Development and Implementation of an Advanced Planning & Scheduling (APS) System for Semiconductor Backend Assembly

In this paper, the design, customization and implem en tation of an integrated Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) system for a Semi conductor Backend Assembly environment is described. The company is one of the w orldwide market leaders in semiconductor packaging technology. The project was d riven by the company’s quest to achieve a competitive edge as a manufacturing po werhouse by providing the shortest possible cycle time with a high degree of fle xibility through the application of Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) tech nology. Gintic was responsible for the Planning & Scheduling functions through o ur APS tool kit, which is called Gintic Scheduling System (GSS). Our APS system is to be integrated with the other two key software systems, namely, the Enterpr ise Resource Planning (ERP) and Manufacturing Execution System (MES), with the C IM framework. The project was divided into four major execution phases. Phase One activities w ere focused on the gathering and analysis of the end users requirements in order to establish the ’As-Is’ situation and the wish list & the expectation of the ’To-Be’ system. Planning and Scheduling prototypes were built using GSS to iden tify the functionality gap between the existing GSS system and the ’To-Be’ mode l, in order to determine the customization effort needed. The project team perfo rmed detailed system analysis, design and development of the ’To-Be’ system dur ing Phase Two of the project. There are a total of four planning and scheduling modules, including Capacity Planning (CP), Daily Lot Release (DLR), Daily Produc tion Scheduling (DPS) and Dynamic Operation Scheduling (DOS). The detailed desig n specifications of each of the features and functionality were confirmed and ac cepted by the end users before the commencement of the development effort. The c ompleted and tested modules were delivered in stages for testing and acceptance by the end user during the Phase Three of the project. Pilot product line was se lected for live testing of the developed planning and scheduling modules, before they are proliferated to the rest of the product lines. System fine-tuning req uests were raised during the last phase of the project; the Planning & Schedulin g modules were fine-tuned to satisfy the end user requirements. This paper will conclude by highlighting the actual benefits achieved by the suc cessful deployment of the GSS system. The company has expressed their deep s atisfaction and has requested Gintic to look into the automation of the Plan ning and Scheduling functions in the Pre-Assembly and Test operations.

Robot trajectory planning for autonomous 3D reconstruction of cockpit in aircraft final assembly testing

The trend towards automation and intelligence in aircraft final assembly testing has led to a new demand for autonomous perception of unknown cockpit operation scenes in robotic collaborative airborne system testing.To address this demand,a robotic automated 3D reconstruction cell which enables to autonomously plan the robot end-camera’s trajectory is developed for image acquisition and 3D modeling of the cockpit operation scene.A continuous viewpoint path planning algorithm is proposed that incorporates both 3D reconstruction quality and robot path quality into optimization process.Smoothness metrics for viewpoint position paths and orientation paths are introduced together for the first time in 3D reconstruction.To ensure safe and effective movement,two spatial constraints,Domain of View Admissible Position(DVAP)and Domain of View Admissible Orientation(DVAO),are implemented to account for robot reachability and collision avoidance.By using diffeomorphism mapping,the orientation path is transformed into 3D,consistent with the position path.Both orientation and position paths can be optimized in a unified framework to maximize the gain of reconstruction quality and path smoothness within DVAP and DVAO.The reconstruction cell is capable of automatic data acquisition and fine scene modeling,using the generated robot C-space trajectory.Simulation and physical scene experiments have confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed method to achieve highprecision 3D reconstruction while optimizing robot motion quality.

Introduction and Prospects of Gravity-1 Launch Vehicle’s Sea-Based Three Verticals Testing and Launch Mode

Gravity-1 was the world's first carrier rocket to adopt the sea-based “three vertical” testing launch mode. This article introduces the overall layout of the launch site and the workflow of rocket testing and launch for its maiden flight mission. The process of vertical assembly, vertical testing, vertical transportation, and sea-based hot launches are explained. Additionally, it provides an outlook on the improved “three vertical” testing and launch mode for future missions, such as land-based launches, rapid launches, and remote sea launches.

