This EArly-Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) provides funding for the identification of the fundamental barriers to the realization and adoption of an open innovation manufacturing network. The architecture for the system will be based on the open source HUBzero platform for computation and collaboration developed at Purdue University. The investigators will combine their HUBzero-derived expertise in information technology and Web 2.0 with locally available knowledge of design, manufacturing, and Indiana manufacturers to explore and test alternatives of the vision with small- to medium-size manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) and the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for which SMEs comprise the supply chain. In particular, the following areas will be investigated to identify barriers: the current internet architecture and bandwidth, access to and interoperability of simulation and analysis tools, information sharing in a competitive environment, and business models.
If successful, the results of this research will help to enable the realization of a more powerful architecture for web-based manufacturing and prescribe next steps towards it implementation. An important metric of success will be the degree and extent of endorsement of the proposed architecture by its potential Small/Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) and original Equipment manufacturer (OEM) users. Another key metric will be the guidance provided by the architecture for the design of future HUBzero and internet capabilities. It is also expected that the architecture will suggest new ways for customers to interact with manufacturing enterprises. If implemented, the architecture should contribute to the transformation of current supply chains into much more nimble, innovative, yet integrated systems of systems.
We studied an architecture for an open innovation manufacturing network and identified fundamental barriers to the realization and adoption of that system. The architecture is based on the open source HUBzero™ platform for computation and collaboration developed at Purdue University. With this platform we engaged with small- to medium-size manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) to investigate the following areas for barriers: the current internet architecture and bandwidth, access to and interoperability of simulation and analysis tools, information sharing in a competitive environment, and business models. We learnt some fundamental problems in computational models for secure computing that are especially needed. This infrastructure and computing paradigm should be suitable for collaborative design simulation, while providing each party interfaces to interact easily. New models of computing based on situations where designers are reluctant to share their proprietary information with other co-designers are needed. While satisfying this confidentiality in an on-line environment, the co-design must result in a design that is of equal quality as in the case where full sharing of information takes place. We see this as the major learning from this EAGER grant in resulting in a proper definition of fundamental problems that must be addressed before collaborative computing results in earlier sharing of knowledge between various parties in a distributed setting with their own goals. We identified next steps towards this network, including the development of a reliable communication protocol to support remote control of manufacturing processes. An important metric of success will be the degree and extent of endorsement of the proposed architecture by its potential SME and OEM users. Another key metric will be the guidance provided by the architecture for the design of future HUBzero and internet capabilities. We also expect that the architecture will suggest new ways for customers to interact with manufacturing enterprises. We worked closely with two small- to medium-sized Indiana manufacturers regarding the design of an easy to use fluid flow simulation application and how such tools can best be deployed for use by such firms and their engineering personnel.
