This book shows how, through certain geometric transformations, some of the standard joints used in parallel robots can be replaced with lockable or non-holonomic joints. These substitutions allow for reducing the number of legs, and hence the number of actuators needed to control the robot, without losing the robot's ability to bring its mobile platform to the desired configuration. The kinematics of the most representative examples of these new designs are analyzed and their theoretical ...

Computational kinematics is an enthralling area of science with a rich spectrum of problems at the junction of mechanics, robotics, computer science, mathematics, and computer graphics. The covered topics include design and optimization of cable-driven robots, analysis of parallel manipulators, motion planning, numerical methods for mechanism calibration and optimization, geometric approaches to mechanism analysis and design, synthesis of mechanisms, kinematical issues in biomechanics, con...

In a clear and readable style, Bill Bolton addresses the basic principles of modern instrumentation and control systems, including examples of the latest devices, techniques and applications. Unlike the majority of books in this field, only a minimal prior knowledge of mathematical methods is assumed. The book focuses on providing a comprehensive introduction to the subject, with Laplace presented in a simple and easily accessible form, complimented by an outline of the mathematics that wo...

Divided into four parts, Programmable Automation focuses on programmable automation technologies used in industry. Comprehensive yet concise, this unique textbook provides a solid foundation of analytical techniques to justify automation and the knowledge and instruction of how to program computer numerical controlled (CNC) equipment, industrial robots and programmable logic controllers (PLC). Through a very practical approach, readers will learn specific programm...

This book offers a detailed analysis of the key sectors in the Italian economy, with the focus especially on areas in which the economy excels, such as the automatic packaging machinery sector, pharmaceutical production, the food and wine industry, and tourism. The book explains how, contrary to widespread opinion, Italy is one of the world’s most competitive countries in foreign trade, as confirmed by a new index compiled by Fondazione Edison that highlights its strengths and top traded p...

This book describes load modeling approaches for complex work pieces and batch forgings, and demonstrates analytical modeling and data-driven modeling approaches for known and unknown complex forging processes. It overcomes the current shortcomings of modeling, analysis and control approaches, presenting contributions in three major areas: In the first, several novel modeling approaches are proposed: a process/shape-decomposition modeling method to help estimate the deformation force; an o...

Applied Dynamics is an important branch of engineering mechanics widely applied to mechanical and automotive engineering, aerospace and biomechanics as well as control engineering and mechatronics. The computational methods presented are based on common fundamentals. For this purpose analytical mechanics turns out to be very useful where D’Alembert’s principle in the Lagrangian formulation proves to be most efficient. The method of multibody systems, finite element systems and continuous s...

Reliability, Maintainability and Risk: Practical Methods for Engineers, Ninth Edition, has taught reliability and safety engineers techniques to minimize process design, operation defects, and failures for 35 years. For beginners, the book provides tactics on how to avoid pitfalls in this complex and wide field. For experts in the field, well-described, realistic, and illustrative examples and case studies add new insight and assistance. The author uses his 40 years of experience to create...

This thesis develops a systematic, data-based dynamic modeling framework for industrial processes in keeping with the slowness principle. Using said framework as a point of departure, it then proposes novel strategies for dealing with control monitoring and quality prediction problems in industrial production contexts.The thesis reveals the slowly varying nature of industrial production processes under feedback control, and integrates it with process data analytics to offer powerfu...

Surge Control of Active-magnetic-bearing-suspended Centrifugal Compressors sets out the fundamentals of integrating active magnetic bearing (AMB) rotor suspension technology in compressor systems, and describes how this relatively new bearing technology can be employed in active control of compressor surge initiation. The authors provide a self-contained and comprehensive review of rotordynamics and the fundamentals of AMB technology. The active stabilization of compressor surge employing ...

This book includes more than 30 papers from the first FZU-OPU-NTOU Joint Symposium on Advanced Mechanical Science and Technology for the Industrial Revolution 4.0, held at Fuzhou University, China, in December 2016. The symposium was organized by Fuzhou University (FZU), Osaka Prefecture University (OPU) and National Taiwan Ocean University (NTOU). The authors include several professors from universities in China, Japan, and Taiwan as well as four distinguished invited professors from Cana...

This book provides comprehensive and integrated approaches for rigid and flexible object assembly. It presents comparison studies with the available force-guided robotic processes and covers contact-state modeling, scheme control strategies, and position searching algorithms. Further, it includes experimental validations for different assembly situations, including those for the assembly of industrial parts taken from the automotive industry.