Pre-deformation for Assembly Performance of Machine Centers

The current research of machine center accuracy in workspace mainly focuses on the poor geometric error subjected to thermal and gravity load while in operation, however, there are little researches focusing on the effect of machine center elastic deformations on workspace volume. Therefore, a method called pre-deformation for assembly performance is presented. This method is technically based on the characteristics of machine tool assembly and collaborative computer-aided engineering （CAE） analysis. The research goal is to enhance assembly performance, including straightness, positioning, and angular errors, to realize the precision of the machine tool design. A vertical machine center is taken as an example to illustrate the proposed method. The concept of travel error is defined to obtain the law of the guide surface. The machine center assembly performance is analyzed under cold condition and thermal balance condition to establish the function of pre-deformation. Then, the guide surface in normal direction is processed with the pre-deformation function, and the machine tool assembly performance is measured using a laser interferometer. The measuring results show that the straightness deviation of the Z component in the Y-direction is 158.9% of the allowable value primarily because of the gravity of the spindle head, and the straightness of the X and Y components is minimal. When the machine tool is processed in pre-deformation, the straightness of the Z axis moving component is reduced to 91.2%. This research proposes a pre-deformation machine center assembly method which has sufficient capacity to improving assembly accuracy of machine centers.

Test Case Prioritization in Unit and Integration Testing:A Shuffled-Frog-Leaping Approach

Both unit and integration testing are incredibly crucial for almost any software application because each of them operates a distinct process to examine the product.Due to resource constraints,when software is subjected to modifications,the drastic increase in the count of test cases forces the testers to opt for a test optimization strategy.One such strategy is test case prioritization(TCP).Existing works have propounded various methodologies that re-order the system-level test cases intending to boost either the fault detection capabilities or the coverage efficacy at the earliest.Nonetheless,singularity in objective functions and the lack of dissimilitude among the re-ordered test sequences have degraded the cogency of their approaches.Considering such gaps and scenarios when the meteoric and continuous updations in the software make the intensive unit and integration testing process more fragile,this study has introduced a memetics-inspired methodology for TCP.The proposed structure is first embedded with diverse parameters,and then traditional steps of the shuffled-frog-leaping approach(SFLA)are followed to prioritize the test cases at unit and integration levels.On 5 standard test functions,a comparative analysis is conducted between the established algorithms and the proposed approach,where the latter enhances the coverage rate and fault detection of re-ordered test sets.Investigation results related to the mean average percentage of fault detection(APFD)confirmed that the proposed approach exceeds the memetic,basic multi-walk,PSO,and optimized multi-walk by 21.7%,13.99%,12.24%,and 11.51%,respectively.

Strategy and Methodology of Integration Testing for GUI Software

In this paper, by means of effective testing practices, main strategies of integration testing for GUI software, including differentiating strategy for distinguished system, strategy of personnel organization, incremental testing strategy based on baseline version, testing strategy of circulating loop through the whole life, and the strategy of test suite construction, were briefly investigated. Moreover, for the code analysis, the FTA (Fault Tree analysis) is proposed to deal with the software change in regression testing. For test suite constructing, the constructing methods for baseline version and the incremental change are deeply discussed, in which main points focus on the testing strategy based on “Sheet/Form”, the “Grey-box approach” for integration testing process, and the application of the improved STD (State Transform Diagram) in state testing. At the same time, the suite construction of integration testing for two types, including small scale program and large scale software, is analyzed and discussed in detail. For testing execution, the specific method based on “Cross-testing” is investigated. Concurrently, by a lot of examples, all results of testing activity indicate that these strategies and methods are useful and fitted to integration testing for GUI software.

Performance Evaluation and Improvement of Chipset Assembly & Test Production Line Based on Variability

"Factory physics principles" provided a method to evaluate the performance of a simple production line, whose fundamental parameters are known or given. However, it is difficult to obtain the exact and reasonable parameters in actual manufacturing environment, especially for the complex chipset assembly & test production line(CATPL). Besides, research in this field tends to focus on evaluation and improvement of CATPL without considering performance interval and status with variability level. A developed internal benchmark method is proposed, which established three-parameter method based on the Little′s law. It integrates the variability factors, such as processing time, random failure time, and random repair time, to meet performance evaluation and improvement. A case study in a chipset assembly and test factory for the performance of CATPL is implemented. The results demonstrate the potential of the proposed method to meet performance evaluation and emphasise its relevance for practical applications.

