International des Poids et Mesures
5
JCGM 101:2008 (2008) Evaluation of measurement
data – supplement 1 to the ‘Guide to the expression of
uncertainty in measurement’ – propagation of distribu-
tions using a Monte Carlo method. Bureau International
des Poids et Mesures. http://www.bipm.org/utils/com
mon/documents/jcgm/JCGM_101_2008_E.pdf. Accessed
14 March 2016
JCGM 200:2012 (2012) International vocabulary of
metrology: basic and general concepts and associated
terms (VIM). Bureau International des Poids et
Mesures. http://www.bipm.org/utils/common/docume
nts/jcgm/JCGM_200_2012.pdf. Accessed Mach 14
2016; Recent update: JCGM:200:2012
Schwenke H (1999) Absch€atzung von messunsicherheiten
durch simulation an beispielen aus der fertigungsmes-
stechnik [A simulation-based approach for the estima-
tion of measurement uncertainties in the area of
prodcution measurement technology], Thesis, PTB-F-
36, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Braun-
schweig (in German)
Schwenke H, Siebert BRL, W€aldele F, Kunzmann
H (2000) Assessment of uncertainties in dimensional
metrology by Monte Carlo simulation, proposal of a
modular and visual software. CIRP Ann 49(1):395–398
Trapet E, Franke M, H€artig F et al (1999) Development of
methods and guidelines to establish traceability for
measurements with coordinate measuring machines,
EU project contract no. MAT1-CT94.0076, European
Commision bcr information project report Applied
Metrology, Directorate-General Science, Research and
Development
Tyler Estler W (1999) Measurement as inference: funda-
mental ideas. CIRP Ann 48(2):611–631, keynote paper
van Dorp B, Delbressine FLM, Haitjema H, Schellekens
PHJ (2001) Calculation of measurement uncertainty for
multi-dimensional machines, using the method of sur-
rogate data. In: Ciarlini P et al (eds) Advanced mathe-
matical and computational tools in metrology V. World
Scientific Publishing, Singapore, pp 344–351
Wilhelm RG, Hocken R, Schwenke H (2001) Task specific
uncertainty in coordinate measurement. Ann CIRP
Manuf Technol 50(2):553–563
R
Residual Stress (Abrasive Processes)
Carsten Heinzel
IWT, MAPEX Center for Materials and Processes
Bremen, University of Bremen, Bremen,
Germany
Definition
According to Macherauch et al. (1973), “residual
stresses are rigidly effective, multiaxial stresses in
a solid system that remain without external forces
and moments and are in a mechanical equilib-
rium.” This means that residual stresses are pure
internal stresses of a workpiece or a part compo-
nent. Furthermore, changes in the residual stress
distribution are always combined with changes of
the part because a new mechanical equilibrium is
established after a disturbance of the initial
equilibrium.
Theory and Application
Introduction
Residual stresses can be distinguished in macro-
stresses (Type I) and microstresses (Types II + III)
which are characterized by the scale at which
they exist within a material. Macrostresses occur
over long distances within a material, whereas
microstresses exist only locally between workpiece
grains or inside a grain (Macherauch et al. 1973).
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6602-3
Type I stresses: Macrostresses are almost homog-
enous over large distances that involve many
workpiece grains.
Type II stresses: These microstresses are almost
homogenous over small distances that involve
one grain of the material. They can be caused
by differences in the microstructure of a
material.
Type III stresses: These microstresses are inho-
mogeneous and exist inside a grain of the
material as a result of crystal imperfections
within the grain.
Abrasive processes are generally the final pro-
cess operation in a process chain and determine
significantly the functional surface properties of
the machined workpiece. Therefore, the proper-
ties of the surface layer generated by abrasive
processes directly affect the functional properties
of the workpiece such as fatigue strength, wear
behavior, and chemical resistance (Jawahir
et al. 2011). Tensile residual stresses impair
mechanical strength properties of a workpiece,
whereas compressive tensile stresses have a ben-
eficial effect.
Abrasive processes inevitably lead to changes
in residual stresses in both the surface layer and
the bulk material. These changes in residual
stresses are associated with form changes
(distortion). Due to the impact on surface layer
characteristics and on part precision, residual
stresses play an important role in the manufacture
2 Residual Stress (Abrasive Processes)
and performance of the machined workpiece
(Brinksmeier 1982; Brinksmeier et al. 1982).
Material removal processes, such as abrasive
processes, take effect on the residual stresses in
two ways. Generally, material volume exposed to
residual stresses is removed so that a new mechan-
ical equilibrium establishes. This leads to form
changes and a new residual stress state. The sec-
ond way is the generation of residual stresses by
local plastic deformation (creation of stress
sources) which disturb the initial equilibrium and
consequently also lead to form changes and a new
residual stress distribution.
Origin of Residual Stresses in Machining
For understanding the origin of residual stresses, it
is necessary to consider the chip removal mecha-
nism in abrasive processes. The chip formation
theory is based on the observation of a single
cutting grain. The theoretical considerations for
the single grain-workpiece interaction in the
microscopic scale distinguish between the fields
of elastic deformation, elastic and plastic defor-
mation, and elastic and plastic deformation with
chip removal (Klocke 2009).
The cutting grain penetrates on a relatively flat
path into the workpiece and, after a period of
elastic deformation (I), plastic flow of the material
(II) occurs. The plastic flow is associated with the
formation of lateral bulging. The phase of the
actual chip formation (III) begins after reaching
a critical chip thickness or depth of cut. The elastic
deformation and the plastic flow processes occur
in parallel with the chip removal; therefore, the
effectiveness of the material removal (and, in turn,
the intensity of plastic flow) depends on other
factors including the cutting grain geometry, the
entry angle of the grain into the workpiece sur-
face, the relative speed of the grain, as well as the
friction conditions and the flow properties of the
material (Klocke 2009).
Mechanisms for Residual Stress Formation
in Abrasive Processes
According to Fig. 1, residual stresses are induced
mechanically, thermally, and by phase
transformation (Brockhoff and Brinksmeier
1999). Each of these impact types can affect the
degree of in-process distortion. The residual stress
state of the finish parts results from the superpo-
sition of thermal and mechanical stresses.
Due to the shearing, cutting, and rubbing pro-
cesses in Grinding, a lot of heat dissipates through
the workpiece surface, which may cause locally
high temperatures. The high temperatures in the
surface layer and the lower temperatures in the
bulk of the workpiece cause an elastic–plastic
compression of the surface layer. By cooling the
surface layer and the associated recovery of the
elastic deformation, tensile residual stresses
remain in subsurface. The degree of the thermal
stress depends widely on the process temperature,
thus on the process parameters, abrasive tool,
workpiece material, and coolant. Lower grinding
temperatures lead to reduction or elimination of
tensile residual stresses in the workpiece surface
layer, which is shown exemplarily in Balart
et al. (2004).
A mechanical interaction of the abrasive
grains with the workpiece usually leads to com-
pressive residual stresses by localized elastic
deformation and plastic flow. The predominance
of mechanical process effects can be achieved
by chip formation with increased ratio of
microplowing. This usually occurs in grinding
with small chip thickness and low cutting speeds
(Fig. 2).
Grinding of hardened steels may cause a phase
transformation due to the locally high tempera-
tures in the surface layer. The phase transforma-
tion from martensite to ferrite/perlite causes a
volume decrease in the surface layer. The volume
decrease is hindered by the bulk material, which
leads to tensile residual stresses in the surface
layer of the workpiece. In contrast to this, grinding
of ferritic-pearlitic heat-treatable steel can result in
a phase transformation to martensite (grind hard-
ening), and the volume in the surface layer
increases (Brockhoff and Brinksmeier 1999).
Also the volume increase is hindered by the bulk
material whereby compressive stresses in the sur-
face layer occur (Fig. 3).
Residual Stress (Abrasive Processes) 3

Residual Stress (Abrasive Processes), Fig. 1 Mechanisms of residual stress formation (After Brockhoff and
Brinksmeier 1999, with permission from Elsevier)

Residual Stress (Abrasive Processes), Fig. 2 Residual stress profile at different process conditions after grinding with
work-hardening effect (After Heinzel and Bleil 2007, with permission from Elsevier)
4 Residual Stress (Abrasive Processes)

Residual Stress (Abrasive

Processes),
Fig. 3 Residual stress
profile at different process
conditions resultant from
transformation of ferritic-
pearlitic to martensite phase
after grind hardening (After
Brockhoff and Brinksmeier
1999, with permission from
Elsevier)

Cross-References Brinksmeier E, Cammett JT, König W, Leskovar P,

▶ Chip Formation (Abrasive Process)
▶ Grinding
▶ Grinding Fluids
▶ Grinding Burn
▶ Wear Mechanisms
References
Balart MJ, Bouzina A, Edwards L, Fitzpatrick ME
(2004) The onset of tensile residual stresses in grinding
of hardened steels. Mater Sci Eng A 367(1–2):132–142
Brinksmeier E (1982) Randzonenanalyse geschliffener
Werkst€ucke [Surface integrity analysis of ground work-
pieces]. Dr.-Ing. Diss., Universit€at Hannover,
VDI-Verlag (in German)
Peters J, Tönshoff HK (1982) Residual
stresses – measurement and causes in machining pro-
cesses. Ann CIRP 31(2):491–510
Brockhoff T, Brinksmeier E (1999) Grind-hardening: a
comprehensive view. Ann CIRP 48(1):255–260
Heinzel C, Bleil N (2007) The use of the size effect in
grinding for work-hardening. Ann CIRP
56(1):327–330
Jawahir IS, Brinksmeier E, M’Saoubi R, Aspinwall DK,
Outeiro JC, Meyer D, Umbrello D, Jayal AD
(2011) Surface integrity in material removal processes:
recent advances. Ann CIRP 60(2):603–626
Klocke F (2009) Manufacturing processes 2 – grinding,
honing, lapping. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg
Macherauch E, Wohlfahrt H, Wolfstieg U (1973) Zur
zweckm€aßigen Definition von Eigenspannungen
[A contribution to the definition of residual stresses].
H€arterei Techn Mitt (HTM) 28:201–211 (in German)
E

EOL Treatment and cost to recover the product. At the true end-of-
life of a product, any materials of value might be
Katherine Ortegon1, Loring Nies2 and John W. recycled while the remainder is incinerated or
Sutherland3 disposed in a landfill (Fig. 1).
1
Industrial Engineering, Universidad Icesi, Cali,
Valle, Colombia
2
Civil Engineering, Purdue University, West
Theory and Application
Lafayette, IN, USA
3
Environmental and Ecological Engineering,
The design of products, and in fact the planning of
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
the whole life cycle, must consider the manage-
ment of end-of-use (EOU) products and how they
will be processed. Product design for end-of-use
Synonyms
should consider how products are recovered,
management of individual components, disassem-
End-of-service life (EOSL); End-of-use (EOU)
bly procedures, as well as the evolving value/
health of a product and its components as the
product is used. Considering EOU early in the
Definition
design process allows potential recovery opportu-
nities to be identified (Herrmann et al. 2008).
The end-of-life (EOL) of a product has tradition-
Hence, the design for disassembly (DfD), design
ally been recognized as the point when a product
for recycling (DfR), design for sustainability
no longer satisfies the needs or expectations of a
(DfS), design for environment (DfE), design for
user. The phrase “end-of-life” is a misnomer since
life cycle (DfLC), and design for end-of-life
a product at this point may still have considerable
(DfEOL) are strategies created to avoid or miti-
functional or material value. A product that some-
gate the negative environmental impacts of prod-
one no longer wishes to use should be thought of
ucts during their life cycle and manage the end-of
as having reached the end of a use cycle, i.e., an
use phase of products. These strategies, when
end-of-use (EOU) product. An end-of-use product
added to other manufacturing practices such as
often still has significant functional and material
component identification, modularity, and an
value remaining that can be recovered through
increased use of recycled materials, could contrib-
reuse, remanufacturing, refurbishing, or
ute significantly to the recovery of products at
recycling. The value of an EOL product varies
end-of-use.
considerably depending on its condition, quality,
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6607-3
2 EOL Treatment
Forward Flow
Design
Reverse Flow
Materials
Manufacturing
processing
Remanufacturing
Recycling
EOL Treatment, Fig. 1 Product life cycle and end-of-use alternatives
Regardless of the design technique used, the
traditional EOU recovery options generally con-
sidered are reuse, refurbishing, remanufacturing,
and recycling (Ilgin and Gupta 2010; Lee
et al. 2010). Each of the EOU options has a dif-
ferent purpose as well as advantages and chal-
lenges. For instance, the reuse, refurbishing, and
remanufacturing strategies extend the operational
life of the product and preserve the functional
value added during manufacturing as well as the
material value inherent to the components. In the
case of repairable systems, these strategies can be
useful to meet the demand for spare parts and
reduce the time required for a customer to receive
a product. Historically, however, reused,
refurbished, and remanufactured components
have been associated with lower quality, uncer-
tainty about performance, shorter warranty
periods, and costly maintenance. These are per-
ceptions that must be overcome and constitute a
challenge for recovery companies and future
research. Unlike reuse, refurbishment, and
remanufacturing, a recycling EOU strategy only
recovers the material value embedded within a
product, and any product functional value is
totally lost (Srivastava 2007; Pigosso
et al. 2010). However, significant benefits still
exist for recycling, especially for products
containing materials that have high value in sec-
ondary material (scrap) markets.
The EOU recovery process involves retrieving
residual functional or material value, which often
offers considerable economic and environmental
Reuse
End-of Life
Use EOU
(Disposal / Incineration)
benefits. Take-back legislation, market require-
ments, and used product value are the main drivers
for EOU recovery (Sasikumar and Kannan 2008).
For EOU products, reverse logistics are often a
critical consideration. Reverse logistics (RL) is the
process associated with managing the flow of prod-
ucts, components, and materials from the point
where a product that reaches the end of a use cycle
to a point where the product is processed for future
use. Successful management of used products
requires planning of reverse logistics operations.
The selection of collection points, logistics of trans-
portation, disassembly, inspection, classification,
and reconditioning among other operations are
good examples of critical activities that must be
planned in advance.
Take-Back Policies and Regulations
Historically, the recovery of used products has
been either market driven or policy driven. In the
case of the latter driver, government action has
been motivated by the desire to reduce discharges
to landfills, lower the quantity and environmental
impact of industrial waste streams, and respond to
community pressures. Often policies and regula-
tions that have emerged relate to product end-of-
use and have included such topics as:
• Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
(WEEE). WEEE regulations seek to establish
responsibilities for EEE manufacturers at EOU
and promote the recycling and reuse of electric
and electronic devices.
EOL Treatment
• Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS).
RoHS regulations are focused on avoiding and
reducing the use of heavy metals and other
hazardous substances that could discourage or
make complex the recovery of the product
at EOU.
• End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV). ELV regulations
aim to make the recovery, dismantling, and
recycling of vehicles and their components
more environmentally friendly and encourage
original equipment manufacturers to design
vehicles suitable for recycling. For instance,
in the case of Japan, a consumer pays a fee at
the time of purchase, and when, at the end of a
use cycle, the consumer sells the car to a dealer,
the fee is reimbursed. Dealers take back and
recycle around 83% of the vehicle by weight,
e.g., engines, tires, seats, and steel components
are recovered. The remaining automobile resi-
due has been employed to create artificial
islands (Kumar and Yamaoka 2006).
• Packaging. Packaging regulations seek to
reduce the volume and weight of packaging
either during transportation or secondary pack-
aging to the minimum required (Nakajima and
Vanderburg 2006).
The incorporation of take-back policies should
be an initiative shared among a diversity of entities
including the original equipment manufacturers
(OEMs), government, recovery companies, distrib-
utors, and even customers. Beyond the policy
framework, new paradigms must be established in
order to promote sustainable products and closed
material loops at product end-of-use. In this sense,
concepts such as Product Service Systems (PSS)
and Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO)
could support this purpose.
The philosophy of Product Service Systems
(PSS) is to meet customer needs through provision
of a service (e.g., transportation) as opposed to
selling a tangible good (e.g., a car). In either case
the functional need is met, but the customer pur-
chases the service rather than a product (Maxwell
and van der Vorst 2003; Mont and Lindhqvist
2003). With the PSS approach, products are usually
3
leased or rented rather than sold to a consumer. The
maintenance, reconditioning, and upgrading of the
physical product are the responsibility of the product
owner and not the consumer.
The Producer Responsibility Organization
(PRO) is a collaborative approach that seeks to
share the cost, risk, and responsibility of waste
management among two or more producers with a
set of waste reduction goals (Nakajima and
Vanderburg 2006; Fleckinger and Glachant
2010). Under this approach, a centralized not-for-
profit organization is in charge of collecting and
processing end-of-use products on behalf of their
individual members.
Cross-References
▶ Recycling
▶ Remanufacturing
▶ Reuse
References
Fleckinger P, Glachant M (2010) The organization of
extended producer responsibility in waste policy with
product differentiation. J Environ Econ Manag
59(1):57–66
Herrmann C, Frad A, Luger T (2008) Integrating the
end-of-life evaluation and planning in the product man-
agement process. Prog Ind Ecol Int J 5(1/2):44–64
Ilgin MA, Gupta SM (2010) Environmentally conscious
manufacturing and product recovery (ECMPRO): a
review of the state of the art. J Environ Manag
91(3):563–591
Kumar S, Yamaoka T (2006) Closed loop supply chains: a
study of US and Japanese car industries. Hum Syst
Manag 25(1):51–70
Lee HB, Cho NW, Hong YS (2010) A hierarchical end-of-
life decision model for determining the economic levels
of remanufacturing and disassembly under environ-
mental regulations. J Clean Prod 18(13):1276–1283
Maxwell D, van der Vorst R (2003) Developing sustainable
products and services. J Clean Prod 11(8):883–895
Mont O, Lindhqvist T (2003) The role of public policy in
advancement of product service systems. J Clean Prod
11(8):905–914
Nakajima N, Vanderburg WH (2006) A description and
analysis of the German packaging take-back system.
Bull Sci Technol Soc 26(6):510–517
4 EOL Treatment

Pigosso DCA, Zanette ET, Filho AG, Ometto AR, Srivastava SK (2007) Green supply-chain management: a
Rozenfeld H (2010) Ecodesign methods focused on state of the art literature review. Int J Manag Rev
remanufacturing. J Clean Prod 18(1):21–31 9(1):53–80
Sasikumar P, Kannan G (2008) Issues in reverse supply
chains, part I: end-of life product recovery and inven-
tory management. Int J Sustain Eng 1(3):154–172
R
Recycling
Katherine Ortegon1, Loring Nies2 and John W.
Sutherland3
1
Industrial Engineering, Universidad Icesi, Cali,
Valle, Colombia
2
Civil Engineering, Purdue University, West
Lafayette, IN, USA
3
Environmental and Ecological Engineering,
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
Synonyms
Material recovery
Definition
Recycling is an alternative for the management of
an end-of-use product. Recycling is the process of
material value recovery and is often undertaken
when recovery of functional value (e.g., reuse,
refurbishing, or remanufacturing) is not techni-
cally or economically feasible.
Extended Definition
Recycling includes the activities of returning a
product, components, or material to a processor
who then transforms these entities into materials
that can be used to create new products. The
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6611-4
recycling system often includes such steps as
product recovery, transportation, shredding,
sorting, and materials processing. With recycling,
the original product/component structure is very
rarely preserved (Fig. 1).
Theory and Application
Recycling is the set of activities required to
recover used products, return them to a processing
facility, and process the product/components as
needed to produce materials that can be used to
create new products. The production of materials
via recycling is often referred to as secondary
materials processing as opposed to primary mate-
rials processing that is focused on working with
virgin material resources. Recycling is often moti-
vated by the significant recovered value associ-
ated with materials such as steel, aluminum, and
copper. These materials are widely recycled due to
the availability of reprocessing technologies and
the existence of a global demand or markets for
recycled materials. Recycling, as with other end-
of-use alternatives, is highly influenced by the
original design of a product. The application of
design for recycling (DfR) seeks to create prod-
ucts that enable or promote recycling, e.g., they
reduce or eliminate hazardous materials (thus
making it easier to process them at end of use),
they employ more recycled or low-impact mate-
rial content, and they have greater modularity that
allows easier disassembly (Ardente et al. 2003).
2 Recycling
Recycling, Fig. 1 The role of recycling in the product life cycle
The decisions associated with recycling include
(i) the best alternatives for recovery of used prod-
ucts, (ii) the best approach for transporting used
products, (iii) the most appropriate shredding and
sortation technologies, and (iv) innovative strate-
gies for improved processing of recovered mate-
rials. There are issues associated with the
consumer perception of recycled materials and
the management of products that contain hazard-
ous substances (Sjödin et al. 2000; Bi et al. 2007;
Rahimifard et al. 2009). Further information on
recycling strategy is provided in Pigosso et al.
(2010), Rahimifard et al. (2009), and Sasikumar
and Kannan (2008).
Recycling, Recyclable, and Upcycling
The existence of a reverse supply chain able to
collect, separate, and reprocess materials can
make a product recyclable. In other words, the
materials used in the product might be recovered
as a material for an additional use. Once this
reverse process is completed – and the used prod-
uct is converted into a material from which a new
product is fabricated – it is said that the product
was recycled. A recycled product can be made,
totally or partially, from recovered materials, and
it might have been reprocessed to serve as part of a
new or the original product.
The decision about using the recycled material
to manufacture a new product or manufacture the
original product varies depending on the product
purpose and material characteristics. For instance,
a detergent plastic bottle might have been made
from recycled water bottles; however, the oppo-
site is often not possible due to safety regulations.
In the case of glass or metals, the reprocessing
treatment involves high temperatures that suc-
cessfully eliminate all impurities. For this reason,
products containing these materials are more suit-
able for closed-loop recycling to manufacture the
original product.
The closed-loop recycling of materials into
their original form is sometimes referred to as
upcycling. This concept is more frequently asso-
ciated with the ability to continue or perpetuate
the recovery of materials into the original supply
chain without altering their value. A traditional
example is the recycled beverage cans that might
be integrated in the same manufacturing process
as new cans (McDonough and Braungart 2002).
In contrast, open-loop recycling implies that
recycled materials are used to manufacture a new
product with a different purpose. For example,
cardboard can be made from recycled paper or
new clothes can be made from recycled fibers.
Secondary Markets for Recycled
Materials
The recovering, reprocessing, and reutilization of
critical materials such as steel, copper, aluminum,
and rare earths are very important to reduce the
overall resource consumption rate and mitigate
market effects associated with supply shortages.
In addition, the economic impact of trading
Recycling
recycled metals and minerals is having a signifi-
cant impact on the US economy. The US Geolog-
ical Survey (2012) estimates the quantities
produced, traded, consumed, and recycled of var-
ious materials in the USA. In the case of steel, for
instance, the highest steel recycling rates are
obtained from vehicles, appliances, and steel
cans. The increased recycling rates have greatly
reduced the need to produce virgin steel. Other
materials such as copper and aluminum are
increasing the production from old scrap obtained
from used products and in-process scrap derived
from fabricating operations. Copper is mainly
recovered from bass mills, foundries, and chemi-
cal plants. The recovery of aluminum is mostly
due to manufacturing scrap; however, the alloying
elements used to produce aluminum alloys (i.e.,
Mn, Si, Zn, Cu, and Mn) with certain industry
specifications have a higher carbon footprint and
might complicate the recycling after end of use
(Das 2011). In the case of rare earths, the second-
ary market is emerging and gaining importance
due to high prices and demand of these minerals.
Small quantities are recovered from permanent
magnets mainly.
According to the European Environment
Agency (2011), the contribution of recycling to
society is noteworthy for several reasons, e.g.,
resource efficiency, job generation, and economic
benefits. Critical materials such as metals, glass,
paper, and plastic are widely traded and their
prices are increasing. The employment associated
with recycling of these materials has an annual
growth of 11%, and this subsector of the economy
employed 3.4 million people in 2008. Further-
more, recycling is perceived as a key player in
supplying materials for emerging economies, pro-
viding opportunities for business creation, and
building up infrastructure and markets not
explored before.
The Japanese experience in recycling of appli-
ances has also been successful, not only in terms
of economics but also in terms of engaging the
supply chain actors involved in the recovery pro-
cess. Customer, retailers, and manufacturers share
the responsibility in the recovery and recycling of
household appliances. Iron, copper, aluminum,
and glass are the main materials recovered from
3
TV sets, air conditioners, refrigerators, and wash-
ing machines discarded at the recycling plants
every year (MEGJ 2012).
Cross-References
▶ EOL Treatment
▶ Remanufacturing
▶ Reuse
References
Ardente F, Beccali G, Cellura M (2003) Eco-sustainable
energy and environmental strategies in design for
recycling: the software “ENDLESS”. Ecol Model
163(1–2):101–118
Bi X, Thomas GO, Jones KC, Qu W, Sheng G, Martin FL,
Fu J (2007) Exposure of electronics dismantling
workers to polybrominated diphenyl ethers, poly-
chlorinated biphenyls, and organochlorine pesticides
in South China. Environ Sci Technol
41(16):5647–5653
Das S (2011) Aluminum recycling in a carbon constrained
world: observations and opportunities. J Miner Met
Mater Soc 63(8):137–140
European Environment Agency (EEA) (2011) Earnings,
jobs and innovation: the role of recycling in a green
economy. EEA Report 8/2011, 1–28
McDonough W, Braungart M (2002) Cradle to cradle:
remaking the way we make things. North Point Press,
New York
Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan
(MEGJ) (2012) Publication of data on recycling of
home appliances by electric appliance manufacturers
(Issues/Recycling 05.05.27). http://www.env.go.jp/en/
recycle/. Retrieved 20 May 2012
Pigosso DCA, Zanette ET, Filho AG, Ometto AR,
Rozenfeld H (2010) Ecodesign methods focused on
remanufacturing. J Clean Prod 18(1):21–31
Rahimifard S, Coates G, Staikos T, Edwards C, Abu-Bakar
M (2009) Barriers, drivers and challenges for sustain-
able product recovery and recycling. Int J Sustain Eng
2(2):80–90
Sasikumar P, Kannan G (2008) Issues in reverse supply
chains, part I: end-of life product recovery and inven-
tory management. Int J Sustain Eng 1(3):154–172
Sjödin A, Ha C, Thuresson K, Sjölin S, Bergman Å,
Östman C (2000) Flame retardants in indoor air at an
electronics recycling plant and at other work environ-
ments. Environ Sci Technol 35(3):448–454
United States Department of the Interior, United States
Geological Survey (USGS) (2012) Mineral commodity
summaries 2012. http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/
pubs/mcs/2012/mcs2012.pdf. Retrieved 14 Feb 2011
R
Remanufacturing
Katherine Ortegon1, Loring Nies2 and John W.
Sutherland3
1
Industrial Engineering, Universidad Icesi, Cali,
Valle, Colombia
2
Civil Engineering, Purdue University, West
Lafayette, IN, USA
3
Environmental and Ecological Engineering,
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
Synonyms
Overhaul; Rebuild; Reconditioning; Refurbishing
Definition
Remanufacturing is a product end-of-use alterna-
tive. Remanufacturing is the process of returning a
used product (nonfunctional, discarded, or traded
in) to at least the original product performance
specification.
Extended Definition
Remanufacturing seeks to preserve the functional
value added during the design and manufacturing
stages of a product life cycle. Although
refurbishing is the process of returning a used
product to a functional condition or level of per-
formance that is not necessarily equal to the orig-
inal product specifications, this term is frequently
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6612-3
misinterpreted with the remanufacturing concept.
When a degraded component cannot be
remanufactured successfully or economically,
the degraded component is replaced with a new
component. Remanufacturing differs from
recycling in that it recovers both the material
value and the functional value of a used product
(Fig. 1).
Theory and Application
In the USA, remanufacturing is a $53 billion
industry (Rubio and Corominas 2008). There are
over 73,000 companies engaged in
remanufacturing that employ 350,000 people in
the USA (Behret and Korugan 2005). According
to Hauser and Lund (2008), tires (601 plants),
motors and engines (382 plants), and vehicle
parts (337 plants) are the most significant
remanufacturing industries in the USA. In addi-
tion to profit, other motivations that push a com-
pany to remanufacture their products include a
high demand for spare parts during the warranty
period, brand protection from independent opera-
tors, and unacceptably long lead time for new
components (Seitz 2007). However, there is also
evidence that remanufacturing provides environ-
mental benefits. Several industry sectors have
reported energy savings (e.g., automotive
68–83%, tires 66–68%, appliances 14–44%) and
CO2 emission reductions (e.g., automotive
73–87% and photocopiers 23%). Moreover,
2 Remanufacturing
Remanufacturing, Fig. 1 Remanufacturing as an alternative within the product life cycle
relative to the cost of producing new products,
remanufacturing can offer cost savings of 50%
(Kerr and Ryan 2001; Seitz and Wells 2006; Suth-
erland et al. 2008; Boustani et al. 2010a, b).
Although the reverse logistics of remanufactured
products might vary according to product’s char-
acteristics, in general, the reverse logistics of
remanufactured products includes the following
phases:
1. Collection of the used product
2. Sorting
3. Testing
4. Disassembly
5. Cleaning
6. Reprocessing and part replacement
7. Reassembly
8. Inspection
9. Packaging and transportation
10. Re-commercialization
Remanufacturing Challenges
Recognized remanufacturing challenges include
the procurement of used products, management
of core inventory, quality of returned cores, prod-
uct disassembly, processing/remanufacturing of
components, assembly of remanufactured compo-
nents, quality of remanufactured products, and
appropriate pricing of remanufactured products.
The procurement of used products is a criti-
cal issue when doing remanufacturing. Firstly, the
size, location, and number of facilities as well as
the network distribution (centralized or
decentralized) might impact the unit cost of
remanufactured products. When selecting the
facility size for remanufacturing, issues like trans-
portation cost, product yield, and remanufacturing
efficiency must be carefully analyzed (Sutherland
et al. 2010). Secondly, retailers engaged in the
distribution network can serve as collection points
for the reverse logistics and facilitate the return
process from customers. Lastly, to ensure timely
returns of used cores, it is important to create
mechanisms to encourage customers to return
used cores. Thus, deposits at the time of purchase
time, discounts in new products, coupons, leasing
alternatives, and service contracts are some exam-
ples of common strategies (Östlin et al. 2009).
The inventory management of core compo-
nents faces two concerns, the mismatch between
supply and demand of components and the tech-
nological obsolescence of the product. Even
though good estimates can be made about return
rates, these estimates not necessarily work in the
practice due to the variability in customer timing
of returning a used product. On the other hand,
actual return rates added to low inventory turn-
over could lead to product degradation and obso-
lescence. Product degradation and technological
gap might affect the suitability for
remanufacturing.
The disassembly and reprocessing is always
a multistage process. The inspection made at the
time of disassembly has a significant impact on
the subsequent reprocessing activities. Only after
the product is fully disassembled and the quality
of the returned components is determined, the
final remanufacturing effort, time, and cost can
Remanufacturing
be estimated. The delays in these stages usually
impact the forward commercialization process.
The design for disassembly and identification of
components since the design phase might facili-
tate the remanufacturing process as well as avoid
additional costs.
The quality of the remanufactured product
is paramount to facilitate the integration in the
market. The perception of low quality associated
with remanufactured products must be overcome
in order to make remanufacturing business profit-
able. In this sense, the traceability of the original
product during the use phase, the performance
testing after reassembly, the certification of the
remanufacturing process, and an equivalent war-
ranty period play a key role in breaking this per-
ception and increasing the confidence of
customers in remanufactured products.
Lastly, the pricing of remanufactured products
has become a subject of debate. Traditionally,
remanufactured products have been priced at a
lower value than new products due to the reused
components. For instance, Siemens
remanufactured imaging systems price runs
about two-thirds that of a new unit, which are
usually priced between $160,000 and $170,000.
However, it is still in discussion whether
remanufactured products should receive a lower
valuation. A diversity of variables such as certifi-
cation of the final product, number of parts
replaced or upgraded, and demand for
remanufactured components must be taken into
account in this decision.
Economics of Remanufacturing
Recognized companies have been successful in
the practice of remanufacturing around the
world, namely, Caterpillar remanufacturing
engines and gearboxes, Xerox remanufacturing
photocopiers, and Siemens remanufacturing cam-
eras and medical devices. The most important
benefits are derived from savings due to reduc-
tions in the cost of materials and revenues of
remanufactured product in new markets. For
instance, in 2005, Caterpillar had about $1.5 bil-
lion in annual remanufacturing revenue of engines
and other components. Even though
remanufacturing brings important savings derived
3
from the reduction in the cost of materials, the cost
of remanufacturing is volatile because it depends
on the quality of the returned product as well as
the type of product and industry. In the case of
appliances, the highest cost is due to storage (24%
approx.), in the automotive industry is due to new
part replacement (43% approx.), in the case of
mechanical units is due to the cleaning and
reconditioning process (50% approx.), and in the
electronics case is mainly due to the disassembly
and assembly process (80% approx.). In general,
the remanufacturing cost is given by
RC ¼ A þ Rp þ Rn þ H þ D
where RC is the total remanufacturing cost, A is
the acquisition cost of used cores, Rp is the cost of
replaced components, Rn is the reconditioning
cost, H is the cost of holding inventory either of
used core components or remanufactured prod-
ucts, and D is the disposal cost of materials and
components during the remanufacturing process.
Cross-References
▶ Recycling
▶ Reuse
References
Behret H, Korugan A (2005) Quality of returns: is it a
factor in remanufacturing? In: Gupta MS
(ed) Environmentally conscious manufacturing V, pro-
ceedings of SPIE, vol 5997. SPIE Bellingham
Boustani A, Sahni S, Graves SC, Gutowski TG (2010a)
Appliance remanufacturing and life cycle energy and
economic savings. In: 2010 I.E. international sympo-
sium on sustainable systems and technology (ISSST),
17–19 May 2010. IEEE Xplore Digital Library.
doi:10.1109/ISSST.2010.5507713
Boustani A, Sahni S, Gutowski T, Graves S (2010b) Tire
remanufacturing and energy savings (MITEI-1-h-
2010), vol 9. Remanufacturing & energy savings.
MIT energy initiative report series. http://web.mit.edu/
ebm/www/publications.htm. Accessed 13 Dec 2012
Hauser WM, Lund RT (2008) Remanufacturing: operating
practices & strategies. Department of Manufacturing
Engineering. Boston University, Boston
Kerr W, Ryan C (2001) Eco-efficiency gains from
remanufacturing: a case study of photocopier
4 Remanufacturing
remanufacturing at Fuji Xerox Australia. J Clean Prod
9(1):75–81
Östlin J, Sundin E, Björkman M (2009) Product life-cycle
implications for remanufacturing strategies. J Clean
Prod 17(11):999–1009
Rubio S, Corominas A (2008) Optimal manufacturing-
remanufacturing policies in a lean production environ-
ment. Comput Ind Eng 55(1):234–242
Seitz MA (2007) A critical assessment of motives for
product recovery: the case of engine remanufacturing.
J Clean Prod 15(11–12):1147–1157
Seitz MA, Wells PE (2006) Challenging the implementa-
tion of corporate sustainability: the case of automotive
engine remanufacturing. Bus Process Manag
J 12(6):822–836
Sutherland JW, Adler DP, Haapala KR, Kumar V
(2008) A comparison of manufacturing and
remanufacturing energy intensities with application
to diesel engine production. CIRP Ann Manuf
Technol 57(1):5–8
Sutherland JW, Jenkins TL, Haapala KR (2010) Devel-
opment of a cost model and its application in deter-
mining optimal size of a diesel engine
remanufacturing facility. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
59(1):49–52
R
Reuse
Katherine Ortegon1, Loring Nies2 and John W.
Sutherland3
1
Industrial Engineering, Universidad Icesi, Cali,
Valle, Colombia
2
Civil Engineering, Purdue University, West
Lafayette, IN, USA
3
Environmental and Ecological Engineering,
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
Synonyms
Reprocess; Re-utilize; Second-hand use
Definition
Reuse is a product end-of use alternative. Reuse is
defined as the transfer of a used product to a
new user.
Product reuse implies that a product will pre-
serve its original structure and likely will be used
for its original purpose. Although used products
can be used as is, processes such as cleaning and
minor maintenance might be considered before
beginning another usage cycle. Reuse differs
from recycling in that it preserves both the mate-
rial value and the functional value of a used prod-
uct (Fig. 1).
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6614-3
Theory and Application
The concept of reuse is relatively simple; a used
product is transferred from one user to another,
with generally little intervention in between the
two use cycles. The fact that the product is reused
as-is and, therefore, no additional resources are
consumed makes this end-of-use strategy one of
the best from an environmental perspective. How-
ever, product design characteristics that promote
reuse are less well understood. Certainly, product
reuse is highly dependent on the time varying
value of a product, and reuse will only be pursued
if a second user believes that there is more value in
the used product than its resale cost. The value of a
product is affected by exogenous factors such as
market forces, availability of competing products,
customer perception, and opportunities for
remanufacturing/refurbishing/recycling, as well
as endogenous factors such as initial product qual-
ity, product wear/aging, and product reliability. In
general, used products retain significant func-
tional and material value that is invested during
product design and manufacturing; this value is
entirely lost when a product is discarded. An
understanding of how value changes during the
product life cycle will allow designers to create
products that avoid excessive value erosion and
will allow companies to anticipate business
opportunities when recovering used products
that still have significant value. Further informa-
2 Reuse
tion on reuse is provided in Kumar et al. (2007),
Ilgin and Gupta (2010), and Sasikumar and
Kannan (2008).
Secondary Market for Used Products
The diversity of used products that are commer-
cialized for a second use is increasing. When
understanding the secondary market of used prod-
ucts, it is important to characterize the type of
product and the transaction channel utilized.
There are two types of products that can be reused
in secondary markets: products that constantly
gain value overtime, such as antiques and collect-
ibles, for instance, and durable products that lose
value but are still tradable. Nowadays, durable
goods such as cars, appliances, books, clothes,
furniture, and college textbooks are widely traded
in secondary market channels.
Used products are mainly commercialized
through two transaction channels. In the first
channel, a retailer buys used products from old
users and sells them to new ones for a profit. In the
second channel, the customer or new user can buy
the used product directly from the old user without
intermediaries (Yin et al. 2010). In both channels,
the price of the new product version and value
added by new features or capabilities as well as
the services provided by the retailer are decisive to
promote or discourage a secondary market of used
products (Kogan 2011). When creating a second-
ary market for used products, three factors are of
special attention for a successful implementation:
(a) the commercialization channel, (b) the distri-
bution channel, and (c) the costumer’s demand for
these used products.
The commercialization channel mostly used
is the electronic commerce or e-commerce. Suc-
cessful companies such as eBay and Amazon
have broadened the opportunities to exchange a
variety of new and used products online. The
e-commerce has facilitated a close relationship
between sellers and buyers. Amazon, as one of
the largest online retailer, based its commerciali-
zation strategy on diversity in selection, low
prices, and convenience for deliveries (Bezos
2011). In the same way, eBay supports its strategy
in online auctions and other online interactions
involving the community. With a higher
availability of online resources to commercialize
products, a growing stock of used products, and
an increasing need for reducing the amount of
waste sent to landfills, the opportunities to create
businesses are enormous.
In reference to the distribution channel, three
strategies are commonly used: original manufac-
turers’ direct distribution, distribution through
manufacturer’s own retailers, and distribution
through independent retailers. In all cases, the
reverse and forward logistics to pick, store, and
ship the used products are the core of the business.
Retailers play a key role in the growth of second-
ary markets of used products. Because of their
closeness to customers, retailers can serve as a
direct channel for collecting not only the used
products but also feedback from trends and pat-
terns of use. For instance, libraries are the main
source of distribution for used textbooks and
repair shops are decisive in the commercialization
of used vehicles and computers. The incentives
provided and negotiation with retailers might
affect directly the revenues obtained by the man-
ufacturers and retailers as well as encourage or
discourage customer acceptance (Shulman and
Coughlan 2007).
The customer’s demand for used products is
highly tied to green consumers whose perception
of product value is still high. The demand for used
products might also be incentivized when a new set
of customers intends to buy the product every
certain period: for instance, students per each
cohort and players of video games. The green
consumers are willing to either continue using the
used product for its original purpose or find a new
function for it. This is the case of Goodwill Indus-
tries International, the second largest nonprofit
organization in trading used products such as cloth-
ing, furniture, dry goods, and sporting goods in the
USA. Goodwill, with total revenues around $4
billion in 2011, has based its operation on products
donated and bought by the community. Every year,
around two billion pounds of clothes and house-
hold goods are diverted from landfills.
The reuse of products in secondary markets
also entails some challenges for manufacturers,
retailers, and even researchers. The availability
of used products with lower prices in the market
Reuse
Cleaning
Forward Flow
Reverse Flow Design
Materials
Manufacturing
processing
Remanufacturing
Recycling
Reuse, Fig. 1 Reuse as an alternative in the product life cycle
that compete directly with new products, the pric-
ing of those new products, and frequency to
upgrade versions of a product are some of the
topics that are the subject of concern for manufac-
turers. When e-commerce is the only source of
contact with the customers, the customer service
is totally dependent on the supply chain logistics.
Thus, the continued process improvement, devel-
opment of innovative software applications, and
cost reductions become critical to compete in the
current aggressive internet markets. Issues such as
the impact of secondary markets in the supply
chain, the impact on the strategy of original man-
ufacturers, and retailers are topics of research
interest.
Cross-References
▶ Recycling
▶ Remanufacturing
3
optional
Repair
End-of Life
Re-Use EOU
(Disposal / Incineration)
Use as is
References
Bezos JP (2011) Amazon.com annual report. Retrieved
16 June 2012 from: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoe
nix.zhtml?c=97664&p=irol-reportsannual
Ilgin MA, Gupta SM (2010) Environmentally conscious
manufacturing and product recovery (ECMPRO).
A review of the state of the art. J Environ Manage
91(3):563–591
Kogan K (2011) Second-hand markets and intrasupply
chain competition. J Retail 87(4):489–501
Kumar V, Shirodkar PS, Camelio JA, Sutherland JW
(2007) Value flow characterization during product
lifecycle to assist in recovery decisions. Int J Product
Res 45(18–19):4555–4572
Sasikumar P, Kannan G (2008) Issues in reverse supply
chains, part I: end-of life product recovery and inven-
tory management-an overview. Int J Sustain Eng
1(3):154–172
Shulman JD, Coughlan AT (2007) Used good, not used
bads: profitable secondary market sales for a durable
goods channel. Quant Market Econ 5(2):191–210
Yin S, Ray S, Gurnani H, Animesh A (2010) Durable
products with multiple used goods markets: product
upgrade and retail pricing implications. Market Sci
29(3):540–560
R
Reconfigurable Manufacturing
System
Yoram Koren
J.J. Duderstadt Distinguished University
Professor, NSF Center for Reconfigurable
Manufacturing Systems, The University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Synonyms
Changeable manufacturing system
Definition
Reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS) is
one designed at the outset for rapid change in its
structure, as well as in its hardware and software
components, in order to quickly adjust its produc-
tion capacity and functionality, within a part fam-
ily, in response to market changes. A typical large
RMS system consists of some 15–150 machines
operating in concert, where the operations of each
machine depend on previous machines and next
machines.
Key terms in the above definition are: (1) The
RMS is designed at the outset for future changes
in its structure. (2) These changes may either
increase the system capacity (i.e., maximum
annual production volume), or change the system
functionality (i.e., to enable producing different
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6629-4
parts). (3) Functionality changes in RMS are lim-
ited to be within a part family. (4) The RMS
design enables rapid execution of its future
changes (in order to minimize the idle time of
the system between changes). To enable achieving
these unique features, the RMS must have special
core characteristics.
RMS Characteristics
The RMS possesses six characteristics (Koren
2006). Three operational characteristics enable
upgrading the system to achieve exactly the
desired capacity and functionality, and guarantee
the required product quality. Three structural char-
acteristics enable achieving the operational char-
acteristics (a) quickly and (b) cost-effectively.
When possessing the six RMS characteristics,
the RMS can deliver rapidly and economically
exactly the capacity and functionality needed,
exactly at the time needed by the market. The
cost-effective, timely response to market demand
is the essence of RMS.
Operational Characteristics
Scalability – the ability to rapidly upgrade
existing production capacity by adding machines
(Wang and Koren 2013), buffers, or gantries, or by
changing the production capacity of
reconfigurable machines within that system (e.g.,
by adding spindles to a machine to increase its
productivity (Spicer et al. 2005).) Deif and
ElMaraghy (2006) addressed capacity scalability
in RMS based on a control approach.
2 Reconfigurable Manufacturing System
Convertibility – the ability to easily transform
the functionality of existing systems, machines,
and controls to suit new production requirements
(Maier-Speredelozzi et al. 2003). At the system
level, conversion require switching machines. At
the machine level, conversion may require, for
example, switching spindles on a milling machine
(e.g., from low-torque high-speed spindle for alu-
minum, to high-torque low-speed spindle for tita-
nium). To achieve rapid conversion, the RMS
must utilize sensing and control methods that
enable quick calibration of the machines after
conversion.
Diagnosibility – the ability to automatically
read the current state of a system in order to detect
and diagnose the root cause of product defects,
and subsequently quickly correct operational
flaws. As production systems are made more
reconfigurable and their layouts are modified
more frequently, it becomes essential to rapidly
tune (or ramp-up) the newly reconfigured system
so that it produces quality parts (Hu 1997).
Reconfigurable inspection machines (RIM) are
embedded in practical RMS to enables product
fault detection (Koren and Katz 2003).
Structural Characteristics
Modularity – the compartmentalization of oper-
ational functions and requirements into quantifi-
able units that can be transacted between alternate
production schemes to achieve the most optimal
arrangement to fit a given set of needs. In RMS,
many components are typically modular (e.g.,
machines, controls, gantries). Modular compo-
nents can be easily added to increase capacity, or
replaced to better suit the functionality needed to
manufacture new products.
Integrability – the ability to integrate modules
rapidly and precisely by a set of mechanical,
informational, and control interfaces that enable
integration and communication. At the system
level, the machines are the modules that are inte-
grated via material transport systems (conveyors
and gantries) to form a reconfigurable system.
Customization – the ability to adapt the cus-
tomized flexibility (not general flexibility) of pro-
duction systems and machines to meet new
requirements within a product family. Product
family means products that have similar geomet-
ric features and shapes, the same level of toler-
ances, and require the same processes. For
example, several types of engine blocks compose
a product family. Customization enables to design
the system flexibility just around a product or a
part family, obtaining thereby customized flexibil-
ity, as opposed to the general flexibility of FMS.
This characteristic allows a reduction in capital
cost (Goyal et al. 2013).
Theory and Application
Background and Need
The surge of globalization in the late 1990s cre-
ated a fierce competition that is causing abrupt
variations in product demand, which makes it
harder for manufacturing enterprises to predict
the future demand for new products (Koren
2010). Prior to the mid-1990s, high-volume man-
ufacturers, such as automakers, enjoyed stable
markets with long product lifetimes, in which
products were manufactured using dedicated
transfer lines. By contrast, manufacturing compa-
nies in the twenty-first century are facing increas-
ingly frequent and unpredictable market changes,
including rapid introduction of new products, and
frequently varying product demand.
Manufacturing systems are designed with a
specific production capacity to fulfill a forecasted
demand. Production capacity means the maxi-
mum volume of output products that a
manufacturing system can produce. The designers
of manufacturing systems face a challenge regard-
ing the capacity for new systems: If a new system
is designed to produce a smaller throughput than
the market will require in the future, a tremendous
financial loss in losing market share will take
place. And if the new manufacturing system is
designed to produce a larger throughput than the
actual market will need in the future, then the
system will be partially idle. Similarly, the shorter
product life cycles in the twenty-first century
bring about similar reasoning regarding the sys-
tem flexibility. Reconfigurable manufacturing
systems were invented to respond to these chal-
lenges (Koren and Ulsoy 2002), and they may be
Reconfigurable Manufacturing System 3

categorized as a class of changeable manufactur- Rapid and cost-effective reconfigurability of

ing systems (Wiendahl et al. 2007). Since 1999, the output of manufacturing systems is an invalu-
modern production systems of high-volume able feature for the management of manufacturing
mechanical parts (such as engine blocks and cyl- enterprises. System design for reconfigurability
inder heads) were built as reconfigurable-flexible allows the enterprise to build a manufacturing
systems (Krygier 2005). The scientific founda- system to supply the current demand, and upgrade
tions, characteristics, and design principles of its throughput in the future, in a cost-effective
RMS are outlined in a seminal CIRP keynote manner, to meet possible higher market demand
paper “Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems” in a timely manner. To possess this capability, the
(Koren et al. 1999), which had an enormous manufacturing system architecture must be
impact on establishing RMS as a new global designed at the outset for future changes to enable
research discipline. supplying exactly the quantities and the type of
products needed by the market.
RMS widespread industrial implementations
Value Creation by RMS
include machining systems (Krygier 2005; Spicer
Traditionally, manufacturing systems are
et al. 2002) and assembly systems (Arai
designed with a specific capacity to fulfill a fore-
et al. 2002; Kong and Ceglarek 2003; Bryan
casted demand. The designers of manufacturing
et al. 2013; Gyulai et al. 2014).
systems face a tough dilemma regarding the
capacity of new manufacturing systems: If the
System Architecture
new system is designed to produce a smaller
A typical reconfigurable manufacturing system
throughput than the market will require in the
consists of several sequential stages, where each
future, a tremendous financial loss in losing mar-
stage contains several identical machines that per-
ket share will take place. And if the new
form exactly the same set of operations. Each part
manufacturing system is designed to produce a
is processed (or inspected) by one machine in each
larger throughput than the actual market will
stage. Any machine may process the part in the
need in the future, then the system will be partially
stage. A sophisticated material transport system
idle, which means a considerable loss in capital
(usually consisting of gantries and conveyors)
investment – purchasing, installing, and
connects the machines to form the system.
maintaining machines that are not operating.
A typical RMS architecture is illustrated in
Therefore, if the investment on the excess capac-
Fig. 1. This architecture is composed of many
ity could be delayed until the capacity is actually
stages (in the auto industry – 5–25 stages) of
needed to supply a steady real demand, the system
multiple parallel CNC machines at each stage
lifetime cost can be significantly reduced.
(usually 3–6), with all machines at a stage
If the enterprise management is convinced at
performing exactly the same sequence of machin-
the outset of the design process of a new produc-
ing tasks. Each stage has a gantry that loads parts
tion system that its throughput upgrading will be
on machines and unloads the machined parts, and
possible in a cost-effective and timely manner in
moves them to the system part-transfer mecha-
the future, it facilitates the managerial decision of
nism (may be a gantry or a conveyor, as shown
building new production plants and new
in Fig. 1). Small buffers (5–10 parts) exist
manufacturing systems. Designing new
between stages. A part that is processed on a
manufacturing systems with a potential of volume
machine in one stage may be transferred to any
scalability is imperative in contributing to the
machine in the next stage. Some researchers refer
profitability of manufacturing enterprises, and sat-
to this feature as a system with crossovers
isfying in a timely manner the society needs for
(Freiheit et al. 2003). Sophisticated selection of
new products. System scalability is therefore a
optimal RMS configurations takes into account
significant system characteristic for both the
machine failures and machine availability
enterprise management and society (Koren 2013).
(Youssef and ElMaraghy 2008). Different
4 Reconfigurable Manufacturing System
Reconfigurable
Manufacturing System,
Fig. 1 The layout of a
typical reconfigurable
manufacturing system
arrangements and configurations of the machines
in the system have a substantial impact on the
RMS productivity (Koren et al. 1998; Koren and
Shpitalni 2010).
The RMS designer should take into account
possible scalability that increases its production
volume to match the system output to future mar-
ket demand. Achieving cost-effective scalability
depends on the original system design layout.
A valuable practical approach to scale up the
capacity of reconfigurable system is adding CNC
machines to existing manufacturing systems.
Figure 1 depicts empty spaces reserved for adding
future machines if capacity scalability will be
needed. These spaces are reserved in strategically
calculated places that depend on the product and
future market forecast (Wang and Koren 2012).
Principles of design for scalability may assist in
allocating spaces for additional machines (Wang
and Koren 2013). The speed of scaling up the
system capacity depends also on the type of the
material handling devices. Each time that
machines are added, the material handling system
must be adapted to serve the new system layout.
The RMS designer should be aware that the esti-
mated product life cycle might have an impact on
the system configuration (Hon and Xu 2007).
One of the most critical issues in operating
efficiently any manufacturing system is the
balancing of its operations. System balancing
means that each station (e.g., machine, assembly
post, etc.) along a production line has almost the
same cycle time, so that the idle time when some
machines complete their tasks quicker than other
machines in the system is minimized. System
balancing enables synchronization of the opera-
tions and is essential in obtaining high throughput
in both assembly and machining systems (Tang
et al. 2004). In most cases, adding machines or
assembly stations after scalability requires
rebalancing of the system operations. System
balancing is usually accomplished by shifting
operations among machines in the system, but it
may be also achieved by scaling the capacity of
individual pieces of equipment (Spicer
et al. 2005).
A futuristic RMS architecture is illustrated in
Fig. 2. In this architecture, a stage may include
either CNC machines or reconfigurable machine
tools (Landers et al. 2001). The inclusion of RMTs
in stages 2 and 4 enhance the system
reconfiguration capability. There are
reconfigurable systems that include inspection
stages, allowing each part to be inspected in real
time (Krygier 2005). The system in Fig. 2 includes
also reconfigurable inspection machines (Koren
and Katz 2003), which facilitate the integration
of the RMS diagnosibility characteristic into the
RMS. The Return System has two tasks: (1) send-
ing back bad parts that failed in the inspection
Reconfigurable Manufacturing System 5

Primary Material Handling System − Gantry or Conveyor

Cell Gantries

Inspection Inspection
Stage Stage
Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5
CNC RMT CNC RMT CNC

Return System − AGV (Autonomous Guide vehicle Conveyor or Gantry

Reconfigurable Manufacturing System, Fig. 2 The layout of a futuristic reconfigurable manufacturing system

stages, and (2) in case of machine failures the Cross-References

return conveyor allows system balancing to
enhance throughput.
RMS, FMS, and Changeable Manufacturing
Reconfigurable manufacturing systems and flexi-
ble manufacturing systems have different goals.
The FMS’s main goal is to enlarge the variety of
parts that can be produced. The RMS aims at
increasing the speed of responsiveness to markets
and customers. The RMS is also flexible, but only
to a limited extent – its flexibility is confined to
only that necessary to produce a part family. This
is the “customized flexibility” or the customiza-
tion characteristic, which is not the general flexi-
bility that FMS offers. The advantages of the
customized flexibility are faster throughput and
higher production rates. Therefore, the process
planning of RMS is more challenging than that
of FMS (Azab and ElMaraghy 2007). Other
important advantages of RMS are rapid scalability
to the desired volume and convertibility, which
are obtained within reasonable cost to manufac-
turers. The best application of a FMS is found in
production of small sets of products. With RMS,
however, production volume may vary from small
to large. Changeable manufacturing systems are
related to RMS. However, changeable
manufacturing is broader than RMS and deals
also with moving whole factories between loca-
tions to adjust production capacity to geographi-
cal regions (Wiendahl et al. 2007).
▶ Changeable Manufacturing
▶ Computer Numerical Control
▶ Factory
▶ Machine Tool
▶ Manufacturing System
▶ Production
▶ Productivity
References
Arai TE, Maeda Y, Kikuchi M, Sugi M (2002) Automated
calibration of robot coordinates for reconfigurable
assembly systems. CIRP Ann 51(1):5–8
Azab A, ElMaraghy HA (2007) Mathematical modeling
for reconfigurable process planning. CIRP Ann
56(1):467–472
Bryan A, Hu SJ, Koren Y (2013) Assembly system
reconfiguration planning. J Manuf Sci Eng
135(4):041005–041013
Deif EM, ElMaraghy HA (2006) A control approach to
explore the dynamics of capacity scalability in
reconfigurable manufacturing systems. J Manuf Syst
25(1):12–24
Freiheit T, Shpitalni M, Hu SJ, Koren Y (2003) Designing
productive manufacturing systems without buffers.
CIRP Ann 52(1):105–108
Goyal KK, Jain PK, Jain M (2013) A comprehensive
approach to operation sequence similarity based part
family formation in the reconfigurable manufacturing
system. Int J Prod Res 51(6):1762–1776
Gyulai D, Kádár B, Koyács A, Monostori L (2014) Capac-
ity management for assembly systems with dedicated
and reconfigurable resources. CIRP Ann
63(1):457–460
6 Reconfigurable Manufacturing System
Hon KKB, Xu S (2007) Impact of product life cycle on
manufacturing system reconfiguration. CIRP Ann
56(1):455–458
Hu SJ (1997) Stream-of-variation theory for automotive
body assembly. CIRP Ann 46(1):1–6
Kong Z, Ceglarek D (2003) Rapid deployment of
reconfigurable assembly fixtures using workspace syn-
thesis and visibility analysis. CIRP Ann 52(1):13–16
Koren Y (2006) General RMS characteristics: comparison
with dedicated and flexible systems. In: Dashchenko
(ed) Reconfigurable manufacturing systems and trans-
formable factories. Springer, Berlin, pp 27–45
Koren Y (2010) The global manufacturing revolution:
product-process-business integration and
reconfigurable systems. Wiley, Hoboken
Koren Y (2013) The rapid responsiveness of RMS. Int
J Prod Res 51(23–24):6817–6827
Koren Y, Katz R (2003) Reconfigurable apparatus and
method for inspection during a manufacturing process.
US Patent 6,567,162, 20 May 2003
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manufacturing systems. J Manuf Syst 29(4):130–141
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tion capacity. US Patent 6,349,237, 19 Feb 2002
Koren Y, Hu SJ, Weber T (1998) Impact of manufacturing
system configuration on performance. CIRP Ann
1:689–698
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Ulsoy G, VanBrussel H (1999) Reconfigurable
manufacturing systems. A keynote paper. CIRP Ann
48(2):6–12
Krygier R (2005) The integration of flexible,
reconfigurable manufacturing with quality. In: Keynote
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manufacturing, 10 May 2005, Ann Arbor
Landers R, Min B-K, Koren Y (2001) Reconfigurable
machine tools. CIRP Ann 50(1):269–274
Maier-Speredelozzi V, Koren Y, Hu SJ (2003) Convertibil-
ity measures for manufacturing systems. CIRP Ann
52(1):367–370
Spicer P, Koren Y, Shpitalni M, Yip-Hoi D (2002) Design
principles for machining system configurations. CIRP
Ann 51(1):275–280
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reconfigurable equipment design principles. Int J Prod
Res 43(22):4839–4852
Tang L, Yip-Hoi D, Wang W, Koren Y (2004) Concurrent
line-balancing, equipment selection and throughput
analysis for multi-part optimal line design. Int
J Manuf Sci Prod 6(1):71–81
Wang W, Koren Y (2012) Scalability planning for
reconfigurable manufacturing systems. J Manuf Syst
31(2):83–91
Wang W, Koren Y (2013) Design principles of scalable
reconfigurable manufacturing systems. Manuf Model
Manag Control 7(1):1411–1416
Wiendahl H-P, ElMaraghy HA, Nyhuis P, Z€ah MF,
Wiendahl H-H, Duffie N, Brieke M (2007) Changeable
manufacturing: classification, design and operation.
CIRP Ann 56(2):783–809
Youssef AMA, ElMaraghy HA (2008) Availability consid-
eration in the optimal selection of multiple-aspect RMS
configurations. Int J Prod Res 46(21):5849–5882
C
Cleaner Production
Joost Duflou and Karel Kellens
Centre for Industrial Management, Department of
Mechanical Engineering, KU Leuven,
Heverlee – Leuven, Belgium
Synonyms
Environmentally benign manufacturing; Green
manufacturing; Sustainable manufacturing
Definition
Cleaner production has been defined by the
United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) (UNEP 2012) as “the continuous appli-
cation of an integrated preventative environmen-
tal strategy to processes, products and services to
increase efficiency and reduce risks to humans
and the environment” (UNEP/DTIE/SCP 1990).
Theory and Application
Functional performance and purchase price have
long been the key selection criteria for the pur-
chase of new machine tools. Today, an evolution
toward environmentally benign manufacturing
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6635-3
can be observed that is stimulated by three drivers:
more stringent regulatory mandates and standards
(e.g., ISO 14955-1 2014; ISO 50001 2011), com-
petitive economic advantage, and proactive green
behavior (Gutowski et al. 2005).
Several complementary techniques and mea-
sures toward cleaner production can be applied,
ranging from low- or even no-cost solutions to
high-investment advanced technologies.
A common classification of cleaner production
strategies has been proposed by UNEP (Fig. 1)
(UNIDO 2012). As described by Duflou
et al. (2012), these strategies can be implemented
at different levels of the manufacturing chain: the
process level, the multi-machine level, the factory
level, the multiple factory level, and the supply
chain level.
1. Good Housekeeping: appropriate provisions
to prevent leaks and spills and to achieve
proper, standardized operation and mainte-
nance procedures and practices
• Examples: Compressed air energy use, sav-
ings, and payback period of energy-efficient
strategies are presented by Saidur
et al. (2010). Local generation seems to be
the best solution for cost consideration as
well as energy efficiency (Yuan et al. 2006).
2. Input Material Change: replacement of haz-
ardous or nonrenewable inputs by less hazard-
ous or renewable materials or by materials with
a longer service lifetime
2 Cleaner Production
Cleaner Production,
Fig. 1 Classification of Product
cleaner production Modification
strategies (UNIDO)
Production of
useful by-Products
On-Site
Recovery/ Reuse
• Examples: Cutting fluids can be avoided or
limited by applying dry machining or min-
imum quantity lubrication (e.g., Weinert
et al. 2004; Aurich et al. 2008). Further-
more, environmentally benign fluids have
been developed for operations which still
require lubricants (Bay et al. 2010).
3. Better Process Control: modification of the
working procedures, machine instructions, and
process record keeping for operating the pro-
cesses at higher efficiency and lower rates of
waste and emission generation
• Examples: Besides environmental optimi-
zation of process parameters (e.g., Mori
et al. 2011), energy and resource efficiency
measures are increasingly implemented in
production planning software (e.g., Weinert
et al. 2011; Herrmann et al. 2011; Thiede
2012).
4. Production Equipment Modification: modi-
fication of the production equipment so as to
run the processes at higher energy and resource
efficiency and lower rates of waste and emis-
sion generation (e.g., Zein 2012; Kellens 2013)
• Examples: Various research initiatives such
as the CO2PE!-Initiative (Kellens
et al. 2012), the Self-Regulatory Initiative
of CECIMO, and the eniPROD cluster of
excellence focus on the documentation and
improvement of the environmental foot-
print of discrete part manufacturing
processes.
Good Input Material
Housekeeping Change
Cleaner Better Process
Production Control
Technology Equipment
Change Modification
5. Technology Change: replacement of the tech-
nology, processing sequence, and/or synthesis
pathway in order to minimize the rates of waste
and emission generation during production
• Example: Solid freeform fabrication (SFF)
techniques such as selective laser melting
(SLM) and sintering (SLS) are often prized
for being much cleaner than conventional
machining processes and being able to fab-
ricate products with minimum waste (e.g.,
Bourell et al. 2009; Chen et al. 2015).
6. On-Site Recovery/Reuse: reuse of waste
materials or energy streams in the same process
or for another useful application within the
company
• Example: Wahl et al. (2011) describe a sys-
tem to produce assist gasses for laser cutting
machine tools using the heat losses of their
own laser cooler system as input for a Stir-
ling engine which drives a compressed air
generator.
7. Production of Useful By-Products: transfor-
mation of previously discarded waste into
materials that can be reused or recycled for
another application outside the company
• Example: Solid state recycling of aluminum
new process scrap (e.g., turning, millings,
etc.) without need for reprocessing in a
foundry via direct hot extrusion (Tekkaya
et al. 2009) or spark plasma sintering pro-
cesses (Paraskevas et al. 2014; Duflou
et al. 2015).
Cleaner Production
8. Product Modification: modification of prod-
uct characteristics in order to minimize the
environmental impacts of the product during
or after its use (disposal) or to minimize the
environmental impacts of its production. This
implies the application of Life Cycle Engineer-
ing (Alting 1995; Hauschild et al. 2005) or
eco-design (Brezet and Van Hemel 1997;
Dewulf 2003; Wimmer et al. 2004)
methodologies.
• Example: A recent industrial eco-design
example is the Philips Econova ECO Smart
LED TV, with a power consumption of just
56 watts in standard mode, which is 60 %
less than conventional LCD TVs. In addi-
tion, it consists of recycled and recyclable
materials and comprises a solar-powered
remote control and a zero power switch.
Recommendations for Further Reading
• Research Initiatives
– CO2PE!-Initiative: http://www.co2pe.org
(date of access: 28.01.2016)
– Self-Regulatory Initiative of CECIMO:
http://www.cecimo.eu/site/publications/mag
azine/cecimo-self-regulatory-initiative/ (date
of access: 28.01.2016)
– eniPROD Cluster of Excellence: http://
www.eniprod.tu-chemnitz.de/index.php.en
(date of access: 28.01.2016)
• Journals
– Journal of Cleaner Production: http://www.
journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-cleaner-pro
duction/ (date of access: 28.01.2016)
– International Journal of Sustainable
Manufacturing: http://www.inderscience.
com/jhome.php?jcode=IJSM Accessed
4 Feb 2016
– Journal of Industrial Ecology: http://
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%
28ISSN%291530-9290; http://www.
mitpressjournals.org/jie (date of access:
28.01.2016)
– Environmental Science & Technology:
http://pubs.acs.org/journal/esthag (date of
access: 28.01.2016)
3
• Books
– Dornfeld D (2013) Green manufacturing:
fundamentals and applications. Springer,
New York. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-6016-
0_1
Cross-References
▶ Energy Efficiency
▶ Environmental Impact
▶ Factory
▶ Life Cycle Engineering
▶ Manufacturing System
▶ Process
▶ Reuse
References
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Ann Manuf Technol 44(2):569–580
Aurich JC, Herzenstiel P, Sudermann H, Magg T (2008)
High-performance dry grinding using a grinding wheel
with a defined grain pattern. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
57(1):357–362
Bay N, Azushima A, Groche P, Ishibashi I, Merklein M,
Morishita M, Nakamura T, Schmid S, Yoshida M
(2010) Environmentally benign tribo-systems for
metal forming. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
59(2):760–780
Bourell D, Leu M, Rosen D (2009) Roadmap for additive
manufacturing: identifying the future of freeform pro-
cessing. University of Texas at Austin, Laboratory for
Freeform Fabrication, Austin
Brezet H, van Hemel C (1997) EcoDesign: a promising
approach to sustainable production and consumption.
UNEP, Paris
Chen D, Heyer S, Ibbotson S, Salonitis K, Steingrimsson
JG, Thiede S (2015) Direct digital manufacturing: def-
inition, evolution, and sustainability implications.
J Cleaner Prod 107:615–625
Dewulf W (2003) A pro-active approach to eco-design:
framework and tools. PhD Dissertation, K.U. Leuven
Duflou JR, Sutherland JW, Dornfeld D, Herrmann C,
Jeswiet J, Kara S, Hauschild M, Kellens K (2012)
Towards energy and resource efficient manufacturing:
a processes and systems approach. CIRP Ann Manuf
Technol 61(2):587–609
Duflou JR, Tekkaya AE, Haase M, Welo T, Vanmeensel K,
Kellens K, Dewulf W, Paraskevas D (2015) Environ-
mental assessment of solid state recycling routes for
aluminium alloys: can solid state processes signifi-
cantly reduce the environmental impact of aluminium
4 Cleaner Production
recycling? CIRP Annals – Manufacturing Technology
64(1):37–40
Gutowski T, Murphy C, Allen D, Bauer D, Bras B,
Piwonka T, Sheng P, Sutherland JW, Thurston D,
Wolff E (2005) Environmentally benign manufactur-
ing: observations from Japan, Europe and the United
States. J Clean Prod 13(1):1–17
Hauschild M, Jeswiet J, Alting L (2005) From life cycle
assessment to sustainable production: status and per-
spectives. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 54(2):1–21
Herrmann C, Thiede S, Kara S, Hesselbach J (2011)
Energy oriented simulation of manufacturing systems:
concept and application. Manuf Technol 60(1):45–48
ISO 14955-1 (2014) Machine tools – environmental eval-
uation of machine tools. Part I: design methodology for
energy efficient machine tools. International Organiza-
tion for Standardization, Geneva
ISO 50001 (2011) Energy management
systems – requirements with guidance for use. Interna-
tional Organization for Standardization, Geneva
Kellens K (2013) Energy and resource efficient
manufacturing – unit process analysis and optimisa-
tion. PhD Dissertation, KU Leuven, ISBN: 978-94-
6018-765-0
Kellens K, Dewulf W, Overcash M, Hauschild M, Duflou
JR (2012) Methodology for systematic analysis and
improvement of manufacturing unit process life cycle
inventory (UPLCI). Part 1: methodology description.
Int J Life Cycle Assess 17(1):69–78
Mori M, Fujishima M, Inamasu Y, Oda Y (2011) A study
on energy efficiency improvement for machine tools.
CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 60(1):145–148
Paraskevas D, Vanmeensel K, Vleugels J, Dewulf W,
Deng Y, Duflou JR (2014) Spark plasma sintering as a
solid-state recycling technique: the case of aluminium
alloy scrap consolidation. Materials 7(8):5664–5687
Saidur R, Rahim NA, Hasanuzzaman M (2010) A review
on compressed-air energy use and energy savings.
Renew Sustain Energy Rev 14(4):1135–1153
Tekkaya E, Schikorra M, Becker D, Biermann D,
Hammer N, Pantke K (2009) Hot profile of AA-6060
aluminium chips. J Mater Process Technol
209(7):3343–3350
Thiede S (2012) Energy efficiency in manufacturing sys-
tems. PhD Dissertation TU Braunschweig, Springer,
Berlin
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
(1990) Division of Technology, Industry, and Econom-
ics (DTIE), Sustainable Consumption & Production
Branch (SCP), themes: resource efficient and cleaner
production. http://www.unep.fr/scp/cp/. Accessed
13 Dec 2012
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) www.
unep.org. Accessed 13 Dec 2012
United Nations Industrial Development Organization
(UNIDO) (2012) Cleaner and sustainable production
unit. http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=o5152.
Accessed 13 Dec 2012
Wahl E, Vincke K, Himmelsbach M (2011) Recovery of
energy from a laser machining system. US patent appli-
cation publication US2011/0024401
Weinert K, Inasaki I, Sutherland J, Wakabayashi T (2004)
Dry machining and minimum quantity lubrication.
CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 53(2):511–537
Weinert N, Chiotellis S, Seliger G (2011) Methodology for
planning and operating energy-efficient production
systems. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 60(1):41–44
Wimmer W, Züst R, Lee K-M (2004) Ecodesign
implementation – a systematic guidance on integrating
environmental considerations into product develop-
ment. Springer, Dordrecht
Yuan C, Zhang T, Rangarajan A, Dornfeld D, Ziemba B,
Whitbeck R (2006) A decision-based analysis of com-
pressed air usage patterns in automotive manufactur-
ing. J Manuf Syst 25(4):293–300
Zein A (2012) Transition towards energy efficient machine
tools. PhD dissertation TU Braunschweig, Springer,
Berlin
C
Changeable Manufacturing
Hoda ElMaraghy1 and Hans-Peter Wiendahl2
1
Intelligent Manufacturing Systems Center,
University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada
2
Institut f€
ur Fabrikanlagen und Logistik,
University of Hannover, Hannover, Germany
Synonyms
Adaptable manufacturing/production; Adjustable
manufacturing/production
Definition
Changeable manufacturing is defined as the ability
of a manufacturing system to economically accom-
plish early and foresighted adjustments of the
factory’s structures and processes on all levels in
response to change impulses. It is closely related to
“flexible” and “reconfigurable” manufacturing
which apply to the manufacturing equipment and
systems on the shop floor respectively – the differ-
ence being the level, degree, and scope of change.
Theory and Application
History
In the past, a steady production volume increase is
observed after releasing a new product and
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6674-3
followed by long stable production phases and
finally a slow ramp down. Nowadays, production
volume climbs much faster to the first peak then
drops; it reaches a second peak after promotion
activities and often a product face lift in subse-
quent releases.
Furthermore, the product life cycle was usually
within the range of the life cycle of the technolog-
ical processes and production machines. With
decreasing market life of the products and fast
changing technologies, the equipment is now
expected to produce more than one product gen-
eration. The factory buildings have to be adapt-
able to these product changes and the plant site
must also follow new requirements regarding
logistics and lean supply chains, etc.
In addition, increasing outsourcing, manufactur-
ing at different sites, and the multi-cooperation in
networks increase the complexity of the production
processes particularly as the operation of global
supply becomes reality for more and more
manufacturing companies. The reliable delivery of
customized products nowadays has the highest pri-
ority in globally distributed markets.
Therefore, the ability of production processes,
resources, structures, and layouts as well as their
logistical and organizational concepts to adapt
quickly and with minimum effort is a prerequisite
for success in local and global production net-
works. This “ability” is necessary to cope with
the continuous change and the turbulence sur-
rounding production companies and is described
as “changeability.”
2 Changeable Manufacturing
Changeable
Manufacturing,
Fig. 1 Factors affecting the
change objects
Theory
Objects of Changeability
It is important to define the objects, which have
to be changeable and the appropriate degree
of changeability. Figure 1 summarizes the main
influential factors (see also, ElMaraghy 2005;
Dashchenko 2006).
The impulse for a change is triggered by
change drivers, whose first category is the
demand volatility measured by volume fluctua-
tion over time. Variety is the span width of the
product variants. A major change driver is intro-
ducing a new business strategy such as the deci-
sion to enter a new market, to sell or buy a product
line, or to start a turnaround program.
The change focus can be external or internal.
The external focus targets the added customer’s
value for instance by offering a product with
lower life cycle cost or faster delivery. The inter-
nal focus is typically addressed if the performance
of the firm is not satisfactory mainly with respect
to profit loss caused by badly organized business
processes.
A change strategy should be devised on the
operational, tactical, and/or strategic levels as
appropriate. Operational change strategies are
more defensive in nature to target immediate
needs. They are typically performed within
existing production structures and procedures
such as installing or replacing machinery. Tactical
change strategies are aimed to fulfill needs in the
foreseeable future. These change strategies are
more proactive and occur typically in business
processes such as order fulfillment or service.
Strategic change strategies involve investments
in changeability enablers to be prepared for a
future optional position.
Obviously the selected change potential deter-
mines very much the change extent. First, the
level of the factory on which the changeability
has to be ensured must be determined. The levels
are station, cell/segment, sector, factory, and net-
work (s. Sect. C). Secondly, the expected change
frequency and the time allowed for each change
has to be estimated. Thirdly, the necessary effort
in equipment, manpower, knowledge, and time
are determined as the cost of a change. Typically
changeability beyond the immediate necessity
requires additional investment. Therefore, there
is always a trade-off between the effort and cost
of achieving the desired level of changeability and
the expected benefits.
The change object(s) can be a product or prod-
uct family both of which can change with respect
to type, volume or mix, technological or logistical
processes, the part of the manufacturing facilities,
or the firm organization to be affected.
Finally a performance measurement system has
to be installed in order to measure the impact of the
implemented changeability on the factory output
performance. Typical performance indicators are
Changeable Manufacturing
Changeable
Manufacturing,
Fig. 2 Classes of factory
changeability
delivery time, due date performance, turnaround
rate, inventory, days of supply, and overhead cost.
Changeability Classes
If the five levels of a factory are combined with the
associated product levels, a hierarchy emerges
that allows the definition of five types of change-
ability (Wiendahl and Hernández 2001;
ElMaraghy 2009a, Chapter 2) as shown in Fig. 3.
The hierarchy of product levels starts from the
top with the product portfolio a company offers to
the market. Then the product or a product family
follows downwards. The product is usually struc-
tured into subproducts or assembly groups that
contain workpieces. The workpieces themselves
consist of features.
The hierarchy of a factory starts with a station,
which is performing a manufacturing task with the
result of one or more features of a workpiece. One
or more stations form a cell or manufacturing
system to produce complete workpieces. On the
next level not only machines and workplaces but
also storage and transportation devices are
arranged in a layout to form a section. Sectors
produce subproducts like assemblies or subas-
semblies, which fulfill subfunctions of a product.
The site (or factory) delivers whole products and
includes not only the manufacturing and assembly
equipment but also the buildings with their tech-
nical infrastructure. At the highest level the
3
production network supplies a product portfolio
from different locations to various markets.
Five classes of changeability evolve from this
matrix where any changeability type at a higher
level subsumes those below it (Wiendahl and
Heger 2004) (Fig. 2).
• Changeover ability is the operative ability of a
single machine or work station to perform par-
ticular operations on a known workpiece or
subassembly at any desired time with minimal
effort and delay.
• Reconfigurability is the operative ability of a
manufacturing or assembly system to switch
with minimal effort and delay to a particular
family of workpieces or subassemblies through
the addition or removal of functional elements.
• Flexibility refers to the tactical ability of an
entire production and logistics area to switch
within reasonably little time and effort to new,
albeit similar, families of components by
changing manufacturing processes, material
flows, and logistical functions.
• Transformability indicates the tactical ability
of an entire factory structure to switch to
another product family. This calls for structural
intervention in the production and logistics
systems, the structure and facilities of the
buildings, the organization structure and pro-
cess, as well as in personnel.
4 Changeable Manufacturing
Changeable
Manufacturing,
Fig. 3 Scope of
changeable manufacturing
• Agility means the strategic ability of an entire
company to open up new markets, to develop
the requisite products and services, and to build
up necessary manufacturing capacity.
In the context of this definition, the changeover
ability needs no special attention for changeable
manufacturing since this aspect is an ongoing
concern of machine tool and assembly systems
design. Agility is beyond the factory level and is
treated as a strategic setting for the design of a
changeable factory. Different types of flexibility
have been defined and are relevant to the various
levels in the changeability in Fig. 2 (ElMaraghy
2005; Chryssolouris 2006).
Scope of Changeable Manufacturing
Changeability serves as an umbrella concept
applicable to all levels of manufacturing
(Wiendahl et al. 2007). Figure 3 depicts the con-
stituents of such a changeable manufacturing and
their specific properties. Product design may be
influenced by the requirements of the physical and
logical manufacturing changeability level.
On the physical level, the manufacturing and
assembly systems have to be reconfigurable
(RMS and RAS), and the factory with its technical
infrastructure including building should be trans-
formable (TRF). The logical level is necessary to
operate a factory and calls for process planning
systems able to react to changes in the product
design or manufacturing resources from the phys-
ical level and is therefore called reconfigurable
process planning (RPP) (ElMaraghy 2007). The
production planning and control has to react to
changes in product volume, mix or reconfigured
process plans. Therefore, it is called adaptive pro-
duction planning and control (APC). A specific
additional component is a control loop to monitor
external or internal change drivers and to trigger
change activities either on the physical or the
logical level. Finally an evaluation procedure is
necessary to justify additional expenses due to the
changeability of the physical and logical objects.
Physical Changeability Enablers
A factory that is designed to be changeable must
have certain inherent features or properties called
changeability enablers. They enable the physical
and logical objects of a factory to change their
capability towards a predefined objective within a
predefined time and are not to be confused with the
flexibility types or its objectives. Figure 4 provides
an overview of the enablers of the physical and
logical subsystems of changeable manufacturing.
Manufacturing Level
On this level reconfigurable manufacturing sys-
tems are assumed to be the appropriate answer to
Changeable Manufacturing
Changeable Manufacturing, Fig. 4 Enablers of changeable manufacturing
changeability. Koren states that in order to achieve
exact flexibility in response to fluctuation in
demands, an RMS must be designed considering
certain qualitative and quantitative properties, the
so-called key RMS characteristics: modularity,
integrability, customization, scalability, convert-
ibility, and diagnosability (Koren 2005;
ElMaraghy 2007). They can be interpreted as
enablers of reconfigurability. These characteris-
tics can be divided into essential and supporting
RMS characteristics. Therefore, customization,
scalability, and convertibility are seen as essential
RMS characteristics, while modularity, integrabil-
ity, and diagnosability constitute supporting RMS
characteristics.
Assembly Level
On the assembly level mainly the same enablers for
reconfigurable manufacturing systems are applica-
ble. Two specific enablers should be added. The
first is mobility, which is important to reconfigure
single stations or modules of an assembly system
or even to move these modules or the whole system
to another location. The second is the ability to
5
upgrade or downgrade the degree of automation.
For assembly operations, in contrast to machining
operations, assembly can be performed manually,
automatically, or in a hybrid combination
depending on various factors like production rate
and wages level. Hence, automatability allows for
adapting the ratio of manual and automated work
content in an assembly system.
Factory Level
On the factory level the change of objects itself
can mainly take place through five transformation
enablers which contribute to the fulfillment of a
transformation process. Furthermore, the enablers
characterize the potential of the ability to trans-
form and become active only when needed. The
characteristics of an enabler influence positively
or negatively the ability of a factory to adapt.
Figure 5 illustrates the main five enablers that
may be used for purposes of attaining changeabil-
ity by design.
Universality represents the characteristic of fac-
tory objects to be dimensioned and designed
6 Changeable Manufacturing
Changeable Manufacturing, Fig. 5 Enablers of factory
changeability
to be capable of carrying out diverse tasks,
demands, purposes, and functions. This enabler
stipulates an over-dimensioning of objects to
guarantee independence of function and use.
Scalability provides technical, spatial, and person-
nel extensibility. In particular this enabler pro-
vides for spatial degrees of freedom, regarding
expansion, growth, and shrinkage of the fac-
tory layout.
Modularity follows the idea of standardized,
pretested units and elements with standardized
interfaces and also concerns the technical facil-
ities of the factory (e.g., buildings, production
facilities, and information systems) as well as
the organizational structures (e.g., segments or
function units). Modules are autonomously
working units or elements that ensure a high
interchangeability with little cost or effort (i.e.,
plug and produce modules).
Mobility ensures the unimpeded mobility of
objects in a factory. It abolishes the classical
division between immobile and mobile objects
and covers all production and auxiliary facili-
ties including buildings and building elements,
which can be placed, as required, in different
locations with the least effort.
Compatibility allows various interactions within
and outside the factory. It especially concerns
all kinds of supply systems for production
facilities, materials, and media. It also facili-
tates diverse materials, information, and per-
sonal relationships. Besides the ability to
detach and to integrate facilitates, this enabler
allows incorporating or disconnecting prod-
ucts, product groups and workpieces, compo-
nents, manufacturing processes, or production
facilities in existing production structures and
processes with little effort, by using uniform
interfaces.
Logical Changeability Enablers
Process Planning Level
As shown in Fig. 4, there are certain key logical
enablers for achieving and supporting changeabil-
ity including (1) reconfigurable process plans and
(2) reconfigurable production plans and commen-
surate techniques for their efficient regeneration
when needed. Enablers of reconfigurable process
plans are:
Cognitivability: the ability to recognize the need
for and initiate reconfiguration when prerequi-
site conditions exist.
Evolvability: the ability to utilize the multidir-
ectional relationships and associations
between the product features, process plan ele-
ments, and all manufacturing system modules
capable of producing them.
Adjustability: the ability and representation char-
acteristics that allow implementing optimally
determined feasible and economical alterations
in process plans to reflect the needed
reconfiguration.
Granularity: the ability to model process plans at
varying levels of detail to readily and appro-
priately respond to changes at different levels
(e.g., in products, processes, technologies, and
systems).
Automation ability: the availability of complete
knowledge bases and rules for process plan-
ning reconfiguration, accurate mathematical
models of the various manufacturing process
at macro- and microlevels, as well as meta-
knowledge rules for using this knowledge.
Changeable Manufacturing
Production Planning and Control Level
There are five enablers of PPC changeability
(Fig. 4):
Modularity: workable functions and methods or
clearly defined objects, e.g., “plug and pro-
duce” modules, exist.
Scalability: applicability is independent of prod-
uct, process, and customer and supplier rela-
tionship complexity.
Adjustability: design for different demands of the
functional logic of order processing, e.g., order
generation or release algorithm, and/or weight
of the PPC targets.
Compatibility: networkability regarding object,
method, and process, e.g., different IT tools
use the same object “resource” to plan mainte-
nance and production.
Neutrality: design of the workflow of order
processing for different requirements making
the definition of the process status independent
of the structural and process organization and
the enterprise size.
With these basic definitions the implementa-
tion of changeability on the various levels of a
factory can be started. Implementation examples
can be found in Wiendahl et al. (2007) and
ElMaraghy (2009b).
Cross-References
▶ Factory
▶ Flexible Manufacturing System
▶ Machine Tool
▶ Manufacturing
▶ Manufacturing System
▶ Production
▶ System
7
References
Chryssolouris G (2006) Manufacturing systems: theory
and practice, 2nd edn. Springer, New York
Dashchenko O (2006) Analysis of modern factory struc-
tures and their transformability. In: Dashchenko AI
(ed) Reconfigurable manufacturing systems and trans-
formable factories. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg,
pp 395–422
ElMaraghy HA (2005) Flexible and reconfigurable
manufacturing systems paradigms. Int J Flex Manuf
Syst 17(4):261–276 (Special issue: Reconfigurable
manufacturing systems)
ElMaraghy HA (2007) Reconfigurable process plans for
responsive manufacturing systems. In: Cunha PF,
Maropoulos PG (eds) Digital enterprise technology:
perspectives & future challenges. Springer Science,
Berlin, pp 35–44
ElMaraghy H (2009) Chapter 2: Changing and evolving
products and systems – models and enablers. In:
ElMaraghy HA (ed) Changeable and reconfigurable
manufacturing systems. Springer, London, pp 25–45
ElMaraghy HA (ed & contributor) (2009b) Changeable
and reconfigurable manufacturing systems. Springer,
London
ElMaraghy HA, Wiendahl H-P (2009) Chapter 1:
Changeability-an introduction. In: ElMaraghy HA
(ed) Changeable and reconfigurable manufacturing
systems. Springer, London, pp 3–23
Koren Y (2005) Reconfigurable manufacturing and
beyond (Keynote paper). In: Proceedings of the CIRP
3rd international conference on reconfigurable
manufacturing, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 11–12 May
2005, pp 1–6
Wiendahl H-P, Heger CL (2004) Changeability of
factories – a prerequisite for global competitiveness.
In: 37th CIRP international seminar on manufacturing
systems, Budapest, 19–21 May 2004
Wiendahl H-P, Hernández R (2001) The transformable
factory – strategies, methods and examples. In: 1st
international conference on agile, reconfigurable
manufacturing, Ann Arbor, 20–21 May 2001
Wiendahl H-P, ElMaraghy HA, Nyhuis P, Z€ah MF,
Wiendahl H-H, Duffie N, Brieke M (2007) Changeable
manufacturing – classification, design and operation.
Keynote paper. Ann CIRP 56(2):783–809
Wiendahl H-P, Reichardt J, Nyhuis P (2009) Handbuch
Fabrikplanung: Konzept, Gestaltung und Umsetzung
wandlungsf€ahiger Produktionsst€atten [Handbook fac-
tory planning: concept, design and realization of
changeable production sites] Hanser M€ unchen
(in German)
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# CIRP 2014

Computer-Integrated Manufacturing
Gisela Lanza* and Steven Peters
Institute of Production Science (wbk), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany

Synonyms
CIM; Computer-aided industry

Definition
Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) is an approach to integrate production-related informa-
tion and control entire production processes, automated lines, plants, and networks by using
computers and a common database (please compare: Abramovici and Schulte 2004; Kalpakjian
and Schmid 2006; Laplante 2005). Moreover, managerial philosophies improve organizational and
personnel efficiency (Alavudeen and Venkateshwaran 2008).

Theory and Application

Introduction
Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) coexists of two components. Both hard- and software
components of computer systems are considered to be indispensable for the enhancement of
manufacturing (Kabitzsch et al. 2001). Thereby, each individual island of automation uses the full
capabilities of digital computers while computer-integrated manufacturing comprises the integration
and consolidation of these island solutions (Alavudeen and Venkateshwaran 2008). Besides their
overarching integration through software applications and the support of a common database,
islands of automation also adopt hard- and software components themselves (Andersin 1993).
The main methodologies of the CIM approach are computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-
aided manufacturing (CAM), which are essential to reduce throughput times in the organization.
Other considerable components of the CIM are computer-aided process planning (CAPP), computer
numerical control machine tools (CNC), direct numerical control machine tools (DNC), flexible
machining systems (FMS), computer-aided testing (CAT), automated storage and retrieval systems
(ASRS), and automated guided vehicles (AGV). CAD and CAM are often considered to be one
CAD/CAM integrating tool between design and manufacturing (Madsen et al. 2002).

History
Approached by the US Air Force, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is credited with
pioneering the development of both CAD and CAM (Radhakrishnan and Subramanyan 2007).
However, the computer technology in the late 1940s and 1950s could not meet the requirements of
sophisticated control systems, drives, and programming techniques. Over the next decades, major
innovations in the computer industry evolved. In 1952, the MIT developed the numerical control

*Email: gisela.lanza@kit.edu

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# CIRP 2014

(NC) (Reintjes 1991). By the mid-1960s, mainframe computers were used to operate these numer-
ical control machines which were then called DNC (Reilly 2003). Subsequently, computer technol-
ogy progressed and numerical control became soft wired. This then led to the development of CNC
in the late 1960s.
Although the precise terminology was only introduced 8 years later, the concept of computer-
integrated manufacturing was first introduced by Joseph Harrington in 1973. Harrington empha-
sized the importance of information integration in the fields of production. Furthermore, Harrington
identified potential synergies between the so-called island solutions (CAD/CAM, DNC, CNC),
which were applied individually without any kind of integration through computer control or digital
information. By tying these “pieces of puzzles” (Harrington 1973) together, Harrington’s goal was to
utilize potential synergies as effectively and efficiently as possible. In the early 1980s, the idea of
computer-integrated manufacturing was promoted by several machine tool manufacturers and the
“Computer and Automated Systems Association” (CASA) of the “Society of Manufacturing
Engineers” (SME) of the United States of America (http://202.114.32.200:8080/courseware/
208405/20840511/context/Text/EC14_3.htm). At that time, the same association, the CASA/
SME, also developed the so-called CIM wheel. Referring to the approach of computer-integrated
manufacturing, the CIM wheel attempts to provide a holistic view of the company based on an
integrated system architecture with a common database and information resource management and
communication (Alavudeen and Venkateshwaran 2008). With the overall goal of a continuous
computer-aided information processing based on a cross-functional database (Abramovici and
Schulte 2004), corporate functions such as factory automation or production planning were included
in the integrated system architecture of the CIM wheel. Today, the manufacturing enterprise wheel,
which developed from the CIM wheel, also includes administrative tasks such as operational
management, human resources, or finance (Alavudeen and Venkateshwaran 2008).

