Srinakharinwirot University Engineering Journal

Development of an Autonomous Mobile Robot for Industry 4.0 Based on ROS 2 and LabVIEW

2025-09-11T10:14:06+07:00

Autonomous mobile robots (AMR) were an important part of modern manufacturing processes in the Industry 4.0 era. They can create paths and avoid obstacles on their own, providing high flexibility. However, commercial autonomous mobile robots are expensive and difficult to connect to external programs. As a result, small and medium-sized factories in Thailand cannot access this technology. Therefore, this research presents the development of autonomous mobile robots using the open-source ROS2 software to develop robot control and navigation systems, along with LabVIEW, an engineering software, to create a user interface. The LabVIEW program receives commands from the user on the computer and transmits data via a wireless network to the ROS2 program running on the autonomous mobile robot's computer for controlling the robot to the desired location. This autonomous mobile robot offers significantly reduced software costs, is highly flexible, and is expandable in the future. From the experimental results show that the LabVIEW program effectively transmits data to the ROS2 program. It can generate a map from manual control via LabVIEW. This autonomous mobile robot can efficiently create a path to its destination and avoid obstacles. For open-space area case, the average error in the x, y, φ are equal to 0.08 m, -0.97 m, -5.19^o. In the case of navigation with obstacles, the average error in the x, y, φ are equal to 0.07 m, -0.97 m, -4.28^o.

The Appropriate Location for Installation of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Buildings to Prevent and Reduce Fire Risks

2025-10-23T07:39:36+07:00

This study examines the selection of suitable locations for electric-vehicle (EV) charging stations in buildings. Ten Thai and international standards were reviewed and synthesized into safety requirements for building administrators, facility managers, and building users. The study was conducted in the form of a safety checklist and evaluation criteria developed using the Weighted Average Method, which considers weighting factors (w) and scores (s) from the actual site inspection. The level of suitability (α) is calculated to support decision-making for selecting appropriate and safe locations for EV charging station installation, covering six aspects: structure, ventilation, fire protection, electrical safety, signage, and risk control. The checklist is designed to evaluate suitability of sites before installation and to verify safety compliance after installation. The approach was applied to a nine-story office building with an open parking area that has not yet installed EV charging stations.

A 2³ Factorial Design for Studying Parameters Affecting the Wear of TiAlN-Coated Cutting Tools in SKD61 Steel Milling

2025-09-11T11:04:34+07:00

Milling is one of the essential machining processes in the manufacturing industry, particularly for high-precision applications. A major challenge in this process is tool wear, which directly affects tool life and the surface quality of the workpiece. This research aims to investigate the effects of milling parameters on the flank wear of TiAlN-coated cutting tools during the milling of SKD61 steel. A 2^k factorial design of experiments was employed to analyze three independent variables: cutting speed, feed rate, and spindle speed. Flank wear (VB_A) was measured in accordance with ISO 3685-1997. The results revealed that cutting speed and feed rate significantly influenced tool wear (p < 0.05). The optimal condition—cutting speed of 40 m/min, feed rate of 828 mm/min, and spindle speed of 2,387 rpm—produced the lowest average flank wear of 0.0428 microns. These findings contribute to extending tool life and reducing production costs effectively. The outcome can be applied to define optimal milling parameters to enhance productivity and cost-effectiveness in industrial manufacturing processes.

Strength and Durability of Concrete Using Sand Replacement with Plastic Waste Aggregate

2025-07-29T14:36:48+07:00

This paper aims to study the effect of plastic waste as a partial fine aggregate replacement in concrete on compressive strength, flexural strength, splitting tensile strength, abrasion resistance, thermal conductivity, rapid chloride penetration, and bulk chloride diffusion of concrete with natural aggregate. There were three types of plastic waste aggregate: polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Fine aggregate was partially replaced by plastic waste aggregate at 10%, 20%, and 30% by volume of fine aggregate. The water-to-binder ratio of 0.50 was used. The study results found that the compressive strength, flexural strength, and splitting tensile strength of concrete decreased as the amount of plastic waste aggregate replacement increased. Concrete containing 10% PVC achieved the highest strength values and had a compressive strength of 210 kg/cm², being applied for the construction of pavement and bicycle paths. By considering durability, it was found that utilizing plastic waste aggregates improved the abrasion resistance of concrete, particularly with 30% PVC, which provided the highest resistance. Thermal conductivity decreased significantly with the incorporation of plastic waste aggregates, with 10% PVC achieving the lowest value of 0.148 W/mK, representing an 83.3% reduction compared to the controlled concrete. Concretes containing 10% of PET or PP had high chloride penetrability, whereas concrete containing 10% PVC had moderate chloride penetrability.

