擺動(dòng)活塞式發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)的結(jié)構(gòu)設(shè)計(jì)
擺動(dòng)活塞式發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)的結(jié)構(gòu)設(shè)計(jì),擺動(dòng),活塞,發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī),結(jié)構(gòu)設(shè)計(jì)
Mechanical Engineering in the Information Age
In the early 1980s, engineers thought that massive research would be needed to speed up product development. As it turns out, less research is actually needed because shortened product development cycles encourage engineers to use available technology. Developing a revolutionary technology for use in a new product is risky and prone to failure. Taking short steps is a safer and usually more successful approach to product development.
Shorter product development cycles are also beneficial in an engineering would in which both capital and labor are global. People who can design and manufacture various products can be found anywhere in the world, but containing a new idea is hard. Geographic distance is no longer a barrier to others finding out about your development six months into the process. If you’ve got a short development cycle, the situation is not catastrophic-as long as you maintain your lead. But if you’re in the midst of a six-year development process and a competitor gets wind of your work, the project could be in more serious trouble.
The idea that engineers need to create a new design to solve every problem is quickly becoming obsolete. The first step in the modern design process is to browse the Internet or other information systems to see if someone else has already designed a transmission, or a heat exchanger that is close to what you need. Through these information systems, you may discover that someone already has manufacturing drawings, numerical control programs, and everything else required to manufacture your product. Engineers can then focus their professional competence on unsolved problems.
Many engineers have as their function the designing of products that are to be brought into reality through the processing or fabrication of materials. In this capacity they are a key factor in the material selection-manufacturing procedure. A design engineer, better than any other person, should know what he or she wants a design to accomplish. He knows what assumptions he has made about service loads and requirements, what service environment the product must withstand, and what appearance he wants the final product to have. In order to meet these requirements he must select and specify the material(s) to be used. In most cases, in order to utilize the material and to enable the product to have the desired form, he knows that certain manufacturing processes will have to be employed. In many instances, the selection of a specific material may dictate what processing must be used. At the same time, when certain processes are to be used, the design may have to be modified may dictate what processing must be used. At the same time, when certain processes are to be used, the design may have be modified in order for the process to be utilized effectively and economically. Certain dimensional tolerances can dictate the processing. In any case, in the sequence of converting the design into reality, such decisions must be made by someone. In most instances they can be made most effectively at the design stage, by the designer if he has are a son ably adequate knowledge concerning materials and manufacturing processes. Otherwise, decisions may be made that will detract from thee effectiveness of the product, or the product may be needlessly costly. It is thus apparent that design engineers are a vital factor in the manufacturing process, and it is indeed a blessing to the company if they can design for producibility—that is, for efficient production.
Manufacturing engineers select and coordinate specific processes and equipment to be used, or supervise and manage their use. Some design special tooling that is used so that standard machines can be utilized en producing specific products. These engineers must habe abroad knowledge of machine and process capabilities and of materials, so that desired operations can be done effectively and effi8ciently without overloading or damaging machines and without adversely affecting the materials being processed. These manufacturing engineers also play an important role en manufacturing.
A relatively small group of engineers design the machines and equipment used en manufacturing. They obviously are design engineers and, relative to their products, they have the same concerns of the interrelationship of design, materials, and manufacturing processes. However they have an even greater concern regarding the properties of the materials that their machines are going to process and the interrelations of the materials and machines.
Still another group of engineers—the materials engineers—devote their major efforts toward developing new and better materials. They, too, must be concerned with how these materials can be processed and with the effects the processing will have on the properties of the materials.
Although their roles may be quite different, it is apparent that a large proportion of engineers must concern themselves with the interrelationship between materials and manufacturing processes.
Low-cost manufacture does not just happen. There is a close and interdependent relationship between the design of a product, selection of materials, selection of processes and equipment, and tooling selection and design. Each of these must be carefully considered, planned, and coordinated before manufacturing starts. This lead time, particularly for complicated products, may take months, even years, and the expenditure of large amount of money may be involved. Typically, the lead time for a completely new model of an automobile is about 2 years, for amodern aircraft it may be 4years.