Comparative analysis by simulating and testing pole impact for hot stamping front crossbeam of automobile

Hot stamping 22MnB5 steel plate with ultra-high strength has been widely used for body structural members in consideration of automobile safety and lightweight.This paper presents a verification program of simulating and testing pole impact in order to verify if the front crossbeam reinforcement assembly can meet the design requirements,reduce the overall vehicle simulation and test cost and shorten the operation period.In the same condition,the simulation proved conforming to the design requirements;however,the bumper cracked at the impacting point in the course of pole impact test.The analysis of the crack by optical microscope,Vickers and scanning electron microscope indicates that mixture of ferrite,bainite and martensite was produced in the weld heat-affected zone of the 340/590DP tow hook holder and the 22MnB5 front crossbeam;therefore,their hardness and mechanical property were reduced obviously,so that they fractured when impacted.No welding process with continuous weld but spot welding or other bonding method may be employed for the reason that the capacity of the 22MnB5 steel plate in the weld heat-affected zone was reduced obviously.

3D-printed facet-attached microlenses for advanced photonic system assembly

Wafer-level mass production of photonic integrated circuits(PIC)has become a technological mainstay in the field of optics and photonics,enabling many novel and disrupting a wide range of existing applications.However,scalable photonic packaging and system assembly still represents a major challenge that often hinders commercial adoption of PIC-based solutions.Specifically,chip-to-chip and fiber-to-chip connections often rely on so-called active alignment techniques,where the coupling efficiency is continuously measured and optimized during the assembly process.This unavoidably leads to technically complex assembly processes and high cost,thereby eliminating most of the inherent scalability advantages of PIC-based solutions.In this paper,we demonstrate that 3D-printed facet-attached microlenses(FaML)can overcome this problem by opening an attractive path towards highly scalable photonic system assembly,relying entirely on passive assembly techniques based on industry-standard machine vision and/or simple mechanical stops.FaML can be printed with high precision to the facets of optical components using multi-photon lithography,thereby offering the possibility to shape the emitted beams by freely designed refractive or reflective surfaces.Specifically,the emitted beams can be collimated to a comparatively large diameter that is independent of the device-specific mode fields,thereby relaxing both axial and lateral alignment tolerances.Moreover,the FaML concept allows to insert discrete optical elements such as optical isolators into the free-space beam paths between PIC facets.We show the viability and the versatility of the scheme in a series of selected experiments of high technical relevance,comprising pluggable fiber-chip interfaces,the combination of PIC with discrete micro-optical elements such as polarization beam splitters,as well as coupling with ultra-low back-reflection based on non-planar beam paths that only comprise tilted optical surfaces.Based on our results,we believe that the FaML concept opens an attractive path towards novel PIC-based system architectures that combine the distinct advantages of different photonic integration platforms.

Pulsed Eddy Current Non-destructive Testing and Evaluation:A Review

Pulsed eddy current （PEC） non-destructive test- ing and evaluation （NDT＆E） has been around for some time and it is still attracting extensive attention from researchers around the globe, which can be witnessed through the reports reviewed in this paper. Thanks to its richness of spectral components, various applications of this technique have been proposed and reported in the lit- erature covering both structural integrity inspection and material characterization in various industrial sectors. To support its development and for better understanding of the phenomena around the transient induced eddy currents, attempts for its modelling both analytically and numeri- cally have been made by researchers around the world. This review is an attempt to capture the state-of-the-art development and applications of PEC, especially in the last 15 years and it is not intended to be exhaustive. Future challenges and opportunities for PEC NDT＆E are also presented.

Test research and computer simulation analysis of construction state during form finding for suspen-dome system

A novel construction method without scaffold work called as assembly-prestressing form finding loop by loop is presented.Based on the theory of finite displacement,the cycle-forward analysis method is presented for its construction calculation,which adopts the finite element method of generalized geometric nonlinearity combined with the application in the real construction process.By means of the combination of the forward analysis according to real construction sequence and the cycle iteration according to the initial strain increment method of cable force adjustment,the influence of the structural geometric nonlinearity and the loss of prestress are taken into account due to prestressing of tendons in turn and so on.If the initial cable forces derived from the method were used for construction,expected cable forces and shape could be assured easily.Simulation analysis achieved real-time tracking and controlling of the construction status.Finally,according to the procedure and parameters in simulating,a model experimental research on the stage of form finding(namely prestressing)was carried out for suspen-dome structure.The feasibility on the assembly-prestressing form finding method loop by loop was testified.The cycle-forward analysis method was established and numerical simulation was performed,and the results show that it was useful for the design and the construction of similar suspen-dome structure.