Productivity Improvement in Coconut Peeling for Dried Coconut Wholesaler

2025-11-04T10:13:37+07:00

This study aimed to improving productivity and reducing ergonomic problems in coconut peeling, focusing on a case study of local entrepreneurs in Pracham Subdistrict, Chana District, Songkhla Province. The research procedures consisted of: 1) investigating initial health problems and measuring the Abnormality Index (AI), (2) assessing ergonomic risks before improvement, (3) proposing and implementing improved working methods, and (4) re-evaluating ergonomics and productivity before and after improvement. The ergonomic assessment using RULA and REBA before improvement revealed high risks, with scores of 7 and 10, respectively, indicating the need for immediate corrective action. The average time for peeling 5 coconuts was 65.36 seconds. After introducing the new peeling method, which was rated at an average score of 4.10 (good) by the participants, ergonomic risks were significantly reduced: the RULA score decreased to 3 and the REBA score to 3. The average time for peeling 5 coconuts decreased to 16.76 seconds, reducing the average peeling time by 48.6 seconds. Consequently, for one worker peeling 400 coconuts per day, the time required was reduced by 64.8 minutes, while productivity in 90 minutes increased from 410 coconuts with the old method to 1,610 coconuts with the new method. The findings indicate that the improved method reduced ergonomic risks, minimized unnecessary movements, shortened work time, and enhanced overall productivity while also decreasing worker fatigue that could affect health.

A Cost-effective Cryotherapy Machine Using Cold Air Spraying

2025-02-12T09:05:18+07:00

Cryotherapy can reduce pain in injured people. Cold air blasting is another alternative treatment because it can treat the injured area directly. However, currently, cold air blasters are expensive and must be imported from abroad. This research aims to design and create the cryotherapy machine by spraying cold air with cost-effective, using refrigerant R-404a, to compare the temperature and wind speed with the normal cryotherapy machine. The experiments are divided into 3 types: experiments in a temperature-controlled room at 20^oC, 25^oC, and 30^oC with wind speeds of 5, 10, 15, and 20 m/s, respectively. The results of the experiments show that this research can produce temperatures of -7.5^oC to -10.7^oC, while general cold air blasters can produce temperatures of -10.3^oC to -24.4^oC. This information shows that this research cannot produce temperatures as low as general cold air blasters. Therefore, further study and development should be conducted.

Development of a Bill of Materials System for Production Order Management Using VBA in Microsoft Excel: A Case Study of Curtain and Venetian blinds Products

2025-09-04T15:55:41+07:00

This research aims to develop an automated material listing system for production orders using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) within Microsoft Excel. The case study focuses on the production of curtain and venetian blinds. An analysis of the case study company revealed significant issues with production errors and delays in placing orders. The root causes of these problems were analyzed using the "Why-Why" analysis technique. A new production ordering process was then developed by applying a data flow diagram to create a more detailed production order form. This form clearly lists the materials required for each customer order and calculates the total quantity of materials used. When the reorder point is reached, the system automatically calculates the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) to optimize subsequent purchasing plans. The development of this database and automated system, using Microsoft 365 and Visual Basic for Applications, significantly improved process efficiency. The new system resulted in a 63.67% reduction in waste and production errors. Furthermore, it improved the production time efficiency for roller blinds, wooden blinds, and aluminum blinds by 27.5%, 32.5%, and 22.85%, respectively. A post-implementation user satisfaction survey indicated a high level of satisfaction, with an average score of 4.2 out of 5.0.

Supercomputer Production Line Improvement by Lean Techniques and Computer Simulation

2025-10-01T15:20:33+07:00

This research presents an approach to improving the production line of the supercomputer Model A, which is a new product line consisting of 18 workstations used for producing both components and finished products. The production line was found to have waste arising from waiting, inventory, and transportation. Therefore, lean techniques were applied to improve the line, including quick setup, kanban, and cellular layout design using the Computerized Relative Allocation Facilities Technique (CRAFT) to analyze and optimize the workstation layout. The improvement of the parts feeding method using the quick setup principle eliminated waste caused by waiting. A parts feeding box was designed to contain exactly the number of parts needed to assemble one unit, prepared in advance according to the kanban size and scheduled to be delivered directly to each workstation. This reduced inventory waste by 14.87%. The production layout analyzed by CRAFT reduced movement distance by 216.8 meters, equivalent to 26%. As a result of the study, the improved production line was able to produce 20 more supercomputer Model A units per month, with a 33% increase in output rate. The overall production line efficiency increased by 191%, and the average workstation utilization improved by 12%.