In tackling such problems, the availability of high-powered personal computers and access to the information highway dramatically enhance the capability of the engineering team and its productivity. These information age tools can give the team access to massive databases of material properties, standards, technologies, and successful designs. Such protested designs can be downloaded for direct use or quickly modified to meet specific needs. Remote manufacturing, in which product instructions are sent out over a network, is also possible. You could end up with a virtual company where you don’t have to see any hardware. When the product is completed, you can direct the manufacturer to drop-ship it to your customer. Periodic visits to the customer can be made to ensure that the product you designed is working according to the specifications. Although all of these developments won’t apply equally to every company, the potential is there.
Custom design used to be left to small companies. Big companies sneered at it-they hated the idea of dealing with niche markets or small-volume custom solutions. “Here is my product,” One of the big companies would say. “ This is the best we can make it-you ought to like it. If you don’t, there’s smaller company down the street that will work on your problem. ”
Today, nearly every market is a niche market, because customers are selective. If you ignore the potential for tailoring your product to specific customers’ needs, you will lose the major part of your market share-perhaps all of it. Since these niche markets are transient, your company needs to be in a position to respond to them quickly.
The emergence of niche markets and design on demand has altered the way engineers conduct research. Today, research is commonly directed toward solving particular problems. Although this situation is probably temporary, much uncommitted technology, developed at government expense or written off by major corporations, is available today at very low cost. Following modest modifications, such technology can often be used directly in product development, which allows many organizations to avoid the expense of an extensive research effort. Once the technology is free of major obstacles, the research effort can focus on overcoming the barriers to commercialization rather than on pursuing new and interesting, but undefined, alternatives.
When viewed in this perspective, engineering research must focus primarily on removing the barriers to rapid commercialization of known technologies. Much of this effort must address quality and reliability concerns, which are foremost in the minds of today’s consumers. Clearly, a reputation for poor quality is synonymous with bad business. Everything possible-including thorough inspection at the end of the manufacturing line and automatic replacement of defective products-must be done to assure that the customer receives a properly functioning product.
Research has to focus on the cost benefit of factors such as reliability. As reliability increases, manufacturing costs and the final cost of the system will decrease. Having 30 percent junk at the end of a production line not only costs a fortune but also creates an opportunity for a competitor to take your idea and sell it to your customers.
Central to the process of improving reliability and lowering costs is the intensive and widespread use of design software, which allows engineers to speed up every stage of the design process. Shortening each stage, however, may not sufficiently reduce the time required for the entire process. Therefore, attention must also be devoted to concurrent engineering software with shared databases that can be accessed by all members of the design team.
As we move more fully into the Information Age, success will require that the engineer possess some unique knowledge of and experience in both the development and the management of technology. Success will require broad knowledge and skills as well as expertise in some key technologies and disciplines; it will also require a keen awareness of the social and economic factors at work in the marketplace. Increasingly, in the future, routine problems will not justify heavy engineering expenditures, and engineers will be expected to work cooperatively in solving more challenging, more demanding problems in substantially less time. We have begun a new phase in the practice of engineering. It offers great promise and excitement as more and more problem-solving capability is placed in the hands of the computerized and wired engineer. To assure success, the capability of our tools and the unquenched thirst for better products and systems must be matched by the joy of creation that marks all great engineering endeavors. Mechanical engineering is a great profession, and it will become even greater as we make the most of the opportunities offered by the Information Age.
