Differences between current theories of investing assessment Essay Example

Differences between current theories of investing assessment Essay Many recent surveies suggest that there are major differences between current theories of investing assessment and the methods really used by houses in measuring their long-run investments.’ Critically discourse this statement and include, within your treatment, Theoretical statements for the pick of the net present value as the best method of investing assessment An account of why other methods have proved to be so popular with determination shapers even though NPV is theoretically the best method. We will write a custom essay sample on Differences between current theories of investing assessment specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Differences between current theories of investing assessment specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Differences between current theories of investing assessment specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer One of the cardinal issues for companies and investors that are looking to put in a undertaking or a new company is geting at an accurate and dependable assessment. Finding and taking a dependable method of undertaking assessment is disputing because of the assorted premises that underlie the theoretical accounts. Other factors such as the length of the undertaking, the sum of the capital investing and the figure and type of merchandises being manufactured all demand to be taken into consideration when taking a suited assessment method. The most widely used methods which will be critically assessed in this paper are the Net Present Value ( NPV ) , Internal Rate of Return ( IRR ) , Accounting Rate of Return ( ARR ) and the Payback Period Methods. In recent old ages at that place has been a turning spread from the theoretical protagonism of some of these methods and their existent usage by houses. This paper will look to measure such claims and see the factors that are doing this displ acement. The Net Present Value ( NPV ) is one of many methods used to measure investing undertakings utilizing discounted hard currency flows. Under the NPV method, investing undertakings are viewed as holding a watercourse of forecasted hard currency influxs and escapes over the life of the project’s economic life. It assumes that other than these hard currency flows, there are no other effects impacting the undertaking, and hence merely discounted hard currency flows are taken into history. [ 1 ] NPV focuses on undertakings that maximize the net present value of all hard currency flows generated for the company, more officially it isthe net pecuniary addition ( or loss ) from a undertaking, computed by dismissing all present and future hard currency influxs and escapes related to the project. [ 2 ] Using NPV all future hard currency flows from the undertaking are discounted at a rateI, back to clip 0 which is the start of the undertaking. A undertaking is considered profitable if its NPV is greater than zero and comparative to another undertaking the 1 with the higher NPV is preferred over the alternate undertaking. [ 3 ] NPV is academically preferred over other investing assessment methods for several grounds. NPV is simple to cipher and to get at an unambiguous concluding determination. NPV besides takes into history the clip value of money by dismissing hard currency flows thereby taking into history the clip value of money. Additionally, its usage of hard currency flows alternatively of accounting net incomes means that it is able to account for the sum and timing of hard currency flows from the undertaking every bit good as accounting for all of the hard currency flows over the life of the undertaking. [ 4 ] The NPV besides incorporates hazard into the determination devising procedure through the accommodation of the investment’s price reduction rate. [ 5 ] Pike and Neale maintain that the NPV increases a firm’s market value and therefore the shareholders’ interest because directors merely accept undertakings which offer positive net nowadays values when discounted at tantamo unt market rates of involvement. [ 6 ] Some of the challenges faced by investors when utilizing NPV is gauging the value of hard currency influxs and escapes over the life of the undertaking. Second, NPV method is merely recognized when its value is positive in a perfect capital market environment in which there are no limitations on the handiness of finance. However, in world markets are restricted or rationed thereby restricting the pertinence of its determination regulation. The NPV besides assumes that company’s cost of capital is known and is changeless over the life of the undertaking. However, in world it is hard to gauge and choose an appropriate price reduction rate. Furthermore, it is improbable to stay changeless over the life of the undertaking due to the of all time changing nature of the economic environment. [ 7 ] The Internal Rate of Return ( IRR ) isthe rate that equates the cost and benefit of the undertaking in footings of present value. [ 8 ] It is the rate at which the NPV peers zero and hence is the maximal cost of financing the undertaking or investing. Given that the rate refers merely to the project’s internal factors, no external factors are considered in this assessment method. This can be seen as an advantage in that it does non necessitate the computation