The term "innovation" comes from the Latin word "innovus" (in - in, novus - new, innovare - to make new) and means renewal or improvement.

In the scientific and legal literature, this term first began to be used in the 30s of the twentieth century, while almost every specialist involved in the study of innovative issues revealed it in different ways. Thus, attempts to define innovations were made by J. Schumpeter, P. Drucker, V. Hippel, V. Kingston and other authors.

In international practice, the version of the definition of "innovation" given in international standards“Oslo Manual on Invention Statistics and Collection and Processing of R&D Data (“Oslo Manual”). According to these standards, "innovation" - final result innovation activities embodied in the idea of ​​a new or improved product introduced to the market, a new or improved technological process used in practice or in a new approach to social services.

In Order Federal Service State Statistics of October 30, 2009 N 237 "On approval of statistical tools for the organization of federal statistical observation activities carried out in the field of science and innovation” contains the following definition of innovation: “Innovation is the end result of innovation, embodied in the form of a new or improved product (good, work, service), production process, new marketing method or organizational method in doing business, organizing jobs, or organizing external relations.”

For the company, innovation is the main means of increasing profits, the ability to create strategic advantages in the most competitive areas, the keys to new markets. For a country, the ability to effectively use innovations means the achievement of such national goals as national security, protection environment, health care, as well as increasing labor productivity, attracting international investment, that is, ultimately, raising the level and improving the quality of life. Governments are betting on innovation when they are trying to overcome a crisis.

Innovation is the end result of innovative activity, which means activities aimed at the use and commercialization of the results of scientific research and development to expand and update the range and improve the quality of products (goods, services), improve their manufacturing technology with subsequent implementation and effective implementation in the domestic And foreign markets innovation activity involves a whole range of scientific, technological, organizational, financial and commercial activities, which together lead to innovation.

The Order of the Federal State Statistics Service dated October 30, 2009 N 237 “On approval of statistical tools for organizing federal statistical monitoring of activities carried out in the field of science and innovation” gives the following definition of innovation activity: “innovation activity is a type of activity associated with the transformation ideas (usually the results of scientific research and development or other scientific and technical achievements) into technologically new or improved products or services introduced on the market, into new or improved technological processes or methods of production (transfer) of services used in practical activities. Innovative activity involves a whole range of scientific, technological, organizational, financial and commercial activities, which together lead to innovation.

In the Main Directions of Policy and the target program, innovation activity is understood as the performance of work and (or) the provision of services aimed at:

• Creation and organization of production of a fundamentally new or with new consumer properties of products (goods, works, services);
• creation and application of new or modernization of existing methods (technologies) of its production, distribution and use;
• · the use of structural, financial, economic, personnel, information and other innovations (innovations) in the production and marketing of products (goods, works, services) that provide cost savings or create conditions for such savings.
• 1.2 Classification and types of innovations

In the practice of innovation management, various classifiers of innovations are used.

According to the type of novelty for the market, innovations are divided into: new to the industry in the world; new to the industry in the country; new for this enterprise (group of enterprises).

According to the stimulus of appearance (source), we can distinguish:

• innovations caused by the development of science and technology;
• innovations caused by the needs of production;
• innovation driven by market needs.

By place in the system (at the enterprise, in the firm), we can distinguish:

• innovations at the entrance of the enterprise (raw materials, equipment, information, etc.);
• innovations at the output of the enterprise (products, services, technologies, information, etc.);
• · innovations of the system structure of the enterprise (management, production).

Depending on the depth of the changes made, there are:

• radical (basic) innovations that implement major inventions and form new directions in the development of technology;
• · improving innovations that implement small inventions and prevail in the phases of distribution and stable development of the scientific and technical cycle;
• · modification (private) innovations aimed at partial improvement of obsolete generations of equipment and technology.

For the purposes of filling in statistical reporting, several types of innovations are distinguished, each of which has its own definition and description, and several types of activities are distinguished that are not unambiguously recognized as innovative innovations. Relevant recommendations are contained in the Order of the Federal State Statistics Service dated October 30, 2009 N 237 “On approval of statistical tools for organizing federal statistical monitoring of activities carried out in the field of science and innovation”, which contains form No. 4-innovation “Information on innovation activity organizations." This form divides innovations into three main types: technological, which in turn includes product and process innovations; marketing innovations and organizational innovations.

Technological innovation - the activities of the organization associated with the development and implementation of technologically new products and processes, as well as significant technological improvements in products and processes; technologically new or significantly improved services, new or significantly improved methods of production (transfer) of services.

Product innovations are the development and introduction into production of technologically new and significantly technologically improved products.

