9512402 Kumar This grant provides funding to purchase equipment for a new Center for Customized Production Systems (CCuPS) at the University of Pennsylvania. The purpose of this center is to draw together an interdisciplinary team of academics and industrial leaders to develop engineering technologies and management practices that will support the rapid design and production of customized goods and services that are tailored to the needs of a specific consumer. Through a variety of educational initiatives, CCuPS will be the nexus of training and information on customized production technology and management. The research is interdisciplinary. The main technical foci include: Data Acquisition: Measurement of the User, Task, and Environment, Virtual Prototyping, Product Design for Customized Production, Rapid Production and Logistics Technology, Life-Cycle Product and Process Development, Systems Integration and Concurrent Engineering. To assure that problems of fundamental importance to industry are addressed, a partnership with a variety of organizations will be developed. The main benefit from the research will be the development of a technological base of knowledge needed for rapid design and manufacture of customized goods and services. In addition, the research will result in a better understanding of the product development and management practices required to move production systems from the traditional mass production model to systems where products and services can be customized to the individual needs of a consumer.