CIM Today
Modern computer-integrated manufacturing not only comprises the islands of automation but
basically involves the integration of all activities of an organization (Alavudeen and
Venkateshwaran 2008). To obtain the full potential of computer integration, all elements of
manufacturing and all associated corporate support functions have to be integrated, permitting the
data transfer throughout the enterprise (Radhakrishnan and Subramanyan 2007; Gausemeier
et al. 2009, compare Fig. 1).
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems support the processing of orders and all related
business operation (Gausemeier 2008). ERP systems are used to effectively plan and control all
resources needed for the procurement, manufacturing, and the distribution of customer orders (Greef
and Ghoshal 2004). Therefore, these software systems comprise all needed functions for purchasing,
logistics, invoicing, and billing activities. They also include production planning and control (PPC)
systems as well as automated order entry modules (Glenn 2008). Sometimes all divisions of a
company are linked to an ERP system (Alavudeen and Venkateshwaran 2008). Software solutions
are also used for analysis, simulation, and communication (Radhakrishnan and Subramanyan 2007).
Intranet applications, for example, support internal communication, improve knowledge transfer
throughout the organization, and thereby improve quality and avoid inefficient loops.
Solutions like computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing support an integrated
design phase of new products, and product life cycle management enables a holistic perspective on
data management during whole life cycles of products.
Hardware solutions in the context of CIM comprise CNC machines, automated conveyance,
DNC/FMS systems, robotics, storage devices, sensors, inspection machines, condition monitoring,

Page 2 of 4
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# CIRP 2014

Marketing
Service
Production Planning Sales Production
oriented,
technical
Development (CAE)/ Purchase information
Construction (CAD)
flow

Preparatory Work
Job
Quality Manufacturing Preparation
oriented,
As- Work Scheduling Work Control optional
surance Manufacturing Planning Production Planning & information
(CAQ) (CAP) Control (PPC) flow

Manufacturing Control

Feedstock Stock Maintenance

Pre-products
Parts Pro-
Assembly Dispatch Products
Purchased Parts Check ductions
Field
Transport

Manufacturing

Fig. 1 Overview of CIM components and workflow (Gausemeier et al. 2009)

computerized work centers, CAD/CAM modules, bar code readers, etc. (compare Radhakrishnan
and Subramanyan 2007). Manufacturing-related functions are required to be changeable in order to
react on a volatile environment. To ensure this goal, research has to be done on decentralized
approaches as well as optimization, simulation, and scheduling activities. In recent future, a new
dimension of CIM could be enabled by fast Internet connections available at any time all
over the world and the so-called cyber-physical systems (http://www.acatech.de/fileadmin/user_
upload/Baumstruktur_nach_Website/Acatech/root/de/Material_fuer_Sonderseiten/Industrie_4.0/
Final_report__Industrie_4.0_accessible.pdf). CPS have the potential to enable a highly productive
and flexible “smart factory” with socio-technical interaction and communication.

Cross-References
▶ Changeable Manufacturing
▶ Computer Numerical Control
▶ Computer-Aided Design
▶ Computer-Aided Manufacturing
▶ Computer-Aided Process Planning
▶ ERP Enterprise Resource Planning
▶ Flexible Manufacturing System
▶ Optimization in Manufacturing
▶ Production Planning
▶ Scheduling
▶ Simulation of Manufacturing Systems

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CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6676-5
# CIRP 2014

References
Abramovici M, Schulte S (2004) PLM, logische fortsetzung der PDM-ans€atze oder neuauflage des
CIM-debakels? [Is PLM a logical consequence of PDM-approaches or a remake of the
CIM-debacle?] In: VDI-Berichte 1819, I2P 2004 (Tagungsband) – Integrierte Informationsver-
arbeitung in der Produktentstehung, Stuttgart, 12–13 Oct 2004 (in German)
Alavudeen A, Venkateshwaran N (2008) Computer integrated manufacturing. Prentice Hall, Engle-
wood Cliffs
Andersin H (1993) The development of modern manufacturing automation. In: Pau L-F, Paul L,
Willums J-O (eds) Manufacturing automation at the crossroads: standardization in CIM software.
Ios Press, Amsterdam, pp 19–32 (Chap 3)
Gausemeier J (2008) Computer integrated manufacturing, Enzyklop€adie der Wirtschaftsinformatik
[Encyclopedia of business informatics]. http://www.enzyklopaedie-der-wirtschaftsinformatik.de/
(in German)
Gausemeier J, Plass C, Wenzelmann C (2009) Zukunftsorientierte Unternehmensgestaltung:
Strategien, Gesch€aftsprozesse und IT-systeme f€ ur die Produktion von morgen [Future-oriented
shaping of enterprises: strategies, business processes and IT systems for tomorrow’s production].
Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich, in German
Glenn G (2008) Enterprise resource planning 100 success stories: 100 most asked questions–the
missing ERP software, systems, solutions, applications and implementations guide. Lighting
Source UK, London
Greef G, Ghoshal R (2004) Practical E-manufacturing and supply chain management. Elsevier,
Amsterdam
Harrington J (1973) Computer integrated manufacturing. RE Krieger, Malabar
Kabitzsch K, Kotte G, Vasyutynskyy V (2001) Classification method for fault diagnosis in
networked CIM systems. In: 10th IFAC symposium on information control problems in
manufacturing INCOM 2001, Vienna, Sep 2001
Kalpakjian S, Schmid S (2006) Manufacturing engineering and technology, 5th edn. Prentice Hall,
Englewood Cliffs
Laplante P (2005) Comprehensive dictionary of electrical engineering, 2nd edn. CRC Press, Boca
Raton
Madsen DA, Folkestad J, Schertz KA, Shumaker TM, Stark C, Turpin JL (2002) Engineering
drawing and design, 3rd edn. Delmar-Thomson Learning, Albany
Radhakrishnan P, Subramanyan S (2007) CAD/CAM/CIM, 3rd edn. New Age International, New
Delhi
Reilly ED (ed) (2003) Concise encyclopedia of computer science. Wiley, Hoboken
Reintjes JF (1991) Numerical control: making a new technology. Oxford University Press, New
York

Page 4 of 4
R
Residual Stress (Forming)
Jun Yanagimoto
Institute of Industrial Science, The University of
Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Definition
Residual stress is the stress field inside a material
that has been subjected to permanent deformation
beyond its limit of plasticity or remaining elastic
stresses in a workpiece, e.g., due to nonuniform
plastic deformation and/or significant tempera-
ture gradients.
Theory and Application
Introduction
If the plastic deformation is uniaxial, such as that
induced in a tensile test, and the material is iso-
tropic without the initial stress field, the stress of a
permanently strained material can recover to its
initial state without residual stress. The
stress–strain curve in Fig. 1 explains elastic
recovery in such a case. The material after uniax-
ial tensile deformation can fully recover after
unloading the imposed external force, because
its stress is uniform without a gradient, and it
can deform freely in the opposite direction to
that of loading. However, in general, every
point in a material after loading or forming has
# CIRP 2015
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.),
CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6678-3
a stress gradient and cannot deform freely during
unloading to recover the stress field. Thus, the
stress at every point in a material causes some of
the stress before unloading or the stress state
during forming to remain. This is the cause of
residual stress, and it is closely related to elastic
recovery. Residual stress is affected by the ease
or difficulty of elastic deformation during
unloading or elastic recovery; therefore, the
residual stress at every point in a material is
affected by the surrounding points, which limit
deformation during unloading, while perfect
elastic recovery without any constraints on
deformation during unloading will result in zero
residual stress. In summary, the amount of resid-
ual stress depends on the magnitude of the final
stress and also on various factors influencing the
constraints on deformation during unloading
such as the stiffness of the material.
Description of Residual Stress
A material undergoing forming can be modeled
as a deforming body under external force T with
boundary Sf and constrained displacement U with
boundary Su, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The stress s
at every point in a deforming body should obey
the following equilibrium equation or momentum
equation:
a ¼ r1 div sðrÞ; (1)
where a is acceleration, r is a position vector, and
2 Residual Stress (Forming)

Residual Stress (4) After unloading

(Forming), Fig. 1 Perfect
elastic recovery after
unloading a tensile force

Stress

)
s modulus
(3) End of loading

ng Young’
(2) Elastic deformation Plastic limit

(Slope givi
σy

Strain
0
(1) Initial state (Permanent strain)

Residual Stress (Forming), Fig. 2 Stress field after unloading

Residual Stress (Forming)
Residual Stress (Forming), Fig. 3 Examples of residual stress
r is density. Generally, acceleration is negligibly
small compared with the divergence of stress in
forming; thus, momentum Eq. 1 yields the static
equilibrium condition given by Eq. 2:
divsðrÞ ¼ 0: (2)
If the material has not been strained beyond the
limit of plasticity, the stress field of the material
recovers to the initial state when the external
force and boundary displacement are removed.
In contrast, if the material has been strained per-
manently beyond the limit of plasticity, the stress
field of the material cannot recover to the initial
state but transits to a third state, as illustrated in
Fig. 2c, owing to the constraints on deformation
during unloading. In this state, the stress field
differs from that during loading, but the static
equilibrium condition expressed by Eq. 2 is also
satisfied at every point inside the material. The
macroscopic deformation that occurs during
unloading is the springback. The deformation
during unloading is mainly the elastic
3
deformation, but plastic deformation may take
place in some cases.
If a part or several parts in a body have been
strained permanently beyond the limit of plastic-
ity and the external forces and moments are
removed, the material in the overstrained region
and around it will, in general, be subjected to
inherent stresses which are then called residual
stresses (Nadai 1963). This description is exact
from the macroscopic viewpoint; however, from
the microscopic viewpoint, the residual stress in
each grain may be different, even in a tensile test
that induces perfectly uniform deformation from
a macroscopic viewpoint as shown in Fig. 1. In
such a case, residual stress can be understood as a
stress mainly due to the different state of stress
existing in the variously oriented crystals before
unloading (Johnson and Mellor 1962).
Examples of Residual Stress
The thickness distribution of residual stress after
shot peening is schematically illustrated in
Fig. 3a. Although the mechanism of the develop-
ment of residual stress during shot peening has
4 Residual Stress (Forming)
not been consistently clarified, it is regarded that,
although residual stress at the bottom of the crater
or at its edge area after an indentation of a sphere
is tensile, numerous impacts by hard spheres
cause compressive residual stress in the surface
region, which delays the initiation of cracks at the
surface of a product upon cyclic loading during
use (Yoshizaki 2009). The plastic deformation
zone in shot peening is limited to a thin layer at
the surface, and this layer is strongly constrained
by the much larger nondeforming region adjacent
to the surface layer. Thus, the compressive resid-
ual stress has a limited effect on changing the
geometry during unloading. In the case of a thin-
ner material, it will be plastically deformed out of
plane by numerous shots which result in the geo-
metrical change of sheet. Also, the effect of com-
pressive stress induced by the impact of
numerous shots has a greater influence on chang-
ing the geometry during unloading. The decrease
in compressive stress during unloading, which is
equivalent to a positive stress increment Ds,
results in a positive strain increment. Thus, the
expansion of the surface induced by the increase
in strain in unloading results in the curling of a
thin body, as shown in Fig. 3b. Above deforma-
tion during loading and unloading is the funda-
mental principle of the change in geometry
during the hammering of a sheet, incremental
forming, and shot peen forming (Kopp and
Schulz 2002).
For comparison, the thickness distribution of
residual stress in the cutting direction after
orthogonal cutting is schematically illustrated in
Fig. 3c. The stress immediately after orthogonal
cutting is positive when the rake is positive and is
reallocated in a complex distribution in the thick-
ness direction during unloading (Shirakashi
et al. 1993). The stress increment during
unloading is negative, meaning that compressive
strain increases in the cutting direction. Thus, if
the material is thin and the bending stiffness is
small, the curling of the material takes place, as
shown in Fig. 3c, which is the opposite direction
to that in the case of hammering a sheet.
References
Johnson W, Mellor W (1962) Plasticity for mechanical
engineers. D van Nostrand, London
Kopp R, Schulz J (2002) Flexible sheet forming technol-
ogy by double-sided simultaneous shot peen forming.
Ann CIRP 51(1):195–198
Nadai AH (1963) Theory of flow and fracture of solids,
vol 2, 2nd edn. McGraw-Hill, New York
Shirakashi T, Obikawa T, Sasahara H, Wada T (1993) The
analytical prediction of the characteristics within
machined surface layer: the analysis of the residual
stress distribution within machined surface layer with
FEM simulation. J Jpn Soc Precis Eng
59(10):1695–1700 (in Japanese)
Yoshizaki M (2009) Residual stress distribution produced
by double peening using conventional shot peening
and fine particle bombarding and its effect on tooth
bending strength of carburized gears. J Jpn Soc Mech
Eng C75(756):2191–2199 (in Japanese)
A
Anisotropy
Alexander Brosius1 and Dorel Banabic2
1
Institute of Manufacturing Science and
Engineering, TU Dresden, Chair of Forming and
Machining Technology, Dresden, Germany
2
CERTETA-Research Center in Sheet Metal
Forming, Technical University of Cluj Napoca,
Romania, Cluj Napoca, Romania
Synonyms
Orthotropy
Definition
As the opposite of isotropy, the term anisotropy
defines the dependency between the material
response for a defined loading level and the load-
ing direction.
Theory and Application
Introduction
One can distinguish between a “general” aniso-
tropic and an orthotropic material behavior. In
sheet metal forming, one can usually assume
orthotropic behavior in the elastic-plastic behav-
ior due to the production process of the semifin-
ished part by means of rolling. For bulk metal
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6679-3
forming, the anisotropic behavior comes more
and more into picture and is also limited to the
orthotropic type. The elastic region is assumed as
isotropic usually because the influence on the
forming process itself is negligible. Because
anisotropic behavior plays a very important role
in sheet metal forming, in the following, only this
type of semifinished products and the related
application in theory and application will be
mentioned.
As mentioned before, anisotropic behavior in
sheets is an orthotropic system, sometimes also
called as “orthorhombic” symmetrical system.
That means along the symmetry planes, equality
between left and right is taken place (Lange
1990).
In general, an orthotropic material can be iden-
tified by the attribute of uncoupling between nor-
mal and shear components – the coupling
coefficients of C (e.g., C 14) in the following
equation are equal to zero:
s¼Ce (1)
To describe this kind of anisotropic material
behavior precisely, the yield surface is needed.
For quite simple but well-known and established
yield surfaces, the so-called r-values are used to
describe this behavior. The r-value (normal
anisotropy) is defined by the ratio of width to
thickness strain (measured as true strains). The
index indicates the angle between drawing and
2 Anisotropy

rolling direction of the material. Usually, the For the case of an isotropic metallic material,
r-values are determined in 0 , 45 , and 90 . the well-known von Mises yield criterion is often
The mean normal anisotropy is defined as sufficient to describe yielding. This is, however,
not true for anisotropic materials, especially alu-
1 minum sheet metals. In order to take into account
r ¼ ðr 0 þ 2r 45 þ r 90 Þ (2)
4 anisotropy, the classical yield criterion proposed
by von Mises should be modified by introducing
and can be used to evaluate the formability in deep additional parameters. A simple approximation
drawing. The next defined indicator is the planar for the case of planar anisotropy is given by the
anisotropy Dr as quadratic criterion of (Hill 1948):

Dr ¼ ðr  r 45 Þ (3) 2r 0 r 0 ð1 þ r 90 Þ 2
s21  s1 s2 þ s ¼ s20 (5)
1 þ r0 r 90 ð1 þ r 0 Þ 2
regarding the tendency to earing during deep
drawing. where r0 and r90 are anisotropy coefficients at
Because most of modern high-strength mate- 0 and 90 from the rolling direction and s0 is
rials show great differences in the biaxial stress the uniaxial yield stress in the rolling direction.
point, a biaxial anisotropic coefficient is defined In case of a material exhibiting only normal
as anisotropy, (r 0 = r 90 = r) imposes that s0 = s90
and Eq. 5 take the following form
er
rb ¼ (4)
et 2r
s21  s1 s2 þ s22 ¼ s2u (6)
1þr
whereby a biaxial stress is applied to a specimen,
e.g., in the hydraulic bulge test or the layer com-
where r is the normal anisotropy coefficient and
pression test. The indices r and t indicate the
su is the uniaxial in-plane yield stress.
rolling and transversal direction, respectively.
Barlat successfully extended the Hosford’s
These more practical motivated values are used
1979 criterion to capture the influence of the
for a rough classification for sheet metal forming
shear stress and proposed the following yield
processes. In order to simulate these processes,
function:
suitable yield criterions and definitions of yield
surfaces are needed, which are described next.
f ¼ ajk1 þ k2 jM þ ajk1  k2 jM
þ ð2  aÞj2k2 jM
Yield Criteria ¼ 2sM
e (7)

The accuracy of the simulation results is given where

mainly by the accuracy of the material model. In
the last years, the scientific research is oriented in sx þ hsy
k1 ¼ ; k2
developing of new material models able to 2
describe the material behavior (mainly the aniso- "
 #12
sx  hsy 2
tropic one) as accurate as possible (Barlat ¼ þ p2 t1xy (8)
et al. 2004; Banabic 2010, 2016; Banabic 2
et al. 2010). The computer simulation of the
sheet metal forming processes needs a quantita- while a, h, p, and M are material parameters and
tive description of the plastic anisotropy by the se is the effective stress (Barlat and Lian 1989).
yield locus. In Table 1 the main yield criteria developed for
description of the anisotropic plastic behavior are
Anisotropy 3

Anisotropy, Table 1 The yield criteria developed for description of the anisotropic plastic behavior
Author (year) s0 s15 s30 s45 s60 s75 s90 sb r0 r15 r30 r45 r60 r75 r90 rb
Hill’s family
Hill (1948) x x x x
Hill (1979) x x x
Hill (1990) x x x x x
Hill (1993) x x x x x
Lin, Ding x x x x x x
(1996)
Hu (2005) x x x x x x x
Leacock x x x x x x x
(2006)
Hershey’s family
Hosford x x x
(1979)
Barlat (1989) x x x
Barlat (1991) x x x x
Karafillis, x x x x x x
Boyce (1993)
Barlat (1997) x x x x x x x
BBC (2000) x x x x x x x
Barlat (2000) x x x x x x x
Bron, Besson x x x x x x x x
(2003)
Barlat (2004) x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
BBC (2005) x x x x x x x x
BBC (2008) x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Druckers family
Cazacu-Barlat x x x x x x x x x x x
(2001)
Cazacu-Barlat x x x x x x x x x x x
(2003)
C–P– x x x x x x x x x x x
B (2006)
Polynomial criteria
Gotoh (1977) x x x x x x x x x x x x
Comsa (2007) x x x x x x x x
Soare x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
(2007) (Poly
4, 6, 8)
Other criteria
Vegter (1995) x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

presented (see more details in Banabic 2010 and Barlat 2000, Vegter, and BBC 2005 models
Banabic 2016). The mechanical parameters used have been implemented in the last decade in the
for the identification of the models are also main FE commercial codes (see Table 2).
presented.
4 Anisotropy

Anisotropy, Table 2 The main commercial FE software and the anisotropic yield criteria implemented in them
Software HILL’48 HILL’90 BARLAT’89 BARLAT 2000 VEGTER BBC 2005
ABAQUS x x x x x x
AUTOFORM x x x x
LS-DYNA x x x x x x
MARC x x
PAM STAMP x x x x
STAM PACK x x

f0 ðsÞ ¼ js1  s2 j ,
m
In the next paragraphs, the most used models
(11)
f00 ðsÞ ¼ j2s2 þ s1 j þ j2s1 þ s2 j
m m
implemented in the FE commercial codes are
shortly described.
leading to the resulting anisotropic yield function
BBC 2005 Yield Criterion
Banabic et al. (2005) proposed a new expression f ¼ f0 ðX0 Þ þ f00 ðX00 Þ ¼ 2sm (12)
of the plane stress potential. An improvement of
this criterion has been implemented in the finite where m is the Hosford’s exponent, s is the
element commercial code AUTOFORM version deviatoric stress tensor, and X is the linearly trans-
4.1 (Banabic and Sester 2012). The equivalent formed stress tensor.
stress is defined by the following formula: Using the following linear transformation on
stresses
h
aðL þ GÞ2k þ aðL  GÞ2k þ bðL  CÞ2k ¼ s X0 ¼ C0 s ¼ C0 Ts ¼ L0 s,
(13)
(9) X00 ¼ C00 s ¼ C00 Ts ¼ L00 s

where k  ℑ 1 and a, b > 0 are material param- where and (or and) represent the linear transfor-
eters, while G,L,andC are functions depending on mations and T a matrix relating the deviatoric to
the planar components of the stress tensor: the Cauchy stresses:
2 3 2 0 32 3
G ¼ Ls11 þ Ms22
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi X0xx C11 0 C012sxx
6 X0 7 6 0 76 7
L¼ ðNs11  Ps22 Þ2 þ s12 s21 (10) 4 yy 5 ¼ 4 C21 C022
0 54 syy 5
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
X0xy 0 0 C066 sxy
C ¼ ðQs11  Rs22 Þ2 þ s12 s21 2 3 (14)
2=3 1=3 0
6 7
The identification procedure calculates the param- T ¼ 4 1=3 2=3 0 5
eters a, b, L, M, N, P, Q, and R by forcing the 0 0 1
constitutive equations associated to the yield cri-
terion to reproduce the following experimental A similar expression with double prime defines
data: stresses and anisotropy coefficients in ten- C00. A plane stress state can be described by the
sion along three directions, the balanced biaxial two principal values of and
flow stress, and biaxial anisotropy coefficient.

ffi
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
1 2 2
X 1, 2 ¼ Xxx þ Xyy  Xxx  Xyy þ 4Xxy
Barlat 2000 Yield Criterion 2
The expressions of the two isotropic yield func- (15)
tions considered in Barlat et al. (2003) are
Anisotropy 5

with the appropriate indices (prime and double behavior, which means a translation of the yield
prime) for each stress. surface in the stress space.
Figure 1 shows the effect of this so-called
backstress-tensor a as the translation of the sur-
Vegter Yield Criterion
face center. Variants (a) and (b) can be seen as
Vegter (2006) proposed the representation of the
theoretical extremes because only case (c) is
yield function with the help of Bézier’s interpola-
observed in the experiment. The general yield
tion using directly the test results (pure shear
condition for such kind of material behavior
point, uniaxial point, plain strain point, and equi-
looks like:
biaxial point).
The analytical expression of the criterion is ðs  aÞðs  aÞ ¼ 2K 20 (19)


r
s1 s1 where s and a are the stress tensor and the
¼ ð 1  lÞ 2 þ 2lð1  lÞ
s2 s2 i
backstress-tensor, respectively.

h
r (16) Usually, the material starts with a kinematic
s1 2 s1
 þl behavior. With increasing strain level, the kine-
s2 i s2 iþ1 matic behavior saturates and isotropic hardening
has taken place. The “problem” now is to describe
for s, e, and angle j where the behavior of a as a function of the strain and

r X
m cos
r strain-rate level. Several models are available, but
s1 ajl only the models from Armstrong and Frederick
¼ cos ð2j’Þ (17)
s2 iþ1 j¼0 aj2 i (Armstrong and Frederick 1966) and the Yoshida
model (Yoshida and Uemori 2002) are described
is a trigonometric expansion associated to the in the following because of their popularity in the
reference point; last decades.

X
m cos
Rð ’ Þ ¼ bj cos ð2j’Þ (18) Armstrong-Frederick Model (A-F Model)
j¼0 As mentioned above, the calculation for a given
strain increment is the key to calculate the
is cosine interpolation of the function R(’) ; ’ is backstress-tensor a for a defined strain path
the angle between the principal directions and the because
orthotropic axes; l is a parameter of the Bézier ð tϵ
function; r is a superscript denoting the reference a ¼ a_  dt (20)
point; h is a superscript denoting the breaking 0

j r
a1 For the A-F model, the backstress-tensor rate is
point; are parameters of the trigonometric
aj2 i given by
interpolation to be determined at the reference
points; b j are parameters of the trigonometric

ai , j
interpolation of the R-function. a_ ij ¼ f e_p, ij  _
 e (21)
p

Subsequent Yield Surfaces Due to Kinematic
Hardening
The above-described yield criteria are equal to the
description of the yield surfaces as long as isotro-
pic hardening is assumed. Usually, all technical
materials have some additional kinematic
where p* is a scalar function of the plastic strain
path, e.g., the arc length of the strain path is the
plastic strain rate and is a scalar.
Unfortunately, this type of model has the draw-
back that re-yielding and hardening stagnation
after re-yielding cannot be fitted to “modern”
steels like dual phase or complex phase steels,
6 Anisotropy

a Isotropic b Kinematic c Isotropic-kinematic

Hardening Hardening hardening

s II s II s II

a a

sI sI sI

Initial yield surface

Subsequent yield surface

Anisotropy, Fig. 1 Comparison of hardening type-yield surfaces in stress space

Anisotropy,
Fig. 2 Schematic D P(n p )
illustration of the
two-surface model
(Reprinted from Yoshida
and Uemori 2002, Fig. 1,
with permission of Elsevier)
s-a
s

Y
a a 8 (n 8)
B+R
b
0
Yield surface f

Bounding surface F

which gives the motivation for the short introduc-

tion of the following second model. 3
f ¼ ðs  aÞðs  aÞ  Y 2 ¼ 0
2
(22)
3
Yoshida-Uemori Model (Y-U Model) F ¼ ðs  bÞðs  bÞ  ðB þ RÞ2 ¼ 0
Contrary to the previous mentioned A-F model, 2
the Y-U model uses the assumption of an existing
Here, s means the stress tensor, and a and b are
yield surface f inside a bounding surface
the backstress-tensors of the yield surface f and
F (compare Fig. 2) with the basic equations
the bounding surface F, respectively. Y is the
Anisotropy 7

Anisotropy, Fig. 3 Punch

geometry

1.20 Influence of the Yield Criteria in Numerical

diagonal
Simulation onto Simulation Results
The forming simulation results of a cross geome-
1.10
try are very sensitive to the chosen material
Meas model. This is demonstrated for a cross geometry
Thickness [mm]

1.00 made of an AC121-T4 sheet material (Fig. 3).

7
The thickness measurements are compared
0.90 with AutoForm 4.1 simulations using the Barlat
and Lian 1989 (using 4 mechanical parameters as
BBC2005-4), the BBC2005-6, and the BBC2005-
0.80
6 7 models (see Fig. 4). The BBC2005-7 simulation
4 matches the thickness measurements rather well,
0.70 especially in the meridian cut.
0 50 100 150 200
s [mm]
Recommendations on the Choice of the Yield
Anisotropy, Fig. 4 Measured (meas) and calculated Criterion
thickness for Ac124-T4 aluminium alloy (diagonal sec- The most important factors that must be taken into
tion). Yield functions: 4-Barlat 1989, 6-BBC 2005 using account when choosing the yield criterion are as
6 parameters, and 7-BBC 2005 using 7 parameters
follows:

radius of the yield surface; B and R are the initial
size of the isotropic hardening.
The kinematic hardening of the yield surface
describes the transient Bauschinger deformation
characterized by early re-yielding and the subse-
quent rapid change of hardening rate. The isotro-
pic hardening of the bounding surface represents
the global hardening. In order to describe such
deformation characteristics under stress reversals,
the kinematic hardening and non-isotropic hard-
ening region during stress reversals are assumed
for the bounding surface (Yoshida and Uemori
2002).
• Computational efficiency and ease of imple-
mentation in numerical simulation codes
• Flexibility of the yield criterion
• Degree of generality
• Number of mechanical parameters needed by
the identification procedure
• Robustness of the identification procedure
• Experimental difficulties caused by the deter-
mination of the mechanical parameters
involved in the identification procedure
• User-friendliness of the yield criterion
• Acceptance of the yield criterion in the scien-
tific/industrial community
8 Anisotropy
Cross-References
▶ Deep Drawing
▶ Formability (Damage)
References
Armstrong PJ, Frederick CO (1966) A mathematical rep-
resentation of the multiaxial Bauschinger effect. GEGB
report RD/B/N731. Berkeley Nuclear Laboratories
Banabic D (2010) Sheet metal forming processes: consti-
tutive modelling and numerical simulation. Springer,
Berlin
Banabic D (2016) Multiscale Modelling in Sheet Metal
Forming, Springer, Berlin
Banabic D, Sester M (2012) Influence of material models
on the accuracy of the sheet forming simulation. Mater
Manuf Process 27:304–308
Banabic D, Aretz H, Comsa DS, Paraianu L (2005) An
improved analytical description of orthotropy in metal-
lic sheets. Int J Plast 21(3):493–512
Banabic D, Barlat F, Cazacu O, Kuwabara T (2010)
Advances in anisotropy and formability. Int J Mat
Forming 3:165–189
Barlat F, Lian K (1989) Plastic behavior and stretchability
of sheet metals. Part I: a yield function for orthotropic
sheets under plane stress conditions. Int J Plast
5(1):51–66
Barlat F, Brem JC, Yoon JW, Chung K, Dick RE, Lege DJ,
Pourboghrat S-H, Choi S-H, Chu E (2003) Plane stress
yield function for aluminum alloy sheets, Part I: theory.
Int J Plast 19(9):1297–1319
Barlat F, Cazacu O, Zyczkowski M, Banabic D, Yoon JW
(2004) Yield surface plasticity and anisotropy. In:
Raabe D, Roters F, Barlat F, Chen LQ (eds) Continuum
scale simulation of engineering materials:
fundamentals – Microstructures – process applications.
Weinheim, Wiley, pp 145–185. doi:10.1002/
3527603786.ch6
Hill R (1948) A theory of the yielding and plastic flow of
anisotropic metals. Proc Roy Soc A193:281–297
Lange K (ed) (1990) Umformtechnik: Handbuch für
Industrie und Wissenschaft, Band 3: Blechbearbeitung
[Handbook for industry and science, vol 3, Sheet metal
processing], 2nd edn. Berlin, Springer (in German)
Vegter H, Boogaard van den AH (2006) A yield function
for anisotropic sheet material by interpolation of biaxial
stress states. Int J Plast 22(3):557–580
Yoshida F, Uemori T (2002) A model of large-strain cyclic
plasticity describing the Bauschinger effect and
workhardening stagnation. Int J Plast 18(5–6):661–686
C
Computed Tomography
Simone Carmignato
Department of Management and Engineering,
University of Padua, Vicenza, Italy
Synonyms
Computed axial tomography (CAT); Computer-
aided tomography (CAT); Computerized tomo-
graphic imaging; Computerized tomography;
Computerized transverse axial scanning; X-ray
computed tomography
Definition
X-ray computed tomography, or simply computed
tomography (CT), is an imaging method using
X-ray transmission and computer algorithms to
reconstruct two-dimensional (2D) images of an
object, representing object’s slices, or three-
dimensional (3D) representations of the object’s
structure, including inner geometries.
In this context, the term “tomography” refers to
nondestructive imaging of sections. The term
derives from two Greek words: tomos, meaning
“section,” and graphein, meaning “to write.”
Although the term “computed tomography” is
very general and could refer even to tomographic
techniques not using X-rays, in practice it usually
refers to the computation of tomographic images
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6681-4
by X-ray transmission. The term “X-ray com-
puted tomography” is more specific.
Theory and Application
Introduction
Unlike conventional radiography, computed
tomography goes far beyond the collection of
radiographic projections. The fundamental limita-
tion of conventional radiography is that the three-
dimensional volume of an object is compressed
along the direction of X-ray to a two-dimensional
radiographic projection, in which all the underly-
ing object’s structures are superimposed, which
results in significantly reduced visibility of the
object. A recognition of this limitation led to the
development of computed tomography, which
allows the object’s slices and volume reconstruc-
tion from X-ray projections (Morgan 1983).
Figure 1 illustrates the progression of CT data,
from X-ray projections, to 3D volume reconstruc-
tion, and to surface determination.
History of CT
Early X-ray Tomography Techniques
The idea of determining the inside structure of an
object from multiple X-ray images taken from
various angulations goes back to the first decades
of the twentieth century. Before the advent of
computed tomography, other techniques were
developed for displaying internal sections using
2 Computed Tomography
Computed Tomography, Fig. 1 CT process chain, from X-ray projections to 3D volume reconstruction and to surface
determination
X-rays. These techniques are often referred to as
“conventional tomography,” or “stratigraphy” or
“noncomputed tomography” (Hsieh 2009). As
early as 1921, one of the pioneers of conventional
tomography, André Bocage, conceived a device to
blur out structures above and below a section of
interest (Bocage 1921). Few years later,
Alessandro Vallebona developed the tomographic
technique called “stratigraphy” (Vallebona 1930).
Although these early tomographic techniques
were somewhat successful in producing images
of an object’s internal plane, they could not
completely eliminate superimposition of other
structures outside the imaging plane. This draw-
back, combined with the large X-ray dose to the
patient, limited the use of conventional tomogra-
phy in clinical applications.
Development of Computed Tomography
The mathematical model for reconstructing an
object from multiple projections dates back to
1917, when Johann Radon demonstrated mathe-
matically that an object could be replicated from
an infinite set of its projections (Hsieh 2009). This
concept was applied only many years later. The
Nobel Prize winners Allan M. Cormack and
Godfrey N. Hounsfield made substantial contri-
butions to the development of computed tomog-
raphy (Cormack 1979; Hounsfield 1979). The first
clinical CT scan on a patient took place on 1st
October 1971 using a prototype scanner
developed by Hounsfield. Since the 1970s, CT
have rapidly become a fundamental imaging tech-
nique in medical practice (Kalender 2006).
Industrial CT Scanning
Industrial application of CT scanning became fre-
quent since the 1980s, especially for material
analysis and nondestructive testing (Kruth
et al. 2011). The use for dimensional metrology
purposes was not yet possible at that time, since
the attainable measurement uncertainty was in the
range of few hundreds of millimeters. As hard-
ware and software have progressed reaching sub-
micron resolution, the metrological performances
of industrial CT systems have continuously
improved, and measurement uncertainty of few
micrometers has become possible (Carmignato
2012). The first commercial coordinate measuring
system using a CT sensor was presented in 2005
(Kruth et al. 2011). Current challenges in CT
dimensional metrology are establishment of mea-
surement traceability and proper uncertainty eval-
uation (De Chiffre et al. 2014).
Principles of CT
Fundamentals
Computed tomography uses the ability of X-rays
to penetrate objects. As schematically represented
in Fig. 2, the radiation produced by an X-ray
source passes through the scanned object to
Computed Tomography
Computed Tomography, Fig. 2 Schematic representation of a CT scanner
reach the X-ray detector. On the way through the
object, X-rays are attenuated, and the amount of
attenuation depends on the length traveled in the
absorbing material, the type of material (i.e.,
attenuation coefficient), and the energy of the
X-rays. The attenuation is measured by the
X-ray detector, which captures the projection
image resulting from the transmitted X-rays. Pro-
jection images are taken from different angular
positions of the object, using a rotary axis (see
Fig. 2). The mathematical reconstruction of 2D
slices and 3D volume model out of the acquired
projection images is usually done by “filtered
back projection” (Kak and Slaney 1988). When
a 3D volume reconstruction is obtained, the 3D
model is constituted by a set of voxels (volumetric
pixels), where the gray value associated to each
voxel is a measure for the absorptivity of the
material. Subsequently, the voxel data can be
post-processed to detect the object’s surface by a
threshold process (i.e., segmentation) (Hsieh
2009).
Types of CT Scanners
Industrial CT scanners are fundamentally different
from clinical scanners. Although both types of
scanners need to take X-ray projections from sev-
eral angulations as discussed above, in industrial
CT scanners the object is rotated in the beam path
produced by a stationary X-ray source, while in
clinical CT the X-ray unit (source and detector)
rotates around a stationary patient. In addition,
since the radiation exposure of the object being
3
scanned is normally not a problem in industrial
CT, greater radiation intensities can typically be
used than those applied in clinical CT. Also,
because resolution and accuracy requirements
are different, scanning parameters usually differ
significantly in industrial and clinical CT
scanners.
Another important distinction between differ-
ent types of CT scanners is based on the X-ray
detector. Depending on the type of detector used,
CT scanners may be able to detect only one or
multiple slices per revolution. X-ray detectors
used nowadays are either flat panel detectors
(consisting of a 2D array of pixels) or straight or
curved line detectors (consisting of a 1D array of
pixels). While 2D detectors determine faster scan-
ning because multiple slices are measured during
one revolution, 1D line detectors may yield supe-
rior reconstruction accuracy and resist higher
X-ray energies, allowing thicker objects to be
scanned (Kruth et al. 2011).
CT scanners can also be classified based on
their X-ray source. For common X-ray tubes, the
dimension of the X-ray spot is essential to obtain
sharp images. Microfocus sources have spot
diameters ranging typically from few to
1,000 mm. Today, nanofocus spots of less than or
around 1 mm diameter are achievable with X-ray
photon energies up to 250 keV. Besides the com-
mon X-ray tubes based on an electron gun, more
expensive linear accelerator X-ray sources can be
used for industrial scanning of large and high
absorbing parts. In exceptional cases, large
4 Computed Tomography

Computed Tomography,
Fig. 3 Dimensional
quality control of a cylinder
head: comparison of CT
measurement data to
nominal CAD data
(Courtesy of Volume
Graphics GmbH)

Computed Tomography,
Fig. 4 Porosity and
inclusion analysis of
castings (Courtesy of
Volume Graphics GmbH)

synchrotron radiation facilities are also used to
generate X-rays for scientific CT applications
(Kruth et al. 2011).
Industrial Applications
Industrial CT scanning is used in many
manufacturing areas, from quality control of
large castings to inspection of micro-components.
Some of the key applications are nondestructive
testing, failure analysis, assembly analysis,
reverse engineering, and dimensional metrology.
Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 show examples of
industrial applications. The number of applica-
tions and number of installed scanners in industry
are growing rapidly (De Chiffre et al. 2014).
Advantages
Industrial CT scanning benefits from several
advantages over traditional 3D measurement
Computed Tomography 5

Computed Tomography,
Fig. 5 Quality control of
solder points and bonding
wires of a ball grid array
(BGA) used for microchips
(Courtesy of Volume
Graphics GmbH)

Computed Tomography, Fig. 6 Volume rendering resulting from CT scan of a complete VR6 3.6 liters car engine
(Courtesy of Volume Graphics GmbH)

techniques such as coordinate measuring • Holistic measurement of the entire workpiece

machines. Some of the main advantages are:
• Nondestructive inspection of internal features
• Simultaneous material analysis and dimen-
sional quality control
• Measurement of components in assembled
state
• Measurement of interfaces in multi-material
components
obtaining dense volumetric data
• Fast inspection and reverse engineering of
complex geometrical features
• Noncontact measurement, without probing and
clamping stresses to the part
• Inspection of complex and internal features
produced by additive manufacturing
• In-depth realistic visualization of the object’s
details
6 Computed Tomography

Computed Tomography, Fig. 7 Inspection of assem- report), with typical tolerances of 50 mm and more than
bled insulin injector. The CT scan allowed testing the 300 inspection features per part (Courtesy of Volume
operability and production quality of sample parts before Graphics GmbH)
going into serial production (initial sample inspection

Computed Tomography,
Fig. 8 Measurement of the
contact area between
bottleneck and cap within
the thread of a plastic bottle
(Courtesy of Volume
Graphics GmbH)

Cross-References ▶ Inspection (Precision Engineering and

Metrology)
▶ Coordinate Measuring Machine ▶ Metrology
▶ In-Process Inspection ▶ Reverse Engineering
▶ Inspection (Assembly)
Computed Tomography
Computed Tomography,
Fig. 9 Fiber orientation
analysis of composite
materials. Different colors
correspond to different
orientations (Courtesy of
Volume Graphics GmbH)
References
Bocage AEM (1921) Procede et dispositifs de radiographie
sur plaque en mouvement [Moving plate radiography
process]. French Patent No. 536,464 (in French)
Carmignato S (2012) Accuracy of industrial computed
tomography measurements: experimental results from
an international comparison. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
61(1):491–494
Cormack AM (1979) Early two-dimensional reconstruc-
tion and recent topics stemming from it. Nobel prize
lecture. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/
laureates/1979/cormack-lecture.pdf. Accessed 2 Feb
2016
De Chiffre L, Carmignato S, Kruth J-P, Schmitt R,
Weckenmann A (2014) Industrial applications of com-
puted tomography. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
63(2):655–677
Hounsfield GN (1979) Computed medical imaging. Nobel
prize lecture. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/med
7
icine/laureates/1979/hounsfield-lecture.pdf. Accessed
2 Feb 2016
Hsieh J (2009) Computed tomography: principles, design,
artifacts, and recent advances, 2nd edn. Wiley,
Hoboken
Kak AC, Slaney M (1988) Principles of computerized
tomographic imaging. IEEE Press, New York
Kalender WA (2006) Computed tomography: fundamen-
tals, system technology, image quality, applications,
2nd edn. Wiley, New York
Kruth J-P, Bartscher M, Carmignato S, Schmitt R, De
Chiffre L, Weckenmann A (2011) Computed tomogra-
phy for dimensional metrology. CIRP Ann Manuf
Technol 60(2):821–842
Morgan CL (1983) Basic principles of computed tomog-
raphy. University Park Press, Baltimore
Vallebona A (1930) Una modalità di tecnica per la
dissociazione radiografica delle ombre applicata allo
studio del cranio [A technical method for the radio-
graphic dissociation of the shadows applied to study
of the skull]. Radiol Med 17:1090–1097 (in Italian)
F

Form Error The nominal 3D features or the nominal 2D

lines must show everywhere the same distance to
Albert A. Weckenmann each other (Euclidian distance evaluated for the
Quality Management and Manufacturing entire feature mathematically by Chebyshev
Metrology, University Erlangen-Nuremberg, criterion).
Erlangen, Germany
• For profiles (free-form lines or sculptured
surfaces):
Synonyms – For “profile any line” or “profile any sur-
face,” the zone is formed in another special
Deviation of form; Form deviation; Shape way (see “profile any line” and “profile any
deviation; Shape error surface”).

Definition
Theory and Application
The form error deviation of the real
General: What Is a Form Error?
(manufactured) feature (i.e., line, axis, surface,
Irregularities of surfaces or profiles can be
center plane) from the geometrically ideal nomi-
decomposed into form, waviness, and roughness
nal feature is to be measured and evaluated by
according to the ratio of the distance between
analogy to the definition of the form tolerance in
irregularities (deviations, waves, peaks, cracks,
ISO 1101. It is the minimum distance of the quasi-
etc.) to their depth. A form error is the overall
parallel boundaries of a zone, in which the entire
parameter describing the maximum of the local
surface of a real feature, its line element, its axis,
deviations of the real form of a line or surface
or its center plane remains. The boundaries of the
from the nominal – geometrically ideal – feature.
zone are formed:
The parameter has to be evaluated according to
the specification (see below).
• For standard features
One can discriminate between “local form
– In 2D case by two geometrically ideal 2D
error” (here would be more precise: “local form
features (lines), which are in a common
deviation”) and “form error” which is valid holis-
plane
tically for the entire feature (Humienny et al.
– In 3D case by two – geometrically
2001).
ideal – nominal features
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_6683-4
2 Form Error
Form Error, Fig. 1 Example of a workpiece without and with form deviations
In the figure below, the nominal workpiece and
an example of the workpiece with form deviation/
form error are demonstrated (Fig. 1).
Form Errors in the Technical Product
Documentation
The maximum admissible form deviation of a
feature is called form tolerance. A design engineer
wishing to specify tolerances of form for geomet-
rical features on workpieces can make use of six
different types of form tolerances: straightness,
flatness, roundness, cylindricity, profile of any
line, and profile of any surface (Table 1). The
tolerances of form defined in ISO 1101 (2012)
are not mutually exclusive, so that several differ-
ent form tolerance specifications are possible for a
single toleranced feature (e.g., the cylinder form
tolerance includes straightness tolerance of the
axis or generatrix and the roundness tolerance of
a cross section). The form tolerance defined in any
particular case specifies a zone – of everywhere
equal thickness or width – within which the sur-
face of the real (manufactured) feature should
remain. Note well: only the zone width is defined
by the tolerance value but not the orientation or
position of the considered feature.
The shape of the toleranced geometrical fea-
tures is usually defined by features of a geometri-
cally ideal form, such as straight lines, circles,
planes, and cylinders. For all deviations of form,
it is important to note that the default evaluation
must be performed by the minimum-zone method
as defined in ISO 1101 (2012) (an example for a
circle is shown in Fig. 5, second image from
the left).
Recent developments and strategic plans for
future work for dimensioning and tolerancing
standards are described by Srinivasan (2012) and
Nielson (2012).
Form Errors in the Manufacturing
Every manufacturing process produces nonideal
features. Deviations of size, form, and position are
caused. The type of the form deviation is depen-
dent on the specific manufacturing process, the
applied tools, the type of the feature, and the
material. Figure 2 shows some examples of the
form deviations, which may occur in a turning
process. Typical roundness deviations here are
the three-lobed parts and ellipses. Cylinder form
deviations can be, e.g., cone, concave or convex
shaped, buckled, and three lobed.
Measurement of Form Errors
The measurement of form errors is to be looked at
in two aspects:
• Sampling points on the surface and attributing
coordinate values to them
• Evaluation algorithm of the points in order to
calculate the form error
Form Error
Form Error, Form tolerance: tolerance characteristics and symbols
Table 1 Form tolerances
(excerpt from ISO 1101
(2012))
We cannot measure the entire surface with an
infinite number of points. The surface is a contin-
uum and can only be described completely by an
analogue description or by an infinite number of
points. So, in practice we take a more or less
random sample of the surface’s entity. In ISO
17450-1 (2011), there is in addition a distinction
made between geometrical features describing the
surface of a workpiece (cylinder surface, sphere
surface, etc.) and those which are not real existing
surfaces or lines (like symmetry planes and axis).
To make this clear, the definitions are shown in
Fig. 3 for an example of a cylinder.
The number and distribution of the sampling
points in combination with the type and value of
the real form deviation will influence the value of
3
Straightness
Flatness
Roundness
Cylindricity
Profile any line
Profile any surface
the evaluated form error (Fig. 4). So the number of
points should be high enough according to the
expected accuracy of the result. (Often, the num-
ber of probing points for typical form measure-
ments is in the range of several thousand points.)
The evaluation procedure must follow the
criteria given in ISO standards (Humienny
2009). Usually, the Chebyshev criterion, also
called minimum line/zone (Figs. 4a and 5: second
image from left), is applied. The calculation fol-
lows nonlinear optimization algorithms. The opti-
mization criterion is just the distance of the inner/
outer or lower/upper feature. So neither the orien-
tation nor the location is a fixed parameter. For the
optimization process, they are given free unless
they are not restricted by further specifications.
4 Form Error

cause effect cause effect

tailstock offset workpiece cone shaped bending of the workpiece workpiece concave

revolving tool tip, machine, clamping workpiece waved,

workpiece not coaxial
workpiece reclamped oscillates non-circular
F

F F
bush clamped in a 3-jaw deformation to a
bending of the workpiece workpiece convex
chuck, centerless grinding 3-lobed part

Form Error, Fig. 2 Cause of form errors in manufacturing, as described in Noppen and Sigalla (1990)

representation of workpiece
drawing workpiece
extraction association
Nominal integral real (GPS) feature Extracted integral Associated integral
feature feature feature

Nominal derived Extracted derived Associated derived

feature feature feature

Form Error, Fig. 3 Terms of geometrical features for the example of a cylinder, based on ISO 17450-1 (2011)

In some cases, the form error is not related to inscribed feature or minimum circumscribed fea-
the Chebyshev approximating (minimum zone) ture (for circle, cylinder, sphere) or even to
feature but due to functional reasons to maximum
Form Error 5

a evaluation criteria outer tangential line

minimum line

OF OF

Gauß-best-fit-line inner tangential line

b number of sampling points

OF OF

c distribution of sampling points

OF OF

Form Error, Fig. 4 Influence of evaluation method (a) and probing strategy (b and c), as described by Weckenmann et al.
(1995)

Least Square Minimum Zone Maximum-

LSC MZC Minimum- MCC MIC
Circle Circle Circlumscribed Inscribed Circle
f = 0.635
Circle

D=160.029 D=160.088 D=160.592 D=159.577 OF

probing point probing point defining the associated feature associated feature

Form Error, Fig. 5 Associate element calculation for a circle, as described in DIN EN ISO 12181–1 (2011) and by
Weckenmann (2012)

Gaussian (least square) feature or to tangential References

feature (plane or 2D straight line), as shown in
Fig. 5. ISO 1101 (2012) Geometrical product specifications
(GPS) – geometrical tolerancing – tolerances of form,
orientation, location and run-out. International Organi-
zation for Standardization (ISO), Geneva
ISO 12181–1 (2011) Geometrical product specifications
Cross-References (GPS) – roundness – Part 1: vocabulary and parameters
of roundness. International Organization for Standard-
▶ Error ization, Geneva
▶ Metrology ISO 17450-1 (2011) Geometrical product specifications
(GPS) – General concepts – Part 1: model for geomet-
▶ Roundness rical specification and verification. International Orga-
▶ Straightness nization for Standardization, Geneva
▶ Tolerancing
6 Form Error
Humienny Z (2009) State of art in standardization in GPS
area. CIRP J Manuf Sci Technol 2(1):1–7
Humienny Z, Weckenmann A, Bialas S, Osanna PH,
Tamre M, Blunt L, Jakubiec W (2001) Geometrical
product specification – course for technical universi-
ties. Printing House, Warsaw
Nielson HS (2012) Recent developments in ISO-GPS stan-
dards and strategic plans for future work. In: Jiang
X (ed) Proceedings of the 12th CIRP conference on
computer aided tolerancing – programme and abstracts,
Huddersfield. pp 33–43
Noppen G, Sigalla J (1990) Form- und
Lagetoleranzen – Grundlagen [Form and position
tolerancing – fundamentals]. Technische Mitteilungen
[Engineering notes] Nr. 8904, Augsburg, MAN
Technologie AG (in German)
Srinivasan V (2012) Reflections on the role of science in
the evolution of dimensioning and tolerancing stan-
dards. In: Jiang X (ed) Proceedings of the 12th CIRP
conference on computer aided tolerancing – programme
and abstracts, pp 18–32
Weckenmann A (2012) Koordinatenmesstechnik: Flexible
Strategien für funktions- und fertigungsgerechtes
Prüfen [Coordinate metrology: flexible strategies for
function and manufacturing related testing], 2nd edn.
Hanser, München, p 273. (in German)
Weckenmann A, Eitzert H, Garmer M, Weber H (1995)
Functionality-oriented evaluation and sampling strat-
egy in coordinate metrology. Precis Eng 17(4):244–252
CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
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Cutting Edge Influence on Machining Titanium Alloy

Konrad Wegener*
Institut f€
ur Werkzeugmaschinen und Fertigung (IWF), ETH Z€urich, Z€urich, Switzerland

Definition
The performance of machining titanium can be enhanced by using cutting tools with rounded cutting
edges at adapted cutting speed and feed. The rounded cutting edges influence the active force components
including plowing forces and tool face friction, which are especially important in machining titanium
alloy as Ti–6Al–4V. Methods to correctly determine the cutting edge radius are prerequisite for this
analysis as well as methods to prepare cutting edge geometry in a controlled way.
The state of the art is mainly described in Wyen and Wegener (2010) as well as in Wyen et al. (2012).

Theory and Application

Introduction
Titanium is classified as a difficult-to-machine material. Its mechanical and chemical properties cause
high wear on cutting edges. By preparing cutting edges with defined rounding, initial crack formation can
be reduced, the mechanical strength of a cutting edge can be improved, and the load on the cutting edge is
changed. Different researchers prove an enhancement of the tool life when using cutting tools with
rounded cutting edges (Bouzakis et al. 2002; Rech et al. 2005; Denkena et al. 2008). The optimal cutting
edge radius for a machining process depends on the work material and tool material including its coating
and machining conditions.
Generally, total forces recorded in a cutting process are the sum of forces acting on the tool flank and its
cutting edge, as well as on the face. The force acting directly on the cutting edge is called plowing force
FPl; see Fig. 1. It originates from elastic and plastic deformation of the work material around the cutting
edge. The plowing force is also referred to as parasitic force or zero-feed force (Albrecht 1960; Stevenson
1998; Guo and Chou 2004). In literature, different methodologies exist to reveal the plowing force
(Albrecht 1960; Stevenson 1998). Its determination and separation from the total forces allows a better
understanding of tool wear and shearing process and enables the determination of actual coefficients of
friction in a cutting process.
The analysis of these forces in machining titanium alloy needs to be done for different cutting edge
radius rn, cutting speed vc, and feeds f.

Cutting Edge Characterization

As essential precondition, such analysis needs precise cutting edge preparation and characterization
method featuring high repeatability. Currently available characterization methods for rounded cutting
edges are often found to be not repeatable. A recent survey (Denkena 2008) comparing the cutting edge
radius measurement at different institutions shows significant deviations in the determined radii. No
international standard yet exists that defines how the micro-geometry of a cutting edge profile has to be

*Email: wegener@iwf.mavt.ethz.ch

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rake
direction of cutting
Y

direction of feed
rounded
cutting edge FCh, c
chip
radius rn
cutting FCh, f
FPI, c
wedge FCh

FCh Fa
Ff FPI FPI, f
clearence α
work piece Fc

FPI

Fig. 1 Separation of active force Fa into plowing force FPl and chip forming force FCh and into components in feed and cutting
direction (Albrecht 1960)

described. The characterization of a rounded cutting edge by its radius is mentioned in DIN 6582
(1988–2002). Unfortunately, no details are given about how the area for a circle fitting is to be chosen
or what fitting procedure is to be used. This missing detail is a major drawback in the application of this
method. Thus, results may differ depending on measurement uncertainty, user, fitting area, and procedure
used for the fitting. Other attempts for the characterization of rounded cutting edges (Denkena et al. 2002;
Cortés Rodríguez 2009) exist. However, in some cases their significance and applicability is strongly
influenced by the uncertainty factors mentioned, too, and the same characterization method may produce
different results for the characterization of a cutting edge.
In general, the uncertainty of a circle fitting depends on uncertainty of the individual points, the number
of points, and the area chosen for the fitting. To reduce uncertainties in the characterization, C. F. Wyen
(Wyen et al. 2011) developed an algorithm that defines its fitting area iteratively as a function of edge
flattening and wedge angle b of the cutting edge. By making the fitting area user independent, the
repeatability increases. As one uncertainty driver – definition of cutting area – is eliminated, the resulting
characterization uncertainty is reduced. The steps described by C. F. Wyen are illustrated in Fig. 2.
Following this algorithm a circle fitting is achieved that gives a unique solution for the characterization
of a rounded cutting edge by its radius rn independent from starting values. To characterize the asymmetry
of a rounding, further parameters have to be used, e.g., distances between cutting edge profile and an
auxiliary horizontal straight line left and right to the wedge angle bisector.

Cutting Edge Influence on Machining Titanium Alloy

Influence of Rounded Cutting Edge Radius rn on Forces and Coefficient of Friction m
For different uncut chip thicknesses t, Fig. 3 represents the cutting forces Fc and feed forces Ff in
orthogonal turning of Ti–Al6–V4 using rounded cutting edges with different radii rn. The force values
are standardized to a cutting width of b = 1 mm. As can be seen, both force components increase when
raising the cutting edge radius. The cutting force is less sensitive to a change in cutting edge radius than
the feed force. The influence of uncut chip thickness t is nonlinear for small values of t, also indicated by
the dashed lines in Fig. 3. For larger values of uncut chip thickness, the relation between forces and uncut
chip thickness can be linearly approximated (full straight lines in Fig. 3).

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2 3 edge
1 β
β flattening
new upper line
preset distance pint fitting limit pint
(200 m m)
circle
straight β/2 tangent to
line fitting straight
(300 m m) lines

new line fitting area

circle tangent
to straight lines
= new upper fitting limit circle fitting area,
4 5
(iteration process) micro geometry

pint ! αr
old upper d=0 Cutting edge
radius rn macro
f-limit geometry

Fig. 2 Steps to characterize the rounding of a cutting edge profile by a Gaussian fitted circle with a unique solution

Fig. 3 Experimentally determined cutting forces Fc and feed forces Ff for turning Ti–Al6–V4 with different cutting edge radii
rn at different uncut chip thicknesses t: data is standardized to a cutting width of b = 1 mm (vc = 70 m/min)

The plowing force components FPl, c and FPl, f from this data can be determined by the same approach as
reported in Albrecht (1960). The approach is based on the assumption that (1) the total force in a cutting
process increases linearly with increasing feed, provided that the zone of the cutting edge, which is
influenced by the plowing force, is fully engaged, (2) the plowing force FPl does not change with
increasing feed, and (3) the coefficient of friction m on the tool–chip interface is independent of the
uncut chip thickness. Force values can then be extrapolated to an uncut chip thickness of t = 0. The
resulting force is the plowing force FPl.

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Fig. 4 Influence of cutting edge radius rn on plowing force components in the direction of cutting (left) and direction of feed
motion (right): forces are standardized to a cutting width of b = 1 mm (vc = 70 m/min)

To ensure that no data is used for the extrapolation, which is still influenced by a changing plowing
force (which is the case for large ratios of rn/t), force values of cutting tests with an uncut chip thickness t
above 0.06 mm were considered only. The extrapolated values of the plowing force components in the
direction of cutting FPl, c and in the direction of feed motion FPl, f are represented in Fig. 4 for the cutting
edge radii tested.
For plowing cutting force and plowing feed force values FPl, c and FPl, f, a linear fitting was
accomplished. The different slope of these two functions implies that the direction of plowing force
changes with increasing cutting edge radius.
The extrapolated forces for a perfectly sharp tool (cutting edge radius rn = 0) are not zero. Titanium
possesses a low Young’s modulus which can cause excessive deflection of the surface being machined,
leading to a spring back of material behind the cutting edge. Interpreting the plowing force data, such a
material deflection also occurs for ideal sharp tools in machining titanium.
By knowing the direction and magnitude of the plowing force Fpl, it is now possible to determine the
average coefficients of friction m on the tool–chip interface by subtraction of the plowing force from the
total force F. As a result direction and magnitude of the force acting on the face, the chip forming force
FCh, can be deduced. According to Fig. 1, the coefficient of friction m on the face can be determined by

sin g  FCh, c þ cos g  FCh, f

m¼ (1)
cos g  FCh, c þ sin g  FCh, f

The direction of the chip forming force FCh can also be deduced from the slope of the measured curves
given in Fig. 5, which shows the recorded feed forces against cutting forces at different feeds f using
different cutting edge radii rn. The direction of the chip forming force FCh and thus the friction on the tool
face correspond to the slope of that part of the curve, where the curvature approaches zero. It can be

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Cutting force Fc [N]

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
0

direction of chip forming force FCh

50
rn = 10 μm
δf,10
Feed force Ff [N]

100 rn = 20 μm

rn = 30 μm
f = 0.01 mm
150
f = 0.02 mm
rn = 40 μm
f = 0.04 mm
f = 0.06 mm
200 rn = 50 μm
f = 0.1 mm δf,50
δ f,10 < δ f,50 f = 0.15 mm
f = 0.2 mm
250

Fig. 5 Influence of cutting edge radius rn and feed f on cutting forces Fc and feed forces Ff for turning Ti–Al6–V4, standardized
to a cutting width of b = 1 mm (vc = 70 m/min): angle d indicates slope of straight part of curve

Table 1 Experimentally determined average coefficients of friction m on tool face for machining Ti–Al6–V4 with different
cutting edge radii, vc = 70 m/min, rake g = 10
Cutting edge radius rn (mm) 10 20 30 40 50
Coefficient of friction m 0.32 0.35 0.37 0.39 0.42

noticed that the slope rises with increasing cutting edge radius (df, 10 < df, 50). Thus, the coefficient of
friction on the tool–chip interface is apparently dependent on the cutting edge radius in machining
Ti–Al6–V4. The calculated coefficients of frictions, using Eq. 1, are presented in Table 1 for the different
cutting edge radii.

Influence of Cutting Speed vc on Plowing Force FPl and on Coefficient of Friction m

The influence of cutting speeds vc of 10, 30, 70, and 110 m/min at different cutting edge radii rn of 10 and
40 mm using feeds f of 0.06 and 0.1 mm on the active force values and their components is shown in Fig. 6.
The influence of the cutting speed on the force components and thus on the active force is nonlinear.
While cutting forces tend to decrease with increasing cutting speed for the machining parameters tested,
feed forces behave differently depending on the cutting edge radius. With increasing cutting speed, feed
forces increase when using cutting edge radii of 40 mm, and they decline for cutting edge radii of 10 mm.
This interdependency might be caused by opposite effects of cutting speed on deformation resistance and
thermal softening in a cutting process.
For cutting edge radii of rn = 10 mm, rn = 20 mm, and rn = 40 mm, plowing forces for cutting speeds
of 10, 30, 70, and 110 m/min are shown in Fig. 7. No uniform influence of the cutting speed can be
recognized. Forces are spread within a range of 30 N or less, dependent on the cutting edge radius. The
calculated coefficients of friction on the tool–chip interface for machining at different cutting speeds are
given in Table 2.
The data indicate that there is an influence of cutting speed and cutting edge radius on friction. A large
cutting edge radius causes a large deformation of material in front of the cutting edge. More energy is

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Fig. 6 Influence of cutting speed vc on forces in turning Ti–Al6–V4 with different feeds f and different cutting edge radii rn,
standardized to a cutting width of b = 1 mm

Fig. 7 Influence of cutting edge radius on plowing force in turning Ti–Al6–V4 at different cutting speeds: forces are
standardized to a cutting width of b = 1 mm

Table 2 Experimentally determined average coefficients of friction m on tool face for machining Ti–Al6–V4 with different
cutting edge radii at different cutting speeds vc, rake g = 10
Cutting edge radius rn (mm) 10 20 40
vc = 10 m/min 0.34 0.35 0.38
vc = 30 m/min 0.32 0.37 0.37
vc = 110 m/min 0.34 0.49 0.49

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needed for the plus of deformation. Thus, temperatures increase. The same result is caused by an
increasing cutting speed and is a possible explanation for the increase in friction. The increase in friction
with increasing temperature is in agreement with high-temperature tribotests.

Influence of Cutting Edge Radius on Surface Integrity

Residual Stress
Residual stress is generally caused by mechanical and thermal loads.
It is thus the force which also directly influences the surface being generated. With increasing cutting
edge radius, especially the feed force component of the plowing force increases. This indicates that an
additional material deformation in front of the cutting edge, respectively between the cutting edge and
surface being generated, occurs, which consequently generates compressive stresses. Hence, an increase
in mechanical deformation and thus compressive residual stress with increasing cutting edge radius can be
expected for processes both up and down milling. Compressive residual stresses are favorable as they
improve workpiece fatigue strength and resistance to stress corrosion cracking.
In up milling, the uncut chip thickness increases within the cut. Before chip formation occurs, a friction
and material compression process starts, inducing elastic–plastic deformation into the workpiece surface.
The larger the cutting edge radius, the higher are the forces on the surface to be generated. At cutting edge
entry, the edge temperature is assumed to be low. The generated surface is thus expected to be mostly
influenced by mechanical-induced compression processes.
In down milling, however, the tool exit condition is characterized by a continuously decreasing chip
thickness until no cutting action occurs due to underrunning the minimum chip thickness. The properties
of the generated surface are mainly determined by the separation processes involved in chip formation.
Moreover, tool temperature in down milling can be expected to have a higher effect on residual stress as
the edge which is in contact with the new surface is heated up by the foregoing cutting action.
Figure 8 shows the results of residual stress measurements on surfaces generated in up milling (left) and
down milling (right) with different cutting edge radii. The angle j denotes the measurement direction in
residual stress analysis. An angle of j = 0 denotes measurements in the direction of cutting, whereas
j = 90 stands for measurements orthogonal to the direction of cutting. The directions of feed and cutting
speed were parallel to each other at tool entry and exit.
Polished reference samples showed an average residual stress of s = 12 N/mm2. Both up and down
milling induce residual stresses of compressive type. The compressive stresses measured in the direction
orthogonal to the cutting velocity are generally higher than those determined in the direction of cutting.
In up milling, the maximum induced residual compressive stresses on the surface increase with
increasing cutting edge radius from around s = 310 N/mm2 when using a non-rounded cutting edge
(rn  6  2 mm) to approximately s = 600 N/mm2 when machining with edges rounded to a radius
of rn = 50  1 mm. Including measurement uncertainty, the scattering of residual stresses averages
32 N/mm2 for machined surfaces.
In down milling, the maximum detected compressive stresses react less sensitive to a change in
cutting edge radius. Compressive stresses on the surface remain roughly at an average value of
s = 400 N/mm2. This behavior might be caused by opposite effects of mechanical and thermal load
when using rounded cutting edges. The mechanical deformation increases with increasing cutting edge
radius, causing a specific elastic–plastic deformation on the machined surface.
At the same time, process temperatures increase, which shift the surface stress toward the tensile
direction. Especially in the machining of titanium, known for its poor thermal conductivity that causes
high temperatures which effect only small subsurface areas, this effect might be more strongly

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Fig. 8 Residual stress up milling and down milling measured on Ti–6Al–4 V surfaces machined with different cutting edge
radii rn

pronounced than for other metals. However, in up milling, this effect is assumed to have only little
influence as a cooled down cutting edge is entering the workpiece. No explanation can be given for the
strong variation of the residual stress measured in the direction of cutting (j = 0 ).

Microhardness
Hardness is the measure for the resistance of a material against plastic deformation caused by an indenter.
Hardness measurements are generally suited for cross-checking the results of residual stress measure-
ments. The higher the compressive stress, the larger is typically the resistance against plastic deformation.
The opposite is the case for residual tensile stresses.
Figure 9 shows Vickers hardness measurements carried out on the identical surfaces as used for the
residual stress measurements. At an indentation time of ti = 20 s, an indentation force of F = 300 mN
was used. The results are depicted in. Each data point is the average of at least nine measurements
randomly distributed over the generated surface. The polished reference surface has an average hardness
of roughly HV420. As expected from the residual stress measurements, the hardness values of milled
surfaces are generally higher. The average slope of hardness values against cutting edge radius is in
agreement with the maximum compressive residual stresses from the X-ray diffraction measurements in
Fig. 8. On the surfaces that were machined by up milling, hardness increases slightly with increasing
cutting edge radius, whereas no significant influence of cutting edge radius on hardness was detected on
the down-milled surfaces. Thus, rounded cutting edges have a positive influence on residual compressive
stresses, with a more significant effect in up milling than in down milling.

Surface and Near-Surface Characterization

The effect of the cutting edge radius on surface finish was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy.
Figure 10 shows images of surfaces generated by up and down milling. Horizontal traces are caused by
notchedness of the edge, whereas vertical marks are caused by the tool feed. Independent of process
kinematics, feed marks become more pronounced at larger cutting edge radii.

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Fig. 9 Results of microhardness measurements on Ti–6Al–4 V surfaces machined with different cutting edge radii rn

Fig. 10 SEM images of surfaces machined with different cutting edge radii rn

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Fig. 11 Roughness up milling and down milling measurements on Ti–6Al–4 V surfaces machined with different cutting edge
radii rn

In up milling, the following mechanism is assumed: the feed marks result from elastic material
deflections that occur when the cutting edge enters the cut and successive separation of material at the
point when minimum chip thickness is reached. A similar mechanism is proposed in down milling: while
cutting, material is continuously being separated from the workpiece surface until the minimum chip
thickness is reached.

Surface Roughness
With a tool diameter of d = 25 mm and a feed per tooth of fz = 0.08 mm, the following theoretical
kinematic roughness values are expected:

Rzt ¼ 0:064 mm, Rat ¼ :0164 mm

The experimentally determined kinematic surface roughness values Ra and Rz are depicted in Fig. 11.
Each data point is the average value of nine individual measurements carried out on the surfaces of two
different workpieces. The values of Ra and Rz generally lie above the theoretical surface values. For both
up- and down-milled surfaces, roughness is minimal when using a rounded cutting edge radius of
rn = 30 mm. Moreover, the roughness is not in agreement with the visual surface appearance given in
Fig. 10, from which an increase in roughness would be expected with increasing edge radius for both up-
and down-milled surfaces. The reason of this difference is that the theoretical kinematic stiffness does not
consider cutting edge radius.

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Fig. 12 Burr formation when milling Ti–6Al–4 V with different cutting edge radii rn, (vc = 70 m/min, fz = 0.08 mm,
ae = d = 25 mm)

Influence of Cutting Edge Radius on Burr Formation

Machining burrs are generally classified by the cutting edge concerned and the mechanism of their
formation. The size of burr is a function of the material properties, the effective cutting edge radius, and
the pressure at the effective radius and flank of the tool. The pressure and thus the tendency to form burr
are especially high on materials with low thermal conductivity and low Young’s modulus. Both are
properties that titanium (Fig. 12) depicts surfaces and resulting burr in milling titanium with different
cutting edge radii. The left side shows surfaces generated by up milling. The right side shows down-milled
surfaces. Burr formation occurs on both top and bottom edges as the surfaces were generated in free
orthogonal milling.
The burr produced in up milling is frayed (ruptured type). This results from the repeated entrance of the
cutting edge into the workpiece. Every time the cutting edge enters the cut, new material is bulged at the
free surfaces, pushing out the burr from the previous cut. On the one hand, this leads to an increase in burr
height. On the other hand, it causes a partial separation of burr from the machined edge. Below a certain
cutting edge radius, it can be assumed that burr of the previous cut is partly removed by the successive cut.
With increasing cutting edge radius, however, the burr formed at the beginning of chip formation is not
removed by a successive cut, but only pushed away, leading to burr with long fringes. Especially for
cutting edge radii of rn = 40 mm or larger, this effect seems to take place.
In down milling, no significant burr formation was observed for cutting edge radii of rn = 10 mm or
smaller. As expected, burr formation increased when the cutting edge radius became larger. The burr
formation is generally much more pronounced in up milling than in down milling.
Nevertheless, an increase of burr with increasing cutting edge radius was also observed in down
milling. Thus, the increase in burr with increasing cutting edge radius is generally in agreement with the
measurement results of residual stress of machined surfaces.

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References
Albrecht P (1960) New developments in the theory of metal cutting process, part. 1: the ploughing process
in metal cutting. ASME J Eng Ind 82(4):348–357
Bouzakis KD, Michailidis N, Skordaris G, Kombogiannis S, Hadjiyiannis S, Efstathiou K, Erkens G,
Rambadt S, Wirth I (2002) Effect of the cutting edge radius and its manufacturing procedure on the
milling performance of PVD coated cemented carbide inserts. Ann CIRP 51(1):61–64
Cortés Rodríguez CJ (2009) Cutting edge preparation of precision tools by applying micro-abrasive jet
machining and brushing. Dissertation, Kassel University Press, Kassel
Denkena B (2008) CIRP STC-C minutes. Annex A, Aug. 2008
Denkena B, Friemuth T, Fedorenko S, Groppe M (2002) An der Schneidewird das Geld verdient: Neue
Parameter zur Charakterisierung der Schneidengeometrien an Zerspanwerkzeugen [The money is
earned at the cutting edge: new parameters to characterize the cutting edge geometry]. Fertigung
Sonderausgabe Werkzeuge 12:24–26 (in German)
Denkena B, De Leon L, Köhler J (2008) In der Verrundungliegt das Leistungspotential [The performance
lies in the radius of the cutting edge]. WB Werkstatt + Betrieb 10:20–23 (in German)
DIN 6582 (1988–2002) Begriffe der Zerspantechnik; Ergänzende Begriffe am Werkzeug, am Schneidkeil
und an der Schneide [Terminology of cutting; additional terms for the tool, wedge and the cutting edge].
German Institute for Standardization, Berlin (in German)
Guo YB, Chou YK (2004) The determination of ploughing force and its influence on material properties
in metal cutting. J Mater Process Technol 148(3):368–375
Rech J, Yenb YC, Schaffc MJ, Hamdia H, Altanb T, Bouzakisd KD (2005) Influence of cutting edge
radius on the wear resistance of PM-HSS milling inserts. Wear 259(7–12):1168–1178
Stevenson R (1998) The measurement of parasitic forces in orthogonal cutting. Int J Mach Tools Manuf
38(1–2):113–130
Wyen CF, Wegener K (2010) Influence of cutting edge radius on cutting forces in machining titanium.
CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 59(1):93–96
Wyen CF, Knapp W, Wegener K (2011) A new method for the characterisation of rounded cutting edges.
Int J Adv Manuf Technol 59(9–12):899–914
Wyen CF, Jäger D, Wegener K (2012) Influence of cutting edge radius on surface integrity and burr
formation in milling titanium. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 67(1–4):589–599

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Ploughing
Konrad Wegener*
Institut f€
ur Werkzeugmaschinen und Fertigung (IWF), ETH Z€urich, Z€urich, Switzerland

Synonyms
Plastic displacement; Plastic squeeze out; Plowing

Definition
Plastic displacement of material elements that are not removed from the workpiece.

Theory and Applications

The name actually reminds to the farmers’ work, plowing the land, where earth is moved from one side to
the other by the plow. Plowing in cutting processes means plastic deformation of material without really
removing it from the workpiece.
Plowing has never been defined in literature precisely. Some publications as Malkin and Guo (2008)
describe plowing as being all plastic displacements of material elements that still stick to the workpiece,
some have plowing described as being plastic displacement but without the loose burr formation (Abebe
and Appl 1981), and some eliminate from the plowing the plastic deformation that is not seen as geometric
changes in the surface horizon, which means material that is moved into the side ridges seen in Fig. 2,
which was also indicated as possible description in Malkin and Guo (2008). But in general the above
definition might be suitable and useful.
Plowing takes place in all chipping processes: grinding, turning, milling, hobbing, etc. They are
governed by sharp tools, tools that have a cutting edge with a certain shape, for instance, cutting-edge
radius or chamfer, that penetrate into the workpiece material and then can be moved relative to the
workpiece in direction of its surface. According to early but still valid qualitative models of the cutting
process from Klocke and König (2005) and Saljé and Möhlen (1987), shown in Fig. 1, the cutting edge
provokes different categories of material response, which take place sequentially upon first contact to the
material but then simultaneously during the cutting process.
The cutting process begins with elastic deformation upon contact of the cutting edge. While penetration
as well as forces in the contact zone increases, the material becomes plastic but will only be displaced. The
displacement vectors of different material elements are directed into different directions, depending on
where in the contact zone the material element was located initially. Distinguished directions are the
cutting speed direction, the direction orthogonal to the initial workpiece surface, and the lateral direction.
They can be used to define an intrinsic coordinate system as shown in Fig. 2.
Displacements of material elements in direction of the cutting speed (x-axis) yield a pileup of material
in front of the rake face. Upon further cutting movement, this pileup is fed by further plastic displacement
of material but also losses material by sideward displacements out of the pileup. If the mass of material in
the pileup increases on net base, damage, shear localization, and cracking occur, giving birth to a chip with

*Email: wegener@iwf.mavt.ethz.ch

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ductile material removal Fn Grainding wheel

Grain’s trajectory Ft

Bonding material Vs

Vs
Grain
side Chip
η (Cutting edge)
ridge
Tμ hcu, eff
hcu
Work piece

I II III
I Elastic deformation – sliding
Friction Grain / work piece material
II Elastic + plastic deformation – ploughing
Friction Grain / work piece material
Internal work piece friction
III Elastic + plastic deformation + chip abrasion – chip fromation
Friction Grain / work piece material
Internal work piece friction

brittle material removal F

Fn

Ft
Cutting

Secondary chip fractions Primary chip fractions

Ve Vs
η

hcu

Plastic defromations Micro cracks

I Elastic deformation
II Elastic + plastic deformation
III Scratching

Fig. 1 Early grinding models showing the different partial processes that take place including and besides material removal.
Top, model of König (Klocke and König 2005); bottom, model of Saljé (Saljé and Möhlen 1987)

continuous movement of the cutting edge or an end burr, when the cutting edge leaves the material
intersection.
All nonreversible displacements of material elements orthogonal to the cutting direction, whether they
concern material elements from the pileup or from the virgin material, make up the plowing, because after
the cutting edge has passed, those material elements are not removed from the workpiece but remain

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Front pileup Chip

X, Vc

Rake face

Side ridge
y

Deformation
zone
Z

Ploughing Chipping

Fig. 2 Intrinsic coordinate system for the single grain – material interaction

grain

bond
Ap

At

elastic spring back

Fig. 3 Cross section of a single grain scratch to define chipping and plowing ratio as well as elastic springback

displaced, despite the fact that there is a certain elastic springback, a partial backward displacement. The
result of this cutting model is a scratch with a profile shown in Fig. 3, which due to elastic springback is
smaller than the projection of the cutting tool (grain) in direction of the cutting speed, side ridges up to side
burrs, a plastically deformed cross section surrounding the scratch and the chip or pileup in front of the
rake face, which are the grain surfaces with normal that have a component in direction of the cutting
speed.
Figure 3 shows a scratch cross section and can be used to define the plowing ratio xp as the ratio
between the volume moved aside and the total excavated volume of the scratch, which can be transformed
to

Ap
xp ¼
At

by dividing the volumes by the scratch length. Here Ap is the cross section of material that has moved
above the former surface of the workpiece, and At is the cross section of the scratch up to the original
surface of the workpiece.

Ap
xc ¼
At

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Simulation with 22.5° rotation

Pileup, rake face 1 Fringe levels
Rake face 2 chip plastic strain
2.000e+00
1.800e+00
1.600e+00
1.400e+00
1.200e+00
1.000e+00
8.000e–01
6.000e–01
4.000e–01
2.000e–01
Burr, side ridge 0.000e+00

0° Rotation 22.5° Rotation

45° Rotation

Fig. 4 Smoothed particle simulation of single grain interaction of hexoctahedral grains with different orientation and plowing

is the chipping ratio and describes the amount of scratch volume that really has been removed.
Plowing as per above fixed definition leaves workpiece material that is plastically deformed; as seen in
the simulations in Fig. 4, the plastic deformation is significant ranging above 100 %. The simulation is
made with SPH method and Johnson–Cook material model for 100Cr6. Further details can be found in
R€uttimann et al. (2011). While the plowing ratio for the 22.5 cut is about 0.3, it is 0.05 for the 0 and 0.09
for the 45 cut, where the depth of intersection was 10 mm.
Especially in grinding, where the workpiece shape is made by multiple passes of cutting edges of
different grains, work hardening due to plowing plays a major role for metal grinding. The cutting forces
to remove some plowed material are higher than those for virgin material. For ductile materials, the
material separation, which is necessary for material removal, needs higher deformations, and thus
plowing and multiple replowing remove material due to low-cycle fatigue as shown in Fig. 5. A plowing-
dependent material removal mechanism, explained by Kragelski (1971), is shown in Fig. 6. Here plowing

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Fig. 5 Plowing and replowing lead to material removal due to low-cycle fatigue from Zum Gahr (1983) and Roth (1955)

abrasive grain

VC
work chip
hardened
surface
depth of
scratch

lateral flow of material material separation

upward bending of work
high shear deformation hardened and sheared layer
due to relaxation of elastic deformation

Fig. 6 Material removal mechanism by plowing, work hardening, and replowing from Kragelski (1971) after Martin and
Yegenoglu (1992)

furnishes the hardened top layer, which is separated due to replowing and thus shearing from the
subsequential grain working in the same scratch.
Plowing is also responsible for the internal stress field in the subsurface region of ground workpieces,
since plastic deformation leads to compression of material orthogonal to the original surface as seen in
Fig. 4 on the ground of the scratch. Also here, the shape of the grains influences the plowing considerably.
Strongly negative rake angles but still more important slightly negative flank angles contribute to friction,
plowing, and smoothing of the surface.
The plowing ratio depends on the shape, especially the cutting-edge radius and the rake angle of the tool
in grinding the grain, but also on process conditions as the uncut chip thickness. Whereas in chipping with
geometrically defined cutting edges, the uncut chip thickness is clearly defined, in grinding, it is different
for each cutting edge, depending on the distribution of grain protrusion (Abbott–Firestone curve). So in
each grinding process, there are a number of grains that remove material and that find a sufficient uncut
chip thickness after their predeceasing cutting edge has passed, while other cutting edges have uncut chip
thicknesses that are below the limit for their special geometry and thus do only plowing as shown in Fig. 5.
Also plowing behavior is clearly different in up-grinding and in down-grinding as shown in Fig. 7. In
up-grinding the grains contact material beginning with zero thickness of intersection. Here, the pileup in
front of the rake face needs to be first built up to a sufficient value until damage and material separation
occurs. Thus, plowing is pronounced. In down-grinding instead the area of intersection starts with a

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down grinding up grinding

ω
ω

uncut chip
thickness pile up

Fig. 7 Plowing behavior in up-grinding and down-grinding

2 μm

Plastic deformation
+
Lateral bulging

Homogeneous
surface with
removed chips

Brittle break outs

ZrO2-structure

Fig. 8 Plowing and brittle fracture in ZrO2, Y2O3 from Jochum (2013)

maximum value, and direct damage and material separation occurs leading to less plowing and better
cutting.
Grinding processes are energy intensive. This is due to fairly bad cutting conditions, to plowing, and to
friction as has been stated by Malkin and Guo (2008). The specific energy e, energy per removed volume,
can be summed up from the different contributors:

e ¼ ech þ ep þ esl

where ech is the chipping energy per removed volume, which is due to the bad cutting conditions
approximately equal to the melting enthalpy, ep is the plowing energy per removed volume, and esl is
the energy per removed volume dissipated by friction, mainly due to flat wear areas and negative rake
angles.
Figure 8 from Jochum (2013) shows the behavior in cutting of brittle hard materials, namely, zirconium
oxide and yttrium oxide as it is used for dental implants. The picture shows ductile material behavior due
to high compressive stresses and thus plowing in the upper scratch. In the lower scratch, an intercrystalline
fracture is shown, which is due to the interaction between grain and material possibly as shear fracture,
mechanism similar to the one pointed out by Kragelski in Fig. 6.

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References
Abebe M, Appl FC (1981) A slip line field for negative rake angle cutting. In: Proceedings of the North
American manufacturing research conference. SME, p 341
Jochum N (2013) Zerspanung ultraharter Keramik am Beispiel einer dreigliedrigen Zahnbr€ ucke. PhD
thesis, IWF, ETH Zurich
Klocke F, König W (2005) Fertigungsverfahren Band 2, Schleifen, Honen, Läppen. Springer, Berlin
Kragelski IW (1971) Reibung und Verschleiss. VEB Verlag Technik, Berlin
Malkin S, Guo G (2008) Grinding technology: theory and application of machining with abrasives,
2nd edn. Industrial Press, New York. ISBN 978-0-8311-3247-7
Martin K, Yegenoglu K (1992) HSG-Technologie: handbuch zur praktischen Anwendung. Verlag
G€uhring Automation, Stetten
Roth P (1955) Abtrennmechanismen beim Schleifen von Aluminiumoxidkeramik. PhD thesis, IFW,
Universität Hannover
R€uttimann N, Buhl S, Wegener K (2011) Simulation of single grain cutting using SPH method. J Mach
Eng 10(3):17–29
Saljé E, Möhlen H (1987) Prozessoptimierung beim Schleifen keramischer Werkstoffe. Industrie
Diamanten Rundschau IDR 21(4):243–247
Zum Gahr KH (1983) Furchungsverschleiss. Reibung und Verschleiss. DGM, Oberursel, pp 135–156

Page 7
Y
Yield Criteria
Alan Bramley
Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath,
Bath, UK
Definition
Yielding is the onset of plastic flow.
Theory and Applications
Criterion of Yielding
A yield criterion defines the limit of elasticity
(or onset of plastic flow) under any combination
of stresses. Figure 1 shows a stress–strain curve
that might be derived from a simple uniaxial ten-
sile test.
Plastic deformation commences when
s = Y. If, however, the material is partially
strained say to e1 and unloaded, then during any
subsequent reloading, plastic deformation would
not be observed until s = Y1. Generally, Y1 > Y
and the material is said to have strain, or work
hardened, the curve in Fig. 1, thus representing a
yield locus in simple tension for that particular
material. Such curves can be termed yield
stress–strain curves.
In more complex stress systems, the concept of
yield and flow is not visualized so readily. Con-
sider, for example, the two-dimensional stress
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16689-2
system shown in Fig. 2. If sc, a constant lateral
tension less than the yield stress in simple tension,
is applied initially, then at what value of longitu-
dinal stress s will the material yield and what will
be the strains in the different directions? No theory
based on metallurgical principles is yet available
which will predict adequately the yield behavior
of a polycrystalline aggregate, and hence recourse
must be made to a combination of empirical and
intuitive approaches.
No matter how complex the stress system may
be, it can always be reduced to a system of three
mutually perpendicular principal stresses. This
suggests a tentative yield criterion of the follow-
ing form:
f ðs1 , s2 , s3 Þ ¼ constant
Yield occurs when f (s1, s2, s3) reaches the value
of the constant. The constant will, of course, vary
with the material and its state of hardening.
Yielding is known from experiment to be unaf-
fected by moderate hydrostatic stresses. Yielding
must therefore be a function of the deviatoric
stresses remaining after the removal of the mean
hydrostatic stress sm ¼ ðs1 þ s2 þ s3 Þ=3 . The
deviatoric stresses are as follows:
2 Yield Criteria
σ σ
σ σ
Y1
Y
ε1
Yield Criteria, Fig. 1 Stress–strain curve in uniaxial
tension
s= 1 ¼ s1  sm ¼ ðs1  s2 Þ=3 þ ðs1  s3 Þ=3
¼ 2ðau1 þ au3 Þ=3
s= 2 ¼ s2  sm ¼ ðs2  s1 Þ=3 þ ðs2  s3 Þ=3
¼ 2ðau1 þ au2 Þ=3
s= 3 ¼ s3  sm ¼ ðs3  s1 Þ=3 þ ðs3  s2 Þ=3
¼ 2ðau3 þ au2 Þ=3
The deviatoric stresses are thus related to the
maximum shear stresses, a fact which is in accord
with experimentally observed relationships
between shearing and plastic flow, thus lending
support to this intuitive approach. On these
grounds, the following type of yield criterion
should be acceptable:
f ðt1 , t2 , t3 Þ ¼ constant:
Expressed in terms of principal stresses, this is
fjðs1  s2 Þ, ðs2  s3 Þ, ðs3  s1 Þj ¼ constant
The two most commonly used yield criteria now
emerge from this argument.
Von Mises Yield Criterion
This criterion, advanced by von Mises in 1913
purely on mathematical grounds, states that at
yield
σc
σ
σc
Yield Criteria, Fig. 2 A simple 2D stress system
ð s 1  s 2 Þ 2 þ ð s2  s 3 Þ 2 þ ð s3  s 1 Þ 2
¼ constant
An equivalent form in terms of deviatoric stresses
ε
is
2
2
2
6jðs0 Þ þ s02 þ ð s03 j ¼ constant
The criteria can also be interpreted to mean that
yielding occurs when the shear strain energy
reaches a critical magnitude.
The magnitude of the constant is established by
realizing that the criterion must work for the
experimentally simple stress states of tension
and torsion. This affords the opportunity of
expressing the criterion in terms of Y and k, the
tensile and shear yield stresses.
In simple tension at yield
s1 ¼ Y, s2 ¼ s3 ¼ 0$. Substituting these values
establishes that the constant = 2Y2.
In simple torsion at yield
s1 ¼ s3 ¼ auy , s2 ¼ 0 . Thus the
constant = 6 k2.
A by-product of the criterion is thus the pre-
diction that the tensile yield stress is greater than
the shear yield stress by a factor of √3.
Tresca Yield Criterion
As a result of experimental investigations into the
punching and extrusion of metals, Tresca (1864)
published an account of his work in which he
deduced that yielding occurred when the maxi-
mum shear stress attained a critical value. This is
equivalent to taking the largest of the three quan-
tities in the von Mises criterion and stating that
yielding will occur when this quantity reaches a
critical magnitude.
Yield Criteria 3

Thus, if s1 > s2 > s3
j ¼ constant
then js1  s3
or if s2 > s1 > s3
j ¼ constant
then js2  s3
and so on for all the possible “orderings” of the
principal stresses.
Applying the criterion to simple tension and
torsion establishes the magnitude of the constant.
However, in practice, it is sometimes difficult to
identify the maximum and minimum principal
stresses but the mathematical expediency arising
from its relative simplicity makes it attractive
to use.
Stress-Space Representation of Yield Criteria
Any stress system can be plotted as a point P in
principal stress space formed by coordinate axes
s1, s2, and s3 (see Fig. 3).
The projections of OP on to the three axes, viz.,
OK, OL, and OM, correspond to the three princi-
pal stresses acting. One can think of OP as the
stress system vector.
OH, drawn equally inclined to all three axes,
represents a line of hydrostatic stress. PN, the
normal from the stress point P to the line of
hydrostatic stress, thus corresponds to the amount
σ3
M
H
P
N σ2
by which the stress system deviates from the nor-
mal. It is this distance which is critical when
establishing nearness to yielding. Elementary
coordinate geometry establishes that:
PN ¼ 1=√3jðs1  s2 Þ2 þ ðs2  s3 Þ2
þ ðs3  s1 Þ2 j1=2
This can be compared with the von Mises yield
criterion, written in a rearranged form as
pffiffiffi
Y ¼ 1= 2jðs1  s2 Þ2 þ ðs2  s3 Þ2
þ ðs3  s1 Þ2 j1=2
Thus, in the three-dimensional stress space, the
von Mises criterion can be represented by a circu-
lar cylinder of radius √2Y=√3, with its axis equally
inclined to the three principal stress axes. Stress
points plotted within the cylinder are wholly elas-
tic and when the stress point reaches the surface of
the cylinder, yielding occurs. Strain hardening
will be represented by a radial expansion of the
cylinder.
Likewise, the Tresca criterion can be
represented by a three-dimensional enclosure,
this time in the form of a hexagonal section cyl-
inder concentric with the von Mises cylinder.
When viewing along the axis of the cylinder, the
apices of the hexagonal section will coincide with
the circular section (see Fig. 4) along the lines of
projection of the axes.
σ
3

L
O

K
σ1 σ1 σ2

Yield Criteria, Fig. 3 Yield criteria in 3-D principal stress Yield Criteria, Fig. 4 Yield criteria representation on the
space p plane
4 Yield Criteria

Effective (Equivalent, Generalized) Stress de2 ¼ dex =2

Consider von Mises yield criterion written as
follows: de3 ¼ dex =2

 h i1=2 then de ¼ dex

Y¼ 1 pffiffi 2 2
ðs1 s2 Þ þ ðs2 s3 Þ þ ðs1 s3 Þ 2 When the strain is uniform and the principal
2
axes do not rotate, the expression can be
interpreted in terms of finite strains, i.e.,
We could write this as follows:
pffiffiffi
 h
i1=2 e¼ 2
2
s¼1 pffiffi s1 s2 þ ðs2 s3 Þ2 þ ðs1 s3 Þ2 h i1=2
2
¼ 3 ðe1  e2 Þ2 þ ðe2  e3 Þ2 þ ðe1  e3 Þ2
where s is referred to as the effective stress.
When it reaches a “certain effective value” or in terms of coordinate stresses:
yielding occurs.
2 h n
2
2
s corresponds to the yield stress in simple de ¼ dex  dey þ dey  dez þ ðdex  dez Þ2
9 
tension. 3

Its value can be computed for a given stress þ dg2 xy þ dg2 yz þ dg2 xz
2
system and then monitored to establish proximity
to yielding or position of stress system on the Further development of these concepts is given by
yield locus if yielding has already occurred. Hill (1950).