of a complex price reduction rate [ 9 ] , on the other manus it besides means that it does non account for altering market environments. Undertakings are accepted utilizing this method when the IRR is greater than the return required by the investor. On the other manus, if the IRR is less than the riskless rate of return, the undertaking is rejected. [ 10 ] Some of the drawbacks to this method include its premise that grosss are reinvested and the equivocal root consequences when mark reversal occurs more than one time in the project’s hard currency flows. It besides assumes that the rate of loaning and adoption are the same and it assumes an equal cost of capital throughout the project’s life, which is unrealistic. [ 11 ] Luenberger maintains that both the NPV and IRR methods have appropriate topographic points in investing assessment but in different conditions. [ 12 ] One of the cardinal strengths of the NPV is its comparing of theinvestment with the rate of return of normal funding channels, and therefore creates a healthier state of affairs of comparing in contemplating the feasibleness of the investment. [ 13 ] Conversely, the IRR can be applied when the investing needs to be repeatedly reinvested in the same undertaking. Whilst it possibly disputing to get at the price reduction rate for the NPV, consideration for the clip value of money is of import in the assessment procedure. Furthermore, the cost of capital is an of import manner of placing the efficiency with which an investor’s capital is invested. [ 14 ] Additionally, the NPV does non get at any equivocal roots, unlike the IRR. [ 15 ] However, harmonizing to Kuronen, neither the NPV nor the IRR methods are able to capture the stock holder value created by the investing. [ 16 ] The payback investing assessment method is normally the 1 used foremost to filtrate out possible undertakings. It asks investors the inquiryhow long will it take for the undertaking to pay back its cost? . [ 17 ] In some instances, companies will hold a mark payback day of the month which will ensue in their rejecting undertakings which do non run into it. The payback method thereby provides a speedy manner in which to measure the hazard of the undertaking. It will ever supply clear consequences and its advocators believe that it identifies less hazardous undertakings or the undertakings which will be invested for the least sum of clip. [ 18 ] Harmonizing to CIMA, undertakings should non be accepted entirely on the footing of the payback method and investors should utilize a more sophisticated assessment technique. The popularity of the payback method has been worsening since the 1970s due to increased consciousness of its restrictions. One such restriction harmonizing to Kuronen is the fact that it does non take into history the possible net income degrees that may be achieved by the investing. Second it wholly ignores the timing of the rate of returns. Companies that do utilize it, do so in combination with other methods. [ 19 ] Remer and Nieto find that usage of the payback method has wholly diminished [ 20 ] , which contrast with the findings of Jahnke and Simons who find grounds to propose that payback is in fact used rather on a regular basis. They find that the bulk of houses use it in combination with other methods whereas little houses rely on it as a individual standard. [ 21 ] Another assessment method used by investors is the Accounting Rate of Return ( ARR ) which compares the mean one-year net income degrees of a undertaking wit its initial investing, expressed as a per centum. ARR accepts undertakings which have an ARR higher than a preset rate of return. This method uses accounting flows instead than hard currency flows, unlike the NPV which means that it looks at the impact of future reported net incomes from a undertaking. The cardinal disadvantages of ARR is that it does non take into history the timing of hard currency flows and the cost of funding and it does non look to maximize stockholder wealth but instead accounting net incomes, unlike NPV. Additionally, ARR has a inclination to pick up irrelevant informations because it is based on accounting net incomes which means it will apportion a portion of operating expenses to countries that the undertaking may non be undertaken. McLaney therefore maintains that this method is improbable to be used extensively by investors because it is likely to take to hapless determinations. [ 22 ] Conversely, Irons believes that it is a widely used assessment method because in add-on to the aforesaid advantages, informations is readily available to cipher it. [ 23 ] One survey by Sangster finds that companies today use the traditional methods of discounting hard currency flow techniques more than they use accounting rate of return. [ 24 ] While there is grounds to corroborate that the NPV and IRR are still being used by investors as major investing assessment techniques [ 25 ] , other surveies are happening an increasing deficiency of their existent usage by companies. A survey by Akalu finds only15 per centum of respondents rated standard assessment methods as being very good’ in footings of preciseness and 19 per centum of respondents rated them very good’ at supplying the promised value. Akalu argues that these consequences do non compare at all with the text edition statement for NPV or IRR appraisal methods which would hold rated them as high’ . The findings hence indicate agap between the theoretical and pattern of capital budgeting[ 26 ] and that these methods areunable to supply the promised undertaking value to shar eholders .