中英文翻译--信息时代的机械工程.doc

MechanicalEngineeringintheInformationAgeIntheearly1980s,engineersthoughtthatmassiveresearchwouldbeneededtospeedupdevelopment.Asitturnout,lessresearchisactuallyneededbecauseshortenedproductdevelopmentcyclesencourageengineerstouseavailabletechnology.Developingarevolutionarytechnologyforuseinanewproductisriskyandpronetofailure.Takingshortstepsisasaferandusuallymoresuccessfulapproachtoproductdevelopment.Shorterproductdevelopmentcyclesarealsobeneficialinanengineeringworldinwhichbothcapitalandlaborareglobal.Peoplewhocandesignandmanufacturevariousproductscanbefoundanywhereintheworld,butcontaininganewideaishard.Geographicdistanceisnolongerabarriertoothersfindingoutaboutyourdevelopmentsixmonthsintotheprocess.Ifyouvegotashortdevelopmentcycle,thesituationisnotcatastrophicaslongasyoumaintainyourlead.Butifyoureinthemidstofasix-yeardevelopmentprocessandacompetitorgetswindofyourwork,theprojectcouldbeinmoreserioustrouble.Theideathatengineersneedtocreateanewdesigntosolveeveryproblemisquicklybecomingobsolete.ThefirststepinthemodemdesignprocessistobrowsetheInternetorotherinformationsystemstoseeifsomeoneelsehasalreadydesignedatransmission,oraheatexchangerthatisclosetowhatyouneed.Throughtheseinformationsystems,youmaydiscoverthatsomeonealreadyhasmanufacturingdrawings,numericalcontrolprograms,andeverythingelserequiredtomanufactureyourproduct.Engineerscanthenfocustheirprofessionalcompetenceonunsolvedproblem.Intackingsuchproblem,theavailabilityofhigh-poweredpersonalcomputersandaccesstotheinformationhighwaydramaticallyenhancethecapabilityoftheengineeringteamanditsproductivity.Theseinformationagetoolscangivetheteamaccesstomassivedatabasesofmaterialproperties,standards,technologies,andsuccessfuldesigns.Suchpretesteddesignscanbedownloadedfordirectuseorquickly.modifiedtomeetspecificneeds.Remotemanufacturing,ductinstructionsaresentoutoveranetwork,isalsopossible.Youcouldendupwithavirtualcompanywhereyoudonthavetoseeanyhardware.Whentheproductyoudesignedisworkingaccordingtothespecifications.Althoughallofthesedevelopmentswontapplyequallytoeverycompany,thepotentialisthere.Customdesignusedtobelefttosmallcompanies.Bigcompaniessneeredatittheyhatedtheideaofdealingwithnichemarketsorsmall-volumecustomsolutions.“Hereismyproduct,”oneofthebigcompanieswouldsay.“Thisisthebestwecanmakeityououghttolikeit.Ifyoudont,theressmallercompanydownthestreetthatwillworkonyourproblem.”Today,nearlyeverymarketisanichemarket,becausecustomersareselective.Ifyouignorethepotentialfortailoringyourmarketshareperhapsallofit.Sincethesenichemarketsaretransient,yourcompanyneedstobeinapositiontorespondthemquickly.Theemergenceofnichemarketsanddesignondemandhasalteredthewayengineersconductresearch.Today,researchiscommonlydirectedtowardsolvingparticularproblems.Althoughthissituationisprobablytemporary,muchuncommittedtechnology,developedatgovernmentexpenseorwrittenoffbemajorcorporations,isavailabletodayatverylowcost.Followingmodestmodifications,suchtechnologycanoftenbeuseddirectlyinproductdevelopment,whichallowsmanyorganizationstoavoid.theexpenseofanextensiveresearcheffort.Oncethetechnologyisfreeofmajorobstacles,theresearcheffortcanfocusonovercomingthebarrierstocommercializationratherthanonpursuingnewandinteresting,butundefined,alternatives.Whenviewedinthisperspective,engineeringresearchmustfocusprimarilyonremovingthebarrierstorapidcommercializationofknowntechnologies.Muchofthiseffortmustaddressqualityandreliabilityconcerns,whichareforemostinthemindsoftodaysconsumers.Clearly,areputationforpoorqualityissynonymousattheendofthemanufacturinglineandautomaticreplacementofdefectiveproductsmustbedonetoassurethatthecustomerreceivesaproperlyfunctioningproduct.Researchhastofocusonthecostbenefitoffactorssuchasreliability.Asreliabilityincreases,manufacturingcostsandthefinalcostofthesystemwilldecrease.Having30percentjunkattheendofaproductionlinenotonlycostsafortunebutalsocreatesanopportunityforacompetitortotakeyourideaandsellittoyourcustomersCentraltotheprocessofimprovingreliabilityandloweringcostsistheintensiveandwidespreaduseofdesignprocess.Shorteningeachstage,however,maynotsufficientlyreducethetimerequiredfortheentireprocess.Therefore,attentionmustalsobedevotedtoconcurrentengineeringsoftwarewithshareddatabasesthatcanbeaccessedbyallmembersofdesignteam.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并将其应用在新的产品上，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和易于成功的方法。对于资金和人力都处于全球性环境中的工程师而言，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，具有创新思想的人则比较难找。对于你已经进行了6个月研制开发的工作，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，这种情况并不会造成严重后果。但是如果你正处于一个长达6年的研制开发工程的中期，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