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Manufacturing has been one of the key areas that support and influence a nation’s
economy since the 18th century. Being the primary driving force in economic
growth, manufacturing constantly serves as the foundation of and contributes to
other industries. In the past centuries, manufacturing has contributed to the modern
civilisation and created momentum that is continuously driving today’s economy.
Despite various revolutionary changes and innovations in the 20th century that
contributed to manufacturing advancements, we are facing new challenges when
striving to achieve greater success in winning global competitions.
Machines and robots, as the constituent components in manufacturing, have
contributed significantly to the success of advanced manufacturing. After evolving
from the initial mechanisation era where mechanical devices were created to replace
human labours to the later automation era where control devices were invented to
replace human operations, the history of machines has now entered into the modern
era of autonomisation where intelligent devices are being developed in an attempt to
eventually replace human decision making. While machines are becoming more and
more intelligent through integration with new technologies including sensors,
controls, computers and even the Internet, machine structures and theories have also
advanced, most noticeably in the area of parallel kinematic machines and micro
machines. Although the research and development efforts in these areas have been
translated into technical publications and impacted the present and future practices
in manufacturing, there exists a gap in the literature for a focused collection of
works that are dedicated to the design and development of smart devices and
machines for advanced manufacturing. The purpose of this book is to provide a
snapshot of the state-of-the-art research and development in these areas with a focus
on applications to the advanced manufacturing. The book materials are collected for
a broad readership from academic researchers to practicing engineers for knowledge
dissemination, which is the primary objective of this book. |