[ 27 ] A turning tendency towards the usage of a combination of appraisal methods was found, irrespective of the project’s life span and required capital outgo. The survey besides revealed that as the life span and capital disbursement increased, more quantitative and advanced assessment methods were used. [ 28 ] These findings are supported by a survey carried out by Pike which show that the usage of a individual assessment method has been worsening from 31 per centum in 1975 to 4 per centum in 1992. In contrast, the usage of a combination of three assessment methods has increased from 22 per centum to 32 per centum and rose by even greater, 11 per centum to 32 per centum for the four theoretical account combination. [ 29 ] Harmonizing to Akalu, the motives behind the increased usage of a combination of appraisal methods, appears to be due to the inability of a individual theoretical account to accurately mensurate the value of a undertaking. Firms have hence resorted to utilizing a combination of appraisal methods in order to cut down likeliness of a disagreement between the existent and estimated gross and the cost of a undertaking. Surprisingly, the NPV was found to make the largest disagreement of all of the methods investigated, runing up to 20 per centum for undertakings with a lifetim e of over10 old ages and investing of more than ˆ80 million. [ 30 ] Furthermore, some industries, viz. support services and distribution and conveyance, were found to hold a greater inclination towards disagreements. Akalu farther maintains that a higher disagreement could take to low stockholder value in a company. [ 31 ] As a consequence, there is a turning displacement off from the usage of standard assessment methods towards newer theoretical accounts, peculiarly value direction theoretical accounts, or towards the application of techniques which may compromise the assessment procedure. [ 32 ] In fact the 2001 survey by Akalu and Turner confirms the increasing function that the DCF theoretical account is playing in stockholder value direction. In fact, a combination of both standard and value direction theoretical accounts are progressively being used. [ 33 ] These surveies contrast with a surprising determination by Hatzopoulos and Arnold who find that in the UK, the spread between the theoretical and practical usage of undertaking assessment methods are in fact narrowing. [ 34 ] Akalu and Turner farther find indicants of a displacement off from traditional and inactive theoretical accounts towards the more flexible value direction theoretical accounts such as stockholder value analysis, Economic Value Analysis ( EVA ) and Net Contribution to Value ( NCV ) , to back up traditional investing assessment techniques. [ 35 ] Additionally, a survey by Barfield finds that the usage of the stockholder value analysis ( SVA ) has allowed fiscal establishments to execute better than others. [ 36 ] This was taken to an even wider graduated table by Copeland et Al. who have found that states which apply SVA methodsare more value originative than others. [ 37 ] This paper has given an history of the assorted investing assessment methods used by companies to measure undertaking and has given an account of their assorted strengths and failings. This paper besides sought to give an history of the altering tendencies in the usage of these appraisal methods every bit good as an account for these displacements. The findings of this paper suggest that there is no 1 individual method that has been wholly been eliminated or advocated in footings of its practical usage today because of the different environments, industries every bit good as changing company and undertaking sizes. For the most portion, for every survey that was found to recommend a peculiar method and its growth usage today there was another that discredited it, doing it hard to truly arrive at a concluding decision of the existent current tendencies. However, it can be concluded that there is a turning tendency towards the combined usage of all of these methods at changing times of the undertaking life spans, to cut down likeliness of a disagreement between the existent and estimated gross and the cost of a undertaking. Finally, there besides appears to be a displacement by companies towards the usage of the more flexible value direction theoretical accounts which are ensuing in comparatively greater fiscal public presentation. Bibliography Akalu M. , ( 2002 )Measuring the Capacity of Standard Investment Appraisal Methods: Evidence from the patternTinbergen Institute Akalu, M. A ; Turner, R. ( 2001 )Investing Appraisal Process: A Case of Chemical Companies, Erasmus Research Institute of Management Akalu A ; Turner ( 2002 )Investing Appraisal Process in the Banking A ; Finance Industry: A Case Study,Erasmus Research Institute of Management Arnold, G. and Hatzopoulos, P. ( 2003 )The Theory-Practice Gap in Capital Budgeting: Evidence from the United Kingdom,Journal of Business Finance A ; Accounting Vol. 27, Issue 5, Amp. 6, P. 603-626 Gotze, U. , Northcott, D. A ; Schuster, P. ( 2007 )Investing Appraisal: Methods and Models, Springer Institute of Chartered Accounting England and Wales,Investing Appraisal Techniques,Kaplan Financials Ironss, A. ( 2004 )Capital Investing Appraisal, ACCA Global hypertext transfer protocol: //www.accaglobal.com Kuronen T. , ( 2007 )Capital Budgeting in a Capital Intensive Industry,Helsinki University of Technology McLaney, E. ( 2006 )Business Finance: Theory and Practice, 7ThursdayEdition, Pearson Education Pike, R. and Neale, B. ( 2006 )Corporate Finance and Investing: Decisions A ; Schemes,Pearson Education Sangster, A. ( 2006 )Capital Investment Appraisal Techniques: A Survey of Current Use, Journal of Business Finance A ; Accounting Vol. 20, Issue 3, P. 307-332 Jahnke, H. and Simons, D. ( 2008 )A Rationale for the Payback Criterion: An Application of Almost Stochastic Dominance to Capital Budgeting,Social Science Research Network Watson, D. A ; Head, A. ( 2007 )Corporate Finance: Principles and Practice, Pearson Education 1

