TECHNOLOGY OF PRODUCTION CYCLES

1. Knowledge and understanding. The course aims to provide students with the basic knowledge necessary to analyze and clarify the causes that determine changes in production techniques and the effects that these changes generate on the industrial system. The path identified for the achievement of these objectives is the illustration and analysis of the multiple attributes of technology in its continuous dynamism also in relation to relevant phenomena such as: the phases of the innovative process, the competitive advantage of technological innovation in the system economic; the types of production facilities in relation to the technologies that can be used, particularly in the field of information technology and industrial automation, and the role assumed by the quality and certification of production cycles.

2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding. As a final result, students will have a tool that can provide an overview of the various issues that need to be addressed in a productive context. In particular, students, with the knowledge acquired, will be able to carry out the analysis of the production system in which they operate and evaluate the technological innovations in the sector that are of greater importance to achieve competitive business advantages.

3. Autonomy of judgment. The teaching, also in consideration of the different types of production processes and the ways in which industrial production is organized today, aims to enable students to independently evaluate the intrinsic qualities of the technologies present on the market, their positive and / or negative aspects, both for production and for the environment, in order to make a choice appropriate to the company's needs. With particular attention to the topics covered, at the end of the course students are enabled to express their own judgment and to evaluate and identify which technologies, inherent to a particular sector, are today the most appropriate to meet the needs of a modern and dynamic company.

4. Communication skills. The student is enabled to communicate and interact with third parties using the acquired knowledge in an appropriate way. In particular, he will be able to face the problems that will arise with appropriate terminology that will allow him to show communication and interaction skills, also useful for work relationships.

5. Learning ability. Consistent with the subjects of the discipline, from the beginning of the course, appropriate suggestions and stimuli are provided to students for participation as actively as possible in the entire training process and for an improvement of the individual study method, for the purpose of more effective learning. of the discipline, which has its main characteristics in terms of learning, through an appropriate inductive - deductive process. During the lessons, the teacher continuously checks, topic by topic, if the transmission of knowledge takes place effectively, possibly also revising the teaching method during the year, to better adapt it to the concrete achievement of this important objective, also taking into account the actual composition. of the classroom. In this context, the verification by means of an examination is a natural and coherent corollary of the learning process, which is constantly monitored and improved, also to avoid a traumatic approach to the examination tests. The verification of this descriptor is carried out both during the lectures and in the ongoing and final tests.

MODULE I (3 CFU):  technology and production Description of the program

Link between science and technology and the evolutionary dynamics of technology. Technology in the economic system. Technology and related structural and environmental changes. Characteristics of a technology. Life cycle of technology and product. Some examples of production cycles of industries of national interest: the food industry, HACCP, the paper production industry, the tanning industry. Research, Development and Innovation. Transfer of technology, the cast iron and steel industry. Partial credit attributed: 3 CFU.

MODULE II (3 CFU) technological innovation Description of the program

Technology in production activities. The technologies of the current revolution: electronics, microelectronics, nanoelectronics, information technology, telecommunications. Production cycle of pure silicon, microchip and integrated circuit. Biotechnology. Automation and control of industrial production with electronic systems. Automation of process control and production by parts. MU / NU, industrial robots, AGV, FMS. Production flow systems: pull and push and "just in time" logics. Partial credit attributed: 3 CFU.

MODULE III (3 CFU) technology in energy sources Description of the program

Forms and sources of energy, current trends and problems - choice of the various sources. Fossil fuels, hydrocarbons, combustion, oil, coal, natural gas, composition, extraction, processing, transportation, reserves, production and market. OPEC. Nuclear energy - electricity (efficiency and cost) - renewable energy sources: solar thermal, hydroelectric, photovoltaic, geothermal, tidal, wind, solar, biomass. The production of waste, classification of waste, solid urban waste and similar: production and disposal and / or management technologies, incineration techniques. Plastics, natural and synthetic fibers. Partial credit attributed: 3 CFU.

1.

