Oğuzhan Paçal, 030070031, 3rd week

Visual Sensors:
Visual sensors are the cameras which can optically sense the prescence and shape of the object. A microprocessor then processes the image (usually less than 1 second), the image is measured, and the measurements are digitized (image recognition). There are two basic systems of machine vision: linear and matrix array. (Kalpakjian, Smith; Manufacturing Engineering and Technology 5th edition, p.1173)

Sensor Fusion:
Sensor fusion basically involves the integration of mutiple sensors in such a manner that the individual data from each of the sensors (such as force, vibration, temperature, and dimensions) are combined to provide a higher level of information and reliability. A common application of sensor fusion occurs when someone drinks from a cup of hot coffee. Although we take such an everyday event for granted, it readily can be seen that this process involves data input from the person's eryes, lips , tongue, and hands. Though our basic senses of sight, hearing, smell taste, and touch, there is real-time monitoring of relative movements , positions, and temperatures. Thus if the coffee is too hot, the hand movement of the cup toward the lip is controlled and adjusted accordingly. (Kalpakjian, Smith; Manufacturing Engineering and Technology, 5th edition, p. 1175)

Capital Cost:
These costs represent the investment buildings, land, machinery, tooling, and equipment. Cost of machines and systems vary widely. In view of the generally high equipment costs, particularly those involving transfer lines and flexible manufacturing cells and systems, high production rates and production quantities are essential to justify such large expenditures and to maintain product costs at or below the all-important competitive level. Lower unit costs can be achieved by continious production involving around the clock operation but only as long as demand warrants it. Equipment maintenance also is essential to ensure high productivity. Any breakdown of machinery leading to downtime can be very costly- by as much as thousands of dollars per hour. (Kalpakjian, Smith; Manufacturing Engineering and Technology,p. 1262)

Life cycle Engineering:
Concerned with enviromental factors as in life cycle assesment, Life cycle engineering deals in greater depth with design, optimization, and various technical considerations regarding each component of a product or process life cycle. A major aim of life cycle engineering is to consider reusing and recycling the components of a product from the earliest stage of discussing and considering the product design.
Although life cycle analysis and engineering are comprehensive and powerful tools, their implementation can be costly, challenging, and time consuming. This is largely because of uncertainities in the input data and the time required to gather reliable data to properly assess the often complex interrelationships among various components of the whole system. Various software is being developed to expedite these analyses, particularly in the chemical and process industries because of the higher potential for enviromental damage in their operations (Kalpakjian, Smith; Manufacturing Engineering and Technology,p. 1245)