Effective (Equivalent/Generalized) Strain

An invariant function of the strain increments
Cross-References
similar to s can be derived which when applied
to simple tension reduces to the longitudinal
▶ Flow Stress, Flow Curve
strain:
▶ Stress, Strain
pffiffi . h
de ¼ 2
ðde1  de2 Þ2 þ ðde2  de3 Þ2
3
i1=2
þðde1  de3 Þ2 References

Hill R (1950) The mathematical theory of plasticity.

In simple tension Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 14–23
Tresca H-É (1864) Mémoire sur l’écoulement des corps
solides soumis à de fortes pressions. CR Acad Sci Paris
de1 ¼ dex 59:754–758, [Material flow in rigid bodies under high
pressure]. (in French)
From volume consistency dey ¼ dez ¼ dex =2 von Mises R (1913) Mechanik der festen Körper im
i.e., plastisch-deformablen Zustand [Mechanics of ductile
deformable rigid bodies]. Nachrichten von der Gesell-
schaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen [News Acad
de1 ¼ þdex Soc Göttingen], Mathematische-Physikalische Klasse
1913:582–592 (in German)
S

Stress, Strain It is appropriate to transform into components

in x, y, and z system.
Alan Bramley Choosing x as normal to surface with y and z
Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, being tangential:
Bath, UK
sxx ¼ dFx =dA

Synonyms sxy ¼ dFy =dA

Deformation sxz ¼ dFz =dA

Suffix notation: first suffix – direction of normal to

area. Second suffix – direction in which
Definition
component acts.
Sign convention: normal stress – Tensile +ve.
A stress is a force F distributed over a flat
Compressive ve. Shear stress – follows
supporting surface.
coordinates.
Strain is a parameter which describes the rela-
Stress tensor: Within a cartesian coordinate
tive displacement of particles within a
system, the stress at any point can be defined by
deforming body.
nine stress components:

sxx sxy sxz

Theory and Application sij ¼ syx syy syz
szx szy szz
Stress
A stress is a force F distributed over a flat Similarly in cylindrical coordinates,
supporting surface of Area A.
Stress at a point, identified with s, is given by srr sry srz
sij ¼ syr syy syz
limit as dA ! 0 of dF=dA ¼ dF=dA szr szy szz

Stress may vary over surface. it is usual to write

Stress may act as an arbitrary angle.
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16690-3
2 Stress, Strain

a b
A'
A C'
A''

z+δz ∂w. δx
B B'
C C'' ∂x
D' ∂v. δx
∂u. δx ∂x
∂x

z D

A A' c D''
C'
α1 D'
C
y+δy
θ
A' A''
x
C'
y
α2
x+δx C''

Stress, Strain, Fig. 1 (a) Generalized displacement in 2-D deformation, (b) linear strain, and (c) shear strain

sxx ¼ sx etc: developed by ascribing u = u(x, y, z); v = v(x, y,

sxy ¼ txy etc:
thus sii ¼ sx þ sy þ sz
and sij deij ¼ sx dex þ sy dey þ sz dez


þ 2 syz deyz þ szx dezx þ sxy dexy
Strain
Strain is a parameter which describes the relative
displacement of particles within a deforming
body. In the general case of a body subjected to
stress, normal (or linear) and shear strains will
occur together with translational and rotational
displacements of elements within the body.
Since only those displacements corresponding
to strain can be related directly to the applied
stress through the mechanical properties of the
continuum, it is necessary to develop formulae
which will describe strains in terms of measured
displacements which themselves may include
components of translational and rotational
movement.
The relationships between strains and displace-
ments in Cartesian coordinate system are usually
z); and w = w(x, y, z) to displacements in the x, y,
and z directions, respectively, and considering a
generalized movement and strain of an elemental
cube of dimensions dx, dy, and dz such as ABCD
in Fig. 1a. The cube is considered to be suffi-
ciently small that strains will be constant across
it. A consequence of this assumption is that par-
allelism between opposing faces of the cube will
be maintained.
Suppose applied stresses transform the cube to
A0 B0 C0 D0 . Consider now the movement of AC to
A0 C0 (Fig. 1b).
Elimination of translational movement by
constructing A00 C00 parallel to AC with A0 and
A00 coinciding enables the length of A0 C0 to be
determined in terms of u, v, and w:
ðA0 C0 Þ ¼ ðdx þ @u=@x  dxÞ2 þ ð@v=@x  dxÞ2
2
þ ð@w=@x  dxÞ2
h
¼ ðdxÞ2 1 þ 2@u=@x þ ð@u=@xÞ2
þð@v=@xÞ2 þ ð@w=@xÞ2 
Stress, Strain 3

The linear strain of AC is defined by the ratio of its
change in length to its original length,
i:e:, ðA0 C0  ACÞ=AC ¼ ðA0 C0 =ACÞ  1
Now AC = dx.
Therefore linear strain of AC, exx = [1 + 2 (@u/
@x) + (@u/@x)2 + (@v/@x)2 + (@w/@x)2]1/2  1.
If any application this equation can be
restricted to situations involving displacements
sufficiently small that second-order terms become
negligible and the linear strain of AC can be
assumed to correspond to a strain in the
x-direction, then Eq. 1, after binomial expansion,
reduces to
exx ¼ @u=@x:
fxy ¼ @u=@y þ @v=@x
where fxy is known as the engineering shear
strain and is the sum of two quantities usually
referred to as exy and eyx. It would thus appear
that fxy does not determine uniquely the shear
distortion since it can correspond to an infinity
of exy and eyx values. However, reference to
Fig. 2 shows that the differences between exy
and eyx corresponds solely to the rotational dis-
placement of the element thus contributing noth-
ing to the shear distortion which is therefore
uniquely defined by fxy. By considering the
other planes and direction in the Cartesian coor-
dinate system, the complete strain–displacement
equations can be formulated:

Similar expressions for eyy and ezz can be derived

by considering the transformations of AD Element
and AB.
The use of the letter e is generally synonymous
with the designation “engineering strain.”
A description of the strain is completed by Linear Stain
considering changes in the angles BAD, DAC,
and BAC. For example, in the x-y plane
(Fig. 1c), the right angle DAC transforms to y
and (p/2  y) is a measure of the amount of this
transformation: Shear Stain

ðp=2  yÞ ¼ a1 þ a2 tan a2
h i1=2
¼ ð@v=@x  dxÞ2 þ ð@w=@x  dxÞ2 Rotation

=½dx þ @u=@x  dx1=2

h i1=2
¼ ðdv=dxÞ2 þ ð@w=@x  dxÞ2
=½1 þ @u=@x1 Translation

The second-order term (dw/dx)2 can be neglected

and also (1 + @u/@x)  1 thus,

tan a2  @v=@x
Generalised
i:e:, a2 þ @v=@x Displacement

Similarly, a1  @u/@y
Thus (p/2  y) can be expressed as Stress, Strain, Fig. 2 Illustrates the breakdown of gen-
eral displacement for a 2-D case of strain
4 Stress, Strain

Stress, Strain, Fig. 3 (a) u

Plastic flow in simple a 0 b
tension, (b) a strain
increment, and (c) ∂u/∂x
successive increments of f δ
displacement

x
c δ δ
0
1
2

f

ex ¼ @u=dx ey ¼ @v=@y ez ¼ @w=@z integration of these increments. The symbol e is

and
fxy ¼ @u=@y þ @v=@x
fyz ¼ @v=@z þ @w=@y
fxz ¼ @u=@z þ @w=@x
Problems in the cylindrical coordinate system are
also frequently encountered, and with similar
assumptions regarding second-order terms, the
corresponding strain–displacement equations
appear as follows:
er ¼ @u=@r ey ¼ 1=rðu þ @v=@yÞ
ez ¼ @w=@z
fyz ¼ 1=r:@w=@y þ @v=@z
frz ¼ @u=@z þ @w=@r
fr y ¼ 1=rð@u=@y  vÞ þ @v=@r
Essentially, the foregoing can be considered as the
theory of infinitesimal strain and to be valid for
problems involving the elasticity of metals. It is
apparent that the use of these relations for finite
strain would lead to considerable error whether or
not the strain was uniform. The difficulty can be
overcome by realizing that since the foregoing
equations are valid for infinitesimal total strains,
then they must also be valid for infinitesimal
increments of finite strains. The value of the total
finite strain can then be determined from an
normally used to denote finite linear strain, the
strain–displacement equations henceforth being
valid with de replacing e:
i:e:, dex ¼ @u=@x etc:
Lack of universal agreement for an appropriate
symbol to denote finite shear strain can lead to
confusion when referring to textbooks; df, dg,
deij are variously encountered.
It is useful and instructive to consider condi-
tions of uniform finite straining where integration
of strain increments can be performed analyti-
cally. Uniform straining is taken to mean that the
principal axes of strain do not rotate. Plastic flow
in a simple tensile test (Fig. 3a) prior to the onset
of necking fulfils this condition.
Initially, the original gauge length lo increases
by an infinitesimal increment dl. This increment is
represented graphically in Fig. 3b, whence strain
increment can be formed as
de ¼ @u=@x ¼ d1=10
For subsequent equal displacements dl (Fig. 3c),
corresponding strain increments can be formed:
de1 ¼ d1=1s de2 ¼ d11 de3 ¼ d1=12 etc:
i.e., in general de = d1/1
Stress, Strain 5

The total strain can then be obtained by sum- strains has obvious advantages. Thus, in simple
ming these increments from the original length 10 tension where
to the final length lf say
10 ! 11 ! 12
ð 1ðf

e ¼ de ¼ d1=1 ¼ 1n 1f =10 in terms of e, these steps are

10
ð11  10 Þ=10 and ð12  11 =11 Þ
Such total finite strains are known as natural or
logarithmic strains, the use of which was first with total strain ¼ ðl2  l0 Þ=l0
suggested by Ludwig (1909). The engineering
strain is frequently used as a measure of finite but e01 þ e12 6¼ e02
linear strain (e.g., the percentage elongation in a
simple tensile test is usually quoted). The relation- However, in terms of e, the steps are 1n l1/l0 and
ship between these two measures can be derived 1n l2/l1 and total strain = 1n l2/l0
as follows:
In simple tension ex = (lf  l0)/l0 = (lf/l0)  1 i:e:, e01 þ e12 ¼ e02

Natural strains are thus better to use in the analysis

e ¼ 1nð1 þ eÞ
of plastic flow.
With very small strains e and e become equal.
However, e is not a realistic measure of large finite
strain; thus the use of e is favored under such Cross-References
conditions. For example, in simple compression
of a billet from ho to h, ▶ Flow Curve
▶ Flow Stress
e ¼ ln ðh0 =hÞ
and e ¼ h0  h=h0

as h tends to zero, e ! 1, and e ! 1. e is Reference

obviously a more realistic measure of the strain.
Ludwig P (1909) Elemente der technologischen Mechanik
Analytical work may involve the addition of (Elements of technological mechanics). Springer, Ber-
strains during the finite steps of a finite strain lin (in German)
program and the additive property of natural
F
Functional Correlation
Christopher A. Brown
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA,
USA
Synonyms
Roughness relations
Definition
Functional correlation in surface metrology refers
to the relations between the surface and phenom-
ena that influence or are influenced by the topog-
raphy. Establishing functional correlations is one
of the principal objectives of research in surface
metrology.
Theory and Application
There are two kinds of functional correlations.
These are called correlations of the first kind
when they are between phenomena that created
or modified the surface and the topography. They
are called correlations of the second kind when
they are between the topography and behavior, or
performance, of the surface (Fig. 1).
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16692-3
Currently there are probably many more phe-
nomena that are topographically related than there
are functional correlations reported in the litera-
ture. This would appear to be especially true of
functional correlations of the second kind. ▶ Sur-
face topography is also called texture, particularly
in mechanical and manufacturing engineering
(ASME B46.1 2009), and is commonly referred
to as roughness.
Functional correlations of the first kind
describe how surface topographies are modified
by interactions with their environment. Knowl-
edge of functional correlations of the first kind is
useful when designing manufacturing processes
(Brown 2000). Functional correlations of the first
kind are also used to understand the use-wear that
created surfaces on artifacts for archeologists
(Stemp et al. 2009) and what foods created dental
microwear for physical anthropologists (Scott
et al. 2005) and to identify weapons in forensics
(Gambino et al. 2011). They are also useful in
monitoring and controlling degradation in cultural
heritage preservation.
Functional correlations of the second kind
describe how interactions with surfaces are
influenced by the topography. Knowledge of
functional correlations of the second kind is useful
for the design of products.
Both kinds of functional correlations are useful
for the advancement of surface science and for
understanding geological and biological surfaces.
The latter can assist in the development of
2 Functional Correlation
biomimicry for applications in manufacturing and
manufactured products.
A rational approach to the design of surface
topographies for products and the processes to
create them could be based on functional correla-
tions of the second and first kinds, respectively. To
the extent to which functional correlations are
used in product and process design would appear
to be hidden in trade secrets.
There is little in the literature on rigorous
experimental verification, especially on functional
correlations of the second kind. Establishing func-
tional correlations of the second kind usually
requires more laborious experimental efforts
than establishing functional correlations of the
first kind.
Initial understandings of quantitative func-
tional correlations can be developed through
modeling. These would then need to be verified
experimentally. Experimental quantitative func-
tional correlations should be reported with some
analysis relating topographic characterization
parameters and phenomena of interest.
Information on functional correlations of the
first and second kinds, of a qualitative sort, can be
found in textbooks and handbooks (e.g., Black
and Kohser 2012; Whitehouse 1994). For
addressing functional correlations of the first
kind, there are tables available that typically sug-
gest what range of roughness might be achievable
with what kinds of manufacturing processes.
Whitehouse (1994) gives a thorough discussion
of experimental and theoretical bases for func-
tional correlations of the first and second kind;
however, there is little experimental verification
and no regression testing of functional correla-
tions reported.
Establishing quantitative functional correla-
tions depends on being able to describe the topog-
raphy appropriately. There are two aspects of
characterizing the topography that appear to be
important in establishing functional correlations:
first, the geometrical nature of the topography
and, second, the scale of the characterization
(Brown and Siegmann 2001; Berglund
et al. 2010a, b). The appropriate characterization
of a measured surface also depends on making the
measurements at the appropriate scales.
The interactions that collectively produce the
topographically related phenomena on rough sur-
faces, which would be described by functional
correlations, occur at certain scales of interaction.
These scales of interaction need to be included in
the scales of measurement in order to discover
functional correlations (Fig. 1).
Form in some cases, particularly when it devi-
ates from what it is supposed to be, can alter
behavior or performance that was thought to be
related to the roughness. This can exacerbate the
experimental determination of functional correla-
tions of the second kind.
One of the simplest functional correlations of
the first kind with a theoretical and experimental
basis can provide an example of the transition
between smooth and chaotic topographies
(Brown et al. 1996). This is the relation between
feed per revolution (f) in conventional machining
by turning, the tool nose radius (r), and the peak-
to-valley roughness (Rt or Rz). The peak-to-valley
roughness is the maximum minus minimum sur-
face height. The relation is given by
Rz  f 2 =8r (1)
The development of this model is based on
smooth geometries (Whitehouse 1994), even
though it is below the scale considered as form
in this manufacturing operation. The scale of what
would normally be considered to be the form is
given by the grosser movements of the tool and
workpiece during machining. The development of
the equation is based on the round nose of the tool,
r, scraping out a helical arc-shaped groove in the
surface about a cylindrical workpiece (Fig. 2).
When viewed in cross section, these arcs have a
maximum cord length equal to the feed, f.
An image from a measurement of a turned
surface is shown in Fig. 3. The surface was turned
with a tool with a nose radius of 400 mm at a feed
of 150 mm. The measurement was made with a
laser scanning confocal microscope with a 50
objective. The large-scale tool form is clearly
visible, and the regular peak-to-valley roughness
described by Eq. (1) is clear. At the fine scales,
there are details of a chaotic, or irregular,
Functional Correlation 3

Performance scale Process scale

Topograghy Topograghy formation
performance Topograghy process

Measurement Scale

MEASURED
TEXTURE

Analysis Scale

performance TEXTURE process

CHARACTERIZATION CHARACTERIZATION CHARACTERIZATION

second kind first kind

FUNCTIONAL CORRELATIONS

Functional Correlation, Fig. 1 The importance of scales in determining functional correlations of the first and second
kinds

Functional Correlation,
Rz ª f 2/8r
Fig. 2 Modeling turned
f : feed
surface roughness for
correlations of the first kind r : tool nose radius
at the scale of the feed and Regular
tool nose radius tool roughness, larger
scales
feed

r
Rz

Irregular roughness
finer scales

roughness that are not captured by the peak-to-
valley roughness described by Eq. (1).
Experimentally the roughness has been shown
to be highly correlated with the feed with R2
greater than 0.95 (Brown et al. 1996). At fine
feeds Eq. (1) applies as long as the chaotic rough-
ness inside the groove left by the tool nose is less
than that described by the equation. At large feeds
the equation applies as long as the feed is not
larger than the cord describing the limits of the
round portion of the tool nose. Figure 4 shows a
functional correlation of the first kind. The feed
per revolution is regressed with the peak-to-valley
roughness in turning. The deviation between the
theoretical and actual roughness is shown. It
appears that the minimum roughness that could
be achieved would be an of about 1.5 mm.
4 Functional Correlation

Functional Correlation, feed

Fig. 3 Image of a surface on
turned with a feed of oti
lm
150 mm and a tool nose too
400 mm, rendered from a
measurement with scanning
µm

700
laser confocal microscope
18

350
µm
0
700
350
µm

0
0

Functional Correlation, 25
Fig. 4 A functional
correlation of the first kind measured
showing theoretical and 20
Rz = f /8r + 1.4 µm
2
measured peak-to-valley
Roughness Rt in µm

roughness, Rz
15

theoretical
10
Rz = f 2/8r

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Feed in µm/rev

One inadequacy of Eq. (1) Rt as a characteri-
zation of the topography of the turned surface is
their failure to capture the characteristics of the
topography at the finer scales. It is often at these
scales that the phenomena interact with the topog-
raphy and influence the performance. Functional
correlations of the second kind that are strong
enough to be used in product design might not
be achievable using only Rt as the parameter to
characterize the roughness. Topographically
dependent phenomena, like reflectivity and adhe-
sion, tend to depend on the finer scale, i.e., irreg-
ular or chaotic, roughness inside the regular
grooves left by the tool nose.
Examples of functional correlations of the sec-
ond kind which have been discovered experimen-
tally include relating rake face roughness to tool-
chip friction (Koshy and Tovey 2011), substrate
roughness to adhesive strength of thermal spray
coatings (Brown and Siegmann 2001), and the
roughness to sheet metal friction (Berglund
et al. 2010a, b). Theoretical support for these
functional correlations should relate the mecha-
nisms of interaction with the rough surface that
influence the performance to the topographic
characterization parameters. In the case of rake
face roughness, the skew could be an indication
of the tool-chip contact area which is known to
influence machining forces (Brown 1983). The
correlation with thermal spray adhesion is based
on a characterization of the area that is available
for bonding. The correlation appears to be specific
at a scale which could be related to the bonding
interaction. It appears that the sheet metal die
friction could be related to the inclinations on
the die surface at a certain scale (Berglund
Functional Correlation
et al. 2010b). However many kinds of topographic
characterization parameters were found to corre-
late strongly with friction, provided the correct
scale range is identified (Berglund et al. 2010a).
Cross-References
▶ Roughness
▶ Surface Parameters
References
ASME B46.1–2009 (2009) Surface texture (roughness,
waviness and lay). The American Society of Mechan-
ical Engineers, New York
Berglund J, Agunwamba C, Powers B, Brown CA, Rosén
B-G (2010a) On discovering relevant scales in surface
roughness measurement. An evaluation of a band-pass
method. Scanning 32:244–249
Berglund J, Brown CA, Rosén B-G, Bay N (2010b) Milled
die steel surface roughness correlation with steel sheet
friction. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 59(1):577–580
5
Black JT, Kohser RA (2012) DeGarmo’s materials and
processes in manufacturing, 11th edn. Wiley, Hoboken,
p 1037
Brown CA (1983) Practical method for estimating machin-
ing forces from tool-chip contact area. CIRP Ann
Manuf Technol 32(1):91–95
Brown CA (2000) Issues in modeling machined surface
textures. Mach Sci Technol 4(3):539–546
Brown CA, Siegmann S (2001) Fundamental scales of
adhesion and area-scale fractal analysis. Int J Mach
Tools Manuf 41:1927–1933
Brown CA, Johnsen WA, Butland RM (1996) Scale-
sensitive fractal analysis of turned surfaces. Ann
CIRP 45(1):515–518
Gambino C, McLaughlin P, Kuo L, Kammerman F,
Shenkin P, Diaczuk P, Petraco N, Hamby J, Petraco
NDK (2011) Forensic surface metrology: tool mark
evidence. Scanning 33(1–7):272
Koshy P, Tovey J (2011) Performance of electrical dis-
charge textured cutting tools. CIRP Ann Manuf
Technol 60:153–156
Scott RS, Ungar PS, Bergstrom TS, Brown CA, Grine FE,
Teaford MF, Walker A (2005) Dental microwear tex-
ture analysis within-species diet variability in fossil
hominins. Nature 436(4):693–695
Stemp WJ, Childs BE, Vionnet S, Brown CA (2009) Quan-
tification and discrimination of lithic use-wear: surface
profile measurements and length-scale fractal analysis.
Archaeometry 51(3):366–382
CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16695-3
# CIRP 2015

Forming Presses (Hydraulic, Mechanical, Servo)

Konrad Wegener*
Institut f€
ur Werkzeugmaschinen und Fertigung (IWF), ETH Z€urich, Z€urich, Switzerland

Synonyms
Press machines

Definition
Forming presses are forming machines with linear relative movements of the two main parts of the tools.
Presses have a drive system, which generates a linear movement of at least and in most cases one ram
carrying the first main part of the tool, which is bound by the linear guiding system. To counterbalance the
press forces, presses have a stout frame, supporting the drive system for the ram(s), supporting the linear
guides of the ram, and supporting some kind of table for the fixture of the second main part of the tool. The
frame also supports all kinds of auxiliary systems as transfer, ejectors, die cushions, material infeed,
lubrication and coolant, and systems for the exchange of tools and tool parts.
Presses are subclassified in path-driven, force-driven, and energy-driven machines, depending on the
drive system.
In path-driven machines, the drive system defines the path of the ram, while the forces are defined by
the feedback from the forming process. Typical realization of such machines is the mechanically driven
presses. Force-driven machines define by their drive system the force at every position of the ram, while
the path is defined by the feedback from the forming process. Typical realizations of such machines are
hydraulic presses, where the pressure and the cross section of the piston define the press force. Both
machines suffer from energetic limitations of their drive system, which influences accelerations and thus
speed. If only the energy for the process is defined by the machine, the machine is classified as energy-
driven press machine. Typical realizations are hammers and flywheel spindle presses.
A servo press is a press machine with a closed-loop control of the position and/or force. Those
machines can be operated in a path-driven, force-driven, or energy-driven mode and thus mark a fourth
class of press machines. But those machines can only be operated in one of those modes, which is decided
by the control system. A path-driven mode in servo presses requires a position feedback loop, a force-
driven mode, and a current feedback loop, while the energy-driven mode does not require any
feedback loop.
All kinds of presses are further subdivided in metal-forming, bulk-forming or sheet metal-forming, and
polymer-forming presses by the kind of raw material to be processed and in cold, hot, and semi-hot
forming machines, depending on the temperature at which the material is fed in. Those criteria define the
design specification of the whole press.
Forming presses are press machines that are designated and utilized to deform some kind of material,
mostly metals, which means that the main operations within the machine are processes from the second
main group of processes of DIN 8580. Forming presses therefore introduce energy into the workpiece
during the travel of the tool under acting process forces, which distinguishes them, e.g., from die casting
machines.

*Email: wegener@iwf.mavt.ethz.ch

Page 1
CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16695-3
# CIRP 2015

div s = 0 equilibrium

s = f (e ,e ) constitutive
e = s grad ( u ) kinematics

bounadry

bounadry
boundaryconditions:
force = prescribed stress
path = prescribed displacements

Fig. 1 Path-driven and force-driven presses: determined by the boundary conditions for the governing differential equations

Theory and Applications

Forming presses deform material. Figure 1 shows a forming machine with material region between an
upper and a lower die, which are the two main parts of the tool. The deformation, whatever material it is, is
governed by three equations at least.

div s ¼ 0 (1)
 
s ¼ f e, e_ (2)

e ¼ s grad ðuÞ (3)

Equation 1 is the continuum equilibrium condition; Eq. 2 is the constitutive equation, which specifies the
material behavior; and Eq. 3 is the kinematics, the displacement–deformation conditions. The forming
machine defines the boundary conditions for this set of partial differential equations. It can be seen
without going into details that those equations are essentially grade two in the displacements, which
means that boundary conditions are in the displacements or in the first derivative of displacements. First
derivatives of displacements are in all constitutive equations connected to stress at least due to elasticity,
which is common for all materials. From these two types of press machines can be derived, namely, path-
driven machines, where boundary conditions for the displacements are prescribed, and force-driven
machines, where stress boundary conditions are prescribed, which are integrated to the press force.
From this it follows also that despite the possibilities of servo presses to operate under different modes of
the drive, path, force, or energy, nothing really new is added, because the drive can only introduce either
boundary condition at a time.
The press force is transmitted on the slide in pressure points. Thus, single- to four-point presses can be
distinguished.
The accuracy of press machines is limited mainly due to play in the drive system and compliance of
drives and frame, giving rise to displacements of the slide under load in vertical and horizontal direction

Page 2
CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16695-3
# CIRP 2015

M K , ωK
b c
MK, ωK
α MK, ωK

h
H=2r

Fig. 2 Link drive mechanisms from Lange (1984) and Schuler (1996): (a) excenter drive system, (b) knuckle-joint drive, and
(c) modified knuckle-joint drive

and by tilting. O-type frames suffer from horizontal displacements and tilting of the slide only with
excentric loads from the process, while C-type frames have both also with centric loads. Even today,
measuring of dynamic behavior of press machines under dynamic loads is not standardized, but static
compliances are standard quality parameters of press machines.
Centric loads are thus the requirement to be fulfilled for good and accurate parts, which need to be
optimized in the planning of the forming steps, when multiple forming steps are included within one tool
on one slide. The problem to be solved is that the force–time functions for each forming step are different,
and at best at all times within the stroke, the force center should be aligned with the center of the slide.
Hydraulic presses sometimes have closed-loop controls for keeping the slide despite excentric load
parallel.

Mechanical Presses
The drive system consists of an electric motor, which drives a flywheel, a gear for speed reduction, and a
link drive to convert rotations to the translation of the slide. With clutch and brake the drive system is
coupled to the flywheel or stopped by coupling to the frame. Mechanical presses mainly differ in the link
drive. Simple link drives are excentric shaft – connection rod, which gives mainly a cosine of the crank
angle as slide path. Knuckle-joint and modified knuckle-joint drives as shown in Fig. 2 or rocker arm
drives as six-component link drives or eight-component link drives as shown in Fig. 3 are necessary to
distort the slide path–crank angle correlation especially for deep drawing operations. Mechanical presses
are able to deliver the force necessary for forming only within the nominal force angle or nominal force
stroke as shown in Fig. 4. On the other hand, as the force is defined by the forming process, the forces may
become infinite theoretically in the lower dead center, which requires either an overload protection or
special attention by the user.
Mechanical presses are very energy efficient, as they are able to run continuously, which is with the
exception of friction and the energy for the forming process only shifting around of kinetic and potential

Page 3
CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16695-3
# CIRP 2015

Fig. 3 Link drive systems for mechanical presses from Schuler (1996): (a) excenter drive, (b) rocker arm drive, and (c) eight-
component link drive

Fig. 4 Cycle of a hydraulic press cylinder from Schuler (1996): (a) fast downstroke by gravity of the slide; (b) forming stroke,
pressurized by the pump; and (c) fast upstroke pressurizing the ring cylinder underneath the piston, squeezing oil from the
upper cylinder room back into tank

energy. Furthermore, they act as power concentrators: while the motor charges the flywheel continuously
over a whole crank angle cycle, only within a small time span, for example, 30 crank angle, the power for
forming is withdrawn from the flywheel. A mechanical press needs approx. 1/12 of the forming power as
motor power, while the motor can operate all the time in a fairly energy-efficient mode.

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CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16695-3
# CIRP 2015

Essential layout parameter is the work capacity of the machine, which normally is specified as nominal
stroke times nominal force. But this is available only in a specified range of strokes per minute, as it is
limited by the power of the motor to high speeds and to low speeds by the permitted energy withdrawal
from the flywheel, which reduces the speed of flywheel and motor.

Hydraulic Presses
Hydraulic presses differ from mechanical presses by substituting the drive system by cylinder and piston,
where the piston is fixed to the slide and the cylinder to the frame as shown in Fig. 4. A fast downstroke is
made by opening the prefill valves, which connect the cylinder to the oil tank situated above the cylinder
on the frame. The oil then is sucked out of the tank by the dead weight of the slide, while the oil in the ring
cylinder space underneath the piston is pushed into the tank or in the upper cylinder chamber. For forming,
the pump pressurizes the cylinder room giving rise to press force F:

F¼pA (4)

where p is the pressure, usually not above 300 bar, and A is the piston surface. The fast upstroke is realized
by a very stout piston rod, leaving only a very thin ring cylinder between the rod and the cylinder wall,
which only needs very little amount of oil to lift the slide.
This system enables a very fast and efficient downstroke and prefilling. At every position of the stroke,
the hydraulic press can deliver the full press force. No overload can occur. This flexibility is
counterbalanced by the disadvantage that the whole power for forming must be delivered by the pump,
which means that the maximum power of a hydraulic press is by a factor of approx. 10 higher than for
mechanical presses. A possible solution to overcome this problem is the application of nitrogen accumu-
lators, which have the same task as the flywheel for mechanical presses, namely, to distribute the power
over the whole cycle. The pump then fills the accumulators when no pressurized oil is needed for the drive
and is unloaded during the forming cycle.
For hydraulic presses the stroke of the slide consisting of acceleration, fast prestroke, deceleration,
forming stroke, change of direction in the lower return point, fast upstroke, deceleration, and upper rest
needs to be programmed by the user with graphical interface. Hydraulic presses are normally by a factor of
at least 1.5 slower than a comparable mechanical press, for instance, ten versus 18 strokes per minute for
large-area automotive presses. While the ram speed of mechanical presses changes during the forming
stroke, hydraulic presses are able to keep the speed fairly good constant. Hydraulic press drive systems are
more compliant than mechanical press drives for comparable press forces, which gives rise to larger slide
displacements under loading conditions.

Servo Presses
The limitations of mechanical presses concerning the path of the slide have driven machine development
not only toward multicomponent link drives as seen in Figs. 2 and 3 but also toward programmable
modifications of the slide paths. In Neugebauer et al. (2007), some technical solutions for presses with
flywheel drive and additional servo drives coupled in the link drive system or into the rotary gear by
planetary gear as shown in Fig. 5 are discussed. Those machines have only the capability of limited
flexibilization depending on the ratio of servo drive power to power of the main drive. Full flexibilization
of the main drive system is achieved, when the flywheel is discarded and the electric motor becomes a

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CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16695-3
# CIRP 2015

main drive

additional
brake 31 planetary gear
additional 1 with crank
32
drive
2

4 5
output

standard machine

machine with additional drive

forward motion braking
0.5
0.4
0.3 Un
ram velocity

0.2
0.1
[m/s]

0 OT ram velocity [m/s] UT

–0.1
–0.2
–0.3
–0.4
–0.5
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5
return motion acceleration
stroke [m]

Fig. 5 Flexibilization of the main drive of mechanical presses by a planetary gear as coupler for the variable speed drive. Top-
left scheme of the drive system, top-right flywheel with planetary gear to couple the servo motor, and speed stroke diagram
showing the superior speed of the flexible drive system

servo motor. This then necessitates motors delivering the power required for the forming stroke.
Depending on the power and torque requirements, one or several servo motors are required. Especially,
machine designs with one drive for each pressure point of the slide enable to keep the slide parallel under
excentric loads, if direct measuring systems are applied. Three classes of servo presses exist today:

1. Servo press with link drive system: The servomotors replace the flywheel. One or more servo motors
operate in parallel and drive the gear system as shown in Fig. 6a.
2. Servo press with ball screw drive system: This press system is shown in Fig. 6b and resembles more the
hydraulic drive system, if the hydraulic cylinders are replaced by ball screws with a motor for each
pressure point, alternatively by one motor and a gear system to move the thread spindles
synchronously.
3. Servo press with linear motor drive system: This press system is shown in Fig. 6c and could only be
applied to presses with small forces up to 100 kN, which can be used for micro-forming operations. As
they omit all kinds of mechanical gears, the predefined path can be followed very exactly to within
microns (see Wegener and Schepp 2000).

Those servo presses and their capabilities and opportunities are described within Osakada et al. (2011).
The flexibility of servo presses with link drive systems is today mainly exploited for increasing the
productivity. Here, the variability of the speed helps to better adjust the cycle to forming and transfer of
parts from one step to the other, so that with the same forming speed and the same transfer speed, faster

Page 6
CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16695-3
# CIRP 2015

Fig. 6 Three types of servo presses: (a) link drive servo press with four motors for two pressure points, (b) servo press with
two ball screws for two pressure points and closed-loop control for each drive, and (c) servo press with two linear motors to
compensate the horizontal magnetic forces

idle movements are possible. Link drive systems can be driven in continuous motion, where the gears do
not reverse, or with reversing motion, which the latter enables to adjust also the lower dead center.
Benefits for the forming process directly are, for instance, the possibilities of superposition of
vibrations and counter shearing, movements with rest under load for processes which require time and
accurate lower return point.

References
Lange K (ed) (1984) Umformtechnik–Handbuch f€ ur Industrie und Wissenschaft [Metal
Forming–Handbook for Research and Industry], 2nd edn. Springer, Berlin (in German)
Neugebauer R, Denkena B, Wegener K (2007) Mechatronic systems for machine tools. CIRP Ann Manuf
Technol 56(2):657–686
Osakada K, Mori K, Altan T, Groche P (2011) Mechanical servo press technology for metal forming. Ann
CIRP 60(2):651–667
Schuler GH (1996) Handbuch der Umformtechnik [Metalforming Handbook]. Springer, Berlin
(in German)
Wegener K, Schepp F (2000) Innovative Antriebskonzepte f€ur Maschinen der Zukunft [Innovative Drive
Concepts for Future Machines]. In: Groche P, Schmoeckel D (eds) Anforderungen, Innovationen,
Perspektiven [Demands, Innovations, Perspectives]: 7. Umformtechnisches Kolloquium Darmstadt
[7th Metal Forming Conference, Darmstadt], TUD, Inst. f€
ur Produktiostechnik und Umformmaschinen
[Institute for Production Engineering and Forming Machines]. Meisenbach, Bamberg, pp 117–132
(in German)

Page 7
M
Metal Spinning
Julian Allwood1 and James A. Polyblank2
1
Department of Engineering, University of
Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
2
Department of Engineering, Cambridge
University, Cambridge, UK
Definition
The term “metal spinning” describes several dis-
tinct processes used to form circular sheets of
metal into axisymmetric shells. A circular sheet
metal blank is centered relative to a shaped man-
drel and held between the mandrel and a tailstock.
The sheet, mandrel, and tailstock are then rotated
about their shared axis on a spinning lathe, while a
working tool (generally a roller) gradually works
the sheet toward the mandrel, until it conforms.
Theory and Applications
Spinning is used to produce axisymmetric shell
parts with diameters up to 10 m and with work-
pieces up to 25 mm in thickness. Almost all parts
made by spinning could be made by other pro-
cesses, including deep drawing, but the advan-
tages of spinning are:
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16696-3
• Only simple tooling is required – the mandrel
can be cut from wood or metal on a lathe, so it
is cheap.
• The very local deformation caused by the
working tool means that forming forces are
low, and so large and expensive presses are
not needed, as would be the case in deep draw-
ing or stamping, for example.
• The process can achieve high forming limits, if
well controlled.
• The process is very nearly a true net-shape
process – with little trimming required after
process completion.
Against this, spinning is a relatively slow pro-
cess (at least compared with stamping or deep
drawing), so it is generally used for low-volume
production only. In addition, the mechanics of
spinning are not well understood, so the process
is usually controlled by skilled craft workers who
have an intuitive knowledge of the mechanics.
Understanding the mechanics of spinning has
been the focus of a great deal of research, which
was recently reviewed by Music et al. (2010).
They highlighted the difference in mechanics
between two distinct forms of spinning in com-
mon use: “conventional spinning” (Fig. 1a), in
which the outer diameter of the blank reduces
during processing and the workpiece is not
thinned (although zero thinning is very difficult
to achieve in practice) and “shear spinning”
(Fig. 1b) in which the outer diameter of the
2 Metal Spinning
workpiece is not reduced and so the sheet is
thinned. The control of the outer diameter and
the thickness in shear spinning can be achieved
by using a blank holder to prevent diameter reduc-
tion or by squeezing the material between the tool
and the mandrel in order to achieve the thickness
dictated by the sine rule. However, in conven-
tional spinning, constant thickness must be
achieved by careful design of the tool path: con-
ventional spinning involved many passes of the
tool across the workpiece, where shear spinning
often occurs in just one pass.
The mechanics of the two processes are quite
distinct. In conventional spinning where the
workpiece diameter reduces, deformation
involves compressive strain increments in the cir-
cumferential direction and tensile strain incre-
ments in the radial direction. The components of
these two increments are generally nearly equal
and opposite, leading to a deformation approxi-
mately equal to pure shear in the plane of the
workpiece, and hence no thinning. In contrast,
the strain increments in shear spinning are more
nearly in plane strain – with tensile radial incre-
ments and little strain in the circumferential
direction – so by volume conservation, there is a
strong through-thickness thinning effect. The
reduction in thickness from t0 to t1 is related to
the wall angle, a, by the “sine law”:
t1 ¼ t0 sin a
The characteristic failure of shear spinning occurs
due to thinning; at some limiting surface angle,
the workpiece is too thin to resist any further
deformation so fractures. This failure mode may
also occur in conventional spinning, but a more
common failure when spinning a new part occurs
when the workpiece develops plastic wrinkles at
its outer circumference. These wrinkles are the
result of instability in the thin
workpiece – although the ductility of the metal
could allow for a large compressive strain, in
reality, buckling will occur with even very small
compressive circumferential strains. As a result,
the art of designing tool paths for conventional
spinning is to find paths which avoid excessive
thinning or fracture while also avoiding instability
from occurring in the outer circumference of the
workpiece. Hayama et al. (1970) investigated var-
ious tool paths and concluded that an involute
shape would allow the greatest spinning ratio
(defined as the ratio of the diameter of the blank
to the diameter of the product), and Liu
et al. (2002) confirmed that involute tool paths
resulted in the lowest radial and tangential strains
and stresses. However, despite a great deal of
research, to date, a complete strategy for tool
path generation remains elusive. For some mate-
rials, workpieces also crack during spinning, due
to excessive work hardening, and this may be
alleviated by warm spinning, such as that
described by Mori et al. (2009), or by an annealing
step during the process.
The greatest contributor to knowledge about
spinning has been Professor M. Hayama who
worked on the process in Japan from 1963 to
1992. Subsequently several groups in Germany,
the largest of which is at the Institute of Forming
Technology and Lightweight Construction (ILU)
in Dortmund, have continued process exploration
of the conventional process, for example, by using
force feedback (von Finckenstein and Dierig
1990) or case-based reasoning approach to pro-
cess design (Ewers 2005). Additionally, novel
process designs have been developed in Japan
and the United Kingdom and are included in the
review by Music et al. (2010).
Spinning has been examined with the full
range of numerical methods, but is a difficult
problem to examine with finite element methods,
because the contact between tool and workpiece
changes continuously during production. Hence,
a fine mesh with small time increments must be
used to model a slow process – leading to very
slow solution times. The objective of most numer-
ical modeling research in spinning should be to
identify successful strategies for tool path design
(although many researchers become distracted by
the analysis of tool forces, which provides very
little information beyond the necessary size of
tooling). However, little progress has yet been
made. Most other current researches are to
develop extensions of the process, aiming at mak-
ing non-axisymmetric parts – an idea first
Metal Spinning
Metal Spinning, Fig. 1 Shear and conventional spinning
investigated by Amano and Tamura (1984) using
a radially offset roller to form elliptical parts.
References
Amano T, Tamura K (1984) The study of an elliptical cone
spinning by the trial equipment. In: Proceedings of the
3rd international conference on rotary metalworking
processes (ROMP 3). IFS (Publ) Ltd, Kempston,
pp 213–224
Ewers R (2005) Prozessauslegung und Optimierung des
CNC-gesteuerten Dr€ uckens [Process design and opti-
mization in sheet metal spinning], Dissertation,
Fachbereich Maschinenbau, Technische Universität
Dortmund (in German). Technische Universitat Dort-
mund, Dortmund
3
Hayama M, Kudo H, Shinokura T (1970) Study of the pass
schedule in conventional simple spinning. Bull Jpn Soc
Mech Eng (JSME) 13(65):1358–1365
Liu JH, Yang H, Li YQ (2002) A study of the stress and
strain distributions of first-pass conventional spinning
under different roller-traces. J Mater Process Technol
129(1):326–329
Mori K, Ishiguro M, Isomura Y (2009) Hot shear spinning
of cast aluminium alloy parts. J Mater Process Technol
209(7):3621–3627
Music O, Allwood JM, Kawai K (2010) A review of the
mechanics of metal spinning. J Mater Process Technol
210(1):3–23
von Finckenstein E, Dierig H (1990) CNC-Dr€ ucken
[CNC-spinning]. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
39(1):267–270 (in German)
I

Interferometry • Measurement of displacement for the control

Christopher J. Evans
Mechanical Engineering and Engineering
Science, The William States Lee College of
Engineering, UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA
or calibration of production and measuring
machines
• Measurement of the surface form of optics and
precision machined metal and other
components
• Measurement of surface texture

Before considering each of these areas in turn,

the fundamentals of interferometry will be very
Synonyms briefly reviewed. Most applications of interferom-
etry in manufacturing use “light” ranging from the
Interferometric measurement; Interferometric UV to the infrared (i.e., wavelengths from
metrology
350 nm to 10.6 mm); in principle everything
discussed here applies at any wavelength for
which appropriate beam splitters, reflectors,
sources, and detectors exist.
Definition Each of the major sections of this article takes
the Michelson interferometer as its point of depar-
Interferometry is a process in which the superpo-
ture. It is, conceptually, an easily understood inter-
sition of two or more waves (beams) of suffi-
ferometric configuration and is used to some
ciently coherent electromagnetic radiation
extent in each of the main areas identified above.
provides information about the waves and/or
their differences.
Basic Concepts
The fundamental ideas of interferometry are
treated, at various levels of mathematical rigor,
Theory and Application
in standard optical texts (Hecht 2003; Born
et al. 1999). Conceptually, interferometry is most
In modern manufacturing, interferometry is com-
easily understood in terms of the wave nature of
monly encountered in:
light, an electromagnetic wave (following Max-
well’s equations) with a phase that changes by 2p
• Definition, realization, and dissemination of
radians every wavelength. A wavefront is a
standards of length and form
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16700-3
2 Interferometry
surface of constant phase (e.g., the peak, valley, or
any other phase in Fig. 1).
The Michelson is a conceptually simple inter-
ferometer (Fig. 2). Collimated light from a source
is divided into two beams, each of which reflects
off mirrors and returns through the beam splitter to
a light-sensitive detector. The time-averaged
intensity depends on the phase difference between
the two beams. If the path lengths of the two
beams is equal (modulo 2p), the waves interfere
constructively (intensity increases); minimum
intensity is observed when the beams are exactly
out of phase (destructive interference). As the
optical path difference (OPD) varies, the detected
intensity (phase) varies.
The Michelson is a common form of interfer-
ometer in production engineering applications.
Like most interferometer configurations, it splits
the amplitude from the light source. A more lim-
ited number of interferometer configurations use
wavefront division (see, e.g., Hecht 2003).
l
Interferometry, Fig. 1 Propagation of a wavefront
Interferometry,
Fig. 2 Michelson
interferometer
Source
Two other critical factors need to be consid-
ered: coherence and polarization. The range of
OPDs over which visible fringes, or interference
with reasonable contrast, occur can be described
by the “coherence length” of the source. From the
perspective of a thermal source, this can be
derived from the time over which a single fre-
quency wave is emitted and the speed of light.
Alternatively coherence length (lc) can be approx-
imated (Young 2000) for a source with a center
wavelength l emitting over a finite bandwidth
(Dl) from:
.
l2
lc ¼ (1)
Dl
The linewidth of an unstabilized HeNe laser is
approximately 1 ppm, leading to a coherence
length of order 0.5 km. For conventional thermal
sources (such as a tungsten filament bulb) or a
Wave
propagation
OPD/2
M2
M1
Detector
Interferometry 3

diode, the coherence length is a small number of website), this means that the meter can be practi-
micrometers. As will be seen below, both long and cally realized using a displacement measuring
short-coherence sources are used to good effect in interferometer without reference to an NMI and,
different interferometric tools commonly used in given an appropriate uncertainty analysis, mea-
production engineering. surements made with such a system are traceable
Interference also requires that the two beams according to the requirements of ISO 17025 (ISO/
have the same polarization. In interferometric sys- IEC 2005).
tems using long coherence sources, use of appro- In 2007 CIPM added an unstabilized HeNe
priate quarter- and half-wave plates and polarizing laser to the list of recommended radiations with
beam splitters enable multi-pass configurations a relative standard uncertainty in the vacuum
for displacement measuring interferometers and wavelength of 1.5 ppm (Stone et al. 2009).
increased photon efficiency in instruments for
the measurement of surface form.
Displacement Measuring Interferometry
The visibility (or contrast) of the fringes
The Michelson interferometer described above is
detected depends, in addition, on a number of
the basic configuration for the vast majority of
factors including the relative intensities of the
commercially available systems used for:
two beams, incoherent background light within
the bandpass of the detection system, and coher-
• Measurement and control of the position in a
ent scattered light.
variety of state-of-the-art manufacturing
equipment
Realization and Dissemination of the Unit
• Calibration of the six degree-of-freedom errors
In 1875, the Convention du Metre defined the unit
in positioning of systems such as machine tools
in terms of engraved lines on a platinum-iridium
and coordinate measuring machines
artifact stored at the Bureau International des
Poids et Mesures (BIPM) at Sèvres on the out-
Long coherence sources allow significant dif-
skirts of Paris; practical realizations required com-
ferences in the reference and measurement path
parison of artifacts with “the meter.” In
lengths.
1892–1893 Michelson and Benoit made the first
Modern displacement measuring interferome-
measurement of the meter by comparison to a
ter systems (Badami and de Groot 2013) rarely
cadmium emission line. Dissemination of the
rely on “fringe counting.” Generally, polarization
unit, however, was, by a chain of intercompari-
coding of the reference and test beams and their
sons of length standards, ultimately traceable to
separation and recombination at a polarizing
the artifact at BIPM, using increasingly sophisti-
beam splitter (Fig. 3) allow automated computa-
cated optomechanical comparators (Evans 1989).
tion of phase and direction of motion. Systems
For many decades, National Measurement Insti-
optimized for a small number of axes commonly
tutes (NMI) such as NIST, NPL, and PTB have
rely on homodyne detection. For large numbers of
used multiwavelength interferometry for calibra-
axes (e.g.,
30 axes have been used in lithogra-
tion of gage blocks.
phy tools for integrated circuit manufacturing),
The need for a documented chain of intercom-
heterodyne systems have advantages.
parisons in order to provide a “traceable” mea-
In a homodyne detection scheme, the return
surement of length was eliminated in 1960 by the
beam is divided and additional phase shifts
redefinition of the meter in terms of the radiation
imposed by appropriate polarization optics (e.g.,
from a defined krypton source. The meter was
quarter- and half-wave plates), giving at least
redefined in 1983 as the length of the path trav-
three phase shifts between them. Intensities at
elled by light in vacuum in 1/c seconds (where c is
multiple detectors are combined to give phase
the speed of light). In conjunction with CIPM
(OPD) at nanometer resolution.
recommended radiations and their associated
wavelength uncertainties (listed on the BIPM
4 Interferometry
Interferometry,
Fig. 3 Michelson
interferometer
configuration for
displacement measurement
Detector
Source
In the heterodyne method, there is frequency
offset between test and reference beams, given for
example, by an acousto-optical modulator in the
source. The frequency of the intensity fluctuations
when test and reference beams are recombined
depends on the relative direction and velocity of
motion. With appropriate data processing, sub-nm
position resolution and tens of kHz bandwidth can
be obtained.
As noted above, single-axis displacement mea-
suring interferometers have been used for mea-
surement and control of the linear axes of grating
ruling engines, high-precision machine tools
(Donaldson and Patterson 1983), and coordinate
measuring machines, including metrological
AFMs and line scale comparators. Plane mirror
interferometers are used on such machines when,
for example, straightness measurement and cor-
rection is required. Integrated circuit manufactur-
ing applications (especially lithography systems)
typically use two-axis stages with all degrees of
freedom measured and controlled. A variety of
high-stability plane measuring and angle measur-
ing interferometer configurations are used.
Displacement measuring interferometers pro-
vide the means for external calibration of many
machines, for example, following (ISO 230-6
2002). Other approaches include the use of laser
tracers or laser ball bars implementing trilateration
to measure machine error motions.
Displacement measuring interferometry, espe-
cially where laser sources are used, offers high-
resolution, high-bandwidth metrology over large
dynamic ranges. Measurement uncertainty
depends on a number of sources, most commonly:
• Environmental index variation: The measured
OPD depends directly on the refractive index
of the medium through which the wavefront
propagates. Turbulence adds “noise,” while
uncertainty in the air temperature, pressure,
and composition (particularly hydrocarbons)
adds a time invariant component to the uncer-
tainty. Addition of a “wavelength tracker” can
reduce the effect of errors that are uniform
across the paths of tracker and
measurement axes.
• Thermal effects: The variation of air index with
temperature (dn/dT) is small compared to the
coefficient of thermal expansion (a) of com-
mon materials for machine or metrology frame
construction, except Zerodur, Invar, and simi-
lar “exotic” materials. Displacement measur-
ing interferometry commonly involves
monolithic beam splitter and other optical
components for which a and dn/dT are
significant.
• Setup errors: Uncertainty in the alignment of
optical and mechanical axes adds a cosine error
to the uncertainty (single sided) and Abbe off-
sets convolve with angular error motions of
slides to give uncertainties that vary with
position.
• Source wavelength: The wavelength uncer-
tainty of unstabilized HeNe lasers (
1.5 ppm)
is rarely sufficient for precision machine appli-
cations. Commercially available stabilized
lasers for metrological applications typically
offer short-term stability in the vacuum wave-
length of a few parts per billion, although the
traceability of the wavelength is typically less
well known. Integration of an iodine-stabilized
reference source offers the possibility of
Interferometry
I/2
M2
t(ng – nair)
Source M1
Detector
Interferometry, Fig. 4 Twyman-Green interferometer
combining the short-term stability and func-
tionality of a commercial metrological laser
with uncertainty in the realization of the unit
to parts in 1011.
• Beam shear: Over large OPDs, or in critical
applications, imperfections in the wavefronts
convolved with misalignment of test and refer-
ence beams can introduce errors proportional
to the wavefront shear.
Note that there is a multiparameter trade-off
between grating-based (interferometric) evalua-
tion of displacement and direct interferometric
evaluation. Typical grating-based systems have
relatively short non-common paths, resulting in
reduced sensitivity to time-varying index effects.
There is, however, increased sensitivity to cyclic
effects in grating production and long-range
effects of coefficient of thermal expansion.
A detailed discussion of this trade-off is beyond
the scope of this article.
Interferometric Measurement of Form
Consider again Fig. 2, replacing the “rays” with
wavefronts of finite extent and the point detector
with an area-sensitive detector such as a screen or
charge-coupled device (CCD). The Michelson
interferometer has now been converted (Fig. 4)
into a Twyman-Green interferometer (patented in
1916) useful for the comparison of wavefronts
such as those transmitted through (Fig. 4) or
5
reflected from optical components including
lenses, prisms, and windows. If the OPD through
a component under test in transmission (the prod-
uct of thickness and index difference) is equal to
the difference in path lengths for test and reference
beams (l/2), then high-contrast interference
fringes will be observed even for the short coher-
ence sources available in 1916. This fringe pattern
shows the difference between test and reference
wavefronts.
The block of glass (specified by t(ngnair)) in
Fig. 4 can be replaced by beam shaping optics and
a surface or system under test. More significantly,
the source can be replaced by a laser (long coher-
ence) source and the optical configuration
converted to a Fizeau (Fig. 5), in which the refer-
ence surface also acts as the beam splitter. This
means that the optics to the left of the reference
surface are essentially “common path” to refer-
ence and test wavefronts, and hence, their errors
cancel out in the measurement.
Figure 5 shows the Fizeau interferometer with
a flat reference surface testing the front surface of
flat part. Transmissive windows can be tested, as
in the Twyman-Green (Fig. 4). The reference flat
can be replaced with a system of beam shaping
optics including a final curved reference surface.
In this configuration, the Fizeau can be used to test
a curved surface whose center of curvature is at
the center of curvature of the reference surface
(the confocal position).
A variety of other test configurations are pos-
sible (Dörband et al. 2012) including:
• Measurement of radius of curvature by mea-
suring displacement as the object is moved
from confocal to the cat’s eye position (where
a converging beam is retroreflected from the
curved surface)
• Measurement of surfaces with systematic
departures from spherical (aspheres), provided
that the departure is small enough that the
fringe pattern does not exceed the dynamic
range of the instrument (“mild” aspheres)
• Measurement of higher departure aspheres
using beam conditioning optics (nulls) which
may be diffractive, refractive, or reflective
6 Interferometry
Source
Detector
Interferometry, Fig. 5 Fizeau interferometer
• Measurement of conics (parabola, ellipsoids,
etc.) in double-pass configurations
• Measurement of retroreflectors and prisms
Fizeau interferometers have been available
commercially for approximately 40 years and
have been sold at operating wavelengths from
248 nm to 10.6 mm, although the vast majority
operate at 633 nm. Initially, the fringe patterns
were interpreted visually or by fitting fringe cen-
ters. This limits achievable resolution and requires
that the sign of the local slope be separately
identified.
One solution (Takeda et al. 1993) is to add a tilt
of known direction, so that the fringe pattern is
dominantly a set of parallel lines with the depar-
ture from nominal shape encoded as small varia-
tions from that. If the intensity data can be
processed in the frequency domain, the “carrier”
can be subtracted and the residual, its sign now
known, evaluated.
Another approach mounts either the part or,
more commonly, the reference optics on a
mechanical translator (shown in yellow in
Fig. 5) so that intensity frames can be acquired
at a number of intervals (Bruning et al. 1974),
typically uniformly spaced by l/4. This method,
phase shifting, uses multiple intensity frames
(minimum 3, typically 7 or more in modern instru-
ments) to solve for the phase modulo 2p at every
pixel. Departure of the combined wavefront from
its nominal shape over the aperture can be
“unwrapped” provided adjacent pixels have a
phase difference less than 2p.
Part
Collimator
Reference
surface
Dominant sources of uncertainty in measure-
ments of flats and spherical surfaces in Fizeau
interferometry are:
• Knowledge of the shape of the reference
surface
• Mounting stresses
• Environmental, including variation of the
index of refraction of air in the test cavity,
vibration, and thermally induced changes of
the shape of reference and test optics
In measuring aspheres, additional sources of
uncertainty include:
• Knowledge of the null optics and their exact
position
• Distortion of the coordinate system
• Effect of operating in a non-common path
configuration
Flats, spheres, and aspheres for lithography
applications have been measured to sub-nm
uncertainties using Fizeau interferometers. Next-
generation telescope primary mirrors with aper-
tures up to 8 m are also being measured with
Fizeaus.
Surface Roughness
Twyman-Green interferometers can be
constructed with small test beam apertures (less
than 2 mm) and imaging performance that allow
measurement surface structures on smooth sur-
faces. A more convenient approach is to use an
interference objective, for example, a Michelson
Interferometry 7

Interferometry, Detector
Fig. 6 Schematic of a
microscope set up with a
Michelson interference
objective

Source

Interchangeable
interference
objective Reference
mirror

Sample

Reference
Intensity

mirror
Beamsplitter

Sample
Scan position

Interferometry, Fig. 7 Mirau interference objective Interferometry, Fig. 8 Intensity as a function of scan
position (solid line) and modulation envelope

(Fig. 6) or Mirau objective (Fig. 7) on a micro-

For a broadband (white light) source, interfer-
scope, providing height information at the lateral
ence is observed over a short range of translation
resolution of the microscope system. Objectives at
of the objective. Figure 8 shows, schematically,
a variety of magnifications can be turret mounted
the intensity modulation as a function of scan
and provided with a mechanical translation. For
position for a single pixel. This modulation can
smooth surfaces (where the phase change between
be analyzed at each pixel of a detector indepen-
pixels is less than 2p), the phase-shifting methods
dently to provide a height map. This method,
discussed above can be implemented directly
known as Scanning White Light Interferometry
(de Groot 2011a).
(SWLI) or Coherence Scanning Interferometry
The Michelson objective works well for low
(CSI), can provide measurements of both smooth
NA, low magnification objectives with a large
and rough surfaces, as well as step heights and
depth of focus. At higher magnifications, the
film thicknesses (de Groot 2011b). Custom micro-
beam splitter in the objective becomes impracti-
scope objectives can be designed for measure-
cal. Figure 7 shows, schematically, a Mirau
ment of features such as the interior of small
objective.
bores.
8 Interferometry
Cross-References
▶ Displacement
▶ Flatness
▶ Measurement Uncertainty
▶ Metrology
▶ Straightness
▶ Surface Finish
References
Badami VG, de Groot PJ (2013) Displacement measuring
interferometry. In: Harding K (ed) Handbook of optical
dimensional metrology. Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton,
pp 157–238
Born M, Wolf E et al (1999) Principles of optics: electro-
magnetic theory of propagation, interference and dif-
fraction of light, 7th edn. Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge
Bruning JH, Herriott DR, Gallagher JE, Rosenfeld DP,
White AD, Brangaccio DJ (1974) Digital wavefront
measuring interferometer for testing optical surfaces
and lenses. Appl Opt 13(11):2693–2703
de Groot P (2011a) Phase shifting interferometry. In: Leach R
(ed) Optical measurement of surface topography.
Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, pp 167–186
de Groot P (2011b) Coherence scanning interferometry. In:
Leach R (ed) Optical measurement of surface topogra-
phy. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, pp 187–208
Donaldson RR, Patterson SR (1983) Design and construc-
tion of a large, vertical axis diamond turning machine.
SPIE Proc 433:62–67
Dörband B, Müller H, Gross H (2012) Metrology of optical
components and systems. In: Gross H (ed) Handbook
of optical systems, vol. 5. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim
Evans C (1989) Precison engineering: an evolutionary
view. Cranfield Press, Bedford. Chapter 6
Hecht E (2003) Optics, 4th edn. Pearson Education, Upper
Saddle River
ISO 230-6 (2002) Test code for machine tools. – Part 6:
determination of positioning accuracy on body and face
diagonals (Diagonal displacement tests)
ISO/IEC 17025 (2005) General requirements for the com-
petence of testing and calibration laboratories. Interna-
tional Organization for Standardization, Geneva
Stone JA, Decker JE, Gill P, Juncar P, Lewis A, Rovera
GD, Viliesid M (2009) Advice from the CCL on the use
of unstabilized lasers as standards of wavelength: the
helium–neon laser at 633 nm. Metrologia 46(1):11–18
Takeda M, Hideki I, Kobayashi S (1993) Fourier transform
method of fringe pattern analysis for computer based
topography and interferometry. J Opt Soc Am
72(1):156–160
Young M (2000) Optics and lasers: including fibers and
optical waveguides, 5th edn. Springer, Berlin/
Heidelberg
A
Agent Theory
József Váncza
Research Laboratory of Engineering and
Management Intelligence, Computer and
Automation Research Institute, Hungarian
Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
Synonyms
Agent systems; Agent-based computing; Autono-
mous agents; Multi-agent system
Definition
Agent theory provides the basis for a novel par-
adigm of computation. While agent-based com-
puting (or simply, agent system) has several roots
as far as its concepts, models, and enabling tech-
nologies are concerned, there is a general consen-
sus about its two main abstractions (Wooldridge
2009; Luck et al. 2005; Shoham and Leyton-
Brown 2009):
• An agent is a computational system that is
situated in an unpredictable, dynamic environ-
ment where it is capable of exhibiting autono-
mous and intelligent behavior.
• An agent’s environment typically includes also
other agents with diverging information and/or
interests. The community of interacting agents,
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16702-5
as a whole, operates as a multi-agent system
(MAS) that can solve such complex problems
that are beyond the limits of individual agents.
Theory and Application
History
The theory of computational agents goes back at
least a quarter of a century when research in
distributed artificial intelligence had been initi-
ated. Agents made the real breakthrough in the
1990s when the emphasis in mainstream research
shifted: the focus on logic was extended and
attention changed from goal-seeking to rational
behavior, from ideal to resource-bound reasoning,
from capturing expertise in narrow domains to
reusable and sharable knowledge repositories,
and from the single to multiple cognitive entities
acting in communities (Russell and Norvig 1995).
These developments also coincided with the evo-
lution of network-based computing technology,
the Internet, mobile computing, the ubiquity of
computing, as well as novel, human-oriented soft-
ware engineering methodologies (Luck
et al. 2005). All these achievements led to what
is considered now the agent paradigm of
computing.
Characterization of Agents
An agent operates in an environment from which
it is clearly separated (see Fig. 1). Hence, an agent
makes observations about its environment, has its
2 Agent Theory
own knowledge and beliefs about its environ-
ment, has preferences regarding the states of the
environment, and, finally, initiates and executes
actions to change the environment. Agents oper-
ate typically in environments that are only par-
tially known, observable, and predictable.
Autonomous agents have the opportunity and
ability to make decisions of their own. Rational
agents act in the manner most appropriate for the
situation at hand and do the best they can do for
themselves. Hence, they maximize their expected
utility given their own local goals and knowledge.
Rationality can be bound by the computational
complexity of a decision problem, the limitation
of computing resources, or both. An agent with
optimization objectives but with limited means is
a bounded rational agent. A reactive agent
responds in timely manner – in real or near
time – to changes of its environment, while a
proactive agent is able to act in anticipation of
future situations and goals.
As for their key common properties, computa-
tional agents:
• Act on behalf of their designer or the user they
represent in order to meet a particular purpose
• Are autonomous in the sense that they control
both their internal state and behavior
• Exhibit some kind of intelligence, from apply-
ing fixed rules to reasoning, planning, and
learning capabilities
• Interact with their environment and, in a com-
munity, with other agents
• Are, ideally, adaptive, i.e., capable of tailoring
their behavior to the changes of the environ-
ment without the intervention of their designer
Further agent properties, characteristic in par-
ticular domains and applications, are mobility
(when an agent can transport itself to another
environment to access remote resources or to
meet other agents), genuineness (when it does
not falsify its identity), transparency, and credi-
bility or truthfulness (when it does not commu-
nicate false information willfully). Even though
they exhibit only some of the above properties,
agents relax several strong assumptions of
classical computational intelligence: they typi-
cally have incomplete and inconsistent knowl-
edge as well as limited reasoning capabilities
and resources.
Multi-agent Systems
In a multi-agent system (MAS), the decisions and
actions of various agents do necessarily interact.
However, just due to interaction, a multi-agent
system can occasionally solve problems that are
beyond the limits of the competence of the indi-
vidual agents and/or may exhibit emergent
behavior that cannot be derived from the internal
mechanisms of the components. In a community
an agent has to coordinate its actions with those
of the other agents, i.e., to take the effects of other
agents’ actions into account when deciding what
to do. Coordination models provide both
media – such as channels, blackboards, phero-
mones, and market – and rules for managing the
interactions and dependencies of agents. Coordi-
nation requires some regulated flow of informa-
tion between the agent and its surrounding
environment, i.e., communication. In a MAS,
coordination is possible both by indirect commu-
nication via the environment and by direct infor-
mation exchange between specific agents. In any
case, communication needs some language(s)
with syntax and semantics, at least partially
known for each communicating agent.
Collaboration means carrying out concerted
activities so as to achieve some shared goal(s). For
instance, in a scheduling domain machine, agents
may agree on executing each task of a job with the
aim of completing an order by the given due date.
The shared goal (completing an order) can be
achieved only if all agents commit themselves to
carrying out the actions they have agreed upon. In
general, in a MAS of self-interested and autono-
mous agents, meeting high-level objectives and
satisfying system-wide constraints need coopera-
tion, an interactive relationship that makes it pos-
sible to harness knowledge of other agents or to
make use of their actions in the service of joint
interests. The basis of any form of cooperation is
reciprocity and trust between autonomous parties
who can decide and act in their own right. Coop-
eration is the alignment of various, possibly even
Agent Theory
Agent Theory, Fig. 1 The
agent and its environment
(After Russell and Norvig
1995)
environment
disparate goals in the hope of some mutual bene-
fit. Cooperation can be developed among interre-
lated parties who have their own identity and
discernible interests (expressed in terms of goals,
objectives, utility or profit, etc.), who have the
faculties for pursuing their own interest, and
who admit to the autonomy of other related
parties. Cooperation has a number of forms in
the physical and biological world and is the
prime basis of processes, organizations, and insti-
tutions of human society (Axelrod 2006).
The overall operation of a multi-agent system
is affected by an organization that is imposed on
the individual agents. Even though there may be
no global control or centralized data, and the
computations are asynchronous, some organiza-
tional rules always exist. The organization deter-
mines the “sphere” of the activity of agents, as
well as their potential interactions (see Fig. 2).
The various organization patterns of multi-
agent systems, such as teams, coalitions, markets,
as well as hierarchic and heterarchic (including
holonic) architectures, provide different ways to
achieve system-wide design objectives and/or to
facilitate the emergence of desired properties in
multi-agent systems.
3
state history
evaluation
observations
utility
agent goals, objectives
preferences
prior knowledge
actions
Agent Technologies
Agent-Level Decision Making
Depending on the actual problem and available
knowledge at hand, agents can apply various fac-
ulties of problem solving, including searching,
reasoning, planning, and learning. The notion of
agents has a strong synthesizing power; hence, the
applied techniques may include both symbolic
and sub-symbolic methods, classical and quanti-
tative decision theory, as well as knowledge-based
reasoning and sophisticated belief-desire-
intention (BDI) models. There are several
approaches for realizing agents:
• Following the principles of classical decision
theory, an agent makes choices from a set of
alternative actions so that it can maximize the
expected utility of its decisions. If a utility
function or the required input data are not
available, qualitative models are applied that
work with preferences.
• An agent may have explicit knowledge of how
its actions can change the states of its environ-
ment. Given some states to achieve – so-called
goals – the reasoning over future courses of
actions is a key to intelligent behavior. Artifi-
cial intelligence provided a host of planning
methods to solve this problem under various
assumptions.
4 Agent Theory

Agent Theory,
Fig. 2 Generic scheme of a
multi-agent system (After
Jennings 2001)

environment

agent organizational interaction influence sphere

relation

• The decision problem of an agent can be cast in
terms of cognitive concepts, such as knowl-
edge and belief, desires and goals, and plans
and intentions. A BDI agent is continually
updating its beliefs based on perceptions,
using its beliefs to reason about possible
plans, committing to certain intentions, and
realizing these intentions by acting. Agents
who are situated in a dynamic environment
can benefit from having plans which, on the
one hand, can constrain the amount of reason-
ing and, on the other hand, can make coordi-
nation possible.
Interaction
Agents necessarily interact with each
other – either indirectly, via the environment, or
by direct communication. The various coordina-
tion and cooperation mechanisms range from
emergent methods (without explicit communica-
tion among agents) to coordination protocols,
coordination media, and distributed planning
(Luck et al. 2005). A coordination media pro-
vides a shared memory space for communicating
data in an asynchronous way. Typical examples
are blackboards, pheromones in stigmergy-based
coordination, or attraction-repulsion field. Coor-
dination protocols control the interactions of
agents in order to reach common decisions. For
instance, a widely used protocol is the contract
net protocol where a manager agent makes
arrangements via bidding to have some task
performed by one or more other agents. Goal-
oriented agents forming a community may have
disparate and conflicting goals. For resolving con-
flict situations, various negotiation mechanisms
were developed, including auctions, one-to-one
negotiation, bargaining, and argumentation-
based negotiation (Wooldridge 2009). Collabora-
tive acting and planning involve the intentions of
multiple agents. Since the presence of other agents
is always a source of uncertainty (beyond other
possible sources), collaboration requires an inte-
grated treatment of the beliefs and intentions of
the agents who may take part in a collaborative
act. That is why the BDI model provided the
theoretical basis for agent communication lan-
guages (ACL), including the widely used Foun-
dation for Intelligent Physical Agents standard
(see FIPA). Communication and interoperability
requires consensual knowledge of a community.
A so-called ontology is an explicit specification of
the conceptual structures of a given domain. It is
usually expressed in a logic-based language that
makes it possible to distinguish classes, instances,
properties, relations, and functions in a clear-cut,
consistent way. Consensual means that the whole
community has a common understanding both on
the content and form of the expressed knowledge.
Ontologies also can facilitate machine processing,
Agent Theory 5

automated reasoning, as well as the interoperabil- • Agents provide a new design metaphor for
ity of different agents. structuring knowledge (and system design,
accordingly) around components that have
autonomy and capability to communicate.
Organization
Objects that earlier had complex properties
Like any community, a MAS is formed by agents
can now be personified. Further to procedures,
that are aimed at achieving some purposes, be
abstract data types, and objects, agents as
them individual, system-wide, or both. It is no
intentional entities represent an increasingly
wonder that multi-agent systems adapt all the
powerful abstraction of computing. Any kind
basic human organization patterns. There are a
of intelligence requires the handling of con-
number of organization structures that define var-
flicts rooted in disparate interests. Conflicts
ious patterns of decomposing work, assigning
become explicit if the system is modeled like
responsibilities to those who do the work, as
a community of self-interested agents. Hence,
well as collecting and combining results.
the agent-based approach forces the system’s
A particular organization structure comes together
designer to find ways for managing conflicts.
with rules concerning the conditions of participat-
• Agents and MAS provide a wide array of
ing in a MAS, the assignment of the roles and
models, techniques, formal modeling
relations, as well as the use of protocols – all of
approaches, and development methodologies
which together realize a particular coordination
that all together shape general-purpose tech-
mechanism. In a MAS, however, human organi-
niques of agent-oriented software engineer-
zational models can be surpassed. The ideas of
ing (AOSE) (Jennings 2001; Bordini
decentralized problem solving, including the res-
et al. 2009). There have been developed sev-
olution of the conflict between individual and
eral programming languages and software
collective good, are widely studied in a number
development environments which not only
of other disciplines, such as economics, game
support MAS programming but also imple-
theory, political science, biology, and ecology.
ment key concepts of MAS in a unified
Computational models of agency borrowing anal-
framework.
ogies from these fields are similar in that they rely
• Agent-based modeling is especially suitable
on some form of self-organization. No central
for simulating the behavior of complex sys-
control is exercised, and the systems adapt their
tems operating in dynamic environments. In
structure and functionality to the changing
contrast to traditional, top-down approaches,
requirements and environmental conditions. Typ-
the emphasis is on capturing the individuals,
ically, members of the systems are individually
together with all their limitations and interac-
able to achieve simple tasks, but their interactions
tions. The question is whether and how local
lead to the emergence of complex collective
interactions can produce observable – and
behavior (Ueda et al. 2001).
useful – patterns of global behavior. Hence,
agent-based simulation (ABS) became an
Use of Agents accepted methodology for developing plausi-
Agent technology and multi-agent systems, ble explanations for emergent phenomena.
together with their supporting information and Alternatively, it was used for verifying multi-
communication technologies – such as network- agent system design in a number of fields from
ing, software engineering, distributed and concur- engineering to natural and social sciences
rent systems, mobile technology, electronic (Gilbert 2008).
commerce, interfaces, semantic web, and cloud
computing – have found their way to application Agent-based systems can be realized in a wide
and deployment in many fields. The key success spectrum: from so-called coarse-grained agents
factors behind the use of agents are as follows (like BDI) with sophisticated communication,
(Luck et al. 2005; Monostori et al. 2006):
6 Agent Theory
cognitive reasoning, and learning faculties up to
fine-grained agents with a very limited operational
repertoire but high connectivity and intensive
interactions. It is a general observation that fine-
grained but complex systems may display patterns
of behavior and develop certain functional prop-
erties that cannot be understood and explained
solely on the basis of the control of the individ-
uals. In the eye of the observer, these emergent
features are unexpected, novel and show the traces
of a stable order. Analysis of such systems leads to
the terrain of network theory.
Agents in Manufacturing
Enterprises always operated within the fabrics of
economy, society, and the ecosystem. In this com-
plex, ever-changing, dynamic, and hardly predict-
able environment, manufacturing enterprises
compete not only individually but also as mem-
bers of various networks. No wonder that
manufacturing called for new, more robust, adapt-
able, fault-tolerant, decentralized, and open orga-
nizational structures even before the paradigm of
agent-based computing and MAS appeared
(Hatvany 1985). Agent theories were really wel-
come because they helped to realize important
properties as autonomy, responsiveness, redun-
dancy, distributedness, and openness. Hence,
many tasks related to manufacturing – from engi-
neering design to supply chain
management – have been to assigned to agents,
small and large, simple and sophisticated, and fine
and coarse grained, that were enabled and
empowered to communicate and cooperate with
each other (Monostori et al. 2006; Shen
et al. 2006; Váncza et al. 2011).
Agents in Engineering Design
and Collaborative Engineering
While design activities in various branches of
engineering (mechanical, electrical, control, soft-
ware, communication, etc.) are now being more
and more integrated, concurrent engineering
embraces all the main life cycle activities such as
marketing, product design, manufacturing, distri-
bution, sales, operation, maintenance, disposal,
and recycling. Customers are involved in produc-
tion from the decisive moment of the conception
of ideas, already in the design of the product they
are going to purchase. With the pervasive connec-
tivity of the Internet, personalization has been
increasingly adopted for consumer products.
In a MAS design problems and the available
knowledge can be structured in appropriately dis-
tributed ways. Collaborative and concurrent
approaches to design are successful in particular
because they are utterly based on interaction that
helps harness external knowledge that could not
have been captured and internally represented.
Furthermore, collaborative engineering makes
explicit the disparate goals, objectives, priorities,
and concerns – in short, interests – of the various
stakeholders related to a product’s life cycle.
These interests manifest themselves as conflicts
just in the early phase of design when decisions
with far-reaching effects are made. Negotiation
over conflicts can drive the design process toward
innovative solutions (Lu et al. 2007). A trade of
incomplete knowledge against interest can be
very fruitful: rational, interest-seeking behavior
on the part of autonomous agents can result in
successful overall performance even in cases
when the agents have limited capabilities
(knowledge and/or resources). At the same time,
collaboration rests upon interaction, which is still
the key to creative design.
Agents in Production
Artifacts and related services are usually provided
by production networks where autonomous
enterprises are linked by relatively stable material,
information, and financial flows. The members
that are cross-linked by information and commu-
nication technologies are not only able but also
willing to interact with each other, i.e., exchange
information about their products, intentions
(plans), expectations (forecasts), and status.
Agents offer adequate ways for modeling, con-
trolling, and simulating such complex production
systems that should be cooperative and respon-
sive (Váncza et al. 2011). As shown in Fig. 3, the
structure of such a network is defined by autono-
mous production nodes and logistics links (a).
Each node has its own internal decision
Agent Theory
Agent Theory, Fig. 3 Multilevel enterprise model (After Váncza et al. 2011)
mechanism, typically on various levels of aggre-
gation, from long-term sales and operations plan-
ning via medium-term production planning down
to production scheduling and control (b). Finally,
each node has its own execution mechanism
where plans are realized on the shop floor (c).
These three main levels – network, enterprise,
and shop floor – define a layered decision scheme
where targets are set hierarchically, in a top-down
way. On all levels, responsiveness requires timely
decisions, though the timescales are consistent
with the appropriate level. It is also essential to
respond to both new or altered demands (coming
usually from an upper level) and changes and
disruptions (feedback from a lower level). At all
levels, the system has to be robust in face of
various disturbances coming from the
environment.
Industrial Applications
There are some barriers for the industrial take-up
of agent technologies, such as scalability, inherent
7
complexity, safety, risk of inconsistent global
operation, the appearance of inevitable conflicts
between self-interested entities, and the extra bur-
den of communication. Until recently, the indus-
trial acceptance of MAS in manufacturing has not
kept up with expectations, partly because of the
above issues and partly because of the difficulties
in their stepwise integration with existing legacy
systems. Against all the above difficulties, there is
a consensus concerning the application areas of
highest potential:
• Where neither access to information nor deci-
sion rights can be centralized. This is the case
in managing supply networks, including trans-
portation and material handling.
• In complex operations management – such as
resource allocation, planning, and
scheduling – where the problems can be
decomposed along distinct goals and perfor-
mance objectives.
8 Agent Theory
• In industrial monitoring and control where
robustness and fast reconfigurability are essen-
tial requirements in a distributed setting.
All in all, agents hold the promise for resolving
compelling challenges that are rooted in generic
conflicts between competition and cooperation,
local autonomy and global behavior, design and
emergence, planning and reactivity, and uncer-
tainty and a plethora of information (Váncza
et al. 2011). Developments in various agent tech-
nologies are still extremely dynamic, innovative,
and ramifying. At the same time, there is also a
strong commitment to convergence with current
industrial software technologies. The evolution of
multi-agent systems and manufacturing will pro-
ceed hand in hand: the former can receive real
challenges from the latter, which, in turn, will
have more and more benefits in applying agent
technologies.
Cross-References
▶ Artificial Intelligence
▶ Autonomous Production Control
▶ Distributed Manufacturing
▶ Holonic Manufacturing Systems
▶ Open Architecture
References
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Bordini RH, Dastani M, Dix J, El Fallah SA (eds)
(2009) Multi-agent programming: languages, plat-
forms tools and applications. Springer, New York
FIPA: Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents. www.
fipa.org. Accessed 20 June 2013
Gilbert N (2008) Agent-based models. Sage, Thousand
Oaks
Hatvany J (1985) Intelligence and cooperation in
heterarchic manufacturing systems. Comput Integr
Manuf Syst 2(2):101–104
Jennings NR (2001) An agent-based approach for building
complex software systems. Commun ACM
44(4):35–41
Lu SY-C, Elmaraghy W, Schuh G, Wilhelm R (2007)
A scientific foundation of collaborative engineering.
CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 56(2):605–634
Luck M, McBurney P, Shehory O, Willmott S (2005) Agent
technology: computing as interaction. A roadmap for
agent-based computing. AgentLink III. http://www.
agentlink.org/roadmap/al3rm.pdf. Accessed 20 June
2013
Monostori L, Váncza J, Kumara SRT (2006) Agent-based
systems for manufacturing. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
55(2):697–720
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approach. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River
Shen W, Hao Q, Yoon H-J, Norrie DH (2006) Applications
of agent-based systems in intelligent manufacturing: an
updated review. Adv Eng Inform 20(4):415–431
Shoham Y, Leyton-Brown K (2009) Multiagent systems:
algorithmic, game-theoretic, and logical foundations.
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK
Ueda K, Márkus A, Monostori L, Kals HJJ, Arai T (2001)
Emergent synthesis methodologies for manufacturing.
CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 50(2):535–551
Váncza J, Monostori L, Lutters D, Kumara SRT, Tseng M,
Valckenaers P, Van Brussel H (2011) Cooperative and
responsive manufacturing enterprises. CIRP Ann
Manuf Technol 60(2):797–820
Wooldridge M (2009) An introduction to multiagent sys-
tems, 2nd edn. Wiley
F

Flow Stress, Flow Curve essential prerequisite and for this purpose the use
of empirical stress–strain curves and constitutive
Alan Bramley relations are used.
Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, The flow curve is best explained by consider-
Bath, UK ing a simple uniaxial tensile test on a typical piece
of metallic material, mild steel at room tempera-
ture. This is depicted in Fig. 1.
Definition A typical force–extension curve from such a
test is shown in Fig. 2.
Relationship between true stress and strain for a
given material undergoing plastic deformation.
The Elastic Region and Yielding
Related Terms
The initial part of the curve, OA in Fig. 1, is the
characteristic linear-elastic behavior of the mate-
Stress–strain curves; work/strain hardening curve
rial, i.e., the extension that occurs is fully revers-
ible and the relationship between the force and the
extension is linear. At an atomic level the bonds
Theory and Application
between the atoms of the crystal structure are just
flexing. The extension in this region is however
Introduction/Context
very small and can only be measured using special
In metal-forming technology a major parameter is
extensometers. This linearity ceases at point
the load or force required to perform the opera-
A and the material starts to behave irreversibly,
tion. This is dependent on the geometrical config-
i.e., permanent or plastic deformation occurs. This
uration, friction at the tool–workpiece interface,
phenomenon is known as yielding. In this region
and the mechanical resistance to plastic flow of
the atoms take up new position relative to each
the workpiece material and in turn determines the
other by the mechanism of dislocation activation.
required force and energy capacity of the machine
After initial yielding the load continues to rise,
tool being used. This mechanical resistance of the
reaching a peak at point B, thereafter falling until
workpiece material is defined by its flow curve
the specimen fractures at point C. This is depicted
which can be established independently by test-
in Fig. 3.
ing. Thus, in modelling of a forming process, the
flow curve of the workpiece material is an
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16704-3
2 Flow Stress, Flow Curve

Diameter d0
Area A0

F F

l0
Gauge length

Flow Stress, Flow Curve, Fig. 1 A tensile test specimen

Flow Stress, Flow Curve, 40

Fig. 2 Force–extension
relation in simple tension 35
for a mild steel
30
Tensile force/kN

25

20

15

10

0
0 5 10 15 20
Extension/mm

In metal forming the deformation, by defini-
tion, is plastic and so the yielding behavior of
materials is the most important region to consider.
The force and extension parameters need to be
normalized to enable comparisons between differ-
ent materials and specimen sizes. This can be
done by converting the force to a stress defined
as the force, F, divided by the area, A, over which
it is applied.
Thus, stress s = F/A.
However, it is convenient to divide the force by
the original area of the specimen, viz., Ao. This is
known as the nominal stress of engineering stress.
The yield stress (defining the onset of plastic
deformation) = force at yield point/original cross-
sectional area.
The extension is converted to strain, defined as
the extension, Dl, divided by the original length,
l o.
Thus, strain e = Dl/lo which is referred to as the
engineering strain.
The relationship is then known as a flow curve
(Fig. 4).
The Plastic Region
The yield stress defines the onset of plastic flow,
and the specimen becomes permanently deformed
so that if the load is removed, the specimen par-
tially recovers its dimensions elastically but is
longer than the original specimen. This permanent
extension is accompanied by a reduction in the
lateral dimensions of the specimen as the
Flow Stress, Flow Curve 3

Flow Stress, Flow Curve, Fig. 3 Tensile specimen at various stages in a tensile test

Flow Stress, Flow Curve, 500

Fig. 4 Flow curve
Engineering Tensile stree (MN/m2)

450 B
400 C

350
300
250
A
200
150
100
50
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Engineering Strain

specimen is stretched, thus maintaining its volume
at a constant level. An important concept here is
that of strain hardening which is best explained by
understanding the behavior of the material at an
atomic level. The dislocations in the atomic struc-
ture that enable plastic deformation to occur with
atoms sliding over one another become progres-
sively more difficult as more and more disloca-
tions form and pile up against each other and
against the grain boundaries of the metal. This
makes it increasingly difficult for plastic deforma-
tion to occur; i.e., the metal becomes stronger.
This is known as strain or work hardening.
Returning to the tensile test, after yielding the
specimen, will continue to deform plastically in
a uniform manner, gradually increasing its
strength. However, the cross-sectional area of the
specimen is also reducing, thus increasing the
stress on the specimen. These two effects eventu-
ally balance each other and the load reaches a
maximum at which point the increase in strength
caused by strain hardening can no longer over-
come the increased stress due to the reduction in
area. At this point the specimen starts to form a
local reduction in area, i.e., a neck, and the force
drops off as the neck extends and the specimen
eventually fractures. The maximum load point is
known as the point of instability and is peculiar to
tensile stress systems.
The point where the load reaches a maximum
point B in Fig. 2 defines the tensile strength of the
material.
Thus, tensile strength = maximum force in
tensile test/original cross-sectional area of
specimen.
4 Flow Stress, Flow Curve
This is sometimes described as the ultimate
tensile strength, but this term should not be used
as it implies that it is the maximum stress that the
material can withstand. Under different loading
conditions, the material can in fact sustain much
higher stresses without instability or failure
occurring.
Using the original cross-sectional area is not
realistic when considering the stress in the plastic
deformation region, it being better defined as the
force divided by the current cross-sectional area of
the specimen. This is known as the true stress.
Similarly, using the extension of the specimen
divided by the original length is not realistic as a
measure of the strain in the plastic region.
Considering infinitesimal changes, an incre-
ment of strain, using the symbol e, can be
expressed as:
de ¼ d1=1
Integrating this over, the overall change of length
then gives:
e ¼ lnð11 =1o Þ
where l1 and lo are the final and original lengths
respectively of the strained specimen.
e is referred to as the natural, true, or logarith-
mic strain.
Such total or finite strains are known as natural
or logarithmic strains the use of which was first
suggested by Ludwig (1909).
Methods of Obtaining Flow Curves
In metal-forming operation, the strains are often
quite large with e > 1.0. The tensile test is rather
limited with strains never reaching this level prior
to necking and fracture. Nevertheless, the tensile
test is used quite extensively to establish approx-
imate stress–strain data for modelling/estimating
metal-forming processes (Czichos et al. 2006).
Much larger strains can be obtained using simple
compression tests but a different complication
arises, that of friction between the workpiece and
the tools. Various methods have been proposed to
overcome these difficulties (Johnson 1956;
Loizou and Sims 1953; Cook and Larke 1945).
In the case of materials in sheet form, testing in
biaxial tension also enables much larger strains
than in simple tension to be obtained (Mellor
1956). Plane strain compression (Watts and Ford
1955) and ring tests (Altan et al. 2005) have also
been used.
Industrial metal-forming operations are carried
out over a range of speeds and workpiece temper-
atures, and in establishing relevant stress–strain
data for a particular condition, the effect of strain
rate and temperature needs to be accommodated
in the testing regime. Increasing the temperature
of the material reduces the flow stress and, espe-
cially at high temperatures, increasing the strain
rate increases the flow stress. There are many
sources of flow data in the literature and model-
ling software vendors incorporate such data into
their packages.
Empirical Flow Curves and Constitutive
Relations
It is common practice when making estimates of
load requirements for forming operation to use
approximate or idealized relationships for the
flow curve such as rigid perfectly plastic, elastic
perfectly plastic, and rigid linear strain hardening.
These are explained more fully in Johnson and
Mellor (1962). Recognizing that in forming oper-
ations ranges of strain, temperature, and strain rate
are encountered, it is now common practice to use
constitutive equations that incorporate these
effects into modelling of the processes.
References
Altan T, Ngaile G, Shen G (eds) (2005) Cold and hot
forging: fundamentals and applications. ASM Interna-
tional, Materials Park
Cook M, Larke EC (1945) Resistance of copper and copper
alloys to homogeneous deformation in compression.
J Inst Met 71(12):371–390
Czichos H, Saito T, Smith LE (eds) (2006) Springer hand-
book of material measurement methods. Springer, Ber-
lin, pp 303–304
Flow Stress, Flow Curve
Johnson W (1956) Experiments in plane strain extrusion.
J Mech Phys Solids 4(4):269–282
Johnson W, Mellor PB (1962) Plasticity for mechanical
engineers. Van Nostrand, Princeton
Loizou N, Sims RB (1953) Yield stress of pure lead in
compression. J Mech Phys Solids 1(4):234–243
5
Ludwig P (1909) Elemente der technologischen Mechanik
(Elements of technological mechanics). Springer,
Berlin
Mellor PB (1956) Stretch forming under fluid pressure.
J Mech Phys Solids 5:41–56
Watts AB, Ford H (1955) On the basic yield stress curve for
a metal. Proc I Mech E 169:1141–1156
E