Jude the Obscure essays

Jude the Obscure essays In life the role of a man has changed little in comparison to how much the role of a women has changed. In Jude the Obscure the you explorer a wide variaty of applied feminen identities. With exagerated properties of the applicaitons, it shows the true rang of diversity in the role of women. Arabella was a radical character in the noval, and many of her actions were considered extreme for her time. She left Jude while in wedlock and was illegally married to another man before she was properly divorced from Jude. She took on the role of the rebel, or one against social laws. Arabella was a symbol of sin, and shown to be as the unfit woman. The woman type of woman to be looked down on. The writer shows he negativity toward her by the way she is always shown unhappy. She was unhappy with jude so she left him. She found another man but there marriage was never legal or real, and as the book progressed she found that she really wanted to be with Jude, who no longer wanted her for what she did to him. Thomas Hardy, the author, was trying to show that her rebel ideals were wrong and for her sins she was punished with enduring unhappiness. Sue on the other hand was on the other end of the spectrum. Sue was very odd, and she even consider herself abnormal and evil, yet represented a woman of virtue and honor. She was a very inteligent woman, and very noble. She represented a woman of class and stature. She was very much desired by other men more for her complexity then anything else. She was a mistery to men and it generated a fierce interest in them. The most interesting fact being she would not let her virginty go. Men were left puzzled and confused. She did however have her negative aspects to her character. She married a man, and then asked to him to live with another. Something like that isn't respected. She used the man she married for selfish reasons, which further explains t ...

Philosophy (practical ethics) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Philosophy (practical ethics) - Essay Example In this brief paper, Mackinnon’s arguments are analyzed in the light of the possible consequences censorship of pornography can create. Before looking at Mackinnon’s attitude to pornography, it is essential to see what pornography really means. The traditional view is that pornography is any sexually explicit material that generates sexual arousal in the consumers. As it encourages sexual promiscuity and as it is morally and religiously bad, it should not be permitted in society. It has been seen as an affront to decent family life. It destroys valuable institutions like family, and also it spoils human character. The traditional view is seen as patriarchal. Those who believe in this view are not worried about women’s oppression caused by pornography. But women, like Mackinnon, find pornography as an extreme form of harassment to women. According to her, the central issue of pornography is the oppression of women. There are certain vital issues, says Mackinnon, emerging from the production of pornography, which will come up for discussion below. The greatest harm done, feels Mackinnon, is the inequalit y it creates. Mackinnon’s efforts are to empower women with legal powers, knowing well that the production of pornography is basically the result of the traditional male view of a woman. In one sense, pornography is speech. And it is not mere speech but action. And the action is seen in two forms. The first is when pornography is produced, and the second is when it is viewed. Therefore, in her ordinance which she drafted, she stressed the need to see resistance to pornography as a civil right. Mackinnon has been severely criticized for this because it goes against the First Amendment. â€Å"The First Amendment is founded on the proposition, set forth so beautifully by J.S. Mill in On Liberty, that good speech ultimately drives out bad† (Spectacle). Mackinnon’s attempt to see racial equality with woman’s equality