信息時(shí)代的機(jī)械工程
在80年代初期,工程師們?cè)?jīng)認(rèn)為要加快產(chǎn)品的研制開發(fā),必須進(jìn)行大量的研究工作。結(jié)果是實(shí)際上只進(jìn)行了較少的研究工作,這是因?yàn)楫a(chǎn)品開發(fā)周期的縮短,促使工程師們盡可能地利用現(xiàn)有的技術(shù)。研制開發(fā)一種創(chuàng)新性的技術(shù)并將其應(yīng)用在新產(chǎn)品上,是有風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的,并且易于招致失敗。在產(chǎn)品開發(fā)過程中采用較少的步驟是一種安全的和易于成功的方法。
對(duì)于資金和從略都處于全球性環(huán)境中的工程界而言,縮短產(chǎn)品研制開發(fā)周期也是有益的。能夠設(shè)計(jì)和制造各種產(chǎn)品的人可以在世界各地找到。但是,具有創(chuàng)新思想感情的人則比較難找。對(duì)于你已經(jīng)進(jìn)行了6個(gè)月的研制開發(fā)工作,地理上的距離已經(jīng)不再是其他人發(fā)現(xiàn)它的障礙。如果你的研制周期較短,只要你仍然保持領(lǐng)先,這種情況親不會(huì)造成嚴(yán)重后果。但是如果你正處于一個(gè)長達(dá)6年的研制開發(fā)過程的中期,一個(gè)競爭對(duì)手了解到你的研究工作的一些信息,這個(gè)項(xiàng)目將面臨比較大的麻煩。
工程師們?cè)诮鉀Q任何問題時(shí)都需要進(jìn)行新的設(shè)計(jì)這種觀念很快就過時(shí)了。在現(xiàn)代設(shè)計(jì)中的第一步是瀏覽因特網(wǎng)或者其他信息系統(tǒng),看其他人是否已經(jīng)設(shè)計(jì)了一種類似于你所需要的產(chǎn)品,諸如傳動(dòng)裝置或者換熱器等。通過這些信息系統(tǒng),你可能發(fā)現(xiàn)有些人已經(jīng)有了制造圖紙,數(shù)控程序和制造你的產(chǎn)品所需要的其他所有東西。這樣,工程師們就可以把他們的職業(yè)技能集中在尚未解決的問題上。
許多工程師的職責(zé)是進(jìn)行產(chǎn)品設(shè)計(jì),而產(chǎn)品是通過對(duì)材料的加工制造而生產(chǎn)出來的。設(shè)計(jì)工程師在材料選擇——制造方法等方面起著關(guān)鍵的作用。一個(gè)設(shè)計(jì)工程師應(yīng)該比其他的人更清楚地知道他的設(shè)計(jì)需要達(dá)到什么目的。他知道他對(duì)使用荷載和使用要求所做的假設(shè),產(chǎn)品的使用環(huán)境,產(chǎn)品應(yīng)該具有的外觀形貌。為了滿足這些要求,他必須選擇和規(guī)定所使用的材料。通常,為了利用材料并使產(chǎn)品具有所期望的形狀,設(shè)計(jì)工程師知道應(yīng)該采用哪些制造方法。在許多情況下,選擇了某種特定材料就可能意味著已經(jīng)確定了某種必須采用的加工方法。同時(shí),當(dāng)決定采用某種加工方法后,很可能需要對(duì)設(shè)計(jì)進(jìn)行修改,以使這種加工方法能夠被有效而經(jīng)濟(jì)地應(yīng)用。某些尺寸公差可以決定產(chǎn)品的加工方法??傊?,在將設(shè)計(jì)轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)楫a(chǎn)品的過程中,必須有人作出這些決定。在大多數(shù)情況下,如果設(shè)計(jì)人員在材料和加工方法方面具有足夠的知識(shí),他會(huì)在設(shè)計(jì)階段作出最為合理的決定。否則,作出的決定可能會(huì)降低產(chǎn)品的性能,或者使產(chǎn)品變得過于昂貴。顯然,設(shè)計(jì)工程師是制造過程中的關(guān)鍵人物,如果他們能夠進(jìn)行面向生產(chǎn)(即可以進(jìn)行高效率生產(chǎn))的設(shè)計(jì),就會(huì)給公司帶來效益。
