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Mechanical Process Engineering

1. Grokking Optimization.- 2. Essential Mathematics for Optimization.- 3. Single-Objective Optimization Techniques.- 4. Metaheuristics for Single-Objective Optimization.- 5. Multi-Objective Optimization.- 6. Applications of Optimization.- 7. Practical Optimization Examples with Python.

This book offers a hands-on and comprehensive guide to optimization techniques tailored for data scientists and engineers, combining theoretical foundations with practical applications. It begins by demystifying core concepts and types of optimization, then explores their relevance across engineering and data science domains. Readers are introduced to essential mathematical tools, single- and multi-objective optimization methods, and a wide range of algorithms including gradient-based techniques, evolutionary strategies, and swarm intelligence. The book also lists real-world applications across industries and provides several Python-based examples, enabling readers to implement and experiment with optimization models in practice. With its structured approach and rich set of examples, this book serves as a valuable resource for professionals and researchers seeking to apply optimization effectively in their work.

DESIGNING COMPLEX SYSTEMS USING SATISFICING STRATEGY.- RESEARCH QUESTIONS: HOW CAN WE REALIZE MODEL EVOLUTION.- PROPOSED METHODS THE DESIGN EVOLUTION LOOP.- Types I and II Robust Design Through Formulation Exploration Framework.- TYPE I, II, AND III ROBUST DESIGN THROUGH IMPROVING APPROXIMATION.- TYPE I, III, AND IV ROBUST DESIGN THROUGH UNSUPERVISED LEARNING.- TYPE I, II, AND IV ROBUST DESIGN THROUGH EMERGENT PROPERTIES IDENTIFICATION AND INTERPRETATIONS.- VALIDATION OF THE HYPOTHESES IN REALIZING  DESIGN EVOLUTION.- CLOSING REMARKS – ADVANCING DESIGN EVOLUTION IN OTHER DISCIPLINES.

In this book, the authors describe how designers evolve their designs through the Design Evolution Cycle. It identifies challenges associated with designing complex systems, such as dealing with multiple conflicting goals, evolving design preferences, nonlinear and nonconvex constraints and goals, continuous and discrete variables, coupled decisions, sub-models with different levels of fidelity, and emergent properties. The book empowers designers to make robust, informed, and iteratively improved decisions in designing complex systems

Part I: Creativity.- Exploring Design Thinking.- Parametric Design Process with Assessed Levels of Creativity.- Design Strategies Supporting Creativity.- Measuring Cognitive Complexity.- Part II: Collaboration.- Cognitive Perspectives for Teamwork.- Design Collaboration with Building Information Modelling.- Interactive and Collective Thinking Through Mobile Computing.- Part III: The Language of Design.- Cognitive and Linguistic Differences in Design.- Multi-Cultural Design Education.- Conclusion.

This book presents new ways of facilitating design thinking, through the combination of cognitive design strategies and information technologies. It provides readers with an in-depth understanding of the traditional and digital design processes and activities that are employed in architecture, computational design, communication design and graphic design. In response to evolving design practices, including the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI), this fully updated and expanded edition features a new chapter on digital design collaboration, along with extended discussions on the role of technology in shaping creative and collaborative processes. The book is divided into three parts: Part I, which focuses on creativity, uses evidence derived from empirical studies to develop an understanding of the way computational environments shape design thinking and may lead to more inventive outcomes. Part II considers the cognitive, sociotechnical dimensions of design teams, crowds and collectives. It investigates the ways digital design platforms promote interactive and collective thinking. Lastly, Part III addresses culture, examining the linguistic and cultural context of the globalised design ecosystem. Providing valuable insights into design thinking, this book helps readers engage with their local and global environments. It will appeal to academics, researchers and professionals with an interest in understanding design thinking in the context of creativity, collaboration and culture.

Designerly Ways of Knowing.- The Nature and Nurture of Design Ability.- Natural and Artificial Intelligence in Design.- Creative Cognition in Design I: The Creative Leap.- Creative Cognition in Design II: Creative Strategies.- Understanding Design Cognition.- Design as a Discipline.

This book is an edited collection of key lectures and foundational publications by Professor Nigel Cross on creative design thinking. This is an expanded and updated new edition of the previous version, with three additional chapters. The book investigates and explains the nature of designerly ways of knowing and thinking, and offers rich insights into a field of study that provides important foundations for design education, research and practice. The view that designers have and use particular designerly ways of knowing and thinking developed from new approaches in design education and new empirical studies of design processes. The concept was first clearly articulated by Professor Cross, one of the most respected design researchers internationally. Since then, the field of study has grown considerably, as both design education and design research have developed together into a practice-based discipline influential across many spheres of design and innovation. As an extensive review of scholarship and research, and a resource for studying designerly ways of knowing and thinking, the book will be of value to researchers, teachers, students and practitioners across all fields of design, including engineering and architectural design, industrial and product design, software and service design. It will also be of interest to those engaging in creative developments across a wide range of social and technological innovation.