1)Technology in the economic-productive system. Difference between technology and technique. Examples: production cycles of petroleum derivatives; electricity production; cement production. Science and Technology. The technological dynamics. 2) Science as the origin of technology: Nuclear energy; solid materials science. Technological progress as the origin of new scientific principles: new materials, nuclear fusion energy. Technology as a system for producing goods and services. Technology and limited resources. Difference between Discovery, Invention and Innovation. Example: fixation of atmospheric nitrogen in ammonia. Innovations in the energy field: wind and photovoltaic energy. 3) Origin of technological innovation: technology push and demand pull. The first technological revolution: industrial revolution. Process and product innovation; for example, innovations in the sulfur industry. Radical and Incremental Innovations; change of the "technical-economic paradigm" or "technological revolution". 4) Technological Progress and Environment: water pollution, air pollution, soil pollution, thermal and electromagnetic pollution, pollution from technological accidents. The "sustainable development". Technological progress, socio-economic transformation and structure of the industrial system. 5) Production function and production factors. Technological progress and production function. Technology as a function of technical variables; example: study of the conversion yields of the nitrogen-hydrogen mixture for the production of synthetic ammonia. 6) Appropriateness of technologies. Essential elements of and appropriate technologies. 7) the food industry, HACCP, the paper production industry, the tanning industry, 8) the cast iron and steel industry. Logical innovation process. 9) Research, Development, Competitiveness. The patent 10) Economic development, innovation and competitiveness in Italy. Technology transfer: advantages and disadvantages. Transfer of industrial property rights: patents, trademarks and designs, know-how. 11) Transfer agreements. Licensing (license); Joint-venture; direct investment equity-based agreements, commissioned production, Venture Capital. Services related to technology transfers Success factors for technology transfer. Main forms of payment.

2.

1) Evolution of technology, types and forms of technology: hard, intermediate, appropriate technologies. New “high-tech” or “science based” technologies. Technologies in production activities: traditional technologies, traditional technologies, mixed technologies, intermediate technologies. The new technologies. Electronics and microelectronics 2) The electronic structure of solids: electrical conductivity and semiconductors. Semiconductor materials. The silicon; silicon technology; preparation of the silicon wafers. Gallium arsenide technology, optoelectronics, optical fibers. Other semiconductors. 3) The evolution of electronics: development of electronics and microelectronics, the microprocessor; integrated circuit, main characteristics of some microprocessors. Microchip production cycle. Sawing operation, e Chip encapsulation; the market and prospects for microelectronics. 4) Limits of semiconductor technology; Nanotechnology. Carbon nanotubes, graphene, biochips, photonics and nano photonics “photonic” microcircuits. The optical computer and nano machines. 5) Biotechnologies. Scientific principles and fields of application: agri-food; medical-diagnostic; environmental; mining activities; energetic; in the production of chemical products (specialties and commodities). Development of biosensors and biochips. Perspectives of biotechnology 6) Automation of industrial production. Historical and technical aspects of automation. Automatic production cycle. Automatic control of production processes with electronic systems. Process control automation. Evolutionary stages of process control. 7) Automation of production by parts Rigid, programmable, flexible automation. The transfer lines and the assembly line. 8) Automation of production by parts Rigid, programmable, flexible automation. Flexible automation equipment. Numerical control machine tools, industrial robots, handling systems. 9) Flexible production systems and their production configurations. 10) Technologies with the aid of computers. Design and engineering area. Production process planning Automated management of production systems. 11) Area of ​​production planning and control systems Production management. The "lead time". Production management techniques: and pull and push logics.

3.

1) Forms and sources of energy, current trends and problems - choice of the various sources. 2) Fossil fuels, hydrocarbons, combustion, 3) oil, coal, 4) natural gas, composition, extraction, processing, transportation, reserves, production and market. 5) OPEC. Nuclear energy - electricity (efficiency and cost) 6) renewable energy sources: solar thermal, hydroelectric, photovoltaic, geothermal, tidal, wind, solar, biomass. 8) Waste production, waste classification, solid urban waste and similar: production and disposal and / or management technologies, incineration techniques. Plastics 9) natural and synthetic fibers.

The teacher will deliver the teaching material in the classroom in the form of photocopies that summarize all the contents covered in the classroom and which are the subject of the exam.

Further texts:

- E. Chiaccherini - “Technology and production” - Ed. Kappa, Rome, 2003;

- G. Barbiroli “Production strategies and technological dynamics” - Ed. Bulzoni, Rome, 1998;

- A. Grado, S. Vicari, G. Verona - “Technology, Innovation, Operations” - Ed. Egea, Milan, 2006. - Ed. Kappa, Rome, 2003;

- A. Morgante, A. Simboli - “Technology of production processes” - Maggioli Editore, Santarcangelo di Romagna, (RN), 2015;

- A. Galgano - “Total quality” - Il Sole 24 ore, Milan 1991, and subsequent editions;

- M. Proto - “The quality system - Technical profiles and evolutionary paths” - Ed. G. Giappichelli, Turin, 1999;

- E.Leonardi - “Understanding quality” - Il Sole 24 ore, Milan 2000.