制造工程師們選擇和調(diào)整所采用的加工方法和設(shè)備,或者監(jiān)督和管理這些加工方法和設(shè)備的使用。一些工程師進(jìn)行專用工藝裝備的設(shè)計(jì),以使通用機(jī)床能夠被用來生產(chǎn)特定的產(chǎn)品。這些工程師們?cè)跈C(jī)床、工藝能力和材料方面必須具有廣泛的知識(shí),以使機(jī)器在沒有過載和損壞,而且對(duì)被加工材料沒有不良影響的情況下,更為有效地完成所需要的加工工序。這些制造工程師們?cè)谥圃鞓I(yè)中也起到重要作用。
少數(shù)工程師們?cè)O(shè)計(jì)在制造業(yè)中使用的機(jī)床和設(shè)備。顯然,他們是設(shè)計(jì)工程師。而且對(duì)于他們的產(chǎn)品而言,他們同樣關(guān)心設(shè)計(jì)、材料和制造方法之間的相互關(guān)系。然而,他們更多地關(guān)心他們所設(shè)計(jì)的機(jī)床將要加工的材料的性能和機(jī)床與材料之間的相互作用。
這有另外一些工程師——材料工程師,他們致力于研制新型的和更好的材料,他們也應(yīng)該關(guān)心這些材料的加工方法和加工對(duì)材料性能的影響。
盡管工程師們所起的作用可能會(huì)有很大差別,但是,大部分工程師們都必須考慮材料與制造工藝之間的相互關(guān)系。
低成本制造并不是自動(dòng)產(chǎn)生的。在產(chǎn)品設(shè)計(jì)、材料選擇、加工方法和設(shè)備的選擇,工藝裝備選擇和設(shè)計(jì)之間都有著非常密切的相互依賴關(guān)系。這些步驟中的每一個(gè)都必須在開始制造前仔細(xì)地加以考慮、規(guī)劃和協(xié)調(diào)。這種從產(chǎn)品設(shè)計(jì)到實(shí)際生產(chǎn)的準(zhǔn)備工作,特別是對(duì)于復(fù)雜產(chǎn)品,可能需要數(shù)月甚至數(shù)年的時(shí)間,并且可能花費(fèi)很多錢。典型的例子有,對(duì)于一種全新的汽車,從設(shè)計(jì)到投產(chǎn)所需要的時(shí)間大約為2年,而一種現(xiàn)代化飛機(jī)則可能需要4年。
在解決這類問題時(shí),利用高性能微型計(jì)算機(jī)和進(jìn)入信息高速公路可以大大增強(qiáng)工程小組的能力和效率。這些信息時(shí)代的工具可以使工程小組利用大規(guī)模的數(shù)據(jù)庫。數(shù)據(jù)庫中有材料性能、標(biāo)準(zhǔn)、技術(shù)和成功的設(shè)計(jì)方案等信息。這些經(jīng)過驗(yàn)證的設(shè)計(jì)可以通過下載直接應(yīng)用,或者通過對(duì)其進(jìn)行快速、簡單的改進(jìn)來滿足特定的要求。將產(chǎn)品的技術(shù)要求通過網(wǎng)絡(luò)送出去的遠(yuǎn)程制造也是可行的。你可以建立一個(gè)沒有任何加工設(shè)備的虛擬公司。你可以批示制造商,在產(chǎn)品加工完成后,將其直接送給你的客戶。定期訪問你的客戶可以保證你設(shè)計(jì)的產(chǎn)品按照設(shè)計(jì)要求進(jìn)行工作。盡管這些研制開發(fā)方式不可能對(duì)每個(gè)公司都完全適用,但是這種可能性是存在的。
過去客戶設(shè)計(jì)的產(chǎn)品通常是由小公司來制造。大公司不屑于制造這種產(chǎn)品——它們討厭瞄準(zhǔn)機(jī)會(huì)的市場,或者是與客戶設(shè)計(jì)的小批量產(chǎn)品打交道?!斑@就是我的產(chǎn)品”,一家大公司這樣說:“這是我們能夠制造出來的最好產(chǎn)品——你應(yīng)該喜歡它。如果你不喜歡,順這條街走有一家小公司,它會(huì)按你的要求去做”。
