外文翻译-现代设计与制造55

ModernDesignandManufacturing1.TheComputerandManufacturingThecomputerisbringingmanufacturingintotheInformationAge.Thisnewtool,longafamiliaroneinbusinessandmanagementoperations,ismovingintothefactory,anditsadventischangingmanufacturingascertainlyasthesteamenginechangedit100yearsago.Thebasicmetalworkingprocessesarenotlikelytochangefundamentally,buttheirorganizationandcontroldefinitelywillInonerespect,manufacturingcouldbesaidtobecomingfullcircle.Thefistmanufacturingwasacottageindustry:thedesignerwasalsothemanufacturer,conceivingandfabricatingproductsoneatatime.Eventually,theconceptoftheinterchangeabilityofpartswasdeveloped,productionwasseparatedintospecializedfunctions,andidenticalpartswereproducedthousandsatatime.Today,althoughthedesignerandmanufacturermaynotbecomeoneagain,thefunctionsarebeingdrawncloseinthemovementtowardanintegratedmanufacturingsystem.Itisperhapsironicthat,atatimewhenthemarketdemandsahighdegreeofproductdiversification,thenecessityforincreasingproductivityandreducingcoatsisdrivingmanufacturingtowardinegrationintoacoherentsystem,acontinuousprocessinwhichpartsdonotspentasmuchas95%ofproductiontimebeingmovedaroundorwaitingtobeworkedon.Thecomputeristhekeytoeachofthesetwinrequirements.Itistheonlytoolthatcanprovidethequickreflexes,theflexibilityandseed,tomeetadiversifiedmarket.Anditistheonlytoolthatenablesthedetailedanalysisandtheaccessibilityofaccuratedatanecessaryfortheintegrationofthemanufacturingsystem.Itmaywellbethat,inthefuture,thecomputermaybeessentialtoacompany’ssurvial.Manyoftoday’sbusinesseswillfadeawaytobereplacedbymore-productivecombinations.Suchmore-productivecombinationsaresuperquality,superproductivityplants.Thegoalistodesignandoperateaplantthatwouldproduce100%satisfactorypartswichgoodproductivity.Asophisticated,competitiveworldisrequiringthatmanufacturingbegintosettleformore,tobecomeitselfsophisticated.Tomeetcompetition,forexample,acompanywillhavetomeetthesomewhatconflictingdemandsforgreaterproductdiversification,higherquality,improvedproductivity,higherquality,improvedproductivityandprices.Thecompanythatseekstomeetthesedemandswillneedasophisticatedtool,onethatwillallowittorespondquicklytocustomerneedswhilegettingthemostoutofitsmanufacturingresources.Thecomputeristhattool.Becominga“superquality,superproductivity”plantrequirestheintegrationofanextremelycomplexsystem.Thiscanbeaccomplishedonlywhenallextremelycomplexsystem.Thiscanbeaccomplishedonlywhenallelementsofmanufacturing-design,fabricationandassembly,qualityassurance,management,materialshanding-arecomputerintegrated.Inproductdesign,forexample,interactivecomputer-aided-design(CAD)systemsallowthedrawingandanalysistaskstobeperformedinafractionofthetimeallowthedrawingandanalysistaskstobeperformedinafrationofthetimepreviouslyrequiredandgreateraccuracy.Andprogramsforprototypetestingtestingandevaluationfurtherspeedthedesignprocess.Inmanufacturingplanning,computer-aidedprocessplanningpermitstheselection,fromthousandsofpossiblesequencesandschedules,oftheoptimumprocess.Ontheshopfloor,distributedintlligenceintheformofmicroprocessorscontrols,runsautomatedloadingandunloadingequipment,andcollectsdataoncurrentshopconditions.Butsuchisolatedrevolutionsarenotenough.Whatisnendedisatotallyautomatedsystem,linkedbycommonsoftwarefromfrontdoortoback.Thebenefitsrangethoughoutthesystem.Essentially,computerintegrationprovideswidelyandinstantaneouslyavailable,accurateinformation,improvingcommunicationbetweendepartments,permittingtightercontrol,andgenerallyenhancingtheoverallqualityandefficiencyoftheentiresystem.Improvedcommunicationcanmean,forexample,designsthataremoreproducible.TheNCprogrammerandthetooldesignerhaveachangtoinfluencetheproductdesigner,andviceversa.Engineeringchanges,canbereduced,andthosethatarerequiredcanbehandledmoreefficiently.Notonlydosethecomputerpermitthemtobespecicifiedmorequickly,butitalsoalerssubsequentusersofthedatatothefactthatachangehasbeenmade.Theinstantaneousupdatingofproduction-controldatapermitsbetterplanningandmore-effectivescheduling.Expensiveequipment,therefore,isusedmoreproductively,andpartsmovemoreefficientlythroughproduction,reducingwork-in-processcoats.Productquality,too,canbeimproved.Notonlyaremore-accuratedesignsproduced,forexample,buttheuseofdesigndatabythequality-assurancedepartmenthelpseliminateerrorsduetomisunderstandings.Peopleareenabledtodotheirjobsbetter.Byeliminatingtediouscalculationsandpaperwork—nottomentiontimewastedsearchingforinformation—thecomputernotonlyallowsworkerstobemoreproductivebutalsofreesthemtodowhatonlyhumanbeingcando:thinkcreatively.Computerintegrationmayalsolurenewpeopleintomanufacturing.Peopleareattractedbecausetheywanttoworkinamodern,technologicallysophisticatedenviroment.Inmanufacturingengineering,CAD/CAMdecreasestool-design,NC-programming,andplanningtimeswhilespeedingtheresponserate,whichwilleventuallypermitin-housstafftoperformworkthatiscurrentlybeingcontractedout.2.CAD/CAMCAD/CAMisatermwhichmeanscomputer-aidedandcomputer-aidedmanufacturing.itisthetechnologyconcernedwiththeuseofdigitalcomputerstoperformcertainfunctionsindesignandproduction.Thistechnologyismovinginthedirectionofgreaterintegrationofdesignandmanufacturing,twoactivitieswhichhavetraditionallybeentreatedasdistinctandseparatefunctionsinaproductionfirm.Ultimately,CAD/CAMwillprovidethetechnologybaseforthecomputer-integratedfactoryofthefuture.Computer-aideddesign(CAD)canbedefinedastheuseofcomputerstytemstoassistinthecreation,modification,analysis,oroptimizationofadesign.Thecomputersystemsconsistofthehardwareandsoftwaretoperformthespecializeddesignfunctionsrequiredbytheparticularuserfirm.TheCADhardwaretypicallyincludedthecomputer,oneormoregraphicsdisplayterminals,keyboards,andotherperipheralequipment.TheCADsoftwareconsistsofthecomputerprogramstoimplementcomputergraphicstofacilitatetheengineeringfunctionsoftheusercompany.Examplesoftheseapplicationprogramsincludestress-strainanalysisofcomponents,dynamicresponseofmechanisms,heat-transfercalculations,andnumericalcontrolpartprogrammingThecollectionofapplicationprogramswillvaryfromoneuserfirmtothenextbecausetheirproductlines,manufacturingprocesses,andcustomermarketsaredifferentThesefactorsgiverisetodifferencesinCADsystemrequirements.Computer-aidedmanufacturing(CAM)canbedefinedastheuseofcomputersystemstoplan,manufacturingplantthrougheitherdirectorindirectcomputerinterfacewiththeplan’sproductionresources.Asindicatedbythedefinition,theapplicationsofcomputer-aidedmanufacturingfallintotwobroadcategories:1.Computermonitoringandcontrol.2.Manufacturingsupportapplications.Thedistinctionbetweenthetwocategoriesisfundamentaltoanunderstand-ingofcomputer-aidedmanufacturing.Inadditiontotheapplicationsinvolvingadirectcomputer-processinterfaceforthepurposeofprocessmonitoringandcontrol,computer-aidedmanufacturingalsoincludesindirectapplicationsinwhichthecomputerservesasupportroleinthemanufacturingoperationsoftheplant.Intheseapplications,thecomputerisnotlinkeddirectlytothemanufacturingprocess.Instead,thecomputerisused“off-line”toprovideplans,schedules,forecasts,instructions,andinformationbywhichthefirm’sproductionresourcescanbemanagedmoreeffectively.Theformoftherelationshipbetweenthecomputerandtheprocessisrepresentedsymbolicallyinthefiguregivenbelow.Dashedlinesareusedtoindicatethatthecommunicationandcontrollinkisanoff-lineconnection,withhumanbeingsoftenrequiredtoconsummatetheinerface.However,humanbeingsarepresentlyrequiredintheapplicationeithertoprovideinputtothecomputerprogramsortointerpretthecomputeroutputandimplementtherequiredaction.3.VoiceNCProgrammingVoiceprogrammingofNCmachines(abbreviatedVNC)involvesvocalcommunicationofthemachiningproceduretoavoice-inputNCtape-preparationofthemachingproceduretoavoice-inputNCtape-prepartionsystem.VNCallowstheprogrammertoavoidstepssuchasOneoftheprincipalcompaniesspecializinginvoice-inputsystemsisThresholdTechnology,Inc,ofDelran,Newjersey.“turn”,ToperformthepartprogrammingprocesswithVNC,theoperatorspeaksintoaheadbandmicrophonedesignedtoreducebackgroundacousticalnoise.Communicationoftheprogramminginstructionsisinshoplanguagewithsuchtermsas“turn”,“thead”,and“millline”,togetherwithnumberstoprovidedimensionalandcoordinatedata.Beforethevoice-inputsystemcanbeused,Itmustbe“trained”torecognizeandaccepttheindividualprogrammer’svoicepattern.Thisisaccomplishedbyrepeatingeachwordofthevocabularyaboutfivetimestoprovideareferencesetwhichcansubsequentlybecomparedtovoicecommandsgivenduringactualprogramming.Theentirevocabularyforthethresholdsystemcontainsabout100words.MostNCprogrammingjobscanbecompletedbyusingabout30ofthesevocabularywords.Intalkingtothesystem,theprogrammermustisolateeachwordbypausingbeforeandaftertheword.bypausingbeforeandaftertheword.Thepausemustbeonlyone-tenthofasecondorlonger.Thisallowsthespeechrecognitionsystemtoindentifyboundariesfortheboundariesfortheutteredcommandsothatitswavecharacteristicscanbecomparedwithwordsinthereferencesetforthatprogrammer.typicalwordinputratesunderthisrestrictionareclaimedtobeabout70perminute.Asthewordsarespoken,aCRTterminalinfrontofthenextcommand.Whenalloftheprogramminginstructionshavebeenenteredandverified,thesystempreparesthepunchedtapeforthejob.TheAdvantagesofVNClieprincipallyinthethesavingsinprogrammingtimeandresultingimprovementsinmanufacturingleadtime.Savingsinprogrammingtimeupto50%areclaimed.Improventsinaccuracyandlowercomputer-skillrequirementsfortheprogrammerarealsogivenasbenefitsofVNC.译文：现代设计与制造一、计算机与制造业：计算机正在将制造业带入信息时代。计算机长期以来在商业和管理方面得到了广泛的应用，它正在作为一种新的工具进入到工厂中，而且它如同蒸汽机在100年前使制造业发生改变那样，正在使制造业发生着变革。尽管基本的金属切削过程不太可能发生根本的改变，但是他们的组织形式和控制方式将发生改变。从某一方面可以说，制造业正在完成一个循环。最初的制造业是家庭手工业：设计者本身也是制造者，产品的构思与加工由同一人完成。后来，形成了零件的互换性这个概念，生产被依照专业功能分割开来，可以成批的生产数以千计的相同的零件。今天，尽管设计者与制造者不可能再是同一个人，但在向集成制造系统前进的途中，这两种功能已经越来越靠近了。可能具有讽刺意味的是，在市场需求高度多样化的产品的时候，提高生产率和降低成本的必要性促使着制造业朝着集成为单调关联系统方向变化。这是一个连续的过程，在其中零件不需要花费多达95%的生产时间用在运输和等待加工上。计算机是满足这两项要求中任何一项的关键。它是能够提供快速反应能力、柔性和满足多样化市场的唯一工具。而且，它是实现制造系统集成所需要的、能够进行详细分析和利用精确数据的唯一工具。在将来计算机可能会是一个企业生存的基本条件，许多现今的企业将会被生产能力更高的企业组合所取代。这些生产能力更高的企业组合是一些具有非常高的质量、非常高的生产率的工厂。目标是设计和运行一个能够以高生产率的生产方式100%合格产品的工厂。一个采用先进的、竞争的世界正在促使制造业开始做更高的工作，使其本身采用先进的技术。为了适应竞争，一个公司会满足一些在某种程度上相互矛盾的要求，诸如产品多样化、提高质量、增加生产率、降低价格。在努力这些要求的过程中，公司需要一个采用先进技术的工具，一个能够对顾客的需求作出快速反应，而且从制造资源中获得最大收益的工具，计算机就是这个工具。成为一个具有“非常高的质量、非常高的生产率”的工厂，需要对一个非常复杂的系统进行集成。这只有通过采用计算机对机械制造的所有组成部分—设计、加工、装配、质量保证、管理和材料装卸及输送进行集成才能完成。例如，在产品设计期间，交互式的计算机辅助设计系统使得完成绘图和分析工作所需要的时间比原来减少了几倍，而且精确程度得到了很大的提高。此外，样机的实验与评价程序进一步加快了设计过程。在制订制造计划时，计算机辅助编制工艺规程可以从数以千计的工序和加工过程中选择最好的加工方案。在车间里，分布式智能以微处理器这种形式来控制机床、操纵自动装卸料设备和收集关于当前车间状态的信息。但是这些各自独立的改革还远远不够。我们所需要的是有一个共同的软件从始端到终端进行控制的全部自动化的系统。整个系统都会从中受益。基本上，计算机集成可以提供广泛的、及时的和精确的信息，可以改进各部门之间的交流与沟通，实施更严格的控制，而且通常能增强整个系统的全面质量和效率。例如，改进交流和沟通意味着会使设计具有更好的可制造性。数控编程人员和工艺装备设计人员有机会向产品设计人员提出意见，反之亦然。因而可以减少技术反面的变更，而对于那些必要的变更，可以更有效地进行处理。计算机不仅能够更快地对变更之处做出详细说明，而且还能把变更之后的数据告诉随后的使用者。利用及时更新的生产控制数据可以制订更好的工艺规程和更有效率的生产进度。因而，可以使昂贵的设备更好的利用，提高零件在生产过程中运送效率，减少在制品的成本。产品质量也可以得到改进。例如，不仅可以提高设计精度，还可以使质量保证部门利用设计数据，避免由于误解而产生错误。可以使人们更好的完成他们的工作。通过避免冗长的计算和书写工作—这还不算查找资料所浪费的时间—计算机不仅使人们更有效的工作，而且还能把他们解放出来去做只有人类才能做工作：创造性思考。计算机集成制造还会吸引新的人才进入制造业。人才被吸引过来的原因是他们希望到一个现代化的、技术先进的环境中工作。在制造过程中，CAD/CAM减少了工艺装备设计、数控编程和编制工艺规程所需要的时间。而且，在同时加快了响应速度，这最终