David is a senior systems scientist at the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University and is president of a manufacturing process planning software development firm (Design One Software, Inc.).
David's expertise is comprised of rapid, agile and flexible manufacturing, artificial intelligence, intelligent sensing, process planning and control, design for manufacturing, robotics and applying technology to make custom manufacturing economical.
David is also the principal investigator of a large project to build a next generation machine tool with a Japanese machine tool supplier. Previously, he was the principal investigator for the Air Force's Intelligent Machining Workstation project, which automated the machinist in aerospace applications. He also invented CML, a patented programming language to integrate automated systems when the components are from multiple vendors and has used this language to build real-world manufacturing systems.
He co-authored "Manufacturing Intelligence" published by Addison Wesley, and produced, directed and moderated a Public Broadcasting System (PBS) nationwide video production entitled, "Back to the Cutting Edge"highlighting the problems and solutions in modern manufacturing.
The Rapid Manufacturing Lab is involved in research that investigates technologies and creates systems that achieve cost-effective small-batch manufacturing.
Our research involves the design and implementation of flexible machines, mechanical hardware, electronics, control and software. The goal is customizing, which is now in great demand. The new machine tool industry will allow corporations to respond to the ever changing patterns of world trade. The new manufacturing systems can analyze new products and automatically will produce near optimal plans for production. Adaptability is the key.
This intelligent bending workstation is a standalone robot-attended bending machine. It is run on Windows NT and is written in C++. It is an open architecture system having several distinct expert modules (Grasping, Tooling, Moving, and Planning). The expert modules communicate with each other using the FEL language.
See our laboratory's site for further info
Other projects of Rapid Manufacturing Lab
We have designed robots for an exhibit at the Carnegie Science Center. This project teaches visitors how robots sense, think and act in their environments. The exhibit is now on a tour of the country and appears to be a favorite of visitors.
My lab currently is submitting a proposal to design the shell for the largest Buddha in the world (over 500' tall).
ROBOTICS WORLD-Spring 1998: IMW: The Key to Mass Customization
POST GAZETTE - January 14, 1997, A Robotic Bent.
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING-January 1997: Intelligent Sheet Metal Bending
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING-Nov. 1991:Intelligent Processing of Materials
David has had over 70 manufacturing publications and eight patents
Multipart Setup Planning for Sheet Bending Operations (DETC'97,ASME Design Engineering Technical Conf.)
Using Virtual Node Generation to Speed Up Sheet Metal Bending Operation Planning (1996 ASME Design Engineering Technical Conf.)
Intelligent Manufacturing Workstations (ASME annual meeting '92)
Cooperatively Planning Sheet Metal Bending (1996 ASME Design Technical Conf.)
Undergraduate degree in Mathematics earned at the University of Vermont
Graduate degrees in Computer and Information Sciences earned at The University of Pennsylvania
Presently, Senior Scientist: The Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University: Director of Rapid Manufacturing Laboratory
Adjunct Professor at the Graduate School of Industrial Administration, Carnegie Mellon University
President of Design One Software, Inc.(software development for manufacturing processes)
Cheng-Hua Wang recently completed his Ph.D. in Robotics. Find his dissertation entitled Manufacturability-Drive Decomposition of Sheet Metal Products. CMU-RI-TR-97-35