Engineering Mechanics

Drive over Highly Variable Operating Angles.- Hydraulic Variable-Displacement Pumps/Motors.- Mechanical Variable-Ratio Transmissions.- Four Degrees of Freedom Cylindrical Gearing.- High-Speed Reciprocating Mechanisms.- Damping Mobile Interface Load Dynamicity.- Inertial Response to a Change in Effort.- Micromotion Amplification into a Command.- Stabilizing Cardanic Suspended Rigid Bodies.- Variable Multi-Bladed Rotor Systems.- Attributes of Multistage Mechanical Systems.

This book explores the design of mechanical subsystems, with particular emphasis on the dynamibility they impart to the overall systems they become part of. Dynamibility is defined here as an attribute of a physical system - its capacity for good dynamic performance. At several places throughout the book innovative designs are presented that address previously obscure or stubborn design challenges, each tailored to meet specific functional requirements. These designs are neither patented nor patent-pending, and readers are free to adopt and use them. The book spans a range of disciplines within mechanical design engineering, aiming to fill notable information gaps and tackle problem areas that have long remained unspoken. Where appropriate, it highlights subtle design pitfalls, cautioning designers to avoid them.

Graduate/advanced undergraduate textbook

Material Properties of Glass and Associated Polymers.- Monolithic Glass.- Multilayer Glass.- Mechanical Fundamentals for Glass Engineering.- Strength of Annealed Glass.- Pre-stressed Glass.- Mechanical Connections.- Adhesive Connections.- Glass Design Aspects.- Maintenance and Forensics.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of structural glass design, covering the entire process from material properties to conceptual and structural design, calculation methods, and real-world applications. It presents glass and its related products—such as polymer interlayers, adhesives, coatings, and supporting materials—as structural, load-bearing components in buildings and other engineering domains. Readers will find detailed insights into fracture mechanics, polymer mechanics, experimental methods, numerical analysis, reliability and risk assessment, and forensic engineering. The book presents both practical design information and detailed background information, thereby providing a bridge between research, engineering practice and education.

Graduate/advanced undergraduate textbook

Exercises.- Sample solutions to the exercises.- Appendix.

This exercise book contains an extensive collection of exercises on the subject of lightweight design. In particular, the basics of strength theory, lightweight material design and lightweight shape design as well as sandwich elements are covered. The main focus is on limit stress and optimization of structures. The book is characterized by detailed masters solutions so that students on Bachelor's and Master's degree courses can easily understand the solutions. The work is therefore also ideally suited for self-study.

From the Forest Ecosystem, Manufacturing Technology, Quality Control, to The Design of New Instruments

Wood, fabric, and textiles

Part 1 WOOD.- 1. Tone wood as a resource of Romanian Carpathians forests; - 2. Quality classes of blanks for violins and some relevant physical parameters of wood.- 3. Mechanical characterization of spruce resonance wood and curly maple for violins.- Part II VARNISH.- 4. From the chemistry of the Renaissance to the renaissance of violin making.- 5. Effect of varnishing on the surface morphology of tonewood for violins.- 6. Effects of violin varnish on some physical, mechanical and acoustical properties of resonance spruce and curly maple samples.- Part III VIOLIN MANUFACTURIG AND QUALITY CONTROL.- 7. Violin manufacturing technology.- 8. Acoustic analysis of violins.- Part IV VIOLIN IN ORGANOLOGIC CONTEXT.- 9. The Epic of the Violin.- 10. The Violin in Romanian Folk Music.- 11. Vioda family of bowed string instruments invented by Professor Ion Delu.

This book can be viewed in many ways as it explores the interdisciplinarity of research in violin engineering and art, being a valuable reference for readers interested in the acoustics of violins and in the science of materials used for making them. In this book, the wood science, the chemistry of varnish, the art and technology of violin making by luthiers and organologic context of violins, are put together giving a holistic view of the subject and complementing the large literature which exists on this instrument.  The book is addressed to teachers, researchers, makers of musical instruments and artists alike, this being a good premise for understanding the complexity of the interdisciplinary phenomena that musical instruments involve. This book is based on the material most of which was accumulated during the period 2019-2024, within the ACADIA (61PCE/2022) and MINOVIS (568PED/2020) projects, financial supported by The Executive Unit for the Financing of Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation from Romania (UEFISCDI).

Establishing a Competitive Advantage Through Quality, Value, and Perception

Industrial and Production Engineering

Creating a Competitive Advantage.- Defining Quality.- The Value Proposition.- Customer Perceptions.- The Product Design Process.- The Service Design Process.- Measuring Value.- Practical Implications of Customer Perceptions on the Design Process.- Re-Engineering the Process for Perceptions.

Exploring the concept of quality management from a new point of view, this book, now in an expanded second edition, presents a holistic model of how consumers judge the quality of products. It links consumer perceptions of quality to the design and delivery of the final product, and presents models and methods for improving the quality of these products and services. It offers readers an improved understanding of how and why the design process must consider how the consumer will perceive a product or service. In order to facilitate the presentation and understanding of these concepts, illustrations and case examples are also provided throughout the book. This updated and enlarged volume provides an invaluable resource for managers, designers, manufacturers, professional practitioners and academics interested in quality management. The book also offers a useful supplementary text for marketing and quality management courses.

Machinery and Machine Elements

1.Wear simulation of tooth profile during gear operation.- 2.Methodology for calculation of contact loading meshing spur and barrel-shaped teeth gears in the presence of a skew angle.- 3.Analysis of the possibility of manufacturing loaded gears from structural steels with subsequent laser hardening.- 4.An early handbook with geared machines at Renaissance time.- 5.Computer-aided system SPDIAL for design and research of worm-type gears.- 6.Analysis of the teeth constraints of internal spur gears considering teeth flexibility, backlash allowance, and tip relief.- 7.Design of gears with involute-bevel gearwheels.- 8.Definable adaptive gear differential.- 9.Undercutting phenomenon of flat-faced worm gearing.- 10.A new approach to estimation of machine parts strength reliability.- 11.Geometrical design conditions for feed channels of planetary-rotor hydraulic machines.- 12.Мathematical modelling oriented to the synthesis of globoid worm gears of type Wildhaber.- 13.Some results of physical modeling of point contact in steel spiroid gears.- 14.Toothed mechanisms as objects of structural analysis in MMS study course.- 15.Residual stresses determination in gear teeth subsurface layers.- 16.Analysis of the arc teeth self-adjusting cylindrical gear.- 17.Design and technological preproduction of straight bevel gears with forged teeth.- 18.Machining of worm threads by face-type tool.- 19.Developing a computerized model for the longitudinal localization of a straight bevel gear with a small shaft angle with a non-generated gear and a generated pinion.- 20.Design and Experimental Testing of a Planetary Gear Drive for Space Purposes.- 21.Control of automated manufacturing operations for tooth cutting by running-in cutter heads.

This book is the fifth volume in the series devoted to gear engineering and computer-aided design, production, testing, and education. It comprises fundamental and applied research contributions by scientists and gear experts from all over the world and covers recent developments and historical achievements in various spheres of mechanical engineering related to different kinds of gears, transmissions, and drive systems. It gathers contributions describing the advanced approaches to research, design, testing, and production of practically all common and new kinds of gears for a vast number of advanced applications. Special attention is paid to tribology issues, computer-aided simulation of various gears, strength analysis, and aspects of advanced manufacturing of gears and gearboxes.  

Eliciting the Cultural Design Process of Bāṇārasī Toy Designers

Toying with Perspectives: Listening to the Views of Cultural Designers.- Language and Shape of the Worldview.- Sorting the Bāṇārasī Mind: What Do Linguistic Categories Reveal about.- View of a Khilōnā: Rules of making and using Cultural Design.- Hand over Mind: Pedagogical Notions of the “Others”.- Artisanship of Risk: The Uncertainty of Cultural Design.- Thinking Like a Cultural Designer: Juggling Worldview over Livelihood.- Emerging Signifiers of Cultural Design.- Designing”‘Others”: Significance of the Hand to Practices of the Mind.

This book offers a critical re-examination of cultural design, highlighting the distinct cognitive framework for problem-solving that emerges from culturally specific practices, knowledge systems, and evaluative mechanisms. Through the lens of Bāṇārasī toy designers—a community on whom linguistic analysis has previously revealed a deeply embedded system of design categorization and experiential practice—this book explores how generational tacit knowledge is internalized, transmitted, and applied. Challenging dominant paradigms that privilege global scalability and technological disruption, the book advocates for a localized approach to innovation that emphasizes cultural acceptability, continuity, and systemic coherence. Cultural design is presented not only as a method for solving problems within culturally bounded contexts but also as a pedagogical strategy for converting implicit expertise into formalized, transferable knowledge. This volume contributes to the emerging discourse on culturally grounded design methodologies that prioritize cultural acceptability over disruptive change to foster more sustainable, community-aligned innovation ecosystems. This can be a useful resource for scholars, educators, practitioners, policymakers, investors, and market analysts seeking to engage with alternative models of innovation that honor cultural specificity while fostering equitable development.