Public Value and Accessibility of Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Public Value and Accessibility of Art - Essay Example One fact is that it is observable that art allows one to live life happier and lighter. Art can be observed as having played a crucial role in life throughout the ages. It can be described as universal because its presence is seen everywhere, in every country and culture with their own depiction of art. Cave dwellers of prehistoric times used art by drawing on the walls to record history. Religion uses art in recording the life and death of Christ. An artist creates art for a specific reason and purpose, which could be religious, symbolic, customary, traditional or just simply expressive. Whatever the purpose may be, art has been used as a way to express ideas and beliefs. With the question, "does a concern with public value in the cultural sector mean that it should be accessible to all", the answer to this is yes. This position is supported by a number of attempts from a shift of private art museums into making them public and allowing the people to see them. The Louvre is considered a prototypical public art museum that offers civic ritual (Duncan 1995). The Louvre also made public art museums become signs of politically virtuous states. It contributed to the flourishing of the art in public domain that by the end of the 19th century, every western nation had one important public art museum (Duncan 1995). The popularity of public museums had spread in the third world in the 20th century in which military despots and traditional monarchs built them to pay respect to the western values as well as in gratitude to their western military and economic aid (Duncan 1995). It is also said that political advantages go along with public art (Duncan 1995). In Europe, two of the most important public art museums are the Louvre Museum in Paris and the National Gallery in London. The two have different histories and collection yet both of them stand as monuments of the then emerging age of democratic revolutions (Duncan 1995). The cultural value of art is brought more clearly when it is publicized or when the public is allowed to take a view of it. Although in the past, certain works of art were put under censorship and/or created a public stir such as Goya's Nude Maja, these works now are considered an icon of cultural value in which people can study the social condition of the past through them. The government support for the arts can be understood as one in which arts produce cultural benefits while directly enriching artists, art firms, and arts consumers (Frey, 1997). This being said, pursuits for its public value allow for explorations of various possibilities in which they may be further promoted, in which that promotion implies inviting people to view them and making them accessible. Some of the benefits of arts are education, prestige, bequests to future generation, economic development, expressive freedom, and diversity, whose maximization can be realized by making them accessible to all. Through the arts, people may be culturally enriched in a community that involve vital arts sector and supports its undertaking. Despite not having to attend arts events and formal arts studies, the accessibility of arts must be ensured since it provides education through various forms, and people can still obtain education and enhance themselves into

American Government assignment one Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

American Government assignment one - Essay Example In fact that was the very thing against which the Colonials had rebelled. This distrust in government engendered one which was inherently weak. The problem with the Articles of Confederation was that they sought to create a nation while still trying to allow the several states to keep powers typically only reserved for actual nation-states like taxation powers, war declaration powers, and the right to issue currency. Most of all, the Confederation had no executive branch and thus no recognizable head of state. The Constitution gave the new national government the power to issue currency and thus provided financial stability to the country (Henretta 2000, 222). It also established a clear executive and leader of the country in the person of the Presidency. The First President, George Washington, provided a unity which was conspicuously missing under the Articles (Maddox 2003, 78-79). James Madison said that the Constitution was necessary to establish â€Å"a strong government to cond uct foreign affairs and insisted that central authority would not foster domestic tyranny.† The Constitution gave the â€Å"central government broad powers over taxation, military defense, and external commerce as well as the authority to make all laws†¦to implement those provisions† (Henretta 2000, 226). The Constitution ended the chaos of the Confederation and gave birth to the America we know today. Article 1.) David Jackson’s article in The Oval â€Å"House rebukes Obama over Libya† (Jackson 2011) very much encapsulates some of the broad changes which have beset America’s system of Federalism over the course of the last half century. The rise of the unitary executive in no way accords with the thoughts of the founders who very much sought to limit the executive branch through a unique system of checks and balances. The U.S. House of Representatives recently ‘rebuked’ Obama for his continued prosecution of the military action in Libya. The US and its allies are seeking to bolster and support a rebellion led by anti-Qaddafi forces and to protect civilian targets which have borne the brunt of attacks by government forces. A coalition of fiscally conservative Republicans and rebellious Democrats managed to pass a resolution in the House against the Obama Administration’s bombing campaign. The meaningfulness of the resolution is nonetheless very much in doubt. Just after passing it, the House refused to cut funding for the operation in North Africa. It seems that the House resolution then was nothing more than a feel-good measure; things on the ground remain unchanged. The dispute concerns the 1973 War Powers Resolution which requires the President to seek Congressional approval of all military actions beyond 60 days. The Libya action has lasted well beyond 60 days but President Obama has still refused to obtain approval, claiming the War Powers Resolution does not apply because it is a NATO effort. At the root of the question is the explicit power held by the Congress to control spending and declare war. Jackson quotes Florida Representative Tom Rooney who said, â€Å"Only Congress has the power to declare war and the power of the purse, and my bill exercises both of these powers by blocking funds for the war in Libya unless the President receives

