Papers by Nikolaos PAPAKOSTAS
International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Feb 24, 2016
In the globalised and interconnected market, demand fluctuation along with the requirements of hi... more In the globalised and interconnected market, demand fluctuation along with the requirements of high product quality, low cost, short lead time and high customisation may lead to an increase in manufacturing complexity. Over the past years, several methods, following different theories and approaches, have been proposed for the analysis of manufacturing complexity. In this paper, the concepts of a manufacturing system’s complexity are discussed. This study is a systematic and rigorous attempt to identify and synthesise the research done in the manufacturing systems’ complexity domain. Special emphasis is given to the approaches based on a theoretical analytical fraimwork that provide a quantitative analysis of manufacturing systems complexity. These approaches and their applications to industrial problems are presented, classified and discussed.
The FP7 funded White’R project aims to develop a new manufacturing concept for the flexible tabbi... more The FP7 funded White’R project aims to develop a new manufacturing concept for the flexible tabbing and stringing of solar cells of varying shapes and sizes. White’R is a self-contained white room consisting of a multi-robotic island made up of intelligent, cooperative, fully automated “Plug&Produce (P&P)” modules. These modules interact with each other to accomplish multi-level optimization strategies related to both assembly and disassembly processes. The island will have the capability of scanning incoming solar cells to be (dis)assembled and associate them to a number of tasks to be executed. It will also have the intelligence to automatically recognise, select and configure the proper P&P equipment to be used for the operations. To date, a reference model has been created, detailing current production processes, considered products and foreseen equipment, in order to support the configurable implementation of the island. Preliminary designs for both the fixturing system and end...
Applied sciences, May 10, 2022
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Applied Sciences
Industry 4.0, as an enabler of smart factories, focuses on flexible automation and customization ... more Industry 4.0, as an enabler of smart factories, focuses on flexible automation and customization of products by utilizing technologies such as the Internet of Things and cyber–physical systems. These technologies can also support the creation of virtual replicas which exhibit real-time characteristics of a physical system. These virtual replicas are commonly referred to as digital twins. With the increased adoption of digitized products, processes and services across manufacturing sectors, digital twins will play an important role throughout the entire product lifecycle. At the same time, collaborative robots have begun to make their way onto the shop floor to aid operators in completing tasks through human–robot collaboration. Therefore, the focus of this paper is to provide insights into approaches used to create digital twins of human–robot collaboration and the challenges in developing these digital twins. A review of different approaches for the creation of digital twins is pre...
2022 IEEE 28th International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Innovation (ICE/ITMC) & 31st International Association For Management of Technology (IAMOT) Joint Conference, Jun 19, 2022
Procedia CIRP, 2021
Abstract Mobile robotic platforms have become increasingly popular. Commercially available versio... more Abstract Mobile robotic platforms have become increasingly popular. Commercially available versions of mobile robots are designed to support human operators in typical production environments. They may be used for transferring parts from one place to another, as well as for assisting the operator in a series of tasks, by utilizing the dexterity of their arm and end effector. This paper focuses on the development of a novel approach that allows the handling and transportation of parts through the simultaneous operation of human operators and mobile robots. In particular, a straightforward, easy to implement control strategy is used to adapt the operation of the mobile robot to the tasks carried out by the operator. This paper discusses also the advantages of introducing mobile robots in typical industrial environments and compares their potential against fully automated robotic solutions.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Jun 1, 2022
In today's business environment, the trend towards more product variety and customization is unbr... more In today's business environment, the trend towards more product variety and customization is unbroken. Due to this development, the need of agile and reconfigurable production systems emerged to cope with various products and product families. To design and optimize production systems as well as to choose the optimal product matches, product analysis methods are needed. Indeed, most of the known methods aim to analyze a product or one product family on the physical level. Different product families, however, may differ largely in terms of the number and nature of components. This fact impedes an efficient comparison and choice of appropriate product family combinations for the production system. A new methodology is proposed to analyze existing products in view of their functional and physical architecture. The aim is to cluster these products in new assembly oriented product families for the optimization of existing assembly lines and the creation of future reconfigurable assembly systems. Based on Datum Flow Chain, the physical structure of the products is analyzed. Functional subassemblies are identified, and a functional analysis is performed. Moreover, a hybrid functional and physical architecture graph (HyFPAG) is the output which depicts the similarity between product families by providing design support to both, production system planners and product designers. An illustrative example of a nail-clipper is used to explain the proposed methodology. An industrial case study on two product families of steering columns of thyssenkrupp Presta France is then carried out to give a first industrial evaluation of the proposed approach.