Analysis of the integrated test and evaluation methods of tidal current energy generating devices in the offshore testing site

Actual sea condition testing and inspection and evaluation method research are carried out for tidal energy devices to provide scientific and effective technical support for the ocean high-tech achievement transformation and marine renewable energy development. By analyzing three core indicators, including the power output characteristics of the tidal current device, the generating capacity, energy conversion efficiency, proposed the test contents and evaluation methods of indicators are proposed in this paper; and based on the research of wind farms, power quality testing and assessment methods of offshore tidal energy device are proposed; given the security access to the test contents of tidal current energy device, tidal current energy device running conditions in the testing ground are comprehensively assessed.

Research on Model Construction and Technique Support for Integrated Rehabilitation of Rock Desertification in Chaoying Small Watershed of Bijie Test Area of Guizhou Province

Selecting Chaoying small watershed with representative karst rocky desertification in the Bijie test area of Guizhou Province as an example, according to karst rocky desertiflcation degree and the existing eco-environmental problems in the small watershed, we study developmental model and technique support system for integrated rehabilitation of rocky desertification in the small watershed, and bring forward the development model and technique integration for integrated rehabilitation of rocky desertification, which adapt to the karst areas of Bijie test area, Guizhou Province and even South China.

A mini review on two-dimensional nanomaterial assembly

Two-dimensional(2D)nanomaterials have attracted a great deal of attention since the discovery of graphene in 2004,due to their intriguing physicochemical properties and wide-ranging applications in catalysis,energy-related devices,electronics and optoelectronics.To maximize the potential of 2D nanomaterials for their technological applications,controlled assembly of 2D nanobulding blocks into integrated systems is critically needed.This mini review summarizes the reported strategies of 2D materials-based assembly into integrated functional nanostructures,from in-situ assembly method to post-synthesis assembly.The applications of 2D assembled integrated structures are also covered,especially in the areas of energy,electronics and sensing,and we conclude with discussion on the remaining challenges and potential directions in this emerging field.

Integrating Electronic Systems for Requesting Clinical Laboratory Test into Digital Clinical Records: Design and Implementation

Clinical laboratory tests are basic elements that support healthcare tasks such as disease detection, diagnosis and monitoring of response to treatments. Current laboratory information systems focus on the patient database, tests and results, with multiple modules available, connecting with the various analytical systems or work areas. However laboratory information systems functioned as “islands of information”, because their design was fundamentally inward-looking and disconnected from other healthcare computer applications. Actually, the Electronic Health Register (EHR) is considered by clinicians as a tool with great potential healthcare benefits. The EHR, in the sense of a unique and complete record of a patient’s healthcare and state of health, regardless of the healthcare level used, is a real attempt to eliminate these “islands of information” and need modules to act as “bridges” with the laboratory information systems. This type of module, which in generic terms may be referred to as a laboratory test request module, has become an essential feature of the EHR. These modules need to use a laboratory coding system as a common language for exchanging information, ensuring that tests and results are unequivocally identified. The development of the laboratory test request module requires the commitment of professionals and political authorities, being necessary time for their design and an adequate pilot phase. The laboratory professionals have to assume a leadership role in the whole process of design, development and implementation of these modules, integrating in the equipment of information technologies of healthcare providers. In our manuscript we review the elements that may prove electronic systems for requesting clinical laboratory test into digital clinical records and the key elements to move from theory to practice.

A GIS Pre and Post Processing Contribution to a Multi Techniques Test Survey for an Ancient Railway Restoration in the Brembana Valley

Stemming from the renewed desire to requalify the former Brembana Valley railway route (inside one of the valleys of the Province of Bergamo and close to the important city of Milan), from Bergamo to Villa d’Almè, in 2017, the Bergamo Transport Company and other partners have signed a memorandum of understanding. They have also entrusted a project company to develop a technical and economic viability study, which would be an update of a preliminary one presented in 2009. A private proposal for the realization of a test survey, useful for the required engineering project, has been submitted to the project company and accepted. For this reason, a team, comprising different companies, and among them also the Geomatics group at the University of Bergamo, was formed so as to perform this task and develop it in a degree thesis. The aim of the test survey is to evaluate a joint use of the new available technologies, so as to possibly get faster, more economic and thorough results, by performing a 3D metric analysis over two sub-areas selected along the route. The paper describes this experience and the achieved results. In particular, the areas of interest in the test project have been analyzed first thing with a GIS software and then surveyed with a multi-sensor approach, i.e. terrestrial laser scanner, GNSS techniques and UAV. The final integrated results allowed providing a metric model of the morphological and urban aspect for the territorial layout, useful also for further advanced GIS analyses. The analysis of the reached precisions has provided satisfactory results which agree with the metric requirements of the project. Further meaningful considerations can be derived from this test survey: the implementation of different techniques has helped to overcome problems due to hidden parts in complex objects, it has allowed to provide a faster survey and to test different technologies and software packages. The results have been quite satisfactory.