3D Printing †Applications for Space Exploration

3D Printing – Applications for Space Exploration Puneet Bhalla 3D Printing or Additive Manufacturing (AM) was first tested in 1983 by inventor Chuck Hull. Conventional subtractive manufacturing involves carving out items from a single block of material, whereas AM involves adding plastic or metal layer by layer according to a computer generated design to manufacture a product. Over the years a number of processes that differ in the method of depositing of layers and their binding have been developed. The technology in the earlier years did not evolve enough for it to find mainstream support and its use was restricted to production of computer generated models and prototype research. Advances in metallurgy, miniaturisation and processing have now made it a more viable competitor to conventional manufacturing. It is even being called the third industrial revolution. Commercial enterprises having recognised the transformative potential of 3D printing, both in designing and manufacturing, are increasingly investing in it. It allows faster design iterations, providing flexibility for refinements and variations and produces more accurate 3D scaled models for testing. This helps in accelerating product development and manufacturing with corresponding cost benefits. It helps overcome constraints of conventional manufacturing and allows for more precision in manufacturing to produce more complex parts. The process allows for more cohesive structures and components can be constructed using much fewer parts, making them lighter, sturdier and more efficient. Large factories with their assembly lines can also be done away with. Existing parts can now be redesigned and designers can be more audacious in their pursuits, stepping beyond the constraints of conventional design and manufacturing, while seeking innovative solutions or entirely new capabilities. T he manufacturing process requires less material, reduces wastage during production and is more energy efficient, making it potentially more environment friendly. Objects can be created on demand, thereby eliminating costs, logistical complexities and wastages related to surplus inventories. Initial printers were capable of handling single materials only but the multi-jet technology is allowing combining of materials to produce varied material properties – mechanical, thermal and chemical. Nanotechnology coupled with 3D printing promises exciting opportunities in the future. Already, availability of cheaper printers has made the power of designing and producing publicly available. This democratising of manufacturing has the potential to revolutionise innovation. Market researcher Gartner forecasts that worldwide spending on 3D printing will rise from $1.6 billion in 2015 to around $13.4 billion in 2018.[1] Despite the excitement, there are experts who say that the technology m ight only evolve to supplement the conventional mass manufacturing methods that will continue to be faster and cheaper. They instead favour its suitability for niche and customised production. Space exploration has always been costly due to its requirement of low volume, customised and at times unique components. 3D printing is being seen by the space industry as enabling to the development of future space infrastructure. Various RD efforts both for ground based as also in orbit manufacturing are being supported with an aim to develop parts that could meet the stringent high performance and high reliability criteria required for space operations. NASA along with US rocket engine maker Aerojet Rocketdyne has successfully tested a rocket engine injector and an advanced rocket engine thrust chamber assembly using copper alloy materials, in different configurations.[2] The components proved themselves in tests where they were subjected to pressures of up to 1,400 pounds per square inch and temperatures up to 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit to produce 20,000 pounds of thrust.[3] NASA has claimed that 3D technology enabled designers to create more complex injectors while at the same ti me reducing the number of parts from 115 to just two.[4] This resulted in more efficient processes and also provided better thermal resilience. While the traditionally constructed injectors cost about $10,000 each and took six months to build, the 3D printed versions cost less than $5,000 and reached the test stand in a matter of weeks.