A novel method designs and analyzes composite parts including optimal manufacturing strategies. The invention analyzes part design including curvatures and other surface topology to formulate an optimal strategy for material layup, number of plies, initial orientation angle, and towpath steering vectors. The method computes an optimum starting point for each fiber path and a stagger offset for each successive fiber path to as to eliminate or minimize gaps and overlaps between adjacent plies. Intermediate surfaces are generated by a polynomial discretization method which generates large computational time savings and enhances blending of adjacent zones to control surface smoothness. The method further calculates a variable steering path for the layer taking into account material parameters and limitations such that plies originating in the same location have a variable orientation angle and follow any reference curve generated by the method to maximize strength and minimize weight of the component.

A method of manufacturing at least a first product and a second product with at least a first machine and a second machine at minimum cost in an environment in which a cost of energy used by the first machine and the second machine varies as a function of time may include generating multiple chromosomes, determining fitness scores of each of the chromosomes, randomly generating, with probabilities based on the fitness scores, new chromosomes, determining fitness scores of the new chromosomes, selecting one of the new chromosomes with an optimal fitness score, and manufacturing at least the first product and the second product with at least the first machine and the second machine according to a schedule based on the selected new chromosome.

A method, computer program product, and system are disclosed. The method, when implemented in a computer system, includes obtaining product information, selecting a production node from a plurality of production nodes, and communicating production information to the production node. The product information is configured to facilitate production of a product. The selecting performed by the computer system comprises determining a physical location of a destination of the product and identifying the production node. The identifying is based, at least in part, on the physical location and one or more production criteria. The production information comprises information identifying the product. The computer system is configured to communicate with each production node of the plurality of production nodes. The communicating is configured to result in production of the product by the production node.

A power consumption output device for an apparatus that manufactures a plurality of products from a quantity of supplied material in a series of repeated cycles, includes a detector for detecting power consumption in a time period that includes at least the time needed for manufacturing all of the products that can be manufactured from a given quantity of supplied material, from the time at which the supply of the material to the apparatus commences to the time at which any remaining material is ejected, and delivers an output indicating power consumption per product by using the power consumption detected by the power detector and the number of products manufactured from the given quantity of supplied material. The device is thus capable of precisely calculating the electricity cost per product manufactured by an apparatus whose power consumption varies from one cycle of operation to another.