毕业论文英文翻译-信息时代的机械工程

MechanicalEngineeringintheInformationAgeIntheearly1980s,engineersthoughtthatmassiveresearchwouldbeneededtospeedupproductdevelopment.Asitturnsout,lessresearchisactuallyneededbecauseshortenedproductdevelopmentcyclesencourageengineerstouseavailabletechnology.Developingarevolutionarytechnologyforuseinanewproductisriskyandpronetofailure.Takingshortstepsisasaferandusuallymoresuccessfulapproachtoproductdevelopment.Shorterproductdevelopmentcyclesarealsobeneficialinanengineeringwouldinwhichbothcapitalandlaborareglobal.Peoplewhocandesignandmanufacturevariousproductscanbefoundanywhereintheworld,butcontaininganewideaishard.Geographicdistanceisnolongerabarriertoothersfindingoutaboutyourdevelopmentsixmonthsintotheprocess.Ifyou’vegotashortdevelopmentcycle,thesituationisnotcatastrophic－aslongasyoumaintainyourlead.Butifyou’reinthemidstofasix-yeardevelopmentprocessandacompetitorgetswindofyourwork,theprojectcouldbeinmoreserioustrouble.Theideathatengineersneedtocreateanewdesigntosolveeveryproblemisquicklybecomingobsolete.ThefirststepinthemoderndesignprocessistobrowsetheInternetorotherinformationsystemstoseeifsomeoneelsehasalreadydesignedatransmission,oraheatexchangerthatisclosetowhatyouneed.Throughtheseinformationsystems,youmaydiscoverthatsomeonealreadyhasmanufacturingdrawings,numericalcontrolprograms,andeverythingelserequiredtomanufactureyourproduct.Engineerscanthenfocustheirprofessionalcompetenceonunsolvedproblems.Manyengineershaveastheirfunctionthedesigningofproductsthataretobebroughtintorealitythroughtheprocessingorfabricationofmaterials.Inthiscapacitytheyareakeyfactorinthematerialselection-manufacturingprocedure.Adesignengineer,betterthananyotherperson,shouldknowwhatheorshewantsadesigntoaccomplish.Heknowswhatassumptionshehasmadeaboutserviceloadsandrequirements,whatserviceenvironmenttheproductmustwithstand,andwhatappearancehewantsthefinalproducttohave.Inordertomeettheserequirementshemustselectandspecifythematerial(s)tobeused.Inmostcases,inordertoutilizethematerialandtoenabletheproducttohavethedesiredform,heknowsthatcertainmanufacturingprocesseswillhavetobeemployed.Inmanyinstances,theselectionofaspecificmaterialmaydictatewhatprocessingmustbeused.Atthesametime,whencertainprocessesaretobeused,thedesignmayhavetobemodifiedmaydictatewhatprocessingmustbeused.Atthesametime,whencertainprocessesaretobeused,thedesignmayhavebemodifiedinorderfortheprocesstobeutilizedeffectivelyandeconomically.Certaindimensionaltolerancescandictatetheprocessing.Inanycase,inthesequenceofconvertingthedesignintoreality,suchdecisionsmustbemadebysomeone.Inmostinstancestheycanbemademosteffectivelyatthedesignstage,bythedesignerifhehasareasonablyadequateknowledgeconcerningmaterialsandmanufacturingprocesses.Otherwise,decisionsmaybemadethatwilldetractfromtheeeffectivenessoftheproduct,ortheproductmaybeneedlesslycostly.Itisthusapparentthatdesignengineersareavitalfactorinthemanufacturingprocess,anditisindeedablessingtothecompanyiftheycandesignforproducibility—thatis,forefficientproduction.Manufacturingengineersselectandcoordinatespecificprocessesandequipmenttobeused,orsuperviseandmanagetheiruse.Somedesignspecialtoolingthatisusedsothatstandardmachinescanbeutilizedenproducingspecificproducts.Theseengineersmusthabeabroadknowledgeofmachineandprocesscapabilitiesandofmaterials,sothatdesiredoperationscanbedoneeffectivelyandeffi8cientlywithoutoverloadingordamagingmachinesandwithoutadverselyaffectingthematerialsbeingprocessed.Thesemanufacturingengineersalsoplayanimportantroleenmanufacturing.Arelativelysmallgroupofengineersdesignthemachinesandequipmentusedenmanufacturing.Theyobviouslyaredesignengineersand,relativetotheirproducts,theyhavethesameconcernsoftheinterrelationshipofdesign,materials,andmanufacturingprocesses.Howevertheyhaveanevengreaterconcernregardingthepropertiesofthematerialsthattheirmachinesaregoingtoprocessandtheinterrelationsofthematerialsandmachines.Stillanothergroupofengineers—thematerialsengineers—devotetheirmajoreffortstowarddevelopingnewandbettermaterials.They,too,mustbeconcernedwithhowthesematerialscanbeprocessedandwiththeeffectstheprocessingwillhaveonthepropertiesofthematerials.Althoughtheirrolesmaybequitedifferent,itisapparentthatalargeproportionofengineersmustconcernthemselveswiththeinterrelationshipbetweenmaterialsandmanufacturingprocesses.Low-costmanufacturedoesnotjusthappen.Thereisacloseandinterdependentrelationshipbetweenthedesignofaproduct,selectionofmaterials,selectionofprocessesandequipment,andtoolingselectionanddesign.Eachofthesemustbecarefullyconsidered,planned,andcoordinatedbeforemanufacturingstarts.Thisleadtime,particularlyforcomplicatedproducts,maytakemonths,evenyears,andtheexpenditureoflargeamountofmoneymaybeinvolved.Typically,theleadtimeforacompletelynewmodelofanautomobileisabout2years,foramodernaircraftitmaybe4years.Intacklingsuchproblems,theavailabilityofhigh-poweredpersonalcomputersandaccesstotheinformationhighwaydramaticallyenhancethecapabilityoftheengineeringteamanditsproductivity.Theseinformationagetoolscangivetheteamaccesstomassivedatabasesofmaterialproperties,standards,technologies,andsuccessfuldesigns.Suchprotesteddesignscanbedownloadedfordirectuseorquicklymodifiedtomeetspecificneeds.Remotemanufacturing,inwhichproductinstructionsaresentoutoveranetwork,isalsopossible.Youcouldendupwithavirtualcompanywhereyoudon’thavetoseeanyhardware.Whentheproductiscompleted,youcandirectthemanufacturertodrop-shipittoyourcustomer.Periodicvisitstothecustomercanbemadetoensurethattheproductyoudesignedisworkingaccordingtothespecifications.Althoughallofthesedevelopmentswon’tapplyequallytoeverycompany,thepotentialisthere.Customdesignusedtobelefttosmallcompanies.Bigcompaniessneeredatit－theyhatedtheideaofdealingwithnichemarketsorsmall-volumecustomsolutions.“Hereismyproduct,”Oneofthebigcompanieswouldsay.“Thisisthebestwecanmakeit－yououghttolikeit.Ifyoudon’t,there’ssmallercompanydownthestreetthatwillworkonyourproblem.”Today,nearlyeverymarketisanichemarket,becausecustomersareselective.Ifyouignorethepotentialfortailoringyourproducttospecificcustomers’needs,youwilllosethemajorpartofyourmarketshare－perhapsallofit.Sincethesenichemarketsaretransient,yourcompanyneedstobeinapositiontorespondtothemquickly.Theemergenceofnichemarketsanddesignondemandhasalteredthewayengineersconductresearch.Today,researchiscommonlydirectedtowardsolvingparticularproblems.Althoughthissituationisprobablytemporary,muchuncommittedtechnology,developedatgovernmentexpenseorwrittenoffbymajorcorporations,isavailabletodayatverylowcost.Followingmodestmodifications,suchtechnologycanoftenbeuseddirectlyinproductdevelopment,whichallowsmanyorganizationstoavoidtheexpenseofanextensiveresearcheffort.Oncethetechnologyisfreeofmajorobstacles,theresearcheffortcanfocusonovercomingthebarrierstocommercializationratherthanonpursuingnewandinteresting,butundefined,alternatives.Whenviewedinthisperspective,engineeringresearchmustfocusprimarilyonremovingthebarrierstorapidcommercializationofknowntechnologies.Muchofthiseffortmustaddressqualityandreliabilityconcerns,whichareforemostinthemindsoftoday’sconsumers.Clearly,areputationforpoorqualityissynonymouswithbadbusiness.Everythingpossible－includingthoroughinspectionattheendofthemanufacturinglineandautomaticreplacementofdefectiveproducts－mustbedonetoassurethatthecustomerreceivesaproperlyfunctioningproduct.Researchhastofocusonthecostbenefitoffactorssuchasreliability.Asreliabilityincreases,manufacturingcostsandthefinalcostofthesystemwilldecrease.Having30percentjunkattheendofaproductionlinenotonlycostsafortunebutalsocreatesanopportunityforacompetitortotakeyourideaandsellittoyourcustomers.Centraltotheprocessofimprovingreliabilityandloweringcostsistheintensiveandwidespreaduseofdesignsoftware,whichallowsengineerstospeedupeverystageofthedesignprocess.Shorteningeachstage,however,maynotsufficientlyreducethetimerequiredfortheentireprocess.Therefore,attentionmustalsobedevotedtoconcurrentengineeringsoftwarewithshareddatabasesthatcanbeaccessedbyallmembersofthedesignteam.AswemovemorefullyintotheInformationAge,successwillrequirethattheengineerpossesssomeuniqueknowledgeofandexperienceinboththedevelopmentandthemanagementoftechnology.Successwillrequirebroadknowledgeandskillsaswellasexpertiseinsomekeytechnologiesanddisciplines;itwillalsorequireakeenawarenessofthesocialandeconomicfactorsatworkinthemarketplace.Increasingly,inthefuture,routineproblemswillnotjustifyheavyengineeringexpenditures,andengineerswillbeexpectedtoworkcooperativelyinsolvingmorechallenging,moredemandingproblemsinsubstantiallylesstime.Wehavebegunanewphaseinthepracticeofengineering.Itoffersgreatpromiseandexcitementasmoreandmoreproblem－solvingcapabilityisplacedinthehandsofthecomputerizedandwiredengineer.Toassuresuccess,thecapabilityofourtoolsandtheunquenchedthirstforbetterproductsandsystemsmustbematchedbythejoyofcreationthatmarksallgreatengineeringendeavors.Mechanicalengineeringisagreatprofession,anditwillbecomeevengreateraswemakethemostoftheopportunitiesofferedbytheInformationAge.信息时代的机械工程在80年代初期，工程师们曾经认为要加快产品的研制开发，必须进行大量的研究工作。结果是实际上只进行了较少的研究工作，这是因为产品开发周期的缩短，促使工程师们尽可能地利用现有的技术。研制开发一种创新性的技术并将其应用在新产品上，是有风险的，并且易于招致失败。在产品开发过程中采用较少的步骤是一种安全的和易于成功的方法。对于资金和从略都处于全球性环境中的工程界而言，缩短产品研制开发周期也是有益的。能够设计和制造各种产品的人可以在世界各地找到。但是，具有创新思想感情的人则比较难找。对于你已经进行了6个月的研制开发工作，地理上的距离已经不再是其他人发现它的障碍。如果你的研制周期较短，只要你仍然保持领先，这种情况亲不会造成严重后果。但是如果你正处于一个长达6年的研制开发过程的中期，一个竞争对手了解到你的研究工作的一些信息，这个项目将面临比较大的麻烦。工程师们在解决任何问题时都需要进行新的设计这种观念很快就过时了。在现代设计中的第一步是浏览因特网或者其他信息系统，看其他人是否已经设计了一种类似于你所需要的产品，诸如传动装置或者换热器等。通过这些信息系统，你可能发现有些人已经有了制造图纸，数控程序和制造你的产品所需要的其他所有东西。这样，工程师们就可以把他们的职业技能集中在尚未解决的问题上。许多工程师的职责是进行产品设计，而产品是通过对材料的加工制造而生产出来的。设计工程师在材料选择——制造方法等方面起着关键的作用。一个设计工程师应该比其他的人更清楚地知道他的设计需要达到什么目的。他知道他对使用荷载和使用要求所做的假设，产品的使用环境，产品应该具有的外观形貌。为了满足这些要求，他必须选择和规定所使用的材料。通常，为了利用材料并使产品具有所期望的形状，设计工程师知道应该采用哪些制造方法。在许多情况下，选择了某种特定材料就可能意味着已经确定了某种必须采用的加工方法。同时，当决定采用某种加工方法后，很可能需要对设计进行修改，以使这种加工方法能够被有效而经济地应用。某些尺寸公差可以决定产品的加工方法。总之，在将设计转变为产品的过程中，必须有人作出这些决定。在大多数情况下，如果设计人员在材料和加工方法方面具有足够的知识，他会在设计阶段作出最为合理的决定。否则，作出的决定可能会降低产品的性能，或者使产品变得过于昂贵。显然，设计工程师是制造过程中的关键人物，如果他们能够进行面向生产（即可以进行高效率生产）的设计，就会给公司带来效益。制造工程师们选择和调整所采用的加工方法和设备，或者监督和管理这些加工方法和设备的使用。一些工程师进行专用工艺装备的设计，以使通用机床能够被用来生产特定的产品。这些工程师们在机床、工艺能力和材料方面必须具有广泛的知识，以使机器在没有过载和损坏，而且对被加工材料没有不良影响的情况下，更为有效地完成所需要的加工工序。这些制造工程师们在制造业中也起到重要作用。少数工程师们设计在制造业中使用的机床和设备。显然，他们是设计工程师。而且对于他们的产品而言，他们同样关心设计、材料和制造方法之间的相互关系。然而，他们更多地关心他们所设计的机床将要加工的材料的性能和机床与材料之间的相互作用。这有另外一些工程师——材料工程师，他们致力于研制新型的和更好的材料，他们也应该关心这些材料的加工方法和加工对材料性能的影响。尽管工程师们所起的作用可能会有很大差别，但是，大部分工程师们都必须考虑材料与制造工艺之间的相互关系。低成本制造并不是自动产生的。在产品设计、材料选择、加工方法和设备的选择，工艺装备选择和设计之间都有着非常密切的相互依赖关系。这些步骤中的每一个都必须在开始制造前仔细地加以考虑、规划和协调。这种从产品设计到实际生产的准备工作，特别是对于复杂产品，可能需要数月甚至数年的时间，并且可能花费很多钱。典型的例子有，对于一种全新的汽车，从设计到投产所需要的时间大约为2年，而一种现代化飞机则可能需要4年。在解决这类问题时，利用高性能微型计算机和进入信息高速公路可以大大增强工程小组的能力和效率。这些信息时代的工具可以使工程小组利用大规模的数据库。数据库中有材料性能、标准、技术和成功的设计方案等信息。这些经过验证的设计可以通过下载直接应用，或者通