Co-integration Analysis of the Relationship between Logistics Transportation and Economic Growth of Agriculture in Zhejiang Province

The thesis selects freight volume and passenger capacity from 1978 to 2008 in Zhejiang Province and the total output value of the primary industry as the object of research, uses quantitative method of co-integration analysis to analyze the freight volume and passenger capacity, and the total output value of the primary industry in Zhejiang Province. After the stationary test of the time sequence, I conduct the regression analysis of the relationship between freight volume and the total output value of agriculture, and the relationship between passenger capacity and the total output value of agriculture. In addition, I conduct Granger causality test of the relationship between freight volume and passenger capacity, and the total output value of agriculture. The results show that the transportation of Zhejiang Province has promoted the development of agricultural economy prominently, and the development of agricultural economy plays indistinctive role in promoting the transportation volume in Zhejiang Province.

Towards Integrated Testing Approach: An Application of Cognitive Science and Deep Learning Principle

The use of multiple-choice(MC)question types has been one of the most contentious issues in language testing.Much has been said and written about the use of MC over the years.However,no attempt has ever been made to introduce any innovation in test item types.The researchers proposed a jumbled words test item(JW)based on cognitive science and deep learning principles,and addressed the feasibility of replacing the type of multiple-choice(MC)question with JW to meet the ongoing rapid development of language testing practice.Two research questions were proposed ad hoc,focusing on the co-relationship between JW and MC scores.RASCH-GZ was used to perform item analyses(Rasch,1960).The item difficulty parameters thus obtained were used to compare the two different test items.The sample data metric includes 40 Chinese participants.The findings revealed that correlation analysis revealed that the performance of the same group of subjects taking both JW and MC was not relevant(Pearson Corr=0).This is primarily due to the total elimination of guessing factors inherent in test-takers during JW test performance.Three factors were specified for the design of the JW test:compute program,test difficulty,and score acceptability.These all have three dimensions.Data collected through questionnaires were analyzed using EFA in SPSS V.24.0.KMOs(=0.867)were found to be approximately one and significance at 0.000(0.05),indicating that the construct of theuestionnaire thus designed has better validity for factor analysis.Three important conclusions were obtained,the implications of which could provide impetus for our testing counterparts to practice more precisely and correctly,potentially reshaping our overall language testing practice.Limitations and recommendations for future research were also discussed.

Correlation analysis and causality test between Ludong-Huanghai block and South Japan

In this paper, we make a comparative analysis and correlation test for the seismic activities in the South Japan and the Ludong-Huanghai block （a secondary tectonic unit in the North China） and approach the relationship between the energy release processes of these two areas by using co-integration analysis and Granger causality test for the time series of random variables. The results show that the seismic activities in these two areas are correlative and synchronous to a certain extent, and their release series of cumulative strain energy are contemporaneously correlative. Both energy series are first-order difference stationary processes and there is secular and steady co-integration between them. We make a positive analysis on the first-order difference energy series through Granger causality test based on vector error correction （VEC） model and find there is unilateral Granger causality and prominent co-integration between the two energy release processes.

Scheme of Railway 5G Integrated Innovation Test Platform

An inevitable trend has already taken shape for the application of the 5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology(5G)in the railway sector.The application scenarios and business types of the railway sector are complex and diverse,so it is indispensable to test and verify the railway 5G before actual deployment.The design and creation of the railway 5G integrated innovation test platform provides engineering design,test and verification conditions for the networking,coverage and business development of 5G public networks and 5G-R in railway scenarios.This paper introduces the design of the overall architecture for the integrated railway 5G innovation test platform according to the railway network requirements,application scenarios and intelligent development trend;respectively elaborates on the design of the 5G-R core network,bearer network and wireless access along loop tracks,in combination with the characteristics of railway scenarios and the requirements of railway dispatching,operation and safety;raises further solutions on the network deployment and coverage schemes of 5G public networks so as to meet the application requirements of 5G public networks.The study results show that the integrated railway 5G innovation test platform scheme contains co-existence of 5G public and private networks,combines the indoor and outdoor scenarios,as well as takes into account of the dynamic and static tests so as to meet the environmental requirements for the integrated railway 5G test and application of all network functions,for which it can provide comprehensive technical support for railway 5G technology research and development,standard formulation,testing,etc.