Process innovation - the development and implementation of technologically new or technologically significantly improved production methods, including methods for transferring products.

Marketing innovations - the implementation of new or significantly improved changes in the design and packaging of products, the use of new methods of sales and presentation of products (services), their presentation and promotion to sales markets, the formation of new pricing strategies.

Organizational innovation - the implementation of a new method in doing business, organizing jobs or organizing external relations.

1.3 Innovation process

The successive chain of events in which an innovation is transformed from an idea into a concrete product, technology or service and distributed with the aim of practical application and commercialization is called the innovation process.

Leakage innovative project driven by innovative infrastructure, which includes:

• relevant legal and legislative framework;
• · formed market of scientific and technical products;
• network of organizations involved in commercialization and capitalization scientific developments;
• · counseling centers;
• information and intermediary services;
• Organizations that carry out export-import operations on innovations;
• a network of organizations that carry out engineering, audit, management, coordination and other paid services;
• · scientific and practical personnel, ready to perceive innovations.

The innovation process includes seven elements, the combination of which into a single sequential chain forms a structure innovation process.

These elements include:

• 1. initiation of innovation;
• 2. marketing innovation;
• 3. release (production) of innovation;
• 4. implementation of innovation;
• 5. promotion of innovation;
• 6. evaluation of the economic efficiency of innovation;
• 7. diffusion (distribution) of innovation.

The beginning of the innovation process is initiation. Initiation is an activity that consists in choosing the goal of innovation, setting the task performed by innovation, searching for the idea of ​​innovation, its feasibility study and materializing the idea. The materialization of an idea means the transformation of an idea into a commodity (property, New Product etc.).

After the justification of a new product, marketing research proposed innovation, during which the demand for a new product is studied, the volume of product output is determined, consumer properties and product characteristics are determined, which should be given to innovation as a product entering the market. Then the innovation is sold, that is, the appearance on the market of a small batch of innovation, its promotion, evaluation of effectiveness and diffusion.

Innovation promotion is a set of measures aimed at the implementation of innovations (advertising, organization of the trading process, etc.).

The results of the implementation of innovation and the costs of its promotion are subjected to statistical processing and analysis, on the basis of which it is calculated economic efficiency innovation.

The innovation process ends with the diffusion of innovation. Diffusion (lat. diffusio - distribution, spreading) of innovation is the spread of once mastered innovation in new regions, in new markets.

Thus, the innovation process is aimed at creating the products, technologies or services required by the market, and its direction, pace, goals depend on the socio-economic environment in which it develops and functions.

1) a new or improved product introduced on the market,

2) a new or improved technological process used in practice,

3) a new approach to social services.

The analysis carried out by Urazova N.G. deserves the greatest attention. and Gedich T.G., where all definitions of innovation are considered:

As a result;

Like a process;

Like change.

The first approach considers innovation as the end result of creative activity, embodied in the form of a new or improved product sold on the market, or a new or improved technological process used in practice. In this approach, the concept of innovation is equated with the concept of innovation.

The second approach considers innovation as a process of creating, implementing and disseminating innovations. This approach is also characterized by equating the concept of "innovation" with the concept of innovation.

The third approach, in which innovation is understood as changes in the economic, social, scientific, technical and other areas due to the introduction of this innovation. In this approach, it is no longer appropriate to equate the concept of innovation with the concept of innovation or innovation, since it has a completely different meaning.

Currently, there are two approaches to defining the concept of innovation: broad and narrow.

The broad approach is that innovation is understood as any change, for example, a new payment scheme with suppliers or some fresh design solutions.

The narrow approach is based on the definition of innovations as fundamental changes in the reproductive system that change its main functional feature (first-level innovations).

Innovation results from using the results of research and development to improve the process production activities, economic, legal and social relations in the field of science, culture, education, and in other areas of the society. This term can have different meanings in different contexts, depending on the specific purpose of the measurement or analysis. Innovation- this is the end result of innovative activity, which has received implementation in the form of a new or improved product sold on the market, a new or improved technological process used in practice. This definition contained in international standards, recommendations for which were adopted in Oslo (Norway) in 1992, hence the name - "Oslo Guide". They are developed in relation to technological innovations and cover new products and processes, as well as their significant technological changes.

It should be noted about the existence of the "Frascati leadership", which was adopted in the Italian city of Frascati in 1963. The Frascati Guide is a study by national science and innovation experts from the OECD. It is a recommendation for the collection, processing and analysis of information about science and innovation, but does not give a clear definition of the concept of "innovation".

