R&D Projects:


Summary: The production-rule based KBS approach of AI is used for the development of intelligent system labeled as ‘SMPDC’. Knowledge for selection of materials of press tool components obtained from die designers, tool manufacturers, die design handbooks and industrial brochures has been analyzed, tabulated and incorporated into a set of production rules. The system is coded in AutoLISP language and it is capable of giving expert advice on selection of materials of active & inactive components of all types of press tools.  The user is provided an option to select easily available materials from the advice received by the proposed system and then a bill of materials can be prepared suitably. The proposed intelligent system has been tested for variety of sheet metal components and proved to be powerful and easy to handle because of its rich knowledge base and highly interactive nature. The system supports mainly tool steels, however its knowledge base can be modified and updated depending upon the availability of new materials and advancement in technology. Further, the cost of implementation of the system is low as it can be run on a PC with AutoCAD software, and hence it is within the easy reach of small and medium size sheet metal industries. 


Summary: This project is an experiment to systematically design and develop learner-centric curricula, suitable for outcome-based learning for 4 year degree programmes in six major engineering disciplines. This project is not, yet another attempt to develop content, although each curriculum document includes around 80 pages of course notes and 120-125 self-assessment problems and solutions. All development and review activities are carried out collaboratively, using a specially designed web tool. A large number of motivated and experienced faculty members trained in pedagogy of teaching-learning, drawn from a diverse range of institutions across the nation have participated in the development and the review process. Total 15 institutes (including 5 IITs, 5 NITs) partcicipated in this project headed by IIT Kharagpur. Under this project, SVNIT Surat had participated actively. Three regional workshops were conducted at SVNIT to train the faculty in the domain of outcome-based teaching-learning. Total13 courses were developed by the learned faculty of  SVNIT under this project., including one course "Introduction to manufacturing processes" by the Institute coordinator.  This course is available online - http://www.ide.iitkgp.ac.in/Pedagogy_view/example.jsp?USER_ID=81. All the developed courses under the said project are available online - http://www.ide.iitkgp.ernet.in/Pedagogy1/pedagogy_main.jsp

 

Summary: An expert system (ES) has been developed for intelligent design of compound dies for sheet metal industries. The developed system is capable of automating all die design tasks including feature extraction and manufacturability assessment of sheet metal parts, process planning, selection of die components, and automatic modeling of compound die. The system has been tested successfully on different types of sheet metal parts produced on compound die. Specific features of the developed system are given as under – (i)  The system is capable to execute the tedious task of design of compound die in less than an hour, (ii) It is integrated in nature and uses parametric design approach, (iii) Even a fresh die designer can perform the tedious task of die design easily using the developed system. Therefore it eliminates the dependency on experienced die designers, and (iv) The system can be implemented on a PC having VB and AutoCAD software, Therefore, its low cost of implementation makes it affordable for small scale industries.

Summary: The present work is focused on experimental study of AWJM of carbon epoxy composite. Process parameters namely stand-off distance (SOD), pressure, traverse rate and abrasive mass flow rate (AMFR) are considered to study their influence on surface roughness and kerf taper. Defects including delamination, fiber pull out and abrasive embedment observed in machined samples have also been studied. Further, optimization of process parameters is performed to minimize defects and improve kerf properties. Lastly, the regression models are developed for delamination, surface roughness, kerf taper, and kerf top width. The findings of present study are certainly useful in process planning and to develop strategy for selection of optimum process parameters for defect free and accurate machining of carbon epoxy composite by AWJM.


Summary: Under this project, an intelligent workshop has been developed to automate all steps of die design process including data extraction for sheet metal parts, feature recognition, process planning of sheet metal  operations, utilization of sheet metal, unfolding, strip-layout, feasibility check, and design of die components, and modelling of die components and die assembly.  



Mentor in R&D Project:

1. Finishing of 3D-printed parts using an abrasive flow machining process  :

        Faculty: Dr. Bhargav Prajwal Pathri, Assistant Professor, School of Technology,| Woxsen University, Hyderabad 

        Durattion: March 2022 - February 2025

        Funding Agency :  SERB (under TARE scheme)

        Budget - Rs. 18, 30,000/- 


Consultancy Projects:

1. Technical inspection of Compactors  fabricated by M/s Jalaram Steel Furniture, Surat :

        Period: 2020

        Organization :  Surat Urban Development Agency (SUDA), Surat 

        Amount - Rs.50,000/- + GST

2.  Design Proof Checking and Third Party Inspection (TPI) of Aquatic De-weeding Machines (2 Nos.) fabricated by M/s Kalachandra Precision Equipments, Kottayam:

      Period: 2019-2020

      Organization: Surat Municipal Committee (SMC), Surat

      Amount: Rs. 7,50,000/- + GST