Acquisiton of Workstation Computers, Rapid Prototyper and Digital Scanner for a Cross-Departmental Laboratory

西肯塔基大学(WKU)致力于通过在教育中引入和应用新知识，以及研究和教育的整合，实现并保持卓越的教学水平。在VIKU进行的研究，特别是在奥格登科学、技术和健康学院(OCSTH)进行的研究，旨在让研究生和本科生参与到项目中来，这些项目不仅将开发科学、技术和卫生领域的人力资源，而且将为工业界和学术界培养下一代教育工作者、研究人员和管理人员。这项建议的目的是建立一个跨部门的工作站实验室，由一台快速成型机和一台数字扫描仪提供支持，该实验室将创建一个“虚拟工厂”环境，让教职员工和学生参与与生产系统有关的研究，并将这项研究整合到教学中。同时，该实验室将为各部门和跨部门单位提供新的机会，或加强在广泛学科领域的研究和研究培训的能力。虚拟工厂将创造一个模拟工业中典型的部件设计、设计审查和分析、工艺设计、分析和优化以及原型阶段的环境。在这些阶段将使用工作站计算机和先进的计算机设计和分析软件，此外还将使用数字扫描仪和快速原型机，前者将用于在计算机中将施工图转换为三维立体几何图形，后者将为研究人员提供最终设计的塑料原型。此外，这些活动将与通过先前的NSF和州基金建立的现有柔性制造单元以及来自行业的捐赠相结合，从而使包括联邦机构、行业、研究机构以及公共和私人组织在内的感兴趣的各方能够获得从部件设计到最终产品的完整系统。这一设置将使西北大学的学生和教职员工与感兴趣的各方分享、整合和应用制造生产系统项目中的新知识。拟议的设备还将用于各种研究项目，供来自广泛学科的教职员工和学生用于研究和研究培训。这些学科包括计算机科学、物理、天文学、数学、生物学、工程技术和工业技术。其中一些项目将需要多学科的努力，而提供拟议的设备将大大加强这一努力。

Western Kentucky University (WKU) is committed to achieving and maintaining excellence in teaching through the introduction and application of new knowledge in education, and the integration of research and education. Research conducted at VIKU, especially in the Ogden College of Science, Technology, and Health (OCSTH) is aimed to involve students at graduate and undergraduate level in projects which will not only develop human resources in science, technology and health, but create the next generation of educators, researchers and administrators for both industry and academia. The purpose of this proposal is to establish a Cross-Departmental Workstation Laboratory, supported by a Rapid Prototyping Machine and a Digital Scanner, that will create a `Virtual Factory` environment to involve faculty and students in production-systems related research and the integration of this research into instruction. The laboratory will at the same time provide departments and cross-departmental units either new opportunities or enhanced capabilities in research and research training in a broad spectrum of disciplines. The `Virtual Factory` will create an environment that simulates the part design, design review and analysis, process design, analysis and optimization, and prototyping stages typical in industry. Workstation computers and advanced computer design and analysis softwares will be used during these stages in addition to the Digital Scanner, which will be utilized to convert shop drawings into three dimensional solid geometry in computers, and the Rapid Prototyper, which will provide researchers a plastic prototype of the final design. In addition these activities will be integrated with the existing Flexible Manufacturing Cell established through prior NSF and state funds as well as donations from industry, so that a complete system from part design to final product will be available to interested parties including Federal agencies, industry, research institutions, and public and private organizations. This setting will enable the students and faculty at NWU share, integrate and apply new knowledge in projects on manufacturing production systems with the interested parties. The proposed equipment will also be used in a variety of research projects by faculty and students from a broad spectrum of disciplines for research and research-training. Among these disciplines are computer science, physics, astronomy, mathematics, biology, engineering technology and industrial technology. Some of these projects will require a multi-disciplinary effort which will be greatly enhanced by the availability of the proposed equipment.