Ellipsometry the reflected amplitude E2 will be different

between light that is polarized parallel to the inter-
Han Haitjema face (p-direction) and the direction perpendicular
Mitutoyo RCE, Best, The Netherlands to this (s-direction, as the arrows in Fig. 1). In
general it can be written that

Definition r p ðl, yÞ
r ðl, yÞ ¼
r s ðl, yÞ
Collective name for a number of techniques deal-
¼ tan ðcðl, yÞÞ  expðiDðl, yÞÞ (1)
ing with the measurement and interpretation of the
change in the polarization state of a polarized
where rP and rS are the amplitude reflectances for
beam of radiation which is reflected from a
light polarized in the p- and s-directions, respec-
surface.
tively. This equation defines the ellipsometric
From this change, optical properties of the
angles C and D that can be determined in an
reflecting surface can be derived.
ellipsometric measurement as shown below.
Equation 1 states that the ratio between the reflec-
tances, and with that the ellipsometric angles C
Theory and Application
and D, will depend on the angle of incidence # and
the wavelength l for a given interface, whether it
Basic Theory for Reflection and Transmission
consists of a single homogeneous material or is a
at an Interface and the Basic Ellipsometry
complicated system consisting of several absorb-
Equation
ing and nonabsorbing thin films.
In Fig. 1 the beam trajectories are sketched for a
Considering Eq. 1, ellipsometry consists of:
wave incident on a plane interface between two
media having a real refractive index n1 and n2,
1. Measurement of the angles C and D
respectively. The incoming beam with amplitude
An instrument that enables the determina-
E1 is reflected by the interface, giving a reflected
tion of these quantities is called an
beam with amplitude E2 and a transmitted beam
ellipsometer.
with amplitude E3.
2. Give a physical interpretation to the measured
The condition that the phase of the three waves
angles C and D
must be the same at the interface gives Y1 = Y2
Using the Fresnel coefficients of stratified
and sin(Y1)/sin(Y3) = n1/n2 which is Snell’s law.
surfaces, the theoretical angles C and D can be
The ratio between the incident amplitude E1 and
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16705-3
2 Ellipsometry

Ellipsometry,
Fig. 1 Reflection and
refraction at a plane
interface

Ellipsometry, Fig. 2 Schematic of an ellipsometer according to the PCSA arrangement

calculated of a surface, whether it consists of a Measurement of C and D: The Ellipsometer

single homogeneous material, a birefringent
material, or a combination of absorbing and
transparent coatings on a surface.
Static Null Ellipsometer
An example of an ellipsometer arrangement is
given in Fig. 2. It is one of the most elaborate
arrangements but it well illustrates the key points
of ellipsometry.
Ellipsometry
Figure 2 depicts an ellipsometer in the PCSA
(polarizer-compensator-sample-analyzer) arrange-
ment. The polarizer, compensator, and analyzer
can be rotated around the axis that is defined by
the light beam. The polarizer and analyzer are in
fact linear polarizers; the compensator is a 1/4-l
plate that is commonly oriented at 45 from the p-
and s-direction. The polarizer can be rotated to
make a linear polarized beam in any polarizing
direction. Together with the compensator, this
means that polarized light can be made, that is,
either linear polarized in the p- or s-direction or
circular or elliptically polarized in any other direc-
tion. It is always possible to adjust the ellipticity of
this light in such a way that after reflection a line-
arly polarized beam remains. This light can be
extinguished by another polarizer that is called the
analyzer.
With every position of the compensator at + or
45 , there are two positions of the polarizer (P)
and analyzer (A) where extinction occurs. These
four solutions are called the four zones, for which
D and C are derived according to Table 1:
Table 1 illustrates in the first place that the
relationship between the ellipsometer angles and
the polarizer position is rather straightforward. In
the second place there are four solutions.
The effects of alignment errors in the polarizer,
analyzer, and compensator angles, and the retar-
dation of compensator, can be eliminatedX by tak-
ing the average solutions D ¼ Di =4 and
X
c¼ ci =4, respectively. It is a big advantage
of null ellipsometry that this method exists to
eliminate most of the systematic alignment errors
in this way. The only remaining systematic errors
are the rotary scale errors of the P and A position
and the error in ϴ.
Ellipsometry, Table 1 Zone relations for a PCSA null
ellipsometer. P is the polarizer angle, C is the compensator
angle, and A is the analyzer angle
Zone Delta Psi
C = p/4 D1 = 2P1 + p/2 C1 = A1
C = p/4 D2 = 2P2  p/2 C2 = A2
C = p/4 D3 = 2P3  p/2 C3 = A3
C = p/4 D4 = 2P4 + p/2 C4 = A4
3
The measurement itself consists of rotating the
polarizer and analyzer and finding the settings of
the polarizer P and analyzer A where light extinc-
tion takes place; in practice, this is the point where
the light intensity has a minimum. This position of
P and A is insensitive to intensity fluctuations of
the light source and is also insensitive to absolute
intensity measurements. By watching the inten-
sity at the detector location, this measurement can
even be done visually.
Dynamic Ellipsometers
As the null ellipsometer is rather tedious to oper-
ate, dynamic ellipsometers have been developed.
An example is that the analyzer is rotating contin-
uously in the PCSA configuration. A Fourier anal-
ysis of the intensity signal gives the ellipsometer
angles D and C if the position of the compensator
C and polarizer P are known. Such a signal can be
used to monitor a surface. The automatic error
compensation of the four-zone null technique
must be replaced by a calibration technique for
the offsets.
Measurement of a Single Set or Multiple
Sets of Ellipsometric Angles D and C
Determination of Two Parameters
An obvious attractive feature of ellipsometry is
that two parameters are obtained in a single mea-
surement. If there is only one perfectly homoge-
neous surface with a complex refractive index, the
real and complex part of the refractive index can
be calculated from the two ellipsometric angles.
The situation becomes more complicated if the
assumed system becomes more complicated:
every thin film has a thickness and a complex
refractive index, which means three additional
parameters.
This means that if useful information is to be
obtained from a film-substrate system, there are
five parameters: the complex refractive index
(n and k) of film (two parameters) and substrate
(two parameters) and a film thickness (one param-
eter). Usually some parameters are known or can
be assumed, such as the refractive index of the
substrate material and k = 0 for a transparent
4 Ellipsometry
film. In that case, the film refractive index and
thickness can be obtained from a single
ellipsometric measurement. If one needs to deter-
mine more parameters, the number of free param-
eters can be increased by varying the angle and/or
the wavelength.
Multiple Angle of Incidence (MAI)
Ellipsometry
With MAI ellipsometry measurements at a same
specimen at a same location on a specimen are
taken, but the angle ϴ is varied. This gives a new
C and D value at every angle ϴ. This means that
more parameters can be fitted in a model that
contains one or more thin films on a substrate.
However, in the model some parameters can be
correlated and the dependence on Y can be lim-
ited. Haitjema and Woerlee (1989) used this
method and showed that tin oxide coatings can
be anisotropic and that a surface layer must be
assumed in a model to achieve consistent result,
unless the surface is polished.
Spectroscopic Ellipsometry
With spectroscopic ellipsometry, measurements at
a same location on a specimen are taken at several,
or at continuously scanned, wavelengths. This
increases the number of measured parameters;
however, many parameters are also wavelength
dependent, so in that not much is gained. How-
ever, clearly one parameter does not change: the
thickness of coatings on the surface.
Calculation of Substrate and Thin-Film
Parameters
In general there are no straightforward equations
that relate the measured ellipsometric angles to
thin-film thickness and/or optical constants. The
few cases for which an analytic solution exists are
given by Azzam and Bashara (1977). However,
for the general case, optical constants must be
obtained by fitting a model to the obtained
ellipsometric angles. The ellipsometric angles of
a thin-film/substrate system can be calculated
using the Fresnel coefficient and using a thin-
film model. This is described in classical
textbooks (Azzam and Bashara 1977; Jackson
1998; Heavens 1991). For more complicated
multiple-film systems, a matrix method is devel-
oped. Fresnel coefficients of an anisotropic mate-
rial are given by Haitjema and Woerlee (1989).
Bare Substrate
For a bare substrate, only two parameters are to fit:
the real and complex part of the complex refrac-
tive index n = n – ik of the substrate. For this case
in air (nair = 1), there is an analytical solution:
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
4r
n ¼ tan ðyÞ  1   sin2 ðyÞ (2)
1þr
where r is the complex number as calculated in
Eq. 1.
Single Thin Film
The single-film model is relatively straightfor-
ward, especially for the case of a transparent film
on a transparent substrate with a known refractive
index. In that case the film thickness and refractive
index can be obtained by measuring the
ellipsometric angles at a single angle of incidence.
For a few cases, there are analytical solutions that
directly relate film thickness and refractive index
to the ellipsometric angles.
Anisotropic and Multiple Films
The determination of anisotropy in a film is shown
by Haitjema and Woerlee (1989). In general, mul-
tiple films give high parameter correlations when
all parameters of every film are to be determined.
Often, optical properties are quite well known,
e.g., a SiO2coating on Si, so in that case
ellipsometry is mainly used for film thickness
determinations.
Applications in Chemistry and Biology
Further applications are in physical/chemical/bio-
logical phenomena at surfaces. Because of its
extreme sensitivity, an ellipsometer gives an
immediate response if “something” happens at a
surface: a thin film grows, a clean surface
Ellipsometry
oxidates, a chemical reaction appears, blood
coagulates, (Vroman 1964) etc.
Advantages of Ellipsometry
Accuracy
The ellipsometric angles can be determined quite
accurately and rather independently on absolute
intensity. Several reversal and calibration methods
are available so the ellipsometric angles can be
obtained accurately and bias-free.
Sensitivity
An ellipsometer can be highly sensitive. The sen-
sitivity for a film thickness can be of the order of
1 /nm for the sensitivity of D for a film thickness
or a change in film thickness. As ellipsometric
angles can be measured with about 0.01 uncer-
tainty for a good-quality ellipsometer, the deposi-
tion of monatomic layers can be detected.
Contactless
Obviously, ellipsometry is a noncontact measure-
ment method. By applying windows, measure-
ments can be carried out with the specimen in
process or in a vacuum.
Disadvantages of Ellipsometry
Sensitivity
The sensitivity can be a disadvantage when mea-
surements of less ideal specimens are needed.
A thin-film measurement can easily be disturbed
by a small roughness of the top of a coating.
A measurement of a substrate is easily disturbed
by a small roughness or oxide/water layer of a few
atoms. If these effects are not taken into account in
the calculation, quite erroneous values can easily
be obtained.
Model Dependence
If the model consists of two coatings with two
thicknesses, a calculation will give two refractive
indices and two thicknesses. If the model consists
of one anisotropic film, a calculation will give
values for anisotropy. As the method is indirect
5
and model dependent, there is no warning against
erroneous or nonsensical results, e.g., an
ellipsometric measurement can give a high value
for the extinction coefficient of a substrate while it
is obviously transparent, meaning that the extinc-
tion coefficient must be effectively zero and
should be fixed so in the model used.
Ellipsometry and Traceability
For this item there are different approaches. The
straightforward approach is that a measurement is
just a measurement of angles, so the traceability is
in the traceability of the angles, combined with the
wavelength/frequency of the light source used.
A different approach is considering the
ellipsometer as a system that measures a specific
thin film. As a reference material, a thin film is
supplied with a calibrated thickness and the user is
supposed to measure that same thickness on his
ellipsometer.
Because the results are very dependent on the
assumed model of the measured surface, trace-
ability and uncertainty of the measured angles C
and D are far easier to guarantee than, for exam-
ple, a film thickness or a refractive index.
Cross-References
▶ Accuracy
▶ Traceability
References
Azzam RMA, Bashara NM (1977) Ellipsometry and polar-
ized light. North Holland Physics, Amsterdam
Haitjema H, Woerlee GF (1989) Analysis of tin dioxide
coatings by multiple angle of incidence ellipsometry.
Thin Solid Films 169(1):1–16
Heavens OS (1991) Optical properties of thin solid films,
2nd edn. Dover, New York
Jackson JD (1998) Classical electrodynamics, 3rd edn.
Wiley, New York
Vroman L, Lukosevicius A (1964) Ellipsometer recordings
of changes in optical thickness of adsorbed films asso-
ciated with surface activation of blood clotting. Nature
204:701–703
R

Roughness difference between “gloss” and “mat” of, e.g.,

pictures or paint is determined by the surface
Han Haitjema roughness. For the final optical properties of an
Mitutoyo RCE, Best, The Netherlands object also the shape is essential.
For good adhesion of coatings to a surface, a
certain roughness may be needed. A simple exam-
Synonyms ple is the grinding of a surface before it is painted.
Chemical reactions with a surface depend on
Surface roughness the roughness. A reflective surface of a lapped
gauge has very little corrosion under normal cir-
cumstances, even if it is made from a rapidly
Definition corroding steel.

Dimensional irregularity of a surface, its devia-

Interaction Between Two Surfaces
tions from a mathematical flat.
We give here some aspects and properties that are
affected or determined by the surface roughness:
Theory and Application
• The coefficient of friction between two bodies
• The presence/remain in a liquid film between
Importance of Roughness for the Function of
two bodies (lubrication)
a Workpiece
• Sealing by means of a threaded connection or a
Functional aspects that are affected by surface
pen/hole connection
roughness can be described by 1-, 2-, and
• Stiffness of a connection
3-body interactions.
• Plastic or elastic deformation at contact
between two bodies
Interaction with a Single Surface
• Thermal conductivity between two bodies
The transmission and reflection of electromag-
• Electrical conduction between two bodies
netic waves is determined by the surface geometry
• Wear/fatigue contact between surfaces
(see entry “▶ Reflectivity”), especially the scat-
tering by the surface. One can look through win-
dow glass due to the fact that the surface Interaction Between Three Surfaces
roughness Ra (<10 nm) is much smaller than the The primary example here is the bearing, the
wavelength of light (yellow light: 470 nm). The stiffness and friction on moving, the roughness
# CIRP 2017
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16706-6
2 Roughness

Roughness, Table 1 Typical roughness due to various by micro-cracks, material build-up on the tool and
machining processes other causes. Although Ra is the most commonly
Process Range of Ra in mm used surface parameter, it is arguably not the most
Sandblasting 6–50 appropriate for many purposes. Many, many other
Cutting 1.6–50 surface parameters can be, and have been,
Drilling 0.8–12 defined.
Spark erosion 0.8–12
Die casting 0.4–6
Milling 0.2–25
Distinction Between Form Deviation,
Grinding 0.02–6
Roughness, and Waviness
Honing 0.02–1.6
Polishing 0.005–0.8
In general, the deviation from the ideal shape can
Lapping 0.005–8
be distinguished in three distinct areas in which
the structure of a surface is constructed, namely:

of the balls, and the surfaces between which the
moving occurs.
The quantification of these aspects and deter-
mine the most relevant roughness parameter is the
trickiest part of a design where the roughness is
important. Because this is different for each prob-
lem there are barely general guidelines.
Roughness and Manufacturing Process
Each machining process has its capabilities and
limitations when it comes to reach a certain sur-
face structure. Surfaces produced by various
machining processes will look different, even
though the most widely used roughness parameter
Ra is equal.
Table 1 shows what surface roughness Ra is
normally achieved by the machining process
mentioned.
In production engineering, surface roughness
is that part of the irregularities on the surface left
by the shaping process, which are inherent to the
material removal process itself. This contrasts
with the undulations mostly due to the imperfect
behavior of an individual machine. In general, the
roughness depends on the basic form of the tool,
especially in the case of turning and grinding, but
it also depends on irregularities in the ways caused
(a) Form deviation caused by the process by
which the shape is applied, removing it may
well not be machined. These are long-
wavelength abnormalities, abnormalities
which guide development.
(b) Waviness, usually caused by factors such as
machine and tool deflection, vibration of
machine, and machining process (chatter).
Waves are predominantly periodic appearing
surface deviations, with a wavelength greater
than the surface roughness. The relationship
between wavelength and depth is between
100:1 and 1000:1.
(c) Roughness caused by the shaping tool, e.g.,
machining grooves and the structure inside.
The relationship between wavelengths and
depth can be between 150:1 and 5:1.
Practically it is difficult to draw the line
between these different domains of scale, espe-
cially because waviness is usually measured as
part of the form deviation (Fig. 1).
The subdivision waviness/roughness is essen-
tially deliberate, but in practice this is fixed in
standards with the most common distinction is at
a wavelength of 0.8 mm. More specific guidelines
for this division and the related filtering are given
in ISO 4288 (1996) and ISO 16610-21 (2011),
respectively.
Roughness 3

form, Waviness and roughness

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2

1
z in µm

0.8

0.6

0.4
Profile
form
0.2
Waviness
0

–0.2
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
X in µm

Roughness, Fig. 1 Illustration of roughness, waviness and form deviation

Cross-References References

▶ Bearing ISO 4288 (1996) Geometrical product specifications

(GPS) – surface texture: profile method – rules and
▶ Drilling
procedures for the assessment of surface texture.
▶ Grinding Beuth, Berlin
▶ Honing ISO 16610-21 (2011) Geometrical product specifications
▶ Lapping (GPS) – filtration – part 21: linear profile filters: Gauss-
ian filters. Beuth, Berlin
▶ Polishing
▶ Reflectivity
▶ Surface Parameter
▶ Wear Mechanisms
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Surface Parameter
Han Haitjema*
Mitutoyo RCE, Best, The Netherlands

Synonyms
Roughness parameter

Definition
Parameter, defined as a number and a unit that characterizes an averaged dimensional property of
a surface.

Theory and Application

Surfaces and Parameters
A surface can be characterized by many, many parameters. In fact, it is easier to define a new
parameter than to come with a thorough analysis of the usefulness of the already existing parameters.
Parameters are defined in many ISO standards (see references). They can be separated in 2-D and 3-
D parameters, and further separation is possible in amplitude parameters, spacing parameters, hybrid
parameters, parameters derived from integrated probability density curves, and topological
parameters.
This section is confined to surface texture characterizing parameters. For the defined
R (roughness) parameters, there are equivalent P (unfiltered profile) parameters and W (waviness)
parameters that are defined for longer wavelength limits.
Roughness parameters naturally depend on the length scale where they are defined. In dimen-
sional metrology, this scale is confined between the short-wavelength cutoff lengths ls and the long-
wavelength cutoff lc. It is a common requirement that within the short-wavelength cutoff length, at
least some five measurement points should be taken, to keep the filtering well defined for short
wavelengths. Parameters and specifications can only be usefully compared when the same cutoff
lengths are used and meant (Leach and Haitjema 2010).

Indication of Surface Parameters on Technical Drawings

In ISO 1302 (2002), it is described how surface parameter requirements should be indicated on
technical drawings.

Uncertainty in Surface Parameters

When measuring surface parameters and comparing these to specifications, it is necessary that an
uncertainty in the parameter is calculated. Some of the factors that must be taken into account are:

*Email: h.haitjema@mitutoyo.nl

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Zp6
Zp1

Zp3

Zp4

Zp5
Zp2

Zv5
Zv4

Zv6
Zv1

Zv3

Rz
Zv2

Fig. 1 Definition of Rz. l is the sampling length

Inhomogeneity of the workpiece

• The parameter may depend on the location on the workpiece and the direction in which the
measurement is taken (for 2-D measurements). Usually, this is the dominant uncertainty factor.

Uncertainty and traceability of the surface measuring instrument

• The traceability and uncertainty of the coordinates as measured (see section “Definitions”) must
be taken into account, as well of uncertainties in the used probe size, filtering, sampling, reference
line or surface, etc. For 3-D measurements, it is a problem that the default measurement system is
a mechanical probing system. As 3-D mechanical roughness measurements are very time-
consuming, most measurements are taken using optical techniques that may have artifacts that
are not easily recognized.

A problem with these calculations is that they can become rather tedious and surface dependent
(Haitjema 1998; Haitjema and Morel 2000).

2-D Roughness Parameters

In this section, roughness parameters are defined, derived from the measured profile, with a base
length lr and the cutoff wavelength lc, filtered with the standard Gaussian filter. This base length is
also called sampling length.
Unless otherwise stated, the parameter is calculated for every base length lr and averaged over the
evaluation length ln that usually consists of 5 consecutive base lengths.
The defined parameters R are valid analogous as W and P parameters, respectively, for the
waviness and unfiltered profile.

Amplitude Parameters (Top-Bottom)

Rz The maximum profile peak height Rp is the largest profile peak height Zp within the base length
(ISO 4287 1997). Analogously, the maximal profile valley depth Rv is the largest profile valley depth
Zv within the sampling length. The sum of Rp and Rv is the maximal profile height Rz. As commonly
the measured length ln consists of several (typically 5) sampling lengths lr, Rz is the average of the Rz
within every sampling length, at least according to the present ISO standard. Confusingly this
definition was different in the past and still may be different in some national standards.

Rt The total profile height Rt is the sum of the largest profile peak height Zp and the largest profile
valley depth Zv within the evaluation length ln. This evaluation length usually consists of several
(typically 5) of the sampling length as it is illustrated in Fig. 1, where the measurement of one
sampling length is given.

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Xs1 Xs2 Xs3 Xs4 Xs5 Xs6

Fig. 2 Definition of RSm. l is the sampling length. RSm is the average length of the profile elements Xsn.

Amplitude Parameters (Average of Ordinates)

Ra Ra is the arithmetic average deviation of the absolute ordinate values Z(x) within the base
length:
ð
1 i
Ra ¼ jZ ðxÞjdx (1)
i 0

Due to the relative easy calculation, the insensitivity for outliers, and for historical reasons, Ra is
by far the most used parameter.

Rq Rq is the root mean square and standard deviation of the ordinate values Z(x) within the base
length:
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ð ffi
1 i 2
Rq ¼ Z ðxÞdx (2)
i 0

Spacing Parameter
RSm RSm is the average width of profile elements Xs within the base length. A profile element is the
area of a peak plus the adjacent valley (Fig. 2):

1X m
RSm ¼ X si
m i¼1

Hybrid Parameters
RDq or Rdq RDq is the square average of the local slope dZ/dX within the base length:
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ð  
1 i dZ ðxÞ 2
RDq ¼ dx (4)
i 0 dx

Rlq The square average mean wavelength Rlq is a measure for the distance between peaks and
valleys:

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2pRq
Rlq ¼ (5)
RDq

Topological/Field Parameters
A completely different approach of surface parameters is based on topography of peaks and valleys.
Definitions are given in ISO 12085 (1996).

Parameters Derived from Probability Density Curves

The integrated probability density curve of the ordinates is also known as the Abbott-Firestone
curve. From this curve several parameters can be derived as it is described in ISO 13565–3 (1998).
Abbott-Firestone curves are used in important sliding applications, particularly cylinder liners.

3-D Roughness Parameters

3-D roughness parameters are generally defined similarly as the 2-D parameters.

Value and Usefulness of Surface Parameters

One use of roughness parameters is for quality control and commerce so that a buyer and seller can
agree on the quality of a product. In quality control it is necessary to be able to discriminate good and
bad surfaces.
Another use is in design, so the designer can specify the texture as roughness influences function.
Yet another use of the roughness parameters is in research. In order to optimize the design of
products and processes, design and manufacturing engineers need to know about the relation
between roughness and performance on one hand and with processing on the other. Functional
correlations of both kinds are valuable and depend on selecting the correct characterization
parameter.
Surface parameters are also used in research in forensics, physical anthropology, archeology, and
cultural heritage conservation.

References
Haitjema H (1998) Uncertainty analysis of roughness standard calibration. Precis Eng
22(2):110–119
Haitjema H, Morel M (2000) Traceable roughness measurements of products. In: De Chiffre L,
Carneiro K (eds) Proceedings of the 1st Euspen topical conference on fabrication and metrology
in nanotechnology, vol 2. Department of Manufacturing Engineering, TU Denmark, Copenhagen,
pp 354–357
ISO 12085 (1996) Geometrical product specifications (GPS) – surface texture: profile
method – motif parameters, ISO. Beuth, Berlin
ISO 1302 (2002) Geometrical product specifications (GPS) – indication of surface texture in
technical product documentation, ISO. Beuth, Berlin
ISO 13565–3 (1998) Geometrical product specifications (GPS) – surface texture: profile method;
surfaces having stratified functional properties – part 3: height characterization using the material
probability curve, ISO. Beuth, Berlin
ISO 4287 (1997) Geometrical product specifications (GPS) – surface texture: profile
method – terms, definitions and surface texture parameters, ISO. Beuth, Berlin

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Leach R, Haitjema H (2010) Bandwidth characteristics and comparisons of surface texture measur-
ing instrument. Meas Sci Technol 21(3):032001

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Hot Stamping
B. A. Behrens*
Institute of Forming Technology and Machines (IFUM), Leibniz Universität Hannover (LUH), Garbsen, Germany

Synonyms
Press hardening

Definition
Hot stamping is a hot forming method used in sheet metal forming, specifically in production of
high-strength steel components for crash-relevant parts in the automotive industry.

History
Early 1970s
– The first developments in hot stamping in Sweden by Volvo in Olofström and Norrbottens
Järnverks AB in Luleå (Jergeus 2012).

1973
– The first announcement for a European patent on hot stamping (EP1645345A2) in Sweden by
Carl-Erik Ridderstrale of Plannja HardTech, a division of Plannja AB, which in turn is
a subsidiary of Swedish Steel AB (SSAB), for manufacturing farm implements. The motivation
is the need for lightweight and strong steel components (Keremedjiev 2011).

1975
– The start of the development of a major new type of process technology, the hot stamping method.
Work begins at Norrbottens Järnverks AB (NJA) in collaboration with Luleå Institute of Tech-
nology. The main focus is the agricultural industry and the main products are spades and other
wear parts (Gestamp 2014; Soliman 2006).

1977
– The first patent on hot stamping in Britain (GB1490535 – “Manufacturing of a hardened steel
article”) by Plannja HardTech that used the process to produce saw blades and lawn mower blades
(Karbasian and Tekkaya 2010).

1980
– A marketing campaign towards the European automotive industry started, and the first contracts
for side impact beams are signed, not only for SAAB 9000 but also for Rover 800 and Jaguar
XJ40 (Gestamp 2014).

*Email: Behrens@ifum.uni-hannover.de

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1982
– Plannja AB purchases the rights on hot stamping technology and the existing equipment. The
developmental work on the side impact protection for the SAAB 9000 opened up new opportu-
nities for the hot stamping technology. The automotive industry’s focus on safety begins. There is
also a shift towards lightweight components, resulting reduced fuel consumption (Gestamp
2014).

1984
– With the Saab 9000, Saab Automobile AB is the first vehicle manufacturer who opts for
a hardened boron steel component (Karbasian and Tekkaya 2010).
– The next step in the development plan of Plannja AB includes the corporate acquisition of Suna
Verkstad AB at Storheden Industrial Area in Luleå. It is necessary to move the operations to
a more suitable environment in order to enable the strategic development of an in-house tool
department for manufacturing hot stamping tools, thus keeping the technology in company
(Gestamp 2014).

1985
– The first publication of a patent on hot stamping in Germany (DE2452486C2) by Plannja AB
(Plannja 1985).

1986
– The first automotive series production starts by Plannja AB (Jergeus 2012).

1987
– The number of produced parts amounts to three million parts in this year (Schuler 2013).

1991
– The great breakthrough on the European market for Plannja AB is achieved by the contract for
side impact beams for Ford Mondeo and delivery contracts for Ford Contour and Mercury
Mystique in the USA (Gestamp 2014).

Early 1990s
– Further supply contracts are signed with VW, Porsche, SEAT, Volvo, General Motors,
DaimlerChrysler, Mazda, Bentley, Land Rover, and BMW, among others (Gestamp 2014).

1996
– Decisions are made on establishing a manufacturing plant in Mason, Michigan, USA, with
planned start of manufacture in the middle of 1998. As this US investment is taking place,
Luleå is developing into a technical center for research and development in process and tool
technologies. The focus on the automotive industry is followed by the removal of saws and wear
parts from the manufacturing (Gestamp 2014).

1997
– The number of produced parts amounts to eight million parts/year (Schuler 2013).

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Fig. 1 Forecast by Schuler SMG GmbH & Co. KG on the number of hot stamping parts per year (Schuler 2013)

2005
– The Spanish company Gestamp Automocion buys Plannja HardTech from SSAB primarily
because of their know-how. The first aim is to complete the ongoing investment with a hot
stamping line at Haynrode in Germany (Gestamp 2014).

2007
– For the first time, the number of produced parts amounts to more than 100 million parts/year
(Schuler 2013).

2013
– The patent EP1645345A2 expires, so new competitors to Gestamp appear: Benteler, TKS, and the
original equipment manufacturers (OEM) VW/Audi, BMW, Fiat, and Volvo, among others
(Jergeus 2012).

2015
– According to forecasts by Schuler Group (Fig. 1), the number of parts increases to 500–600
million parts/year (Schuler 2013).

Process
Process Strategies
In industrial production, hot stamping is carried out in two variants, which are shown schematically
in Fig. 2. Taking into account the geometry of the component and the cost of production as well as of
existing installations, the components can be produced either by using the direct or the indirect
method. In the direct process, forming of the heated metal sheet and the subsequent heat treatment of
the component are carried out in a single step. For this purpose, the shaped blanks are heated to
a temperature of 930–950
C. Then a robot system transfers the blank from the furnace to the tool,

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Direct Press Hardening

Punch
Cooling

Coil Blanking Transfer Heating Transfer Forming

and
Hardening

Indirect Press Hardening

Punch
Cooling

Coil Blanking Transfer Preforming Transfer Heating Transfer Forming

and
Hardening

Fig. 2 Process strategies for hot stamping

Fig. 3 Typical temperature profile for direct hot stamping

where the raw material is given its final shape and cooled. Due to transfer time between 3 and 5 s, the
forming process takes place at temperatures between 850
C and 600
C.
The subsequent hardening in the tool takes approximately 10 s. A second strategy is referred to as
indirect hot stamping. In contrast to direct hot stamping, the part is formed up to 95 % of the final
geometry. Subsequently, the preformed parts are heated and subjected to the actual press hardening
in a second forming stage. This second stage of forming almost exclusively aims at a controlled
cooling of the component in the tool. With the help of this process variant, an increase in the forming
limits is possible because direct hot stamping is only carried out in one stage. For complex
components such as the VW Passat tunnel, the necessary degree of deformation can only be
achieved by a two-step process. Figure 3 illustrates a typical temperature profile in mass production
(direct hot stamping).

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Fig. 4 Phase transformation during a hot stamping process

The microstructure transforms into austenite when the blank is heated up to the material-specific
threshold temperature Ac3. The heated and austenitized material is then formed in the tool with
a cooled punch and is quenched until it reaches a target temperature of 100
C  y  200
C. The
contact with the tools automatically quenches the blank. The composition of the resulting structure
primarily depends on the cooling rate. If the continuous cooling occurs quickly enough, it results in
martensite, which leads to very high-strength products.

Diffusion-Controlled and Diffusionless Phase Transformations

During hot stamping, various microstructural transformations leading to an increase in strength take
place in the material. When steel is heated to the material-specific threshold temperature Ac3, only
austenite occurs, which has a cubic face-centered (CFC) lattice structure. In this case, the alloying
elements, which were previously located in the region of the grain boundaries, dissolve almost
completely in the lattice structure. Based on this austenitic CFC lattice structure, steel has a defined
cooling rate, which depends on the specific carbon content and the remaining chemical components.
For cooling rates below this limit value, diffusion-controlled structural transformations occur,
caused by the diffusion of carbon atoms and other alloying constituents. In this case, the austenite
is transformed into ferrite, pearlite, or bainite (Fig. 4).
Cooling rates above the critical cooling rate lead to an undercooling of the g-Fe crystal and to
a lattice sharing with a-Fe crystals. At such high cooling rates, the time is not sufficient for carbon
diffusion, as it is present in diffusion-controlled transformations. Because the a-Fe crystals are only
able to resolve a little CO2 into the steady state, a tetragonal lattice structure occurs. This is
associated with a sudden increase in volume by up to 3 %, which manifests itself in a change in
length. This type of structure is called martensite and is characterized by low formability but offering
very high strength. These properties make the martensitic structure desirable in many parts of the
steel, and this is the reason why press hardening is carried out.

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Fig. 5 Range of possible mechanical properties of 22MnB5

Properties of Manganese-Boron Steel

So far, mainly manganese-boron steels (22MnB5, 19MnB4, 30MnB5) are used for indirect and
direct press hardening in the automotive industry. These steels are microalloyed, quenched, and
tempered steels. The mostly used steel is 22MnB5 (EN 1.5528), which is characterized by a structure
with about 75 % ferrite and 25 % pearlite. At delivery, it has a yield strength of Rp 0.2  400 N/mm2
with a tensile strength of Rm  600 N/mm and an elongation at break of A120  20 %. By varying the
heat treatment parameters (furnace temperature, heating time, and cooling medium) of the process,
the mechanical properties of the quenched and tempered steel 22MnB5 can be set within a wide
range. Thus, in Fig. 5, the range of properties is summarized in terms of attainable tensile strength
and elongation at break. Using special heat treatment strategies, the material properties can be set
depending on the requirements in this framework. Among other things, a tensile strength of
Rm ¼ 1400 N/mm2 with an elongation of A120 ¼ 7 % is possible. The corresponding process
parameters are a furnace temperature of y ¼ 950
C, a retention period of t0 ¼ 3.5 min, and a cooling,
in which the samples which are in contact with steel bodies reach room temperature.
Manganese-boron steels are used in hot stamping due to the properties of the alloying elements,
manganese and boron. The alloying element manganese in particular has a strength-increasing
effect. It also delays the transformation of undercooled austenite in the secondary structure of ferrite,
pearlite, and bainite. But the latter is of secondary importance since boron reduces the critical
cooling rate to a much greater extent. The delay of the austenite transformation increases the time
slot for carrying out the forming process.
The following facts cause the significant reduction of the critical cooling rate and slow formation
of a secondary structure in alloys with a higher boron percentage:
The alloying element boron delays the heterogeneous nucleation on the grain boundaries through
a reduction of the surface energy since boron is withdrawn at the grain boundaries (Babu et al. 1998).
Thus, grain boundaries in alloys with a higher boron percentage are less-effective nucleation sites
than steel with an equal alloy composition except for the boron percentage. Usually, in commercial
boron-alloyed steels, boron concentrations from 0.001 to 0.003 mass.% are used. Higher levels
may lead to the formation of borides at the austenite grain boundaries, which accelerates the
formation of ferrite and thus contradicts the mentioned aim of a reduction of the critical cooling
rate through the alloying with boron. Manganese-boron steels are characterized, in contrast to other

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quenched and tempered steels, by a low critical cooling rate of approximately 30 K/s. A deformation
of the material has to be done before reaching the martensite start temperature, since martensite
displays very high strength and hardness but has only low deformability. For example, the Vickers
hardness can reach 470 HV in MnB steels. Plastic deformation leads to an increase of the critical
cooling rate and also to a reduction of the martensite start temperature. The first is due to an increase
of the internal energy, which is why less energy is required for a diffusion-controlled transformation.
The variation of the martensite start temperature is due to the dislocation during the forming process
(Naderi et al. 2008). This hinders a diffusionless phase transformation, which is why a higher driving
force for the transformation of austenite into martensite is required than for non-transformed
austenite. This driving force is achieved by lowering the martensite start temperature.

References
Babu SS, Goodwin GM, Rohde RJ, Sielen B (1998) Effect of boron on the microstructure of
low-carbon steel resistance-seam welds. Weld J 77:249–253
Gestamp (2014) http://www.hardtech.gestamp.com/. Accessed at 07 Feb 2014
Jergeus J (2012) LS-Dyna Nordic Users’ Forum 2012, Göteborg
Karbasian H, Tekkaya AE (2010) A review on hot stamping. J Mater Proc Technol 210:2103–2118
Keremedjiev G (2011) Hot stamping: an economic leapfrog. Metal Forming Magazine 45(10)
Naderi M, Saeed-Akbari A, Bleck W (2008) The effects of non-isothermal deformation on mar-
tensitic transformation in 22MnB5 steel. Mater Sci Eng 487:445–455
Plannja Ab (1985) US Patent DE2452486 C2, 17. Oct. 1985
Schuler SMG (2013) Leicht und Sicher in Serie. In-house Exhibition, Waghäusel
Soliman (2006) Numerical simulation of metal sheet plastic deformation processes through finite
element method. PhD thesis, http://www.fedoa.unina.it/2933/1/Al_Azraq_Ingegneria_Chimica_
dei_Materiali_e_della_Produzione.pdf

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M
Microstructure
Fengzhou Fang1,2 and Nan Zhang1,2
1
The State Key Laboratory of Precision
Measuring Technology & Instruments, Centre of
MicroNano Manufacturing Technology
(MNMT), Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
2
Centre of MicroNano Manufacturing
Technology (MNMT-Dublin), University college
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Synonyms
Micromanufacturing; Micro-scale features; Micro
replication; Micro surface structures
Definition
Microstructure is defined as surface details at
micrometric length scale, which can be also called
as “micro-scale features”, or “micro surface struc-
tures.” Here “microstructure” is particularly
referred as surface details rather than a material’s
internal structure.
Theory and Application
Introduction
Surface microstructures are basic elements that
form a functional surface, such as a Fresnel lens,
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16727-1
adhesive structures, cell culture dishes, micro-
fluidic devices, and heat transfer fins. A Fresnel
lens has a series of periodic refractive structures of
concentric prisms with pitch size in micrometre
scale. The surfaces of these prisms are designed to
refract light by collapsing the surface curvature of
a conventional lens nearly into a plane.
A microfluidic chip generally has channel dimen-
sions from tens to several hundred micrometers in
order to manipulate a small amount of liquid.
A cell culture dish has periodic patterns ranging
from several micrometers to hundreds of micro-
meters to enhance cell proliferation, dependent on
cell lines. In all these applications, surface micro-
structures play an important role, and the design
of microstructured product requires understand-
ing of material properties, manufacturing pro-
cesses, and applications.
Materials and Applications
Many materials can be used for the manufacturing
of microstructured products, such as ceramics,
glasses, semiconductors, metals, and plastics,
dependent on a particular application. Ceramic
parts with microstructure, such as a micro gear
(Fig. 1a), have been used in many fields, such as
precision engineering, dental surgery, lock parts,
etc. Semiconductor materials, typically silicon,
are basic elements for integrated circuits with
line widths ranging from micrometer to nanome-
ter. Semiconductor micro-fabrication process has
been applied for fabrication of masters with
micro-scale protrusions/cavities for microfluidic
2 Microstructure
Microstructure, Fig. 1 Microstructures made by various
materials: (a) Gear wheel made of ZrO2 (outer diameter
275 mm) by micro injection molding (Müller et al. 2009)
(Courtesy of Springer), (b) micro pyramid structures
manufactured by single-point diamond turning using
devices and photonic devices and cell culture
plates for various molding process, such as soft
lithography, injection molding, and hot
embossing. Metallic microstructured surfaces,
such as stainless steel, could be employed as
ideal molds for plastic injection molding
manufactured by various micromanufacturing
processes. Metal itself can be used as a product
with functional surfaces, such as an optical reflec-
tor with micro-scale pyramid structures (Fig. 1b).
Plastic materials, including thermoplastics, ther-
mosets, and elastomers, are widely used in medi-
cal and optical industry, because of its mass
production capability and low cost. They are fun-
damental materials for microlens arrays (Fig. 1c),
microstructured cell culture devices, microfluidic
devices (Fig. 1d), and functional optical/bio
copper, (c) micro injection molded plastic aspheric micro-
lens arrays, (d) plastic microfluidic chip machined by
micromilling (http://www.micronit.com/technologies/
fabrication-technologies/polymer-microfabrication/;
Courtesy of Micronit)
surfaces. Glass with good inert chemical proper-
ties (acid resistance and organic solvent resis-
tance) can be a good material for diagnostic
devices, such as microfluidic chip for processing
chemicals in harsh environment. The high trans-
parency of glass makes it an excellent material for
optical industry, such as compound eyes and opti-
cal gratings.
Manufacturing Processes for Surface
Microstructures
Both conventional and nonconventional methods
are used to manufacture microstructured products.
Based on the way the surface microstructures are
produced, the manufacturing processes can be
classified into additive, subtractive, and micro
replication processes (Qin 2010).
Microstructure
Microstructure, Fig. 2 (a) SEM image of biodegradable
poly(propylene-fumarate) and diethyl fumarate polymer-
ized grid with a square-shaped pore structures fabricated
by UV excimer laser photocuring at wavelength of 308 nm
(Beke et al. 2012) [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
Additive Manufacturing
Additive manufacturing includes surface coating
using chemical/physical vapor deposition, direct
inkjet writing, selective laser sintering/melting,
stereolithography, and laminated object
manufacturing. Here stereolithography is used as
an example for the fabrication of micro-scale sur-
face structures. Stereolithography is a prototyping
method for fabrication of micro-scale features in a
layer-by-layer fashion based on photo-
polymerization, a process by which light causes
chains of molecules to be linked together to form
polymers. Figure 2a shows a biodegradable pho-
topolymer scaffold with square-shaped pore struc-
tures (line width of 7 mm and spacing of 27 mm).
Figure 2b is a 710 mm tall individual hollow
microneedle on a glass substrate printed by
two-photon polymerization.
Subtractive Manufacturing
Subtractive manufacturing describes a process by
which 3D objects are constructed by successively
removing material away from a solid block of
material.
Mechanical Machining Process For the
machining of micro surface structures, micro-
machining techniques are widely used for
manufacturing microstructured molds, micro sen-
sors, biomedical devices, and microfluidic
3
by/4.0/]. (b) SEM images of 710 mm tall individual hollow
microneedle on glass substrates, which were produced
using two-photon polymerization based on femtosecond
laser (Reproduced from Gittard et al. (2011) with permis-
sion from the Royal Society of Chemistry)
devices using metallic, polymeric, and ceramic
materials. Such processes include microturning,
micromilling, microdrilling, and microgrinding.
Microcutting is similar to the conventional cutting
operation. Surface of the workpiece is mechani-
cally removed using tools, but the depth of cut is
normally at the level of micrometers or less. At
this scale, tool cutting-edge geometry, grain size,
and orientation become significant factors with
strong influences on the resulting machining accu-
racy, surface integrity, and quality. Micromilling
tool failure mode was studied by using various
tool geometries, as shown in Fig. 3 (Fang
et al. 2003); it was found that the tool tip rigidity
of the semicircle-based (D-type) end mills was
much higher than that of the two-flute
(commercial type) end mills, and the machining
quality with the D-type tools was better than that
of the triangle-based (D-type) end mills; D-type
end mills with a tapered body were more suitable
for micromachining. Currently, the commercially
available micromills have the smallest tool diam-
eter of 50 mm. The minimum achievable features
depend on machined material, machine tool accu-
racy, and feature geometry.
Micro Electro-discharge Machining Electrical
discharge machining (EDM) is a nonmechanical
process with which material is removed by spa-
tially and temporally separated electrical
4 Microstructure
Microstructure, Fig. 3 Various types of end mills in
micromachining: (a) two-flute end mills, (b) D-type end
mills with a straight body, (c) D-type end mills with a
straight body, (d) D-type end mills with a tapered body,
discharges between a work piece electrode and a
tool electrode. Micro electro-discharge machining
is used to manufacture micro-scale features using
various mode, such as micro-die sinking electrical
discharge machining, micro-wire electrical dis-
charge machining, micro-discharge drilling,
micro-electrical discharge milling, micro-
electrical discharge grinding, and micro-wire
electrical discharge grinding. Compared to micro-
milling, micro-EDM is an almost force-free pro-
cess for microstructuring. Even though the
process is slower compared to micromilling, the
independence of the material’s hardness is a big
advantage.
Laser Ablation Laser ablation is able to generate
surface structures in the range of 10–100 mm and
surface roughness up to Ra = 0.5 mm, based on
the optimized energy input for a particular mate-
rial. Laser ablation is used as a working tool to
structure materials by thermal vaporization with
well-defined volumes and high lateral precision,
which can process metals, ceramics, semiconduc-
tor materials, glasses, and polymers.
and (e) D-type end mills with a tapered body (Fang
et al. 2003) # IOP Publishing (Reproduced with permis-
sion. All rights reserved)
Semiconductor Micro-fabrication Pro-
cesses Semiconductor micro-fabrication pro-
cesses, such as X-ray lithography,
UV-lithography, dry etching, wet etching, surface
deposition/oxidation, electroforming, and mold-
ing, are well developed for fabrication of micro-
structures in MEMS devices and Microsystems.
Semiconductor micro-fabrication is also
borrowed to manufacture molds for various repli-
cation processes or form electrode for EDM sink-
ing. In addition to typical semiconductor
materials, such as silicon, it can be also used to
pattern photopolymers.
Micro Replication Processes
Micro replication deals with features down to
micrometer scale by using various materials,
including metal, ceramic, glass, and polymers.
Replication of workpiece geometries is well
established within various conventional
manufacturing technologies, such as metal
forming and plastic injection molding.
Metal/Ceramic Processing Metals can be
directly formed into a micro cavity by either cast-
ing at liquid over melting temperature or by
Microstructure
forming at high pressure below melting tempera-
ture, or by electroforming using chemical deposi-
tion process. A special metal alloy called metallic
glasses has no crystalline structure and can be
formed using a microstructured silicon master
using thermoplastic forming process with surface
micro features ranging from micrometer scale to
nanometer scale between crystalline temperature
and melting temperature with a given time. Metal/
ceramic feedstocks can also be used as materials
for micro injection molding or hot embossing to
form microstructured surfaces, following
debinding and sintering processes.
Polymer/Glass Processing Polymer materials
can be employed to replicate micro patterns from
a mold using micro injection molding, hot
embossing, casting/curing, etc. Thermoplastic
materials can be used to replicate micro-scale
patterns over material melting temperature using
micro injection molding or blow melting temper-
ature and above glass transition temperature using
hot embossing. The replication fidelity of micro
features depends on material rheology, surface-to-
volume ratio, and adhesion/friction effect during
demolding. Micro injection molding and hot
embossing are mainstream mass production
method for the production of polymeric micro
surface structures. Polydimethylsiloxane
(PDMS) thermoset material is UV or thermal cur-
able and can be used to replicate micro pattern at
room temperature without restrictions of aspect
ratio, but it is limited to laboratory use, and adhe-
sion may cause feature damage at demolding pro-
cess. Glass replicates master mold using a
compression molding process over its glass
5
transition temperature. Once the desired deforma-
tion is reached, the final shape of the glass ele-
ments is determined by the relaxation induced by
the forming stress because of its viscoelastic prop-
erties around its transition temperature.
Cross-References
▶ Additive Manufacturing Technologies
▶ Diamond Machining
▶ Electric Discharge Machining
▶ Laser Ablation
▶ Micromachining
References
Beke S, Anjum F, Tsushima H, Ceseracciu L,
Chieregatti E, Diaspro A, Athanassiou A, Brandi F
(2012) Towards excimer-laser-based stereo-
lithography: a rapid process to fabricate rigid biode-
gradable photopolymer scaffolds. J R Soc Interface
9:3017–3026. doi:10.1098/rsif.2012.0300
Fang F, Wu H, Liu X, Liu Y, Ng S (2003) Tool geometry
study in micromachining. J Micromech Microeng
13:726–731. doi:10.1088/0960-1317/13/5/327
Gittard SD, Miller PR, Boehm RD, Ovsianikov A,
Chichkov BN, Heiser J, Gordon J, Monteiro-Riviere
NA, Narayan RJ (2011) Multiphoton microscopy of
transdermal quantum dot delivery using two photon
polymerization-fabricated polymer microneedles. Far-
aday Discuss 149:171–185. doi:10.1039/c005374k
Müller T, Piotter V, Plewa K, Guttmann M, Ritzhaupt-
Kleissl H-J, Hausselt J (2009) Ceramic micro parts
produced by micro injection molding: latest develop-
ments. Microsyst Technol 16:1419–1423. doi:10.1007/
s00542-009-0992-1
Qin Y (2010) Micro-manufacturing engineering and tech-
nology. William Andrew Publishing, Boston, pp 1–23
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Molecular Dynamics
Fengzhou Fang* and Pengzhe Zhu
State Key Laboratory of Precision Measuring Technology & Instruments, Centre of MicroNano Manufacturing
Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

Synonyms
Atomistic modeling; Atomistic simulation; MD; Molecular dynamics simulation

Definition
Molecular dynamics (MD) method is a computer simulation technique by which the atomic
trajectories of a system of N particles are generated by numerical integration of Newton’s
equation of motion, for specific interatomic potentials, with certain initial conditions and boundary
conditions. MD can provide atomistic details of a wide range of processes and systems. Here MD is
employed to study the material removal mechanism in nanometric cutting process.

Theory and Application

Introduction
Since the first paper reporting MD simulation was published (Alder and Wainright 1957), MD has
been widely employed in a number of scientific fields such as physics, chemistry, biology, and
materials science. Research on MD simulations of cutting started in the early 1990s and has attracted
more and more attention recently.

Theory
There are five main ingredients to a MD simulation, which are boundary condition, initial condition,
interaction potential, integrator, and property calculation.

Boundary Condition
Generally, there are two major types of boundary conditions: isolated boundary condition (IBC) and
periodic boundary condition (PBC). In IBC, the system is presumed to be surrounded by vacuum
and the particles just interact among themselves. In PBC, the N-particle cell is surrounded by
infinitely replicated, periodic images of itself. Therefore a particle may interact not only with
particles in the same cell but also with particles in adjacent image cells. It should also be noted
that in a system mixed boundary conditions can be adopted. That is to say, the system is assumed to
be periodic in some directions but not in the others.

*Email: fzfang@gmail.com
*Email: fzfang@tju.edu.cn

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Initial Condition
The initial condition means the initial particle positions and velocities of the modeling system.
It is easy to generate initial conditions for crystalline solids, but it would take some work for liquids
and amorphous solids. A common strategy to create a liquid configuration is to melt a crystalline
solid. The amorphous solid configuration is usually obtained through a melting and quenching
simulation.

Interaction Potential
The motions of particles obey the Newton’s equations of motion:

d 2 ri! ! @U
mi ¼ F   i ¼ 1, 2, . . . , N (1)
dt 2 @ r!
i

The forces are usually derived as the gradient of a potential energy function U which depends on
the positions of the particles. Therefore the potential energy function determines the dynamics
of particles in the system. In some cases, MD simulations are designed to predict the behavior of
generic atoms or particles. Thus, simple (two-body) pair potentials such as Lennard–Jones
(LJ) potential and Morse potential would be adopted. To better reproduce the real material proper-
ties, more complicated many-body empirical potentials have been developed. For example, embed-
ded atom method (EAM) potential can accurately describe the interactions between metal atoms.
For EAM potential, the total potential energy of a system is expressed as

1X   X
E tot ¼ Fij rij þ F i ðri Þ (2)
2 ij i

where Fij is the pair potential between atoms i and j, and Fi is the embedded energy of atom i. ri
is the host electron density at site i induced by all other atoms in the system, which is given by
X  
ri ¼ rj rij (3)
j6¼i

Other many-body potentials include Stillinger–Weber potential, Tersoff potential, reactive

empirical bond order (REBO) potential, charge-optimized many-body (COMB) potential, and
ReaxFF potential.
Generally speaking, it is hard to say which potentials are “good” or “bad”; the choice depends on
the purpose of the study. The principle is to identify potentials that can reproduce the desired material
properties and then choose the simplest one.

Integrator
Equation 1 is a set of second-order, nonlinear ordinary differential equations, which can be solved
numerically in MD simulations. Popular time-integration algorithms employed in MD simulations
are Verlet algorithm, leap-frog algorithm, velocity Verlet algorithm, Beeman algorithm, and
predictor–corrector algorithm, which can be found in the literatures (Allen and Tildesley 1987;
Rappaport 1995; Li 2005). The time steps in the integration are in the range of a few femtoseconds
(1015 s).

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Fig. 1 Flowchart of a typical MD program

Property Calculation
Generally the properties that can be computed in MD simulations can be roughly divided into four
categories: (1) structural characterization, such as radial distribution function, dynamic structure
factor, etc.; (2) equation of state, such as free-energy functions, phase diagrams, thermal expansion
coefficient, etc.; (3) transport, such as viscosity, thermal conductivity (electronic contribution
excluded), correlation functions, diffusivity, etc.; and (4) nonequilibrium response, such as friction,
plastic deformation, pattern formation, etc.
The flowchart of a typical MD program is shown in Fig. 1.

Application
MD simulations have been widely adopted to study the nanometric cutting, grinding, polishing, and
nanoindentation processes since the early 1990s. A typical example of MD simulations of
nanometric cutting is shown in Fig. 2 (Fang et al. 2007). The model consists of a monocrystalline
silicon workpiece and a diamond cutting tool. The dimensions of the silicon are 16.3 nm  19.6 nm
 6.5 nm (l  h  t). The cutting tool with a radius of 5 nm moves at a speed of 24.5 m/s. Rake angle
and clearance angle are 0 and 10 , respectively. Tersoff potential was used to describe the interac-
tions between atoms. The cutting depths are selected at 1 nm, 3 nm, and 5 nm for the simulation.
It is found that when the depth of cut is 1 nm, the contact area between material and cutting tool is
very small. The atoms are not removed and only piled up in front of the cutting tool. There are elastic
and plastic deformations on the workpiece surface. With an increase in cutting depth to 5 nm, more
atoms are squeezed by the cutting tool. The excess atoms are piled up in front of the rake surface. The
workpiece material is extruded out from the rake face of the cutting tool. The MD simulation results
demonstrate that the chip formation in nanometric machining is mainly based on extrusion rather
than shearing in conventional machining.

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Fig. 2 Schematic diagram of MD cutting model

Fig. 3 Model of MD simulation of AFM-based cutting

Figure 3 shows another typical example of MD simulation of AFM-based nanometric cutting

(Zhu et al. 2010). The model consists of a face-centered cubic (FCC) single-crystal copper
workpiece and a rigid diamond tool. The size of the workpiece is 50a  50a  25a, where a is the
lattice constant of Cu (a ¼ 0.3615 nm). The three orientations of workpiece are in x-[100], y-[010],
and z-[001]. The cutting is conducted along the [1 0 0] direction on the (001) surface of the
workpiece. The workpiece includes three kinds of atoms: boundary atoms, thermostat atoms, and
Newtonian atoms. The motions of thermostat atoms and Newtonian atoms obey classical Newton’s
second law. The Newton’s equations of motion are integrated with a velocity Verlet algorithm with a
time step of 1 fs. The three layers of boundary atoms at the left and the bottom of the workpiece are
kept fixed in space to reduce edge effect. The next three layers of atoms adjacent to the boundary
atoms at the left and the bottom of the workpiece are thermostat atoms. The bulk (initial) temperature
of the workpiece is 293 K. During MD simulations, heat dissipation is carried out by keeping the
thermostat atoms at a constant temperature of 293 K by velocity scaling method. Periodic boundary
conditions are imposed in the y direction.

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The diamond tool created from perfect diamond atomic lattices has a configuration of a cone
shape with a tool angle of 60 . For the Cu–Cu interaction between workpiece atoms, the EAM
potential is used. As the tool is treated as a rigid body, the C–C interactions between tool atoms are
ignored. For the Cu–C interaction, the Morse potential is adopted.
The MD simulation of cutting process consists of two stages: the relaxation stage and the cutting
stage. The effects of tool geometry, cutting depth, cutting velocity, and temperature on material
removal and deformation and cutting forces are thoroughly studied.
The MD simulation results can be analyzed to explore the physics of nanometric cutting, such as
the microstructure change of workpiece material, the material removal and chip formation mecha-
nisms, the stress and temperature distribution and the effect of lubrication, and so on. In summary,
MD simulation is a powerful tool to help people understand the physics of nanomachining process.

Cross-References
▶ Abrasive Material
▶ Atomic Force Microscopy
▶ Cutting Edge Geometry
▶ Cutting Fluid
▶ Cutting Temperature
▶ Cutting, Fundamentals
▶ Grinding
▶ Material Flow
▶ Nanomachining

References
Alder BJ, Wainright TE (1957) Phase transition for a hard sphere system. J Chem Phys 27(5):1208
Allen MP, Tildesley DJ (1987) Computer simulation of liquids. Clarendon, Oxford
Fang FZ, Wu H, Zhou W, Hu XT (2007) A study on mechanism of nano-cutting single crystal
silicon. J Mater Process Technol 184:210–407
Li J (2005) Basic molecular dynamics, Chap. 2.8. In: Handbook of materials modeling. Springer,
Dordrecht, pp 565–588
Rappaport DC (1995) The art of molecular dynamics simulation. Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, UK
Zhu PZ, Hu YZ, Ma TB, Wang H (2010) Study of AFM-based nanometric cutting process using
molecular dynamics. Appl Surf Sci 256:7160–7165

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Nanoindentation
Nikolaos Michailidisa*, Konstantinos-Dionysios Bouzakisb, Ludger Koendersc and Konrad Herrmannc
a
Physical Metallurgy Laboratory & Fraunhofer Project Center Coatings in Manufacturing (PCCM) / Mechanical
Engineering Department, Aristoteles University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
b
Laboratory for Machine Tools and Manufacturing Engineering & Fraunhofer Project Center Coatings in
Manufacturing (PCCM) / Mechanical Engineering Department, Aristoteles University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki,
Greece, Germany
c
Surface Metrology, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Braunschweig, Germany

Synonyms
Indentation in nanoscale; Nano-range instrumented indentation

Definition
Nanoindentation is a method for testing the hardness and related mechanical properties of materials,
facilitated by high-precision instrumentation in the nanometer scale, as well as analytical and
computational algorithms for result evaluation.

Theory and Application

History
The origin of the indentation method goes back to Martens at the end of the nineteenth century
(Martens 1898). Later, the force–indentation depth curve and a method for deriving hardness and
elastic modulus were described (Ternovskij et al. 1973). In the early 1980s, the development of a
high-resolution nanoindentation followed (Newey et al. 1982). In the 1990s, refinements to the
instrumentation and methods for extracting mechanical properties from the test contributed to the
establishing of nanoindentation as an important tool in materials research (Oliver and Pharr 1992
and Field and Swain 1993). Since then, further developments of the technique and its use in a range
of materials have been performed. This is highlighted by several special focus series, the most
notable being the Journal of Materials Research series in the years 1999, 2004, and 2009. The CIRP
Annals in 2010 published a keynote paper on nanoindentation (Lucca et al. 2010). The standardi-
zation of the instrumented indentation test started in the 1990s in Germany (DIN 50359-1 to -3),
establishing the basis for the development of the international standard ISO 14577-1 to -3, published
in 2002. To address the peculiarities of indentation of thin films and coatings, the ISO 14577-4 was
developed. In 2008, the ISO/TR 29381 was published, allowing for the evaluation of tensile
properties of metallic materials by instrumented indentation.

*Email: nmichail@eng.auth.gr

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Theory
Method and Instrumentation
Method During an instrumented indentation test, the applied test force and the indentation depth of
the indenter are continuously measured. ISO 14577-1 defines three application ranges:

– Nano-range: hmax
200 nm

– Micro-range hmax > 200 nm and Fmax < 2 N
– Macro-range 2 N
Fmax
30 kN

Typical indenter materials include diamond, tungsten carbide, and sapphire. Indenter geometries
are pyramidal with square base (Vickers), pyramidal with triangular base (Berkovich and cube
corner), and spherical.
Either the force or the displacement of the indenter is controlled by the indentation instrument.
The testing cycle is composed of a linear loading to the maximum force, a hold at the maximum
force to allow time-dependent plasticity or creep effects to diminish, and an unloading to 10 % of the
maximum force, a hold at this force to measure the thermal drift of the instrument followed by a final
unloading. Figure 1 shows an example of a test cycle. Figure 2 shows the results of an indentation
test where the test force is plotted as a function of the indentation depth based on the test cycle of
Fig. 1. Curve (a) represents the application of the test force, (b) the hold at maximum test force,
(c) the first part of the unloading, (d) the hold at 10 % of the maximum test force, and (e) the final
unloading.

Fig. 1 Typical test force versus test time cycle for indentation

Fig. 2 Test force versus indentation depth plot

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Fig. 3 (a) Nanoindentation diagrams of a TiAlN coating and (b) hmax and hp at various temperatures

Instrumentation Nanoindentation instruments mainly differ by the principle of the force measure-
ment system (nN resolution), where electromagnetic, capacitive, and inductive systems are applied,
and of the displacement measurement system (sub-nm resolution) which can be inductive or
capacitive. Furthermore, the use of a small ac signal that is superimposed on the force signal to
measure the contact stiffness throughout the complete cycle for calculating the indentation modulus
is also a trend. Systems have been developed which enable the rapid application of the test force,
thus resulting in a nano-impact test. Indentation has also been combined with transmission electron
microscopy (TEM). Nano-scratch tests were rendered possible by including another axis of motion.
Most of the known nanoindentation instrument manufacturers are presented in Bhushan and Palacio
(2012). A further development was testing at high temperatures, offering more realistic predictions
about the materials performance close to operation conditions. A characteristic example of Fig. 3a
shows nanoindentation measurements on a TiAlN film, at temperatures varying up to 400  C. The
hmax and the hp values are fluctuating over the temperature (see Fig. 3b) as discussed in Bouzakis
et al. (2010).

Indenter Tip Calibration Procedures

A prerequisite for high accuracy in nanoindentation result evaluation is the precise knowledge of the
indenter and its tip geometry, especially when results attained using different indenters or even
devices need to be correlated (Oliver and Pharr 1992; Alcala et al. 1998; Herrmann et al. 2010). In
nanometer scale, indenter deviations from the ideal geometry due to manufacturing imperfections or
operation wear significantly affect the result accuracy (ISO 14577 2002; Bouzakis et al. 2001,
2002a, b). Therefore, analytical–empirical and FEM-based methods have been developed to over-
come this problem.

Analytical–Empirical Methods Direct and indirect measurement methods are applied for deter-
mining the indenter area function. In the direct method, usually atomic force microscope (AFM) is
employed for attaining a high-resolution shape characterization of the indenter (see Fig. 4a).
Characteristic indenter tip form deviations, as well as an example of AFM measurement of a
Berkovich indenter tip, conducted according to ISO 14577-2 standard, are illustrated in Fig. 4b
(Bouzakis et al. 2013). Results at indentation depths less than roughly 25 nm can be significantly
affected by the tip geometry, due to the manufacturing nano-imperfections of the indenter tip in the
area A (Bouzakis et al. 2001; ISO 14577 2002; Bouzakis and Michailidis 2007). In the indirect
methods, nanoindentations are performed on reference materials with determined properties.

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Fig. 4 Characteristic indenter tip form deviations and AFM measurement of a Berkovich nanoindenter

Fig. 5 (a) FEM model of nanoindentation. (b) Replacement of a Berkovich indenter pyramid by an equivalent cone. (c)
Indenter tip geometry of the equivalent cone

A typical method counts on a material of known Martens hardness as a function of the test force,
while a further method involves testing with a material of known Young’s modulus.

FEM-Supported Methods The evolution of FEM-based algorithms in the evaluation of

nanoindentation results offers advanced capabilities in determining the exact contact between the
indenter and the test piece, thus allowing the accurate calculation of the material hardness and
stress–strain curve. A precondition for that is an effective evaluation approach of the exact indenter
tip geometry. Figure 5a presents an FEM model of nanoindentation process (Bouzakis et al. 2001).
For describing analytically the indenter tip nano-deviations from the ideal sharp tip geometry, the
pyramid is replaced by an equivalent cone possessing the same projected area versus the indentation
depth hi (see Fig. 5b) (Bouzakis et al. 2002a). The indenter tip geometry of the equivalent cone is
described in Fig. 5c. Due to the high indenter tip radius in this small indenter tip area, this curve can
be substituted by a line described via the parameters height th and width b (see Fig. 5c). The
approximation of the indenter tip as a sphere with radius up to 200 nm may lead to substantial errors
in the evaluation of nanoindentation results (Bouzakis and Michailidis 2007).

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Fig. 6 Application example for determining the tip geometry of an unworn and worn indenter

Fig. 7 Statistical analysis of the nanoindentation measurements for specimens of different roughness

Although diamond pyramids possess very high elasticity modulus and hardness, their elastic
deformation during penetration can be considerably high, depending on the properties of the test
material, causing significant changes in the contact surface (Bouzakis and Michailidis 2006).
A fast method for estimating indenter tip nano- and micro-geometry, based on a combination of
nanoindentations on Si(100) with FEM-supported calculations of Martens hardness, is reported in
Bouzakis et al. (2010), offering also the option to determine indenter tip geometry changes (see
Fig. 6) over its operation time, due to wear. The worn tip is blunted. In this way, when this indenter is
applied, the maximum indentation depth at the same indentation force is smaller compared to that
one of the new indenter. This fact could be misleading, interpreted as if the material hardness was
higher. At the right part of Fig. 6, the new indenter geometry (dashed line) and the worn one (solid
line) are displayed, with the indenter wear volume amounting to 160 ∙ 103 nm3.

Effect of Surface Roughness on the Nanoindentation Accuracy

A further crucial parameter affecting the accuracy of the nanoindentation results is the surface
roughness, through the different contact area of the indenter with the test piece when indenting on
roughness peak or valley. When indenting on relatively rough specimens, as experienced in most
surfaces of technical materials, an indentation depth scatter may occur as a consequence of the
surface topography.
The distribution of the number of measurements versus the maximum indentation depth, for three
specimens with different roughness specifications, is demonstrated in Fig. 7a. The registered
maximum indentation depths on the polished specimen lie closer to the maximum occurring

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penetration depth mean value, leading to a smaller scattering of the measurements in comparison to
the honed and the ground specimen. However, after a certain number of measurements depending on
the surface roughness, the moving average of the maximum indentation depths hmax in all three
investigated cases are converging (see Fig. 7b). The scatter of the moving average of hmax per
indentation has been stabilized after the first 15 measurements in the case of the polished specimen,
while the honed and the ground specimens require more than 20 and 25 measurements, respectively,
to obtain a stable moving average of hmax.

Determination of Material Properties (Stress–Strain Law, Hardness, etc.)

Analytical–Empirical Methods Analytical–empirical methods are basically applied for the deter-
mination of bulk materials’ hardness and Young’s modulus based on the nanoindentation
force–depth diagram. The Martens hardness HM and indentation hardness HIT are the most
commonly used parameters. Martens hardness is defined as the test force F divided by the surface
area As(h) of the indenter penetrating beyond the zero point of the contact and is expressed in N/mm2
by the following equation:

F
HM ¼ (1)
As ðhÞ

An improved method for the determination of the Martens hardness is offered for homogeneous
materials by calculating the slope of the increasing force/indentation depth curve, to avoid the
determination of the zero point.
Indentation hardness is expressed as the maximum applied force Fmax, divided by the projected
(cross-sectional) contact area Ap of the indenter with the test piece:

F max
H IT ¼ (2)
Ap

Young’s modulus of the test material can be approached by the indentation modulus EIT, which can
be calculated from the slope of the tangent:

1  ðvs Þ2
E IT ¼ (3)
1 1  ðvi Þ2

Er Ei
pffiffiffi
p
E r ¼ pffiffiffiffiffi (4)
2C Ap

where ns is Poisson’s ratio of the test piece, ni is Poisson’s ratio of the indenter (for diamond 0.07), Er
is the reduced modulus of the indentation contact, Ei is the modulus of the indenter (for diamond
1.14 ∙ 106 N/mm2), C is the compliance of the contact (dh/dF of the test force removal curve,
evaluated at maximum test force), and Ap is the projected contact area, the value of the indenter area
function at the contact depth.
The analytical–empirical methods are fast and simple, offering adequate approximation of
material mechanical properties. However, they have limited accuracy: (i) in small indentation
depths, where the real indenter area function is required; (ii) in materials with high Young’s modulus,

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Fig. 8 (a) Vickers and indentation hardness distribution versus the indentation force and depth for a hardened steel. (b)
Stress–strain characteristics and hardness of various materials

since the indenter is considered rigid; and (iii) when materials have graded properties, like thin films.
Moreover, significant differences between Young’s modulus and EIT may occur, when either pileup
or sink-in is present.

FEM-Supported Methods The geometry of the contact area between the diamond indenter and the
specimen during the indentation decisively affects the resulting material hardness. The FEM model
simulating the nanoindentation procedure and the actual indenter tip geometry, introduced in
Bouzakis et al. (2001, 2002a, 2002b), can be applied to calculate the contact geometry during
loading and the shape of the surface impression after unloading. In this way, all specimen’s hardness
values, i.e., Martens HM, indentation hardness HIT, and Vickers, can be determined (Qian
et al. 2005). The course of the Vickers hardness and indentation hardness versus the indentation
force and depth, for a tested hardened steel, is presented in Fig. 8a. Both hardness magnitudes have a
decreasing tendency, as the applied indentation force and depth increase. In the case of the Vickers
hardness, the FEM-calculated values versus the indentation force were validated by SEM observa-
tions of the corresponding remaining impressions. The deviation between the Vickers and indenta-
tion hardness is higher in the nanoindentation range (h
200 nm). These tendencies are explained
in Bouzakis et al. (2005). Characteristic examples applying FEM-based algorithms for determining
the stress–strain properties and hardness of various materials are presented in the table of Fig. 8b.
Corresponding stress–strain curves have been FEM calculated for reference materials based on
round robin nanoindentations (Herrmann et al. 2010), showing a satisfactory convergence
(Bouzakis and Michailidis 2007).
Further algorithms for determining stress–strain characteristics of materials are based on the
representative stress and strain (Ahn and Kwon 2001), an inverse analysis by FEM (Dao et al. 2001),
and on neural networks (Huber and Tyulyukovskiy 2004). FEM-supported methods offer advanced
capabilities in determining all kinds of mechanical properties of materials, such as Young’s modulus,
yield, and rupture strength.

Key Applications
Characteristic applications of nanoindentation in production engineering for estimating mechan-
ical properties can be found in coatings on cutting and forming tools and on anti-wear and anti-
corrosion surfaces/surfaces of manufactured products for determining their internal stresses.

Page 7 of 9
CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16730-1
# CIRP 2014

Cross-References
▶ Coated Tools
▶ Surface Integrity

References
Ahn JH, Kwon D (2001) Derivation of plastic stress–strain relationship from ball indentations:
examination of strain definition and pileup effect. J Mater Res 16:3170–3178
Alcala J, Giannakopoulos AE, Suresh S (1998) Continuous measurements of load penetration
curves with spherical microindenters and the estimation of mechanical properties. J Mater Res
13:1390–1400
Bhushan B, Palacio M (2012) Nanoindentation. In: Bhushan B (ed) Encyclopedia of nanotechnol-
ogy. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg
Bouzakis KD, Michailidis N (2006) Indenter surface area and hardness determination by means of a
FEM-supported simulation of nanoindentation. Thin Solid Films 494:155–160
Bouzakis KD, Michailidis N (2007) Deviations in determining coatings’ and other materials’
mechanical properties, when considering different indenter tip geometries and calibration pro-
cedures. Surf Coat Technol 202:1108–1112
Bouzakis KD, Michailidis N, Erkens G (2001) Thin hard coatings stress–strain curve determination
through a FEM supported evaluation of nanoindentation test results. Surf Coat Technol
142(144):102–109
Bouzakis KD, Michailidis N, Hadjiyiannis S, Skordaris G, Erkens G (2002a) Continuous FEM
simulation of the nanoindentation. Z Met Kd 93:862–869
Bouzakis KD, Michailidis N, Hadjiyiannis S, Skordaris G, Erkens G (2002b) The effect of specimen
roughness and indenter tip geometry on the determination accuracy of thin hard coatings
stress–strain laws by nanoindentation. Mater Charact 49:149–156
Bouzakis KD, Michailidis N, Skordaris G (2005) Hardness determination by means of a
FEM-supported simulation of nanoindentation and applications in thin hard coatings. Surf Coat
Technol 200:867–871
Bouzakis KD, Pappa M, Skordaris G, Bouzakis E, Gerardis S (2010) Correlation between PVD
coating strength properties and impact resistance at ambient and elevated temperatures. Surf Coat
Technol 205:1481–1485
Bouzakis KD, Pappa M, Maliaris G, Michailidis N (2013) Fast determination of parameters
describing manufacturing imperfections and operation wear of nanoindenter tips. Surf Coat
Technol 215:218–223
Dao M, Chollacoop N, Van Vliet KJ, Venkatesh YA, Suresh S (2001) Computational modeling of
the forward and reverse problems in instrumented sharp indentation. Acta Mater 49:3899–3918
Field JS, Swain MV (1993) A simple predictive model for spherical indentation. J Mater Res
8(2):297–306
Herrmann K, Lucca DA, Klopfstein MJ, Menelao F (2010) CIRP sponsored international compar-
ison on nanoindentation. Metrologia 47:S50
Huber N, Tyulyukovskiy E (2004) A new loading history for identification of viscoplastic properties
by spherical indentation. J Mater Res 19:101–113
ISO 14577 (2002) Metallic materials – instrumented indentation test for hardness and materials
parameters

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DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16730-1
# CIRP 2014

Lucca DA, Herrmann K, Klopfstein MJ (2010) Nanoindentation. Measuring methods and applica-
tions. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 59:803–819
Martens A (1898) Handbuch der Materialienkunde f€ ur den Maschinenbau. Springer, Berlin
Newey D, Wilkins MA, Pollock HM (1982) An ultra-low-load penetration hardness tester. J Phys
E Sci Instrum 15:119–122
Oliver WC, Pharr GM (1992) An improved technique for determining hardness and elastic modulus
using load and displacement sensing indentation. J Mater Res 7(6):1564–1583
Qian L, Li M, Zhou Z, Yang H, Shi X (2005) Comparison of nano-indentation hardness to
microhardness. Surf Coat Technol 195:264–271
Ternovskij AP, Alechin VP, Shorshorov MC, Khrusshchov MM, Skvorcov VN (1973) About
micromechanical material tests by indentation. Zavodskaja Laboratorija 39:1242–1247

Page 9 of 9
N
Nanotechnology
Ajay Malshe
Manufacturing Processes, and Integrated
Systems, University of Arkansas, College of
Engineering, Arkansas, USA
Synonyms
Nanoscale engineering; Nanoscale science; Nano-
scale technology; Nanotechnology
Definition
Nanotechnology is the branch of technology that
structures materials at the nanolength scale and/or
studies and/or applies unique phenomena enabled
due to the nanolength scale, in order to produce
features for new or enhanced functionalities.
Nanolength scale refers to a range of lengths typ-
ically between 1 nm and 100 nm.
Etymology (Origin)
Nanotechnology is derived from the following
Greek words:
• “Nanos,” meaning “dwarf or very small”
• “Tekhne,” meaning “art, craft, or skill”
• “Logia,” meaning “science of”
• “Tekhnologia,” meaning “systematic treatment
of an art, craft, or technique”
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16731-1
From its origin, nanotechnology means the
study and application of (or systematic treatment
of) the materials and/or techniques of (or the craft/
skill of) the very small.
Existing Definitions and Their Sources
See Table 1.
Theory and Application
Introduction and Fundamentals
Over millions of years, nature developed unique
properties offered due to the nanoscale to realize
various features, from DNA to brilliant colors of
peacock feather. These nanoscale structures,
building blocks, in effect, allow living beings to
use nanotechnology as an effective “tool” in the
combat for survival as well as use limited
resources sustainably (Malshe et al. 2013). Some
of the prominent examples are macromolecular
DNA, RNA and other molecules, colors of birds
and butterflies, superhydrophobic surfaces of
leaves, photosynthesis in leaves, and many more
(Malshe et al. 2013). The overall subject of nano-
technology is not new. Discoveries of novel
nanoscience and engineering of unique structures
from nature and otherwise and their implications
in real applications to enhance quality of life
through nanomanufacturing are new to the
world. In the modern times, Nobel Prize winning
physicists like Richard Feynman and chemists
like Richard Smalley, Eric Drexler, Michael
2 Nanotechnology
Roco, and a few others are credited to generate
wider scientific awareness for nanotechnology.
Since the early twenty-first century, scientific,
engineering, and business worlds are intrigued
due to the above and many more discoveries and
inventions. Their driver also stemmed due to the
fact that novel material chemistries and phases
could be designed and synthesized artificially.
These novel phases demonstrate unique func-
tional properties, synthesis, and manufacturing
processes that could be scaled up for industrial
use; advanced instruments are becoming available
to observe, control, integrate, and manufacture
such nanoscale materials. For historical reference,
in early days of advancements, nanotechnology is
following scientific and industrial paths of pro-
gress alike microtechnology, where, since the
1960s, the world saw advancements in semicon-
ductor micrometer scale devices followed by
information revolution, MEMS, and many other
game changers for automotive, aerospace, indus-
trial, and many other sectors.
A length scale ranging from 1–100 nanometers
offers unique physical, chemical, and resultant
functional advantages to materials such as electri-
cal, mechanical, optical, magnetic, and others.
Sub-100-nm-scale materials engineering offers
uniqueness in behavior due to one or a combina-
tion of more than one phenomenon given in the
next section. At the nanoscale, typically one could
see a gradual breakdown of traditional classical
mechanics, as the size of structures decreases, and
apparent migration towards quantum mechanical
behavior.
Unique Properties at the Nanoscale
Nanoscale structural engineering delivers multi-
ple unique physical, chemical, and resultant struc-
tural phenomena such as (Trigg 1994):
1. Extraordinarily high surface-to-volume ratio
(Trigg 1994)
2. Significant compaction density of particles
(nanostructures) with extraordinary density of
grain boundaries (Trigg 1994)
3. None or close-to-none lattice bulk defects,
such as dislocations, in a nanostructure
allowing material to deliver pristine properties
as well as manipulation of functions with
highest accuracy (Trigg 1994)
4. Surface and interface energy-driven “self”
assembly of novel structural and chemical
architectures (Sivakumar et al. 2013)
5. Unique hierarchical assemblies across the
length scale boundaries (Bhushan 2004b)
6. Play role as active and/or passive nanoscale
“detection and/or delivery” system of func-
tional agents (Bhushan 2004a)
It is notable that due to the fundamental nature
of the above said facts, these phenomena are
applicable to a plethora of materials including
wide choices of metals, ceramics, semiconduc-
tors, polymers, and composites allowing scien-
tific, engineering, and industrial business sectors
practically limitless choices for designing and
producing advanced and new products. Some of
the established common names of material struc-
tures in the nanotechnology are carbon nanotubes,
fullerenes, quantum dots, macromolecules, and
graphene, though at this time some of these have
yet to find a wider application base. An atomic
force microscopy image of quantum dots is shown
in Fig. 1 (Taylor et al. 2008).
Classification of Nanostructure
Manufacturing
Three different nanomanufacturing process
routes, including self-assembly, directed assem-
bly, and their hybrid combinations, are applied in
the nanotechnology field. For example, in self-
assembly process parameters are controlled mac-
roscopically or microscopically to manipulate
assemblies at nanoscale and example of such a
process is molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)
(Sivakumar et al. 2013). A schematic of MBE is
shown in Fig. 2 (Asahi 2015).
In the directed assembly, a typical process
guiding tool participates in the assembly of mate-
rial(s) at nanoscale and tip-based nanomanu-
facturing processes such as nano electro-
machining (nano-EM; see Fig. 3) (Malshe
et al. 2005) or dip pen lithography (DPL)
(Engstrom et al. 2014).
Nanotechnology 3

Nanotechnology, Table 1 Existing definitions

Category Definition Reference
General Nanotechnology is science, engineering, and US National Nanotechnology Initiative
technology conducted at the nanoscale, which is about (2014)
1–100 nm
General Subset of technology where dimensions and tolerances Tech Target (Rouse 2011)
in the range of 0.1–100 nm play a critical role in
providing valuable benefits
Molecular Nanotechnology is the art and science of building Nanotechnology: Molecular Speculations
engineering complex, practical devices with atomic precision on Global Abundance (Crandall 1999)
Environment The art and science of manipulating matter at the atomic US EPA (2007)
or molecular level
Environment Nanotechnology refers to the intentional engineering or US EPA (US EPA/OSWER 2012)
manufacture of nanoscale particles
Government Structures, devices, and systems having novel properties Foresight Institute (2014)
and Industry and functions due to the arrangement of their atoms on
the 1–100 nm scale
Metrology Science and technology of structures made of materials European Nanotechnology Gateway
or composites of inorganic and organic materials where (Lojkowski et al. 2006)
at least one dimension is less than 100 nm, and in
addition new phenomena are observed which result
from such a small size
Physics The development and use of devices that have a size of Oxford Dictionary of Physics (Daintith
only a few nanometers 2009)
General Range of technologies whose dimensions are on the Oxford World Encyclopedia (Oxford
nanometer scale 2004)
Sustainability A technology that aims to manipulate molecules and Oxford Supplementary Dictionary of
atoms at very small scales measured in nanometers Renewable Energy and Sustainability
(Roby 2013)
Medical A field of science focused on matter 100 nm or smaller Oxford Concise Medical Dictionary
(Martin 2010)
Environment Any technology that is applied at the nanoscale, Oxford Dictionary of Environment and
particularly the development of new materials and Conservation (Allaby and Park 2013)
processes by manipulating molecular and atomic
particles
Chemical The study of materials of the nanometer scale ranging Oxford Dictionary of Chemical
engineering from 1 to 100 nm Engineering (Schaschke 2014)
Mechanical The science and engineering of materials that have been Oxford Dictionary of Mechanical
engineering structured on length scales of 1–100 nm Engineering (Atkins and Escudier 2013)
Chemistry The development and use of devices that have a size of Oxford Dictionary of Chemistry (Daintith
only a few nanometers 2008)
Public health Construction and use of devices comprising only a few Oxford Dictionary of Public Health (Last
molecules that can be used to manipulate structures at 2007)
the atomic level. Nanotechnology has potential
applications in repair of damaged tissues and organs

In hybrid manufacturing, physical and chemi-
cal events are synchronized in certain order and
executed using self- and directed-assembly pro-
cesses, depending upon design of the nanostruc-
ture. IC fabrication process for fabricating
nanometric size semiconductor gates and chemo-
mechanical milling are examples of hybrid
nanomanufacturing (Wan et al. 2010). All these
three manufacturing routes use materials in mul-
tiple phases including solid, liquid, vapor, and
4 Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology, patterned region showing

Fig. 1 3D image of self- biased self-assembly
assembled InAs dots on
patterned and
unpatterned regions of
nanostamped template
(viewed using AFM)
(Taylor et al. 2008) http://
dx.doi.org/10.1088/0957-
4.0
4484/19/01/015301 #IOP
3.5
Publishing (Reproduced by
0.0 3.0
permission of IOP
Publishing. All rights 0.5 2.5
reserved) 1.0 unpatterned 2.0
1.5 region
1.5 Y[µm]
2.0
X[µm] 2.5 1.0
3.0
0.5
3.5
0.0
4.0

Nanotechnology, Toxicity-excluding Diffusion pump Quadrupole

Fig. 2 MBE schematic equipment with liquid N2 trap mass spectrometer
(MFC, mass-flow
controller; MO, Exhaust DP
metalorganic; TMIn, tri- RP LN2 shroud
methyl-indium; TEGa,
tri-methyl-gallium; MBE, Flux monitor
molecular beam epitaxy)
(Reprinted from (Asahi RHEED Substrate
2015), Copyright (2015), screen
with permission from E-gun
Elsevier)
Shutter

Group-III Group-V
MO cell gas cell
MFC MFC
Exhaust K-cell K-cell Exhaust

Run-vent Run-vent

Pyrometer

TMIn TEGa AsH3 PH3 N2

their combinations. Nanoimprint lithography, Instruments for Nanotechnology

another example of hybrid manufacturing, is
shown in Fig. 4 (Sotomayor Torres et al. 2003).
Depending upon materials and nanostructures
of manufacturing interest, a nanomanufacturing
facility could use a traditional semiconductor
“clean-room” or use a well maintained clean facil-
ity (Gatzen et al. 2015).
In the nanotechnology area, observational and
functional analytical techniques are essential. As
nanostructures under observation are small by
definition, caution is needed for avoiding probe
(e.g., energy for an electron beam or tip for an
AFM) of the analytical tool adversely interacting
and modifying the fundamental nature of the
Nanotechnology 5

Nanotechnology,
Fig. 3 Nano electro-
machining (nano-EM) (B)
(Malshe et al. 2005) with
(A) 70X optical
micrograph of nano-EM
electrode oil interface and 20nm
(B) SEM micrograph of Piezo Pt-lr electrode
the electrode and a TEM actuators
close-up of the tip showing
atomic asperities for
nano-EM (www.physics.
purdue.edu/nanophys/
uhvstm/tip.html) (Reprinted
from Malshe et al. 2005, Current amplifier
Copyright 2005, with EDM
permission from Elsevier) electrode
Gold
substrate Distance & scan
control unit

Pt-lr wire (A)

Dielectric meniscus
Tunneling
voltage

Display unit with

topographical data

structures themself. Analytical observation tools Industrial Applications

such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM),
scanning electron microscopy (SEM), scanning
probe microscopy (SPM) including scanning
tunneling microscopy (STM) and atomic force
microscopy (AFM), energy dispersive x-ray anal-
ysis (EDS), Raman Spectroscopy, X-ray photo-
electron spectroscopy (XPS), photo luminescence
(PL), electroluminescence spectroscopy, and
related others are predominantly applied to study
features at the nanoscale (Lojkowski et al. 2006).
There are function specific tools, such as hardness
measurement tools or machine testing facilities,
which are necessary and used to analyze larger
structures those are hierarchically integrated with
nanostructures.
Today, nanotechnology is already a billion-dollar
industrial market and expected rapidly to grow
exponentially across the globe. Applications of
nanotechnology range from multiple products
such as cutting tools, lubricants, paints, optical
devices, catalysts, electronic devices, batteries,
biomedical detection, medical surgery and pre-
ventive measure, solar cells, smart textile,
advanced cement, embedded batteries, distributed
sensors and actuators, UAVs, valves and flow
equipment, and many more. These applications
of nanotechnology are currently being effectively
used or implemented in various industrial sectors
such as automotive; aerospace; pharmaceutical;
biomanufacturing; machining and industrial prod-
ucts; textile; gas, oil, and renewable energy
manufacturing; farming and earth movers; power
6 Nanotechnology

generation and delivery; and defense. Following

stamp
are some specific examples of applications of
nanotechnology.

polymer film
Examples of Applications
silicon substrate • Using nanosized particles as molecular carriers
for targeted drug delivery (Silva et al. 2014;
Bennet and Kim 2014; Hosokawa et al. 2012).
• Nanostructured materials for hard, tough, and
lubricious cutting tool coatings and wear parts
(More et al. 2006; Kalita et al. 2012).
• Nanoscale texturing for superhydrophobic sur-
faces (Hellio and Yebra 2009; Malshe
et al. 2013).
temperature + pressure • Use of colloidal semiconducting nanocrystals
(quantum dots) for medical imaging
(He 2012).
• Engineering semiconductor energy band gaps
in order to enhance photovoltaic energy con-
version (Yerga et al. 2013).
• Nanoscale lubricants for severe boundary
lubrication, for example, in bearings and
gears (Malshe and Verma 2013; Bhushan
2004c; Verma et al. 2008). Figure 5 depicts
cooling + separation an example of nanoscale lubrication.
• Use of atomic force microscopy to obtain topo-
graphical information of a surface (Lojkowski
et al. 2006).
• Fabrication of high density electronics by mak-
ing features smaller (Roco et al. 2011).
• Tennis racquets made of carbon nanotube
reinforced composites to increase specific stiff-
dry etching ness of racket and improve shock absorbance
(Nouailhat 2008; Paul and Robeson 2008).
Nanotechnology, Fig. 4 Nanoimprint lithography
(Reprinted from (Sotomayor Torres et al. 2003), Copyright
2003, with permission from Elsevier)
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology, Fig. 5 Molybdenum disulphide nanoparticles for advanced lubrication, Verma et al. 2008,
(Reprinted by permission of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers, www.stle.org)
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Cleanup (US environmental protection agency/Office
of solid waste and emergency response). Available at:
http://www.epa.gov/oswer/nanotechnology/. Accessed
19 Nov 2014
Verma A et al (2008) Tribological behavior of
deagglomerated active inorganic nanoparticles for
advanced lubrication. Tribol Trans 51(5):673–678
Nanotechnology
Wan F et al (2010) Nano-patterned active layers formed by
nano-imprint lithography. US Patent Application
Nr. US20100090341 A1
Yerga RMN et al (2013) Hydrogen production from water
splitting using photo-semiconductor catalysts. In: Gandia
LM, Arzamedi G, Dieguez PM (eds) Renewable
9
hydrogen technologies – production, purification, stor-
age, applications and safety. Elsevier, p 52. Available at:
http://app.knovel.com/hotlink/toc/id:kpRHTPPSA1/rene
wable-hydrogen-technologies/renewable-hydrogen-tech
nologies. Accessed 2 Feb 2015
F
Flow Forming
Peter Groche
Institute for Production Engineering and Forming
Machines, Technische Universität Darmstadt,
Darmstadt, Germany
Synonyms
Hydrodynamic spinning; Power spinning; Shear
forming; Shear spinning; Shear/flow turning
Definition
Flow forming is a metal forming process, classi-
fied under DIN standard 8583, used for the pro-
duction of hollow components with nonuniform
thickness distribution. During a flow forming
process, a hollow metal blank, a tube, or a disk
is fixed on a rotating mandrel and plastically
deformed by one or more rollers due to the fact
that the distance between the mandrel and axially
moving rollers is at least in some areas of the
workpiece smaller than the initial thickness of
the workpiece.
Theory and Application
Flow forming comprises processes during which
rollers are moved along the axial direction of a
# CIRP 2015
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16750-1
rotating preform. The movement of the rollers
leads to a reduced thickness and increased length
of the part. Longitudinal sections of the created
products can be cylindrical, cone-shaped as well
as convex or concave curved. Processes leading
to cone-shaped or convex or concave curved lon-
gitudinal sections are covered by shear forming.
Cylindrical shapes of longitudinal sections can be
achieved by cylindrical flow forming. This vari-
ant of flow forming is described in the following.
Typical products made by cylindrical flow
forming possess good surface quality and high
geometrical accuracy. They can be found, e.g.,
in hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders, wheels, and
gearing mechanisms.
The principle of cylindrical flow forming is
shown in Fig. 1. The blank or tube is fitted into
the rotating mandrel. The rollers move along the
workpiece axis and deform it plastically in the
vicinity of the contact zone. In doing so, the
initial wall thickness S0 is reduced to S1 and
material flows in the axial direction. At the
same time, the initial length of the workpiece L0
is increased. The final workpiece length can be
calculated under the assumption of volume con-
stancy. By adapting the parameters feed rate v as
well as the attack angle g and the trailing angle d,
a desirable material flow can be achieved. Small
attack angles lead to a large circumferential mate-
rial flow. In consequence, bulge formation in
front of the rollers can be observed. Too large
attack angles on the other side induce surface
waviness (Wong et al. 2003).
2 Flow Forming

Flow Forming,
Fig. 1 Principle of
cylindrical flow forming
(Runge 1993)

Flow Forming,
Fig. 2 Principle of
forward 1 and backward
2 flow forming (Runge
1993)

Improvements of cylindrical flow forming are
achieved by usage of several rollers which are
shifted in axial and circumferential direction.
Since this measure is very effective, it is often
applied. It also allows for different shapes of the
rollers. This can help to overcome the limitations
of material flow caused by the selection of a
specific value of the attack angle.
According to the direction of the axial flow,
two variants of cylindrical flow forming can be
distinguished: forward and backward flow
forming. Figure 2 shows the kinematics of these
two variants. During a forward flow forming pro-
cess, the material flow possesses the same
direction as the feed rate of the rollers. During a
backward flow forming process, the material flow
is directed in the opposite direction to the roller’s
feed rate. This is provoked by stoppers which
enforce a movement of the spun tube or blank
on the mandrel. The main advantage of backward
flow forming is the state of stress in axial direc-
tion. Since compressive stresses act in axial
direction, materials with low tensile strength
can be formed. The main disadvantage of back-
ward compared to forward flow forming is the
need for relative movements between the
deformed workpiece and the mandrel.
Flow Forming
Recent developments of flow forming technol-
ogy aim at more complicated geometries.
Gears can be produced by using mandrels with
gearings. The main challenge in these applica-
tions is the durability of the mandrels. In order
to improve mandrel lifetime, Rachor proposes
to use a ring-shaped tool instead of rollers
(Rachor 2003).
3
References
Rachor C (2003) Investigation of different principles of
flow forming for the manufacture of internal gears
(in German) Shaker
Runge M (1993) Spinning and flow forming (in German).
Leifeld Metal Spinning
Wong CC, Dean TA, Lin J (2003) A review of spinning,
shear forming and flow forming processes. Int J Mach
Tool Manuf 43:1419–1435
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Rolling
Gerhard Hirt*
Institut f€
ur Bildsame Formgebung (ibf), Aachen, Germany

Synonyms
Bonding; Caliber rolling; Deformation; Flat rolling; Flexible and strip profile rolling

Definition
Rolling is a process used to change the geometry of the produced material. Usually the cross section
is reduced, and, as a result, the length increases.