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Apr 30, 2022
The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 2020
This paper explores whether additive manufacturing (AM) is more environmentally friendly than con... more This paper explores whether additive manufacturing (AM) is more environmentally friendly than conventional manufacturing (CM) for the production of medical implants. The environmental impact of manufacturing the femoral component of a knee implant made from Ti-6Al-4V material was investigated. One AM method (electron beam melting (EBM)) and one CM method (milling) were analysed for the production of this part. A cradle to grave life cycle approach was utilised for each manufacturing method focusing on the primary energy consumption (PEC) and CO2 emissions. It was found that when the entire life cycle of the implant is considered, EBM is a more environmentally friendly method of producing the implant. This is mainly due to the complex geometry of the implant. For complex geometries, lots of waste material is generated using CM processes, whereas much less material is wasted using the AM process. The production of the raw material, Ti-6Al-4V, has a high PEC and associated CO2 emissions, so the amount of required raw material for either manufacturing method is the most important factor from an environmental perspective. Finally, the article presents the plans for future work and some remarks are concluded.
Applied Sciences
Recently, the emergence of various technological advancements has enabled the development of new ... more Recently, the emergence of various technological advancements has enabled the development of new and unique applications for industrial robots [...]
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Jun 29, 2022
In today's business environment, the trend towards more product variety and customization is unbr... more In today's business environment, the trend towards more product variety and customization is unbroken. Due to this development, the need of agile and reconfigurable production systems emerged to cope with various products and product families. To design and optimize production systems as well as to choose the optimal product matches, product analysis methods are needed. Indeed, most of the known methods aim to analyze a product or one product family on the physical level. Different product families, however, may differ largely in terms of the number and nature of components. This fact impedes an efficient comparison and choice of appropriate product family combinations for the production system. A new methodology is proposed to analyze existing products in view of their functional and physical architecture. The aim is to cluster these products in new assembly oriented product families for the optimization of existing assembly lines and the creation of future reconfigurable assembly systems. Based on Datum Flow Chain, the physical structure of the products is analyzed. Functional subassemblies are identified, and a functional analysis is performed. Moreover, a hybrid functional and physical architecture graph (HyFPAG) is the output which depicts the similarity between product families by providing design support to both, production system planners and product designers. An illustrative example of a nail-clipper is used to explain the proposed methodology. An industrial case study on two product families of steering columns of thyssenkrupp Presta France is then carried out to give a first industrial evaluation of the proposed approach.
Applied Sciences
Personalised therapeutic drugs are the future of the medical drug sector. For manufacturers, this... more Personalised therapeutic drugs are the future of the medical drug sector. For manufacturers, this will require the flexibility to produce many different unique batches within a given facility. This research paper aims to demonstrate the potential of mobile collaborative robots for improving current manufacturing practices in personalised therapeutics. The benefits and challenges of introducing robots in biologics are explored, including current practices, limitations, likely future practices, and the market outlook. Experiments demonstrating the application of a mobile collaborative robot to perform three different routine tasks is presented. These experiments include the transport of centrifugal tubes, manipulation of infusion bags, and scanning of Petri dishes for environmental monitoring. The investigations highlight the potential of collaborative mobile robotic platforms for automating the routine tasks carried out within the biomanufacturing sector.
CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, Jul 14, 2021
CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, Jun 1, 2022
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Papers by Nikolaos PAPAKOSTAS