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Drilling is an important operation in aircraft wing assembly. In order to enhance this operation, automated machines are used. The purpose of this paper is to propose an off‐line programming system to generate NC code effectively and accurately for a five‐axis NC drilling machine applied in aircraft wing flexible assembly.

The NC program is divided into three hierarchical parts to correspond, respectively, to the whole wing, single rib and single hole. The programming procedure for such three‐layer wing structures is detailed, which includes product model modification, NC program generation and post‐processing.

By demonstration, the implemented system is proved to increase the efficiency and correctness of NC programming, and the generated program performed well on a flexible wing drilling system.

The system can only program for automated drilling machine at present, however with further development both automated drilling and riveting machine in aircraft wing assembly can be programmed by this system. Another development might make this system universal for different machineries and other aircraft components.

The paper indicates a new way to program for rapid wing flexible drilling, and the generated NC program is more adaptable and easier to update for various aircraft wing structures.

In the case of mass customization, product variety leads to exponentially increased variation in the production system. Providing flexible manufacturing solution for customized product rapidly is the key measure to achieve the goal of cost and delivery time. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues.

Following introduction, the paper describes flexible manufacturing and numerical control (NC) machining techniques in mass customization. The kernel idea is that NC program for mass customization product should be generated from parametric manufacturing information template, so as to achieve NC program variant design in accord with product variant design. The elements of NC programming system discussed in this paper address the definition of machining feature, the development of NC subprogram, template construct, and the architecture of NC programming system for mass customization product.

Machining feature, NC subprogram, and template are made to help manufacturing system to deal with the increased variation requirements resulting from product variety. The effects can be verified by the case study.

This paper provides a practical NC programming system for mass customization product and makes detailed technical solution to manufacturing system developer and its applications.

Since adopting a total NC approach in 1975, Cadogan Engineering has fast become a market leader in precision sub‐contract machining for the aerospace industry.

The industrial robot when associated with a workpiece magazine or conveyor system loading and unloading one or more numerical controlled machine tools opens a new way for automation in low series production. The possibilities for automatic handling together with machine tools within direct numerical controlled systems are discussed. After dealing with the master control selection and the signal flow some limitations resulting from the robot's kinematics are pointed out. Afterwards an actual manufacturing system, installed at the Berlin University, is introduced.

Highlights that the application of virtual prototyping to the development of complex aerospace products has brought about a revolution in the way that such products are introduced into production. Deals with implications of the introduction of virtual prototyping to a highly competitive high‐technology global industry. Points out that the benefits of this engineering innovation are not limited to the aerospace sector, however, and the lessons learned can be equally applied in other design and manufacturing activities. Describes the development and application of a comprehensive virtual prototyping initiative applied to the mechanical design and manufacture domain at British Aerospace Defence Dynamics, and the extent to which it has affected working practice. Introduces aspects of the existing research collaboration programme, and identifies potential areas for future research.

The purpose of this paper is to review the iREX2007, the International Robot Exhibition 2007 held in Tokyo, Japan, with emphasis on new trends in the Japanese robot industry.

The paper is based on in‐depth interviews with exhibitors and also major users in attendance at the show.

The Japanese manufacturing industries that shifted their plants and established production technologies overseas are now coming back and constructing new plants in Japan. For these plants they are now trying to re‐build a new manufacturing system that will enable Japan to regain global competency. Many exhibits of robots clearly demonstrated how robotics is responding to the needs.

Robot builders need to respond to new demands from users. Robot users will need to rethink robots as a valuable tool for solving new requirements.

The paper provides information on the trend of the robot industry, reflecting new requirements from society.

Reverse engineering methodology paves an efficient way for simulating and manufacturing existing objects with complex shapes, and a range of applications also has shown this approach to be feasible and efficient. However, in many applications, a lot of sub‐tasks in reverse engineering are usually not done in the same place, they need to be done cooperatively over the Internet or Intranet. So, this paper is concerned with developing a novel e‐service platform for remote service in reverse engineering applications based on mobile agent technology, and some correlative enabling technologies such as data compression, security considerations, agent models and so on. The framework was programmed using the Java Sevlets and Java Beans component models, and data transferring and processing were implemented based on the dispatch/retract mechanisms of mobile agents. The mobile agent is developed with IBM's Aglets Workbench, and the feasibility of the proposed method has been verified by a case.

Highway signage programs are important to the success of winery tourism industry. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the regulatory environment US wineries operate under in regards to highway signage programs. The goal then is to compare wine tourism-related highway signage programs in the USA and identify best practices for the programs.

Twenty-six programs from 13 US states are included in this study. Research collected both primary data (through interviews with 30 officials and representatives) and secondary data (from websites, government publications) to identify the costs, regulations and rules of each program.

A review of these programs shows that while there are many common elements in these programs, all are managed differently, have different operational and facility requirements for participation and vary in cost.

Highway signage programs related to winery tourism are best administered by a single state-wide governmental agency or foundations/trusts. Second, highway signage program should link with a separate certification program for the wineries which guarantees a certain minimum amount of local content. Winery owners and officials interviewed also emphasized the need for synergy among neighboring wineries to facilitate winery tourism.

Limited research has been conducted about the regulatory environment of signage programs that are specific to the wine industry in the USA. This study begins to address this gap in the literature by presenting an overview and best practices of 26 wine tourism-related highway signage programs from 13 different states across the USA.

Small manufacturing companies make up the base industrial backbone of many countries including the USA. Even though CIM is generally believed to help manufacturers to compete globally, small companies are not able to adopt the technology owing to CIM′s substantial investments and its associated high risk. An alternative CIM approach is urgently needed. Proposes a shared CIM system for various types of production environments including make‐to‐stock (MTS), assembled‐to‐order (ATO), make‐to‐order (MTO), and engineered‐to‐order (ETO). Analysis based on production logic was performed in order to develop a series of guidelines for the successful application of shared CIM systems in the above production companies. It was found that the shared facility capacity allocation was the most important activity in the production‐planning process, the degree of co‐operation being highest in an ETO environment. The key success in the operation of the system will depend on the co‐operation of production planning in MTS and ATO environments, co‐operation of production control in an MTO environment, and co‐operation in engineering‐design and production control in an ETO environment.

To lead effectively, educational leaders need to be both inquisitive about problems of practice and skilled in devising and implementing collaborative plans of action focused on redressing such problems. In response to changes in licensure regulations and criticisms – notably from within the field – that university-based programs have historically graduated ineffective educational leaders who fail to implement mandated reforms, programs have changed to include (a) a focus on the context in which graduates of the program will most likely lead (the local school communities) and (b) the immersion of program participants in a process of inquiry into problems of practice. Internships provide the setting for both these inclusions. Referencing the concept of “elbow learning,” this chapter discusses how the inquiry-based and service learning ideals integrate in Service Leadership Projects (SLPs) conducted during the internship requirement of a university-based educational leadership program in a Mid-Atlantic state in the United States. SLPs are well-designed to enhance the agency of prospective educational leaders, while delivering both tangible and intangible benefits to both the university and the school in which the internship is conducted. SLPs dovetail with a long-standing, state-financed program that supports the development of leaders for public schools.