Theory and Application

Rolling
The majority of all metals will undergo a rolling process during the production chain from metal
casting to the final product, e.g., strip, blanks, profiles, etc. The respective rolling processes may be
used to define the product geometry, material properties, or functional surface properties.
The main goals of flat rolling processes are the reduction of the cross section accompanied by the
enlargement of the rolling-stock length and the defined adjustment of material properties (e.g., yield
strength or surface property) (Groover and Tonkay 2007).
A variety of rolling processes exists that lead to different final geometries and material properties.
A brief overview of the most important rolling applications is given in this entry.

Flat Rolling
Rolling of flat products is the most important rolling process as the major portion of all metal
produced is formed into flat products such as sheets and strips (Allwood et al. 2011).
Groover (Groover and Tonkay 2007) describes the flat rolling process as a forming process with
cylindrical rolls and rolling stock with a rectangular cross section. In most cases, material flow is
predominantly in rolling direction and spreading is avoided. This plane-strain deformation can
usually be assumed if the width of the rolling stock is at least ten times greater than the thickness
(w/h > 10). A sketch of a simplified rolling process and some geometrical parameters are shown in
Fig. 1.
In most rolling processes, more than one rolling step is needed to achieve the desired final sheet
geometry. One option is to roll the sheet in the same rolling mill changing the rolling gap for each
step in a so-called single stand. In this case, usually the rolling direction changes each step. This
procedure is called reverse rolling and is done with roller tables (Fig. 2a) or a Steckel mill (Fig. 2b).
In addition to the 2-high mill setup that is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, there are several different
kinds of rolling mills for flat rolling. The main variance is the size and number of rolls. Figure 3

*Email: hirt@ibf.rwth-aachen.de

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Fig. 1 Schematic rolling process with 2-high mill setup

Fig. 2 Single-stand mill with roller tables (a) and a Steckel mill (b)

shows some rolling mill setups. The setups result from the different applications, e.g., hot and cold
rolling. The working roll diameter has a major influence on the rolling force. One way to reduce the
rolling force is to decrease the roll diameter. As thinner rolls are more likely to deflect, backup rolls
are used to prevent this. Otherwise, this would affect the flatness of the strip.
If the deflection of the rolls cannot be avoided by backup rolls, the strip becomes thinner from the
center of the strip toward its edges. This can result in an inappropriate strip thickness or, if the
thickness deviation gets big enough, this can result in undesired edge buckles. This effect can

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Fig. 3 Different roll setups: 2-high mill (a), 4-high mill (b), 6-high mill (c), and cluster mill (Sendzimir) (d)

Fig. 4 Rolling force, resulting pressure, and necessary bending force (Sikdar et al. 2007)

additionally be avoided by roll bending or the use of crowned rolls (Chiran et al. 2010). The rolling
force, the resulting pressures, and the needed bending force to prevent this geometrical failure are
illustrated in Fig. 4.
As mentioned before, every roll setup has a typical application. For rolling processes with larger
thickness reductions, e.g., hot rolling, bigger roll diameters are required to ensure that the rolling
stock is drawn into the roll gap by friction forces. Taking this into account, 2-high mills are used in
roughing stands where a high thickness reduction is intended while the needed rolling forces are
relatively small due to high temperature. 4-high mills are commonly used in hot strip rolling mills or
heavy plate mills, but also in cold tandem mills. A 6-high mill setup is used in applications with
relatively high rolling forces and processes where high precision according to the strip geometry is
required, for example, electric steel. Cluster mills, like the Sendzimir setup in Fig. 3d, are used for
high-strength steels and stainless steels.
Another very common option in contrast to the single-stand mill is the use of a tandem mill with
up to seven consecutive rolling mills (Fig. 5).

Analytical Equations
In general the rolling process can be approximately described by a few analytical equations. Figure 6
shows a cross section of the rolling gap with the most relevant parameters. Geometrical parameters
are the roll diameter d and radius r, the contact length lc, the thickness reduction Dh, and the lever
arm distance a of the force F. This distance depends on the distribution of the resulting pressure px.

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Fig. 5 Schematic 5-stand cold rolling tandem mill

Fig. 6 Cross section of the roll gap

The contact length is important for the simplified calculation of the force. Based on geometric
considerations, it can be described by Eq. 1:
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Dh2 pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
lc ¼ r  Dh   r  Dh (1)
4

Based on the slab theory (Siebel 1932), the rolling force F can be estimated by simplified equations.
The basic idea is that the rolling force is the product of the contact surface (lc*w) and the resistance to
deformation, which results from flow stress and additional pressure required to overcome the
influence of friction and shear effects.
For the friction dominated range (lc/hm > 1), Eq. 2 by Siebel (1932) is a good approximation:
 
1 lc
F ¼ 1:15  wm  lc  sy  1 þ  m  (2)
2 hm

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In the shear dominated range (lc/hm < 1), the rolling force could be described by Eq. 3 according to
Lugovskoi (Sandmark 1972):
  
lc hm
F ¼ 1:15  wm  lc  sy  1:25  þ 1:25  ln (3)
hm lc

In both Equations, sy is the flow stress, m the friction coefficient, wm the mean width, and hm the
mean height. The factor 1.15 is used to adopt the Tresca yield criterion to the von Mises criterion
under plane-strain conditions.
Another important parameter for rolling is the torque M. A simplified method for the calculation is
based on the lever arm distance of the rolling force resulting from the normal pressure px as shown in
Fig. 6. The torque for a single roll is calculated as follows:

M¼Fa (4)

where a describes the horizontal distance between the center of the roll and maximum of the normal
pressure. A safe approximation for a is 0.5 times lc. It is safe because the calculated torque is bigger
than it really is (Ginzburg and Ballas 2000).
Another standard question to be answered is if a rolling stock, which is brought in contact with the
roll gap entry, will be drawn inside the roll gap by frictional forces. Based on a consideration of the
longitudinal component of the normal force and the friction force, the following relation can be
derived (von Kármán 1925). The rolling stock will be drawn into the roll gap as long as the desired
thickness reduction is chosen smaller than the following relation:

Dh  m2  r (5)

Further Rolling Processes

Flexible Rolling and Strip Profile Rolling
Flexible rolling can be used to create a defined thickness distribution in the rolling direction. This
method is industrially established to create load-optimized parts, for example, for automotive
components. The process principle and the implemented roll gap control for the flexible rolling is
illustrated in Fig. 7a. Figure 7b demonstrates that the use of flexible rolled sheets may not only
reduce the weight of the component itself but may also reduce the weight of production scrap
compared to the sheet from conventional flat rolling.
Strip profile rolling in its objective is comparable to flexible rolling, but instead of a thickness
distribution in rolling direction, a defined thickness distribution in width direction is created to
produce load-optimized metal strips. To achieve this without flatness defects, material flow lateral to
the rolling direction is imposed by the use of small rolls. These small profiled rolls are arranged in an
alternating offset pattern as shown in Fig. 8a. Two different examples for load-optimized profiles
made of tailor rolled strips are presented in Fig. 8b.

Roll Bonding
The main objective of roll bonding is the bond creation between different layers in combination with
a flat rolling process. Thereby, it is possible to achieve tailored properties across the sheet thickness.
In aeronautics, for example, bonding layers like pure aluminum (AA1050) are applied on a high-
strength aluminum alloy (AA2024) for corrosion protection. Figure 9 shows two schemes of
different roll bonding processes used for slabs or strips.

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Fig. 7 Process principle of flexible rolling (a) and weight reduction compared to conventional sheet (b)

Fig. 8 Roll arrangement for strip profile rolling (a) and load-optimized profiles (b)

Fig. 9 Two-side reverse roll bonding of slabs (a) and one-side single pass roll bonding of strips (b)

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Fig. 10 Different rolling stages during caliber rolling of a rail (Neumann 1975)

Caliber Rolling
Caliber rolling is used for the production of profiled long products such as rails and I-beams.
Figure 10 (Neumann 1975) shows the desired calibers to roll a rail out of a bar. The dimensioning of
a new caliber sequence is mainly based on experience as only simple calibers can be calculated
directly.

Cross-References
▶ Bonding
▶ Composite Materials
▶ Flow Stress, Flow Curve
▶ Roll Forming

References
Allwood JM, Cullen JM, Carruth MA (2011) Going on a metal diet: using less liquid metal to deliver
the same services in order to save energy and carbon. Department of Engineering, Cambridge
Chiran A, Moisa B, Nicolescu G, Priceputu I, Bacinschi Z (2010) Cold rolling shape defects of
stainless steel wide strips. In: Advances in control, chemical engineering, civil engineering and
mechanical engineering. WSEAS Press, Puerto De La Cruz, pp 154–158
Ginzburg VB, Ballas R (2000) Flat rolling fundamentals. Dekker, New York
Groover MP, Tonkay GL (2007) Fundamentals of modern manufacturing: materials, processes, and
systems, 4th edn. Wiley, New York, pp 396–403
Neumann H (1975) Kalibrieren von Walzen [Calibration of rolls]. VEB Deutscher Verlag f€ur
Grundstoffindustrie [VEB German Publishing House for Primary Industry], Leipzig (in German)
Sandmark PA (1972) Comparison of different formulae for the calculation of force in hot-rolling
mills. J Metall 1:313–318
Siebel E (1932) Die Formgebung im Bildsamen Zustande: theoretische Grundlagen der technischen
Formgebungsverfahren [Forming in plastic state: theoretical foundations of technical forming
processes]. Stahleisen, D€ usseldorf (in German)
Sikdar S, John S, Pandit A, Dasu R (2007) Analysis of roll stack deflection in a hot strip mill. J Braz
Soc Mech Sci Eng XXIX(3):284–289
von Kármán T (1925) Beitrag zur Theorie des Walzvorganges [Contribution to the theory of the
rolling process]. Z Angew Math Mech [J Appl Math Mech] 5:139–141 (in German)

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Calibration
Simone Carmignato*
University of Padua, Vicenza, Italy

Definition
Operation that, under specified conditions, in a first step, establishes a relation between the quantity
values with measurement uncertainties provided by measurement standards and corresponding
indications with associated measurement uncertainties and, in a second step, uses this information to
establish a relation for obtaining a measurement result from an indication.

Note 1: A calibration may be expressed by a statement, calibration function, calibration diagram,

calibration curve, or calibration table. In some cases, it may consist of an additive or multiplicative
correction of the indication with associated measurement uncertainty.
Note 2: Calibration should not be confused with adjustment of a measuring system, often mistakenly
called “self-calibration,” nor with verification of calibration.
Note 3: Often, the first step alone in the above definition is perceived as being calibration (JCGM
200:2012, Definition 2.39).

Theory and Application

Basic Concepts
According to the definition given in the International Vocabulary of Metrology (JCGM 200:2012,
Definition 2.39), calibration establishes a relation between the quantity value provided by a measurement
standard and the corresponding indication provided by a measuring instrument or system. Calibration also
requires determination of the uncertainties associated with the measurements performed. A calibration
can be executed either on a measuring instrument (or system) or on a measurement standard.
The calibration of a measuring instrument allows determining the deviation of the indication of the
measuring instrument from a known value of the measurand provided by the measurement standard, with
associated measurement uncertainty. In other words, the deviation of the indication of an instrument from
the conventional “true value” of the measurand is established and documented. For example, this is the
case of calibrating micrometers or other dimensional measuring instruments using gauge blocks.
The calibration of a measurement standard can be performed by comparing its quantity value and
associated measurement uncertainty to a reference indication (with associated measurement uncertainty)
obtained by a calibrated measuring system. For instance, a measuring system calibrated by a primary
reference standard can be used to calibrate a secondary measurement standard. Also a comparison
between two measurement standards can be viewed as a calibration if the comparison is used to check
(and, if necessary, to correct) the quantity value and measurement uncertainty attributed to one of the two
measurement standards. This is, for example, the case of the calibration of gauge blocks through
comparison with other previously calibrated gauge blocks.

*Email: simone.carmignato@unipd.it

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In certain fields, such as measurement of quantities in biological samples and medical applications, a
measurement standard used for calibration can be called “calibrator” (see JCGM 200:2012, Definition
5.12).
As explicitly stated in the International Vocabulary of Metrology, calibration should not be confused
with verification nor with adjustment. Verification in fact is the “provision of objective evidence that a
given item fulfils specified requirements” (JCGM 200:2012, Definition 2.44). For example, this is the case
of checking if a measuring system achieves the performance properties stated by the manufacturer.
Adjustment, on the other hand, is “the set of operations carried out on a measuring system so that it
provides prescribed indications corresponding to given values of a quantity to be measured” (JCGM
200:2012, Definition 3.11). Calibration is a prerequisite for adjustment, and after the measuring system
has been adjusted, a recalibration must usually be performed.
Calibration is typically performed in metrological laboratories under controlled environmental condi-
tions. The relation established by a calibration maintains its validity under the specified operating
conditions in which the calibration is performed.
In general, for daily operation of a measuring system in a company, a global calibration is usually not
needed. A task-related calibration can be performed, which is a calibration of only those metrological
characteristics that influence the measurement uncertainty for the intended use (see ISO 14978:2006).

Why Are Calibrations Necessary?

There are technical and legal reasons why calibration is performed. Four main reasons for having an
instrument calibrated are, e.g., outlined in the EURAMET handbook “Metrology – in short” (2008):

1. To establish and demonstrate metrological traceability

2. To ensure readings from the instrument are consistent with other measurements
3. To determine the accuracy of the instrument readings
4. To establish the reliability of the instrument, i.e., that it can be trusted

To guarantee interchangeability of parts, it is fundamental to establish traceability of measurements to

national standards by means of calibration. In particular, suppliers and customers producing and assem-
bling parts with other components must ensure valid measurement results and need to measure parts with
the “same measure.” For organizations with quality management systems, calibration is also a require-
ment of ISO 9001, which states that “when necessary to ensure valid results, measuring equipment shall
be calibrated, or verified, or both, at specified intervals, or prior to use, against measurements standards
traceable to international or national measurements standards” (ISO 9001:2008).

Documentation of Calibration Results

The results obtained by a calibration are documented in a calibration certificate or calibration report. The
associated measurement uncertainty must be stated.
Information gained with calibration may be expressed by a statement, a function, an additive or
multiplicative correction of the indication, a calibration diagram, or a calibration curve. For the latter
ones, the International Vocabulary of Metrology gives the following definitions.
Calibration diagram: graphical expression of the relation between indication and corresponding
measurement result.

Note 1: A calibration diagram is the strip of the plane defined by the axis of the indication and the axis of
measurement result that represents the relation between an indication and a set of measured quantity

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values. A one-to-many relation is given, and the width of the strip for a given indication provides the
instrumental measurement uncertainty.
Note 2: Alternative expressions of the relation include a calibration curve and associated measurement
uncertainty, a calibration table, or a set of functions.
Note 3: This concept pertains to a calibration when the instrumental measurement uncertainty is large in
comparison with the measurement uncertainties associated with the quantity values of measurement
standards (JCGM 200:2012, Definition 4.30).

Calibration curve: expression of the relation between indication and corresponding measured
quantity value.

Note: A calibration curve expresses a one-to-one relation that does not supply a measurement result as it
bears no information about the measurement uncertainty (JCGM 200:2012, Definition 4.31).

While a calibration curve needs a separate statement for measurement uncertainty, a calibration
diagram delivers a complete statement of the information obtained with calibration, including the
measured value and the associated measurement uncertainty.

Calibration Hierarchy
To ensure metrological traceability, a calibration made at a local level, such as an industrial internal
calibration (also called in-house calibration), must be linked to a national standard by an unbroken chain
of calibrations, with each step explicitly supported by appropriate documentation (ILAC P10:01/2013).
The measurement uncertainty necessarily increases along the sequence of calibrations, starting from the
national level down to the local level. Therefore, the prerequisite of metrological traceability is the
establishment of a calibration hierarchy as shown in Fig. 1.
The calibration hierarchy is defined in the International Vocabulary of Metrology as follows.
Calibration hierarchy: sequence of calibrations from a reference to the final measuring system,
where the outcome of each calibration depends on the outcome of the previous calibration.

Fig. 1 Illustration of a calibration hierarchy

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Note 1: Measurement uncertainty necessarily increases along the sequence of calibrations.

Note 2: The elements of a calibration hierarchy are one or more measurement standards and measuring
systems operated according to measurement procedures.
Note 3: For this definition, the “reference” can be a definition of a measurement unit through its practical
realization or a measurement procedure or a measurement standard.
Note 4: A comparison between two measurement standards may be viewed as a calibration if the
comparison is used to check and, if necessary, correct the quantity value and measurement uncertainty
attributed to one of the measurement standards (JCGM 200:2012, Definition 2.40).

Organizations Performing Calibration

Different organizations perform calibrations (Fig. 1): national metrology institutes, accredited calibration
laboratories, and in-house calibration laboratories (ILAC P10:01/2013). In each step of the calibration
chain, measurement standards are used to calibrate measuring equipment of the next step. For example, an
accredited laboratory can calibrate a company’s working standard against a reference standard.
Accredited laboratories must fulfill the requirements of (ISO 17025:2005).
Above the national organizations, at the international level, decisions concerning the International
System of Units (SI) and the realization of the primary standards are taken by the Conférence Générale des
Poids et Mesures (CGPM). The development and maintenance of primary standards is coordinated by the
Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM), which also organizes intercomparisons on the highest
level. The International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) promotes laboratory accreditation
and the recognition of competent calibration and test facilities around the world.

Calibration Interval
Calibrations must be repeated at appropriate intervals (ILAC G24:2007). A measurement instrument, for
example, should be periodically recalibrated because changes in its characteristics can occur during its use
and after some time. Recalibration on appropriate intervals ensures detection of these possible changes.
The length of these intervals will depend on a number of variables, such as:

• Uncertainty required
• Frequency of use
• Way of use
• Environmental conditions at use
• Stability of the equipment

Cross-References
▶ Accuracy
▶ Measurement Uncertainty
▶ Traceability

References
European Association of National Metrology Institutes (EURAMET) (2008) Metrology – in short,
3rd edn. http://www.euramet.org/fileadmin/docs/Publications/Metrology_in_short_3rd_ed.pdf.
Accessed 15 Apr 2014

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ILAC G24:2007 (2007) Guidelines for the determination of calibration intervals of measuring instru-
ments. International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation. http://ilac.org/?ddownload=818. Accessed
15 April 2014.
ILAC P10:01/2013 (2013) ILAC policy on traceability of measurement results. International Laboratory
Accreditation Cooperation. http://ilac.org/?ddownload=840. Accessed 15 Apr 2014
ISO 14978:2006 (2006) Geometrical product specifications (GPS) – general concepts and requirements
for GPS measuring equipment. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva
ISO 17025:2005 (2005) General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.
International Organization for Standardization, Geneva
ISO 9001:2008 (2008) Quality management systems – requirements. International Organization for
Standardization, Geneva
JCGM 200:2012 (2012) International vocabulary of metrology – basic and general concepts and
associated terms (VIM), 3rd edn. Joint Committee for Guides in Metrology. www.bipm.org/utils/
common/documents/jcgm/JCGM_200_2012.pdf. Accessed 15 Apr 2014

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Geometrical Product Specification

Vijay Srinivasan*
Systems Integration Division, Engineering Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD,
USA

Synonyms
Dimensional tolerancing and metrology; Geometrical dimensioning and tolerancing; Product
manufacturing information

Definition
There are two definitions for the phrase “geometrical product specifications” (GPS). In a narrower sense,
it refers to geometrical dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) and surface texture for specifying
allowable geometric variations in a manufactured product. The International Organization for Standard-
ization (ISO) has adopted a broader definition of GPS that includes specifications as well as verification
(using measurements) of allowable geometric variations in a product. This entry adopts the broader ISO
definition. In this context, the acronym GPS should not be confused with its more popular usage as the
“global positioning system.”

Theory and Applications

Introduction
The phrase “geometrical product specifications” was formally introduced in 1996, when a new ISO
Technical Committee 213 (ISO/TC 213) titled “Dimensional and geometrical product specifications and
verification” was formed. The committee’s scope is the “standardization in the field of geometrical
product specifications (GPS), i.e., macro- and microgeometry specifications covering dimensional and
geometrical tolerancing, surface properties and the related verification principles, measuring equipment
and calibration requirements including the uncertainty of dimensional and geometrical measurement. The
standardization includes the basic layout and explanation of drawing indications (symbols).” All the
standards produced by this technical committee start with the label “Geometrical Product Specifications
(GPS),” thereby establishing GPS as a brand for this committee’s ISO standards.
GPS standards follow a set of well-founded axioms and principles. Two of the basic GPS axioms are:

A1. Axiom of manufacturing imprecision: All manufacturing processes are inherently imprecise and
produce parts that vary. In fact, no manufactured object can have ideal form.
A2. Axiom of measurement uncertainty: No measurement can be absolutely accurate, and with every
measurement, there is some finite uncertainty about the value of the measurand (particular quantity
subject to measurement).

*Email: vijay.srinivasan@nist.gov

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b
0.12

Fig. 1 A simple illustration of the GPS language. (a) Syntax of GPS flatness tolerance specification. (b) Semantics of GPS
flatness tolerance specification

In addition, these standards have adopted recent mathematical and computational advances in areas
such as the classification of continuous symmetry groups (Srinivasan 2004; Nielsen 2012) and compu-
tational coordinate metrology (Srinivasan 2007).

GPS Language
GPS standards define a GPS language, whose syntax consists of a well-structured set of symbols and
numbers. The semantics (geometric meaning) of the GPS language is defined by a theoretical inspection
procedure (Requicha 1983), which is a gedanken experiment (thought experiment). Figure 1 illustrates
the GPS language using a simple flatness tolerance example (ISO 2012).
Figure 1a shows the syntax of GPS flatness tolerance that includes a flatness symbol and a numerical
value of 0.12, both enclosed within compartments in a rectangular tolerance frame. Figure 1b defines the
semantics of the GPS flatness tolerance specification using graphics; what it stipulates is that a set of
points extracted from a surface feature in an actual workpiece shall be contained within a tolerance zone
bounded by two parallel planes that are separated by the specified flatness tolerance value (0.12 mm, in
this case).
This simple example illustrates several aspects of the GPS language. As Fig. 1a shows, the GPS
language has a well-defined syntactic structure. In fact, most computer-aided design (CAD) systems and
standards for exchange of product model data (popularly known as STEP) are beginning to provide
human-readable, three-dimensional presentations as well as machine-readable representations of such a
rich syntactic structure (ISO 2014; Feeney et al. 2014).
The semantics of the GPS language, as illustrated in Fig. 1b here and in ISO standards (ISO 2012),
implies several steps that are not currently fully stated either in this figure here or in the ISO standards. In a
first step, a gedanken experiment in the form of a theoretical inspection procedure invokes an imagined
geometric model of a workpiece whose boundary is covered by surface features of nonideal form; such a
model is also called a “skin model,” appealing to the physical metaphor of a human skin – full of bumps
and wrinkles – that does not adhere to any ideal geometric forms such as planes, cylinders, and spheres.
Such a skin model is a direct consequence of the application of the Axiom A1 (manufacturing impreci-
sion) mentioned earlier. The next step in defining the semantics of the GPS language involves several GPS
operations described below.

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GPS Operations
The surface of nonideal forms, as imagined in the skin model, is subjected to GPS operations (Srinivasan
2001; Dantan et al 2008):

O1. Extraction: It is a theoretical inspection procedure in which several points (discrete or continuous) are
measured on the surface. Such a (dense) cloud of points is amenable to further operations.
O2. Partitioning: The measured surface is partitioned into distinct surface features that have one-to-one
correspondence with the nominal, ideal-form surface features (such as those shown in an engineering
drawing or represented in a three-dimensional geometric model in a CAD system).
O3. Filtration: The measured surface, or surface feature, is filtered to separate geometric information at
various scales, as demanded by further applications such as form, surface texture, and datum
establishment. Filtration is often performed by a mathematical convolution operation.
O4. Association: The measured surface feature, which has nonideal form, is associated with an ideal form
surface feature using a fitting procedure (e.g., using an algorithm). Association is often performed by
a mathematical optimization procedure.

The set of discrete points, as illustrated in Fig. 1b, is the end result of applying these GPS operations. It
is the goal of the ISO GPS language to define these operations as clearly and unambiguously as possible.
Such a goal has not yet been reached. However, several ISO standards are actively under preparation to
reach this goal (Nielsen 2013; GPS Roadmap 2015).

GPS Verification and the Duality Principle

ISO/TC 213 is responsible for standards that govern specifications as well as verification (i.e., confor-
mance to the specifications) of product geometry. A duality principle adopted by ISO/TC 213 stipulates
that the GPS verification should follow the GPS specifications (as detailed, e.g., in the GPS operations
mentioned above), with the only difference that the Axiom A2 (measurement uncertainty) mentioned
earlier comes into effect in the verification phase (Srinivasan 2001; Nielsen 2013). In other words, the
verification operations are dual to the specification operations, with appropriate invocation of the
measurement uncertainty rules and methods.
Recent advances in dimensional, surface, and coordinate metrology have been the prime force behind
the adoption of the duality principle. Coordinate measuring machines (CMM) – both tactile and
optical – and computed tomography (CT) are revolutionalizing the twenty-first-century geometric
metrology. These metrological developments have moved product geometrical verification beyond the
use of the traditional surface plates, gauge blocks, dial indicators, height gauges, and micrometers. But
they have also introduced vast variations in how the modern metrological tools are used to test the
products for conformance to the specifications. A rigorous application of the duality principle is needed to
reduce such variations.
The ubiquitous use of modern metrological systems, such as CMMs, in product geometric verification
has also influenced the specifications. Figure 2 shows the syntax of a size tolerance specification on a
cylindrical feature according to a new GPS standard (ISO 2010). The presence of a newly introduced GG
notation inside the cartouche alters the semantics considerably. Here, a least-squares (Gaussian) cylinder
should be associated with the manufactured cylinder, and the diameter of this fitted cylinder shall lie
between 9.9 and 10.1 mm. Such an approach is feasible only with the use of CMMs and related
computational coordinate metrology software for least-squares fitting.
The duality principle marks a clear departure for the new ISO GPS system from the traditional
dimensional and geometrical tolerancing and metrology standards issued by ISO in the past. It shifts
considerable responsibility to the geometrical product specifications, which are primarily the

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Fig. 2 A new way to specify size tolerance for a cylinder

responsibility of product designers. There will be standardized default GPS operations if the designer does
not want to specify the details. In either case, the designer can rest assured that the interpretation of the
specified tolerances is not left completely to the metrologist.

Cross-References
▶ Computed Tomography
▶ Coordinate Measuring Machine
▶ Form Error
▶ Inspection (Precision Engineering and Metrology)
▶ Metrology
▶ Tolerancing
▶ Tolerancing (Kinematic Approach to)

References
Dantan JY, Ballu A, Mathieu L (2008) Geometrical product specifications – model for product life cycle.
Comput Aided Des 40:493–501
Feeney AB, Frechette S, Srinivasan V (2014) A portrait of an ISO STEP tolerancing standard as an
enabler of smart manufacturing systems. ASME J Comput Inf Sci Eng 15(2)
ISO (2010) ISO 14405–1:2010 Geometrical Product Specifications (GPS) – dimensional
tolerancing – part 1: linear sizes. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva
ISO (2012) ISO 1101:2012 Geometrical Product Specifications (GPS) – geometrical
tolerancing – tolerances of form, orientation, location and run-out. International Organization for
Standardization, Geneva
ISO (2014) ISO 10303-242:2014 Industrial automation systems and integration – product data represen-
tation and exchange – part 242: application protocol: managed model-based 3D engineering. Interna-
tional Organization for Standardization, Geneva
Nielsen HS (2012) The ISO geometrical product specifications handbook – find your way in GP-
S. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva
Nielsen HS (2013) Recent developments in International Organization for Standardization geometrical
product specification standards and strategic plans for future work. Proc Inst Mech Eng Part B J Eng
Manuf 227(5):643–649
Requicha AAG (1983) Toward a theory of geometric tolerancing. Int J Robot Res 2(4):45–60
GPS Roadmap (2015) Dimensional and geometrical product specifications and verification, Roadmap.
http://isotc213.ds.dk/. Accessed 26 Mar 2015

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Srinivasan V (2001) An integrated view of geometrical product specification and verification. In: Pro-
ceedings of the 7th CIRP seminar on computer aided tolerancing, 24–25 Apr 2001, Cachan, pp 7–17
Srinivasan V (2004) Theory of dimensioning: an introduction to parameterizing geometric models.
Marcel Dekker, New York
Srinivasan V (2007) Computational metrology for the design and manufacture of product geometry: a
classification and synthesis. ASME J Comput Inf Sci Eng 7(1):3–9

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Engineering Design
Waguih H. ElMaraghy*
Industrial & Manufacturing Systems Engineering (IMSE), University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada

Synonyms
Construct; Create; Innovate; Originate; Plan

Definition
Design is the transformation or mapping process from the functional domain to the physical domain,
which satisfies the stated functional requirements within identified constraints.
This very general definition is illustrated in Fig. 1. Engineering design comprises both creation
(creativity, ideation, inspiration) and careful synthesis and analysis. Design knowledge spans many fields
of applied science, social science, and business. Successful design, a key ingredient of wealth generation,
should be based on comprehensive information about the design options, constraints, and trade-offs.
Timeliness and quality are paramount, and this must consider various life cycle and environmental issues.
These pressures are intensified with competition, free trade, and globalization. Furthermore, brilliant
product and process designs require effective networking and communication as well as good decision
making, at both the component and system levels.

Theory and Application

Origin and Engineering Accreditation Formal Definitions
Design is at the root of the engineering discipline, and the Latin root of engineering is “ingenerare,” which
means “to create.” In French, “Ingènier” (v. pr., ingenium in Latin) means to “search for means to
succeed.” In French, “Mettre on œuvre toutes the resources de son esprit pour parvenir à son but”
(LAROUSSE Dictionnaire).
“The engineering design process is a methodical series of steps that engineers use in creating functional
products and processes. The steps tend to get articulated, subdivided, and/or illustrated in a variety of
different ways, but regardless, they generally reflect certain core principles regarding the underlying
concepts and their respective sequence and interrelationship. Also, the process is highly iterative – i.e.,
parts of the process often need to be repeated many times before production of a product can
begin – though the part(s) that gets iterated and the number of such cycles in any given project can be
highly variable” (Wikipedia).
Pahl et al. (2007) states that “Design is an interesting engineering activity that: affects all areas of
human life, uses the laws and insights of science, builds upon especial experience, provides the pre-
requisites for physical realization of solution ideas, and requires professional integrity and responsibility.”
“The main task of engineers is to apply their scientific and engineering knowledge to the solution of
technical problems, and then optimize those solutions within the requirements and constraints set by
material, technological, economic, legal, environmental and human-related considerations. Problems

*Email: wem@uwindsor.ca

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PHYSICAL
FUNCTIONAL DOMAIN
DOMAIN

Fig. 1 Design as a transformation from the functional domain to the physical domain

become concrete tasks after the problems that engineers have to solve to create new technical products
(artefact) are clarified and defined.”
The Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board defines engineering design as “Design: An ability to
design solutions for complex, open-ended engineering problems and to design systems, components or
processes that meet specified needs with appropriate attention to health and safety risks, applicable
standards, and economic, environmental, cultural and societal considerations,” and “Engineering design
integrates mathematics, natural sciences, engineering sciences, and complementary studies in order to
develop elements, systems, and processes to meet specific needs. It is a creative, iterative, and open-ended
process, subject to constraints which may be governed by standards or legislation to varying degrees
depending upon the discipline. These constraints may also relate to economic, health, safety, environ-
mental, societal or other interdisciplinary factors” (ABET 2003; CEAB 2013).
The ABET definition of design is very similar to the CEAB definition. “Engineering design is the
process of devising a system, component, or process to meet desired needs. It is a decision-making
process (often iterative), in which the basic science and mathematics and engineering sciences are applied
to convert resources optimally to meet a stated objective. Among the fundamental elements of the design
process are the establishment of objectives and criteria, synthesis, analysis, construction, testing and
evaluation. The engineering design component of a curriculum must include most of the following
features: development of student creativity, use of open-ended problems, development and use of modern
design theory and methodology, formulation of design problem statements and specification, consider-
ation of alternative solutions, feasibility considerations, production processes, concurrent engineering
design, and detailed system description. Further it is essential to include a variety of realistic constraints,
such as economic factors, safety, reliability, aesthetics, ethics and social impact.”

Positioning of Engineering Design

Engineering design is highly dependent on the three Cs: content, context, and communication. It is not
possible to innovate relying on technology alone. Engineering design can be said to be at the intersection
of arts and science and technology and politics, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

The Design Process Phases

There are many different approaches to the design process; these may be represented by the following
phases – conceptual, configuration (embodiment), and detailed/parametric design – as illustrated in Fig. 3.
Design is an open-ended iterative design process that generally follows the following steps:

1. Identify the problem.

2. Analyze and understand the problem.
3. Identify solution requirements or expectations.
4. Identify alternative solutions and decide a course of action.
5. Design and implement the “best” solution.
6. Evaluate the results. If the problem is not solved, return to step 1 or 2 as appropriate.

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Fig. 2 Positioning of engineering design

Fig. 3 Phases of engineering design

The Evolution of Engineering Design into “Design Theory and Methodology” (DTM)
Methodologies and technologies that can help achieve a robust design and eliminate the “cut-and-try”
approach have significant competitive advantages. Since the mid-1980s when design started to be looked
at as a formal area for research, a group of researchers started this more scientific approach to engineering
design, known as “design theory and methodology” (DTM), many systematic and rational design
methodologies, listed in Fig. 4, have emerged (ElMaraghy et al. 1989). The design methods, effective-
ness, and industrial applications are discussed by Tomiyama et al. (2009).

Engineering Design Complexity Management

The breadth and multidisciplinarity of the engineering design process, particularly in view of unprece-
dented challenges due to increased variety, market volatility, and distributed global manufacturing, has
significantly increased the complexity of products and the products and systems design process. There-
fore, managing the design and manufacturing complexity is key to future success (ElMaraghy et al. 2012).
To reap these benefits in the future, manufacturing companies need to not only adopt flexible technical
solutions but must also effectively innovate and manage complex socio-technical systems.

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Fig. 4 Engineering design methodologies versus design phases

Cross-References
▶ Axiomatic Design
▶ Complexity in Manufacturing
▶ Computer-Aided Design
▶ Conceptual Design
▶ Decision Making
▶ Design Methodology
▶ Design Verification
▶ Detail Design
▶ Knowledge Management
▶ Modular Design
▶ Product Architecture
▶ Product Development
▶ Requirement Specification
▶ Sustainability

References
ABET (2003) Criteria for accrediting engineering programs. Engineering Accrediting Commission,
Baltimore
CEAB (Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board) (2013) Accreditation criteria and procedures. Engi-
neers Canada. (http://www.engineerscanada.ca/sites/default/files/sites/default/files/accreditation_
criteria_procedures_2013.pdf). Accessed on 12 Jan 2014
ElMaraghy WH, Seering WP, Ullman DG (1989) Design theory and methodology. In: DTM ’89:
presented at the 1989 ASME design technical conferences, 1st international conference on design
theory and methodology, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, September 17–21, 1989. American Society of
Mechanical Engineers, New York
ElMaraghy W, ElMaraghy H, Tomiyama T, Monostori L (2012) Complexity in engineering design and
manufacturing. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 61(2):793–814. doi:10.1016/J.CIRP.2012.05.001
Larousse dictionary on-line. http://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/s_ing%c3%a9nier/43048?q=
Ing%c3%a9nier#42951. Accessed on 18 Dec 2014

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Pahl G, Beitz W, Feldhusen J, Grote KH (eds) (2007) Engineering design: a systematic approach, 3rd edn.
(trans: Wallace K, Blessing L). Springer, Heidelberg
Tomiyama T, Gu P, Jin Y, Lutters D, Kind CH, Kimura F (2009) Design methodologies: industrial and
educational applications. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 58(2):543–565
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering_design_process. Date of Accessed on 30 Nov 2014

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Lean Design
Juan Manuel Jauregui-Beckera* and Nicolas Perryb
a
Laboratory of Design, Production and Management, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands
b
I2M – Mechanical and Engineering Institute of Bordeaux, Art et Métiers ParisTech, Talance, France

Synonyms
Lean design; Lean engineering design; Lean development

Definitions
Lean design is a term increasingly being used by both academics and practitioners to refer to lean
principles applied in the context of design. However, as this context is not uniform, the meaning of
lean design is not either. Lean design can be used as a synonym of lean development (which refers to
leaning the processes required to be undertaken for translating a market need into a manufacturable
device, as it is used in Ward and Sobek (2014), Ōno (1988), and Bauch (2004)), as a verb (referring to
having the process of designing being performed in a lean fashion, as it is used by Baines et al. (2006)),
and as a noun (referring to an object that fulfills a set of desired functions by being lean, as it is used in
Johansson and Sundin (2014), Dombrowski et al. (2014), and Gautam and Singh (2008)). All three
definitions are intrinsically founded upon the principles of the lean philosophy: eliminating non-value-
adding activities (for a process) or sub-functions (i.e., subpart or components for a product) relatively to
the needs of the end customer. From the perspective of the consumer of the product or service, the value
refers to the expected functionalities of the product or process, according to the amount the customer is
willing to pay for. Lean approach preserves value with less work or resources involvement. Based on this,
the following definitions can be drawn:

Definition 1: Lean Product Design (synonym of Lean Product Development). Is a product development
process characterized by reacting to information continually as it is being generated, keeping product
options open longer and enabling the engineers’ continuous (re)action on new information about
customers, markets, suppliers, and production capabilities. Lean product development, as described
by Morgan and Liker (Ward and Sobek 2014), refers to the management of (1) skilled people, (2) tools
and technologies, and (3) information and decision-making during the phases of product development
process (e.g., problem analysis, concept design, layout design, detail design, testing and prototyping,
and finally, production ramp-up as described by Ulrich (Ulrich et al. 2011)).
Definition 2: Lean Design (verb). Is a design process that focuses on continuous customer value
maximization while minimizing all activities and tasks that are not adding value. Lean design deals
with a subset of methods and tools of lean product development, targeting the conceptual, layout, and
detail design phases.
Definition 3: Lean Design (noun). Lean design can be seen as minimal (lean) functions that fit to the
customer’s needs, maximizing added value with minimizing materials, energy, and overfunctionalities.

*Email: j.m.jaureguibecker@ctw.utwente.nl

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The difference in meaning of lean design according to its grammatical form (noun vs. verb) is a direct
result of the grammatical forms of the term design. In fact, for both the noun and the verb definition of lean
design, an adjective (for the first case) and adverb (for the second) provide a more specific meaning of the
term design.

Theory and Applications

Lean philosophy originates at the Toyota Production System (initiated by S. Toyoda) in the 1970s. The
lean thinking (Womack and Jones 2003) approach initially started for manufacturing and mixing just-in-
time tools and Jikoda methods. Companies applying lean principles have a deep understanding of
customer value and concentrate its main processes for constant improvement of it. Moreover, the aim
of the company is to deliver, to the consumer, the perfect value obtained by the perfect, wasteless process
(Jones and Roos 2009). To be able to achieve this goal, thinking in the lean way switches the management
attention from single processes, technologies, departments, etc. to product flow through complete value
streams (Jones and Roos 2009). The value stream should be as big as possible, which is obtained by
setting one by one the steps that add value to the next ones and removing the non-value-adding steps.
A significant help here can be received from the visual management, which will support employees and
management to instantly see where the process differs from the perfect one and what is working and what
is not.
Lean thinking is an “improvement philosophy which focuses on the creation of value and the
elimination of waste.” Its first focus was on manufacturing, based on the good practices of Japanese
automotive industry since post Second World War. Later in the 1990s, tools and methods have been
created to support and to spread lean manufacturing to other industries. Lean is not restricted to one single
method but to a family of tools and methods. It is now applied as a strategic and management method and
can be applied to many systems. However, the definition of lean is drifting. While earlier papers saw lean
as a philosophy for waste reduction, the emerging view is one of value creation (Baines et al. 2006). Lean
product design and lean products are more recent applications of lean. The analogy between lean
attributes in manufacturing and in product development can be found at Baines et al. (2006). Manufactur-
ing has material flow, and product development has information flow. Lean philosophy focuses on three
elements: value, knowledge, and improvement.
The improvements expected from a lean product and process development methods are energy, time
and resources reduction (for the product or the design process), quality improvement, and innovation
increase (Ward and Sobek 2014). As the results of lean product design are in line with resources
optimization, comparisons can be made to green product development, as shown in Johansson and
Sundin (2014). The authors conclude that lean product development does not ensure green product and
that green products do not insure product development process efficiency, but there are potential cross-
field learning between fields.

The Lean Product Development (LPD) Approach

As in manufacturing, LPD has the goal of eliminating waste such that value can be maximized. However,
as the nature of product design processes is intrinsically different than that of manufacturing ones, the
concepts of value have their own particular meaning within the LPD approach. As a consequence, the
leaning principles are different than in manufacturing too. According to lean design, the design process
results in two different types of value: manufacturing systems and usable knowledge. When these values
are created in an efficient and effective manner, profitable operational streams emerge (Ward and Sobek
2014).

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LPD deals with how these activities are organized in time and distributed among different disciplines
and people. In this context, LPD is an operations management method (Karlsson and Åhlström 1996).
Some of the most common high-level concepts associated with lean product development are:

1. Creation of Reusable Knowledge. As the goal of lean is to maximize value adding by optimizing
knowledge translation into operational streams, reusability of knowledge increases both the effective-
ness and efficiency.
2. Teams of Responsible Experts. Lean product development organizations develop integrated work
teams with multiple competences in each team and reward competence building in teams and
individuals.
3. Cadence and Pull. Managers of lean development organizations reject the scientific management
notion that managers plan, and workers do. Rather, engineers plan their own work and work their
own plans.
4. Visual Management. Visualization is a main enabler of management in lean product development.
5. Entrepreneurial System Designer (ESD). The lean development organization makes one person
responsible for the engineering and aesthetic design, and market and business success, of the product.

The Lean Design Approach (Verb)

In LPD, effectiveness and efficiency are achieved by the continuous application of two base principles,
namely, just-in-time decision-making (JIT-DM) (as described in Holman et al. (2003)) and set-based
concurrent engineering (SBCE) (as described in Raudberget (2010)).
JIT-DM consists on taking decisions proactively by acting on the level of information readiness of a
given design phase. JIT-DM rests on the base idea that information processing entities (i.e., engineers) can
act the most effectively when the information batches required for carrying out those decisions are fully
available. Consequently, efficiency also increases, as the decisions made are more effective, and no time is
wasted on readapting afore made erroneous ones.
During the SBCE, designers reason about, develop, and communicate sets of feasible solutions
concurrently and with certain independence. Then, as the design process proceeds, solutions are evaluated
and dismissed based on additional information coming from different disciplines – for example, simula-
tions and tests from the technical departments and consumer needs from the marketing department.
The most well-known and successful industrial implementation of lean design is done at Toyota
automobile company, described in Sobek et al. (1999). Here, designers apply set-based concurrent
engineering to generate and evaluate sets of solutions. Then, as the design process progresses, implicit
knowledge and new coming constraints are used to narrow the solution space. The application of this
principle implies that several options are worked out simultaneously, having the final design selection
toward the end of the whole product design process. This encourages just-in-time decision-making.

Approach for Lean Design (Noun)

Lean design as a noun refers to lean product design, in a perspective of eco-design of products and lean
function selection or just expected functions and services. Lean design started from the basic idea of lean
thinking and focuses on value-adding activities from the perspective of the end customer use. Lean design
can be seen as minimal (lean) functions that fit to the customer’s needs, maximizing added value with
minimizing materials, energy, and overfunctionalities. Lean designed products are mostly driven by cost
reduction objective. They can arrive to strategic change such as the switch to product to service. Lean
design means lean product and sustainable product.
In order to achieve a product that is lean in its expected function specification, value analysis
approaches and value stream serve as important tools. From the design science, the functional analysis

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(Kaufman 1977) and value analysis (Standard (SAVE International, The Value Society 2007) (or value
stream) methods help in defining the minimal functions to be delivered. It should be coupled with the
establishment of the customer-defined value to separate value added from waste. The use of life cycle
assesment, and life cycle costing approaches, for the designed product, can give the evaluation (at least
material, energy, and costs) of the non-value-added save by the leaned designed product. In this sense,
Naveen Gautam refers to customer perception on the value of the product and does not only focus on
functional answers and minimal function selection to meet the needs.
According to Dombrowski (Dombrowski et al. 2014), the product has different vies:

1. Design View: The product is the sum of parts, their properties, and their relationships.
2. Value View: The product is the sum of functions it performs or properties it offers to create customer
value.
3. Waste View: The product is the sum of all life cycle processes.

Lean product design refers mainly to the second point. A well-known example of a design that is lean is
the Logan model of Renault (from Renault–Dacia) launched in 2004 and Design from 1999 to 2003, as it
has a very restrictive cost objective. The limited set of functions available and the technical solution allow
the car manufacturer to propose a cheap and affordable car that meets a huge commercial success.

Cross-References
▶ Conceptual Design
▶ Decision-Making
▶ Design Methodology
▶ Productivity

References
Baines T, Lightfoot H, Williams GM, Greenough R (2006) State-of-the-art in lean design engineering: a
literature review on white collar lean. Proc Inst Mech Eng B J Eng Manuf 220(9):1539–1547
Bauch C (2004) Lean product development: making waste transparent. Diploma thesis, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology/Technical University of M€ unich
Dombrowski U, Schmidt S, Schmidtchen K (2014) Analysis and integration of design for X approaches in
lean design as basis for a lifecycle optimized product design. Procedia CIRP 15:385–390
Gautam N, Singh N (2008) Lean product development: maximizing the customer perceived value through
design change (redesign). Int J Prod Econ 114(1):313–332
Holman R, Kaas H-W, Keeling D (2003) The future of product development. McKinsey Q 3:28–39
Johansson G, Sundin E (2014) Lean and green product development: two sides of the same coin? J. of
Cleaner Production 85:104–121
Jones DT, Roos D (2009) What is lean? Lean Enterprise Institute, Cambridge, MA
Karlsson C, Åhlström P (1996) The difficult path to lean product development. J Prod Innov Manag
13(4):283–295
Kaufman JJ (1977) Functional analysis: CVS, FAST- a thinking discipline. In: SAVE proceedings, p 221
Ōno T (1988) Toyota production system: beyond large-scale production. Productivity press, New York

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Raudberget D (2010) Practical applications of set-based concurrent engineering in industry. Strojniški

Vestnik J Mech Eng 56(11):685–695
Sobek DK, Ward AC, Liker JK (1999) Toyota’s principles of set-based concurrent engineering. Sloan
Manage Rev 40(2):67–84
Ulrich KT, Eppinger SD, Goyal A (2011) Product design and development, vol 2. McGraw-Hill, New
York
Value Analysis: Standard (SAVE International, The Value Society) (2007) Value methodology standard
and body of knowledge. http://www.value-eng.org/pdf_docs/monographs/vmstd.pdf. Accessed on
11 Nov 2014
Ward AC, Sobek DK II (2014) Lean product and process development, 2nd edn. Lean Enterprise Institute,
Cambridge, MA
Womack JP, Jones DT (2003) Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation,
Revised and Updated, Free Press, Simon and Shuster, New York, p400, ISBN 0-7432-4927-5

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Function Modeling
Yasushi Umeda*
Department of Precision Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

Definition
The activity of developing models of devices, products, objects, and processes based on their function-
alities and the functionalities of their subcomponents (Erden et al. 2008). The main portion of the research
is to develop theories for representing the concept of function in a computer or sometimes without a
computer.
This essay describes function modeling mainly in the context of design support.

Theory and Application

Research on function modeling started on the late 1980s as a part of knowledge engineering assuming
applications such as intelligent CAD, fault diagnosis, and intelligent robotics. Since then, function
modeling research continues to be active, e.g., recent special issue of AIEDAM (artificial intelligence
for engineering design, analysis, and manufacturing) (Vermaas and Eckert 2013). The main reason is that
although the concept of function is commonly used in various engineering activities, function has no clear,
uniform, and widely accepted definition (Umeda and Tomiyama 1997), and therefore, methods for
modeling functions and for supporting engineering activities have not been mature enough.

Function
The concept of function is widely used in daily life and also in engineering activities. Examples of the
engineering methods that directly deal with function include general design theory, axiomatic design,
quality function deployment (QFD), failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA), value engineering, design
structure matrix, function–means tree, and TRIZ.
However, the concept of function has no uniform and widely accepted definition. At least, function
includes two aspects: one is abstract behavior, e.g., for understanding a machine, and the other is human
intention or purpose of an artifact, e.g., for representing a user’s requirement or a designer’s intention of
his/her product. It is often said that structure represents what a device is, behavior represents how it works,
and function represents for what purpose it works. Function is a bridge between human intention and
physical behavior of an artifact.
Why is function used in various engineering activities? We can point out two main reasons: one is for
representing the intention of a designer, a user, or other stakeholders involved in a life cycle of an artifact
and the other is for understanding and communication. Function modeling is a common language between
different disciplines, and it serves as a means of linking the upper and lower levels of system design and
description (Erden et al. 2008).

Function in Design
Function is one of the central concepts manipulated in design, especially at the early design stages. For
example, general design theory defines design as a mapping from function space to attributive space

*Email: umeda@pe.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp

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(Yoshikawa 1981), and axiomatic design represents design process as mappings of customer attributes,
functional requirements, design parameters, and process variables (Suh 1990). The German systematic
design (Pahl et al. 2007) divides the design process in four phases. First, clarification of the task is
performed, and requirements are listed up. Here, many of the requirements are described in the form of
function. The second phase is conceptual design. In this phase, the requirement list is abstracted in order to
identify the main function; the designer decomposes the main function into sub-functions resulting in
function structure as shown in Fig. 1. Then the designer searches for working principles for each
sub-function and selects function carrier for each function. The third phase is embodiment design,
where the designer determines preliminary layouts of function carriers by assembling the carriers
according to the function structure. And the last step is detailed design. In this way, except for the detailed
design phase, function is the main concept to be manipulated by the designer.

Function Modeling
Function is represented in various ways; Rodenacker (1971) represented function as a relation between
input and output of energy, material, and information (see Fig. 2). This representation is widely accepted

Fig. 1 Example of function structure (Pahl et al. 2007)

Stoffumsatz
VM Tr Extruder

VMd VT

Energieumsatz
Tr VA

Signalumsatz VS

Fig. 2 Example of function structure of a safety extruder (Rodenacker 1971) (Stoffumsatz, Energieumsatz, and Signalumsatz
being material conversion, energy conversion, and signal conversion, respectively)

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in the domain of design research. For example, Pahl et al. (2007) defined function as the general input/
output relationship of a system whose purpose is to perform a task, and they represent an artifact
hierarchically as shown in Fig. 1, which is called function structure.
In various methods including QFD, FMEA, value engineering, and function–means tree, function is
represented in the form of “to do something.” But, these representational methods are not called function
modeling. Function modeling aims at developing formal and computable model of function.
Tomiyama et al. (2013) summarizes the objectives of function modeling as follows:

• To represent the purpose of the artifact

• To explain the behavior, structure, or working principle of the target system
• To capture customer requirements
• To illustrate the overview of the system

The essence of function modeling is to separate the objective concepts including structures and their
behaviors from the subjective concepts such as functions and the relations to the corresponding behavior
and to link these two by using functions (Erden et al. 2008). In this sense, the focus of function modeling
research covers two main issues: how to represent functions and how to connect functions to the objective
concepts.

How to Represent Functions

The concept of function has two sides: one is abstracted or interpreted behavior typically for explaining
the behavior or structure of an artifact and the other is user’s or designer’s intention. The former arrives at
the bottom-up approach in which behavior is abstracted and aggregated into function through human
interpretation and causal understanding. The latter comes to the top-down approach in which required
functions, or tasks to achieve, are described before knowing behavior or structure, and the functions are
embodied through the design process. While the former fits to the input–output model and the state
transition described below, the latter fits to the “to do something” representation. Note that this denotes
just a tendency, namely, repeated abstraction of behavior may arrive at task description in the form of “to
do something,” and required function may be described in the form of abstracted behavior.
Typical representation of function includes the following three approaches:

• Input–output model: The abovementioned input–output representation of function is widely used in

function modeling. More formalized form of this approach is, for example, bond graph-based approach
(Bracewell and Sharpe 1996). Moreover, this representation has affinity with device-oriented behav-
ioral description to be described below.
• To do something: Symbolic representation of function is also used in function modeling, since
symbolic representation is more expressive than the input–output representation and can directly
represent human intention. For increasing formality of the symbolic representation, function modeling
takes two approaches: one is to increase formality by relating the symbolic functions to the objective
representation and the other is to introduce ontology into the symbolic representation, in other words,
constructing common vocabulary and concept hierarchy and specifying types of words (e.g., Kitamura
and Mizoguchi 2004). A pioneering work is done by Keuneke (1991), in which they proposed four
types of functions, namely, ToMake, ToMaintain, ToPrevent, and ToControl. Moreover, some research
efforts (e.g., Stone and Wood 2000) try to construct very large repository of function.
• State transition: In addition to the input–output model, state transition is used for describing functions
as abstracted behavior (e.g., Goel et al. 2009). The expressiveness of the state transition is in general
between the input–output model and “to do something” representation.

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To What Objective Concept Function Is Related?

Next issue is to what concept the functional representation is related. As described above, function
modeling becomes meaningful when the modeling links the subjective concepts to the objective concepts.
The objective concepts related to functions are mostly structure or behavior, which is inherently
accompanied with structural description. Typical related concepts include:

• Structure: Some function modeling methods relate functions to structure, which is static relationship
among elements. Moreover, in architectural design, function is often mapped to structure or space
surrounded by structure. While mapping to structure is a popular approach, it seems that the concept to
which the function should be related is behavior rather than structure, and structure (typically a picture
of an artifact) plays a medium for stimulating a designer to imagine behavior.
• Mechanism: A typical functional mapping in mechanical design is the association of “to do something”
functional representation and mechanisms (or kinematic pairs). Roth’s design catalog is one of the
oldest one (Roth 1982). Chakrabarti and Bligh (2001) developed a functional modeling method that
relates input–output functional representation to kinematic pairs in a logical manner.
• Device: A natural representation of the behavior related to input–output functional representation is
input–output behavioral description. This enables the abstraction from behavior to function and vice
versa. Input–output-based behavioral description is often called device ontology. There have been
developed many behavioral simulators based on device ontology. Typical and mathematical one is
bond graph-based methods. Schemebuilder (Bracewell and Sharpe 1996) is a representative example
of function modeling that employs input–output functional representation and bond graph-based
behavior description. Device-oriented qualitative reasoning (de Kleer and Brown 1984) is another
useful approach especially for function modeling for supporting early design stages.
• Behavior: More general description of behavior is behavioral description based on process ontology,
which focuses on physical processes occurring among entities rather than input–output characteristics
of each device (this is the device ontology) and reasons out a state transition from such description. For
example, it is difficult to represent the behavior of a paperweight for performing the function “to fix a
sheet of paper” by using the device ontology, but it is easy with the process ontology. The fundamental
theory of the process ontology comes from qualitative process theory (Forbus 1984). The association of
“to do something” functional representation and the behavioral description based on the process
ontology might be the most flexible and expressive functional modeling approach. While this scheme
may encourage a designer in generating innovative design ideas, it will be sometimes difficult to relate
functional concepts to behavioral description. This is because both of these two descriptions
(functional and behavioral) are very flexible and conceptually far away from each other. This can be
understood if you compare this mapping with the scheme of input–output function and the behavioral
description based on the device ontology (i.e., the input–output behavioral description).

An unsolved research issue in representing behavior or structure is how to incorporate description of

environment, which represents situations surrounding the target artifact. Environment is critical since it
may make a machine faulty and cause design errors (e.g., a machine works correctly in an environment
and does not in another). Research efforts on this issue include Chandrasekaran and Josephson (2000) and
Borgo et al. (2009).

Reasoning
The aim of function modeling is to support human engineers in design, operation, maintenance, and other
engineering activities in a product life cycle by utilizing a model and extracting some information from the
model. Plausible roles of function modeling in this sense include support of functional decomposition and

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embodiment of functions in conceptual design, design verification of whether a function is performed or

not, simulation of behaviors, finding out unexpected behaviors and/or unrealized behaviors, diagnosing
the unrealized functions, and funding out redundant functions (Erden et al. 2008).
Techniques for this purpose vary from just searching through the model (mainly, the mapping between
functions and the objective part) to reasoning by employing artificial intelligence techniques, which is
called “functional reasoning” (Chandrasekaran 1994). Examples of functional reasoning techniques
include model-based reasoning, analogical reasoning, and case-based reasoning. For instance, Goel
et al. (2009) proposed various design support systems based on their function modeling scheme
“structure–behavior–function model”; for instance, the system named Ideal supports a designer to find
out embodiment structure for a function based on case-based reasoning and analogical reasoning. This is a
representative example of “design by analogy” in functional design. Gero’s “function–behaviour–-
structure” model is a widely recognized model in the domain of design research (Gero 1990; Gero and
Kannengiesser 2004). While it does not have very strong reasoning facilities, they modeled design
processes on their modeling scheme and proposed a design support method by using prototypes described
in the function–behaviour–structure modeling scheme. The Verrocchio project (Chan et al. 2011) con-
structs a repository of association of functions and forms and encourages a designer in generating ideas by
analogy with flexible search engine.

FBS Modeling

Modeling Scheme
In order to illustrate a typical function modeling method, this section describes function–behavior–state
(FBS) modeling (Umeda et al. 1990, 1996; Tomiyama et al. 2013), which is widely cited in the domain of
function modeling.
Figure 3 represents a relationship among function, behavior, and state in FBS modeling. Here, FBS
modeling does not distinguish structure from state. FBS modeling defines a function as “a description of
behavior abstracted by human through recognition of the behavior in order to utilize the behavior.” And
this modeling scheme represents a function as an association of “to do something” symbolic representa-
tion and a set of behaviors that can exhibit the function. In other words, according to the discussion above,
it employs “to do something” functional representation and relates functional concepts to behaviors
described based on the process ontology. The relationship between functions and behaviors named F–B
relationship is subjective and many-to-many correspondent. This modeling scheme assumes that it is

Functions

Subjective
F-B Relationship
abstraction

Behaviors

Physical Laws
B-S Relationship

States

Aspect

Fig. 3 Relationship among function, behavior, and state (Umeda et al. 1996)

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difficult to distinguish clearly function from behavior, and it is not meaningful to represent function
independently of the behavior from which it is abstracted.
This scheme assumes the function symbols, and F–B relationships include human intention, while the
representation of behavior can be determined more objectively based on physical principles. This applies
to, e.g., mechanical design but not to the service design that includes human behavior. This scheme
defines behavior as “sequential state transitions along time” and assumes that physical phenomena
determine behavior of an entity. B-S relationship in Fig. 3 denotes this relation between behaviors and
states. This is the behavioral descriptions based on the process ontology in FBS modeling. Moreover, this
scheme introduces aspects in order to represent different behavioral description. An aspect is a collection
of all relevant entities, attributes, relations, and physical phenomena of the current interest.
As the German systematic design (Pahl et al. 2007) modeled, the designer decomposes the main
function into sub-functions resulting in function structure at the conceptual design stage. Then,
representing hierarchical function structure is an indispensable feature for the function modeling method
supporting conceptual design. FBS modeling represents such a hierarchy as “function–behavior–state
diagram” (see Fig. 4). This diagram denotes that a designer or an engineer may arbitrarily construct a
hierarchical function structure (upper part of Fig. 4), and for each sub-function, F–B–S relationships of
Fig. 3 should be constructed. In other words, he or she should find out a behavior that can perform each
sub-function and describe the behavior and its states by choosing an appropriate aspect (lower part of
Fig. 4). This diagram assumes that the designer should concurrently describe symbols of functions and
their embodying behaviors with appropriate aspects in a hierarchical manner as a gradual detailing
process.
Moreover, because aspects are physically related with each other, this diagram assumes that the
consistency among aspects and, therefore, the consistency of behavioral descriptions in the aspects can
be managed by a computer with a sufficient amount of physical knowledge.
In short, the main ideas of FBS modeling are summarized as follows:

• It clearly distinguishes subjective parts of a functional model (function symbols and F–B relationships)
and objective parts (behaviors and states).
• It represents a function as an association of subjective concepts (i.e., function symbols) and objective
concepts (i.e., behaviors) rather than just either of them; in other words, functions relate subjective
concepts and objective concepts. This idea was clearly described in FBS modeling for the first time and
has become an indispensable common feature of function modeling.
• It represents a design object hierarchically to support the modeling process that details functional and
behavioral descriptions concurrently.

Function Super Sub

Hierarchy

F-B Relationship

Behavior
Level
B-S Relationship
Aspect

State
Level

Fig. 4 Function–behavior–state diagram (Umeda et al. 1990, modified)

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Implementation
The FBS diagram described above is implemented as FBS modeler (Umeda et al. 1996). By looking
through this implementation quickly, this section introduces a typical design support by function
modeling.
FBS modeler consists of function and behavior knowledge bases (KBs) and qualitative reasoning
system as well as the main modeler that supports the construction of a function model of a design object.
Function KB stores function prototypes. A designer describes a function in the main modeler by
instantiating a function prototype. Each function prototype represents a function symbol “to do some-
thing,” candidates of functional decompositions of this function in the form of networks of sub-functions,
and candidates of embodiments of this function in the form of physical features described below. Behavior
KB stores physical features. A physical feature is a building block consisting of component structure and
physical phenomena occurring on the structure (Tomiyama et al. 1992). Behavior KB and qualitative
reasoning system, which simulate behavior of a design object described in the main modeler, are
constructed based on qualitative process theory (Forbus 1984).
FBS modeler supports conceptual design process according to the German systematic design. First, in
identifying main functions, a designer can search through function KB for finding out appropriate
functions. Second, in decomposing the main function, the designer can find out candidates of function
decompositions described in the function prototype of the target function to be decomposed. Third, in
finding out working principles, the physical features in the function prototypes of the target function to
embody indicate candidates of the working principles. At the end of the third step, the FBS model of the
design object has been constructed after connecting physical features. Finally, qualitative reasoning
system executes behavioral simulation for the constructed FBS model. The system indicates the following
information by comparing the initial FBS model constructed by the designer with the simulation result.
This evaluation supports the designer in the analytical phase of design at an early stage of design.

• Unrealizable behavior: If physical phenomena designated by the designer do not occur in the simula-
tion result, some conditions should be inadequate.
• Unexpected behavior: Phenomena that are not expected to occur may cause side effects that the
designer did not notice.
• Unrealizable functions: If functions have unrealizable phenomena in their F–B relationships or
unrealizable sub-functions, they will not be realized.
• Function redundancy: If necessary, the system finds out the potential functions that may occur on the
simulated FBS model by comparing the model with function prototypes in function KB. Such a
potential function can substitute the original function when the original function is lost by, e.g., a
fault. This is called “function redundancy,” and they developed self-maintenance machine by using this
concept (Umeda et al. 1999). This is an example of the application of function modeling, which
inherently requires function models.

FBS modeling is a typical function modeling scheme but, of course, not ideal. For example, hierar-
chical behavioral description specified in Fig. 4 has not been implemented; in other words, an FBS model
in FBS modeler consists of symbolic function hierarchy and behavioral description (i.e., a physical
feature) for each bottom-level sub-function.

Research Issues
Finally, this section points out some research issues of function modeling. The largest issue might be the
fact that function modeling still remains in the research and experimental phase although it has the history
of about 25 years. Tomiyama et al. (2013) explained the reason and plausible counterplans as follows. One

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major reason why function modeling is not being used is that the majority of product development is
routine design or improvement design and does not require function-level design in the first place.
Function modeling itself is not a big issue. Bigger issues are how to advocate engineering design methods
combined with function modeling and how to make better use of functional descriptions. To achieve this,
we recommend three strategies: show the usefulness of function modeling, derive useful information from
function modeling, and develop practically usable professional tools.
Toward this direction, we can point out two more issues of function modeling. One is the problem of
symbolic representation. In most of the function modeling methods described above, functions, behav-
iors, physical structure, and even geometry are described symbolically. This is more suitable for
supporting the early stages of design than quantitative representation, since detailed quantitative data
are not available at these stages. But, as designers often draw sketches, designers tend to create design
ideas visually. This gap may make designers feel difficult to use function modeling. The other issue is
intangibility of behavior. In most of the function modeling methods described above, function is related to
physical structure via behavioral concept. This is quite correct in terms of modeling theory. But, it seems
that a designer finds out a design solution or an engineer understands an artifact mainly by manipulating
“object” concepts or nouns pointing out objects or components. It seems difficult for human to manipulate
behavior directly without object concepts. Ideal function modeling, therefore, should seamlessly map
functions and physical structures via behaviors and support gradual describing process of functions and
physical structures in a parallel manner with keeping the mapping via behaviors and in a bidirectional
manner, in other words, from abstract to concrete in design and from elemental to whole in interpretation
such as fault diagnosis.
When function modeling solves these two issues, function modeling will be quite easy to use and
connectable to existing design support tools including 3D-CAD. Many practical tools such as 3D-CAD,
CAE, design optimization tools, model based design, and PLM were not useful just a decade ago. We can
expect functional design support tools based on function modeling will be practical in near future.

Cross-References
▶ Axiomatic Design
▶ Conceptual Design
▶ Requirement Specification

References
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and functions of technical artifacts. AIEDAM 23:3–21
Bracewell RH, Sharpe JEE (1996) Functional descriptions used in computer support for qualitative
scheme generation – “schemebuilder”. AIEDAM 10:333–346
Chakrabarti A, Bligh TP (2001) A scheme for functional reasoning in conceptual design. Des Stud
22(6):493–517
Chan J, Fu K, Schunn C, Cagan J, Wood K, Kotovsky K (2011) On the benefits and pitfalls of analogies
for innovative design: ideation performance based on analogical distance, commonness, and modality
of examples. J Mech Des 133:081004-1–081004-11
Chandrasekaran B (1994) Functional representations: a brief historical perspective. Appl Artif Intell
8:173–197

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Chandrasekaran B, Josephson JR (2000) Function in device representation. Eng Comput 16:162–177

De Kleer J, Brown JS (1984) A qualitative physics based on confluences. Artif Intell 24(1–3):7–83
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Gero JS (1990) Design prototypes: a knowledge representation schema for design. AI Mag 11(4):26–36
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Smart Products
Michael Abramovici*
Lehrstuhl f€
ur Maschinenbauinformatik, Ruhr-Universit€at Bochum, Bochum, Germany

Synonyms
Smart system

Definition
Smart Products are cyber-physical products/systems (CPS) which additionally use and integrate internet-
based services in order to perform a required functionality. CPS are defined as “intelligent” mechatronic
products/systems capable of communicating and interacting with other CPS by using different commu-
nication channels, i.e., the internet or wireless LAN (Lee 2010; Rajkumar et al. 2010).

Theory and Application

Definition of Products
The term product [lat. productus] has a diversity of meanings in the context of different disciplines. For
example, in mathematics, a product is the result of a multiplication. In chemistry, the term “product” refers
to substances resulting from chemical reactions. In economics, the gross domestic product (GDM)
measures the economic performance of a country or region. In marketing, a product is defined as anything
that can be offered to a market and might satisfy a want or need (Kotler and Keller 2006).
The definition of products observed in this entry is geared to the engineering-specific perspective
described in the EN ISO 9000 guideline. In accordance with this guideline, “a product is a physical or
digital good, resulting from a value adding process (i.e., manufacturing process) and offered to the market
to satisfy customer needs” (DIN EN ISO 2005). This definition makes a clear distinction between
products (goods) and product-related services as complementary counterparts to these products. Services
are defined as activity chains intended to generate customer value. In the last decades, products and
product-related services have also been offered as integrated solutions aiming to provide customer
satisfaction and value. These bundled offerings are defined as Product Service Systems (Meier
et al. 2010).
The spectrum of industrial products is very large, ranging from single components (i.e., screws, axes, or
chips) to extremely complex systems (i.e., cars, airplanes, or factories), from nano to macro products,
from mass-produced to mass-customized or personalized products. For very complex or networked
products, the term “product system” is used as a synonym. According to the International Council of
System Engineering INCOSE, a system is a construct or a collection of different elements that together
produce results not obtainable by the elements alone (INCOSE 2014). In the following definition of Smart
Products, the generic term “product” will be used for both single, simple products and complex product
systems.

*Email: michael.abramovici@itm.ruhr-uni-bochum.de

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Definition of “Smart”
The meaning of the adjective “smart” is described in several dictionaries as related to the attributes of
“clever, intelligent, bright, agile” etc. (Webster Dictionary 2014).

Evolution of Traditional Products Towards “Smart Products”

In order to better understand the definition of Smart Products, it is helpful to follow the evolution of
traditional industrial products in the last decades, which was mainly driven by the tremendous advances of
the information and communication technologies (Abramovici et al. 2013), (Fig. 1).
The core of each industrial product is a mechanical component or structure. The functional enhance-
ment of mechanic products by electronic products has led to so-called mechatronic products (VDI 2206
2004; Neugebauer et al. 2007), e.g., a car brake system. Over the past four decades, mechatronic products
have increasingly incorporated embedded microcomputer devices and software improving their behavior
and functionality. The majority of current state-of-the art products are mechatronic products. Mechatronic
products/components provide the foundation for Smart Products. The dramatic miniaturization of micro-
embedded devices and the advances of the embedded software within mechatronic products have
continuously improved their capabilities regarding their autonomy, self-optimization, and real-time
interaction with their environment by using performant sensors and actors. These features describe the
first evolutionary step of mechatronic products, the so-called “intelligent” mechatronic products
(Neugebauer et al. 2007). An example of an intelligent mechatronic product is an electronic stability
control system in a car. The next evolutionary step of mechatronic products was the extension of
intelligent mechatronic products by the capability to communicate and to network with other products
using different embedded communication units and channels. This category of products is defined as
cyber-physical products or cyber-physical systems (CPS) (Rajkumar et al. 2010; Baheti and Gill 2011;
NSF 2012). A distance control assistant can be considered an example of a CPS in a car.
The synergies and convergence of different ICT innovations like the Internet IPv6 standard, Service
Oriented Architectures, Web Services, semantic technologies, and the emerging number of cyber-physical

Internet of Data, Humans, Services and Things

SMART PRODUCTS
= CPS + Internet-based Services

Cyber-Physical Systems
(CPS) = IMP + ‘Communication’

e.g: electronic stability control Intelligent e.g. self-driving car

(ESC) Mechatronic Products
(IMP) = MP + ‘Intelligence’

Mechatronic
e.g: car brake system Products
e.g: distance control assistant
(MP)
Sources: Daimler, Google, Bosch

Fig. 1 Evolution of traditional products towards Smart Products

Page 2 of 5
CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16785-1
# CIRP 2015

products have extended the traditional Internet of Data (IoD) and of Humans (IoH) by an Internet of
Services (IoS) and an Internet of Things (IoT), Fig. 1.
This new Internet of Data, Humans, Services, and Things enables CPS not only to communicate with
each other but also to use and to integrate available internet services in order to perform required
functions. The combination and integration of CPS with internet-based services has led to a new
generation of intelligent, agile, flexible, and networked products. As all these features are related to the
previously described meanings of the adjective “smart,” these products are called “Smart Products”
(Abramovici et al. 2014), Fig. 1. Products like a self-driving car illustrate the evolutionary stage of Smart
Products.
The boundaries between the four described product types are blurred. Each evolutionary stage of a
product is a prerequisite and a fundament for the next evolutionary stage.

Components and Characteristics of Smart Products

Smart Products break the boundaries between physical and virtual components as well as between
products and internet-based services. The main components of a Smart Product are shown in Fig. 2 by
using the example of the best known Smart Product – the smart phone. These components are as follows:

– Mechanical housing (i.e., case, sapphire glass, display, buttons)

– IT hardware (i.e., processor, storage unit, power unit)
– Embedded software (i.e., operating system, voice recognition)
– Sensors (i.e., gyro sensor, light sensor, accelerometer)
– Actors (i.e., speakers, vibration unit)
– Communication unit (i.e., WLAN, Bluetooth, NFC)
– Internet-based services (i.e., apps)

Internet of Data, Humans, Services and Things

Communication

Internet-based Services - WLAN / LTE

- Bluetooth
- Software - GPS Actors
- Contents
- Touch Display
- Vibration Unit
- Speakers
Sensors
- Three-Axis Gyro Sensor
- Light Sensor Software
- Accelerometer
- Operating System
Source: Apple - Basic Applications
IT Hardware - Intelligent Applications
- Processor (e.g. voice recognition)
- Storage Mechanical Housing
- Power Unit - Aluminum Case
- Sapphire Glass

Fig. 2 Components of Smart Products using the example of a smart phone

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CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16785-1
# CIRP 2015

The main characteristics of Smart Products are as follows:

– Huge number of heterogeneous components

– Context awareness
– Real-time reactivity
– High degree of autonomy
– High degree of connectivity
– High degree of personalization
– Self-learning capabilities
– Dynamic reconfiguration during the whole lifetime
– Human centration
– Ease of use

Applications
The described converging ICT innovations and the Internet of Data, Humans, Services, and Things penetrate
all the traditional products in all industry sectors. Therefore, Smart Products rise in all industrial areas such as:

– The media and entertainment industry (i.e., smart phones, smart glasses, smart tablets, smart TV)
– Manufacturing (i.e., smart machines, smart robots, smart factories)
– Mobility (i.e., smart car, self-driving vehicles)
– Logistics (i.e., smart packagers, smart containers)
– Healthcare (i.e., smart clothes, smart hospitals)
– Energy (i.e., smart energy grid)

Due to their “intelligence” and networking capabilities, Smart Products allow the development of
integrated trans-disciplinary and trans-sectorial solutions like the Smart House or the Smart City.
Most mature Smart Products on the market are consumer products like mobile smart devices using
media, retail, or payment services. Huge national and international research programs like “Industrie 4.0”
(Kagermann et al. 2013) and “Smart Service Welt” (Kagermann et al. 2014) in Germany and “Smart
Manufacturing Leadership Coalition” (2014) in the USA or “Horizon 2020” by the European Union
(European Comission 2014) will accelerate the development of Smart Products in all industrial sectors.
The transition of traditional products to Smart Products and the development of totally new Smart
Products, cloud services, and solutions are on the agenda of most industrial companies and are supported
by a variety of large initiatives such as “Industrial Internet” by General Electric.
In the near future, Smart Products will also integrate traditional services provided by humans, which
will lead to complex Smart Product Service Systems (Abramovici et al. 2014). Smart Products are
considered a driving force of the so-called fourth Industrial Revolution.