Thus, many authors agree that the end result of innovation is commercial success. An innovation is considered implemented if it is implemented in the market or in the production process. Accordingly, two types of technological innovations are distinguished: product and process. Product innovation covers the introduction of new or improved products. Process innovation is the development of new or significantly improved products, organization of production. The release of such products is not possible using existing equipment or applied production methods.

In other words, innovation is the result of the implementation of new ideas and knowledge for the purpose of their practical use to meet certain consumer needs.

This means that if, for example, a new idea, reflected in diagrams, drawings or thoroughly described, but it is not used in any industry or area, and it cannot find a consumer on the market, then this new idea, this knowledge, which is the result of creative work, is not an innovation.

It follows that the main properties (criteria) of innovation are:

ü scientific and technical novelty;

ü practical implementation (industrial applicability), i.e. use e.g. in industry, agriculture, healthcare, education or other areas of activity;

ü commercial feasibility, which means that the innovation is “accepted” by the market, i.e. marketable; which, in turn, means the ability to satisfy certain consumer needs.

Thus, a new idea in itself, no matter how thoroughly it is described, formalized and presented in diagrams and drawings, is not an innovation (innovation) if this idea is not embodied in products, services or processes used in practice. Only new ideas implemented in new products or processes are called innovations, i.e. the indispensable properties, criteria for innovation are the novelty of the idea and its implementation, implementation in practice, in new products or processes.

Since a new idea is embodied in real objects or processes, it turns out to be focused on meeting the practical needs of people.

Thus, in a market economy, such an integral criterion of innovation as the practical implementation of a new idea turns out to be closely related to the criterion of its commercial feasibility through the appearance on the market of new (innovative) products or services.

Innovation itself is a materialized result obtained from capital investment in new equipment or technology, in new forms of organization of labor production, service, management, etc.

IN modern economy the role of innovation has increased significantly. Without the use of innovations, it is almost impossible to create competitive products that have a high degree of science intensity and novelty. Thus, in market economy innovations are an effective means of competition, as they lead to the creation of new needs, to a reduction in the cost of production, to an influx of investments, to an increase in the image (rating) of a manufacturer of new products, to the discovery and capture of new markets, including external ones.

Innovation as economic category reflects the most common properties, signs, connections and relations of production and implementation of innovations. The essence of innovation is manifested in its functions. The functions of innovation reflect its purpose in economic system state and its role in the economic process. Innovation plays a special role in increasing the competitiveness of enterprises.

IN innovation management distinguish the following functions of innovation. The first function of innovation is that almost all innovations are aimed at reducing costs (labor, resources, energy), they create opportunities for involving new productive forces in production, and increase the efficiency of labor and production. The second function of innovation is to improve the quality of manufactured products, which leads to an increase in the level of production and consumption, and improves the quality of life. The third function of innovation is that by improving quality, reducing costs and improving consumption, they contribute to maintaining the proportions between supply and demand, between production and consumption. The fourth function of innovation is that in the process of developing and using innovations, the intellectual potential of a person is actively developed, conditions are created for creative growth, and scientific and technical progress is accelerating.

The incentive mechanism for the development of innovations, first of all, is market competition. In market conditions, producers of products or services are constantly forced to look for ways to reduce production costs and enter new markets. Therefore, entrepreneurial firms that are the first to master effective innovations gain a significant advantage over competitors.

Innovation is a result realized on the market, obtained from capital investment in a new product or operation (technology, process). In this regard, with all the variety of market innovations, an important condition for their practical implementation in business is to attract innovative investments in sufficient volume.

Due to their specific nature, small businesses have to be more active in the market, using their flexibility and ability to quickly reorient. Therefore, it is often small businesses that become the pioneers of new products and new technologies in various industries. Innovative activity helps to increase the company's survival in the competitive struggle, which is especially important for a small business. In addition, when implementing an innovation offered for sale, there is an exchange of "money - innovation". The funds received by the entrepreneur as a result of such an exchange, firstly, cover the costs of creating and selling innovations, secondly, they make a profit from the implementation of innovations, thirdly, they act as an incentive to create new innovations, and fourthly, they are a source of financing new innovation process.

In Russian law, the term "innovation" appeared in the early 1980s. The definition of innovation is given in the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of July 24, 1998 N 832 "On the concept of innovation policy Russian Federation for 1998-2000 "* (988). Innovation (innovation) is considered as the end result of innovative activity, which has received implementation in the form of a new or improved product sold on the market, a new or improved technological process used in practice.

