A Virtual Factory Approach For Design And Implementation Of Agile Manufacturing Systems

Abstract

Long standing work has addressed product modeling, variant design, product life-cycle management, interdisciplinary ECAD-to-MCAD integration, design-with-manufacture integration, standardized product data exchange, knowledge management as well as virtual engineering, digital enterprise technology and systems integration. Dr. Schaefer's current research is focused on the Scholarship of Integration and the Scholarship of Education. His contributions to the Scholarship of Integration concern the highly topical area of Designing Mechatronic Systems. In his research, Dr. Schaefer addresses questions related to the integration of design domains, domain-specific CAD and CAE systems, interfaces for standardized data exchange between domain-specific PDM systems, and automated variant design generation of mechatronic systems and system families. Dr. Schaefer's contributions to the Scholarship of Education concern one of the 14 Grand Challenges for Engineering as stated by the National Academy of Engineering -"Advance personalized learning." In his research, Dr. Schaefer addresses the strategic design of engineering education for the next generation of engineers, the integration of game-changing paradigms such as mass customization, personalization and collaborative learning into the engineering curriculum, as well as virtual learning environments and remotely/robotically controlled physical laboratory exercises for distance learning settings including associated pedagogies.