Cross-References
▶ Industrial Product Service System
▶ Mass Customization
▶ Mechatronics
▶ Industrial Product-Service System

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DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16785-1
# CIRP 2015

References
Abramovici M, Stark R (eds) (2013) Smart product engineering: proceedings of the 23rd CIRP design
conference, Bochum, Germany, March 11–13, 2013. Springer, Heidelberg/New York/Dordrecht/
London
Abramovici M, Göbel JC, Neges M (2014) Smart engineering as enabler for the 4th industrial revolution.
Paper presented at the 6th international conference on Integrated Systems Design and Technology
(ISDT), Berkeley, 26–27 Mar 2014
Baheti R, Gill H (2011) Cyber-physical systems. In: Samad T, Annaswamy AM (eds) The impact of
control technology: overview, success stories, and research challenges. IEEE Control Systems Society,
pp 161–166
Deutsches Institut f€ur Normung (2005) DIN EN ISO 9000: Qualit€atsmanagementsysteme, Grundlagen
und Begriffe [Quality management systems – fundamentals and vocabulary]. Beuth, Berlin
European Commission (2014) Horizon 2020. http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020. Accessed
22 Nov 2014
INCOSE (2014) International council on systems engineering. http://www.incose.org. Accessed 22 Nov
2014
Kagermann H, Wahlster W, Helbig J (2013) Recommendations for implementing the strategic initiative
INDUSTRIE 4.0. Acatech, Berlin
Kagermann H, Riemensperger F, Hoke D, Helbig J et al (2014) Smart service welt: recommendations for
the strategic initiative web-based services for businesses. Acatech, Berlin
Kotler P, Keller KL (2006) Marketing-management, 12th edn. Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River
Lee EA (2010) CPS foundations. In: Sepatnekar S (ed) Proceedings of the 47th Design Automation
Conference (DAC), Anaheim CA, USA, June 13–18, 2010. ACM/IEEE, New York, pp 737–742
Meier H, Roy R, Seliger G (2010) Industrial product-service systems (IPS2). CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
59(2):607–627
Neugebauer R, Denkena B, Wegener K (2007) Mechatronic systems for machine tools. CIRP Ann Manuf
Technol 56(2):657–686
NSF (2012) NSF 12–520 cyber-physical systems (CPS) program solicitation. National Science Founda-
tion, Arlington. www.nsf.you/pubs/2012/. Accessed 6 Nov 2013
Rajkumar R, Lee I, Sha L, Stankovic J (2010) Cyber-physical systems: the next computing revolution. In:
Sepatnekar S (ed) Proceedings of the 47th Design Automation Conference (DAC), Anaheim CA, USA,
June 13–18, 2010. ACM/IEEE, New York, pp 731–736
SMLC Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition (2014) Smart manufacturing leadership. https://
smartmanufacturingcoalition.org. Accessed 22 Nov 2014
VDI Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (2004) VDI 2206: design methodology for mechatronic systems (VDI
guideline). Beuth, Berlin
Webster Dictionary (2014) Smart. http://www.webster-dictionary.org. Accessed 22 Nov 2014

Page 5 of 5
G
Grinding Machines
Konrad Wegener
Institut f€
ur Werkzeugmaschinen und Fertigung
(IWF), ETH Z€ urich, Z€
urich, Switzerland
Synonyms
Grinder
Definition
A grinding machine is a machine for material
removal with geometrically non-defined, bonded
cutting edges, where the relative movement
between tool and workpiece is rotational or lin-
ear. The machine further must provide relative
feed and positioning movements between tool
and workpiece. The movements between tool
support (spindle) and workpiece follow a defined
geometrical path – it is path defined.
Material removal with geometrical
non-defined cutting edges is considered as mate-
rial removal that is made by a large number of
cutting edges normally on abrasive grains, which
are undefined, with respect to number, shape,
and/or position, where the envelope over all
stochastically distributed cutting edges defines
the tool geometry.
Grinding with linear relative movement is
called pitch grinding. If the reciprocating linear
# CIRP 2015
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.),
CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16787-1
movement is coupled with a continuous rota-
tional movement, the process is called honing.
Belt grinders, where a belt to which the abrasive
grains are bonded is driven by the machine, also
belong to the grinding machine. Either material
contact can be in the area of the pulley or some
linear belt support. So the cutting movement is
either a rotational or a linear movement.
The same kinematics might be used for
polishing, but there the cutting movement
between tool support and workpiece is not path
but force defined, thus resulting in higher uncer-
tainty of the surface geometry but better surface
quality.
Theory and Application
As grinding machines belong to the class of
machines for the material removal with geomet-
rically non-defined cutting edges, those machines
can be classified in correlation to the classifica-
tion of the different process technologies with
geometrically non-defined cutting edges as it is
given in DIN 8589, parts 11, 12, and 13 (DIN
8589-11 2003; DIN 8589-12 2003; DIN 8589-13
2003). These standards belong to a group of stan-
dards based on DIN 8580 (DIN 8580 2003),
where a hierarchical classification of all
manufacturing processes is proposed. Table 1
shows the classification criteria in the different
levels. The grinding processes are member of the
material separation processes in the first
2 Grinding Machines
Grinding Machines, Table 1 Classification scheme of processes according to DIN 8580 (2003), DIN 8589, part
0 (2003) and of grinding machines
Process Process
Level Criterion
no.
1 Change of material connectivity:
3. Reduction of connectivity
2 Resulting bodies
3.3. Chipping with geometrically non-defined cutting
edges
3 3.3.X Generation of cutting speed
4 3.3.X.X Generated surface
5 3.3.X.X.X External internal
6 3.3.X.X.X.X Contact situation
Grinding Machines, Fig. 1 Different grinding pro-
cesses defining grinding machines: classification
according to 1st level of grinding machines, criterion
“cutting motion” which corresponds to the 3rd level of
hierarchical level and material removal processes
with geometrically non-defined cutting edges on
the 2nd hierarchical level. The third subgroup out
of DIN 8589-part 0 (DIN 8589-0 2003) foresees
to distinguish according to the criterion cutting
motion between grinding with rotating tools, with
belts and with linear motion of tools. As the
machine provides the relative movement between
tool and workpiece, the process classification at
the same time determines a suitable machine
classification, which is adopted here.
Figure 1 shows the distinction made on the top
hierarchy level in grinding machines with
Machine Machine
Level Criterion
no.
Grinding machines
1 As process classification
2 Setup for surface generation and
feed motion
3 External, internal, universal
4 Machine topology, axes assembly
processes according to DIN 8580 (2003) and DIN 8589-
parts 11, 12, and 13 (DIN 8589-11 2003; DIN 8589-12
2003; DIN 8589-13 2003)
rotating tools, which are named rotary grinders,
with belts, which are named belt grinders, and
with linear motion, named stroke grinders
according to the 3rd level of the process classifi-
cation of manufacturing processes.
Belt grinding machines use as tool a flexible
belt on which a multitude of grains with geomet-
rically non-defined cutting edges are fixed
together with a supporting structure, which is
necessary for defining the geometry, when the
belt is pressed onto the workpiece. As the belt is
driven and runs on at least two pulleys, the
supporting structure may be one of those pulleys
Grinding Machines 3

Grinding Machines, Table 2 Fourth level classification of grinding with rotating tools according to DIN 8589-11
(2003) as master for all three 3rd level grinding processes
No. 4th
level X.X.X.1 X.X.X.2 X.X.X.3 X.X.X.4 X.X.X.5 X.X.X.6
Process Plane gr. Cylindrical Thread gr. Generative gear Profile gr. Free form gr.
name gr. gr.
Criterion: Plane Cylindrical Thread Surface defined Profiled surface Surfaces
generated surface by surface by surface by as envelope of by depicting the generated by
surface simple simple profiled tool tool profile with tool geometry controlled
basic basic and simple simple basic with simple basic feed motion
kinematics kinematics basic kinematics kinematics in 2–5 axes
kinematics

themselves or some contact shoe with a mainly
single curved surface, which gives the belt the
required shape in the contact zone with the
workpiece.
The 4th classification level criterion for pro-
cesses is the surface to be manufactured and
according to DIN 8589-11 (2003) is shown in
Table 2 for the most flexible of those three classes
of cutting motion generation, namely, rotating
tools. This essentially holds for all classes of
grinding operations of Fig. 1, but some specifica-
tions concern the typical technological possibility
to generate the surface with the other cutting
motions of Fig. 1.
The classification for belt and stroke grinding
processes is essentially the same; only thread
grinding does not exist for belt and stroke grind-
ing, and gear grinding, which is technologically
possible, is not reported in the standards. Also
cylindrical stroke grinding is not reported
because it barely makes sense.
Utilizing this classification of processes is lim-
ited due to the effect that a single machine is
capable to operate in a multitude of those pro-
cesses and to make different surface geometries
as required by the end user.
So a 2nd-level classification scheme of grind-
ing machines with rotating tools is proposed and
presented in Fig. 2. This scheme again may be
used for all machines classified in level 1.
Figure 2 takes into account that especially the
surfaces to be manufactured strongly define the
structure and axes configuration of grinding
machines and thus can directly be used as
classification scheme. According to this four
machine classes can be distinguished:
– Planar grinder
– Cylindrical grinder
– Gear grinder
– Form grinder resp. coordinate grinder
A separate class of profile grinding machines
is not necessary, because profiling can be done on
a planar or a circular grinder. Also a class for
thread grinding machines is not necessary, as
those operations can be done on CNC circular
grinding machines as well, as it already has all
axes necessary for thread grinding. Only the rota-
tion feed of the workpiece needs to be coupled to
the axial feed according to the pitch of the thread.
For noncircular grinding operations also the
circular feed of the workpiece and the X-axis
needs to be coupled to each other. On the other
hand, eccentric grinding machines are special
purpose machines that can be separated from
the circular grinding machine, because they are
equipped with very dynamic X-axis, which
changes the machine structure significantly. Nev-
ertheless, circular grinders and noncircular
grinders are closely related to each other (Fig. 3).
The third class of machines with coupling
between axes is the generative gear grinding
machines. DIN 8589-11 (2003) distinguishes
between continuous and discontinuous gear
grinding and also between internal and external
gear grinding. In the case of continuous gear
grinding, the tool is a worm grinding wheel as
4 Grinding Machines

Grinding Machines,
Fig. 2 Second level
classification scheme of
grinding machines with
rotating tools adapted from
(Weck and Brecher 2005)

Grinding Machines, Fig. 3 Generative gear grinding is a grinding worm; right discontinuous generative gear
machine according to DIN 8589-11 (DIN 8589-11 grinding: the tool is a double cone grinding wheel
2003). Left continuous generative gear grinding: the tool

shown in Fig. 4, and the rotation is coupled to the
rotational feed of the gear workpiece; in case of
the discontinuous gear grinding, the rotary axis of
the gear is coupled to a linear axis of either the
gear or the tool. The continuous gear grinding
machine is the most efficient grinding machine
for gears. Those machines as can be seen in Fig. 4
also differ in structure and functionality strongly
from the other types of grinding machines on this
level.
Speciality in grinding is processes without
defined feed motion of the workpiece. According
Grinding Machines
Grinding Machines, Fig. 4 Left continuous generative gear grinding machine axis scheme, right grinding worm and
geared wheel (Courtesy to Reishauer AG)
to the scheme of DIN 8580 (2003) and DIN 8589-
11 (2003), those processes cannot be distin-
guished before the 8th level due to the defined
criteria.
Those processes, centerless grinding and
double-wheel planar grinding, are shown in
Fig. 5. The related machines are according to
their appearance, structure, and functionality dif-
ferent in every respect, which shows the limita-
tion of a classification scheme for grinding
machines adopted from a process classification.
Thus, deviating from this classification scheme,
they are distinguished on level 2 of the grinding
machine classification scheme. The feed motion
is established by frictional contacts, namely, the
relative speed between grinding wheel and con-
trol wheel in the case of centerless grinding and
between two grinding wheels in the case of
double-sided planar grinding. Those machines
can apply the same principle as for the feed also
for the automation, which means transportation
of the workpiece through the grinding zone. They
are thus the most efficient and productive grind-
ing machines for mass production. It must be
mentioned here that for centerless grinding
machines also a class without exploitation of the
feed motion for the transport of the workpieces
exists, which is called centerless radial infeed
grinding. More details on centerless grinding
and the corresponding machines are given in
Hashimoto et al. (Hashimoto et al. 2012).
5
Level 5 for the process classification distin-
guishes between external grinding and internal
grinding. Therefore, internal and external grind-
ing machines are distinguished, as shown in
Fig. 6 for cylindrical grinding machines.
Form grinding can be subclassified in level
5 according to the way how the freeform surface
is generated. This can be adopted for the subclas-
sification in level 3 of the grinding machines. But
in modern machine building, nearly all form
grinding machines generate the geometry by
CNC control, which means that coordinate grind-
ing machines prevail in this subclass.
Level 6 classifies the processes in all classes of
level 5 in different contact situations between
grinding wheel and workpiece in the grinding
process, which definitely is no more useful for
the classification of grinding machines as it
restricts the machine application too severely.
But for grinding machines, a final classification
level to distinguish the different assemblies of
axes is useful, because this often also changes
the design of machines basically, including the
machine bed, and is also a question of how many
axes are on the workpiece and the tool side. This
can be seen in the different internal grinding
machines of Fig. 6 as well as, for instance, the
different planar grinding machines in Fig. 7.
Because of the applicant’s wishes to finalize
workpieces as far as possible on one and the same
machine, machines that are capable of
6 Grinding Machines
Grinding Machines, Fig. 5 Grinding without defined
feed motion of the workpiece according to DIN 8589-11
(2003): centerless grinding left, double-sided planar
performing as much of the processes as possible
emanate. From this development vector, three
new machine classes are generated:
– Universal grinding machines: As shown in
Fig. 6 2nd row, right, they are derived from
circular grinders and are a subgroup of them.
Those machines are capable of performing
internal and external grinding tasks. Similar
to most external grinding machines, universal
grinders are also equipped with pivoting
devices for the spindle of the grinding wheel.
For universal grinders, the pivoting axis is
necessary to switch between internal and
grinding right according to Reishauer (2014). Top picture
of the process, bottom corresponding machines
external grinding wheel. Thus, universal
grinders without pivoting axis barely exist.
Such a pivoting axis with tool changer func-
tionalities is shown in Figs. 6 and 8. The
pivoting axis can be built as half-NC axis,
thus being only capable to change the grinding
wheel and adjust it in a certain angle to the
workpiece axis. But more advanced machines
have fully interpolating pivoting axes. Figure 8
shows possible equipment of the pivoting axis
with different kinds of grinding wheels and
also tools for internal grinding.
– Tool grinding machines: These machines
shown in Fig. 9 left emanate from the idea to
Grinding Machines 7

Grinding Machines, Fig. 6 Cylindrical grinding universal grinding machine right. View into the working
machines. Top, internal grinding machines with different area of a universal grinding machine Studer S31 (Courtesy
kinematics. Bottom, external grinding machine left and to Studer AG)
8 Grinding Machines

Grinding Machines, Fig. 7 Planar grinding machine vertical spindle and two axes on the tool side from ISO
from Heisel et al. (2014) with (a) cross table, (b) cross 4703 (2001), (e) planar grinding machine for guideways in
bed, and (c) moving tower, (d) planar grinding machine portal design with moving table and two supports

have a specialized machine for finalizing a required to manufacture cutting tools. These
cutting tool, such as drill, end mill on one machines must be subclassified to form grind-
machine. Those machines normally have five ing machines.
to six CNC axes and specialized software as
Grinding Machines 9

Grinding Machines, Fig. 8 Possible equipment of
pivoting axis in universal grinding machines: (1) and (2)
cylinder and shoulder grinding wheel; (3) cylinder, shoul-
der, and internal grinding wheel; (4) cylinder and two
internal grinding wheels for roughing and finishing; (5)
two cylinder grinding wheels for roughing and finishing
and one shoulder grinding wheel; and (6) two shoulder
grinding wheels for right and left shoulders and two cyl-
inder grinding wheels for roughing and finishing (Studer
and United Grinding Group 2014)

Grinding Machines, Fig. 9 Tool grinder design Rollomatic (2010) left and coordinate grinding machine design
Walter right (Blohm Jung GmbH and United Grinding Group 2014)

– Coordinate grinding machines: These the most flexible machines and the machines
machines shown in Fig. 9 right are normally to accomplish form grinding operations. They
10
X1 X2
Schleifspindel(n)
0º / 25º Werkzeug−
revolver
C1 C2
In − Prozess −
Messsteuerung
Grinding Machines, Fig. 10 Combined grinding
machines. Top, grinding-turning machine; left, view in
the working space, right detailed illustration of the tool
positioning from Studer and United Grinding Group
are capable of planar grinding, circular grind-
ing even generative gear grinding as well. The
task is to finalize geometrically complicated
workpieces also in one clamping situation.
Those machines are often huge machines sim-
ilar as in Fig. 7 e either with vertical or hori-
zontal spindle. The architecture of coordinate
grinding machines resembles the one of mill-
ing machines with 3–5 axes. Grinding
machines are also developing to grinding cen-
ters similar to milling centers, being fre-
quently equipped with a tool exchanger that
exchanges the grinding wheel as well as the
coolant supply, which strongly depends on the
shape of the grinding wheel.
Grinding Machines
(2014); bottom, milling-grinding center with exchange-
able spindle units, taking into account the different
required spindle characteristic for both processes
(Adams General Power 2015)
Finalizing workpieces in one machine is also
the driving force behind developments of combi-
machines, machines that combine grinding and
other material removal mechanisms. Very com-
mon in the meantime are combined turning and
circular grinding machines. Observed are also
combined milling-grinding machines. Combi-
machines, capable of multiple surface treatment
processes, namely, grinding combined with
polishing, roller or ball burnishing, and even
laser hardening, are known.
As example for those combi-machines, a
grinding-turning machine is shown in Fig. 10
according to Studer (Studer and United Grinding
Group 2014) and Adams (Adams General Power
2015).
Grinding Machines
The axes of grinding machines are nominated
as in ISO 841 (2001). Always the z-axis is
pointing in the direction of the tool spindle as it
is shown, for example, in Fig. 6. As the grinding
tool wears fast in contact to workpieces, grinding
machines normally are equipped with dressing
devices, as can be seen, for instance, in Fig. 5
bottom left. They are meant for interacting with
the grinding wheel from time to time to
reestablish the macro-geometry and afterward
the sharpness of the grinding wheel. Those dress-
ing devices are either profiled rolls, covered with
diamonds as abrasives, or generate the profile by
at least two CNC axes. The dressers are mounted
on the spindle stock or on the workpiece side. The
latter has the advantage that the relative geometry
between grinding wheel and workpiece is directly
transferred to the grinding wheel and such at the
same time as reestablishing the macro-geometry
compensates thermal elongations between work-
piece and tool. The advantage of dressers on the
spindle head is reduced positioning times before
dressing and the possibility to set up in-process
dressing, which reestablishes the geometry and
sharpness of the grinding wheel directly during
grinding.
The process properties of grinding are signif-
icantly different from those of milling. This is
also the source of deviations in architecture,
machine layout, and equipment of grinding
machines. Besides those differences, grinding is
often the final process, creating final shape and
quality of the workpiece. Quality of axes and
rotational accuracy of main and auxiliary spin-
dles are often higher than for machines for the
material removal with geometrically defined cut-
ting edges, which is demonstrated in the
following:
1. Cutting speeds in grinding are by a factor of
5–10 higher. Therefore, grinding often uses
very large tool diameters up to 600 mm.
Grinding with small diameters requires spin-
dles with very high number of revolutions
per minute.
2. The normal forces on the grinding wheel are
significantly higher than the tangential ones
and thus much higher than for milling with
11
similar process parameters. Feed drives have
higher thrust forces, guidings, and machine
structure higher stiffness.
3. Ceramically bonded corundum grinding
wheels, which are the standard in grinding,
are brittle and tend to break due to overload.
Grinding machines need massive protections
against failure of the grinding wheel.
4. Grinding wheels are subject to significant
wear. This must be taken into account, when-
ever designing a grinding process. Therefore,
grinding wheels are regenerated on the
machine, which is called dressing. Grinding
machines have a separate CNC machine for
profiling and sharpening of the grinding
wheel. During dressing the grinding wheel
size is reduced. This size reduction is mea-
sured within the kinematic of the dresser and
provided to the CNC control for correct posi-
tioning of the newly regenerated grinding
wheel.
Processes with large material removal and
thus large wear need in-process regeneration
of grinding wheels.
5. As the grinding process often is the final
manufacturing step in a process chain, qual-
ity and accuracy play a major role. This
imposes severe requirements on positioning
accuracy and quality of the spindle rotation.
This might be one of the reasons, why the
tool changer did so slowly conquer the grind-
ing process. With each tool change, a loss of
accuracy of about a few micrometers is
connected, which increases the radial and
tangential runout. For precision manufactur-
ing, the grinding wheel must be dressed after
tool change.
6. Because of the high rotational speed of the
spindle, grinding machines need a balancing
device to reduce centrifugal forces. To estab-
lish a grinding wheel after exchange, the
geometric runout is reduced by the dresser,
and afterward a static and dynamic balancing
takes place.
7. The heat generated due to high forces and
high cutting speeds in the grinding zone must
be withdrawn again by coolant flow. The
coolant flow has also the task to clean the
12
grinding wheel and to flush the chips. The
coolant supply and regeneration by filtering
is crucial for a reliable grinding process and
must be secured by the grinding machine.
Thus, the energy required for grinding
might be dominated by the coolant supply
8. Grinding machines with oil as coolant
require a fire protection.
9. Grinding machines are preferably equipped
with a contact recognition sensor on acoustic
emission (AE) basis, to detect, when the
grinding wheel touches the workpiece. With
this very precise relative material, removal
can be achieved.
10. For high-quality parts, measuring devices for
in situ measuring of the part geometry have
been developed. Parts can be measured and
corrected directly on the machine.
Cross-References
▶ Belt Grinding
▶ Dressing
▶ Gear Grinding
▶ Grinding
▶ Grinding Fluid
▶ Grinding Wheel
▶ Machine Tool
References
Adams General Power GmbH (2015) Milling- Boring-
Turning- Grinding Centers FDS. http://www.adams-
tec.com/Produkte/produkte.html. Accessed 9 Mar
2015
Blohm Jung GmbH, United Grinding Group (2014) Pre-
sentation. Blohm Jung GmbH, Hamburg
DIN 8580 (2003) Fertigungsverfahren – Begriffe,
Einteilung [Manufacturing processes – terms and def-
initions, classification]. Beuth, Berlin. (in German)
Grinding Machines
DIN 8589-0 (2003-09) Fertigungsverfahren Spanen – Teil
0: Allgemeines – Einordnung, Unterteilung, Begriffe
[Manufacturing processes chip removal – Part 0:
general – classification, subdivision, terms and defini-
tions]. Beuth, Berlin. (in German)
DIN 8589-11 (2003-09) Fertigungsverfahren
Spanen – Teil 11: Schleifen mit rotierendem
Werkzeug: Einordnung, Unterteilung, Begriffe
[Manufacturing processes chip removal – Part 11:
grinding with rotating tool – classification, subdivi-
sion, terms and definitions]. Beuth, Berlin.
(in German)
DIN 8589-12 (2003-09) Fertigungsverfahren
Spanen – Teil 12: Bandschleifen; Einordnung,
Unterteilung, Begriffe [Manufacturing processes chip
removal – Part 12: belt grinding – classification, sub-
division, terms and definitions]. Beuth, Berlin.
(in German)
DIN 8589-13 (2003-09): Fertigungsverfahren
Spanen – Teil 13: Hubschleifen; Einordnung,
Unterteilung, Begriffe [Manufacturing processes chip
removal – Part 13: honing with linear cutting
motion – classification, subdivision, terms and defini-
tions]. Beuth, Berlin. (in German)
Hashimoto F, Gallego I, Oliveira JG, Barrenetxea D,
Takahashi M, Sakakibara K, Stalfelt H-O, Staadt G,
Ogawa K (2012) Advances in centerless grinding tech-
nology. Ann CIRP 61(2):747–770
Heisel U, Klocke F, Uhlmann E, Spur G (2014) Handbuch
Spanen [Handbook chip removal]. Carl Hanser,
M€ unchen
ISO 4703 (2001) Test conditions for surface grinding
machines with two columns – machines for grinding
slideways – testing of the accuracy. Beuth, Berlin
ISO 841 (2001) Industrial automation systems – physical
device control – coordinate system and motion nomen-
clature. Beuth, Berlin
Reishauer AG (2014) RZ 60 bis RZ 360 Wälzschleif-
maschine, Stand der Technik beim Reishauer
Wälzschleifen. Reishauer AG, Wallisellen
Rollomatic AG (2010) Product presentation of
GrindSmart ®620XS. Rollomatic AG/Le Landeron,
Switzerland
Studer AG, United Grinding Group (2014) Presentation.
Studer, Hamburg
Weck M, Brecher C (2005) Werkzeugmaschinen 1:
Maschinenarten und Anwendungsbereiche [Machine
Tools 1: types of machine tools and range of applica-
tion]. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg. (in German)
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Assembly Systems
Peter Butalaa* and Khumbulani Mpofub
a
Department of Control and Manufacturing Systems, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
b
Department of Industrial Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria West, South Africa

Synonyms
Assembly cell; Assembly line

Definition
An assembly system is one of the subsystems in a manufacturing system – factory – where the individual
components of a product are joined together and thus integrated into a semifinished or into the final
product.
The Oxford dictionary defines assembly as the action of fitting together the component parts of a
machine or other object and system as a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an
interconnecting network, a complex whole (Oxford dictionary).
Most noticeable examples of assembly systems are assembly lines and assembly cells.
The Cambridge online dictionary further defines an assembly line as a line of machines and workers in a
factory where a product moves along while it is being built or produced. Each machine or worker
performs a particular job, which must be finished before the product moves to the next position in the
line (Cambridge dictionary).

Extended Definition
An assembly system is a working arrangement where individual components are combined and joined to
form a unit that may be further integrated with other components to create a final product. Figure 1
illustrates the various elements of an assembly system. The type of product to be produced, the size of the
product, and the number of components that make up the product will determine the manner of assembly
that the product will take. There are mainly three types of assembly systems, which are manual assembly
systems, automated assembly systems, and the hybrid assembly systems (Groover 2008).

Theory and Application

Introduction
The definitions above have categorized the assembly system with respect to the nature of the product
integration and also with respect to the level of human involvement. In this essay, the historical synopsis
of assembly systems, the technology aspects, human aspects, design approach, and future assembly
system perspectives are presented.

*Email: peter.butala@fs.uni-lj.si

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Fig. 1 Basic assembly system representation

History
The history of assembly systems is seen to have gathered momentum from the development of machine
tools in the nineteenth century and then accelerated the practice of assembly till in the early twentieth
century assembly lines for the Model T by Ford evolved. The twentieth century has seen to the broad
development of assembly systems, and their application and development continue to grow in immense
magnitude through the years to come.
A system’s approach to assembly processes has its roots in the seventies and followed the manufactur-
ing systems concepts. The term assembly systems denoted at that time programmable and flexible
assembly systems. An overview of the state-of-the-art and research perspectives is given in a research
article by Warnecke in 1978. The problems he noted then were the unflexible assembly systems and the
un-user-friendly assembly systems that existed at the time. Interesting as well in this article is the state of
human-robot interaction which has significantly changed (Warnecke 1978).
More than 20 years ago, which was 12 years after Warnecke’s work, an article on flexible assembly
systems appeared by Milberg and Schmidt (1990). They projected that the challenge of labor shortage was
an eminent one, thus encouraging use of automated flexible assembly systems; they thus proposed new
planning systems so as to assist assembly system designers arrive at optimal designs (Milberg and
Schmidt 1990).

Assembly System Classification

Assembly systems are primarily classified as manual assembly lines and automated assembly lines. More
recently, hybrid assembly systems have been developed such as flexible assembly systems, reconfigurable
assembly systems, adaptable assembly systems, and agile assembly systems to deal with product variety.

Manual Assembly System (MAS)

The assembly system in this instance is composed of several stations with a worker carrying out a specific
task on the pre-assembly. The worker is much specialized and at the completion of their task, line passing
takes place, and the following worker executes their task until a semifinished assembly or a finished
assembled product is realized.

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Automated Assembly System (AAS)

In an automated assembly system, the parts are transported from station to station by an automated
material handling mechanism, and the assembly task is executed through an automated machine (fixture
and the assembly mechanism). Automated assembly systems may also take the form of a single assembly
station where all the parts converge to a single station depending on the size of the final product.
Automated assembly systems are further subdivided into the following:

• The in-line assembly machine: base parts are moved from workstation to workstation mainly through a
synchronous or an asynchronous transfer system.
• The dial-type machine: it is circular and the stations are located around the periphery of the circle with
parts or subassemblies flowing in a star-like fashion. The machine normally operates with synchronous
or intermittent motion.
• The carousel assembly is a mix of the dial-type and the in-line machines.
• The single-station assembly machine: there is a base part on which all the operations of adding parts or
subcomponents takes place. The final part is the one that is transported outward from the station, and all
the components move inward to the station.

Hybrid Assembly System (HAS)

A hybrid assembly system is an approach that encompasses the use of manual and automated assembly
stations and is oriented toward the product variation in the marketplace. The interaction between humans
and robots is another aspect of the hybrid systems. Examples are flexible assembly, agile assembly,
reconfigurable assembly, adaptable assembly, and the list continues to grow.

Assembly System Structure

In general, an assembly system is composed of the following subsystems (Križaj and Butala 2001):

• Assembly station: this is a place within the assembly system where assembly processes are carried out
either by a human or by a machine.
• Material handling system (MHS): material handling may either be manual or automated. In the manual
instant, the workers transport the work from one station to the next; problems associated with this
method are starving and blocking; these may be dealt with by the use of buffers. Conveyor systems
form the main automated means of transport between stations though other systems such as Automat-
ically Guided Vehicles (AGVs) exist. With an automated MHS, the system may be continuous,
synchronous, or asynchronous.
• Work handling devices are more common in automated assembly where the base component can be
held when a component or subsystem is being added to create the final or nearer to the final product.
• Part feeding: in automated assembly, these devices bring the parts to be assembled to the base part or
base subsystem. Examples of hardware include the following: hopper, part feeder, selector/orientor,
feed track, and escapement and placement devices.

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Assembly System Design

The five major activities in the design of an assembly system are:

• A review of the different assembly techniques and the steps for assembly.
• Deciding on the appropriate assembly steps.
• Establishing the quantity of parts to be produced per unit time.
• Choosing of the resources based on availability and the needs of the tasks.
• The exact station, machinery, and process are formulated.

The key tasks involved here are determination of representation methods which will simplify the
relationships between the parts and also the sequence with which they will need to be assembled in
(Groover 2008).

Assembly System Life Cycle

The design of assembly systems has evolved with the evolution of manufacturing system paradigms;
however, there are new constraints in the twenty-first century and more are expected in the centuries to
come. The challenge of reducing environmental impact is a reality that has to be factored in the design of
assembly systems. The reduction and elimination of the emissions, the minimization of energy consump-
tion, and the reduction and eradication of the landfill danger that the assembly system may have must be
thought through during the initial conceptualization of the systems. The societal impact of transformations
taking place in assembly from manual to automated systems is another aspect that needs attention in the
light of the computerization and development of cyber-physical production systems that is currently
occurring. Software tools, industrial, and academic expertise have to be deliberately developed to ensure
assembly systems contribute in the drive toward sustainability. Disassembly, remanufacturing, and
de-manufacturing of both the systems and products from the systems are also hot topics being interrogated
by different practitioners.

People in Assembly Systems

The role of people in assembly systems may either be direct or indirect. The maintenance of the assembly
systems, supervisory responsibilities, and other auxiliary roles needed in the operation of an assembly
system may be perceived as being indirect. The indirect roles as defined here play a key role in automated
assembly as there is little direct involvement.
The direct role of humans is in the MAS, where a worker may either be standing or seated, stationary, or
mobile. When the product is large such as a boat or a caravan, the worker may need to be standing and
mobile as they do the work. In electronic products or small appliances, the worker may be stationary and
seated. The combinations of the posture and mobility may vary depending on the case in question.
Researchers and practitioners have re-echoed the need of humans being more important in the
computerized assembly systems of the future in a bid to ensure the social sustainability of production
systems of the future.
Ergonomics is a major component that concerns the working environment and its impact on those who
function in the environment. In assembly systems, depending on the design of the stations and the nature of
work, serious attention has to be given to this aspect so as to improve assembly system worker productivity.

Monitoring and Control of Assembly Systems

The quality of the product produced by an assembly system necessitates that the appropriate control
measures are designed into it during its design phase. If designed well during operation, advanced
functions such as self-diagnosis and prognosis may be possible through the use of knowledge-based

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systems. During the creation of the product, it is also expected that the necessary monitoring and control
of the outputs from the entire system are inspected at defined intervals so as to minimize the cost of
reworking the product.

Future Assembly Systems Perspectives

With the evolution from mass customization to personalization in manufacturing paradigms, the assembly
systems suited for these contexts need to be researched.
Design of assembly systems with autonomous robots capable of taking multiple roles is an approach
that is being investigated in a bid to assign assembly tasks to suitable resources (Michalos et al. 2014).
“Plug and produce” is also another key research theme that will facilitate the full realization of
reconfigurable assembly systems.
The advanced role of humans in assembly systems of the future is another important aspect that will
need to be taken care of in line with ensuring manufacturing assembly is sustainable (Hu et al. 2011).

Cross-References
▶ Assembly
▶ Assembly Automation
▶ Assembly Line
▶ Assembly Representation
▶ Manual Assembly
▶ Manufacturing System
▶ Material Flow

References
Cambridge dictionary online. http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/assembly-line. Date of
access 25 Sept 2014
Groover MP (2008) Automation, production systems, and computer-integrated manufacturing, 3rd edn.
Prentice Hall, New Jersey
Hu SJ, Ko J, Weyand L, ElMaraghy HA, Lien TK, Koren Y, Bley H, Chryssolouris G, Nasr N, Shpitalni
M (2011) Assembly system design and operations for product variety. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
60(2):715–733
Križaj D, Butala P (2001) Design of reconfigurable assembly systems based on logical reasoning and
constraints. In: Proceedings of the 3rd international workshop on emergent synthesis (IWES’01), Bled,
12–13 Mar 2001, pp 155–164
Michalos G, Kaltsoukalas K, Aivaliotis P, Sipsas P, Sardelis A, Chryssolouris G (2014) Design and
simulation of assembly systems with mobile robots. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 63(1):181–184
Milberg J, Schmidt M (1990) Flexible assembly systems-opportunities and challenge for economic
production. Ann CIRP 39(1):5–8
Oxford dictionary online. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/assembly. Date of access
25 Nov 2014
Warnecke H-J (1978) Assembly systems now and in future research development. CIRP Ann Manuf
Technol 27(2):597–605

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Energy-Efficient Manufacturing
Eberhard Abele*
Institut f€
ur Produktionsmanagement, Technologie und Werkzeugmaschinen, Technische Universit€at Darmstadt,
Darmstadt, Germany

Synonyms
Energy consumption; Energy demand; Energy efficiency; Sustainable manufacturing

Definition
Efficiency in general is a measure of the economy of a process and quantifies the ratio of benefit to
effort. In order to evaluate the utilization of the input energy of a system or process, the measure of
energy efficiency has been established. In this context, the input energy corresponds to the effort, the
objective to be achieved to the benefit (M€ uller et al. 2009):

Benefit
Energy efficiency ¼ (1)
Energy input

For example, in terms of a metal-cutting machine tool, the benefit corresponds to the physical cutting
energy necessary to achieve the desired workpiece transformation. Thus, the energy efficiency of a
manufacturing system can reach a theoretical maximum value of one. Due to the ever-present energy
conversion losses and the need to process auxiliary functions, such as machine or process cooling,
this figure cannot be achieved within real manufacturing systems (Dahmus and Gutowski 2004).

Theory and Application

Energy Efficiency Potentials Within Industrial Production

Besides the private sector and transportation, the industrial sector is one of the biggest consumers of
electric energy within the European Union (Motor Challenge Program 2006). The major part of the
electric power consumption is attributable to electrical drives which are mainly used for providing
secondary functions within production systems like cooling, pumping, and compressed air (compare
Fig. 1).
Throughout the worldwide manufacturing industry, considerable potentials for improving energy
efficiency do exist. Widespread industrial technologies include: compressed air and pump systems,
air-conditioning, cooling, and conveying technology. The electric energy consumption and the
associated costs for these cross-cutting technologies can be decreased in most companies by
5–50 % (Fig. 2) (Motor Challenge Program 2006). The payback periods are usually less than
2 years; the returns on capital are usually at about 25 %. Thus, energy efficiency measures in industry
can be economically very attractive (BMWi 2010).

*Email: abele@ptw.tu-darmstadt.de

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Allocation of electricity Allocation of electricity

consumption within the consumption of electric drives
producing industry in Germany driven systems
Electric Drives Lightning, IT Compressed air Cold production
HVAC Process heat Pumping Ventilation
Other 5% Other
0%
10%
25% 32% 14%

6%
64%
14% 30%

Fig. 1 Overall allocation of electricity consumption in Germany/EU (Motor Challenge Program 2006)

45%
Average energy saving potential

40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
Compressed air
15%
Cold production
10% Pumping
5% Ventilation
0%
Compressed air Cold production Pumping Ventilation

Fig. 2 Electric energy-saving potentials (Motor Challenge Program 2006)

The Different Levels of Application

To consider the energy efficiency of a whole manufacturing system, subsystems at all hierarchical
levels must be regarded. Starting from the overlaying supply chain, all energy flows must be
evaluated down to the single production machines or even machine components (Fig. 3).
Each of these layers includes different efficiency potentials which help to optimize the consump-
tion values of manufacturing systems in manifold ways. The factory level includes the technical
building services and infrastructure of the production. The production environment targets the
organization of the whole production system in the factory consisting of different production
lines. Each production line corresponds to the production of a certain product and can be differen-
tiated in single manufacturing cells and workstations performing the actual manufacturing process
(Herrmann et al. 2010).
On the factory level, an optimal energy supply, on-site energy production (solar power, cogen-
eration, etc.), technical building services (lighting, ventilation, air-conditioning, etc.), and adequate
design of supplies and infrastructure (cooling lubricant supply, pressurized air, etc.) offer various
saving potentials. The efficiency potential in the production environment is especially focused on
an energetic optimal arrangement of production lines respectively single machines and the

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Fig. 3 Hierarchy of a manufacturing system (Herrmann et al. 2010)

possibilities of energy recuperation or reuse. Another important factor at this level is the production
control which can also influence the energy consumption (Herrmann et al. 2010).
Finally, on the machine layer, the focus is on various technologies and equipment which are used
for manufacturing.

Energy Efficiency Leverages

The measures for improving the energy efficiency of a single production mean are diverse.
Accordingly, an increase in energy efficiency can be achieved in general by (Duflou et al. 2012):

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• Optimal operation/transformation strategy

Use of the energetically optimal basic manufacturing process/strategy. One strategy can be the
reduction of process times which in most cases leads to a reduced energy consumption per part
produced (Kuhrke 2011).
• Optimal component sizing
Over- or undersized components of a manufacturing system can lead to a significant energy
efficiency loss. For example, the theoretically achievable Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) of
electric drives of around 95 % at its best is only valid in their nominal operating point at rated
speed and torque. At partial load, the EER can even be below 50 %.
• Optimal component design
Use of the energetic optimal component for the needed functionality.
• Need-based system control
Activation of manufacturing equipment and/or components only if an actual demand exists. An
example is the activation of a hydraulic system of a production machine only in case of a pressure/
volume flow request. Otherwise, the hydraulic system should be shut off.
• Enabling technology for energy recovery
For example, the use of bidirectional frequency inverters to feed back the braking energy of
electric drives into the electricity grid.
• Cascaded energy networks including energy storages
Reuse of waste heat of manufacturing and technical building services (TBS) equipment in a
cascaded way for further use in processes or TBS.

In general, two different approaches are commonly used to optimize the energy consumption of
manufacturing systems. On the one side, it is possible to optimize existing production systems,
replacing the systematically inefficient machines or components by new equipment (retrofitting).
On the other side, energy-saving potential can be found by looking for an energetic optimal way of
production in early stages during production planning. Figure 4 presents the relation between the
resource costs (including energy) and the influence of those during the stages of a factory lifecycle,
starting with the production planning and ending in the phase of manufacturing according to M€ uller
et al. (2009). Thus, the highest influence and saving potentials are located in the early stages of the
planning processes.

Avoiding energy losses Analyzing energy losses

(Influencing the system's efficiency) (Measuring the system's efficiency)

Changing costs / Energy lost controllability

Development Construction Run-Up Operation

Fig. 4 Planning and energy efficiency during the factory lifecycle (M€uller et al. 2009)

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Level of efficiency

inadequate evaluation of
the economic potential

Energy efficiency gap market failure

organizational weaknesses

actual level achievable

economic
potential

Fig. 5 The energy efficiency gap (Schmid 2004)

Barriers for Energy Efficiency Measures

Although large energy efficiency potentials do exist, they are often not seized in companies. This gap
between technically and economically feasible measures and the actual implementation in industry
is called the “energy efficiency gap” (Jaffe and Stavins 1994). This issue raises the question what the
actual barriers are that lead to this situation. Schmid (2004) investigated various reasons and factors
which prevent the implementation of energy efficiency measures in companies and identified three
key factors: organizational weaknesses, market failure, and inadequate evaluation possibilities of the
economic potential (compare to Fig. 5).
One speaks of market failure if the laws of the idealized market model of the neoclassical theory
do not work in practice. This implies that market participants do not always use their resources in the
most efficient and cost-minimizing way, are not able to meet all the necessary information to make
decisions, and do not behave rationally (Schmid 2004). As an example, a company might not have
information about available energy efficiency or is uncertain about the actual status quo within the
company.
Organizational barriers can be attributed to deficiencies within the internal company processes
and corporate structure. For example, the energy efficiency factor might not be taken into account in
the company’s objectives (Schmid 2004).
Reasons for the inadequate evaluation of the economic potential of energy efficiency measures
can be (Schmid 2004):

• Hidden costs/revenues within the company are typically not considered.

• Risk assessment of the use of capital is strict than assumed in the models and analyses.
• Lack of capital, especially of small- and medium-sized enterprises, which prevents investment in
economic activities.
• The wider applicability of the reported measures is not given due to the heterogeneity of
companies.

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Cross-References
▶ Eco-Efficiency
▶ Energy Efficiency
▶ Life Cycle Cost
▶ Life Cycle Engineering
▶ Machine Tool
▶ Manufacturing
▶ Manufacturing System
▶ Product Development
▶ Product Life Cycle Management
▶ Production Planning
▶ Resource Efficiency
▶ Sustainability
▶ Sustainability of Machining
▶ Sustainable Manufacturing

References
Bundesministerium f€ ur Wirtschaft und Technologie (BMWi) (2010) Energieeffizienz – Made in
Germany, Energieeffizienz im Bereich Industrie, Geb€audeanwendungen und Verkehr. BMWi,
Berlin
Dahmus J, Gutowski T (2004) An environmental analysis of machining. In: Proceedings of ASME
international mechanical engineering congress and R&D exposition, pp 13–19
Duflou JR, Sutherland JW, Dornfeld D, Herrmann C, Jeswiet J, Kara S, Hauschild M, Kellensa
K (2012) Towards energy and resource efficient manufacturing: a processes and systems
approach. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 61(2):587–609
Herrmann C, Kara S, Thiede S, Luger T (2010) Energy efficiency in manufacturing – perspectives
from Australia and Europe. In: Conference proceedings LCE 2010 – 17th international confer-
ence on life cycle engineering, Hefei, pp 23–28
Jaffe AB, Stavins RN (1994) The energy-efficiency gap. What does it mean? Energy Policy
22:804–810, Elsevier, Amsterdam
Kuhrke B (2011) Methode zur Energie- und Medienbedarfsbewertung spanender Werkzeug-
maschinen. epubli, Berlin
Motor Challenge Program (2006) Technical guide – the solution to enhance your motor driven
systems
M€uller E, Engelmann J, Löffler T, Jörg S (2009) Energieeffiziente Fabriken planen und betreiben.
Springer, Berlin
Schmid C (2004) Energieeffizienz in Unternehmen : eine wissensbasierte Analyse von Einfluss-
faktoren und Instrumenten. vdf – Hochschulverlag AG, Z€urich

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Abbe Error/Offset
Richard Leach*
Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, Nottingham, UK

Synonyms
Abbe error; Abbe offset

Definition
The Abbe principle was first described by Ernst Abbe (1890) of Zeiss and states:
If errors of parallax are to be avoided, the measuring system must be placed co-axially (in line with) the line in
which displacement (giving length) is to be measured on the work-piece.

Abbe error occurs when the measuring point of interest is separated laterally from the actual
measuring scale location (reference line or axis of measurement) and when angular error motions
exist in the positioning system. Abbe error causes the measured displacement to appear longer or
shorter than the true displacement, depending on the direction of angular motion. The spatial
separation between the measured point and reference line is known as the Abbe offset.
Application of the Abbe principle can be illustrated by comparing the design of a caliper and a
micrometer (see Fig. 1). In the case of the caliper, the measurement position in the jaws is displaced
from the axis of the scale. Therefore, any angular error of the motion of the moving jaw will amplify
the error of the scale, which results in an amplified error in the length measurement. In the case of the
micrometer, the measurement and scale axes are in line, and there is no error amplification effect.

Theory and Application

Figure 2 shows the effect of Abbe error on an interferometric measurement of length. To ensure zero
Abbe error, the reflector axis of movement should be collinear with the axis of measurement. To
account for the Abbe error in an uncertainty analysis relies on knowing the magnitude of the Abbe
offset and the magnitude of the angular errors in motion of the positioning system (e.g.,
straightness).
The Abbe error is given by:

e ¼ d tan y

where d is the Abbe offset and y is the angular error motion of the positioning system. Thus, a tilt
angle change of 1 arcsec (approximately 5 mrad) leads to a distance deviation of 5 nm/mm of Abbe
offset.
The Abbe principle is, perhaps, the most important principle in precision instrument design and is
also one that is commonly misunderstood. Bryan (1979) described it as “the first principle of

*Email: richard.leach@nottingham.ac.uk

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Fig. 1 Examples of a caliper (above) and a micrometer (below)

Fig. 2 Effects of Abbe error on an optical displacement measurement (From Leach 2014)

machine design and dimensional metrology,” and it has also been called “the principle of alignment”
and “the Abbe comparator principle” (Evans 1989). Despite the importance of the Abbe principle,
its interpretation in terms of single-axis displacement measurement means that many authors have
approached the subject with a wider machine design perspective. Bryan restated the Abbe principle
as:
The displacement measuring system should be in line with the functional point whose displacement is to be
measured. If this is not possible, either the slideways that transfer the displacement must be free of angular motion
or angular motion data must be used to calculate the consequences of the offset.

Bryan’s restatement took into account both displacement and straightness measurement but still
did not consider multiaxis machines or measurements of, for example, roundness and runout. Zhang
(1989) reexamined the Abbe principle with more general dimensional metrology in mind:
The line connecting the reference point and sensing point should lie in the sensitive direction.

In practice, and especially with multiaxis machines, the end effector (the probe in the case of a
measuring instrument or the machine tool in the case of a manufacturing machine) will have a finite
working distance and the sensitive direction varies depending on the workpiece geometry. In the
example of a scanned probe microscope, the tip-sample distance has to be small but it remains
difficult to mount a displacement sensor stably in very close vicinity to the tip. Practically, Abbe
offsets in the order of 0.5 mm are normally achieved. Also, the end effector is located as close as

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# CIRP 2014

Fig. 3 The principle of the Zeiss F25 CMM (From Leach 2014)

Fig. 4 The principle of the Isara CMM (Courtesy of IBS PE)

possible to the, often virtual, intersection point of the measurement axes with multiaxis systems.
Here, the uncertainty of the determination of this point in space, the uncertainty of the alignment of
the displacement sensors in such a way that their measurement axes intersect at one point, and the
uncertainty of mounting the structure localization sensor at the intersection point lead to Abbe
offsets, which are also of the order of 0.5 mm. Such offsets are difficult to avoid without the use of
specialized alignment tools (Köning et al. 2007).
Due to the large offset of the probe on a conventional bridge-type coordinate measuring machine
(CMM) and the axes of motion, CMMs exhibit large Abbe errors. However, there are now many
examples of three-axis instruments, especially CMMs, which attempt to minimize the Abbe error
through good design principles (Forbes et al. 2004). Three commercially available examples of this
are the Zeiss F25 CMM (Vermeulen et al. 1998), the Isara CMM (Widdershoven et al. 2011), and the
TriNano CMM (Bos et al. 2012).
The principle of the F25 is shown in Fig. 3. The red arms are stationary and firmly attached to the
machine base. The blue arms form the x and y measurement axes (linear encoders) and are free to
move (they are air bearings). The green arms connect the x and y axes to the machine and hold them
orthogonal to the red arms. In this way, a probe attached rigidly to the blue arms will stay in line with
both the axes of motion, ensuring the instrument follows the Abbe principle in two dimensions.
The Isara CMM, a schema of which is shown in Fig. 4, is an example of an instrument design that
minimizes Abbe error in three dimensions. Three orthogonal beams from three interferometers cross

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at a common point at the position of the probe, and the sample moves, thus ensuring all three
measurement axes are in line with the probing axes. Note that the precision CMM designs discussed
here do not have zero Abbe error; rather, they minimize the effect of the Abbe offset, but there will
always be some residual offset, even if this is simply due to the uncertainty in the method that is used
to determine the offset.

References
Abbe E (1890) Messapparate f€ ur Physiker [Measuring instruments for physicists]. Zeitschrift fur
Instrumentenkunde [J Sci Instrum] 10:446–448 (in German)
Bos E, Moers A, van Riel M (2012) Trinano N100 3D measurements with nanometer repeatability
and effects of probe-surface interaction. In: Proceedings of the 27th annual meeting of the
American Society for Precision Engineering (ASPE), vol 54, San Diego, 21–26 Oct 2012
Bryan JB (1979) The Abbé principle revisited: an updated interpretation. Precis Eng 1:129–132
Evans C (1989) Precision engineering: an evolutionary view. Cranfield Press, Bedford
Forbes AB, Leach RK, Brill N (2004) The Abbe principle, self-calibration and the design of
co-ordinate measuring machines. In: Proceedings of the 4th international euspen conference,
Glasgow, May–June, pp 388–389
Köning R, Fl€ugge J, Bosse H (2007) A method for in situ determination of Abbe errors and their
correction. Meas Sci Technol 18:476–481
Leach RK (2014) Fundamental principles of engineering nanometrology, 2nd edn. Elsevier, Berlin
Vermeulen MMPA, Rosielle PCJN, Schellekens PHJ (1998) Design of a high-precision
3D-coordinate measuring machine. Ann CIRP 47(1):447–450
Widdershoven I, Donker RI, Spaan H (2011) Realization and calibration of the “Isara 400” ultra-
precision CMM. J Phys Conf Ser 311:012002
Zhang GX (1989) A study on the Abbe principle and Abbe error. Ann CIRP 38(1):525–528

Page 4 of 4
F
Flatness
Han Haitjema
Mitutoyo RCE, Best, The Netherlands
Synonyms
Deviation from flatness; Flatness deviation;
Planeness
Definition
The minimum distance separating two parallel
planes between which the surface can be
contained.
Theory and Application
Scale of Flatness
Although in theory there is no minimum or max-
imum, in engineering practice we take as mini-
mum size the field of view of a microscope, even
an STM type, and as a maximum the size of large
telescope mirrors or very large surface plates. This
means that sizes where flatness is relevant can
range between a few nm2 and a few m2.
A flatness deviation is a geometrical error,
where this error is determined, implicitly or
explicitly, for surface wavelengths from a mini-
mum value, while all longer wavelengths that
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16794-2
define the geometrical deviation are not filtered.
This implies that the bandwidth can be rather
small when flatness is assessed over a course
grid. For example, for a square grid, this implies
that surface wavelengths smaller than twice the
pitch are neglected and are assumed to have a
negligible influence on the flatness parameter
values.
Flatness Reference Planes and Parameters
Flatness deviations are defined in relation to a
reference plane that is defined by the assessed
surface itself. It is one of the basic geometric
tolerances specified in ISO 1011 (2012). The flat-
ness tolerance is indicated by the symbol .
The definitions are given in ISO 12781-1
(2011). Two reference planes are in common
use, and two more are mentioned for
completeness:
1. Least-squares reference plane (LSPL)
This plane is defined such that the sum of
squares of all deviations of the surface from
this plane is minimal. The advantage of this
reference plane is that its calculation is straight-
forward and rather independent of the number
of measurements, peaks, or outliers.
A disadvantage is that it does not follow the
definition, which leads to a higher flatness
deviation than the minimum-zone plane.
2. Minimum-zone plane(s) (MZPL)
The minimum-zone planes are defined as
the planes with a minimum separation between
2 Flatness
which all measured surface coordinates are
contained. As a single plane, either of these
planes can be used or the plane in between
these planes. The advantage of this plane is
that it gives the minimum deviation value.
Also it gives a more stable reference if there
are only sharp peaks or only sharp valleys in
the surface. A disadvantage is that its calcula-
tion is more complicated, its location is sensi-
tive to measurement errors of the maximum
and minimum points only, and it tends to be
sensitive to the number of points taken.
3. Equal diagonal endpoints
A rectangular plane can be leveled in such a
way that the end-points of both diagonals have
the same value. Subsequently, the minimum
height of the surface can be defined as having
zero height. This reference plane is used in the
classical Moody (1955) method. Although it
gives a unique solution, it is sensitive to errors
and is not optimized toward a least-squares or
minimum flatness value. For this reason, this
method may give FLTt values that are up to
25 % larger than the minimum-zone value. Still
there is quite some commercial software for
surface plate evaluation that uses this reference
plane.
4. Three corners equal
Three corners of a rectangular plane can be
defined as having the same height. Subse-
quently, the minimum height of the surface
can be defined as having zero height. This
definition is not unique (four possibilities)
and is sensitive to several errors. It can be a
useful starting point for a calculation, but apart
from this, it is generally abandoned as a basis
to assess flatness deviations.
Depending on the reference plane (LSPL or
MZPL), the following flatness parameters can be
calculated:
FLTt Peak-to-valley flatness deviation. When
referenced to MZPL, FLTt is the flatness as it is
basically defined. When comparing FLTt values
referring to either the LSPL or MZPL, the latter
is by definition the lower value. Depending on
the surface geometry, in practice the difference
between FLTt(LSPL) and FLTt(MZPL) may
(continued)
amount between 0 % and 20 % of the FLT value.
Using the equal diagonal endpoints or three-
corners equal reference plane may lead to up to
25 % higher values compared to using the
MZPL reference plane.
FLTp Peak-to-reference flatness deviation. The
reference is the LSPL
FLTv Valley-to-reference flatness deviation. The
reference is the LSPL
FLTq The root-mean-square flatness deviation. LSPL
is the reference. This value is often indicated as
the RMS flatness value. If MZPL is taken as the
reference, the value will be higher by definition,
contrary to the FLTt parameter
For surfaces probed with a rectangular grid,
two more parameters, “sphericity” and “torsion,”
have been proposed by Meijer and de Bruijn
(1981). In optical metrology, where circular-
shaped surfaces are commonly measured, it is a
common practice to evaluate the results in terms
of Zernike polynomials. The first Zernike (1934)
polynomial coefficients define the orientation of
the least-squares plane and the next represent
sphericity and torsion parameters as mentioned.
Higher-order terms represent more complicated
forms. Evans et al. (1995) have proposed a
method to represent these Zernike polynomial
coefficients graphically.
As an illustration, the orientation of the same
plane for the four mentioned reference plane and
the respective FLTt values is given in Fig. 1.
Flatness References
Absolute physical references for flatness do not
exist; however, some references exist with small
or negligible deviations that can well act as abso-
lute references.
Liquid Surface and Gravity Vector
An undisturbed liquid surface can be considered
flat because the gravity vector is parallel over
rather large areas. The earth’s curvature causes a
flatness deviation of 0.1 mm over a length of 2 m.
This deviation decreases quadratic with the max-
imum length involved. This property is also used
if flatness is assessed using (electronic) levels.
Flatness 3

Flatness, Fig. 1 Example Minimum Zone Plane FLTt = 8 µm

of a surface relative to
different flatness reference
planes
10

z in µm
5

0
600
800
400 600
200 400
200
y in mm 0 0 x in mm

Least Squares Plane; FLTt = 8.6 µm

10
z in µm

0
600
800
400 600
200 400
200
y in mm 0 0 x in mm

Equal Diagonal Endpoints; FLTt = 9.3 µm

10
z in µm

0
600
800
400 600
200 400
200
y in mm 0 0 x in mm

Three Equal Corners: FLTt = 10.3 µm

10
z in µm

0
600
800
400 600
200 400
200
y in mm 0 0 x in mm
4 Flatness
Atomically Clean Surface
A crystal surface with its atoms properly ordered
can be considered as a flatness reference with the
implicit assumption of the absence of internal
stress and temperature gradients in the crystal.
Such surfaces can act as reference surfaces for
SPM instruments.
Straight Propagation of a Collimated Light Beam
Light is considered to propagate in a straight line
in space in vacuum. If there is no vacuum, disper-
sion causes beam bending (see prisms, lenses,
etc.). If light propagates through air, small devia-
tions can be caused by temperature and pressure
gradients. Note that in the earth’s atmosphere,
there is always a vertical pressure gradient. This
does not cause significant errors at the sizes here
concerned.
Absolute, Self-Calibrating Method
Methods exist by which deviations from a perfect
form can be determined bias-free, without use of a
perfect standard of this form (Evans and Tyler
Estler 1996). This holds for flatness and straight-
ness and for flatness where this is composed of a
combination of straightness and/or parallelism
measurements.
Flatness Assessments Methods
In this section, some flatness assessment methods
are summarized. These can be classified as direct
flatness assessment, straightness assessments that
can be classified as absolute straightness, straight-
ness by gradient measurements, even second
derivative measurement, etc. Without pretending
to be complete, some methods are discussed
below.
Interferometric Surface Measurement
Classical interferometers of the Fizeau or Michel-
son type give a direct image of surface topogra-
phy. For large surfaces, Fizeau-type
interferometers are in use for optical flats from a
few cm2 up to close to 1 m diameter. In the
microscopic range, Michelson-type interferomet-
ric microscope objectives are in use, with varia-
tions, e.g., the Mirau- or Linnik-type objectives.
The resolution can be at the nm level or even
lower, even for the meter-scale interferometers,
however with a bandwidth limitation.
The reference mirror flatness in these interfer-
ometers can be calibrated, or its flatness deviation
can be eliminated from the measurements, in sev-
eral ways:
1. A liquid surface
As liquids, mercury and viscous oils have
been employed (Debenham and Dew 1980;
Powell and Goulet 1998). Vibration sensitivity,
edge effects, and general awkward operation
have limited applicability of this method.
2. Three-flat absolute calibration method
This only works in the Fizeau configuration.
With three optical flats, where two need to be
(semi)transparent, absolute flatness can be
determined provided that additional measure-
ments can be taken with one flat rotated in one
or more steps. Methods are described by
Grzanna and Schultz (1990), based on a least-
squares approach, and by Evans and Kestner
(1996), based on symmetry considerations of
Zernike polynomials.
3. Statistical averaging
If a multitude of randomly flat surfaces are
measured against a reference surface, the aver-
age measured flatness will tend to zero, with
the flatness of the reference surface as only
remaining systematic effect. This is especially
applicable to microscopic flatness measure-
ments. The method was first described by
Creath and Wyant (1990) for interferometric
roughness measurements. Averaging measure-
ments of uncorrelated areas of a single optical
flat result in a flatness figure for the reference
surface. Sphericity of the measured optical flat
is the only remaining systematic effect that is
usually negligible for small subareas.
Gradient Measurements
Gradient measurements can be taken by an auto-
collimator, a laser interferometer using angular
optics, or an (electronic) level. This commonly
requires a measurement base with a spacing
between 20 and 200 mm. With an autocollimator,
also direct measurement of the surface is possible
using a pentagon prism.
Flatness
Straightness Measurements Using
Measurement Base This can be carried out
using an autocollimator, laser interferometer, or
electronic level. Lines can be measured with the
pitch of the measurement base. For combining
this into a flatness measurement, a rectangular
grid can be used; however, diagonals must be
measured also as just straightness measurements
of parallel, and perpendicular lines are indifferent
to torsion of the surface.
The basic and classical configuration of mea-
sured points over the surface is called the “union
jack” method, first described by Moody (1955)
and later further analyzed by Drescher (2003).
This method was generalized by Meijer (1989).
Note that the original Moody algorithm equals the
diagonal endpoints and does not use the MZPL
or LSPL.
Straightness and Parallelism Measurements
Using a Measurement Base A measurement
base with an electronic level monitoring gradient
differences can also determine parallelism of par-
allel lines. This has the advantage that a square
grid can be measured without the need of measur-
ing diagonals, as each line has the same gravity
vector as reference. The measurement evaluation
may include a least-squares calculation.
A comparison of this method to the gradient
method was made by Haitjema and Meijer (1993).
Straightness from Direct Gradient Measure-
ments on a Surface An arrangement of an auto-
collimator and a pentagon prism can be used to
measure gradient variations over a surface that
must be smooth and optical reflecting. If the
beam diameter of the autocollimator can be
reduced, the sensitivity can be high and the pitch
can be reduced. This is the basis of the arrange-
ment used by Geckeler and Weingärtner (2002)
and Geckeler et al. (2002), who claims sub-nm
uncertainties.
Direct Coordinate Measurements A general
coordinate measurement machine has a flatness
measurement as one of its options. Although the
ultimate accuracy may not be achieved, it is by far
the most versatile measurement system that
5
a allows measurement of smaller and larger parts
of a workpiece in any orientation.
Uncertainty and Traceability
Although coarse uncertainty estimates are often
approximately correct, explicit uncertainty esti-
mations are geometry dependent and rather
tedious. Examples are given by Meijer (1989)
and Haitjema (1992) for flatness evaluations
using levels and autocollimators, by Drescher
(2003) for the union jack configuration, and by
Evans and Davies (2013) for optical flat measure-
ments. Further considerations about traceability
are given by Evans and Davies (2013).
Cross-References
▶ Straightness
▶ Traceability
▶ Uncertainty
References
Creath K, Wyant JC (1990) Absolute measurement of
surface roughness. Appl Opt 29:3823–3827
Debenham M, Dew GD (1980) Determination gravita-
tional deformation of an optical flat by liquid surface
interferometry. Precis Eng 2:93–97
Drescher J (2003) Analytical estimation of measurement
uncertainty in surface plate calibration by the Moody
method using differential levels. Precis Eng
27:323–332
Evans CJ, Davies AD (2013) Certification, self-calibration
and uncertainty in optical surface testing. Int J Precision
Technol 3(4):388–402
Evans CJ, Kestner RN (1996) Test optics error removal.
Appl Opt 35:1015–1021
Evans CJ, Tyler Estler W (1996) Self-calibration: reversal,
redundancy, error separation, and ‘Absolute Testing’.
Ann CIRP 45(2):617–634
Evans CJ, Parks PE, Sullivan PJ, Taylor JS (1995) Visual-
ization of surface figure by the use of Zernike poly-
nomials. Appl Opt 34:7815–7819
Geckeler RD, Weingärtner I (2002) Sub-nm topography
measurement of large flats: an ultra-precise flatness
standard for semiconductor industry. Proc SPIE
4779:1–12
Geckeler RD, Just A, Probst R, Weingärtner I (2002) Sub-
nm-Topographiemessung mit hochgenauen Auto-
kollimatoren [Sub-nm topography measurements with
6 Flatness
highly accurate autocollimators]. Tech Mess
69:535–541 (in German)
Grzanna J, Schultz G (1990) Absolute testing of flatness
standards at square grid points. Opt Commun
77:107–112
Haitjema H (1992) Uncertainty propagation in surface
plate measurements. In: Proceedings of the 4th interna-
tional symposium on dimensional metrology in pro-
duction and quality control. ISMQC, Tampere,
pp 304–320
Haitjema H, Meijer J (1993) Evaluation of surface plate
flatness measurements. Eur J Mech Eng 38:165–172
ISO 1011 (2012) GPS geometrical tolerancing – tolerances
of form, orientation, location and run-out. ISO, Geneva
ISO 12781-1 (2011) GPS-flatness-part 1: vocabulary and
parameters of flatness. ISO, Geneva
Meijer J (1989) From straightness to flatness: about surface
plate measurement. Thesis, Twente University
Meijer J, de Bruijn W (1981) Determination of flatness
from straightness measurements and characterization
of the surface by four parameters. Precis Eng 3:17–22
Moody JC (1955) How to calibrate surface plates in the
plant. Tool Eng 1955:85–91
Powell I, Goulet E (1998) Absolute figure measurements
with a liquid-flat reference. Appl Opt 37:2579
Zernike, F (1934) Beugungstheorie des Schneiden-
verfahrens und seine verbesserten Form, der
Phasenkontrastmethode. [Diffraction theory of the
knife-edge test and its improved form, the phase-
contrast method] Physica 1 :689–704 (in German)
CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16795-1
# CIRP 2014

Measurement System Analysis

Robert Schmitta* and Marcin Bauzab
a
Metrology and Quality Management, Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering WZL of the RWTH,
Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
b
Chair of Metrology and Quality Management, Carl Zeiss Industrial Metrology, Maple Grove, MN, USA

Synonyms
Measurement systems analysis; Measurement systems capability analysis; MSA

Definition
According to international standards, measurement system analysis is defined as “a series of studies
that explains how a measurement system performs” (ISO 13053–2 2011) and consists of “a set of
methods used to evaluate the uncertainty of a measurement process under the range of conditions in
which the process operates” (ISO 22514–1 2009).
[The following is added in the definition of “measurement system” since it is not available in the
encyclopedia: A measurement system is a “collection of operations, procedures, devices and other
equipment, software, and personnel used to assign a value to the characteristic being measured”
(ISO/TR 14468 2010).]

Theory and Application

Introduction
Due to the fact that all measurements contain errors, it is impossible to determine the exact variation
of a production process. The observed process variation is always the superposition of the produc-
tion process variation (part variation) and the measurement process variation (Fig. 1).
Understanding and managing the measurement process variation, better known as “measurement
error” or “measurement uncertainty” (“▶ Error”), is therefore an important function in process
control and process improvement (Montgomery 2005). Having capable measurement processes
ensures the validity of acquired data and reduces the risk of erroneous decisions, like scrapping parts
which are within the specification or delivering or processing parts which are outside of specifica-
tion. Hence most of modern quality management systems demand capable measurement processes
(ISO 9001; ISO 10012).
Excerpt from paragraph 4.11.1 ISO 9001:
. . . Inspection, measuring and test equipment shall be used in a manner which ensures that the measurement
uncertainty is known and is consistent with the required measurement capability.

The purpose of a measurement system analysis is to determine the capability of the measurement
process as well as determining its sources of variation and its behavior within the range of

*Email: r.schmitt@wzl.rwth-aachen.de

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Fig. 1 Influence of the measurement process variation on the observed process variation

application. It is often used as an effective way of selecting a measurement process and equipment
(instruments, gauges) and provides a basis for comparing and reconciling differences in measure-
ments (ISO 22514–1 2009). The MSA is an important element of Six Sigma methodology and of
other quality management systems (ISO 13053–2 2011).

Sources of Variation
A measurement system analysis usually aims at isolating and evaluating the following sources of
variation of the measurement process (AIAG 2010; Dietrich and Schulze 2011, VIM (JCGM
200:2012 (2012))); see Fig. 2:

• Systematic measurement error (or bias, “▶ Error,” “▶ Accuracy”): Systematic difference

between a measurement and a reference value.
• Repeatability (“▶ Precision”): Variation of measurements due to instrument error.
• Reproducibility: Variation resulting from external sources such as inspectors, measurement
method, setup, and environmental fluctuations over time.
• Linearity: Change of precision and accuracy of the measurement system over the expected range
of the measurement.
• Stability: Change in accuracy of the measurement system over time.
• Accuracy: Accuracy is a qualitative term referring to whether there is agreement between a
measurement made on an object and its true (target or reference) value (NIST).

Methods
Measurement system studies are often divided into three different types (ISO 22514–1; AIAG
2010):

• A type 1 study for determining systematic errors

• A type 2 study for determining repeatability and reproducibility (gauge R&R study)
• A particular type 2 study, often called type 3, for determining repeatability where no inspector
influence is present (gauge R study)

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Fig. 2 Characteristics of measurement systems (Source: AIAG 2010)

Type 1 Study (Systematic Error)

In order to determine the systematic error of a measurement system, a reference part with a known
reference value is measured multiple times (typically n > 10) in a short period of time. The mean of
the measurement values minus the reference value serves as an indicator for the bias of the gauge
(AIAG 2010).

Type 2 Study (Gauge R&R Study)

The standard method for assessing the measurement system’s precision is a so-called gauge
repeatability and reproducibility study (gauge R&R study) (AIAG 2010).
For the gauge R&R study, a certain number of parts (typically 10) are measured several times
(typically 2–3 times) by different inspectors (typically 2–3, Fig. 3). The results are analyzed using
analysis of variance (ANOVA) or range methods, by which the overall variance can be decomposed
into components associated with different sources of measurement variation (repeatability for one
inspector, reproducibility between inspectors, part-to-part variation).
The repeatability is determined by evaluating multiple measurements of the same part, effec-
tively quantifying the variability in a measurement system resulting from the gauge itself (Smith
et al. 2007). Using the range method, the repeatability (or equipment variation) is calculated with

EV ¼ K 1  R

1 Xl
R¼  Ri
l i¼1

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Fig. 3 Example test design in a standard gauge R&R study (Source: Pfeifer and Schmitt 2010)

[K1 depends on the number of repetitions and the number of inspectors; see AIAG (2010).]
The reproducibility is determined from the variation created by different inspectors measuring a
part several times each, effectively quantifying the variation in a measurement system resulting from
the operators of the gauge and environmental factors. Using the range method, the reproducibility
(or inspector variation) is calculated with
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
 2
2 EV
AV ¼ ðK 2  xDiff Þ 
nm

xDiff ¼ maxfrangeðxi Þg

[K2 depends on the number of repetitions and the number of inspectors; see AIAG (2010).]
The “total gauge R&R” is the combination of the estimated variations from repeatability and
reproducibility.
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
GRR ¼ EV 2 þ AV 2

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The result of a gauge R&R study is the so-called %GRR value, which is the quotient of the GRR
value and either a measure of process variation or the specification tolerance T:

6  GRR
%GRRT ¼ 100 
T
A commonly accepted threshold for the capability of a measurement system is a %GRR value of
10 % or lower (AIAG 2010). For measurement systems which are already in use, a %GRR value of
up to 30 % may be accepted.

Type 3 Study (Gauge R Study)

The type 3 study is a special case of the type 2 study and is suited for measurement systems which are
not subject to influence of inspectors (e.g., automatic gauges). Instead of determining both the
repeatability and reproducibility, only the repeatability is analyzed (hence the name: gauge R study).
For the study a larger number of parts (typically 25) are measured several times (typically 2–3). The
repeatability is evaluated in the same way as in the gauge R&R study by calculating the equipment
variation value (EV). Since there is no influence from inspectors, the AV value is set to 0.
Limitations of the standard studies:
It is crucial for a standard gauge R&R study that parts can be measured more than once. If repeated
measurements on a single part are not possible, e. g., in destructive measurements, it is impossible to
differ between the variation of the measurement system and the part-to-part variation.

Additional Studies
In addition to the type 1–3 studies, a measurement system analysis can be completed by one or more
of the following studies:

Resolution
As a first step of the measurement system analysis, it is advisable to check for the gauge resolution
(cross-reference resolution). If the smallest incremental change that a gauge is able to detect is too
large, typically greater than 5–10 % of the tolerance zone, the measurement system is not capable
(AIAG 2010; Dietrich and Schulze 2011).

Linearity
The linearity of a measurement system is analyzed by measuring multiple reference parts covering
the operating range of the gauge. By evaluating the average bias for each part and fitting a line and a
confidence band through the data points, one can conduct a test for the linearity of the measurement
system (AIAG 2010).

Stability
The stability of a measurement system is obtained by measuring the same reference part over an
extended time period and by plotting it in a control chart (AIAG 2010). The stability can then be
evaluated using standard control chart analysis.

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Attribute Gauge Studies

Adopted methods have to be applied for attributive and destructive measurements. See AIAG
(2010), Smith et al. (2007), or Montgomery (2005) for further information.

Historical Background
In the past, missing instructions for practical implementation of measurement system analysis have
led to a company-specific standards and branch-specific guidelines. In 1992, the Automotive
Industry Action Group (AIAG) began to formalize methods for a measurement system analysis in
the automotive industry with its publication of a Measurement System Analysis Reference Manual
(AIAG 1992). Since then it has become a de facto standard not only in the automotive industry but in
the entire manufacturing industry. The guideline is currently available in its fourth edition, which
was published in 2010 (AIAG 2010).

Cross-References
▶ Accuracy
▶ Error
▶ Measurement Uncertainty
▶ Metrology
▶ Precision

References
Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) (1992) QS 9000: measurement systems analysis.
Michigan, Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation
Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) (2010) QS 9000: measurement systems analysis,
4th edn. Michigan, Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation
Dietrich E, Schulze A (2011) Measurement process qualification. Gauge acceptance and measure-
ment uncertainty according to current standards. Hanser, Munich
ISO 10012 (2003) Measurement management systems – requirements for measurement processes
and measuring equipment, International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland
ISO 13053–2 (2011) Quantitative methods in process improvement – six sigma – part 2: tools and
techniques, International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland
ISO 22514–1 (2009) Statistical methods in process management – capability and performance – part
1: general principles and concepts, International Organization for Standardization, Geneva,
Switzerland
ISO 9001 (2008) Quality management systems – requirements, International Organization for
Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland
ISO/TR 14468 (2010) Selected illustrations of attribute agreement analysis. International Organi-
zation for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland
JCGM 200:2008 (2008) International vocabulary of metrology: basic and general concepts and
associated terms (VIM). http://www.bipm.org/en/publications/guides/vim.html. Accessed 25
April 2014. Bureau International des Poids et Mesures
JCGM 200:2012 (2012) International vocabulary of metrology: basic and general concepts and
associated terms (VIM). Bureau International des Poids et Mesures

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Montgomery DC (2005) Introduction to statistical quality control. Wiley, New York

Pfeifer T, Schmitt R (2010) Fertigungsmesstechnik [metrology], 3rd edn. Oldenbourg
Wissenschaftsverlag, M€
unchen (in German)
Smith RR, McCrary SW, Callahan RN (2007) Gauge repeatability and reproducibility studies and
measurement system analysis: a multimethod exploration of the state of practice. J Qual Technol
23(1):1–11

Page 7 of 7
S

Supply Chain Management production networks, distribution networks,

logistics networks, and service networks.
Paul Schönsleben According to APICS, supply chain manage-
Professur f€
ur Betriebswissenschaft, ETH Z€
urich, ment (SCM) is “the design, planning, execution,
Z€urich, Switzerland control, and monitoring of supply chain activities
with the objective of creating net value, building a
competitive infrastructure, leveraging worldwide
Synonyms logistics, synchronizing supply with demand, and
measuring performance globally” (Blackstone
Management of the extended enterprise 2013).
These definitions are generally applied to the
comprehensive design, manufacturing, and deliv-
ery process of a product or a service within and
Definitions
across companies. In competitive markets, the
underlying concept perceives a supply chain to
There are several definitions of this term, as there
be in competition with other supply chains in
also are several definitions of the term “supply
order to sell its products to potential end cus-
chain.” In 2014, two important professional orga-
tomers (users).
nizations in the field, APICS (the Association for
Clearly, SCM principles can and should be
Operations Management, founded 1957; see also
applied to the other phases of the entire product
www.apics.org) and the Supply Chain Council
life cycle, that is, also to the use phase (e.g., the
(SCC, founded 1996; see also www.supply-
after-sales service network), and also – as already
chain.org), merged. Together, they represent a
the SCOR model suggests – to the return,
(if not the) leading professional association for
recycling, and disposal phase (see Fig. 3 below).
supply chain and operations management. There-
fore, it seems adequate to refer to APICS and SCC
definitions.
Theory and Application
According to APICS, a supply chain is “the
global network used to deliver products and ser-
Figure 1 shows one of the characteristic tasks
vices from raw materials to end customers
handled by SCM, namely, the ongoing synchro-
through an engineered flow of information, phys-
nization of supply with demand in the compre-
ical goods, and cash” (Blackstone 2013). Thus, a
hensive supply chain. The organizational units
supply chain can include procurement networks,
(here called entities) involved can be legally
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16796-2
2 Supply Chain Management

Plan Supply Chain

Develop plan that

aligns supply resources
Aggregate all to meet demand Aggregate all
sources sources
of supply of demand

Entity A Entity B Entity C Entity D Entity E Entity F ...

Deliver Source Make Deliver Source Make

Supply Chain Management, Fig. 1 Ongoing synchronization of supply with demand in the comprehensive supply
chain (Taken from SCOR (2004, p. 22). Copyright APICS Supply Chain Council. Used with permission)

independent companies, as well as profit or cost
centers within a company.
Figure 2 groups the tasks in which all organi-
zational units of a supply chain invest in different
areas, namely, supply chain structure, supply
chain organization, and the required information
technology.
Building Trust and Establishing Principal
Relationships
To achieve an effective synchronization, cooper-
ation between the entities of the comprehensive
supply chain is essential. In contrast to relation-
ships that are buyer dominated or supplier domi-
nated, in a balanced partnership relationship, the
intensity of the cooperation can be significantly
greater. This demands a high degree of compe-
tency in organizing the network, particularly of
the leading partner in the supply chain. As a
supply chain is in competition with other supply
chains, the aim of each company in the supply
chain should be to get a bigger pie, that is, a
bigger share of the market and not a bigger
piece of the pie, that is, a bigger share of the
value added of the supply chain.
In order to cooperate long term and intensively
in a supply chain, the following trust-building
measures have proven significance. Firstly, create
the required conditions in your own company.
This comprises the necessary mentality for a
mutual win–win situation, openness to sugges-
tions from internal and external participants, ori-
entation toward procedures and value-adding
tasks, and delegation, teamwork, and the like.
Secondly, where possible, place emphasis upon
local networks (local sourcing). This principle is
extensively applied by Toyota in Nagoya, where
its system suppliers’ premises are in a 30 km
periphery around the assembly lines of Toyota.
Local proximity affects not only logistics favor-
ably (speed, transport, and carrying cost) but also
has a particularly favorable effect on relationships
among the participants. Thirdly, do not exploit
strengths in your company’s negotiating position.
Present all intentions openly (no hidden agendas).
Formulate the objectives of the cooperative
Supply Chain Management
Supply Chain
Structure
Supplier A
Supplier B
Your Company
Supplier D
Information-
Technology Supplier C
Supply Chain Software
E-Marketplaces
Internet / XML
Supply Chain Management, Fig. 2 Tasks and investment areas for intensive cooperation in the partnership relation-
ship (Taken from (Schönsleben 2016), Section 2.3.1)
venture clearly for all. The primary competition is
competition of the entire supply chain against
other supply chains for the favor of the user.
Competition between buyer and supplier within
the supply chain is of secondary importance. The
optimum depth of added value of a partner in a
supply chain is not necessarily optimal for the
total supply chain. It is advisable to distribute
gains from a cost reduction or increase in earnings
equally, because it is the partnership that is the
primary factor in success and not the individual
contribution of a partner. A balanced win–win
situation for all companies involved is prerequi-
site to long-term or intensive cooperation.
Working Out Collaborative Processes
in the Supply Chain
The ongoing synchronization of supply with
demand is based upon the internal chain of
“source,” “make,” and “deliver” in each of the
entities involved. All demand and capabilities of
fulfilling them are carried by the network as a
3
Network Configuration
Building Trustful Relationships
Collaboration Management
(Planning and Execution)
Customer A
Customer B
Customer C
Customer D
Supply Chain
Customer E Organization
Supply Chain Responsibilities
Information and Communication
Process Design
Performance Measurement
whole and reconciled jointly. Based on this idea,
the Supply Chain Council published the supply
chain operations reference model or simply
SCOR model (SCOR ®). SCOR is an aid to stan-
dardization of process chains within and across
companies. See here (SCOR 2014). The aim of
SCOR is to foster a common understanding of
processes in the various companies participating
in a supply chain. The SCOR model is iteratively
updated; the most recent version available only to
members. The model is comprised of multiple
levels. Level 1 can be seen in Fig. 3, depicted
here from the now-superseded version 10.0.
Emphasis is put on commonly agreed perfor-
mance measurement along the supply chain. The
SCOR metrics are made up by five groups of SCM
key performance indicators (KPI): firstly, supply
chain reliability (perfect order fulfillment); sec-
ondly, supply chain responsiveness (order fulfill-
ment cycle time); thirdly, supply chain agility
(upside supply chain flexibility, upside supply
chain adaptability, downside supply chain
4 Supply Chain Management
Plan Plan
Deliver Source Make Deliver
Source
Return Return Return
Return
Suppliers’ Supplier
Supplier Internal
or External
Supply Chain Management, Fig. 3 The SCOR model, version 10.0, level 1 (Copyright APICS Supply Chain Council.
Used with permission)
adaptability, overall value at risk (VaR)); fourthly,
supply chain costs (SCM costs, cost of goods
sold); and fifthly, supply chain asset management
(cash-to-cash cycle time, return on supply chain
fixed assets, return on working capital).
Collaborative Order Processing: Avoiding
the Bullwhip Effect
To fulfill the objectives of the collaboration, not
only must planning and control systems be linked
but close contact among the participants is also
necessary. According to APICS, collaborative
planning, forecasting, and replenishment (CPFR)
is “a process whereby supply chain trading part-
ners can jointly plan key supply chain activities
from production and delivery of final products to
end customers. Collaboration encompasses busi-
ness planning, sales forecasting, and all opera-
tions required to replenish raw materials and
finished goods” (Blackstone 2013).
A key tool for CPFR and thus for effective
SCM is blanket orders. A blanket order is a
long-term agreement for a great number of deliv-
eries, either material or capacities. Sometimes, a
long-term blanket order may be precision-tuned
Plan
Plan Plan
Source Make Deliver Source
Make Deliver
Return Return Return
Return
Your Customer Customer’s
Company Internal Customer
or External
for shorter-term time intervals. According to
Blackstone (2013), a blanket release is “the autho-
rization to ship and/or produce against a blanket
agreement or contract.”
In SCM, it is very important to implement
countermeasures to prevent the bullwhip effect,
also called the Forrester effect (Forrester 1958).
The bullwhip effect is an extreme increase of the
variation of (excess) inventory and back orders as
well as an increase of open order quantities
upstream in the supply chain from customer to
the various tiers of suppliers, generated by a
small change or no change in customer demand.
See here also Lee et al. (1997) and Simchi-Levi
et al. (2007). In addition, the longer the lead times
of goods, data, and control flow are, the stronger
the bullwhip effect is. Fig. 4 shows this effect.
A famous example, analyzed and published by
Procter & Gamble, is the demand for Pampers
disposal diapers. Besides the fluctuation of the
demand, the bullwhip effect is also caused by
information processing obstacles in the supply
chain; the obstacles are information time lag and
distortion (by the actual orders). Appropriate
countermeasures are reducing the manufacturing
Supply Chain Management 5

Customer 1st Tier Supplier 2nd Tier Supplier 3rd Tier Supplier

Open order Open order Open order Open order

quantity quantity quantity quantity

0 0 0 0
time time time time

Inventory / Inventory / Inventory / Inventory /

backorders backorders backorders backorders

0 0 0 0
time time time time

Data and control flow (orders)

Goods flow

Supply Chain Management, Fig. 4 Open order quantities and inventories/back orders in a supply chain: the bullwhip
effect (or Forrester effect) (Taken from Schönsleben (2016), Section 2.3.1)

lead times in general and quickly adapting
manufacturing lead times on demand, based on
rapid information exchange by point-of-sale
scanning.
Cross-References
▶ ERP Enterprise Resource Planning
▶ Operations Management
References
Blackstone JH (ed) (2013) APICS dictionary, 14th edn.
APICS (The Association for Operations Management),
Chicago
Forrester J (1958) Industrial dynamics: a major break-
through for decision makers. Harv Bus Rev
36(4):37–66
Lee H, Padmanabhan V, Whang S (1997) Information
distortion in a supply chain: the bullwhip effect.
Manag Sci 43(4):546–558
Schönsleben P (2016) Integral logistics
management – operations and supply chain manage-
ment within and across companies, 5th edn. CRC Press/
Taylor & Francis Group, New York
SCOR (2004) SCOR, version 6.1 overview, APICS Supply
Chain Council, Chicago
SCOR (2014) SCOR, APICS Supply Chain Council, Chi-
cago. www.supply-chain.org/scor. Accessed 18 Nov
2014
Simchi-Levi D, Kaminsky P, Simchi-Levi E (2007)
Designing and managing the supply chain. Concepts,
strategies, and case studies, 3rd edn. McGraw-Hill
Irwin, New York
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Reversal
René Mayer*
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Polytechnique Montréal, Montreal, Canada

Definition
Error separation techniques refer to a wide body of techniques used, for example, in dimensional and
machine metrology, to distinguish between otherwise superposed error sources, typically those from the
measurand and those from the instrument. A common context is the measurement errors of an instrument
and the errors of the measured object (or artifact). In this case the object errors are the primary measurand,
and the instrument errors are the secondary measurand or by-product of the process. Another context is
where the primary measurand is the error in the movement of a mechanism and the errors of an artifact,
which will be measured by the mechanism fitted with some measurement sensors such as a dial indicator
or touch-trigger probe, constitute the secondary measurand (the by-product). In both cases the measure-
ment data is simultaneously affected by the errors of both the instrument/mechanism and the object/
artifact. In the literature, examples of error separation techniques other than reversal methods are closure,
difference techniques, multistep and multiprobe with possible overlap in the principles used (Evans
et al. 1996; Marsh 2010). The use of an uncalibrated (only nominally known) artifact presents practical
advantages. It is the making of two silk purses from two sow’s ears.
In reversal methods a judicious change in the relative location of the sensor and object/artifact to the
instrument/machine followed by the repetition of the measurement usually provides the means to
distinguish between the errors. Such change is referred to as inversion, reflection, rotations, etc.
An attempt at a formal definition follows (see Evans et al. 1996) a technique where a mechanical
manipulation with respect to a suitable degree of freedom other than the sensitive direction of the indicator
results in a sign change in one component of the errors contributing to the indicator readings thus allowing
the graphical or mathematical separation of the contributing errors. The necessary conditions for success
are as follows: “(1) the indicator output must be a linear combination of signals representing the
measurand and the systematic error; (2) a physical adjustment of the measurement system must be
made which changes the sign of one component of the indicator output; (3) the measurement system
must be stable through the physical adjustment; and (4) a metric must be independently realized, i.e., the
indicator must be independently calibrated.”

Theory and Application

Only some examples will be presented here together with a list of other related techniques for further
reading. The techniques presented consist in remeasuring the artifact using specially selected relative
changes in orientation (angular components) such that the unknown error sources of the artifact and of the
measuring system can be separated mathematically. The examples will be studied in a little more detail
primarily from a theoretical standpoint and via simulations in order to illustrate the method but without
attempting to offer a generalization. In particular, uncertainty and setup aspects are considered. Readers
can find many more examples of reversal techniques in the reference list.

*Email: rene.mayer@polymtl.ca

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a b
a
b

c I1
b

Setup 1

Local 180°
gravity I2

a
b

Setup 2

Fig. 1 Level reversal: (a) the level with its internal error b = 10 ; (b) the measurand, a surface at an inclination a = 20 relative
to the local horizontal; (c) the two measurement setups where a reversal of 180 is used relative to the local gravity

Level Reversal
A simple example of reversal technique is level reversal illustrated in Fig. 1. Normally the indication of
the level should correspond to the surface inclination relative to local gravity. However, because of a
potential assembly orientation error between the level’s banana-shaped glass vials and the line between
the mechanical seats of the level outer body, those contacting the measured surface, a systematic error
occurs. Reversal of the level consists in a rotation around an axis parallel to gravity which is the zero
inclination reference for a surface perpendicular to gravity.
The indication for setup 1 is the sum of the surface inclination and the internal error of the level (Eq. 1),
whereas for setup 2 the effect of the measurand, i.e., the surface inclination, on the indication is reversed,
but the effect of the level’s systematic error is preserved (Eq. 2):

I1 ¼ a þ b (1)

I 2 ¼ a þ b (2)

where

– I1 and I2 are the indications read on the level

– b is the instrument systematic error
– a is the true value of the surface inclination relative to local gravity (the measurand)

Equations 1 and 2 are solved, firstly, by their addition and, secondly, by their subtraction, to yield a
solution for the measurand and the level’s systematic error:

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I1  I2
a¼ (3)
2

I1 þ I2
b¼ : (4)
2
In matrix form Eqs. 1 and 2 become




I1 1 1 a
¼ (5)
I2 1 1 b

I ¼ M A: (6)

Although somehow an overkill in this simple case, such a system can be analyzed numerically to verify
solvability through the condition number, k, of the system’s identification matrix M. In this case
k = 1 which is ideal for finding a solution which does not amplify the uncertainties present in the input
data. The solution is simply obtained by matrix inversion





a 1 I 1 1=2 1=2 I 1
¼M ¼ : (7)
b I2 1=2 1=2 I2

This form also facilitates the calculation of an estimated uncertainty based on a quadratic propagation of
standard uncertainties on the indications since M1 is equivalent to
2 3
@a @a
6 @I @I 7
M 1 ¼ 6 4 @b @b 5:
1 27 (8)
@I 1 @I 2

According to the Guide to the Evaluation of Uncertainty in Measurement, the GUM (JCGM 102:2011 2011),
since the measurement model has multiple inputs and multiple outputs, the covariances should be considered
and so the uncertainty can be estimated as follows:

U ab ¼ C I U I C I T (9)

where Uab is the covariance matrix of the output quantities (a and b), UI is the covariance matrix of the
input quantities (the level’s indications), and CI is the sensitivity matrix. They have the following form:



uða, aÞ uða, bÞ 1 uðI 1 , I 1 Þ uðI 1 , I 2 Þ
U ab ¼ , CI ¼ M and U I ¼ : (10)
uðb, aÞ uðb, bÞ uðI 2 , I 1 Þ uðI 2 , I 2 Þ

Straightedge Reversal Method for Measurement of Straightness Error Motion

Straightedge reversal consists in using an artifact in the form of a straightedge to measure the imperfect
motion of a nominally rectilinear displacement produced by a slide. The error motion varies along the
slide. Figure 2 shows the two setups. Note that for the sake of simplicity the effect of pitch error motion is
assumed negligible in the analysis that follows. Setup 2 results from a rotation of the artifact around an

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a Artefact

a(x)

I1

m(x) Slide

b
I2
Artefact

a(x)

m(x) Slide

Fig. 2 Straightedge reversal: (a) setup 1 and (b) setup 2 where the artifact is rotated by 180 around the axis of motion of the
slide (reflection). Note that the sensor is also rotated which reverses the sense of the reading

axis parallel to the direction of motion of the slide. The sensor is also rotated. The indication changes
positively when the stylus enters the indicator body.
The indications, I1(x) and I2(x) for setups 1 and 2, respectively, are related to the artifact a(x) and motion
out of straightnesses m(x) as follows:

I 1 ðxÞ ¼ aðxÞ þ mðxÞ

I 2 ðxÞ ¼ aðxÞ  mðxÞ
I 1 ðxÞ  I 2 ðxÞ
¼ mðxÞ (11)
2
I 1 ðxÞ þ I 2 ðxÞ
¼ aðxÞ:
2
In practice a number of discrete measurement positions are taken along X at xi, i = 1, n. At least n = 3
measurements are needed in order to have an out-of-straightness deviation because two points uniquely
define a straight line and no point deviates from it so there is no out of straightness. The following system
results:
2 3 2 32 3
I 1, 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 a1
6 I 2, 1 7 6 0 1 0 0 1 6
0 76 a2 7
7
6 7 6 7
6 I 3, 1 7 6 0 0 1 0 1 7 6 7
6 7¼6 0 76 a3 7 (12)
6 I 1, 2 7 6 1 0 0 1 0 0 7 6 7
6 7 6 76 m1 7
4 I 2, 2 5 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 54 m2 5
I 3, 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 m3

where Ii,j is the indication at position i for setup j. Note the numerically convenient structure of the matrix
as four 3  3 identity (positive or negative) matrices. A solution is again accessible, in principle, through a
matrix inversion

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I ¼ MA (13)

A ¼ Mþ I: (14)

The condition number of M is k = 1, again an ideal situation. The estimation results will be influenced by
the setup of the artifact which injects an offset and a slope in the indications which will in turn corrupt the
a and m values. However, since the straightness deviations are defined relative to a reference straight line
(ISO 230-1:2012(E)), a further treatment is required on the estimated results. One possibility is to use the
residual, m’(x), from a linear regression through the estimated m(x) values:
2 3
x1 1

0 4 5 slope
m ¼ m  x2 1 (15)
bias
x3 1

where the slope and bias can be estimated by solving the following system
2 3 2 3
m1 x1 1


4 m2 5 ¼ 4 x 2 1 5 slope slope
¼X (16)
bias bias
m3 x3 1

using the Moore-Penrose pseudo-inverse (symbol +) as follows

2 3 2 3

 m1
slope  1 T m1
¼ X þ 4 m2 5 ¼ X T X X 4 m2 5: (17)
bias
m3 m3

Figure 3 shows the results of a simulation to illustrate this process. Out-of-straightness errors on both the
machine slide and artifact are simulated using a random number generator. Then a setup error is added to
the artifact position and orientation for both setups. The simulated out-of-straightness errors, the indica-
tions, the estimated errors from Eq. 14, and the out of straightness of those errors from Eq. 15 are also
shown.

More Reversal
Table 1 is a list of some of the reversal methods found in the literature. More techniques can be found in
the documents from the References section.

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Fig. 3 Straightedge reversal simulation where random errors have been simulated on the slide and artifact. Reversal procedure
is conducted with setup errors and a least square line is fitted through the estimated errors in order to obtain the estimated
out-of-straightness errors

Table 1 Non-exhaustive list of reversal techniques (mostly from Evans et al. 1996; see also Hocken 2011 and Muralikrishnan
and Raja 2009)
Reversal technique Measurand Artifact Instrument Reversal type
Level reversal Surface inclination None Level Rotation (180 ) about local gravity line
Straightedge Out-of-straightness error motion Straightedge Dial indicator Reflection of straightedge and indicator
reversal of a linear axis
Donaldson ball Spindle radial motion error Ball Dial indicator Ball and indicator rotate (180 ) about
reversal spindle axis
Square reversal Out-of-squareness between two Square Dial indicator Reflection
linear axes
Estler’s face motion Tilt and axial motion of spindle Flat plate Two dial Face and indicators rotation about
reversal indicators spindle axis
Ball plate XYZ machine geometry Ball plate Touch-trigger Variety of rotations and flips
probe

Cross-References
▶ Accuracy
▶ Error
▶ Form Error
▶ Measurement Uncertainty

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▶ Metrology
▶ Precision
▶ Traceability

References
Evans CJ, Hocken RJ, Estler WT (1996) Self-calibration: reversal, redundancy, error separation, and
‘absolute testing’. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 45(2):617–634
Hocken R (2011) Chapter 13: “Reversal” techniques for coordinate measuring machine calibration. In:
Hocken R, Pereira PH (eds) Coordinate measuring machines and systems, 2nd edn. CRC Press, Boca
Raton, pp 361–370. doi:10.1201/b11022-14
ISO 230-1:2012(E) (2012) Test code for machine tools – part 1: geometric accuracy of machines
operating under no-load or quasi-static conditions. Beuth, Berlin
JCGM 102:2011 (2011) Evaluation of measurement data – supplement 2 to the “guide to the expression of
uncertainty in measurement” – extension to any number of output quantities. Bureau international des
poids et mesures (BIPM), Sèvres. http://www.bipm.org/utils/common/documents/jcgm/JCGM_102_
2011_E.pdf. Accessed 1 Dec 2014
Marsh E (2010) Precision spindle metrology, 2nd edn. DEStech Publications, Lancaster, PA
Muralikrishnan B, Raja J (2009) Chapter 26: Error separation techniques in roundness metrology. In:
Computational surface and roundness metrology. Springer, London. http://link.springer.com/chapter/
10.1007%2F978-1-84800-297-5_26#page-1. Accessed 1 Dec 2014

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Surface Texture
Richard Leach*
Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

Definition
Surface texture is the geometrical irregularities present at a surface. Surface texture does not include
those geometrical irregularities contributing to the form or shape of the surface.

Theory and Application

Most manufactured parts rely on some form of control of their surface characteristics. The surface is
usually defined as the feature on a component or device that interacts with the environment, in which
the component is housed or in which the device operates, or with another surface (Leach et al. 2014).
The surface topography, and of course the material characteristics, of a part can affect how two
bearing parts slide together, how fluids interact with the part, or how the part looks and feels
(Bruzzone et al. 2008; Thomas 2014).
Surface topography is defined (in Leach 2014) as the overall surface structure of a part (i.e., all the
surface features treated as a continuum of spatial wavelengths), surface form as the underlying shape
of a part (e.g., a cylinder liner has cylindrical form), and surface texture as the features that remain
once the form has been removed (e.g., machining marks on the cylinder liner).
The origins of the surface texture on an object come from a number of sources. Any surface that
has been manufactured will have some production process marks, which are inherent and which are
caused by the tool removing material or any additive processes. Surface texture also comprises other
marks on the surface which are not inherent and which are produced by errors of one sort or another,
such as the machine tool lack of stiffness resulting in chatter of the tool against the workpiece,
thermal effects such as deflections, or agglomeration of particulates in an additive process, and
material effects producing surface irregularities, such as grain boundaries.

Surface Texture Measurement

Surface geometry can be measured using a variety of physical principles, but the most common
methods use contacting or optical techniques. The measurement principles fall in to two categories
as follows:

1. Those that measure surface topography directly. Such methods produce a topographical image of
the surface that may be represented mathematically as a height function, z(x) in the profile case
and z(x,y) in the areal case (see below). From the topography image, various filtering processes
are used to extract the surface texture.
2. Those that measure a representative area of a surface and produce numerical results that depend
on area-integrated properties of the surface. Such methods interrogate physical models of the

*Email: richard.leach@nottingham.ac.uk

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CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16799-1
# CIRP 2014

Fig. 1 Top: primary profile, center: waviness, bottom: roughness (Courtesy Leach 2014)

interaction of the instrument with the surface to directly produce parameters of the surface
texture.

The reader is referred to several references for more in-depth treatments of surface measurement
(Leach 2014, 2011; Mainsah et al. 2010; Whitehouse 2010).

Surface Texture Characterization

Measuring and obtaining the digital representation of surface topography as either a profile z(x) or an
areal map z(x,y) is the first step in determining surface texture. Subsequently, the form is removed
and the resulting surface texture is filtered to remove (or attenuate) unwanted spatial frequencies. In
the profile case, filtering is applied to split the surface texture into primary profile, waviness, and
roughness (see Fig. 1) (ISO 4287 1997; Leach 2014; Whitehouse 2010). ISO specification standards
define default filter cutoff frequencies for determining primary, waviness, and roughness profiles
(ISO 4287 1997; ISO 4288 1996) and which type of filter to use (ISO 16610 part 21 2011). It is
important to stress here that the default values are just defaults – they are not requirements. For
example, if five sampling lengths would produce an evaluation length that is larger than the length of
the surface available for measurement, then fewer sampling length or a smaller sampling length can
be used. Finally, surface texture profile parameters can be calculated, the most well-known param-
eter being Ra, but there are many others (see ISO 4287 (1997), Leach (2014) for the ISO parameter
descriptions and Whitehouse (2010) for many more).
A surface texture parameter is used to give the surface texture of a part a quantitative value. Such a
value may be used to simplify the description of the surface texture, to allow comparisons with other
parts (or areas of a part), and to form a suitable measure for a quality system. Surface texture
parameters are also used on engineering drawings to formally specify a required surface texture for a
manufactured part. Some parameters give purely statistical information about the surface texture and
some can describe how the surface may perform in use, that is to say, its functionality (Thomas
2014).
Whereas the profile method may be useful for showing manufacturing process change, much
more functional information about the surface can be gained from an analysis of the areal surface
texture. There are a number of significant differences between profile and areal analysis. Firstly,
whereas it may be possible to use the profile method to control quality once a machining process has
been shown to be sufficiently stable, for problem diagnostics and function prediction, an areal

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# CIRP 2014

measurement is often required. Also, with profile measurement and characterization, it is often
difficult to determine the exact nature of a topographic feature. Lastly, an areal measurement will
have more statistical significance than an equivalent profile measurement, simply because there are
more data points and an areal map is a closer representation of the “real surface.”
Distinct from the profile system, areal surface characterization does not require three different
groups (profile, waviness, and roughness) of surface texture parameters. For example, in areal
parameters, only Sa is defined for the average parameter rather than the primary surface Pa,
waviness Wa, and roughness Ra as in the profile case (ISO 25178 part 2 2012; Leach 2013). The
meaning of the Sa parameter depends on the type of scale-limited surface used. Filtering for areal
analysis again requires the use cutoff frequencies (called nesting indexes) to define the spatial
bandwidth for analysis. Defaults are given in ISO specification standards (ISO 25178 part 3 2012;
Leach 2013), and there are a range of filter types to choose from (Leach 2013) depending on the
application. The ISO areal surface texture parameters are divided into two categories: field param-
eters, defined from all the points on a scale-limited surface, and feature parameters, defined from a
subset of predefined topological features from the scale-limited surface. The areal parameters are
described in detail elsewhere (Leach 2013), including a range of case studies illustrating their use.