There are different approaches to understanding the essence of innovation. Innovations are considered both as a result of scientific and technical activity, and as a process of creation and distribution new technology, technologies, organizational forms and so on. The concepts of innovation, innovation, innovation are used in different ways. Often they are identified. Sometimes innovation is associated with the initial stage of the research and production cycle (invention, know-how, etc.), innovation is associated with the use of innovation at an intermediate stage, and innovation is seen as the dissemination of innovation at the final stage of the research and production cycle. The main characteristics of innovation are primarily novelty and commercialization. Innovation does not always take the form of a commodity. They can be created for internal use, but in this case, commercialization remains a potential property of innovation.

Currently, there is no single approach to the division of innovations into types. They are classified, for example, depending on the level of novelty of innovation: radical (implementation of discoveries, inventions, patents) and ordinary (know-how, rationalization proposals, etc.) or depending on the scope of innovation: managerial, organizational, social, industrial. The criteria for classifying innovations can be the scale of innovations, effectiveness, the stage of the scientific and technical process, the pace of implementation.

IN general view All innovations are divided into two main categories: technological and non-technological. Technological innovations include innovations affecting the means, methods, production technologies that determine scientific and technological progress, non-technological innovations - organizational, managerial, social. Technological innovations, in turn, are divided into product and process ones * (989).

A product innovation can be basic or enhancement. A core product innovation is a new product whose performance characteristics, materials and components are significantly different from previous products. An improved product innovation is an existing product that has been markedly improved in quality or cost. Process innovation refers to a technologically new or improved production method. In connection with the mentioned innovations, it should be noted the changes made to the methodology for determining the innovative activity of industrial enterprises. If earlier innovation activities included the whole range of scientific, technological and organizational activities carried out at industrial enterprises, since 2003, it has been recommended to include technological innovations - product and process - as in official statistics, as innovation activities. Such changes were caused by the need to identify the most effective innovations introduced into production in order to significantly intensify production and improve the quality of products * (990).

The aforementioned Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation "On the concept of the innovation policy of the Russian Federation for 1998-2000" contains a definition of innovation activity. Innovation activity is understood as a process aimed at implementing the results of completed scientific research and development or other scientific and technological achievements into a new or improved product sold on the market, into a new or improved technological process used in practice, as well as additional research and development related to this.

Distinguish the concept of innovation in a broad and narrow sense. In a broad sense, innovation is understood as the use of scientific and technical knowledge in order to transform various aspects of public life. In a narrow sense, this is an activity aimed at obtaining new scientific and technical knowledge and their implementation in the manufacturing sector in order to create a competitive product.

It should be noted that in regulations and scientific literature there is no single approach to the definition of innovative activity. Some authors believe that research activities do not always lead to results that should be implemented, and can hardly be considered innovative. IN this case innovative activity turns out to be an activity only for the creation of developments and their practical implementation, and the process of creating and identifying innovations (knowledge, technologies, etc.) remains outside of it.

Another definition of innovation activity is related to understanding it as a process of performing work or services for the creation, development in production and practical application new or improved product, new or improved process. More often, this broader definition of innovation activity is used, according to which scientific activity and scientific and technical activity are stages of the innovation process and their combination with "material" stages (production, trade and consumption) is considered as an innovation cycle.

The innovation process can be divided into separate stages. Sometimes three phases of the innovation process for a new product are considered: development, adoption, and dissemination. There are four steps in this process: fundamental research, applied research, research and development and experimental development, commercialization of the results of scientific research and development. Innovative activity is also considered as a mediating link between the actual scientific and industrial spheres. In this case, the innovation sphere differs from the scientific and industrial one by the presence of a specific marketing function, specific methods of financing, lending and methods legal regulation, special system of motivation of subjects of innovative activity * (991).

The development of innovative processes is primarily due to socio-economic transformations. Innovative activity in modern Russia associated with the formation of a new, entrepreneurial culture. The idea of ​​innovation as the main functional characteristic of entrepreneurship was substantiated by J. Schumpeter. He wrote about the businessman carrying out "reorganization of economic life on the basis of greater private economic expediency" * (992). The purpose of innovation is to increase production efficiency, create a competitive product that can provide additional profit. Any innovative activity is entrepreneurial, since it is independent, associated with the willingness of the entrepreneur to take all the risk and responsibility for the implementation of a new project.

Sometimes innovative activity is considered as a kind of activity that includes only elements of entrepreneurship. This is explained by the fact that the creation of new and original products and their implementation as elements of the first stages of the innovation process do not apply to entrepreneurial activity in exact meaning this concept, because the decisive criterion for commercial success is the quality of new end products, technologies and machines. Besides at the first stages of an innovative cycle activity, as a rule, is unprofitable * (993).

