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Reports on the exhibits and exhibitors at Manufacturing Week, which took place at the NEC, 10‐12 November 1998. It reveals that machine vision is the major attraction at the show with over a quarter of the exhibitors exhibiting activity in this area. A number of the companies who offer turnkey systems are highlighted; some include vision as an element in their systems while others are totally dedicated to application of the technology. The emphasis in the article is on applications with the predominance being for inspection. Brief case studies are given of inspecting automotive switches, a contact lens line, robot grinding of propellers and a seat belt retractor assembly system. Some new products are also described including a “control free” junction for Bosch twin belt pallet conveyors and compact fast camera with integral image acquisition and processing electronics.

Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

Briefly reviews previous literature by the author before presenting an original 12 step system integration protocol designed to ensure the success of companies or countries in their efforts to develop and market new products. Looks at the issues from different strategic levels such as corporate, international, military and economic. Presents 31 case studies, including the success of Japan in microchips to the failure of Xerox to sell its invention of the Alto personal computer 3 years before Apple: from the success in DNA and Superconductor research to the success of Sunbeam in inventing and marketing food processors: and from the daring invention and production of atomic energy for survival to the successes of sewing machine inventor Howe in co‐operating on patents to compete in markets. Includes 306 questions and answers in order to qualify concepts introduced.

Focuses on the utilization of machine vision in three areas of electronic assembly. Looks at odd‐shaped component placement covering part location, target location and placement. Discusses LCD display inspection, including LCD, LED and Plasma technologies. Also examines machine vision in automated die and wire bond inspection for multi‐chip module manufacturing. Considers the benefits of automating inspection processes and concludes by looking at how useful measurements can be extracted from the analysis of images of wire bonds.

Assembly planning and scheduling are two major functions in circuit board manufacturing. Currently, assembly plans are developed in the absence of information about the state of the shop floor at the execution time of the assembly operation. In effect, these assembly plans may impose unnecessary restrictions on scheduling. As a result, scheduling conflicts, bottlenecks, imbalance in assembly lines and machine congestion that lead to lateness and excessive production and shipping costs are inevitable. Compares the performances of the traditional method of isolated planning and scheduling with a proposed method of simultaneous generation of assembly plans and schedules in electronic assembly operations. Simulated scenarios indicate the potential superiority of the integrated system.

To discuss the application of direct part marking identification (DPMI) using 2D matrix codes, the use of which is increasing in industries as diverse as automotive and medical instruments.Design/methodology/approach – The benefits of 2D codes are explained, emphasising that they have sufficient storage capacity to provide data for tracking a part during its manufacture and through the supply chain and allow traceability throughout its lifetime. It describes the operation of Cognex, one of the leading manufacturers of ID products and also the world's largest supplier of machine vision systems is Cognex. It explains that initially the electronics industry exploited Cognex' code reading technology and an application at a German board manufacturer is described. Another system, at a diesel engine injector manufacturer in France, has 42 Cognex systems reading 2D codes and guiding robots in assembly. Also described is a new range of Cognex hand‐held and fixed‐mount 1D and 2D code readers “loaded” with software that allows reading in difficult conditions and with degraded or partially obscured codes.Findings – The DPMI market has expanded into industries other than automotive, which has prompted Cognex to establish a new division of ID products.Originality/value – The paper emphasises the importance of 2D codes in product traceability and indicates how vision technology is being utilised to read these codes even under difficult conditions.

The ideas expressed in this work are based on those put into practice at the Okuma Corporation of Japan, one of the world′s leading machine tool manufacturers. In common with many other large organizations, Okuma Corporation has to meet the new challenges posed by globalization, keener domestic and international competition, shorter business cycles and an increasingly volatile environment. Intelligent corporate strategy (ICS), as practised at Okuma, is a unified theory of strategic corporate management based on five levels of win‐win relationships for profit/market share, namely: ,1. Loyalty from customers (value for money) – right focus., 2. Commitment from workers (meeting hierarchy of needs) – right attitude., 3. Co‐operation from suppliers (expanding and reliable business) – right connections., 4. Co‐operation from distributors (expanding and reliable business) – right channels., 5. Respect from competitors (setting standards for business excellence) – right strategies. The aim is to create values for all stakeholders. This holistic people‐oriented approach recognizes that, although the world is increasingly driven by high technology, it continues to be influenced and managed by people (customers, workers, suppliers, distributors, competitors). The philosophical core of ICS is action learning and teamwork based on principle‐centred relationships of sincerity, trust and integrity. In the real world, these are the roots of success in relationships and in the bottom‐line results of business. ICS is, in essence, relationship management for synergy. It is based on the premiss that domestic and international commerce is a positive sum game: in the long run everyone wins. Finally, ICS is a paradigm for manufacturing companies coping with change and uncertainty in their search for profit/market share. Time‐honoured values give definition to corporate character; circumstances change, values remain. Poor business operations generally result from human frailty. ICS is predicated on the belief that the quality of human relationships determines the bottom‐line results. ICS attempts to make manifest and explicit the intangible psychological factors for value‐added partnerships. ICS is a dynamic, living, and heuristic‐learning model. There is intelligence in the corporate strategy because it applies commonsense, wisdom, creative systems thinking and synergy to ensure longevity in its corporate life for sustainable competitive advantage.

This conference, in the series being run by the National Physical Laboratory to help the electronics assembly industry consider the problems of CFC phase‐out, was essentially an updated repeat of the event held on 30 April, which had been a complete, standing‐room‐only sell‐out. Surprisingly, this repeat performance also attracted a full house and the format used has proved to be the most popular of all the NPL non‐CFC options conferences.

Introduction Consider a hi‐fi loudspeaker manufacturing company acquired on the brink of insolvency by an American multinational. The new owners discover with growing concern that the product range is obsolete, that manufacturing facilities are totally inadequate and that there is a complete absence of any real management substance or structure. They decide on the need to relocate urgently so as to provide continuity of supply at the very high — a market about to shrink at a rate unprecedented in its history.

In the electronics industry of the Federal Republic of Germany 286,000 employees are working in assembly twice as many as in the automotive or machine building industries.