Cross-References
▶ Roughness
▶ Surface Texture Parameter

References
Bruzzone AAG, Costa HL, Lonardo PM, Lucca DA (2008) Advances in engineering surfaces for
functional performance. Ann CIRP 57:750–769
ISO 4287 (1997) Geometrical product specification (GPS) – surface texture: profile method – terms,
definitions and surface texture parameters. International Organization of Standardization, Geneva
ISO 4288 (1996) Geometrical product specification (GPS) – surface texture: profile method – rules
and procedures for the assessment of surface texture. International Organization of Standardiza-
tion, Geneva
ISO 16610 part 21 (2011) Geometrical product specifications (GPS) – filtration – part 21: linear
profile filters: gaussian filters. International Organization of Standardization, Geneva
ISO 25178 part 2 (2012) Geometrical product specification (GPS) – surface texture: areal – part 2:
terms, definitions and surface texture parameters. International Organization for Standardization,
Geneva
ISO 25178 part 3 (2012) Geometrical product specification (GPS) – surface texture: areal – part 3:
specification operators. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva
Leach RK (2011) Optical measurement of surface topography. Springer, Berlin
Leach RK (2013) Characterisation of areal surface texture. Springer, Berlin
Leach RK (2014) Fundamental principles of engineering nanometrology, vol 2. Elsevier,
Amsterdam
Leach RK, Weckenmann A, Coupland JM, Hartmann W (2014) Interpreting the probe-surface
interaction of surface measuring instruments, or what is a surface? Surf Topogr Metrol Prop
2:035001

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Mainsah E, Greenwood JA, Chetwynd DG (2010) Metrology and properties of engineering sur-
faces. Kluwer, Boston
Thomas TR (2014) Roughness and function. Surf Topogr Metrol Prop 2:014001
Whitehouse DJ (2010) Handbook of surface and nanometrology, vol 2. CRC Press, Boca Raton

Page 4 of 4
M
Modeling in Cutting
P. J. Arrazola
Faculty of Engineering, Manufacturing
Department, Mondragon Unibertsitatea, Arrasate-
Mondragon, Gipuzkoa, Spain
Synonyms
Simulation of Machining Processes
Definition
Modeling of machining processes is the compe-
tence of predicting the influence of input cutting
parameters on output variables such as
(i) fundamental variables and (ii) industrial rele-
vant outcomes. Fundamental variables are forces,
temperatures, strains, strain rates, stresses, and
pressures. Industrial relevant outcomes include
tool life, surface roughness, surface integrity, dis-
tortion, stability, and burrs.
In order to predict the abovementioned out-
puts, different modeling approaches can be
employed. For years, analytical and empirical
models were the most commonly used. Recently,
numerical and artificial intelligence (AI)-based
methods are gaining relevance with the increase
in computing power. The reason for this is the
capability of computers to deal with complex
# CIRP 2014
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16800-1
problems such as tool–chip contact and material
nonlinearities.
Theory and Application
Modeling Overview
During machining, very complex mechanical,
thermal, and chemical phenomena occur. Due to
this, and although several significant advances
have been made on the knowledge of cutting
processes, there are still many issues that remain
not well understood. That is, tool-life, surface
finish, subsurface integrity, chip-form/chip
breakability, burr formation, part accuracy, etc.
In recent years it has been shown that modeling
can provide a more comprehensive and, in some
cases, complementary approach to experimental
methods (Arrazola et al. 2013). Modeling offers
the capability to predict what could happen during
the material removal process. This enables the
design and modification of process input parame-
ters beforehand in order to reduce or eliminate
problems that may arise during machining opera-
tions. These predictive models could be
(i) integrated into process planning systems to
improve productivity and enhance product quality
and (ii) used also in adaptive control for machin-
ing processes, reducing, and/or eliminating trial-
and-error approaches.
Figure 1 summarizes the basic modeling struc-
ture, where three main parts can be observed:
2 Modeling in Cutting
Modeling in Cutting, Fig. 1 Basic scheme for modeling of machining processes
(i) input parameters, (ii) models, and (iii) output
parameters.
Scales in Modeling
Depending on the problem to be studied, model-
ing of machining processes can be focused on
different scales (Fig. 2):
• Macroscale: Models that take into account
machine tool, workpiece, and tool including
their fixture system and toolholder (Urresti
et al. 2009). In this scale prediction of distor-
tions is the main goal.
• Mesoscale: Models which consider the area
where the chip is formed. With this scale it is
possible to predict cutting forces, tool temper-
atures, burr formation, tool wear, and changes
in the microstructure (Klocke and Frank 2006;
Umbrello et al. 2010).
• Microscale: Models that study the influence of
the microstructure, grain boundaries, and crys-
talline plasticity during chip formation
(Umbrello et al. 2010; Abouridouane
et al. 2012; Zhang et al. 2012). In this scale
prediction of machinability rates and material
damage is the main goal.
However, issues like surface integrity may
require more than one scale. For example, in turn-
ing it is necessary to simulate more than one
revolution in order to obtain an accurate residual
stress profile (Valiorgue et al. 2012). In such cases
where more than one scale is needed, hybrid
modeling could be a promising strategy.
The scale of the analyzed phenomena affects
the model minimum specifications. In general it
could be said that, while in microscale, a fully
coupled chemical thermomechanical model is
desirable, in mesoscale a coupled thermome-
chanical model is necessary, and in macroscale
an uncoupled model could be enough.
Types of Modeling
Models can be classified in several types:
Modeling in Cutting
Modeling in Cutting, Fig. 2 Scales in modeling of machining (Wang and Jawahir 2007; Zhang et al. 2012)
• Analytical models, including slip-line models,
can directly predict cutting forces, friction in
the local cutting zones, stresses, residual
stresses, strains, strain rates, and temperatures.
However, the complexity of the process still
makes it difficult to predict analytically the
principal industry-relevant outcomes, since
they are mainly developed for 2D analysis
(Wang and Jawahir 2007).
• Numerical models (finite element modeling
(FEM), finite difference methods, meshless
techniques, etc.) are based on continuum
mechanics. They are able to predict nonlinear
problems more effectively than analytical
models, and thus they can take into account
issues such as complex tool–chip contact, and
material behavior. The computational cost and
reliable material data are the major limitations
of these models. Although there are some
developments in 3D, most of the progress has
been made in 2D. Due to the extensive com-
putational demands, it was not until the late
3
1990s that numerical methods became a useful
and practical tool (Klocke and Frank 2006).
• Commercial software packages exist in the
market. They provide an interface to facilitate
the entry of process parameters, without the
necessity for the end user to understand the
mathematical theory of finite element method
(see Fig. 3).
• Empirical models are the simplest approach
and are widely used in the absence of other
meaningful models. Empirical models often
utilize statistical methods and are only valid
for the ranges of the experiments conducted.
They are practical and able to estimate indus-
trially relevant outcomes. The major drawback
is that they need extensive experimentation,
and thus their development becomes time-
consuming and costly.
• Hybrid modeling is based on the combination
of some of the analytical, numerical, empirical,
or artificial intelligence (AI)-based methods.
They can be used to predict industry-relevant
process performance measures, taking the
4 Modeling in Cutting
Modeling in Cutting, Fig. 3 DEFORM 3D. Example of
two different software analysis results: (a) Inconel turning
(Vc = 30 m
min1, f = 0.4 mm
rev1), (b) AdvantEdge
advantages of each method and searching for a
better and quicker prediction (Valiorgue
et al. 2012).
Current State of the Art
To the present day, modeling of orthogonal cut-
ting continues to dominate research activities in
machining modeling due to its simplicity. Most
research focuses on calculating the fundamental
physical variables in the chip formation process in
orthogonal cutting conditions (2D) (Stage I in
Fig. 1), while the end goal is prediction of
industry-relevant outcomes in 3D (Stage II in
Fig. 1).
Understanding the interactions between input
parameters and the resulting fundamental process
variables (Stage I in Fig. 2) is an active research
area. Obtaining a universal and quantitatively
accurate chip formation model remains a major
challenge. Thus, Stage II outcomes are the end
goal, while efforts in predicting Stage I variables
still continue.
Model Parameter Identification
The fact that the results obtained are often uncer-
tain is due to the uncertainty of input parameters,
one of the major shortcomings in modeling so far.
Modeling of chip formation requires the values of
several parameters to model the different phenom-
ena appearing in the process, e.g., (i) flow stress,
conductivity, specific heat and inelastic heat frac-
tion for material behavior, and (ii) friction, ther-
mal conductance, and heat partition coefficients
3D. Titanium turning (Vc = 55 m
min1,
f = 0.15 mm
rev1)
for tool–chip contact behavior. At the macroscale
bulk residual stress values are required.
To obtain accurate results, these parameters
should be identified in similar conditions to those
in machining, i.e., high strain (1–4), strain rate
(104 s 1 –106 s 1), temperature (1000–1400 K),
and temperature rate (106–107 K
s 1). However,
in most cases (e.g., workpiece flow stress and
tool–chip friction identification), it is a difficult
task because the available experimental equipment
is not able to reproduce these conditions.
An alternative approach is to use inverse iden-
tification. This is a combination of machining tests
and numerical modeling, so as to obtain a
corrected law, but this approach may not always
result in a single solution (Özel and Davim 2009),
unless the appropriate methodology is employed.
Prediction of Fundamental Variables (Stage I)
Certain fundamental physical variables, such as
forces, temperatures, stresses, strains, and strain
rates in 2D and 3D, can be predicted with mech-
anistic, analytical, and numerical models
(Arrazola et al. 2013). Although it is still not
possible to measure some variables (e.g., stresses
at the cutting tool), FEM does provide quantita-
tive values, which offer a useful insight. The pre-
diction of thermal and stress fields by the use of
analytical slip-line models, finite different
methods, and numerical models is a key issue in
machining for developing cutting tools or compo-
nents with longer fatigue life.
Modeling in Cutting
Predictive Performance Model Development
(Stage II)
Chip Formation The prediction of chip geome-
try has been a key research area in recent years
which chip breakability of great interest to indus-
try. Although analytical, empirical, and 2D and
3D FEM models have been developed, chip
breakability prediction is based in most cases on
empirical models (Fang et al. 2001). The impact
of serrated chip formation on chip morphology
has also been analyzed by the use of finite element
methods (Sima and Özel 2010).
Surface Integrity Residual stresses of machined
components directly affect fatigue life. Many
studies have been carried out on the machining
process of Ti- and Ni-based alloys with the aim of
predicting residual stress profiles.
Phase transformation due to severe thermome-
chanical conditions of the machining process is a
key study of machining modeling. Complex phe-
nomena such as subsurface layer modifications
(Umbrello et al. 2010), dynamic recrystalliza-
tions, and phase transformations are of particular
interest to researchers.
The surface quality of machined components is
largely determined by their surface topography
and roughness. Analytical modeling is one of the
areas where promising results have been obtained.
The prediction of surface roughness for different
processes, such as turning and milling including
vibrations, has obtained good results compared to
empirical tests (Jawahir et al. 2011).
Microstructure Many studies have focused on
the influence of the microstructure in the bulk
material on the machining outputs. Heteroge-
neous modeling, where the microstructure in the
material is physically modeled, is able to deter-
mine cutting forces with better agreement than
homogeneous models (Abouridouane
et al. 2012) in chip morphology and surface
defects.
Advanced studies where the modeled micro-
structure reflects the internal dislocations, sliding
planes of the phases, and grain boundary effect are
considered key research areas (Zhang et al. 2012).
5
Burr Formation In recent years, predicting and
understanding burr formation has received much
attention. Finite-element models is employed for
simulation of burr formation for operations rang-
ing from drilling and milling to turning (Leopold
and Wohlgemuth 2009).
Tool Life/Tool Wear Tool-wear affects work-
piece quality significantly. Consequently, tool-
wear prediction and tool substitution policy are
very important for minimizing the machining
costs and optimizing performance. By character-
izing the tool-workpiece contact pair and using
wear rate phenomenological models as a base,
researchers have developed new wear rate models
combining inverse analysis and finite element
method. Updating the tool geometry by nodal
movements, the impact of the wear in the tools,
can be shown (Klocke and Frank 2006).
Machining Stability Vibrations and chatter are
two of the major problems experienced in the
machining industry. The cutting forces excite the
structural dynamics and lead to relative vibrations
between the cutting edge and workpiece. Machin-
ing vibrations are classified as either forced vibra-
tions or chatter and may have a negative impact on
the tolerance and surface quality of the workpiece.
Machining stability through the use of mechanis-
tic models is one of the areas where relevant
advances have been carried out during recent
years, predicting process windows to increase
productivity (Altintas and Weck 2004).
Part Distortion One of the major requirements
in machining processes is the prediction of com-
ponent distortions that occur largely due to bulk
and surface residual stresses. The main goal is to
predict distortions occurring during multi-
operation machining of industrial components
(Urresti et al. 2009) in order to define a suitable
machining strategy and cutting parameters.
Future Needs on Modeling
The following are considered the future needs for
modeling enhancement:
6 Modeling in Cutting
• Further development of physics-based models
is strongly recommended to assist understand-
ing of machining processes. Such models,
however, imply considerable computational
costs, and thus multi-scale modeling is needed
to capture process physics.
• Significant progress has been made in
predicting fundamental variables, but progress
in model development has been limited.
Models of industry-relevant outcomes such as
residual stresses, tool wear, component distor-
tions, etc. need to be developed.
• A move from 2D to 3D model development is
needed which again will imply considerable
computational costs. The use of hybrid model-
ing could solve this problem.
• Reliable data for material and tool–chip con-
tact behavior (i.e., more realistic material and
contact laws and advanced parameter identifi-
cation) is required to solve issues such as
machinability.
• There is a need for “calibration” in all case
studies in order to obtain accurate quantitative
predictions. However, modeling is robust
enough for predicting trends.
• It is strongly recommended that future model-
ing studies identify and provide information
about the expected uncertainty in results.
• Process Chain Modeling is required in order to
include prior manufacturing processes effects.
For instance, more information about bulk
residual stresses in forming will help establish
a greater degree of accuracy in machining.
• New numerical methods such as meshless
techniques, which prevent problems with
severe mesh distortions, should be taken into
account as an alternative modeling option.
• Innovative cutting tools, including advanced
coatings, tool grades, and complex geometry,
and cutting fluid effects should be considered
in future modeling efforts.
Cross-References
▶ Broaching
▶ Chatter Prediction
▶ Chip-Forms, Chip Breakability, and Chip
Control
▶ Computer-Aided Process Planning
▶ Computer-Integrated Manufacturing
▶ Cutting Temperature
▶ Cutting, Fundamentals
▶ Drilling
▶ Flow Stress, Flow Curve
▶ Gear Cutting
▶ Grinding
▶ Grinding Monitoring
▶ Machinability
▶ Modeling of Face Milling
▶ Molecular Dynamics for Cutting Processes
▶ Simulation of Manufacturing Systems
References
Abouridouane M, Klocke F, Lung D, Adams O (2012)
A new 3D multiphase FE model for micro cutting
Ferritic–Pearlitic carbon steels. CIRP Ann Manuf
Technol 61(1):71–74
Altintas Y, Weck M (2004) Chatter stability in metal cut-
ting and grinding. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
53(2):619–642, Key Note Paper of STC-M
Arrazola P-J, Özel T, Umbrello D, Davies M, Jawahir IS
(2013) Recent advances in modelling of metal machin-
ing processes. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 62:695–718
Fang N, Jawahir IS, Oxley PLB (2001) A universal slip-
line model with non-unique solutions for machining
with curled chip formation and a restricted contact
tool. Int J Mech Sci 43:557–580
Jawahir IS, Brinksmeier E, M’Saoubi R, Aspinwall DK,
Outeiro JC, Meyer D, Umbrello D, Jayal AD
(2011) Surface integrity in material removal processes:
recent advances. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
60(2):603–626
Klocke F, Frank P (2006) Simulation of tool wear in hard
turning. In: Proceding of the 9th CIRP international
workshop on modelling of machining operations,
Bled, 11–12 May 2006, pp 499–506
Leopold J, Wohlgemuth R (2009) Modelling and simula-
tion of burr formation: state-of-the-art and future
trends. In: Conference on burrs, analysis, control and
removal, Kaiserslautern (Germany): University of
Kaiserslautern
Özel T, Davim P (2009) Intelligent machining. Wiley,
London. ISBN 9781848211292
Sima M, Ozel T (2010) Modified material constitutive
models for serrated chip formation simulations and
experimental validation in machining of titanium
alloy Ti–6Al–4V. Int J Mach Tool Manuf 50:943–960
Umbrello D, Outeiro JC, M’Saoubi R, Jayal AD, Jawahir
IS (2010) A numerical model incorporating the
Modeling in Cutting
microstructure alteration for predicting residual stresses
in hard machining of AISI 52100 steel. CIRP Ann
Manuf Technol 59(1):113–116
Urresti I, Nikov S, Brown P, Arrazola PJ (2009) Aerospace
gas turbine disc distortion modelling: machining
sequence optimization. In: 12th CIRP conference on
modelling machining operations, San Sebastian
Valiorgue F, Rech J, Hamdi H, Gilles P, Bergheau JM
(2012) 3D modelling of residual stresses induced in
7
finish turning of an AISI 304L stainless steel. Int
J Mach Tool Manuf 53:77–90
Wang X, Jawahir IS (2007) Recent advances in plasticity
applications in metal machining: slip-line models for
machining with rounded cutting edge restricted contact
grooved tools. Int J Mach Mach Mater 2:347–360
Zhang Y, Mabrouki T, Nelias D, Courbon C, Rech J, Gong
Y (2012) Cutting simulation capabilities based on crys-
tal plasticity theory and discrete cohesive elements.
J Mater Process Technol 212(4):936–953
CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16801-1
# CIRP 2014

Tailored Blanks
Marion Merklein*
LFT, Institute of Manufacturing Technology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universit€at Erlangen-N€urnberg, Erlangen, Germany

Synonyms
Patchwork blanks; Tailor heat treated blanks; Tailor rolled blanks; Tailor welded blanks; Forming
blanks; Production of tailored blanks

Definition
The collective term tailored blanks characterizes semifinished sheet metal products that are opti-
mized for a subsequent forming operation or the final application. They are distinguished by a local
variation of the sheet thickness, coating, or material properties. Based on the production process,
tailored blanks can be categorized in four different groups (Fig. 1): joining of different blanks by a
welding process (tailor welded blanks), locally reinforcement of a base material (patchwork blanks),
creating a continuous variation of the sheet thickness by a rolling process (tailor rolled blanks), and
adapting the mechanical properties by local heat treatment (tailor heat treated blanks). The devel-
opment of tailored blanks is closely linked to the trend toward lightweight constructions. With the
first three types, a weight reduction can be realized by reinforcing only areas where special demands
exist in the final application. In contrast to this, tailor heat treat blanks are mainly used to enhance the
formability of modern lightweight materials like aluminum alloys or high-strength steels (Merklein
et al. 2014).

Tailor Welded Blanks

Tailor welded blanks are the most frequently applied version type of tailored blanks. Their specific
characteristic is that different semifinished plates are joined together, which are, for example,
distinguished by their chemical composition, topography, sheet thickness, or mechanical properties.
The components are connected by a welding process – often laser or mash seam welding is used. For
joining of different material like aluminum and steel, the friction stir welding process is applied
(Zadpoor et al. 2007).
By a suitable design and selection of the blank partners, both the forming and utilization
properties can be improved. Moreover, the amount of components can be reduced by the integration
of several functions into one blank. The most challenging within the application of the technology is
the design and the positioning of the welding zone. Generally, the welding zone should be positioned
in areas which are not critical for the forming process. However, several publications confirmed that,
based on a comprehensive material characterization in combination with advanced simulation
methods, the influence of the weld seam on the formability can be predicted very well (Qiu and

*Email: marion.merklein@fau.de

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Fig. 1 Classification of tailored blanks (Merklein et al. 2014)

Chen 2007). The weld seam can be linear or nonlinear. Blanks with a nonlinear weld seam are also
called engineered blanks (WISCO Tailored Blanks GmbH 2014).
Tailor welded blanks are not only used in conventional forming processes but also in combination
with advanced technologies like hydroforming or hot stamping. Moreover, they can be utilized as
pre-products for the manufacturing of tailored tubes.
Tailor welded blanks are already applied within large-scale production in several industrial fields,
especially in the automotive sector, e.g., car side panels, car doors, wheel arches, side members, and
floors (ArcelorMittal 2014). The disadvantage of the technology is on the one hand the huge effort
for the production and the welding of the semifinished plated. On the other hand, the welding seams
lead to challenges concerning the heat affected zone, the corrosion resistance, and the optical surface
quality (Merklein et al. 2014).

Patchwork Blanks
Very similar to tailor welded blanks are patchwork blanks, which are also produced by a joining
operation. Thereby, a base material is reinforced by an additional blank in areas with high strains/
demands (Streitberger and Dössel 2008). Consequently, the blanks are connected by an overlap
joint. This leads to two important advantages. On the one hand, the production of cutouts in the base
material is not necessary and therefore waste can be reduced. On the other hand, lower shape
accuracy can be accepted, because a perfect fit of the geometries is not required. These advantages
allow also the production of very complex parts and the reinforcement of only small areas. For the
joining of the different blanks, laser and spot welding technologies are used. Based on the plane
connection between the blanks, also an adhesive bonding is possible. Thereby, a high corrosion
resistance and a vibration damping effect can be realized (Petitjean et al. 2001). Moreover, there is no
influence on the mechanical properties. Similar to tailor welded blanks, the design of the patch
geometry and the weld seam is very important, and patchwork blanks are also already used in series
productions.
The main disadvantage of patchwork blanks is very high stresses that can occur at the spot-welded
connections and can even lead to fracture. Moreover, based on the locally varying thickness

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Fig. 2 Flexible rolling process for longitudinal thickness variation (Kopp et al. 2005)

distribution, the forming operation is much more difficult in comparison to homogeneous blanks
(Merklein et al. 2014).

Tailor Rolled Blanks

Another possibility to manufacture sheets with a certain thickness distribution is via a rolling process
(Fig. 2). In contrast to tailor welded blanks and patchwork blanks, these tailor rolled blanks have a
continuous transition between the thick and thin areas. Therefore, no stress peaks are generated by
sudden thickness transitions leading to good formability. In tailor rolled blanks, any thickness
transitions are possible; hence, there is an exact adaption to the load in the application. Furthermore,
tailor rolled blanks show a better surface quality because they do not contain a weld seam. The
production costs are independent of the number of thickness transitions, but the flexible rolling
process itself is very elaborate since the roll gap is adjusted online. Due to the rolling process, the
sheets have locally different material properties caused by the differing strain hardening. This leads,
for example, to inhomogeneous springback behavior in the material. Therefore, in a simulation of
tailor rolled blanks, the different thicknesses as well as the different material properties have to be
regarded. The determination of the desired thickness distribution of the tailor rolled blank or strip is
driven by a minimization of deflection and a reduction of weight in comparison to the conventional
product (Kopp et al. 2005).
Tailor rolled blanks can be combined with press hardening process (Horvath et al. 2011). Also the
production of tailored tube for hydroforming operations is possible (Groche and Mirtsch 2012). In
contrast to tailor welded blanks, tailor rolled blanks show a good formability since the thickness
transition is continuous. They have a high flexibility in number and position of thickness transitions.

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Another advantage is their better surface quality because they exhibit no weld seam. However, the
rolling process leads to varying internal stresses depending on the sheet thickness (Merklein
et al. 2014).

Tailor Heat Treated Blanks

Tailor welded, tailor rolled, and patchwork blanks are mainly produced to improve the properties of
the parts for their final application. In many cases, the forming process of tailored blanks is even
more difficult compared to conventional blanks because of the inhomogeneous thicknesses or
strength distribution. In contrast, the aim of tailor heat treat blanks is to improve the formability
of the products. That is, in particular, important for modern lightweight materials such as high-
strength steels or aluminum alloys. In general, the formability of these materials is limited, and,
consequently, the realization of modern brand-specific product design characterized by high draw-
ing depth, sharp edges, and small radii is difficult (Geiger et al. 2004).
Tailor heat treated blanks are blanks that exhibit local different mechanical properties that are
optimized for the subsequent forming operation. Based on the interaction of soft and hard areas the
material flow during forming can be improved the can be improved, and the forming limit can be
enhanced (Vollertsen and Lange 1998). The technology’s key idea is that the distribution of
properties is achieved by local heat treatment before the forming process (Fig. 3). In comparison
to conventional temperature-assisted approaches, the forming process is performed in cold condi-
tions. Consequently, a standard tool can be used and the complete procedure is significantly less
susceptible to failure.
In general, different technologies based on heat conduction, heat induction, and laser radiation can
be used for the blanks’ heat treatment. With heat conduction methods, a very homogenous and
robust heat treatment can be realized, and this is why this technology is suitable for very large
production series. A more flexible tool is necessary within research activities, prototype, or midscale

Fig. 3 Tailor heat treated blanks (Merklein et al. 2014)

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series. Based on the high flexibility of robot-controlled laser system, different blank geometries and
heat treatment layouts can be produced.
Most used materials are precipitation hardenable aluminum alloys and high-strength steel. The
complete process can be calculated by simulation. Challenging within the application is, in partic-
ular, the heat treatment. The stability and robustness of the heat treatment have to be guaranteed, the
heat affected zone has to be kept in mind; and a suitable heat treatment layout and heating
technology has to be chosen. Moreover, an impairment of the final product properties caused by
the short-term heat treatment is contingently possible (Merklein et al. 2014).

References
ArcelorMittal (2014) http://www.arcelormittal.com/automotive/tailoredblanks/TB_products/Appli
cations. Accessed 23 Nov 2014
Geiger M, Merklein M, Kerausch M (2004) Finite element simulation of deep drawing of tailored
heat treated blanks. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 53(1):223–226
Groche P, Mirtsch M (2012) Tailored profiles made of tailor rolled strips by roll forming – part 2 of
2. Steel Res Int 83:106–114
Horvath CD, Sanders R, Eberlein W (2011) Comparisons of current concepts for press hardened
steel tailor welded blanks and tailor rolled blanks on center pillar reinforcements. SAE Technical
Paper 2011-01-1059, SAE 2011 World Congress and Exhibition. doi:10.4271/2011-01-1059
Kopp R, Wiedner C, Meyer A (2005) Flexibly rolled sheet metal and its use in sheet metal forming.
Adv Mater Res 6–8:81–92
Merklein M, Johannes M, Lechner M, Kuppert A (2014) A review on tailored blanks – production,
applications and evaluation. J Mater Process Technol 214(2):151–164
Petitjean P-D, Lescart J-C, Sener J-Y, Delfanne S (2001) Patchworks: from design to manufacture.
Rev Métall 98:911–926
Qiu XG, Chen WL (2007) The study of numerical simulation on the laser tailor welded blanks
stamping. J Mater Process Technol 187–188:128–131
Streitberger H-J, Dössel K-F (2008) Automotive paints and coatings. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim
Vollertsen F, Lange K (1998) Enhancement of drawability by local heat treatment. CIRP Ann Manuf
Technol 47(1):181–184
WISCO TAILORED BLANKS GmbH (2014) http://www.tailored-blanks.com/en/products.php.
Accessed 26 Nov 2014
Zadpoor AA, Sinke J, Benedictus R (2007) Mechanics of tailor welded blanks: an overview. Key
Eng Mater 344:373–382

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Billet Shearing
Bernd-Arno Behrens*
Institute of Forming Technology and Machines (IFUM), Leibniz Universit€at Hannover (LUH), Garbsen, Germany

Synonyms
Cropping; Shear cutting; Shearing

Definition
Billet shearing is a chipless production process of raw parts for bulk metal-forming operations by
cutting semifinished products as bars and wires into billets.

Process
In the production of steel raw parts for bulk metal-forming operations, billet shearing is the most
applied and productive method (Doege et al. 1986). The material lossless process is characterized by
a good automation capacity, high production rates, short cycle times of 1 part per second or less, and
high profitability in processing diameters up to 120 mm of steel material (Doege and Behrens 2007).
Compared to sawing processes shearing is inferior with respect to the achievable billet quality but
clearly superior concerning productivity (Oudin and Ravalard 1978). While the profile of the
processed semifinished products is mostly circular or square shaped, shearing of multi-edged
profiles or tubes is also possible. The shearing process is firmly established in processing steel
materials. Shearing of nonferrous metals, like aluminum or copper, is possible in general but still
challenging concerning achievable billet qualities (Behrens et al. 2013). Shearing processes were
mainly carried out at room temperature. There are also strategies for shearing semifinished products
heated up to forging temperatures.

Shearing Procedure
In a shearing operation two shear blades move past each other, so that a billet is cut off a remaining
bar. A shearing operation with a conventional tool adjustment is shown in Fig. 1.
The bar is clamped between the bar holder and the stationary bar blade plus the bar holder
abutment. The billet blade moves past the bar blade at a defined velocity and cuts the billet off the
remaining bar section. The two blades were arranged with a defined shear clearance, which is one of
the most important process parameters in billet shearing. The position of the billet blade and the
respective shearing force progression during different stages of a shearing operation are shown in
Fig. 2.

*Email: behrens@ifum.uni-hannover.de

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Fig. 1 Principle shearing procedure (Scheuermann 1974)

Fig. 2 Stages of shearing operation and respective shearing force (Hartke 1987)

At the beginning of the shearing operation, the moving billet blade sets down on the bar, which
causes elastic and plastic deformation of the bar material after compensating settling effects and
bearing play of the machine (Fig. 2a). Afterwards, both shearing blades penetrate the bar material
and create smooth cut surfaces on the front ends of the billet and bar (Fig. 2b). Plastic deformation
occurs in an increasing area until the deformability of the material is exceeded which causes an
increasing amount of pores in the area of wide plastic deformation. The continuous enlargement of
pore sizes with an involved increasing notch effect induces microscopic cracks, finally forming an
aligned fraction line between the two cutting areas. The billet is separated from the remaining bar
section by brittle fracture (Fig. 2c). The characteristic appearance of a billet with cut and fracture
surface is thus created and shown in Fig. 3.
The accruing shearing force FS can be calculated according to (Lange 1988):

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Fig. 3 Sheared billet of AISI 4140 (42CrMo4)

F S ¼ AS  k S (1)

where AS is the cross-sectional area of the billet and kS is the material-specific shear resistance,
resulting from the tensile strength of the billet material:

k S ¼ 0:7 . . . 0:8  Rm (2)

The applied shearing force and the set shear clearance result in a torque, which causes a force acting
perpendicular to the shear force in the axial direction of the bar. This axial force can be estimated to
average between 15 % and 20 % of the applied shearing force (Zabel 1964).

Surface Properties
Sheared billets show different types of procedural defects influencing the shearing quality. The
defects occurring on sheared billets are listed in Table 1 in descending order of occurrence. The shear
clearance, which can be set as a machinery parameter, has the highest impact on the reachable
shearing quality. Furthermore, the shear rate influences the shearing behavior of steel materials. An
increase in shear rate reduces the formation of plastic deformations on sheared billets considerably.

Billet Shearing Machines

The use of shearing machines has been established for the process of billet shearing in industrial
production. Conventional shearing machines differ concerning their types of drive units. Hydrau-
lically driven shearing machines provide the shearing force by building up pressure inside a
hydraulic work cylinder. The force adjustment of these machines is very precise and is available
throughout the entire stroke of the shear slide, which qualifies these machines for processing
semifinished products with large diameters. Shearing machines can as well be equipped with a
mechanic drive system. The movement of the machine slide is provided by a rotating eccentric shaft,
which enables higher slide velocities, shear rates, and productivity on this type of machine (Doege
and Behrens 2007). Industrial shearing machines are mostly equipped with an automated feeding
unit, providing the supply of bars. Furthermore, a weighting system is integrated, which enables a
quality assurance step of the sheared billet accuracy during the process. An alternative to shearing

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Table 1 Defects on sheared billets (Br€aunlich 1987)

Defect description
1. Unevenness of the shear plane
2. Angle of inclination C
Influence
(a) Shear rate
(b) Shear clearance
(c) Hardness of the bar
(d) Sharpness of the cutting edge
(e) Gap between bar and blade
(a) Shear clearance
(b) Gap between bar and blade

3. Distortion (a) Shear clearance

a = length (b) Sharpness of the cutting edge
b = depth

4. Pressure zone deformation (a) Support of the section

a = length (b) Gap between bar and blade
b = depth

5. Cut/crack ratio = a/b (a) Shear rate

a = cut plane (b) Sharpness of the cutting edge
b = crack plane

6. Earing (a) Shear clearance

7. Tongue (a) Shear rate

(b) Shear clearance
(c) Sharpness of the cutting edge
8. Fracture (a) Shear rate
(b) Shear clearance

operations at room temperature is a shearing unit, processing bar material at forging temperature as a
first stage of a forming process chain. In forging processes for the production of large batch sizes,
multistage presses provide this particular shearing stage as a preprocess integrated in the press.
These machines are able to process entire bars, while conventional presses need to be supplied with
billets produced in an additional production step (Lange 1988).
In addition to conventionally operated shearing machines, special drive techniques have been
developed. The principle of high-speed impact cutting (HSIC), also referred to as adiabatic shearing,
shows procedural advantages concerning achievable shearing qualities (IFCG 1982). During shear-
ing with high shear rates up to 10 m/s, a high amount of heat is generated in the shearing zone. Due to
the high velocity of the impact force, the temperature increases so fast that it cannot be diverted from
the shearing zone, thus causing a softening effect of the bar material and therefore a reduction of the
required shearing energy. Due to the required impact energy on the shearing blades, HSIC machines
are based on a different drive principle than conventional shearing machines. The shearing energy is
accumulated in a system of laminated springs being tensioned and thus transferring the energy
abruptly to the shearing slide within every process cycle (Rauschnabel 2012). Furthermore, special

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shearing methods like shearing under axial compression load, rotating bending shearing, low-impact
stress shearing, and shearing using torque or lateral compressive stress have been developed to
achieve higher billet qualities (Simionato et al. 2008).

References
Behrens B-A, Lippold L, Knigge J (2013) Investigations of the shear behaviour of aluminum alloys.
Prod Eng 7(2–3):319–328
Br€aunlich B (1987) Kn€ uppelscheren und Schneidlinien aus Erfurt, Umformtechnik, Band 21, Heft
5, S. 208–217
Doege E, Behrens B-A (2007) Handbuch Umformtechnik – Grundlagen, Technologien, Maschinen.
Springer, Berlin
Doege E, Hartke G, Fleischer H (1986) Precision of weight and shape with sheared billets. CIRP
Ann Manuf Technol 35(1):189–194
Hartke G (1987) Volumengenaue Kn€ uppelabschnitte durch Scherschneiden. Fortschritts-Bericht
VDI Reihe 2 Nr. 134. VDI Verlag, D€ usseldorf
IFCG (1982) Cropping of steel bar – its mechanism and practice. International Cold Forging Group/
Portcullis Press Paris (France)
Lange K (1988) Umformtechnik: Handbuch f€ ur Industrie und Wissenschaft, Band 2:
Massivumformung. Springer, Berlin
Oudin J, Ravalard Y (1978) The experimental and theoretical analysis of plastic flow during the
closed-die cropping of rectangular bars. Int J Mech Sci 21:63–70
Rauschnabel E (2012) Hochgeschwindigkeitstrennen von Massivst€aben und Rohren mittels einer
adiabatischen Trennanlage. IFUTEC GmbH, Karlsbad
Scheuermann H (1974) Untersuchung des Eigenspannungszustandes gescherter Abschnitte von
Stahlkn€uppeln. Dissertation der TU Hannover
Simionato M, Ghiotti A, Bruschi S (2008) Billet cropping numerical modelling: an approach based
on inverse analysis. Int J Mater Form 1(Suppl 1):33–36, Springer
Zabel H (1964) Zerteilen metallischer Stangen durch Abscheren. Dissertation, TH Hannover

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Cross Wedge Rolling

Bernd-Arno Behrens*
Institute of Forming Technology and Machines (IFUM), Leibniz Universit€at Hannover (LUH), Garbsen, Germany

Synonyms
Cross wedge rolling; Flashless; Forming; Preforming

Definition
Cross wedge rolling is a forming process for reshaping circular cylindrical billets to plastic rotationally
symmetrical workpieces with variable diameter in axial direction using two oppositely moving wedge-
shaped tools. While in cross rolling the rolled material is passed through two or more rolls to reduce the
overall thickness of the parts, in cross wedge rolling, the wedges of the tools lead to an unequal mass
distribution along the main axis. It is mostly used for preforming, but also some shafts are formed entirely
by cross wedge rolling. Depending on the tool geometry, three different process variants can be
distinguished:

• Cross wedge rolling with convex curved tools rotating in the same direction
• Cross wedge rolling with a fixed concave tool and a rotating convex tool
• Cross wedge rolling with two flat wedge tools linearly moving in opposite directions

The geometry and arrangement of the tools of the three different process variations for cross wedge
rolling are shown in Fig. 1 (Lange 1988).

Theory and Application

Advantages of Cross Wedge Rolling
The main advantages of the cross wedge rolling technology in comparison to other preforming technol-
ogies are:

• High productivity
• Material utilization of up to 100 %
• Low operating costs
• Less energy consumption
• Better product quality (compared to machining or casting)
• Very high cross-sectional reduction with high angles
• High geometrical tolerances
• Easy tool and machine concept

*Email: behrens@ifum.uni-hannover.de

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Fig. 1 Process variants for cross wedge rolling according to Lange (1988)

Although the cross wedge rolling technology has a lot of advantages, it has not been widely accepted
throughout the forging community. One of the main reasons is the complexity of cross wedge rolling tools
and process design. The tool design is difficult because of potential failure mechanisms that can be
encountered during cross wedge rolling processes. The risk of faulty manufactured parts increases even
more for cross wedge rolling parts with complex shapes.

Geometrical Parameters of Cross Wedge Rolling Tools and Billets

Cross wedge rolling tools, round or flat wedge tool design, are divided into different forming zones, the
knifing zone, guiding zone, stretching zone, and sizing zone (Li et al. 2002). Most tools are designed with
only three zones (see Fig. 2); in this case, the guiding zone, between knifing and stretching zone, is
eliminated (Pater 2010). This reduces the tool length without reducing workpiece quality.
Regardless of process variants, the geometrical parameters of cross wedge tools are the forming angle
a, the wedge angle b, the workpiece diameter d0, the reduced diameter d, and the reduced cross-sectional
length 2 l. The angle a is located between the rolling plane and the forming plane. The angle b is situated
between the rolling direction and the shoulder plane and defines the forming progress during the rolling
process. An important rolling parameter is the cross-sectional reduction DA. If the cross-sectional
reduction is too high (DA > 70 %), two or more reduction steps are necessary, and if the cross-sectional
reduction is too low (DA < 20 %), a rolling process cannot be established.
The shoulder angle a, the wedge angle b, and the cross-sectional reduction DA are the most important
parameters for the design of the different forming zones. The form and length of the different forming
zones and therefore the dimension of the cross wedge rolling tool depend mostly on these parameters.
In the first zone – the knifing zone – a V-shaped cut is centered upon the billet. Within the subsequent
stretching zone, the central cut is dilated to a designated value and the billet is stretched in longitudinal
direction. Within the final sizing zone, the billet is, at least once, rotated around its longitudinal axis. Only
minimal forming is done in this zone in which the wedge sides are parallel and tolerances are adjusted

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Fig. 2 Flat cross wedge tool and corresponding workpiece

(Doege and Behrens 2010). The serrations on the wedge sides in the knifing and stretching zone are
necessary to enable a rotation of the billet. In cross wedge rolling operations, the serrations increase the
friction so that the billet rotates during the process. The use of lubrication in cross wedge rolling would be
counterproductive since it would interfere with the rotating of the billet. The serrations can leave marks on
the workpiece; therefore, the serrations end in the sizing zone, so that eventual marks can be removed.

Process Parameters in Cross Wedge Rolling

The main process parameters are billet temperature, tool temperature, and rolling speed. The billet
temperature depends on the material used, like in forging. Tool heating is used to reduce manufacturing
tolerances. Due to the heat transfer, the hot billets heat up the tools, causing them to expand during the
forming process and resulting in different end geometries. Furthermore, heated tools are needed to avoid a
cooling of the billet. Especially for parts with complex shapes, cooling is a challenge due to the long
contact time between billet and tool. Various heating concepts can be taken into consideration for tool
heating in cross wedge rolling: gas fired, infrared radiation, laser, or induction. A temperature reduction
impairs the formability of forged parts and therefore increases the risk of defectively manufactured parts.
The rolling speed affects the rolling quality of the billet. The lower the rolling speed, the lower is the risk
of improperly formed workpieces.
The geometrical and process parameters have to be in a specific size range in order to enable a
functional rolling process. Depending on the chosen parameter values, the tendency towards workpiece
failure can rise and fall (see Fig. 3).

Defects in Cross Wedge Rolling

Johnson and Mamalis (1977) distinguish between three categories of failure mechanisms: improperly
formed workpiece cross section, surface defects, and internal defects (see Fig. 4).
Li et al. have investigated defects occurring in cross wedge rolling (Li and Lovell 2008). Improperly
formed cross sections are characterized by compression of the workpiece without distributed material at
its axis (see Fig. 4a). If the workpiece has excessive slip, it fails to rotate, basically preventing the rolling
process which leads to an improperly formed cross section by merely compressing the workpiece. To
ensure the interfacial friction forces in all zones of the cross wedge rolling tool is one of the main
challenges in the development of a new cross wedge rolling process.
The second defect of cross wedge rolled parts is the surface defect (see Fig. 4b) occurring due to the
CWR tool design, e.g., the serrations of the wedges. The wedge can leave marks on the reduced part. The
serrations are machined onto the surface of cross wedge rolling wedges. These serrations can leave marks

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Fig. 3 Influence of process and geometrical parameters on cross wedge rolling defects

Fig. 4 Failure mechanisms in cross wedge rolling (Li and Lovell 2008)

on the surface of the cross wedge rolling parts. Parts with surface defects cannot be used in further
processing since the defects reduce the mechanical properties of the parts so that they do no longer meet
the surface requirements. Another possible surface defect is the final size of the cross wedge rolling parts.
Especially for flash-reduced final forming processes, the cross wedge rolling parts have to be in a small
range of tolerances. The production of cross wedge rolling parts with small tolerances depends on the roll
gap between the wedges. The roll gap changes during cross wedge rolling processes due to the heating of
the tools by the high billet temperatures.
Internal defects (see Fig. 4c) are cavities along the longitudinal axis in the workpiece. Especially for
mechanical products with high loads and high requirements on the microstructure, these cavities are a

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Fig. 5 Examples for cross wedge rolled parts (http://www.oms-spa.it)

problem, since they are weak points in the cross wedge rolling parts. Under high loads, the parts are likely
to fail at this point. The development of cavities during rolling processes is also known as the
Mannesmann effect. The Mannesmann effect occurs due to a combination of mechanical and thermal
loads on the part during rolling processes. Alternating tensile and pressure loads are the main reason for
the Mannesmann effect. Depending on the temperature of the billet, these loads exceed the formability of
the part so the cavities are formed. The Mannesmann effect is therefore a consequence of the chosen
process parameters and is especially critical for complex parts due to the high strain rate.

Cross Wedge Rolling Workpiece Materials

Nearly all metallic materials can be processed by cross wedge rolling. With the correct process design,
even brittle materials can be rolled without defects due to high tensile stress (Lange 1988). Industrially
manufactured rolled parts mainly consist of steel, e.g., 42CrMo4 and 38MnVS6. State of the art is rolling
at a temperature between 1.050  C and 1.250  C, the so-called hot forging. Latest research projects have
shown that cross wedge rolling is also possible in warm forging, at temperatures between 650  C and
950  C (Kache et al. 2011).
The use of aluminum alloys like EN AW-6082 and EN AW-7075 is less common. One major problem
in rolling aluminum is adhesion. While rolling aluminum parts, the material of the billet has the tendency
to stick to the surface of the tools. The experience in rolling titanium and other valuable materials is very
low due to the complex process design and tool layout. Acceptable tool geometries (e.g., forming, wedge
angle) depend on the rolled material.

Cross Wedge Rolling Workpiece Examples

See Fig. 5

References
Doege E, Behrens B-A (2010) Handbuch Umformtechnik: Grundlagen, Technologien, Maschinen [Metal
forming handbook: fundamentals, technologies, machines], 2nd edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg
(in German)
http://www.oms-spa.it. Last visited Nov 2014

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Johnson W, Mamalis AG (1977) A survey of some physical defects arising in metal working processes.
In: Proceedings of the 17th international MTDR conference, Birmingham, 20–24 Sept 1976. Macmil-
lan, London, pp 607–621
Kache H, Gruß D, Nickel R, (2011): Pioneering a New Forming Concept. In: Forging. Penton Media.
20(4):20–23
Lange K (1988) Umformtechnik Band 2: Massivumformung [Metal forming. Bd. 2: forging]. Springer,
Berlin u.a. (in German)
Li Q, Lovell M (2008) Cross wedge rolling failure mechanisms and industrial application. Int J Adv
Manuf Technol 37(3–4):265–278
Li Q, Lovell MR, Slaughter W, Tagavi K (2002) Investigation of the morphology of internal defects in
cross wedge rolling. J Mater Process Technol 125–126:248–257
Pater Z (2010) Development of cross-wedge-rolling: theory and technology. In: Steel research interna-
tional, Proceedings of the 13th international conference on metal forming, Toyohashi, 19–22 Sept
2010. Verlag Stahleisen, D€usseldorf, pp 346–349

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Forge Rolling
Bernd-Arno Behrens*
Institute of Forming Technology and Machines (IFUM), Leibniz Universit€at Hannover (LUH), Garbsen, Germany

Synonyms
Forge Rolling; Forging Roll; Forming; Hot Forge Rolling; Preforming; Reducer Rolling; Roll Forging

Definition
Forge rolling (also called roll forging or reducer rolling) is a longitudinal rolling process to reduce the
cross-sectional area of heated bars or billets by leading them between two contrary rotating roll segments,
which have at least one forming groove in it. Roll-forged workpieces feature varying cross sections along
the rolling direction. Material distribution is carried out by exchangeable roll segments. Multiple
corresponding rolling segment pairs are combined in a forming sequence. The steps of the sequence are
called “pass.” A variation of the segments allows for a different material distribution for each pass (Doege
and Behrens 2010). The shape of the workpiece is due to the negative shape of the roll segments (SMS
Meer GmbH 2014). Forge rolling processes are mainly used in the preforming procedure of a forging
sequence of long pieces. The principle of reducing the cross-sectional area of a workpiece is basically the
same as the one used by rolling mills to reduce billets to bars (Słuzalec 1984). Figure 1 shows the
schematic representation of a forge rolling process as well as a corresponding tool.

Theory and Application

Technical Process
The forging roll is designed to preform billets with either a round or a square cross-sectional area by
constantly reducing their cross-sectional area in every step, while the center distance of the rolling tool
usually remains constant (Gr€uning 1986). In contrast to cross wedge rolling, billets are supplied radially to
the rolling tool. The forming is realized by the various roll segments, which have at least one matching
groove. The cross-sectional areas of those segments usually feature a shape similar to oval, square, or
V shapes (Fig. 2; Fortanier 2012).
Depending on the application, machines can be operated continuously or stopped between the different
passes. For manufacturing long tapered workpieces, the machines usually operate intermittently
(Semiatin 2005). Figure 3a shows the forging sequence from a billet (I) to the finished workpiece
(V) including three passes of forge rolling (II–IV).
Usually after a preheating process, the workpieces are supplied successively to the various roll
segments. This procedure implies that the pieces have to be put out of the corresponding roll segment
for every further step. Depending on the machine, the pieces either have to be transferred around the
rolling machine to be front-loaded or, in case of bidirectional rolling machines, to be placed in the
following segment on the same side as the output (Kreisl 2010).

*Email: behrens@ifum.uni-hannover.de

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Fig. 1 Concept of forge rolling (Fritz and Schulze 2010) and example machine with different segments (Doege and Behrens
2010)

Fig. 2 Cross-sectional area of common segments

Fig. 3 (a) Forging sequence with 3 passes of forge rolling (Gr€uning 1986) and (b) workpiece handling between the passes
(Herbertz et al. 2013)

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The supply of the billets is realized by a handling device whose motion is initiated by a crank-rocker
arm which is mechanically connected to the roll motion. According to that, the pliers sequentially place
the heated pieces in the different roll segments. If necessary, the pliers rotate the pieces in an angle of 90
between the forge rolling steps. In applications with automatic workpiece, handling the segments of each
roll extends over an angle of 180 Fig. 3b (Weck 1998). This handling process is repeated according to the
number of passes.
In some mass production applications, the forge rolling procedure has been automated, but manual
operation is the most common practice (Semiatin 2005). According to SMS Meer GmbH, 25 % of all
forge rolling machines sold are automatic devices, while the other 75% are operated manually (SMS Meer
GmbH 2014). Figure 4 shows an automatic forge rolling machine, type ARWS.
Most forge rolling machines operate with a constant distance between the rolls, which is set up by screw
drives. However, it is also possible to adjust the distance between the rolls dynamically by hydraulic units
during one single rotation. Such a machine provides more flexibility and is produced by LASCO
Umformtechnik GmbH. It serves, for example, to produce tapered workpieces (Lasco Umformtechnik
2013).

Application
Basically any forgeable metal can be roll forged, too. Typical applications are hot forming processes of
steel and aluminum alloys, while process temperatures and heating times are the same as in die forging
processes (Semiatin 2005). Forge rolling is mainly used to preform long-scaled billets through targeted
mass distribution for parts such as crankshafts, connection rods, steering knuckles (with long arms), and
vehicle axles (Fig. 2). However, in only a few cases, forge rolling can be also used for finish forming
(Li et al. 2012). Examples for finish forming by forge rolling are table knife blades, hand shovels, and half

Fig. 4 Automatic forge rolling machine ARWS of SMS MeeR GmbH (Industrieverband Massivumformung e.V 2011)

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sections for aircraft propeller blades (Semiatin 2005). A wide range of sizes and shapes is producible by
forge rolling (e.g., crankshafts, table knifes) (Semiatin 2005; Fig. 5).

Advantages of Forge Rolling

• High productivity.
• High utilization rate of material (Fig. 6).
• Good material surface quality.
• Short cycle time and high production rates suited for mass production.
• Simple and small equipment structure.
• Long service life of the rolling dies.
• Low tool costs.
• Reduces required forces and flash in the finishing process.
• Reduces costs in subsequent forging operations.
• Improved grain flow and microstructure provide better mechanical properties compared to machined or
die-forged products (Li et al. 2012; Semiatin 2005).

Disadvantages of Forge Rolling

• Temperature variations in the billets may lead to unintentional mass variation in the roll-forged pieces
(very sensitive process).
• Forge rolling may only be used in an efficient way for long-scaled products (Herbertz et al. 2013).

Process Critical Issues

During the forming process varying forces, accelerations and as a consequence different tangential
velocities occur. These process parameters are neither exactly predictable nor do they remain constant
over the production period for the same type of billets and tools (Ruhrtaler-Gesenkschmiede (RG) 2007).
The widening is not negligible due to the small ratio of width to working length of the usually formed
billets. To avoid widening, the forge rolling process must be carried out in predetermined sequences of
segments. Favorable sequences of segments are, for example, oval-square-oval-square or square-oval-
square-oval (Fig. 3a; Dalheimer et al. 1974).

Fig. 5 Preforming sequences by forge rolling (SMS Meer GmbH 2014)

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Fig. 6 Material input with and without preforming (Lasco Umformtechnik 2006)

Tool design must consider the size alteration due to the heat loss during the forge rolling process (tool
and ambient temperatures are lower than the workpiece temperature). This shrinking has a major influence
on the workpiece quality and cannot be completely avoided (Dalheimer et al. 1974). In order to achieve
good manufacturing results, process parameters, such as tool and billet temperature, must be kept in a
narrow process window especially for aluminum forge rolling applications (Fortanier 2012).
Due to the process characteristics described above, narrowest manufacturing tolerances can only
partially be reached by forge rolling. This is the main reason why forge rolling is rarely used for finishing,
but mainly for preforming.

References
Dalheimer R et al (1974) Lehrbuch der Umformtechnik. Band 2 Massivumformung [Textbook forming.
Vol. 2: Forging] Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg. (in German)
Doege E, Behrens B-A (2010) Handbuch Umformtechnik. Grundlagen, Technologien, Maschinen [Metal
forming handbook: fundamentals, technologies, machines], 2nd edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg
(in German)
Fortanier E (2012) Vorformen spart Material [Preforming reduces material]. In UMFORMtechnik,
1/2012. http://www.umformtechnikmagazin.de/umformtechnik-fachartikel/vorformen-spart-mate
rial_19191_de/. Date of access 18 Nov 2014 (in German)

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Fritz AH, Schulze G (2010) Umformen [Forming]. In: Fritz AH, Schulze G (eds) Fertigungstechnik
[Production engineering], 9th edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, pp 411–492 (in German)
Gr€uning K (1986) Umformtechnik [Forming], 4th edn. Vieweg + Teubner Verlag, Wiesbaden
(in German)
Herbertz R, Hermanns H, Labs R (2013) Massivumformung kurz und b€ undig [Concise information on
forging]. Industrieverband Massivumformung e.V, Hagen http://www.massivumformung.de/
fileadmin/user_upload/8_Karriere/IMU_Fachbuch_2013.pdf. Date of Access 18 Nov 2014
(in German)
Industrieverband Massivumformung e.V. (2011) Basic knowledge. Forgings – significance, design,
production, application
Kreisl J (2010) Verfahren und Walzmaschine zum Reckwalzen eines Werkst€ ucks, Patent no. EP2316589
B1. [Process and rolling machine for forge rolling of billets] (in German)
Lasco Umformtechnik GmbH (2006) Querkeil- und Reckwalzen [Cross wedge and forge rolling]. http://
lasco.de/umformtechnik/media/archive4/umformtechnik/QKW.pdf. Date of access 18 Nov 2014
(in German)
Lasco Umformtechnik GmbH (2013) Innovative, flexible Walzverfahren in der Praxis [Innovative,
flexible rolling processes in practice]. In Lasco Upgrade, 16. Jg. 31/2013:4–5 http://lasco.de/
umformtechnik/media/archive2/upgrade/umformtechnik/UpGrade_No31_d.pdf. Date of access
18 Nov 2014 (in German)
Li R-X, Jiao S-H, J-l W (2012) Roll-forging technology of automotive front axle precision performing
and die design. IERI Procedia 2012(1):166–171
Ruhrtaler-Gesenkschmiede (RG) (2007) Kreative Automatisierungs-Lösung f€ ur Reckwalze und
Schmiedepresse [Creative automatization solution for forge rolling tools and forging presses]. In:
UMFORMtechnik, 3/2007. (in German) http://www.umformtechnikmagazin.de/umformtechnik-
fachartikel/kreative-automatisierungs-loesung-fuer-reckwalze-und-schmiedepresse_6924_de/
Semiatin SL (ed) (2005) ASM handbook, 14A – metalworking: bulk forming. ASM International,
Materials Park
Słuzalec A (1984) A preliminary analysis of temperatures within roll-forging dies, using a finite-element
method. Int J Mach Tool Des Res 24(3):171–179. doi:10.1016/0020-7357(84)90002-7
SMS Meer GmbH (8 Sept 2014) Forging rolls. http://www.sms-meer.com/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/
publication/schmiedetechnik/gesenkschmieden/ForginRolls.pdf. Date of access 18 Nov 2014
Weck M (1998) Werkzeugmaschinen Fertigungssysteme. Bd. 1: Maschinenarten und Anwendungs-
bereiche [Machine tool production sytems. vol 1: Machine types and applications]. Springer, Berlin/
Heidelberg. (in German)

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TRIZ
Tom Vaneker*
University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

Introduction to TRIZ
TRIZ is a theory that led to a set of methods and tools that can be used for product analysis, problem
solving, product innovation, and the prediction of upcoming instances of existing products. The word
TRIZ is an acronym that stems from the Russian term Teoria Reshenia Izobretatelskih Zadatch, which in
English is often translated to the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TIPS). TRIZ was developed by
Genrich Altshuller from 1946 onwards after studying over 400,000 patents. Based on the study of these
patents, the following insights were developed (Kotze and Souchkov 2011).

• Over 99 % of all product innovation steps are based on known principles. Less than 0.3 % are real new
technological or physical discoveries.
• Product innovation is the result of solving contradictions.
• Technological systems evolve. The way these systems are evolving obeys certain laws of evolution.
• The process used for product innovation is not specific to a certain technological domain but is generic
to all technical domains.
• New innovative ideas can be generated systematically if we can reuse known experiences, and
solutions from other technological domains can be reused.

The tools and methods of TRIZ have been developed based on the notion that new instances of products
don’t emerge randomly but that their conception is focused by universal driving forces. Any technological
system is built to perform a function. If that function can be accomplished fully while utilizing less mass,
less energy, smaller dimensions, etc., the system (from a technological point of view) will be conceived as
superior. To put it more extreme, technological systems will develop toward an ideal system. This ideal
system does not exist as a physical entity (has no mass and consumes no energy), but the function of the
system is still performed. With that, the driving force within product development becomes the pursuit of
ideality (Fey and Rivin 2005).

Functionality
Degree of Ideality ¼
Cost þ Problems

In Kotze and Souchkov (2011), five levels of problem solving are defined. Levels 1 and 2 type problems
can be solved within the domain of the technical system, and only linear and nonlinear system changes are
needed to solve the problems. Levels 3 and 4 type problems require introduction of known solutions from
other technological domains. Level 5 requires the beforementioned technological or physical discoveries.
Typically, problems of level 1 and 2 can be solved efficiently by experts from the field using techniques
like brainstorming, trial and error, etc. For levels 3 and 4 type problems, techniques like TRIZ, that
propose solutions from other technical domains, are more efficient than, for example, trial and error.

*Email: t.vaneker@ctw.utwente.nl

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To apply TRIZ to levels 3 and 4 type problems, TRIZ introduces the notion of abstraction (Fig. 1). Any
problem in itself is most likely unique, but when transformed to a higher abstraction level, the problem to
be solved will resemble problems and solutions from other technological domains.
In conclusion, TRIZ is a theory used for structured product and process innovation that supports
complex product innovation steps by systematically introducing known solutions and contradiction
resolving concepts from other technological domains. The laws, methods, and tools used by TRIZ are
based on the pursuit of ideality of technical systems and focus on applying known technical solutions as,
for example, found in patent literature. For an overview of TRIZ tools and methods see for example
(Salamatov 1999).

Laws of Technical System Evolution

The law of technical system evolution is one of the knowledge bases used within TRIZ; it defines general
directions in which all technical systems evolve. Knowledge and understanding of these laws thus allow
for systematic development of next generations of technical systems. According to Fey (Fey and Rivin
2005), nine laws have been formulated. Petrov (2002) uses a much more elaborate scheme to define and
explain the goals and proper use of these evolution laws. In short, these nine laws are (Vaneker 2013):

1. The law of increasing degree of ideality. During its evolution, the technical system tends to increase its
degree of ideality. Ideality is defined as the ratio between performance end expenses of a technical
system. Increase of the degree of ideality can, for example, be achieved by increasing the performance
at no cost or decreasing the costs without sacrificing performance.
2. The law of nonuniform evolution of subsystems. Parts of technical systems evolve at individual paces,
often causing contradictions that hinder further evolution of the system.
3. The law of the transition to a higher-level system. Technical systems evolve in a way that they tend to
merge with the supersystem.
4. The law of increasing dynamism, implying that rigid technical systems will evolve into more dynamic
structures.
5. The law of transition to microlevel. The tool within a technical system tends to start at a macrolevel and
evolves in the direction of the more advantageous microlevel.

TRIZ
Generic Problem Generic Soluon

Level of Trial & error

abstracon Specific Problem Specific Soluon

Distance between
problem and soluon

Fig. 1 Abstraction of problems and solutions

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6. The law of system completeness. All viable systems should contain four parts: an engine, a transmis-
sion, a working unit, and a control unit. All parts must be present and should perform its function.
7. The law of shortening energy flow paths. This law deals with optimizing the energy flow paths in
systems, making sure that the energy in a system is used efficiently.
8. The law of increasing substance-field interactions. For better performance of technical systems, the
systems have to become more controllable.
9. The law of harmonization of rhythms. In order for technical systems to maximize its performance, its
main components should be harmonized with each other.

With proper knowledge of these laws, it is possible to predict future versions of technical systems.

The Innovation Goals, Laws, Methods, and Tools of TRIZ

Like the laws of technical systems evolution (in Fig. 2 below described as lines of technology evolution),
more methods and knowledge bases exist that are used for structured product innovation.
Within TRIZ, it is stated that technical systems develop in the direction of ideality, among others, by
overcoming contradiction. Two types of contradictions are defined: technical and physical contradictions.

• A technical contradiction is said to exist when improving one aspect of a system also results in
worsening another aspect of the same system. For example, when making a frame lighter (good), it
often also becomes weaker (bad).

Fig. 2 A small section of a TRIZ contradiction matrix (http://innovation-triz.com/triz40/)

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• A physical contradiction is found when an aspect of a system should be in opposite states at the same
time. For example, a frame should be heavy (for structural safety), but the frame should be light (for
cost and ease of assembly) (Domb 1997).

The best known very widely applied knowledge base is based on overcoming technical contradictions
and is called the matrix of 40 inventive principles. It has 39 engineering parameters on two axes: one has
the parameter that improves and the other the parameter that worsens. Based on the study of patents, the
3–5 most applied solution principles for this combination of improving and worsening parameter are
proposed.
As can be seen in Fig. 3, many innovation goals, product models, and knowledge bases can be used
within TRIZ. This is the model used at the University of Twente for educational purposes. It is a mixture of
generic TRIZ tools and additional tool developed by the author of the model. It defines four goals for
product innovation.

• Solve a specific problem

• Improve the functionality of a system
• Find a new working principle
• Predict future versions of the current technological system

Each product innovation goal has its own route in the figure. Each route starts with an analysis step in
order to come to a model of (an aspect of) the technical system. After an analysis second step, the typical
TRIZ knowledge bases are applied to generate abstract solutions. A description of all analysis steps,
system models, and knowledge bases goes beyond the scope of this entry.

TRIZ in Industry
During problem-solving phases, brainstorming is often used as it can be applied fast and efficiently on all
types of problems. In general, applying TRIZ takes more training and is more time consuming and thus
Goals

Solve a specific Improve Systems Find a new Create future systems

problem Functionality Working Principle generations
Analysis
steps

Root Cause Value Conflict

SU Field Analysis Function Analysis
Analysis Mapping
Model of

system

Technical Physical
the

SU Field Model Function Model Contradiction Trees

Contradiction Contradiction
Analysis
Second

steps

Contradiction
Ariz Trimming Evolutionary Radar
Matrix
Knowledge
bases

40 inventive 76 Inventive Lines of Technology

Database of Effects
principles standards Evolution

Assesment & Selection

Fig. 3 A model for the application of TRIZ tools, as used at the University of Twente, Netherlands, the model was developed
by V. Souchkov (WITS 2010)

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should best be applied to “tougher” problems. Many larger companies like Siemens, Intel, Philips, Thales,
Bombardier, etc. train their staff in applying TRIZ and/or employ their own TRIZ experts. Other
companies hire TRIZ consultants to tackle specific and tough problems. In that last case, TRIZ experts
supply knowledge of the TRIZ methodology, and the company will supply the domain-specific knowl-
edge. One of the best known TRIZ users is Samsung who have introduced TRIZ within the company
systematically and also on a large scale. In 2009, Forbes magazine states that the introduction of TRIZ was
one of the two reasons why Samsung is one of the top innovative companies in the world (Shaughnessy
2013).

References
Domb E (1997) Contradictions: air bag applications. XTRIZ. http://www.xtriz.com/publications/40Prin
ciples.pdf. Retrieved Nov 2014
Fey V, Rivin E (2005) Innovation on demand; new product development using TRIZ. Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge
Kotze K, Souchkov V (2011) Systematische Innovation; TRIZ-Anwendung in der Product- und Prozesse-
nentwicklung. Carl Hanser Verlag, Munchen
Petrov V (2002) The laws of system evolution. TRIZ J. http://www.triz-journal.com/laws-system-
evolution/. Retrieved Nov 2014
Salamatov Y (1999) TRIZ: the right solution at the right time. A guide to innovative problem solving.
Insytec B.V, Hattem
Shaughnessy H (2013) What makes Samsung such an innovative company? Forbes. http://www.forbes.
com/sites/haydnshaughnessy/2013/03/07/why-is-samsung-such-an-innovative-company/. Retrieved
2014
Vaneker T (2013) A decade of TRIZ research at ETRIA conferences. In: International symposium on
extenics and innovation methods. Beijing
Wits W (2010) Full immersion TRIZ in education. In: TRIZ future conference 2010. Bergamo

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Cold Spray
Rocco Lupoi*
Trinity College Department of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering Parsons Building, University of Dublin, Dublin 2,
Ireland

Synonyms
Cold gas dynamic; Cold gas dynamic manufacturing; Cold gas spray; Kinetic spray; Supersonic spray

Definition
Cold spray (CS) is a solid-state additive process, whereby material layers are added onto substrates or
more general engineering components through the acceleration of the feedstock material (in the form of
powder) up to supersonic speed in a converging–diverging nozzle. Melting temperatures in the process
are never reached.

Theory and Application

Introduction and Working Mechanism
In the 1980s, a group of scientists from the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the Siberian
Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ITAM of RAS) in Novosibirsk, Russia, conducted
experimental and theoretical work on the interaction of a two-phase flow with the surface of immersed
bodies. They used new gas dynamics’ diagnostic tools to study two-phase flow around bodies, which
resulted in the discovery of some sort of “deposition phenomena.” The scientists had in fact observed thin
copper layers deposited on the back walls of the wind tunnel they were using; soon after they realized the
mechanism and formation of such was from a small amount of copper “dust” propelled at high velocity on
the walls. As many of the most successful inventions in engineering, also this one happened totally by
chance.
A number of USSR patents followed to the initial discovery of the technology; however, in its modern
form cold spray (CS) was patented in 1994 in the USA by A.P. Alkhimov and A.N. Papyrin (Alkhimov
et al. 1994).
Despite the simplistic working principles, CS is an efficient additive technology whereby material is
added to a general substrate in a solid-state manner; hence, melting temperatures are never crossed. As
shown in Fig. 1, a supersonic converging–diverging nozzle is fed with a high-pressure gas (nitrogen or
helium at pressures between 10 and 50 bar), which expands as it flows through the nozzle internal profile.
Supersonic speed is therefore reached at the exit of the device (M >2). At the same time, solid particles
(~40 mm in size) are injected at the inlet of the nozzle. The generated fast jet stream can accelerate the
particles up to velocities to cross 1,000 m/s; upon impact against a substrate material, the particles will
plastically deform and bond to it, hence the formation of a deposit. In most cases, the carrier gas is also
preheated before entering the nozzle through a gas heater; this is to increase the sonic speed, hence exit
velocity.

*Email: lupoir@tcd.ie

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Fig. 1 Cold spray working principles

In CS, each material is therefore characterized by a “critical speed.” Such is the minimum to be
achieved at impact for the deposit to start forming. Strong materials (such as Ti and its alloys or WC–Co)
have a high critical value; they will therefore require the use of helium to be processed (helium is a
low-density gas with high sonic speed).
CS has a number of technical advantages, over other methods that are based upon the partial or full
melting of materials, such as laser cladding, HVOF, and plasma/flame spray (Champagne 2007):

• The preservation of feedstock properties, no microstructural changes.

• There is no heat-affected zone (HAZ) at the deposition interface.
• Deposition rates (or build rates) can be very high.
• Environmentally friendly relative to others due to the ambient temperature working conditions.
• No theoretical limit in achievable deposition thickness.
• No thermal distortion and good bond strength.
• Metallurgical compatibility feedstock/substrate is in theory not a requirement.

Since its invention and first implementations, CS has rapidly evolved at both European and global
levels with a rather diverse field in terms of generated intellectual property (Irissou et al. 2008). A number
of major companies have formed in across the globe, primarily coming from university spinouts and
currently selling CS equipment. Research is very active in the field, with the main groups located in
Ireland (Trinity College, Dublin), the UK (University of Cambridge, University of Nottingham, The
Welding Institute (TWI)), France (School of Mines, Paris), and Germany (University of the Federal
Armed Forces, Hamburg; European Aerospace Research Institute (EADS)). There are other key research
facilities in Spain, the USA, Japan, Canada, Russia, South Africa, and Australia.

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Fig. 2 Joining Ti64 components with CS (Courtesy of Trinity College Dublin and University of Twente)

Examples of Applications
A vast variety of feedstock/substrate material combinations has so far been attempted with the process,
with reasonably good results. The major advantage is its flexibility and absence of the thermal component;
however, CS can be an expensive process to run. When helium is required, processing costs become
industrially not viable. This is the reason of why the vast majority of CS systems are currently installed in
R&D facilities (such as universities or research institutes) and not in production lines. Research is active in
this topic, therefore, in the proposition and testing of new solutions so as to address the cost problem.
The list below provides some examples of recent applications, in relation to the deposition of:

• Hard-facing materials, such as WC–Co, onto steel (Dosta et al. 2013)

• Superalloys (Levasseur et al. 2012)
• Reactive materials, such Al/CuO mixtures (Bacciochini et al. 2013)
• MAX phases (Gutzmann et al. 2012)
• Tantalum (Trexler et al. 2012)

Recent work has also highlighted the potential for CS to be used for alternative purposes, such as
joining. As an example, Fig. 2 shows two axial-symmetric components (approximately 30 mm in outer
diameter), made out of Ti64. They were joined through the application of a Ti64 track around the
geometry using CS. This work is interesting due to the unsuitability of Ti and its alloys to be welded
using conventional thermal processes due to its high affinity to oxygen.

Cross-References
▶ Additive Manufacturing
▶ Additive Manufacturing Technologies
▶ Coating

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References
Alkhimov SP, Papyrin AN, Kosarev VF, Nesterovich NI, Shushpanov MM (1994) Gas-dynamic spraying
method for applying a coating. Patent Nos: US5302414 A; DE69016433D1, DE69016433T2,
EP0484533A1, EP0484533A4, EP0484533B1, WO1991019016 A1
Bacciochini A, Radulescu MI, Yandouzi M, Maines G, Lee JJ, Jodoin B (2013) Reactive structural
materials consolidated by cold spray: Al–CuO thermite. Surf Coat Technol 226:60–67
Champagne VK (2007) The cold spray materials deposition process: fundamentals and applications.
Woodhead Publishing, Sawston
Dosta S, Couto M, Guilemany JM (2013) Cold spray deposition of a WC-25Co cermet onto Al7075-T6
and carbon steel substrates. Acta Mater 61(2):643–652
Gutzmann H, Gartner F, Höche D, Blawert C, Klassen T (2012) Cold spraying of Ti2AlC MAX-phase
coatings. J Therm Spray Technol. doi:10.1007/s11666-012-9843-1
Irissou E, Legoux J-G, Ryabinin AN, Jodoin B, Moreau C (2008) Review on cold spray process and
technology: part I-intellectual property. J Therm Spray Technol 17(4):495–516
Levasseur D, Yue S, Brochu M (2012) Pressureless sintering of cold sprayed Inconel 718 deposit. Mater
Sci Eng A 556:343–350
Trexler MD, Carter R, de Rosset WS, Gray D, Helfritch DJ, Champagne VK (2012) Cold spray
fabrication of refractory materials for gun barrel liner applications. Mater Manuf Process 27:820–824

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Biomimetic Design
L. H. Shu*
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Definition
Emulating and applying biological models, systems, and processes to solve design problems. Related
and/or synonymous terms: bionics, biologically inspired design, biomimicry. Different from bioengi-
neering, e.g., biomedical engineering and biomechanics, where engineering principles are used to solve
problems in biology.

Introduction
There are a growing number of researchers working on bio-inspired design. This entry summarizes and
categorizes this work with emphasis on the author’s work in the area.

Directions of Information Transfer

There are two main directions of information transfer in biomimetic design. Goel et al. (Helms et al. 2009;
Vattam et al. 2010a) refer to them as (1) solution driven, where an interesting biological phenomenon
inspires the search for potential applications, and (2) problem driven, where a given problem motivates the
search for biological analogies that could help solve the problem. Other terminologies used include
biology push versus technology pull, and top down versus bottom up. This entry focuses on the problem-
driven/technology-pull direction.

Identifying Analogies
Biological systems have long been cited as the source of inspiration for innovative designs, from
VelcroTM to paints that enable the lotus effect. However, not often reported is how the specific source
of inspiration was identified. Researchers in both biology and engineering design have recognized this
need and the following main approaches to identify biological sources of inspiration: (1) ask biologists,
(2) create and search databases, and (3) search biological text in natural-language format.

Ask Biologists
One obvious way of identifying potential biological analogies for engineering problems is to ask
biologists (Vincent et al. 2006). AskNature (http://www.asknature.org/), led by Janine Benyus (1997),
provides a social network of biologists specifically for this purpose. The advantage of simply asking
biologists is that the engineer, generally untrained in biology, does not have to search for and interpret the
relevance and potential application of information that may be unfamiliar. The disadvantage of this
approach is that one must have access to biologists. In addition, biologists may be biased toward their
areas of expertise, rather than objectively recall and present a variety of phenomena as potential analogies.

*Email: shu@mie.utoronto.ca

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Develop Database
An obvious approach to address the limitations of asking biologists directly is to attempt to capture their
knowledge in databases. The advantages of databases include more focused search results. Frequently, the
same keywords used to categorize biological phenomena and, often, past engineering solutions developed
based on them, are presented as search keywords. Therefore, the “relevance” of information found is
guaranteed since the same keywords used to categorize and enter information are used to then search the
database. In addition to AskNature, other works on databases include the following: Chakrabarti
et al. (2005) developed a model to represent causality of natural and artificial systems and used it to
structure information in a database of systems from both natural and artificial domains. Bar-Cohen (2006)
suggested the need for a documented database to support biomimetic design. Vattam et al. (2010b)
constructed a functionally indexed knowledge base of structures and behaviors of biological and
technological systems.
The main disadvantage of searching through a database specifically developed to support biomimetic
design is that the search results are limited to what was entered into the database. Depending on how the
database is structured, bias may be imparted during the categorization of information as it is entered.
A simple example is that while Velcro was developed from burrs, should the biological entity of a burr be
categorized under the engineering function of fastening? If so, other potential functions or strategies that
can be extracted from the burr may be lost.

Natural-Language-Based Search
In addition to building a database of biological phenomena categorized for engineering use, another
approach takes advantage of the abundant biological information already available in natural-language
format (e.g., texts, papers) by searching them directly for relevant phenomena. This approach also avoids
the subjective and enormous task of cataloguing all of biological phenomena for design, and is summa-
rized by Shu (2010), Shu et al. (2011). The natural-language approach is supported by Vandevenne
et al. (2011), who propose a scalable approach for the integration of large knowledge repositories in the
biologically inspired design process. In addition, Kaiser et al. (2014) observe the use of different types of
keywords when searching PubMed articles. While the natural-language approach overcomes the many
limitations of other approaches, there are also more complex challenges, as detailed below.

Natural-Language Sources The initial source of natural-language information is important. This source
should be written at a level that can be easily understood by engineers with little or no background in
biology. Life: the Science of Biology, by Purves et al. (2001), a reference text for an introductory-level
university biology course, is an example of a suitable text. In addition to ease of comprehension,
introductory-level texts tend to be general and cover a wide range of organizational levels, from the
molecular and cellular to the ecosystem, such that potential analogies are not limited to one or two familiar
levels. Since a suitable search tool can be used to search any corpus, or body of text, other texts can be
substituted or added as required for the initial or subsequent search.
The challenging task is the initial identification of relevant biological phenomena. Once relevant
phenomena are identified, further details can be found through more advanced texts, research papers,
and traditional research methods. However, searching through more advanced sources initially will
generate results that are in more technical language and thus more difficult to understand. Due to the
designer frustration this may cause, such results are more likely to be overlooked even if they are relevant.
Therefore, initial results from a more basic text may be more effective for introducing the subject and
confirming relevance to the design problem. An understanding and confirmed relevance of the subject
then motivates further research and effort to understand the possibly complex details needed to develop a
solution.

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CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16812-1
# CIRP 2015

Natural-Language Search Keywords As the same keywords used to categorize phenomena are often
presented as possible search keywords, searching databases specifically created to support biomimetic
design tends to be more straightforward than searching natural-language sources. Unlike with databases,
finding relevant analogies in natural-language text is subject to the word choices made by authors of the
various natural-language sources. That is, multiple terms can describe and thus locate the same concept. In
addition to the use of synonyms and other related words such as hypernyms, Chiu and Shu (2007)
developed a method to identify biologically meaningful keywords. Cheong et al. (2011) applied this
method to identify keywords that correspond to those that describe engineering function.

Assessing Biological Analogies Another challenge in using biological analogies for design involves the
human process of extracting relevant strategies from the biological phenomena and applying these
strategies to design problems. As explained above, the challenge of assessing biological analogies for
relevance to the engineering problem is most critical to the natural-language search approach. Biologists
pre-assess relevance before or while presenting potential biological analogies. Relevance of biological
phenomena is determined as they are entered into databases. In the natural-language search approach, the
evaluation of biological analogies affects the very selection of what is considered relevant. The perception
of relevance is important, since search results may be presented as a list of text excerpts.

Applying Biological Analogies Mak and Shu (2008) observed that awareness of specific difficulties that
could occur when generating engineering concepts from biological analogies reduced their occurrence.
Therefore, the next section presents categories of difficulties experienced by novice designers/students in
detail rather than in summary.

Types of Similarity
Mak and Shu (2004a) investigated how students applied descriptions of biological phenomena function-
ally related to a given problem to solve that problem. Specifically, students were asked to develop
concepts that result in “clean clothes,” by using a biological analogy from Purves et al. (2001) on how
normal flora (e.g., bacteria and fungi that occupy our body surfaces without causing disease) competes
with pathogens for space and nutrients, such that normal flora is a form of innate defense.
Four similarity types were observed between the description of the biological phenomenon and the
concepts developed using it as stimulus. These similarity types are shown with examples in Fig. 1, whose
axes are strategic accuracy and abstraction of biological entities. Details on the four similarity types
follow for a problem and biological phenomenon from Saitou et al. (2007).
Problem: Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) want easy disassembly of their products at end of
life to reduce disassembly cost and increase profit from reuse and recycling but also want to protect high-

Fig. 1 Types of similarities between biological phenomena and developed concepts, adapted from Mak and Shu (2004b),
using problem from Saitou et al. (2007). Cheong et al. (2013) suggest the arrow above as a strategy for novice designers

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# CIRP 2015

value components from theft and access by competitors. How can you allow disassembly that is easy but
only by those authorized (Saitou et al. 2007)?
Biological phenomenon: Enzymes bind to specific substrates when the active site of an enzyme
geometrically matches its corresponding substrate. Factors like pH and temperature change the shape
of the enzyme’s active site such that substrates can no longer fit.

Literal Implementation
A literal implementation involves using biological entities directly to solve the engineering problem, e.g.,
by covering one part to be assembled using enzymes and then the other part with substrates. Here, the
biological entities are not abstracted, but rather used directly, with the same strategy between source and
problem domains. Of relevance are the terms bioutilization and bioassistance – the use of biological
entities directly as solutions. Bioutilization refers to the use of biological materials, e.g., bamboo in floors,
plant extracts in drugs, etc. Bioassistance refers to using the actions of biological organisms to enable
solutions, e.g., plants to clean air, leeches to reduce blood coagulation, etc. This category is most related to
the behavior identified by Helms et al. that designers use “off-the-shelf” biological solutions to “do what it
does” instead of abstracting and applying the principles of the biological entity. The example given
involves using fireflies directly to emit light, instead of applying the principles that enable
bioluminescence.

Biological Transfer
A biological transfer involves transferring the biological entities, e.g., enzymes, into the solution domain,
but without applying the strategy presented in the biological domain. For example, enzymes are used to
provide the solution of disassembling joints by digesting them. This category is most closely related to
Helms et al.’s “improper analogical transfer,” where mechanisms important in the inspiration source, but
not relevant to the problem, were transferred to the problem. The example given describes how filters in a
dog’s nose well suited for sorting through and identifying several different scents are unneeded for a single
scent, but still transferred to the solution.

Anomaly (or Non-analogous Association)

An anomalous (or non-analogously associated) solution involves neither the entities nor the strategy from
the biological phenomenon. Some anomalous concepts are due to lack of understanding. Other anoma-
lous concepts are likely due to fixation on a few words in the text description while disregarding the
overall strategy or principle presented. Mak and Shu (2004b) noted that the appearance in a text excerpt of
any word that is commonly used in engineering tends to lead to non-analogous concepts. For example,
“motor” in motor proteins tends to result in concepts that involve motors, whether or not motors are
relevant to the phenomenon presented. Although anomalous concepts can be novel as well as practical,
they are not based on the biological phenomenon, except perhaps as a source of random stimuli. The error
Helms et al. observed that most closely relate is “misapplied analogy,” where matches were often forced
into flawed solutions. The example given involves a two-way traffic optimization algorithm derived from
ant foraging behavior, resulting in an inaccurate model when applied to a throughput traffic optimization
problem. We have since renamed this category “non-analogous association,” because occurrences in this
category are far more frequent than suggested by the heading “anomaly.”

Analogy
The intended analogous solution accurately applies the strategy from the biological phenomenon to the
concept without transferring the biological entities, e.g., enzymes, into the solution. Gentner (1989) and
Goel (1997) established foundations for analogical reasoning relevant to this work. More recently, Vattam

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# CIRP 2015

et al. (2008) developed a conceptual framework for compound analogical design, studied the content of
different types of analogy in biomimetic design (2010), and analyzed different kinds of analogies that
occur at different stages in biomimetic design (2010). Sartori et al. (2010) implemented a SAPPhIRE
model to describe a biological system at various levels of scale and abstraction and suggest that this
specific representation may support transfer at a particular level. Yen and Weissburg (2007) support that
the success of biologically inspired design depends most critically on establishing an analogy at the
appropriate level of abstraction.

Recent Attempts to Improve Analogical Transfer in Bio-inspired Design

Cheong et al. (2013) noted that a possible strategy for novice designers is to start with a literal
implementation and abstract it until the solution becomes practically implementable, as shown in Fig. 1.
Other interventions considered include: first, using templates to aid in analogical transfer (Mak and Shu
2008; Cheong and Shu 2013a) and second, abstraction of biological nouns to reduce bias in selecting
biological phenomena and inappropriate fixation in applying biological phenomena (Cheong and Shu
2013b; Feng et al. 2014). The effectiveness of these interventions has been limited. Therefore, consid-
erable future work lies in improving the ability of designers to select without bias and apply analogically
biological phenomena to design.

Acknowledgment
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada is gratefully acknowledged for
supporting much of the author’s work described in this entry.