今天,因?yàn)轭櫩蛡冇休^大的選擇余地,幾乎所有的市場都是瞄準(zhǔn)機(jī)會(huì)的市場。如果你不能使你的產(chǎn)品滿足某些特定客戶的要求,你將失掉你的市場份額中的一大部分,或者失掉全部份額。由于這些瞄準(zhǔn)機(jī)會(huì)的市場是經(jīng)常變化的,你的公司應(yīng)該對(duì)市場的變化作出快速的反應(yīng)。
瞄準(zhǔn)機(jī)會(huì)的市場和根據(jù)客戶要求進(jìn)行設(shè)計(jì)這種現(xiàn)象的出現(xiàn)改變了工程師們進(jìn)行研究工作的方式。今天,研究工作通常是針對(duì)解決特定問題進(jìn)行的?,F(xiàn)在許多由政府資助或者由大公司出資開發(fā)的技術(shù)可以在非常低的成本下被自由使用,盡管這種情況可能是暫時(shí)的。在對(duì)這些技術(shù)進(jìn)行適當(dāng)改進(jìn)后,它們通常能夠被直接用于產(chǎn)品開發(fā),這使得許多公司可以節(jié)省昂貴的研究經(jīng)費(fèi)。在主要的技術(shù)障礙被克服后,研究工作應(yīng)該主要致力于產(chǎn)品的商品化方面,而不是開發(fā)新的,有趣的,不確定的替換產(chǎn)品。
采用上述觀點(diǎn)看問題,工程研究應(yīng)該致力于消除將已知技術(shù)快速商品化的障礙。工作的重點(diǎn)是產(chǎn)品的質(zhì)量和可靠性,這些在當(dāng)今的顧客的頭腦中是最重要的。很明顯,一個(gè)質(zhì)量差的聲譽(yù)是一個(gè)不好的企業(yè)的同義詞。企業(yè)應(yīng)該盡最大的努力來保證顧客得到合格的產(chǎn)品,這個(gè)努力包括在生產(chǎn)線的終端對(duì)產(chǎn)品進(jìn)行嚴(yán)格的檢驗(yàn)和自動(dòng)更換有缺陷的產(chǎn)品。研究工作應(yīng)該著重考慮諸如可能性等因素對(duì)成本帶來的益處。當(dāng)可能性提高時(shí),制造成本和系統(tǒng)的最終成本將會(huì)降低。如果在生產(chǎn)線的終端產(chǎn)生了30%的廢品,這不僅會(huì)浪費(fèi)金錢,也會(huì)給你的競爭對(duì)手創(chuàng)造一個(gè)利用你的想法制造產(chǎn)品,并將其銷售給你的客戶的良機(jī)。
提高可能性和降低成本這個(gè)過程的關(guān)鍵是深入、廣泛地利用設(shè)計(jì)軟件。設(shè)計(jì)軟件可以使工程師們加快每一階段的設(shè)計(jì)工作。然而,僅僅縮短每一階段的設(shè)計(jì)時(shí)間,可能不會(huì)顯著地縮短整個(gè)設(shè)計(jì)過程的時(shí)間。因而,必須致力于采用并行工程軟件,這樣可以使所有設(shè)計(jì)組的成員都能使用共同的數(shù)據(jù)庫。
隨著我們步入信息時(shí)代,要取得成功,工程師們?cè)诩夹g(shù)開發(fā)和技術(shù)管理方面都應(yīng)該具有一些獨(dú)特的知識(shí)和經(jīng)驗(yàn)。成功的工程師們不但應(yīng)該具有寬廣的知識(shí)和技能,而且還應(yīng)該是某些關(guān)鍵技術(shù)或?qū)W科的專家,他們還應(yīng)該在日常工程問題上的費(fèi)用將會(huì)減少,工程師們將會(huì)在一些更富有挑戰(zhàn)性,更亟待解決的問題上協(xié)同工作,大大縮短解決這些問題所需要的時(shí)間。我們已經(jīng)開始了工程實(shí)踐的新階段。計(jì)算機(jī)和網(wǎng)絡(luò)使工程師們具有了越來越強(qiáng)的解決問題的能力,這也給他們的工作帶來了很大的希望和喜悅。為了確保成功,我們所使用的工具的性能和對(duì)更好的產(chǎn)品與系統(tǒng)的不斷追求應(yīng)該與標(biāo)志著在工程方面所有巨大努力的創(chuàng)新工作所帶來的喜悅相適應(yīng)。機(jī)械工程是一個(gè)偉大的行業(yè),在我們盡可能多地利用了信息時(shí)代所提供的機(jī)遇后,它將變得更加偉大。
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