[5] These tests have provided confidence in the technology and paved the way for its use in replacing other complex engine components. Already, many small 3D produced parts are flying in space onboard US and European satellites and more are being developed. ESA and European Commission’s Additive Manufacturing Aiming Towards Zero Waste Efficient Production of High-Tech Metal Products (AMAZE) project, has 28 European companies as partners that are looking at perfecting 3D printing of high quality metal components for aerospace applications. NASA is also evaluating using the technology for manufacturing composite CubeSats. China has also started investing in this technology and on its last manned space mission in 2013, their taikonauts occupied customised 3D printed seats. In December 2014, Chinese scientists have claimed to have produced a 3D printing machine, which could be used during space missions. Private companies the world over are investing heavily in the technology for aerospace applications.Japanese Space Agency JAXA along with Mitsubishi is working at producing 3D components for a new large-scale ro cket that the two are expected to develop by 2020. Swiss company RUAG Space has built an antenna support for an Earth observation (EO) satellite that will replace a conventionally manufactured one after tests. The engine chamber of SuperDraco thruster to be used on the crew version of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, capable of producing 16,000 pounds of thrust, is manufactured using 3D printing. A team of engineering students from the University of Arizona, with help from 3D printing company Solid Concepts, recently assembled a 3D printed rocket within a day and successfully tested it. Planetary Resources, a private company seeking space exploration and asteroid mining has collaborated with a company, 3D Systems for developing and manufacturing components for its ARKYD Series of spacecraft using its advanced 3D printing and digital manufacturing solutions.All these efforts are providing solutions that are cheaper, have lesser parts and have comparatively shorter developmental tim elines. In the future, the technology could be used for entire structure fabrication that would involve integrating many of the system’s geometries into structural elements during production. This would reduce the number of parts, eliminate most joints or welds, simplify the design and production, reduce the number of interfaces and make the system more efficient and safer. Such vehicles would better sustain the rigours of launch and space exploration. Integrated structures would even enable reconceptualising space architectures, impacting on their design, sizes and functionality. The most exciting opportunity is 3D printing of objects in space – an idea that has the potential to cause a paradigm change in the way we look at space exploration. The concept has been debated for decades and NASA has also conducted some experiments since theSkylab space stationof the 1970s. In 2010, it collaborated with a US company Made in Space to develop and test a 3D printer that could operate in microgravity aboard the International Space Station. The microwave oven sized printer, previously tested on suborbital flights, was installed on board the station on 17 November. After two calibration tests, on 24 November 2014, on command from the ground controllers, the printer produced the first 3D object in microgravity. The object was a faceplate of the printer itself, demonstrating that the printer could make replacement parts for itself. Initial results have shown that layer bonding might be different in microgravity, but this would have to be substantiated by further te sting on more such produced parts in the future. These parts will subsequently be returned to Earth where they will be compared with similar samples made by the same printer before launch and also analysed for effects of microgravity on them. This would help in evaluating the variance and possible advantages of additive manufacturing in space and in defining the roadmap for future developments. Meanwhile, Europes POP3D Portable On-Board Printer designed and built in Italy is also scheduled for installation aboard the ISS next year. Producing parts and structures in space potentially provides a host of benefits. Structures being constructed on Earth have to be built in an environment that is different from where they would operate. These parts also have to survive the vibrations and high ‘g’ stresses of launch. Freed from these constraints, novel space architectures, more optimised to the microgravity environment, can be imagined and developed. 3D printers in space would enable astronauts manufacture their own components and tools, undertake repairs, replace broken items and respond to evolving requirements without being dependent on support from Earth. This would bring down logistical requirements related to deployment of structures in space, while improving mission efficiency and reliability. NASA is even funding research into the possibility of making food in space using a 3D printer. This would overcome the current issues related to food shelf life, variety and nutritional requirements. It would be possible to have human missions of longer duration and venturing much further into space. Made In Space has an ongoing project R3DO that seeks to recycle 3D produced broken or redundant parts to create new ones, thereby helping reduce space waste. The technology in the future could be used for space based construction of large structures – even entire spacecraft in space. Another concept being envisaged is the use of 3D printing for construction of large housing structures, roads and launch pads using the resources available in-situ on celestial bodies. Concrete houses being produced through 3D printing have already been demonstrated. Both NASA and ESA are exploring printing of objects using Regolith, the powdery substance that covers much of the surface of the moon. Besides the huge savings in cost and time, such habitats would be more suited to the local hazardous environment. The printers could either be controlled from Earth or make use of automation technology on robots or artificial intelligence. These capabilities would be a great step forward for human interplanetary exploration. 3D printing is making rapid strides and its applications are being recognised by industry. Scientists are working to smoothen out the inefficiencies and shortcomings of the processes as also evaluating potential opportunities. Developments in the space domain are promising but these would have to be put through rigorous testing before being cleared for regular use. Qualification and verification standards that would eventually be defined for this new industry would have to be more stringent for use in space. More complex printers will have to be devised for construction of larger parts. Currently, most construction is focussed on building frames and structures but in the future would also require manufacturing techniques to producing working electronic components.[6] For production in space, bigger printers would bring forth issues of mass, volume and power requirements, each one of which is critical for space launch and operations. Some methods would also have to be devised to bring together the parts so produced. The new technology provides an avenue for space industries the world over to graduate to common standards of software as well as hardware. This would allow a larger pool of scientists and engineers coming together learning and benefiting from each other. At the same time, and the policy makers would also have to come up with requisite regulatory framework. In India, 3D printing technology is still in its infancy and its penetration is low among industry is low. Most institutions continue to use it for producing 3D Computer Assisted Design (CAD) models and for prototype testing. Some global additive manufacturing companies have gained foothold in India through collaborations and there are some indigenous initiatives too. Isolated research is being undertaken by some private and public sector entities including the DRDO. Private companies are collaborating with some engineering institutions like IITs to promote research. There is also the Additive Manufacturing Society of India (AMSI) that seeks to promote 3D printing Additive Manufacturing technologies. Applications for Defence and Aerospace are two important sectors that most companies are focussing on. ISRO chairman, after the successful Mars Orbiter Mission, mentioned 3D Printing as one of the technologies that he wishes to see Indian engineers build upon in the future. India has la gged behind in conventional manufacturing and metallurgy. It could leverage its advances in software technology and collaborate with international experts to initiate activities in this sunshine sector. While increased awareness and commercial benefits will drive industry to invest in the sector, space initiatives would require the government to play the vital supporting role while seeking participation from industry and academia. Investments would be required in planning and executing the supporting infrastructure required to enable fabrication processes, in creating knowledge and capabilities through education and training and for provision of adequate RD facilities. [1] â€Å"From earphones to jet engines, 3D printing takes off†, 09 November, 2014 [2] â€Å"3-D Printed Engine Parts Withstand Hot Fire Tests†, 14 November, 2014 [3] TheAerojet Rocketdyne RS-25engine powered NASA’sSpace Shuttleand will power the upcoming Space Launch System (SLS), a heavy-lift, exploration-class rocket currently under development to take humans beyond Earth orbit and Mars. [4] ww.space.com/22568-3d-printed-rocket-engine-test-video.html [5] http://www.space.com/22119-3d-printed-rocket-part-test.html [6] http://www.space.com/26676-3d-printing-international-space-station.html

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Success. It is something that everyone wants, but no one knows exactly what it is. Some believe it to be how many friends they have, how nice their car is or even being able to stay awake through graduation. I believe it is something different. I believe that success is determined by what a person does with the gifts and opportunities with which they were blessed. Our times at Powell High School have given us both those gifts and the opportunity. We have been fortunate enough to have several wonderful influences shape us into the people we are today. First of all, we should show our undying gratitude to our parents. They tolerated everything that we were able to put them through and they are here about to cry because we are leaving! Even though they seem abandoned, you don't have to worry too much, they will manage. I personally know that my mom has probably spent several nights sleepless wondering what she is going to do with my twin sister Danielle's and my rooms and what color she is going to paint them after we leave. As far as my dad is concerned, I'm sure that he will be ...