References
Bar-Cohen Y (2006) Biomimetics – using nature to inspire human innovation. Bioinspir Biomim
1(1):1–12
Benyus JM (1997) Biomimicry: innovation inspired by nature. William Morrow, New York
Chakrabarti A, Sarkar P, Leelavathamma B, Nataraju BS (2005) A functional representation for aiding
biomimetic and artificial inspiration of new ideas. AIEDAM 19(2):113–132
Cheong H, Shu LH (2013a) Using templates and mapping strategies to support analogical transfer in
biomimetic design. Des Stud 34(6):706–728
Cheong H, Shu LH (2013b) Reducing cognitive bias in biomimetic design by abstracting nouns. CIRP
Ann 62(1):111–114
Cheong H, Chiu I, Shu LH, Stone RB, McAdams DA (2011) Biologically meaningful keywords for
functional terms of the functional basis. J Mech Des 133(2):021007
Cheong H, Hallihan GM, Shu LH (2013) Design problem solving with biological analogies: a verbal
protocol study. AIEDAM 28(1):27–47
Chiu I, Shu LH (2007) Biomimetic design through natural language analysis to facilitate cross-domain
information retrieval, artificial intelligence for engineering design. Anal Manuf 21(1):45–59
Feng T, Cheong H, Shu LH (2014) Effects of abstraction on selecting relevant biological phenomena for
biomimetic design. ASME J Mech Des, Paper no: MD-14-1084. doi:10.1115/1.4028173
Gentner D (1989) The mechanisms of analogical learning. In: Vosniadou S, Ortony A (eds) Similarity and
analogical reasoning. Cambridge University Press, New York, pp 197–241
Goel AK (1997) Design, analogy, and creativity. IEEE Expert 12(3):62–70

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# CIRP 2015

Helms M, Vattam SS, Goel AK (2009) Biologically inspired design: process and products. Des Stud
30(5):606–622
Kaiser MK, Hashemi FH, Lindemann U (2014) BIOscrabble: extraction of biological analogies out of
large text sources. In: Proceedings IC3K 2013 – 5th international joint conference on knowledge
discovery, knowledge engineering and knowledge management, 19–22 Sept 2013, Vilamoura,
pp 241–250
Mak TW, Shu LH (2004a) Abstraction of biological analogies for design. CIRP Ann 53(1):117–120
Mak TW, Shu LH (2004b) Use of biological phenomena in design by analogy. In: Proceedings ASME
design engineering technical conferences and computers and information in engineering conference,
Salt Lake City, 28 Sept–2 Oct 2004, DETC2004/DTM-57303
Mak TW, Shu LH (2008) Using descriptions of biological phenomena for idea generation. Res Eng Des
19(1):21–28
Purves WK, Sadava D, Orians GH, Heller HC (2001) Life: the science of biology, 6th edn. Sinauer
Associates, Sunderland
Saitou K, Shalaby M, Shu LH (2007) Bioanalogous mechanical joints for authorized disassembly. CIRP
Ann 56(1):33–36
Sartori J, Pal U, Chakrabarti A (2010) A methodology for supporting “transfer” in biomimetic design.
AIEDAM 24(4):483–505
Shu LH (2010) A natural-language approach to biomimetic design. J Artif Intell Eng Des Anal Manuf
24(4):507–519
Shu LH, Ueda K, Chiu I, Cheong H (2011) Biologically inspired design. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
60(2):673–693
Vandevenne D, Verhaegen PA, Dewulf S, Duflou JR (2011) A scalable approach for the integration of
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Vincent JFV, Bogatyreva OA, Bogatyrev N, Bowyer A, Pahl A-K (2006) Biomimetics: its practice and
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Yen J, Weissburg M (2007) Perspectives on biologically inspired design: introduction to the collected
contributions. Bioinspir Biomim 2(4). doi:10.1088/1748-3190/2/4/E01

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S
Sheet-Bulk Metal Forming
Marion Merklein
Lehrstuhl f€ur Fertigungstechnologie (LFT),
Universität Erlangen-N€urnberg, Erlangen,
Germany
Synonyms
Plate forging
Definition
Sheet-bulk metal forming (SBMF) processes are
defined as forming of sheets with an intended
three-dimensional material flow as in bulk
forming processes (Merklein et al. 2012). As
semifinished product, sheets with an initial thick-
ness of 1–5 mm are used and subjected to one or
several conventional bulk forming operations.
Typical applications of SBMF include the
forming of local functional elements on blank
parts or the intended and locally restricted alter-
ation of the sheet thickness in order to produce
highly functional integrated parts out of sheet
metal (Fig. 1) (Mori 2012). Further complexity
can be achieved by the combination of SBMF
processes with traditional sheet forming opera-
tions like bending or deep drawing, which is
generally possible for most applications
(Merklein et al. 2012). Besides the fabrication
# CIRP 2015
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16822-1
of end products, SBMF can also be used to pro-
duce tailored blanks with adjusted properties for
usage in subsequent manufacturing processes
(Tan et al. 2008).
Theory and Application
Classification
According to DIN 8582 (2003), forming pro-
cesses are categorized with respect to their stress
states during the forming operation. This classi-
fication is not applicable to SBMF processes due
to the fact that characteristics of multiple pro-
cesses can merge in some cases and due to the
missing consideration of the geometry of the
semifinished part in question. Kudo (1980) pro-
posed a different approach that enables a general
classification of SBMF processes as a function of
the semifinished parts in question, the resulting
product geometry, and the strain state in relation
to the main axis of the part. Standring (1999)
proposed another, more detailed classification,
which also uses the contact normal vector, as
well as the ratio of the contact areas in the
forming zone in comparison to the remaining
contact area as criteria. However, since both
approaches are kept very general, an exact
assignment of process characteristics to the pro-
cess class SBMF is not possible. In order to solve
this challenge, Merklein et al. (2011) proposed a
classification in respect to the tool motion as is
displayed in Fig. 2. According to this
2 Sheet-Bulk Metal Forming

Sheet-Bulk Metal Forming, Fig. 1 Examples of sheet-bulk metal forming parts with functional elements (Feintool 2015)

Sheet-Bulk Metal Forming, Fig. 2 Process classification and characteristics of common sheet-bulk metal forming
operations (Merklein et al. 2011)

classification, upsetting, ironing, forging, and Material Flow

coining can be assigned to the group of linear
tool motion, whereas flow forming, orbital
forming, and boss forming processes possess a
rotational tool motion. As Fig. 2 depicts, with the
exception of orbital forming and boss forming,
combinations with conventional sheet forming
processes are possible in all cases. Additionally,
nearly all process variants allow the selective,
local thickening and thinning of the sheet in use.
Regarding typical forming forces, big differences
between the individual process variants exist.
The force demands are generally determined by
the size of effective contact area between the tool
and the forming zone. In principle, smaller con-
tact areas result in less process forces. Hence, the
lowest force demands can be found in incremen-
tal forming operations like flow forming or
orbital forming.
Most applications of SBMF aim to produce parts
that possess local functional elements on sheet
metal with an element height in the dimension of
the initial sheet thickness. Due to the complex
three-dimensional material flow necessary for the
forming of the singular elements, the stress and
strain states during the forming operation are
complex and three dimensional as well. In con-
trast to this, the remaining blank area shows com-
paratively low two-dimensional stress
conditions. The high strains in the forming zone
of the elements result in high and locally
restricted strain hardening that is surrounded by
large areas of low strain-hardened material.
Due to the strain gradient, the material flow
tends to be directed away from the functional
elements and therefore results in incomplete
Sheet-Bulk Metal Forming
Sheet-Bulk Metal Forming, Fig. 3 Insufficient mold filling during a SBMF forging process (Gröbel et al. 2015)
forming. Figure 3 demonstrates this circumstance
by means of an exemplary SBMF forging process
that enables the forming of two different element
shapes on a circular blank. In order to allow
proper forming of the functional elements despite
this, the material flow for a particular SBMF
process has to be considered in detail during the
process design, and measures have to be taken to
control the material flow as desired. Current
research shows that this can be achieved either
by means of geometrical flow restrictors (Koch
and Merklein 2013) or by a local modification of
the friction between the workpiece and the tool as
demonstrated by Löffler et al. (2015).
Tribology
Tribological conditions are of major importance
in SBMF processes, due to their influence on the
process quality and accuracy (Merklein
et al. 2012). Hence, detailed knowledge on the
friction behavior is important to allow proper tool
and process design by means of FE simulations.
In order to determine the required friction factors
and friction coefficients, laboratory friction tests
are utilized. However, since SBMF processes
possess both characteristics of conventional
sheet and bulk forming operations, the tribologi-
cal conditions during SBMF operations are of
high complexity and cannot be represented by
3
one friction test alone (Hetzner et al. 2012). Tri-
bological conditions vary locally in dependence
of the stress and strain conditions present at the
contact surface in question. For this reason, the
combined usage of the three friction tests shown
in Fig. 4, strip drawing, ring compression, and pin
extrusion, has been proposed in order to represent
the dominant stress and strain states during
SBMF processes. Both the ring compression test
and the pin extrusion test have been adapted for
this purpose by Vierzigmann et al. (2013) to meet
the conditions of SBMF.
Tooling
Due to the complexity and locally varying stress
and strain conditions during SBMF operations,
the requirements on tool design and load capacity
are demanding. Especially forging processes
result in very high tool contact stresses as has
been demonstrated for example by Nakano
(2009). Furthermore, forming of asymmetrical
parts leads to inhomogeneous tool loading and
increased horizontal forces. An example for an
asymmetrical product and the corresponding tool
system is displayed in Fig. 5. Furthermore, since
tool load in the forming zone of the elements can
be as high as in conventional cold forging that
show values up to 2750 MPa, tool systems for
SBMF have to be reinforced in many cases in
4 Sheet-Bulk Metal Forming
Sheet-Bulk Metal Forming, Fig. 4 Different friction tests proposed for SBMF processes after Vierzigmann
et al. (2012) and Vierzigmann et al. (2013)
Sheet-Bulk Metal
Forming, Fig. 5 Forming
die and finished part with
functional elements
(Behrens et al. 2011)
order to increase the load capacity and prolong
tool life. For the same reason, the use of modern
powder metallurgical high strength steels and
innovate tool design, like non-circular reinforce-
ments, are oftentimes necessary (Merklein
et al. 2012).
Modeling
Since material flow and the resulting stress and
strain conditions, as well as the tribological inter-
action between workpiece and tool, are complex
and locally varying, process design by use of FE
simulation is advisable. However, the modeling
of SBMF operations currently presents a chal-
lenge due to limited computational capacity.
Asymmetrical products prevent in part the
exploitation of symmetries in order to reduce
model size and therefore increase the number of
necessary finite elements. Furthermore, the three-
dimensional stress and strain states, which lead to
the forming of the functional elements, require
volumetric finite elements and fine meshing. If
the same element strategy is used for the
remaining blank area, a very high number of
integration points will be necessary, which, in
turn, will make the calculation difficult.
A powerful strategy to overcome this problem is
the use of adaptive modeling based on the dual
weighted residual method, which enables the
local modification of the numerical mesh
(Becker and Rannacher 2002). This way, it is
possible to heighten the mesh efficiency in
respect to the numerical demands without dis-
tinctly reducing the solution precision. Since
SBMF processes typically possess high areas of
contact between the workpiece and tool, efforts
Sheet-Bulk Metal Forming
Sheet-Bulk Metal
Forming, Fig. 6 (b, c) FE
simulation result of an
indentation process
(Soyarslan et al. 2014), (a)
corresponding incremental
forming process
(Sieczkarek et al. 2014)
have been made to apply the model adaptivity on
friction problems as well, in order to further
reduce calculation time (Rademacher 2015).
Besides the simulation of material flow and
tool load, damage criteria have to be deployed
to effectively use the forming potential in a given
process. However, the conventional forming
limit diagram cannot be utilized since the plane
stress assumption cannot be applied to SBMF
processes. In order to overcome this challenge, a
topic of current research is the adaption of alter-
native damage models for the purposes of SBM-
F. For example, Soyarslan et al. (2014) have
shown that this is possible for the Gurson
model, as has been successfully demonstrated
by means of a process where a w-shaped punch
penetrates in the edge of a sheet metal with a
thickness of 2 mm (Fig. 6).
Cross-References
▶ Cold Forging
▶ Sheet Metal
▶ Tailored Blanks
5
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shop Blechmassivumformung, Meisenbach
(in German)
S

Shear Cutting Figure 2 shows a typical tool with sheet metal.

A shear cutting tool consists of at least a punch
Wolfram Volk and Jens Stahl and a die, also referred to as die plate. The punch
Institute of Metal Forming and Casting, and die plate move in opposite directions past
Technische Universität M€
unchen, Garching, each other and are, therefore, responsible for the
Germany cutting. On account of this, they are also referred
to as the tool’s active elements. Both the punch
and die need to possess cutting edges. These are
Synonyms usually sharp or manufactured with a small radius
of approximately 15 mm. Bigger radii or a cham-
Blanking; Cutting; Die cutting; Piercing; fer may be used instead of the radius in special
Punching; Shearing cases. As illustrated in Fig. 2, the punch’s lower
surface and the die’s upper surface are both flat
and parallel. Therefore, the whole cutting edge
Definition operates from the beginning of the cutting oper-
ation. However, this is not a necessity. The geom-
Shear cutting is the separation of workpieces by etry of the punch and die plate does not have to be
two blades moving in opposite directions past identical: a sloped punch may be used together
each other (DIN 8588 2013). with a flat die plate, for example.
The die clearance is the distance between
punch and die plate, measured perpendicular to
Theory and Application the area in which the cutting edge moves during
the cutting process (DIN 8588 2013). It is com-
Basics mon to specify the die clearance as a percentage
The shear cutting processes are part of the sepa- of the sheet metal thickness. Usually, the die
ration manufacturing processes, standardized in clearance ranges between 5 % and 12 % of the
(DIN 8580 2003) and more precisely character- sheet metal thickness, depending on the work-
ized in (DIN 8588 2013) as the mechanical sep- piece material and the desired cut surface quali-
aration of workpieces without forming shapeless ties, for example.
matter. Here, shapeless matter refers to chips or A blank holder, in the case of fineblanking
grinding dust, for example. Some parts with an additional vee-ring (see Fig. 2 on the
manufactured by shear cutting are displayed in right), is used to improve the quality of the
Fig. 1. manufactured parts. It fixes the sheet metal by
# CIRP 2015
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16823-1
2 Shear Cutting

Shear Cutting, Fig. 1 Parts manufactured by shear cutting (Courtesy of Feintool Technologie AG, Lyss
(Switzerland))

Shear Cutting, Fig. 2 Basic terms of the shear cutting process (left) and the fineblanking process (right) according to
(Schmidt et al. 2007)

Shear Cutting, Fig. 3 Open (left) and closed cut (right) together with piercing and blanking according to (DIN 8588
2013)
Shear Cutting
pressing it against a stationary part before the
cutting operation. Furthermore, it reduces
warping of the sheet metal during the cutting
operation by applying pressure on the workpiece,
created by the blank holder force. Additionally,
the blank holder is used to strip the sheet metal
strip off the punch and may be used to guide the
punch and act as a positioning unit.
To reduce the bending of the workpiece under
the punch, a cushion can be used (Smith 1994;
Schuler GmbH 1998; Schmidt et al. 2007;
Hörmann 2008; Altan and Tekkaya 2014a; b;
Demmel 2014).
Subgroups
Subgroups of the shear cutting process can be
distinguished according to several criteria:
Open cut and If the contour of the cut crosses the
closed cut rim of the workpiece, it is an open
cut; otherwise, it is considered a
closed cut (see Fig. 3)
Piercing and The first describes a process where
blanking the cut-out part is scrap, whereas,
with blanking, this piece is used. In
this case, the punched out part is
called a blank or a slug, and the
remains are referred to as sheet
metal strip (see Fig. 3) (DeGarmo
et al. 2011)
Blanking and Fineblanking produces parts with
fineblanking smooth cut surfaces, usually as a
result of using a vee-ring on the
blank holder and a cushion (see the
section on precision cutting
processes). Conventional blanking
on the other hand is characterized
by a bigger die clearance, a blank
holder without a vee-ring, and the
absence of a cushion. This results in
a smaller proportion of clean-cut
compared to fineblanking
Continuity of Refers to whether one or more
the process strokes are needed for the cutting
process or if it is continuous
Several other subgroups are listed in
(DIN 9870-2 (1972)), and their classifications
depend on the cutting line or the function of the
cut-out or cut-off part.
Furthermore, a distinction is made between
whether the full length of the cutting edges
3
operates from the beginning of the process, or if
the blades cross each other and one gradually cuts
through the workpiece. The maximal force nec-
essary for the cut is significantly lower for the
case of the crossing blades, due to the fact that the
active elements cut the workpiece gradually
along the cutting line and not the whole contour
at once. The sloping shape of an active element,
necessary for the blades to cross, causes forces
perpendicular to the punch’s movement direc-
tion, which may cause the tool to distort, if not
properly designed. This effect may also cause
deformations on either the sheet metal strip, if
the die plate is sloped, or the cut-out part, if the
punch is sloped (Rao 1993; DIN 9870–2 1994;
Schmidt et al. 2007; Demmel 2014).
Phases of the Shear Cutting Process
According to (Hoffmann et al. 2012), the shear-
ing process can be divided into five phases. These
are illustrated in Fig. 4. In this section, only the
one-stroked closed cut, which produces a circular
blank with a blank holder, is focused on. Further-
more, the full length of the blade edges operates
from the beginning.
Phase 1 – The blank holder fixes the sheet
metal: After inserting the sheet metal, the blank
holder touches the sheet metal and clamps down
on it with the blank holder force FNH. Simulta-
neously, the punch moves toward the sheet metal
with a defined velocity.
Phase 2 – Elastic deformation of the sheet
metal: After having established a firm contact
with the sheet metal, the punch deforms the
sheet metal elastically. Mainly due to die clear-
ance, a bending torque is induced, which causes
the workpiece to warp under the punch. The
blank holder limits this effect on the rim of the
sheet metal. This bending torque also reduces the
contact area between the punch and sheet metal to
a ring-shaped zone. Additionally, elastic energy
is stored in both the tool and press (Hoffmann
et al. 2012; Doege and Behrens 2010; Demmel
2014).
Phase 3 – Plastic deformation of the sheet
metal: Once the yield point of the material is
reached, plastic deformation occurs. Stress is
highest at the blade edges, and material flows
4 Shear Cutting

Shear Cutting, Fig. 4 Phases of the shear cutting process according to (Hoffmann et al. 2012)

downward with the punch movement. The plastic
deformation is located in an area near to the blade
edges, which is referred to as shearing zone. Due
to the material flow, a roll over is formed, in this
case on the upper side of the sheet metal strip and
on the lower side of the blank. The progressive
penetration of the sheet metal by the punch
results in the clean-cut zone, which is character-
ized by a very smooth surface. Furthermore, the
previously mentioned bending torque leads to a
permanent bend in the workpiece (Lange and
Liewald 1990).
Phase 4 – Formation of cracks and separa-
tion of the sheet metal: Once the formability of
the material is exhausted, cracks appear.
Depending on different parameters, this can
start from either the punch, the die, or both at
the same time. If both blade edges are equally
sharp, the crack usually initiates at the die plate,
due to the combined stress from bending and
plastic deformation. The cracks begin to grow
with ongoing deformation, eventually merge,
and thus separate the workpiece. If they do not
coalesce, another scenario is possible. In this
case, the bridge that still connects the material
can be sheared off again by the previously men-
tioned mechanism, resulting in separation of the
pieces. This results in one or more additional
clean-cut zones. If these are separated from the
roll over by a fracture zone, they are referred to as
secondary clean-cut zones or double shear
(Groover 2002; Rapien 2010; Hoffmann
et al. 2012; Demmel 2014).
Phase 5 – Springback and punch movement
to the initial position: The stored elastic energy
is released after the separation of the workpiece,
which causes the whole system to vibrate. The
springback may also result in a change of the
workpieces’ shape and an interference fit
between the punch and the sheet metal strip.
After reaching the bottom dead center, the
punch moves back to the initial position. The
relative movement between the punch as well as
the die and the sheet metal is responsible for wear
on the respective active elements (Doege and
Behrens 2010). The blank holder strips the sheet
metal strip off the punch by preventing the sheet
metal strip to move upward (Hoffmann
et al. 2012; Demmel 2014).
Mechanics of the Shear Cutting Process
The forces and torques occurring during the shear
cutting process are shown in Fig. 5.
These forces, necessary to overcome friction
and the deformation resistance of the material,
have to be provided by the press. Therefore, the
occurring forces are of utmost importance for the
tool’s design.
The cutting force FS consists of, as illustrated
in Fig. 5, the contact force FV perpendicular to the
bottom of the punch and the frictional force mFH
on its lateral surface.
The cutting force – punch travel curve,
presented in Fig. 6, enables to evaluation and
monitoring of the cutting process, due to the
fact that the geometry of the cut surface can be
retraced with this curve.
All of the abovementioned phases can be
found in this curve. The almost linear, very
steep increase at the beginning corresponds with
the elastic deformation of tool, press, and work-
piece. After reaching the sheet metals yield limit,
Shear Cutting
Shear Cutting,
Fig. 5 Force components
during the shear cutting
process according to
(Hoffmann et al. 2012)
Shear Cutting, Fig. 6 A
typical cutting
force – punch travel graph
with corresponding phases
a still increasing curve can be observed. Two
competing mechanism, strain hardening and the
reduction of the sheets thickness by the plastic
deformation, are mainly responsible for the
curves shape in that region. At first the increase
in force necessary to compensate strain hardening
is bigger than the decrease of the cross-sectional
area, until a maximum of the cutting force is
reached. Afterward, the reduction of the cross-
sectional area dominates, and, therefore, a
decrease of the cutting force can be observed.
After the formability limit is reached, cracks
occur and the workpiece is separated. This results
in a sudden decrease in the cutting force. The
stored elastic energy is released and causes the
whole system to vibrate, which results in the
5
oscillating part of the curve after the abrupt
decrease. Due to friction between the sheet
metal strip and the punch, a force is necessary
even after the separation until the sheet metal
strip is stripped of by the blank holder (Rao
1993; Schmidt et al. 2007; Hoffmann
et al. 2012; Demmel 2014).
According to (Klocke 2013), the cutting force
is affected by the following factors:
– Shear strength tB of the workpiece material
– Sheet thickness s
– Die clearance u
– Length of the cutting line lS
– Geometry of the cutting line
– Tool wear
6 Shear Cutting
Shear Cutting, Fig. 7 Cut surface characteristic values according to (VDI 2906 Blatt 2 1994) (left) and photography of
a cut surface (right)
– Surface condition of the tools
– Lubrication
Punch and die radii influence the occurring
force as well (Schmidt et al. 2007).
An estimation for the maximum of the cutting
force FSmax can be calculated according to
(Hoffmann et al. 2012):
FSmax ¼ s lS kS
with the sheet metal thickness s, the length of the
cutting line lS, and the cutting resistance kS.
The cutting resistance kS can be approximated
by the ultimate tensile strength of the sheet metal
material Rm and then multiplied by the factor cS,
which varies between 0.6 for brittle and 0.8 for
ductile materials (Doege and Behrens 2010):
kS ¼ cS Rm
The work required for the cutting operation,
defined by the integral of the cutting force along
the punch travel of one cycle, is another impor-
tant parameter for the selection of a suitable press
(Klocke 2013):
ðzg
WS ¼ FS ðzÞ dz
0
with the work required for the cutting operation
WS, the cutting force FS, the punch travel z, and
the total punch travel zg.
The equation above can be approximated by
W S ¼ FSmax s c
with the work required for the cutting operation
WS, the maximum of the cutting force FSmax, the
sheet metal thickness s, and a coefficient c.
The coefficient c ranges between 0.3 and 0.7
and incorporates workpiece material properties
as well as process parameters. The lower end of
this range should be chosen for brittle sheet metal
materials together with a big die clearance and a
high sheet thickness. Consequently, the upper
range allows to approximate the work for ductile
sheet metal materials with a small die clearance
and a thin sheet (Schuler GmbH 1998; Klocke
2013).
The horizontal force component on the punch,
consisting of FH and mFV, is necessary for a
complete understanding of the shear cutting
process.
Shear Cutting
The cutting force is not evenly distributed on
the contact surface between active element and
sheet metal, but concentrated on a small area near
the blades.
The resultants of the area loads in vertical
direction, FV and FV0, are located within a dis-
tance LK from each other. This results in the
bending torques MA and MS which are mostly
determined by the die clearance, the sheet metal
thickness, and the punch diameter (Hörmann
2008). The torque MA causes the sheet metal to
warp and lifts it of the die surface. This results in
stresses on the lateral area of punch and die,
which can be combined in the respective forces
FH and FH0. Additional frictional forces in hori-
zontal and vertical direction can be found on the
contact surface between the active elements and
the sheet metal. These frictional forces depend on
contact pressure and several other conditions,
lubrication and surface conditions, for example
(Klocke 2013; Hoffmann et al. 2012; Altan and
Tekkaya 2014b; Demmel 2014).
Especially in an open cut, the horizontal force
components should be kept in mind. They can
cause undesired displacements between punch
and die plate which can lead to poor size accu-
racy. When cutting a circular hole or any other
geometry with a rotationally symmetric cutting
line, this effect cannot be observed due to the fact
that the horizontal force components cancel each
other (Hoffmann et al. 2012).
Cut Surface Characteristic Values
Characteristic values of the cut surface can be
seen in Fig. 7. They are selection criteria for
obtaining a workpiece with the desired quality.
Here, the function of the part defines which cut
surface characteristics are desired.
Due to the plastic deformation during the cut-
ting process, the roll over and clean-cut zone are
formed. This deformation also causes strain hard-
ening in the shearing zone and, therefore, an
elevated hardness in this region. The clean-cut
zone is also referred to as burnish or shear zone.
A fracture zone is formed after the formability
of the sheet metal material is exhausted. The
shape of the burr is determined by several
7
parameters, for example, the shape of the blade
edges and the locus of crack initiation.
The vertical dimensions are usually evaluated
as a percentage of the sheet metal thickness. This
allows easier comparison between different
materials (Groover 2002; Schmidt et al. 2007;
Altan and Tekkaya 2014b; Demmel 2014).
Precision Cutting Processes
For some applications, the surface characteristics
achieved by conventional shear cutting are not
sufficient. The outer surface of a gear, for exam-
ple, needs small tolerances and a smooth surface
to be able to transmit the desired torque. This can
be achieved by finishing the surface by grinding,
milling, or additional shear cutting operations.
Another possibility is to adjust the parameters
and the set-up of the shear cutting process to
achieve the desired workpiece quality in a single
cutting operation.
One possibility is to cut the workpiece in a first
step slightly bigger than the desired final contour.
This additional material is cut off in a second
shear cutting operation. Due to the small dimen-
sions of the additional material, a higher percent-
age of clean-cut zone can be achieved. The
combination of those two shear cutting opera-
tions is called sheaving or burnishing.
A burr-free cut surface with a higher percent-
age of clean-cut zone compared to the conven-
tional shear cutting can be achieved by
counterpunching. A tool with two sets of active
elements, one on each side of the sheet metal, is
required for this process. The first set is used to
cut the sheet metal from one side and stopping the
operation slightly before the material is sepa-
rated. Afterward, the second set of active ele-
ments is used to cut through the sheet metal
from the opposite side, this time by fully separat-
ing the parts.
For some applications, the surface character-
istics achieved by shear cutting with a die clear-
ance smaller than 5 % can be sufficient.
Parts which were produced by fineblanking
can show a clean cut over the whole thickness
of the sheet metal. The high quality of the surface
is achieved by altering the stress condition in the
shearing zone. An additional vee-ring on the
8 Shear Cutting
blank holder penetrates the sheet metal and hin-
ders the material flow during the cutting process
which reduces the roll over. The pressure induced
by this penetration delays the crack formation.
Furthermore, a small die clearance of around
0.5 % and a cushion are used. The counterforce
on the cushion opposes the punch force to reduce
the bending of the sheet metal (Rao 1993; VDI
2906 Blatt 3 1994; VDI 2906 Blatt 5 1994;
Schuler GmbH 1998; Szumera 2003; Schmidt
et al. 2007; Tschaetsch 2007; Hörmann 2008).
Presses for Shear Cutting
Both mechanical and hydraulic presses are used
for shear cutting. Gap-frame presses are usually
used for the production of parts with low-quality
requirements and press forces smaller than 2500
kN. For press forces higher than 4000 kN, straight
side presses are used exclusively (Lange and
Liewald 1990; Smith 1994; Schuler GmbH
1998).
To decide whether a mechanical or a hydraulic
press best suits the production of the desired part,
several factors should be taken into account:
– Number of production steps
– Tool design
– Sheet metal thickness
– Desired component quality
– Efficiency (Lange and Liewald 1990)
To improve the production rate, high-speed
presses are used, which allow 2000 strokes per
minute (Schuler GmbH 1998).
Fineblanking requires a blanking force, a force
for the vee-ring, and a counterforce on the cush-
ion. Therefore, triple action presses are used. To
achieve the desired cut surface quality, the die
clearance is not allowed to change under load:
A stiff construction of tool and frame is needed to
avoid undesired displacements. Furthermore,
high precision of, for example, slide gibs and
parallelism of the die clamping surfaces are nec-
essary (Schmidt et al. 2007; Schuler GmbH
1998).
Cross-References
▶ Forming
▶ Sheet Metal Extrusion
▶ Stamping
References
Altan T, Tekkaya AE (2014a) Sheet metal
forming – fundamentals. ASM International, Russel
Township
Altan T, Tekkaya AE (2014b) Sheet metal
forming – processes and applications. ASM Interna-
tional, Russel Township
DeGarmo EP, Black JT, Kohser AR (2011) Materials and
processes in manufacturing. Wiley, Hoboken
Demmel PM (2014) In-situ temperature measurement in
shear cutting. Dissertation, Technische Universität
M€ unchen
DIN 8580:2003-09 (2003) Manufacturing
processes – terms and definitions, divisions. DIN
Deutsches Institut f€ur Normung e. V., Beuth Verlag,
Berlin
DIN 8588:2013-08 (2013) Manufacturing processes
severing – classification, subdivision, terms and defi-
nitions. DIN Deutsches Institut f€ ur Normung e. V.,
Beuth Verlag, Berlin
DIN 9870-2:1972-10 (1972) Terms for stamping practice;
production processes and tools for severing. DIN
Deutsches Institut f€ur Normung e. V., Beuth Verlag,
Berlin
Doege E, Behrens B-A (2010) Handbuch Umformtechnik.
Springer, Heidelberg
Groover MP (2002) Fundamentals of modern
manufacturing – materials, processes, and systems.
Wiley, Hoboken
Hoffmann H, Neugebauer R, Spur G (2012) Handbuch
Umformtechnik. Carl Hanser Verlag, M€ unchen
Hörmann F (2008) Influence of the process parameters on
single-stage near-net-shape-blanking operations. Dis-
sertation, Technische Universität M€unchen
Klocke F (2013) Manufacturing processes 4 – forming.
Springer, Berlin
Lange K, Liewald M (1990) Umformtechnik – Handbuch
f€
ur Industrie und Wissenschaft – Band 3:
Blechbearbeitung. Springer, Berlin
Rao PN (1993) Manufacturing technology – foundry,
forming and welding. Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi
Rapien BL (2010) Fundamentals of press brake tooling.
Hanser Verlag, M€ unchen
Schmidt R-A, Birzer F, Höfel P, Hellmann M, Reh B,
Rademacher P, Hoffmann H (2007) Cold forming
and fineblanking. Carl Hanser Verlag, M€ unchen/Wien
Schuler GmbH (1998) Metal forming handbook. Springer,
Heidelberg
Shear Cutting
Smith DA (1994) Fundamentals of pressworking. SME,
Dearborn
Szumera J (2003) The metal stamping process: your prod-
uct from concept to customer. Industrial Press Inc.,
New York
Tschaetsch H (2007) Metal forming practise:
processes – machines – tools. Springer, Heidelberg
VDI 2906 Blatt 2:1994-05 (1994) Quality of cut faces of
(sheet) metal parts after cutting, blanking, trimming or
piercing; shearing, form of sheared edge and
9
characteristic values. VDI Verein Deutscher
Ingenieure, D€usseldorf
VDI 2906 Blatt 3:1994-05 (1994) Quality of cut faces of
(sheet) metal parts after cutting, blanking, trimming or
piercing; sheaving. VDI Verein Deutscher Ingenieure,
D€usseldorf
VDI 2906 Blatt 5:1994-05 (1994) Quality of cut faces of
(sheet) metal parts after cutting, blanking, trimming or
piercing; fine blanking. VDI Verein Deutscher
Ingenieure, D€usseldorf
F
Friction
Andrea. Ghiotti
Department of Industrial Engineering, University
of Padova, Padova, Italy
Synonyms
Attrition
Definition
Friction is defined as the resistance to relative
motion exhibited by the contact surfaces of two
bodies under the application of a normal load. The
relative motion can be either sliding, rolling, or
flowing over another body with which it is in
contact. Friction is an energy-dissipating process,
in which the kinetic energy of the moving body is
transformed into heat, with consequent tempera-
ture variation of the contact surfaces.
Theory and Application
Types of Friction
The following main type of friction can be
distinguished:
– Static friction pertains two contacting bodies
that do not present relative motion under the
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16825-1
influence of a resultant force. It is determined
by the interlocking of the irregularities of two
surfaces that prevent any relative motion up
until some limit where motion occurs.
– Kinetic friction is defined as the force that
resists to motion when two surfaces are mov-
ing with a relative velocity; it is, therefore,
equal and opposite to the force required to
maintain the relative sliding of the surfaces.
– Rolling friction is the force resisting the motion
when a body (such as a ball, wheel, roll) rolls
on a surface. At microscale, it is caused by the
interference of small indentations formed as
one surface rolls over another. The phenomena
that affect rolling friction are mainly due to
nonelastic effects that involve both hysteresis
losses and plastic deformation of the contact
surfaces.
– Flowing friction determine an energy loss
when a liquid flow in a cavity due to viscous
effects generated by the surfaces that are in
contact with the liquid.
Friction has a significant impact in many
metalforming processes, influencing the material
flow in the dies cavities and consequently the
deformation and the forces required in the pro-
cesses. Furthermore, it may generate large amount
of heat at the interface between dies and the com-
ponent, with relevant impact on the tools wear
phenomena and the microstructure of the formed
components.
2 Friction
Adhesion Theory of Friction
The theory was explained by Bowden and Tabor
(Bowden and Tabor 1950) on the basis of the
observation that two clean surfaces that are loaded
against each other, in dry conditions, are in con-
tact only for a fraction of their apparent area.
Regardless of the surface roughness, at a micro-
scopic level (see Fig. 1), the load is supported only
by the contacting asperities, whose sum represent
the real area of contact Ar. If the level of local
pressure is kept lower than the material yield
strength, the local deformation is elastic, while
as the pressure increases and overcomes the mate-
rial yield stress, the contact asperities deform
plastically with an increase of the contact area
until the real area of contact Ar is sufficient to
support the load. Eventually new junctions are
formed with other asperities of the two surfaces
in contact with each other.
Coefficient of Friction
The coefficient of friction usually described by the
letter m is a dimensionless scalar value which
represents the ratio of the tangential force F and
the normal force N applied between two bodies in
contact:
F tAr t
m¼ ¼ ¼ (1)
N sAr s
where t is the shear stress of the junction and s is
the normal stress (Kalpakjian and Schmid 2013).
The equation is often referred to as Coulomb
friction model. In case of plastic deformation of
the contacting asperities, s is the material yield
stress, and for low values of normal load N the real
contact area Ar is much lower than the nominal
area A. This condition is typical of simple sheet
metal forming processes such as bending. When
the normal load increases, the number of asperi-
ties that are plastically deformed increases and the
ratio between the real contact area Ar and the
nominal area A increases. Consequently, the rela-
tionship between the tangential and normal loads
departs from linearity as it may be experiences in
complex sheet forming processes such as deep
drawing or stretch forming. If the normal load is
increased further, Ar ideally becomes comparable
to the value of the nominal area of contact and the
shearing force reaches a plateau maximum value,
see (Fig. 2).
To describe the friction at the interface of two
contacting bodies when high normal pressures are
applied, a friction factor (or shear factor) is
defined as
ti
m¼ (2)
k
where ti is the shear stress of the interface and k is
the shear yield stress of the softer material. The
last equation is often referred to as Tresca friction
model. According to such definition, the magni-
tude of m does not depend on the normal force or
stress, since the shear yield stress of a thin layer of
the material near the interface of two contacting
bodies is unaffected by the magnitude of the nor-
mal stress (Kalpakjian and Schmid 2013).
Abrasion Theory of Friction
In case of large difference in the surface hardness
of the two bodies, the harder one tends to scratch
the softer material, causing the phenomenon
known as plowing. In such case, adhesion
between the asperities is less relevant and portions
of the softer materials can be ripped (Kalpakjian
and Schmid 2013).
Parameters Influencing Friction
and Lubrication
The most relevant parameters that can affect the
friction at the interface between the tools and the
workpiece during a metalforming process are the
following (Altan et al. 2005):
Tool/Workpiece Parameters
• The properties of the workpiece material (i.e.,
flow stress) influence how the workpiece
deforms and thus how the lubricant must
flow. The properties of both the die and work-
piece material influence how the lubricant
reacts with the surfaces (i.e., the boundary
lubrication).
• The geometry of the die influences how the
workpiece deforms and thus how the lubricant
must flow.
Friction 3

Friction, Fig. 1 Real area

of contact of two surfaces in
contact [adapted from
Kalpakjian and Schmid
2007]

Friction, Fig. 2 Relation

between friction force F and
normal force N [adapted
from Kalpakjian and
Schmid 2007]

• The surface finish of both the tool and the
workpiece influence how hydrostatic lubricant
pockets (i.e., mixed-layer lubrication) are
formed.
• In hot forging, the scale on the workpiece
surface influences the interface conditions. If
the scale is soft and ductile, it may act as a
lubricant. If it is hard and brittle, it may cause
an abrasive wear mechanism.
Lubricant Parameters
• The composition of the lubricant influences the
viscosity (i.e., hydrodynamic lubrication) and
how the viscosity changes when subjected to
extreme heat and pressure. The lubricant com-
position also influences how the lubricant
reacts with both the die and the workpiece
(i.e., boundary lubrication).
4 Friction

• The viscosity of the lubricant influences how it

flows as the workpiece is deformed (i.e.,
hydrodynamic lubrication).
• The amount of lubricant influences how the
lubricant spreads as the workpiece is deformed
and how hydrostatic lubricant pockets (i.e.,
mixed-layer lubrication) are formed.

Process Parameters
• The pressure exerted by the die on the work-
piece influences the viscosity of the lubricant
(i.e., hydrodynamic lubrication) and the defor- Friction, Fig. 3 Schematic illustration of the strip
drawing test
mation of the surface asperities, which affects
the formation of hydrostatic lubricant pockets
(i.e., mixed-layer lubrication).
• The sliding velocity at which the die moves
relative to the workpiece influences the heat
generation at the die/workpiece interface. It
also influences the onset of hydrodynamic
lubrication.
• The sliding length at which the die moves over
the workpiece influences the heat generation at
the die/workpiece interface, the extent to which
the lubricant must spread out, and the extent to
which the lubricant will break down.
• The amount of surface expansion generated
during the deformation process influences the
extent to which the lubricant must spread out. Friction, Fig. 4 Schematic illustration of the pin on
• The heat generated due to the deformation disk test
process and the machine operation influences
the material properties (i.e., flow stress) of both pin/ball is mounted on a controlled head, while
the die and the workpiece and the viscosity of the disk is fixed to a rotary drive, see Fig. 4.
the lubricant. A load-control mode may be adopted to apply a
constant pressure at the interface between the pin
Main Tribological Tests and the disk during the test (Holmberg and Mat-
Strip drawing test. The test allows the measure- thews 1994).
ment of the coefficient of friction for a wide range Ring compression test. Friction is evaluated
of normal loads N and drawing speed, v. During measuring the dimensional changes of a flat ring
the test, a strip is drawn between flat dies, which specimen plastically compressed between two flat
can be at room temperature or heated up to the platens. For given height reductions of the ring
temperature of the dies in the industrial reference during the compression, the corresponding mea-
process, see Fig. 3. The equation used for the surements of the inner specimen diameter provide
calculation of the friction coefficient is m = F/N, the magnitude of the friction, which is low in case
where F defines the drawing force (tangential of diameter increase, while is high if the inner
force). diameter decreases during the deformation, as
Pin/ball on disk test. In the test, a pin/ball is schematically shown in Fig. 5a. The friction coef-
pressed against a rotating disk to evaluate the ficient can be determined by comparing the
friction coefficient between two bodies. The
Friction
Friction, Fig. 5 (a) Effects of different friction conditions, and (b) charts to determine friction
Friction, Fig. 6 Schematic illustration of double cup
extrusion test
experimentally measured values of height and
inner diameter with theoretical curves, as shown
in Fig. 5b. These curves can be obtained either
through analytical methods, such as the slip-line
field theory, the upper or lower bound theories or
the slab method (Avitzur 1968; Johnson and
Mellor 1973), or the Finite Element Method
(FEM) (Groover 2007). The latter has become
the most popular, since it allows to obtain the
5
theoretical curves from numerical simulations of
the ring compression tests for different friction
coefficient values.
Double cup extrusion test. The test consists of
a combined backward and forward cup extrusion,
performed by an upper punch that deforms a bil-
let, moving toward a lower stationary punch in a
container, see Fig. 6. The container has relative
velocity with respect to the upper punch, but not
to the lower punch. The ratio between the back-
ward and the forward cup heights H1/H2 is
influenced by the entity of the friction: in the
ideal case of zero friction, the material would be
equally extruded in both the directions and the
ratio the ratio H1/H2 would be equal to 1. In prac-
tice, due to the friction between the billet material
and the container, the height of the backward
extrusion, H1, is larger than the forward extrusion,
H2. The friction coefficient can be determined by
inverse analysis, comparing the ratio H1/H2 mea-
sured in the experiment with the results of FEM
simulations of the same test (Dixit and Narayanan
2013).
Cross-References
▶ Lubrication
▶ Surface Roughness
▶ Tribology
▶ Wear
6 Friction
References
Altan T, Ngaile G, Shen G (2005) Cold and hot forging:
fundamentals and applications. ASM International,
Materials Park
Avitzur B (1968) Metal forming: processes and analysis.
McGraw-Hill, New York
Bowden FP, Tabor D (1950) The friction and lubrication of
solids. Clarendon, Oxford
Dixit US, Narayanan RG (2013) Metalforming: technol-
ogy and process modelling. McGraw Hill Education,
New Delhi
Groover MP (2007) Fundamentals of modern manufactur-
ing: materials, processing, and systems. Wiley,
Hoboken
Holmberg K, Matthews A (1994) Coatings
tribology – properties, techniques and applications in
surface engineering, vol 28, Elsevier tribology series.
Elsevier Science, Amsterdam
Johnson W, Mellor PB (1973) Engineering plasticity. Van
Nostrand Reinhold, London/New York
Kalpakjian S, Schmid S (2007) Manufacturing processes
for engineering materials, 5th edn. Prentice Hall, Upper
Saddle River
Kalpakjian S, Schmid S (2013) Manufacturing engineering
and technology. Pearson education, Upper Saddle
River
E
Electrochemical Grinding
Fredy Kuster1 and Mohammad Dalaee2
1
Institut für Werkzeugmaschinen und Fertigung
(IWF), ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
2
inspire AG, Zürich, Switzerland
Synonyms
Abrasive electrochemical grinding (AECG); Elec-
trolytic grinding
Definition
Electrochemical grinding (ECG) is a hybrid pro-
cess combining grinding and ECM, which uses a
grinding wheel as electrode to remove electrically
conductive material. Direct current (DC) flows
through an electrolyte between the negatively
charged grinding wheel and the positively
charged workpiece. Material removal takes place
through the combination of mechanical and elec-
trochemical processes, acting on the same area at
the workpiece. Advantages of this hybrid machin-
ing process result from interaction between micro-
cutting and electrochemical dissolving, both pro-
cesses acting in a surface layer of the workpiece.
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16826-1
Theory and Application
In ECG processes, schematically shown in Fig. 1,
the rotating grinding wheel acts as cathode
(negatively charged) which provides the desired
shape of the workpiece. The workpiece is
connected to the positive pole of a DC power
supply. The electrolyte fluid, such as sodium chlo-
ride, sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, etc., is
flushed into the small gap between the grinding
wheel and workpiece. By applying low voltage of
about 4–8 V across the anode and cathode,
McGeough (1988) found a high electrical current
density of about 120–240 A/cm2 in the gap filled
with electrolyte between conductive part of the
grinding wheel and workpiece. It constitutes an
electrochemical cell in the machining area. The
workpiece material is removed by anodic dissolu-
tion, an electrolytic phenomenon, but also through
a mechanical abrasion mechanism. The major
material removal takes place by an anodic disso-
lution (nearly 90%) and the rest by the mechanical
cut of the abrasive grains in the grinding wheel
(Benedict 1987). The small chips removed from
the workpiece by the mechanical interaction
between grains and workpiece stay in the electro-
lyte fluid as long as they are not further filtered
out. The material removal rate of the ECG process
is typically at 1600 mm3/min per 1000A and
therefore higher than by conventional grinding
(McGeough 1988). The grinding wheel profile is
the negative of the desired workpiece shape. ECG
needs electric conductive grinding wheels as
2 Electrochemical Grinding
Electrochemical
Grinding,
Fig. 1 Schematic setup of
electrochemical grinding
process
metallic bonding agent, such as copper, brass, or
nickel with embedded abrasive particles such as
aluminum oxide, CBN, or diamond. In the ECG
process, the grinding wheel slightly touches the
workpiece. Carbon brushes can be applied to pro-
vide the contact between the electrically isolated
grinding wheel and the negative pole of the DC
power supply. The electrolytic fluid is supplied to
the grinding wheel near the workpiece such that it
is dragged into the grinding gap. It is typically
done by nozzles, similar to the ones used to pro-
vide the coolant in conventional grinding pro-
cesses. The fresh electrolyte delivered by the
nozzle moves into the wheel-workpiece interface
due to the rotation of the wheel, leading to anodic
dissolution of the workpiece material. As indi-
cated in Fig. 2, the mechanical contact arc of an
ECG wheel is smaller than that of a conventional
method due to the effect of electrochemical mate-
rial removal. At the leading edge of the wheel,
electrochemical dissolution occurs, and results of
this reaction, besides removing material, are for-
mation of oxides, gas, and other by-products.
These agents are nonconductive, and accumula-
tion of them in electrolyte flow causes decreasing
of the electric conductivity. Consequently, the
electric current gradually drops, and thus less
and less material is dissolved, which leads to a
reduction of the gap distance. Such condition
leads to direct contact between abrasive grains
and workpiece surface in downstream part of the
electrolyte flow as shown in Fig. 2.
In this area material is removed by both abra-
sive action and anodic dissolution. While grains
remove materials mechanically, dissolution
occurs in a tiny electrochemical cell in the region
between the protruding abrasive grains filled with
the electrolyte. The grinding wheel carries away
the chips together with the oxides generated by the
electrochemical process and exposes fresh metal
surface of the workpiece to the electrolyte. The
pressure or the normal force between the grinding
wheel and the workpiece is much lower than
obtained in conventional grinding. In conse-
quence, the material deflection is reduced and
thus better accuracy produced. There is also less
wear on the grinding wheel, and therefore, less
frequent wheel dressing is necessary compared to
conventional grinding.
Process Characteristics
ECG offers the ability to machine electrically con-
ductive materials, which are in the category of
materials that are difficult to process, independent
of their hardness or toughness, since the process
does not rely solely on abrasive mechanisms. The
ECG process can produce very smooth surfaces and
burr-free edges, unlike those obtained during con-
ventional grinding. The surface finish produced by
ECG varies from Ra = 0.2 mm to 0.3 mm,
Electrochemical Grinding
Electrochemical Grinding, Fig. 2 Machining area and tiny electrochemical cell formation in ECG
depending on the workpiece material ground and
the size and concentration of the abrasive grains on
the grinding wheel. In addition, the heat produced
by the ECG process is very low, resulting in less
distortion of the workpiece.
The performance of this process depends on
both conventional grinding and anodic dissolu-
tion parameters. Benedict (1987) pointed out that
since the majority of material removal happens by
anodic dissolution, the intensity of the electrical
current is one of the main operational parameters.
This factor is influenced by the voltage applied
between workpiece and grinding wheel, the
velocity of electrolyte flow, conductivity of the
electrolyte, and the workpiece. The grinding
wheel consists of metallic bond and abrasive
grains. Bonding material should have high con-
ductivity and thermal resistive properties to con-
duct electric current and to withstand unexpected
electric arcs during processing. Nonconductive
abrasive grains cut and wipe away materials and
oxide films on the surface of the workpiece.
Due to the small material removal by abrasive
mechanism, ECG process benefits from the low
grinding wheel wear and the small contact forces
between tool and workpiece. These features allow
the machining of fragile workpieces, thermo-
sensitive materials, and parts designed for stress
and burr-free applications. However, this process
is not economical for soft materials. Advantages
and disadvantages of the ECG process listed in
Phillips (1987) are shown in Table 1.
3
Kozak and Skrabalak (2014) present a more
detailed analysis of the interaction between the
mechanical and the electrochemical mechanisms
of the hybrid ECG process, shown in Fig. 3.
Results of numerical simulation are presented to
provide approximate characteristic of the material
removal process such as depth of micro-cutting g
and real depth of cut am, depending on chosen
input data, such as setting depth of cut ae, feed
rate vf, working voltage U, conductivity of the
electrolyte, and angular velocity o of grinding
wheel. The performed simulations evaluate the
geometry of the interelectrode region in Fig. 3.
The simulation result in Fig. 4 shows that a feed
rate vf below a critical value means the material
removal process on the workpiece is dominated
by electrochemical dissolution, because the grains
on the grinding wheel have no contact with the
workpiece. As example for a voltage of 6 V below
the feed of vf = 67 mm/min, we have only elec-
trolytic material removal (continuous red line)
because in this feed area the electrolytic material
removal is higher than the mechanical removal
(black line) of the grinding process part. At higher
feed rates vf, we have the opposite situation: the
electrolytic material removal is smaller than the
mechanical interaction between grain and work-
piece. Therefore, the material removal is shared
between electrolytic and mechanical grinding
removal. Under such conditions, if the higher
amount of feed is selected, the material removal
process becomes more dominated by abrasive
material removal. Figure 3 shows regions of the
4 Electrochemical Grinding

Electrochemical Grinding, Table 1 Advantages and disadvantages of electrochemical grinding (Republished with
permission from ASM International from Phillips 1987, Permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.)
Advantages Disadvantages
Absences of distortion of thin, fragile, or thermosensitive parts, Higher capital cost than for conventional machines
no cracking, stress free
Surface finishes of 0.125–1.0 mm depending on material, wheel, Use limited to electrically conductive workpieces
and other variables
Burr-free surfaces Corrosive nature of electrolytes
Absence of work hardening Required disposal and filtering of electrolytes
Tolerances of 0.025 mm under normal and 0.0025 mm Noncompetitive removal rates compared to
under special conditions depending on material and grinding conventional methods for readily machinable
parameters metals
Elimination of grinding burn
No wheel loading or glazing
Less frequent wheel truing
Longer grinding wheel life because around 90 % of metal is
removed by electrolysis and only 10 % by grinding
No metallurgical damage from heat

Electrochemical Grinding, Fig. 3 Schematic diagram of electrochemical grinding (Kozak and Skrabalak 2014,
Reprinted with permission)

tool-workpiece interaction zone where electro-
chemical (EC) material removal dominates and,
also, a hatched area between points 1 and 2 where
both electrochemical and mechanical material
removal take place. The totally removed material
depth am is larger than the programmed grinding
depth ae due to the electrochemical machining.
Similar effects by several other parameters, such
as rotational wheel speed, voltage, etc., are
reported in Kozak and Skrabalak (2014).
Electrochemical Grinding 5

Electrochemical
Grinding,
Fig. 4 Efficiency of ECG
as function of the linear feed
rate vf (Kozak and
Skrabalak 2014, Reprinted
with permission)

Applications
ECG is applied to grind electric conductive mate-
rials, such as stainless steel, Inconel, Monel,
Waspaloy, or tungsten carbide. This soft grinding
process is favored for fragile and thermosensitive
parts, which are difficult to machine by conven-
tional cutting processes. Joslin (2009) proposes
the ECG of superalloy turbine blades. Other appli-
cations of the ECG process are from grinding of
honeycomb metals for aerospace parts, burr-free
sharpening of hypodermic needles, as well as the
production of tungsten carbide cutting tools.
Cross-References
▶ Dressing
▶ Electrochemical Dressing (ECD)
▶ Electrochemical Machining (ECM)
▶ Grinding Wheel
References
Benedict GF (1987) Nontraditional manufacturing pro-
cesses, Manufacturing engineering and materials pro-
cessing/19. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 153–160
Joslin F (2009) Patent application US 20090260994 A1:
Electrochemical grinding (ECG) quill and method to
manufacture a rotor blade retention slot
Kozak J, Skrabalak G (2014) Analysis of abrasive electro-
chemical grinding process (AECG). In: Ao SI
et al (eds) Proceedings of the world congress on engi-
neering 2014, vol II, WCE 2014, 2–4 July 2014, Lon-
don, pp 1147–1152. Open-access online version: http://
www.iaeng.org/publication/WCE2014. Date of access:
21 Oct 2016
McGeough JA (1988) Advanced methods of machining.
Springer Science & Business Media, Netherlands
Phillips RE (1987) Electrochemical grinding. In: ASM
metals handbook, vol 16, Machining. ASM Interna-
tional, Materials Park, pp 542–547
L
Learning Factory
Eberhard Abele
Institut f€
ur Produktionsmanagement, Technologie
und Werkzeugmaschinen, Technische Universit€at
Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
Definition
Various definitions of the term “Learning Fac-
tory” were proposed and intensively discussed
within the community (see, e.g., Initiative on
European Learning Factories 2012; Wagner
et al. 2012; Tisch et al. 2013; Kreimeier
et al. 2014). Within a corresponding CIRP Col-
laborative Working Group (CWG), an agreement
on the following definition could be achieved:
A Learning Factory in a narrow sense is a learning
environment specified by
• processes that are authentic, include multiple
stations, and comprise technical as well as orga-
nizational aspects,
• a setting that is changeable and resembles a real
value chain,
• a physical product being manufactured, and
• a didactical concept that comprises formal,
informal and non-formal learning, enabled by
own actions of the trainees in an on-site learning
approach.
Depending on the purpose of the Learning Fac-
tory, learning takes place through teaching, training
and/or research. Consequently, learning outcomes
may be competency development and/or innovation.
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16828-1
An operating model ensuring the sustained opera-
tion of the Learning Factory is desirable.
In a broader sense, learning environments meet-
ing the definition above but with
• a setting that resembles a virtual instead of a
physical value chain, or
• a service product instead of a physical product,
or
• a didactical concept based on remote learning
instead of on-site learning
can also be considered as Learning Factories.
Figures 1 and 2 visualize the definition.
Theory and Application
Manufacturing education as a major driver for
excellence in manufacturing (ManuFuture 2006)
will be challenged significantly in the future
(Chryssolouris and Mourtzis 2008): megatrends
with strong effects on manufacturing – like declin-
ing product lifecycles, a rising number of product
variants, globalization, or an increased frequency
of job rotation (Abele and Reinhart 2011) – require
a shift towards lifelong learning and increased
competency building in manufacturing. In order
to support this shift and to ensure the sustained
growth of the manufacturing industry, both edu-
cational content and its didactical approaches
need to be adapted to the new situation
(Chryssolouris et al. 2013). “Learning Factories”
present a promising approach.
The first “Learning Factories” were jointly
founded in 1994 at Pennsylvania State University,
2 Learning Factory

Learning Factory,
Fig. 1 Key characteristics
of Learning Factories
(Abele et al. 2015)

Dimensions Features

Purpose teaching and/or training and/or research

Process authentic + multi stage + technical and organizational

Setting changeable + real or virtual*

Product physical or service**

Didactics concept based + formal and informal learning + own

actions of trainees + on-site or remote learning***
Operating
sustainable plan allows the ongoing operation (desired)
Model

Learning Factory,
Fig. 2 Learning Factories
in the narrow and in the
broader sense (Abele
et al. 2015)
*Value chain in the learning factory

Learning Factory in Learning Factory in Learning Factory in

real

the broader sense the narrow sense the narrow sense

Learning Factory in
the broader sense
virtual

Learning Factory in Learning Factory in

the broader sense the broader sense

service physical
**Manufactured product inside the learning factory

the University of Washington, and the University Factories were established, mainly in Europe.
of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez under a shared financial These new Learning Factories greatly vary in
program. The leading goal was to supplement the size and core topics (Abele et al. 2015; Wagner
rather theoretical engineering studies with practi- et al. 2012) and are operated by both academic and
cal, hands-on manufacturing experience as well as private organizations like industrial and consult-
communications and teamwork skills (Jorgensen ing companies.
et al. 1995; Lamancusa et al. 1997; Lamancusa While the initial setups of Learning Factories
and Simpson 2004). Independently from these were started isolated from each other, the net-
first initiatives, towards the end of the first decade working and collaboration between the individual
of the new millennium, several other Learning Factories grew in the following years. Next to
Learning Factory 3

informal networking, milestones for formal col-
laboration were as follows:
• The establishment of the yearly “Conference
on Learning Factories” in 2011
• The establishment of the “European Initiative
on Learning Factories” in 2011
• The establishment of the CIRP Collaborative
Working Group (CWG) “Learning Factories
for future oriented research and education in
manufacturing” in 2014
Besides the increased collaboration, this new
generation of Learning Factories follows a goal-
oriented, strategic, and scientific approach for
enhancing the learning in Learning Factories
(Abele et al. 2015). Beyond, Learning Factories
were more and more leveraged also for research.
• Darmstadt, Germany, 2011 (Abele et al. 2011)
• Vienna, Austria, 2012 (Sihn and J€ager 2012)
• Munich, Germany, 2013 (Reinhart et al. 2013)
• Stockholm, Sweden, 2014
• Bochum, Germany, 2015
• Gjøvik, Norway, 2016 (plan)
• Darmstadt, Germany, 2017 (plan)
Application
A multitude of industries operates Learning
Factories:
• Educational institutions
• Automotive
• Consulting
• Machine building industry
• Process industry

Theory The topics dealt with in Learning Factories

While the first Learning Factories were installed comprise
in a hands-on approach with the mindset of a
“good engineer,” recent research has put scientific • Productivity improvement/industrial engineer-
knowledge and methodology to the setup and ing/lean manufacturing
further development of Learning Factories. Cur- • Energy efficiency
rent research topics are as follows: • Manufacturing systems
• Changeability
• Establishing an overview on different types of • Design
Learning Factories in a morphology and in • Digitalization/Industrie 4.0
typologies (see, e.g., Abele et al. 2015; Wagner • Internal logistics
et al. 2012; Tisch et al. 2013; Steffen • Worker preparation for on-the-job training
et al. 2013, see Fig. 3)
• Strategic setup of a Learning Factory curricu-
lum and environment (see, e.g., Tisch
Cross-References
et al. 2013; Riffelmacher 2013)
• Measurement of learning success in Learning
▶ Flexible Manufacturing Systems
Factories (see, e.g., Cachay et al. 2012; Tisch
▶ Learning Organization
et al. 2014)
▶ Manufacturing
• Potentials and limits of learning and research in
▶ Manufacturing System
Learning Factories
▶ Optimization in Manufacturing Systems,
Fundamentals
For 2017, a CIRP keynote paper on “Learning ▶ Process
Factories” is planned, comprising the global state ▶ Production
of the art.
As the main platform for the scientific
exchange on Learning Factories, the “Conference
on Learning Factories” plays an important role. So
far, the conference was held in the following:
 4

Part 1: Operating model

Nature of operating institution (academic, industrial,
etc.); teaching staff, funding

Part 2: Purpose and Targets

Strategic orientation of LF, Purposes, target groups, group
constellation, targeted industries, subject matters

Part 3: Process
Adressed phases, inv. functions, material flow, process
type, manufacturing methods & technologies, etc.

Part 4: Setting
Learning environment (physical, virtual), work system
levels, IT-integration, changeability of setting

Part 5: Product
Number of different products, variants, type and form of
product, product origin, further product use, etc.

Part 6: Didactics
Learning targets, type of learning environment
(greenfield, brownfield), role of trainer, evaluation, etc.

Part 7: Learning Factory Metrics

Quantitative figures like floor space, FTE, Number of
participants per training, etc.

Learning Factory, Fig. 3 Selection of specific Learning Factory features in a morphology (Abele et al. 2015)
Learning Factory
Learning Factory
References
Abele E, Reinhart G (2011) Zukunft der Produktion
[Future of production]. Carl Hanser, Munich
(in German)
Abele E, Cachay J, Heb A, Scheibner S (eds) (2011) Pro-
ceedings of the 1st conference on learning factories,
Darmstadt, 19 May 2011
Abele E, Metternich J, Tisch M, Chryssolouris G, Sihn W,
ElMaraghy H, Hummel V, Ranz F (2015) Learning
factories for research, education, and training. Procedia
CIRP 32:1–6
Cachay J, Wennemer J, Abele E, Tenberg R (2012) Study
on action-oriented learning with a learning factory
approach. Procedia Soc Behav Sci 55:1144–1153
Chryssolouris G, Mourtzis D (2008) Challenges for
manufacturing education.In: Proceedings of CIMEC
2008, CIRP international manufacturing engineering
education conference, Nantes, Oct 2008
Chryssolouris G, Mavrikios D, Mourtzis D (2013)
Manufacturing systems: skills & competencies for the
future. Procedia CIRP 7:17–24
Initiative on European Learning Factories (2012) General
assembly of the initiative on European learning facto-
ries, Vienna
Jorgensen JE, Lamancusa JS, Zayas-Castro JL, Ratner J
(1995) The learning factory – curriculum integration of
design and manufacturing.In: Proceedings of the fourth
world conference on engineering education, St. Paul,
MN. pp 1–7
Kreimeier D, Morlock F, Prinz C, Kr€ uckhans B, Bakir DC,
Meier H (2014) Holistic learning factories – a concept
to train lean management, resource efficiency as well as
management and organization improvement skills.
Procedia CIRP 17:184–188
Lamancusa JS, Simpson T (2004) The learning
factory – 10 years of impact at Penn State. In:
5
Proceedings international conference on engineering
education, Gainesville, Florida. pp 1–8
Lamancusa JS, Jorgensen JE, Zayas-Castro JL (1997) The
learning factory – a new approach to integrating design
and manufacturing into the engineering curriculum.
J Eng Educ 86(2):103–112
ManuFuture High Level Group and Implementation Sup-
port Group (2006) ManuFuture platform – strategic
research agenda, assuring the future of manufacturing
in Europe. https://www.um.es/operum/plataformas/
files/manfuture.pdf
Reinhart G, Schnellbach P, Hilgert C, Frank SL (eds)
(2013) Proceedings of the 3rd conference on learning
factories, Munich, 7 May 2013
Riffelmacher P (2013) Konzeption einer Lernfabrik für die
variantenreiche Montage. Fraunhofer Verlag, Stuttgart
Sihn W, J€ager A (eds) (2012) Proceedings of the 2nd
conference on learning factories – competitive produc-
tion in Europe through education and training, Vienna,
10 May 2012
Steffen M, Frye S, Deuse J (2013) Vielfalt Lernfabrik
[Learning factory diversity]. Werkstattstechnik online:
wt 103(3):233–239 (in German)
Tisch M, Hertle C, Cachay J, Abele E, Metternich J,
Tenberg R (2013) A systematic approach on develop-
ing action-oriented, competency-based learning facto-
ries. Procedia CIRP 7:580–585
Tisch M, Hertle C, Metternich J, Abele E (2014)
Lernerfolgsmessung in Lernfabriken – Kompetenzor-
ientierte Weiterentwicklung praxisnaher Schulungen
[Measuring learning success in learning factories –
competency-oriented further development of practical
trainings]. Ind Manag 30(3):39–42 (in German)
Wagner U, AlGeddawy T, ElMaraghy H, M€ uller E (2012)
The state-of-the-art and prospects of learning factories.
Procedia CIRP 3:109–114
P
Production Networks
József Váncza
Research Laboratory of Engineering and
Management Intelligence, Institute for Computer
Science and Control, Hungarian Academy of
Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
Synonyms
Supply chain network; Supply network; Value-
creating Network
Definition
Products and related services are provided by
production networks where autonomous enter-
prises are linked by relatively stable material,
information, and financial flows. A production
network typically includes nodes of suppliers
and manufacturers involved in direct value-
adding activities, distribution centers and logistics
service providers, as well as facilities and chan-
nels for reverse logistics. The network concept
puts emphasis also on the fact that enterprises
operate within the fabrics of economy, society,
and ecosystem: they have to respect not only
their customers’ and own interests but also those
of other stakeholders, including the social and
natural environments.
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16829-1
Theory and Application
Architecture of Production Networks
It is widely acknowledged that production net-
works are one of the most complex and dynamic
man-made systems. Their general architecture
includes a number of tiers of external suppliers
as well as manufacturers of intermediate and fin-
ished products. The products usually get to the
customers through distribution centers. Some
enterprises in this forward process assume multi-
ple roles (e.g., supplier and manufacturer) and
may participate in a number of networks at the
same time. For instance, a producer of semicon-
ductor components or packaging materials may
serve even different industries simultaneously.
Fig. 1 shows a general network architecture with
flows and buffers (i.e., inventories) of material
between nodes. Inventories are inevitable to pro-
vide service at the customer-requested level and to
enable local resource optimization, even though
keeping stocks incurs costs and involves risks
(due to perishable or potentially obsolete items).
The network often includes also lateral links that
facilitate cooperation of partners of the same type,
typically in form of inventory balancing or
consolidation.
Recently, as more and more attention has been
given to repair, recycling, and remanufacturing,
reverse activities have become integral parts of
the general production network architecture
(Melo et al. 2009). The reverse logistics include
2 Production Networks
Production Networks,
Fig. 1 A generic
production network
architecture
facilities like collection centers and recovery
plants.
Throughout the whole network, the flow of
multiple commodities is in general accomplished
by logistics service providers who operate via
different modalities such as inland surface (rail,
road, waterway), sea, and air transportation, or
even pipelines.
A common instance of the generic architecture
is the focal production network where an origi-
nal equipment manufacturer (OEM) produces a
number of different products (e.g., consider M1
in Fig. 1). Since acceptable order lead times are
typically shorter than production lead times, pro-
duction is based mostly on forecasts. Part of the
forecast information is shared with the suppliers in
order to decrease the well-known bullwhip effect;
hence long-term relations and trust are prerequi-
sites for managing the network. Consequently,
there are relatively stable relations between the
nodes (e.g., key supplier and customer partnering,
dedicated warehouses, etc.) and only few and rare
newcomers.
Design, Management, and Control
of Production Networks
A production network has a complex, multilay-
ered, both horizontally and vertically articulated
and open-ended structure which is intrinsically
coupled with its behavior. The network is serving
some uncertain, changing demand in an environ-
ment that is only partially observable and predict-
able. The network partners, if autonomous,
possess local information of future demand,
costs, and other conditions of business. Their
internal operation is driven by individual, almost
necessarily conflicting business objectives, logic,
and decision mechanisms. Some of them are even
in a competitive situation. Hence, it is no wonder
that due to the complexities, conflicts, and uncer-
tainties involved, designing the structure and
planning the operation of a production network
are realized on several levels of aggregation and
corresponding time horizons.
On the strategic level, decisions are motivated
by the operations strategy of the enterprise reaching
the customer base with its value proposition
(Simchi-Levi 2010; Holweg and Helo 2014).
These decisions concern the number of tiers, com-
modities, and delivery periods. Additionally, issues
related to capacities, inventories, procurement, pro-
duction, routing, and transportation modes should
also be handled. In case of global production net-
works, financial factors like taxes, duties, exchange
rates, transfer prices, as well as local investment
incentives have also a strong impact on network
Production Networks
configuration. In any case, strategic design deci-
sions have to be made under uncertainty. Against
all the complexities of production networks, their
performance measures – at least as discussed in
the literature – are surprisingly simple. The major-
ity of indicators relate to some forms of cost, far
less to profits, and only few researches tackle mul-
tiple objectives like return rate, resource utilization,
service level, cycle time, flexibility, robustness, or
sustainability measures (Melo et al. 2009).
The strategic production network design
models are still rooted in the facility location
problem (Olhager et al. 2015). Some extended
formulations include both the aspects of produc-
tion and distribution. There have been much
recent efforts in making fundamental decisions
about structure and behavior by anticipating
inventory management decisions, too. As for
inventories, their points and levels are of primary
concern. If multiple commodity, multiperiod, and
multilayer models are dealt with, their solution
poses a serious challenge even if the models are
deterministic and have single criterion (Melo
et al. 2009). Nonetheless, network design should
handle the randomness of some basic model
parameters (like demand, various cost factors,
exchange rates, etc.) and plausible future scenar-
ios. The deterministic models can be applied in a
two-stage design process where the design vari-
ables are implemented before the realization of
random variables is observed and then the
second-stage usage variables determine the
recourses needed to warrant the feasibility of the
design (Klibi et al. 2010; Olhager et al. 2015). The
numerical solutions typically work with a finite
number of possible realizations, or scenarios,
which have an essential impact on the future
adaptability of a particular network design.
Alternatively, one can define a pragmatic map-
ping between key network features or decision
variables, such as demand volatility, supply
chain vulnerability, necessity for economies of
scale, requirements of consistent process quality,
proximity of customers, market specificity of
products, customer tolerance time, value density
(item cost per kilogram or cubic meter), as well as
patterns of production networks spanning from
centralized to decentralized architectures. Fig. 2
3
shows characteristic network patterns and signif-
icant correlations among key decision variables.
On the tactical level, focus is set on achieving
strategic goals by advance planning and the coor-
dination of logistics and production operations in
the medium term. Here planning is a recurring
effort to match future demand with supply by
relying on partly asymmetric and uncertain infor-
mation. Planning necessarily crosses the bound-
aries of the individual enterprise and integrates
procurement (upstream), production, as well as
delivery and distribution (downstream) decisions.
However, inventories, seemingly passive and
non-lucrative elements of business can be turned
into key factors of coordination.
The basic setting of networked production
where decisions are made autonomously at the
nodes implies a decomposition scheme. Accord-
ingly, the coordination of distributed planning
decisions is performed in a top-down, hierarchi-
cal way. In the course of so-called upstream
planning, starting at the downstream party (e.g.,
OEM), local planning problems are solved in a
sequence where the solution of one partner sets
targets for the next one (Albrecht 2010). The
inevitable suboptimality of the decomposition
approach calls for centralized supply chain plan-
ning methods which are of theoretical relevance,
but hardly applicable under realistic market con-
ditions. The potential loss from decentralized
versus centralized decision-making in supply
networks is referred to as the price of anarchy.
The key question of coordinated planning is
whether it is possible to decrease this price, to
circumvent the deficiencies of the decomposition
method when there is no opportunity for central-
ized planning. The autonomy of network partners
fairly complicates the answer: each partner takes
an individual planning and control approach
which fits its specific market, production, and
supplier requirements. But all partners’ operations
have to be synchronized with the same planning
and control logic to guarantee the achievement of
common targets. Though there exist a number of
enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply
chain management (SCM) systems that offer tech-
nology for information storing, retrieval, and shar-
ing within and between the nodes of a production
4 Production Networks
Production Networks,
Fig. 2 Formation of
production networks
(Váncza et al. 2011, after
Abele et al. 2006)
network, these systems are mainly transactional:
they do not really support coordinated decision-
making (Váncza et al. 2011).
Finally, on the operational level, detailed
scheduling of production and logistics activities
are accomplished in the short term. In addition,
tracking and tracing of the commodities sup-
ports near-time control which is responsible for
executing the schedules and reacting to unex-
pected events at the time of realization.
Challenges and Directions of Research
Research of modeling and analyzing, as well as
designing, managing, planning, and controlling
production networks, is largely multifaceted,
diversified, and multidisciplinary in terms of its
apparatus. Some recent key issues investigated
intensively are the following.
Information and Communication
Technologies
Information and communication technologies
(ICT) establish channels for interlinking both
enterprises and their customers. These channels
are the main technological enablers of globaliza-
tion (Koren 2010). Since ICT allows members of a
network to widen their span of interest and con-
trol, the distribution of information and decision
rights introduces some new elements of uncer-
tainty. In fact, ICT services invisibly pervade
into everyday objects and environments: informa-
tion access and processing are made easily avail-
able for everyone, from everywhere and any time,
enabling users to exchange and retrieve informa-
tion they need quickly, efficiently, and
effortlessly, regardless of their physical location.
The trends point toward the integration of several
technologies like identification and tracking,
wired and wireless sensor and actuator networks,
Production Networks
the Internet of Things (IoT), and distributed intel-
ligence for smart objects, to name only the most
important ones. However, one has to face the
challenges of interfaces and interoperability, of
handling big bulks of data as well as giving com-
mon interpretation to the data. Furthermore,
networked communication raises special security
and safety issues as well.
Risk Management and Robustness
Recent research incorporates the management of
risks in network design and planning. Risks may
have a number of different sources, such as uncer-
tain economic cycles and consumer demands, or
unpredictable natural and man-made disasters
(Simchi-Levi 2010). Of the main risk types supply
networks have to face, demand uncertainty is
investigated most thoroughly, captured by sto-
chastic models (Klibi et al. 2010). Facility loca-
tion and inventory control decisions together can
result in risk pooling solutions. Another form of
containing risk is based on preventing disruptions
by investing into slack capacities, excess invento-
ries, or insurance policies.
On the tactical level planning, partners can be
made interested in cooperation and truthful infor-
mation exchange if their incentive scheme facil-
itates the sharing of both the benefits and risks of
acting together. Simply said, the partners should
laugh and cry together. Such incentives can be
formulated in terms of appropriate contracts
such as the quantity discount and buyback/return
contracts, or the application of revenue sharing
agreements instead of fixed prices.
Robustness is the general quality of a network
to remain effective and efficient in face of plausi-
ble future changes of its environment. Robust
production networks are set up and run with spe-
cial concern on mitigating risks: while resilience
is directly related to the structure and resources of
a network, responsiveness dampens the impact of
changes and uncertainties that relate to the opera-
tion and behavior of a network (Klibi et al. 2010).
Collaborative Planning and Channel
Coordination
To complement the division of labor among
parties in a production network, coordination is
5
essential for synchronizing actions so as to
achieve some common, system-wide goals
(hence, often the term collaboration is used).
Members of a production network that are cross-
linked by communication channels are not only
able but also willing to interact with each other,
i.e., exchange information about their products,
expectations (forecasts), intentions (plans), and
status. Channel coordination aims at improving
overall supply chain performance by aligning the
plans and conflicting criteria of related enter-
prises. It involves ordering, available-to-promise,
and inventory planning decisions of the partners.
Disparate objectives and the decentralization of
decisions may lead to suboptimal overall system
performance and be the root causes both of acute
material shortages and excess inventories.
As the strong notion of coordination suggests,
a supply chain is coordinated if and only if the
partners’ locally optimized decisions are
implemented and result in system-wide optimal
performance. This problem can be captured in a
game theoretic setting: how to find a set of opti-
mal supply chain actions (i.e., production and
delivery) that result in an equilibrium from
which no partner has an interest to deviate? The
game theoretic perspective leads to theoretical
contract models that coordinate a supply channel
under rigorous simplifying assumptions (Albrecht
2010).
According to the weaker but more realistic
notion, the supply chain is coordinated if the
local, self-interested production and delivery
actions result in a better overall performance
than the traditional upstream planning. This
allows for a broad spectrum of coordination
mechanisms that have some generic features in
common: (1) While keeping the privacy of sensi-
tive cost factors, the partners share information on
their intentions (i.e., plans). (2) So as to arrive at a
coordinated solution acceptable for all parties,
alternative planning scenarios are generated and
mutually evaluated. (3) An incentive scheme
drives the partners – against their local
interests – toward coordinated solutions (Kovács
et al. 2013). Typically, potential benefits and risks
of coordination should be shared. Note that high-
quality and robust local planning and scheduling
6 Production Networks
(see Schönsleben 2012) are indispensable in chan-
nel coordination as intentions communicated to
other partners are generated by these functions.
Robustness to local changes and disturbances pre-
vents the ramifications of those changes through
the network and forestalls system nervousness.
Autonomy, Competition, and Cooperation
While any network as a whole is driven by the
overall objectives to meet the customer demand at
the possible minimal production and logistics
costs, the efficiency of operations and the eco-
nomical use of resources hinge on the local deci-
sions of the autonomous partners. The issue is
how to achieve and maintain the right overall
behavior of the network if the autonomous busi-
ness partners decide locally, based on asymmetric
and partially incomplete and inconsistent infor-
mation. What would drive any partner to sacrifice
some of its own goals in the hope of an eventual
mutual benefit? Are there any incentive mecha-
nisms that make enterprises interested in cooper-
ation in general and in sustainable manufacturing
and logistics operations in particular? In a net-
work, cooperation, an interactive relationship
makes it possible to harness knowledge of other
partners or to make use of their actions in the
service of joint interests. The condition of any
form of cooperation is reciprocity and trust
between parties who can decide and act in their
own right. Cooperation is the alignment of vari-
ous, possibly even disparate goals in the hope of
some mutual benefit. It can be developed among
interrelated parties who have their own identity
and discernible interests (expressed in terms of
goals, objectives, utility or profit, etc.), who have
the faculties for pursuing their own interest, and
who admit to the autonomy of other, related
parties. Here, mechanism design (or inverse
game theory) that considers strategic interactions
of self-interested agents with asymmetric, private
information offers a promising conceptual appa-
ratus for establishing such incentives or institu-
tions that drive network partners toward
cooperation (Váncza et al. 2011).
Agent Theory and Network Science
Agent theory and multiagent systems, together
with their supporting information and communi-
cation technologies – such as networking, soft-
ware engineering, distributed and concurrent
systems, mobile technology, electronic com-
merce, interfaces, semantic web, and cloud
computing – have a particularly powerful appara-
tus for investigating production networks. Agents
can capture decentralized, redundant, adaptable,
robust, and open organizational structures. Agent
technology offers (1) a convenient design meta-
phor that enables one to structure domain knowl-
edge (and system design, accordingly) around
components that have autonomy and capability
to communicate; (2) a broad array of software
engineering models, techniques, formal modeling
approaches, and development methodologies; and
(3) tools and techniques especially suitable for
simulating the behavior of complex systems oper-
ating in dynamic environments (Monostori
et al. 2006). Agents can make a good service
either when building fine-grained enterprise
models with sophisticated internal decision mech-
anisms and interfirm interactions or when captur-
ing typically large production networks with
many, coarse-grained nodes and a dense net of
connections. In the latter case, the approach of
network science can be taken for analyzing the
structure of networks that conveys rich informa-
tion on desired properties like efficiency, robust-
ness, or resilience.
Value Co-creation and Service Networks
In the past decades, the landscape of industrial
production dramatically changed due to increas-
ing customer expectations that require shorter
delivery times, customized and personalized
products, and accompanying services. In the
emerging paradigm of personalized and
co-creative production, customers are also
actively involved in the value creation process,
from the decisive moment of the conception of
ideas, already in the phase of product design.
Co-creation is an emergent process that generates
Production Networks
an effective solution, heretofore unattained by any
independently acting partner, through interactions
(Ueda et al. 2009). Thanks to pervasive connec-
tivity, personalization has been increasingly
adopted for consumer products. Through a
so-called experience environment, an enterprise
can engage its customers in the process of value
co-creation. Offerings of the enterprise can go
beyond the provision of physical products and
involve also sophisticated services. Furthermore,
customers may also form communities and inter-
act in a networked environment; the emerging
community itself represents a new form of added
value. Hence, enterprises must offer a combina-
tion of products and services, which gives rise to
industrial product-service (Meier et al. 2010)
and service supply networks (Wang et al. 2015).
Sustainable Manufacturing in Networks
Enterprises have to respect not only their cus-
tomers’ and their own interests but also those of
other stakeholders, including the social and natu-
ral environments. Hence, they have to take a
socially responsible and sustainable approach
and be conscious of the parsimonious use of mate-
rial, energy, and human resources. Ecosystems
that provide fundamental life-supporting services
(like purification of air and water resources, etc.)
are also capital assets, but relative to other forms
of capital (production capacities, inventories,
etc.), these are poorly understood, scarcely mon-
itored, and may undergo rapid change and degra-
dation. Because these services are not traded in
markets, society has no feedback mechanisms to
signal changes in their supply. Hence, there is an
urgent need of incentive mechanisms that reward
the proper management of such assets in combi-
nation with the traditional business objectives
related to productivity, profitability, and competi-
tiveness (Váncza et al. 2011).
So far, mathematical analysis, simulation stud-
ies, and experimentation with human subjects
have distinguished a couple of basic mechanisms
of cooperation among which reputation and
trust are fundamental. In a socioeconomic
7
environment where commitment to core values
of enterprises – such as integrity, goodwill,
respect, and image – really matters, reputation
has definitely a strong power for encouraging
prudent public behavior. In production, there are
already a number of specific examples where one
could demonstrate how transparency and reputa-
tion could foster cooperation and a sustainable
utilization of common resources. For instance,
environmental (carbon) footprint, if public, can
drive improved ecosystem management. There
are methodologies that assess the environmental
and/or social impact of production through the
entire life cycle of products. Some recent models
measure the energy embodied in artifacts as they
are produced by global manufacturing supply
chains. There are calls for the development of a
supplier code of conduct as well as “smart and
green” production – both of which require mea-
sures easy to take and communicate. Building and
maintaining reputation require two basic capabil-
ities: (1) monitoring ongoing interactions and
(2) ensuring public transparency. Note that in a
production network, the applied ICT can by and
large offer these facilities.
Toward Cyber-Physical Production
Systems
Cyber-physical systems are organizations of col-
laborating computational entities which are in
intensive connection with the surrounding physi-
cal world and its ongoing processes, providing
and using, at the same time, data-accessing and
data-processing services available on the Internet.
Cyber-physical production systems (CPPSs),
relying on the newest and foreseeable further
developments of computer science, information,
and communication technologies, on the one
hand, and of manufacturing science and technol-
ogy, on the other hand, are meant to lead to the 4th
industrial revolution (noted also as Industry 4.0).
By definition, a CPPS consists of autonomous and
cooperative elements and subsystems that are
8 Production Networks
getting into connection with each other in
situation-dependent ways, on and across all levels
of production, from processes through machines
up to production and logistics networks. Hence,
exploring fundamental questions of production
networks like design and emergence, autonomy
and cooperation, optimization and responsive-
ness, and trust and security should go hand in
hand with the evolution of cyber-physical produc-
tion systems. These investigations require
multidisciplinary research over a broad range of
contemporary information and communication
technologies, organizational, management and
network sciences, cooperation theory, as well as
production informatics and engineering.
Cross-References
▶ Agent Theory
▶ Cyber Physical System
▶ Industrial Product-Service System
▶ Supply Chain Management
References
Abele E, Kluge J, N€aher U (2006) Global production
handbook. Hanser, M€ unchen, in German
Albrecht M (2010) Supply chain coordination
mechanisms – new approaches for collaborative plan-
ning. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg
Holweg M, Helo P (2014) Defining value chain architec-
tures: linking strategic value creation to operational
supply chain design. Int J Prod Econ 147:230–238
Klibi W, Martel A, Guitouni A (2010) The design of robust
value-creating supply chain networks: a critical review.
Eur J Oper Res 203(2):283–293
Koren Y (2010) The global manufacturing revolution:
product-process-business integration and
reconfigurable systems. Wiley, Hoboken
Kovács A, Egri P, Kis T, Váncza J (2013) Inventory control
in supply chains: alternative approaches to a two-stage
lot-sizing problem. Int J Prod Econ 143(2):385–394
Meier H, Roy R, Seliger G (2010) Industrial product-
service systems-IPS2. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
59(2):607–627
Melo MT, Nickel S, Saldanha-da-Gama F (2009) Facility
location and supply chain management – a review. Eur
J Oper Res 196(2):401–412
Monostori L, Váncza J, Kumara SRT (2006) Agent-based
systems for manufacturing. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol
55(2):697–720
Olhager J, Pashaei S, Sternberg H (2015) Design of global
production and distribution networks: a literature
review and research agenda. Int J Phy Distrib Logist
Manag 45(1/2):138–158
Schönsleben P (2012) Integral logistics
management – operations and supply chain manage-
ment within and across companies, 4th edn. CRC Press,
Boca Raton
Simchi-Levi D (2010) Operations rules – delivering cus-
tomer value through flexible operations. MIT Press,
Cambridge, MA
Ueda K, Takenaka T, Váncza J, Monostori L (2009) Value
creation and decision-making in sustainable society.
CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 58(2):681–700
Váncza J, Monostori L, Lutters D, Kumara SRT, Tseng M,
Valckenaers P, Van Brussel H (2011) Cooperative and
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Manuf Technol 60(2):797–820
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supply chain management: a review of operational
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L
Lean Production
Gunther Reinhart, Josef Greitemann and
Michael Niehues
Institute for Machine Tools and Industrial
Management (iwb), Technical University of
Munich (TUM), Garching, Germany
Synonyms
Kaizen and continuous improvement; Lean man-
agement; Lean manufacturing; Lean production;
Toyota Production System; World class
manufacturing
Definition
The term “lean production” was first introduced in
“The machine that changed the world,” published
in 1990 (Holweg 2007), to differentiate Toyota’s
production practices from mass production in the
automotive industry. Thus, lean production can be
seen as a synonym to the Toyota Production Sys-
tem (TPS), which is elaborated in this entry. John
Krafcik described TPS as a production which
“uses less of everything compared with mass
production – half the human effort in the factory,
half the manufacturing space, half the investment
in tools, half the engineering hours to develop a
product in half the time. Also, it requires keeping
far less than half the needed inventory on site,
# CIRP 2016
The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production
Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16831-1
results in many fewer defects and produces a
greater and ever growing variety of products”
(Womack et al. 1990, p. 11). However, lean
production is more than a production practice. It
is a holistic mindset and management system,
contrary to the traditional approach of mass pro-
duction (Womack et al. 1990).
Theory and Application
The Toyota Production System
Origins
Toyota developed its TPS after World War II to
cope with capital constraints and low production
volumes. TPS was implemented by adapting mass
production strategies of American car manufac-
tures to Toyota’s situation (Ōno 1988; Holweg
2007). Developed between the late 1940s and
1960s (Ōno 1988), the concept of TPS was first
published in English in 1977 (Holweg 2007).
Although some TPS-specific tools like Just-in-
Time or Kanban had been implemented in western
companies in the 1980s, it took more than a decade
until TPS became popular in the automotive indus-
try. Published in 1990, “The machine that changed
the world” was not only a mere description of
Toyota’s manufacturing in comparison to Euro-
pean and American car manufactures but a wake-
up call for the western industry (Holweg 2007). In
the subsequent years, many companies were
implementing TPS more or less successful. These
2 Lean Production
companies only applied single methods and with-
out regarding the basic principles.
Principle
The overall objective of the TPS, depicted in
Fig. 1, is to only provide products that fulfill the
customer’s needs. According to Ōno (1988, p. ix),
founder of TPS, the underlying principle of the
TPS can be summarized as follows:
All we are doing is looking at the time line [. . .]
from the moment the customer gives us an order to
the point when we collect the cash. And we are
reducing that time line by removing the non-value-
added wastes.
As mentioned before, fulfilling the customer’s
needs is the overall objective of TPS. In order to
reach this objective, products need to be
manufactured at the highest quality, with the low-
est cost and shortest lead time. To achieve these
derived goals, the system of TPS requires two
primary pillars Just-in-Time (JIT) and Jidoka
(Autonomation) (Ōno 1988).
The concept of JIT is to produce and deliver the
right parts, in the right quantity, at the right time
using a minimum of resources. Thus, the inven-
tory level can be reduced and, additionally, an
overproduction is avoided. However, a reduced
inventory level bears the risk that the process is
more susceptible to disturbances, e.g., concerning
long set ups, rework, machine breakdowns, late
deliveries or defective products, and can result in a
standstill of production (Takeda 2006). This con-
dition can be analogously pictured by a ship on the
water (cf. Fig. 2). The water level symbolizes the
inventory level. The ship can sail as long as the
water level is high enough to cover the reefs.
However, the lower the water level gets, the
higher the probability that the ship might run
aground on various reefs, presenting the
abovementioned disturbances. By reducing the
inventory level, these hidden obstacles become
visible and need to be eliminated.
Autonomation focuses on two major aspects
including (1) integration of quality assurance
measures in the production process and (2) sepa-
ration of man and machine in the production envi-
ronment. Processes should be designed such that
they are capable to switch off automatically if a
deviation of a regular condition, e.g., problems or
defects occur (Ōno 1988).
The TPS is not only focusing on the production
process itself: One of the most successful factor of
TPS is striving for continuous improvement (Jap.
Kaizen) over time by eliminating waste through
mutual participation of all employees. This con-
text is also shown in detail in Fig. 3.
Waste, also referred to as “muda,” has different
characteristics that are summarized in Fig. 4 (Ōno
1988).
These wastes are briefly described in the
following:
• Over-processing reveals that more time or
effort is spent for a production task than
necessary.
• Transportation indicates nonessential move-
ments of a products, e.g., due to inefficient
layouts.
• Defects in products are a result of poor internal
quality and cause rework or scrap.
• Waiting stems from, e.g., machine break-
downs, long set ups or late deliveries.
• Inventory contributes to long lead times and
prohibits a smooth, continuous workflow.
• Motion denotes unnecessary movements of a
worker that amount to time and energy.
• Overproduction is a result of producing too
much and producing too early.
By eliminating waste in the production pro-
cess, costs and lead time can be reduced.
According to Ōno (1988), there exist further
types of impairment that affect the production
process. These interferences are “muri” (Engl.
overload) and “mura” (Engl. uneven production),
while the latter is a result from a process shifting
continuously between waste (“muda”) and
overload (“muri”).
Another step to reach the overall objective is
the integration of all employees to solve occurring
problems or interferences efficiently. Both, the
elimination of waste and the integration of each
employee, contribute toward the principles of
Kaizen to improve the production process in
terms of time, cost, and quality.
Lean Production
Lean Production,
Fig. 1 Toyota Production
System (Ōno 1988)
Lean Production, Fig. 2 Link between inventory level and disturbances (Takeda 2006)
The foundation of the TPS is to implement a
flexible production depending on the market
demand, standardized processes to ensure a con-
stantly high level of quality and a visual manage-
ment to identify and eliminate problems and waste
more quickly. This basis is stabilized by the under-
lying philosophy of the TPS to reduce cost by
continuous improvement and eliminating wastes.
3
Methods
In order to implement the two pillars of the TPS
(Ōno 1988), JIT and Autonomation, various
methods were developed. To apply a method
effectively, particular prerequisites need to be ful-
filled. Besides, each method has advantages and
disadvantages regarding its application and there-
fore the suitability of each method has to be
4 Lean Production

Lean Production, Fig. 3 Striving for continuous improvement (Kaizen) over time by eliminating waste and
implementing standards

Lean Production, Fig. 4 Seven kinds of waste (muda) (Ōno 1988)

ascertained beforehand. In the following, popular
methods are assigned to the two pillars and briefly
described:
Methods that contribute to the concept of JIT:
• Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is a method for
analyzing production and design flows. Since
it focuses on the customer, it helps to identify
waste (“muda”) and bottlenecks and to outline
a smooth production flow (Rother and Shook
1999). VSM is a common method to start
Kaizen activities because it enables the analy-
sis of the whole processes and concatenates
different lean concepts and techniques.
• Value Stream Design (VSD) is the subsequent
method of VSM to plan (“design”) a future-
state map of a production or design process. It
provides ten design guidelines to achieve lean
Lean Production
processes including different principles and
methods of lean production (Erlach 2012).
• Kanban is the most common method of lean
production and is often misleadingly equated
with it. Kanban is the Japanese word for card
and defines the practical implementation of the
pull principle by using rotating cards between
source and sink of material to organize the
production supply. The main effect is the sta-
bilization of the inventory stock level (Ōno
1988). However, a Kanban system would
never run without inventory since a so-called
supermarket has at least to be filled with inven-
tory to bridge the replenishment time.
• Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) is a
method of reducing lot sizes to achieve lower
inventory stock levels by reducing the change-
over time. Primarily designed for the applica-
tion in body press shops by Shigeo Shingo,
SMED had been established as a universal
method to optimize technical setup operations
(Shingo 1985).
Methods that contribute to the concept of
Autonomation:
• 5S (or Five S’s) is a method of five steps to
create a workplace for lean production and
visual control. The name of the method is
based on the terms for the five steps seiri
(systematic arrangement), seiton (sort), seiso
(shine), seiketsu (standardize), and shitsuke
(sustain). 5S is usually the first step in the
implementation of lean production because it
helps to form standards as a basis for continu-
ous improvement (Womack and Jones 1996).
• Poka Yoke is Japanese and can be translated as
“mistake-proofing” (Shingo 1988). It is a
mechanism that helps operators avoiding mis-
takes and is effective for correcting quality
defects. Solutions are designed to avoid or
detect mistakes directly to achieve a zero
defect production.
• Heijunka focuses on reducing an unevenness
in production (“mura”) by decoupling the pro-
duction program from the customer’s orders. It
5
is characterized by a repetitive production pat-
tern which smoothes the day-to-day variations
to correspond to the long-term demand
(Womack and Jones 1996).
• Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is not an
element of the Toyota Production System, but
it is often set in context with lean production.
The term includes different maintenance activ-
ities and strategies to improve the equipment
effectiveness sustainably. One important ele-
ment is the involvement of operators in routine
maintenance (Wireman 2004). While TPS
focuses on zero defect production, TPM targets
on zero machine breakdowns, so both concepts
supplement each other.
• Chaku-Chaku denotes a principle for synchro-
nized cell manufacturing to react quickly to
fluctuating customer demands. It is based on
low-cost automation realized by simple auto-
matic machines that are linked and mostly
arranged in a U-Layout to produce specific
products in a one piece flow. The quality assur-
ance is integrated in the process. The
employees, working in the Chaku-Chaku-
Line, mainly focus on the loading and activa-
tion of the machines (Yagyu 2007).
Toyota Management
Toyota’s success is based on two essential elements:
the management thinking and routines. The man-
agement routines are known as kata, which is the
Japanese word for routine (Rother and Shook
1999). Rother and Shook (1999) differ between
two fundamental ways of kata: The improvement
kata which is the routine for all Kaizen measures
and the coaching kata that is the routine for teaching
the first one within the organization.
The improvement kata consists of a fixed
vision and a target condition. The target condition
is an achievable state in the direction of the vision
and helps to identify obstacles on the way. This
helps to derive concrete measures to overcome
those obstacles. By eliminating existing obstacles,
the target condition is reached. Consequently, a
new, more challenging target condition can be set.
6 Lean Production
Therefore, the current condition is moving contin-
uously toward the vision (Rother and Shook 1999).
The coaching kata is about leadership. In con-
trast to typical leadership, Toyota leadership is much
more interactive than the classical setting of goals
downstream and reporting results upstream. Each
manager serves as a mentor for his subordinates,
while both of them have an overlap of responsibility.
The mentee is responsible for the task itself, while
the mentor is responsible for the results. Thus, the
mentor is much more involved in the mentee’s
improvement kata process. Within rapid cycles, the
manager and his subordinate are solving one obsta-
cle at a time by leading with questions (Rother and
Shook 1999). This method helps the mentee to solve
the problem by himself. One peculiarity of leading
with questions is the 5W (or 5 Why) method to
identify the root cause of a problem by asking
“why” five times (Womack and Jones 1996).
Cross-References
▶ Lean Design
▶ Manufacturing
▶ Optimization in Manufacturing Systems,
Fundamentals
▶ Production
References
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