CO2 Robotic Laser Manufacturing Recapturing Strategy

More and more, CO2 lasers are being used in modern high-tech manufacturing. This is a good use of CO2 and as we try to get rid of CO2 in our atmosphere collecting it from the smokestacks perhaps of electrical energy generation, it becomes a cheap and valuable gas for running these lasers. Now then, CO2 lasers put out a decent amount of heat. We should collect that heat, heat should never be wasted. He should not be waste it from robotic factory welding machines or from lasers. Okay so let's talk for second shall we?

It might be entirely possible to collect a good deal of this energy which is deflected during that laser cutting process, or which finds its way through to the other side. What if we tried this strategy to recapture some of that energy; what if we had a "houseplant pot shaped device" on the other side of the material being cut, and what if we had several of these types of shaped objects surrounding the CO2 laser beam? Those recapturing apparatuses surrounding the laser beam would be set in a concave pattern.

As the energy was deflected, or made it through the material all of that heat and energy would make its way into openings in all of these devices. Inside of those devices we could put small spinning wheels, and then use that energy once again, rather than wasting it. We could use that energy to power up the laser itself, the robotic arm, and perhaps the assembly line mechanism. By recapturing and reusing we would indeed be one with the theory and methodology behind Six Sigma manufacturing strategies.

If each of those little devices had a curved lip on the inside, it would continually redirect the vortex flows within until all of the energy was dissipated. Until all of the heat had been discharged, and the more we use the CO2 laser, the more energy and heat we would accumulate, therefore the faster those wheels would spin on the inside around the inside of that curved opening. Therefore, allowing us to capture the highest percentage of energy used in the CO2 laser cutting and manufacturing process.

If we did the same thing for robotic welding machines at our modern automobile factories we would surely have enough heat energy spinning those small wheels to power up all the lights in the factory.

Wouldn't it be great to know that even if the power went off, the grid went down, or there was any sort of power failure that the factory could keep running because it kept reusing at least most of its energy? Remember in the manufacturing process it's all about efficiency, and that's why I came up with a strategy. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Future Concepts. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

Should Manufacturing Buildings Be Built More Like a Rubik's Cube Robotic Parking Structure?

"Re-inventing manufacturing" almost sounds like the mission statement of a Technocrat or Futurist looking to capture the utopian dream. Indeed, but why can't we? After all, Henry Ford's assembly line is a pretty old concept. Yes, certainly we have made incremental advances and yet, what about the proverbial "OMG" revolutionary innovations, and "leap-frogging" type paradigms shifts in the manufacturing sector? I guess we are still waiting for those aren't we? We don't have Star Trek assimilation machines yet, I suppose someday we will, and I hope the US is the nation to bring such dreams to fruition.

There was an interesting talk given by Regina Dugan of DARPA on December 14, 2011 for the engineering students and social studies students at MIT titled; "Just Make It" which of course is a "take-off" literally on the Nike Brand theme; Just Do It! - in this talk she mentions an aircraft manufacturing company which works without assembly lines and has been able to increase time to build from start to finish by a factor of 2. Each aircraft stays put, the folks working on it move. Okay so, that makes sense, and Rolls Royce and other high-end auto manufacturers use similar techniques, as to many of the hand-crafted high-end specialty cars.

Why was she giving this talk? Simple; we beat the German's in WWII due to our manufacturing abilities. Today, China can easily out produce us, so are we going to make the same mistake as the Germans did in WWII, in a future war with an industrial power that can out produce us? Well, are we? How can you say the answer is yes or no; you can't and that's one more reason manufacturing is so vital to US interests, on top of the importance of jobs, trade flows, and GDP growth. "A nation lives well, when it produces well," she reminds us, and quoted Adam Smith's warning about not relying on military resources to make our defense systems.

Now then, on the official "White House Blog" there was a posting back on June 24, 2011 by Erin Lindsay titled; "President Obama Launches Advanced Manufacturing Partnership." This appeared just after President Obama gave a speech at Carnegie Mellon University. Manufacturing and production are key to any advanced civilization, and we here in the US like to think we are the most advanced civilization of all.

Okay so, rather than running redline down the Six Sigma, TQM, and Finite Capacity Scheduling Model assembly line - why not really mix things up? Why not turn the three story assembly floor into a robotic Rubik's Cube factory floor, which would operate like a robotic parking structure. An AI mathematical system could keep the system at optimum, and it would allow for all sorts of possibilities? Well, why not think on that for the next five-minutes and shoot me an email if you have any ideas along this line of thinking?

Lance Winslow is the author on a new series of ebooks on Military Technologies. Lance is also the Founder of The Online Think Tank at http://www.worldthinktank.net/

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Robotic Flight-Line Aircraft Washing Machine Concept

My first business was washing airplanes out at the local airport, I was 12 years old, and I was always trying to find a way to clean the airplanes using less labor, and to do the job faster. Such is probably always on the mind of a young entrepreneurs - improving efficiency, and trying to find a way to make money faster. I don't doubt that kids running lemonade stands don't go through this same thought process. I sure know that businessmen do, and that is quite evident with all of the Six Sigma business consultants out there.

Okay so, is there a way to create a robotic flight line aircraft washing machine? I believe there is, and I don't think it is as difficult as one might have been led to believe. In looking at the military's UAV drone program, where we have UAV bases in faraway countries, it makes sense to have fewer flight line personnel, not only for their own safety, but also to conserve cost in our military.

If the unmanned aerial vehicles are completely robotic, and are flown tele-robotically from thousands of miles away through satellite links, why can't robotic service machines do all the work for ground support? The answer to this question is; of course they can, however no one has taken it upon themselves to solve this problem, save the military money, or invent robotic systems which can re-fuel the aircraft, do minor preventative maintenance, and wash the aircraft's surface.

Nevertheless, the topic has come up at our think tank, and having been in the aircraft washing business all my life, I think it is possible to create the ground support robots, and also robots which can wash the entire airplane flawlessly while doing pre-fight safety checks, and preparing the aircraft for its next sortie or mission.

Having been in the car wash business, and around industrial robotics for a good portion of my life, it seems to me the only difference between a car going through a robotic tunnel carwash, and building an aircraft washing unit to clean an airplane on the flight line is that on one hand the car moves through the robotic tunnel, and when cleaning an airplane in this way, the tunnel goes over the plane so to speak.

Philosophically speaking, what is the difference? Not much, not much at all actually. In fact, I don't think it would be very hard to build, or very costly. Also I don't believe the time from conception and prototype design to use in the battlespace has to be very long either. This is one way our military can save money. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new series of eBooks on Aurcraft Cleaning. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

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