外文翻译--信息时代的机械工程及工程师在机械行业的应用.doc

附录一英文原文ManufacturingEngineeringintheInformationandTheRolesofEngineersinManufacturingIntheearly1980s,engineersthoughtthatmassiveresearchwouldbeneededtospeedupproductdevelopment.Asitturnsout,lessresearchisactuallyneededbecauseshortenedproductdevelopmentcyclesencourageengineerstouseavailabletechnology.Developingarevolutionarytechnologyforuseinanewproductisriskyandpronetofailure.Takingshortstepsisasaferandusuallymoresuccessfulapproachtoproductdevelopment.Shorterproductdevelopmentcyclesarealsobeneficialinanengineeringworldinwhichbothcapitalandlaborareglobal.Peoplewhocandesignandmanufacturevariousproductscanbefoundanywhereintheworld,butcontaininganewideaishard.Geographicdistanceisnolongerabarriertoothersfindingoutaboutyourdevelopmentsixmonthsintotheprocess.Ifyouhavegotashortdevelopmentcycles,thesituationisnotcatastrophic,aslongasyoumaintainyoulead.Butifyouareinthemidstofasixyeardevelopmentprocessandacompetitorgetswindofyouwork,theprojectcouldbeinmoreserioustrouble.Theideathatengineersneedtocreateanewdesigntosolveeveryproblemisquicklybecomingobsolete.ThefirststepinthemoderndesignprocessistobrowsetheInternetorotherinformationsystemstoseeifsomeoneelsehasalreadydesignedatransmission,oraheatexchangerthatisclosetowhatyouneed.Throughtheseinformationsystems,youmaydiscoverthatsomeonealreadyhasmanufacturingdrawings,numericalcontroltapes,andeverythingelserequiredtomanufactureyourproduct.Engineerscanthenfocustheirprofessionalcompetenceonunsolvedproblems.Intacklingsuchproblems,theavailabilityofworkstationsandaccesstotheinformationhighwaydramaticallyenhancethecapabilityoftheengineeringteamanditsproductivity.Theseinformationagetoolscangivetheteamaccesstomassivedatabasesofmaterialproperties,standards,technologies,andsuccessfuldesigns.Suchprotesteddesignscanbedownloadedfordirectuseorquicklymodifiedtomeetspecificneeds.Remotemanufacturing,inwhichproductinstructionsaresentoutoveranetwork,isalsopossible.Youcouldendupwithavirtualcompanywhereyoudonothavetoseeanyhardware.Whentheproductiscompleted,youcandirectthemanufacturertothedrop-shipittoyourcustomer.Periodicvisitstothecustomercanbemadetoensurethattheproductyoudesignedisworkingaccordingtothespecifications.Althoughallofthesedevelopmentswontapplyequallytoeverycompany,thepotentialisthere.Customdesignusedtobelefttomallcompanies.Bigcompaniessneeredatittheyhatedtheideaofdealingwithnichemarketsorsmall-volumecustomsolutions.“Hereismyproduct,”oneofthebigcompanieswouldsay.“Thisisthebestwecanmakeityououghttolikeit.Ifyoudont,theseissmallercompanydownthestreetthatwillworkonyourproblem.”Today,nearlyeverymarketisanichemarket,becausecustomersareselective.Ifyouignorethepotentialfortailoringyourproducttospecificcustomersneeds,youwilllosethemajorpartofyourmarketshareperhapsallofit.Sincethenichemarketsaretransient,yourcompanyneedstobeinapositiontorespondtothemquickly.Theemergenceofnichemarketsanddesignondemandhasalteredthewayengineersconductresearch.Today,researchiscommonlydirectedtowardsolvingparticularproblem.Althoughthissituationisprobablytemporary,muchuncommittedtechnology,developedatgovernmentexpenseorwrittenoffbymajorcorporation,isavailabletodayatverylowcost.Followingmodestmodifications,suchtechnologycanoftenbeuseddirectlyinproductdevelopment,whichallowsmanyorganizationstoavoidtheexpenseofanextensiveresearcheffort.Oncethetechnologyisfreeofmajorobstacles,theresearcheffortcanfocusonovercomingthebarrierstoavoidthebarrierstocommercializationratherthanonpursuingnewandinteresting,butundefined,alternatives.Whenviewedinthisperspective,engineeringresearchmustfocusprimarilyonremovingthebarrierstorapidcommercializationofknowntechnologies.Muchofthiseffortmustaddressqualityandreliabilityconcerns,whichareforemostinthemindsoftodaysconsumers.Clearly,areputationforpoorqualityissynonymouswithbadbusiness.Everythingpossibleincludingthoroughinspectionattheendofthemanufacturinglineandautomaticreplacementofdefectiveproductsmustbedonetoassurethatthecustomerreceivesaproperlyfunctioningproduct.Centraltotheprocessofimprovingreliabilityandloweringcostsistheintensiveandwidespreaduseofdesignsoftware,whichallowsengineerstospeedupeverystageofthedesignprocess.Shorteningeachstage,however,maynotsufficientlyreducethetimerequiredfortheentireprocess.Therefore,attentionmustalsobedevotedtoconcurrentengineeringsoftwarewithshareddatabasesthatcanbeaccessedbyallmembersofthedesignteam.Manyengineershaveastheirfunctionthedesigningofproductsthataretobebroughtintorealitythroughtheprocessingorfabricationofmaterials.Inthiscapacitytheyareakeyfactorinthematerialselection-manufacturingprocedure.Adesignengineer,betterthananyotherperson,shouldknowwhatheorshewantsadesigntoaccomplish.Heknowswhatassumptionshehasmadeaboutserviceloadsandrequirements,whatserviceenvironmenttheproductmustwithstand,andwhatappearancehewantsthefinalproducttohave.Inordertomeettheserequirementshemustselectandspecifythematerial(s)tobeused.Inmostcases,inordertoutilizethematerialandtoenabletheproducttohavethedesiredform,heknowsthatcertainmanufacturingprocesseswillhavetobeemployed.Inmanyinstances,theselectionofaspecificmaterialmaydictatewhatprocessingmustbeused.Atthesametime,whencertainprocessesaretobeused,thedesignmayhavetobemodifiedinorderfortheprocesstobeutilizedeffectivelyandeconomically.Certaindimensionaltolerancescandictatetheprocessing.Inanycase,inthesequenceofconvertingthedesignintoreality,suchdecisionsmustbemadebysomeone.Inmostinstancestheycanbemademosteffectivelyatthedesignstage,bythedesignerifhehasareasonablyadequateknowledgeconcerningmaterialsandmanufacturingprocesses.Otherwise,decisionsmaybemadethatwilldetractfromtheeffectivenessoftheproduct,ortheproductmaybeneedlesslycostly.Itisthusapparentthatdesignengineersareavitalfactorinthemanufacturingprocess,anditisindeedablessingtothecompanyiftheycandesignforproducibilitythatis,forefficientproduction.Manufacturingengineersselectandcoordinatespecificprocessesandequipmenttobeused,orsuperviseandmanagetheiruse.Somedesignspecialtoolingthatisusedsothatstandardmachinescanbeutilizedinproducingspecificproducts.Theseengineersmusthaveabroadknowledgeofmachineandprocesscapabilitiesandofmaterials,sothatdesiredoperationscanbedoneeffectivelyandefficientlywithoutoverloadingordamagingmachinesandwithoutadverselyaffectingthematerialsbeingprocessed.Thesemanufacturingengineersalsoplayanimportantroleinmanufacturing.Arelativelysmallgroupofengineersdesignthemachinesandequipmentusedinmanufacturing.Theyobviouslyaredesignengineersand,relativetotheirproducts,theyhavethesameconcernsoftheinterrelationshipofdesign,materials,andmanufacturingprocesses.However,theyhaveanevengreaterconcernregardingthepropertiesofthematerialsthattheirmachinesaregoingtoprocessandtheinterreactionofthematerialsandthemachines.Stillanothergroupofengineersthematerialsengineersdevotetheirmajoreffortstowarddevelopingnewandbettermaterials.They,too,mustbeconcernedwithhowthesematerialscanbeprocessedandwiththeeffectstheprocessingwillhaveonthepropertiesofthematerials.Althoughtheirrolesmaybequitedifferent,itisapparentthatalargeproportionofengineersmustconcernthemselveswiththeinterrelationshipbetweenmaterialsandmanufacturingprocesses.Low-costmanufacturedoesnotjusthappen.Thereisacloseandinterdependentrelationshipbetweenthedesignofaproduct,selectionofmaterials,selectionofprocessesandequipment,andtoolingselectionanddesign.Eachofthesestepsmustbecarefullyconsidered,planned,a