In the mid-80s of the twentieth century. the term "national innovation system" appeared in Western economic literature. The national innovation system is considered as a set of interrelated organizations (structures) engaged in the production and commercial implementation of scientific knowledge and technologies within national borders. At the same time, the national innovation system is a complex of legal, financial and social institutions that ensure innovation processes and have strong national roots, traditions, political and cultural characteristics * (994).

The effectiveness of innovative development depends on the interaction between the participants in the innovation process. The role of the state, for example, is to promote innovative business, but the private sector also provides support to the state in its innovation policy, in particular, with contributions to innovation funds and assistance to scientific organizations. In order to promote new technologies in production, it is necessary to interact with state scientific organizations and universities with industrial enterprises.

Many factors influence the formation and state of the national innovation system. The current state of the national innovation system in Russia is called a crisis. It is due to insufficient funding of science from the federal budget, lack of demand for scientific and technical developments from the private sector, "brain drain", etc. In Russia, an innovation system of a new type should be formed, which will be able to combine the efforts of the state, the scientific community and the private business sector of the economy to carry out the country's transition to an innovative development path.

The formation of a national innovation system provides for the construction of an innovation infrastructure, i.e. a complex of organizations providing services for the creation, development in production and practical application of a new or improved product, a new or improved technological process. They are in a certain relationship, expressing the unity of the stages of innovation. These are investment and innovation funds, banks, business incubators, economic associations, financial groups associated with scientific and technological innovations, etc. Mandatory element innovation market infrastructures are the so-called innovation intermediaries that promote innovation to the market. These include organizations involved in patenting, licensing, commercialization of developments, consulting and marketing of innovations. Specialized firms- innovative intermediaries receive intermediary profit by optimizing the innovation process or its individual stages.

The most important direction in the creation of innovation infrastructure in Russia is the formation of scientific and technological parks, innovation and technology centers and business incubators. The first domestic industrial park was created in 1990 in Tomsk. Today, hundreds of small innovative firms operate as part of and with the support of innovation and technology centers and technology parks. The difference lies in the fact that in the first case assistance is provided to already established small innovative firms, in the second case - to start-up small firms. There are two types of business incubators: they can be an integral part of a technology park, but they can also be an independent organization. Legally, business incubators are most often designed as non-profit organizations specializing in supporting small businesses. Currently, there are about 40 innovation and technology centers, 80 technology parks and about 60 business incubators in Russia. From the point of view of the formation of a technopark, science cities are promising, concentrating the scientific and technical potential of the defense sector and large universities.

The word "innovation" is translated into Russian as "novelty", "innovation", "innovation". In management, innovation is understood as an innovation that has been mastered in production and has found its consumer. More broadly defined: Innovation is the end result of the activity of innovating, embodied in the form of a new or improved product introduced to the market, a new or improved process used in organizational activities, a new approach to social problems.

Here, attention should be paid to the broad interpretation of the concept of innovation - it can be a new product, a new technological process, a new structure and management system for an organization, a new culture, new information, etc.

Under the innovation in the XIX century. understood, first of all, the introduction of elements of one culture into another. In the XX century. technical improvements were considered innovations. J. Schumpeter at the beginning of the century understood the role of innovation as a means to overcome economic downturns. He pointed out that the source of profits can be not only price manipulation and cost reduction, but also a change in products.

In his work "Theory economic development Schumpeter wrote: “Under the enterprise, we mean the implementation of new combinations, as well as what these combinations are embodied in: factories, etc. We call entrepreneurs economic entities, whose function is precisely the implementation of new combinations and which act as its active element.

The concept of "implementation of new combinations" according to Schumpeter covers the following five cases: 1. Production of a new, that is, a good not yet known to consumers or the creation of a new quality of a particular good.

2. The introduction of a new method (method) of production not known to this industry, which is not necessarily based on a new scientific discovery and which may even consist in a different way of commercial use of the product in question.

3. The development of a new sales market, that is, a market in which the given industry of this country has not yet been represented, regardless of whether this market existed before or not.

4. Obtaining a new source of raw materials or semi-finished products, equally regardless of whether this source existed before or simply was not taken into account, or was considered unavailable, or it had yet to be created.

5. Carrying out an appropriate reorganization, for example, securing a monopoly position (through the creation of a trust) or undermining the monopoly position of another enterprise.

If we consider innovation as the end result, then it must have somewhere its beginning, source, and this beginning is some kind of idea, idea, invention. There is a long path from this idea to its implementation, containing many stages and actions. This path is called the innovation process.

It is necessary to highlight the characteristic properties of innovation that distinguish it from a simple innovation:

Scientific and technical novelty;

Industrial applicability;

Commercial feasibility.

The commercial aspect defines innovation as an economic necessity realized through the needs of the market. From this point of view, there are two points:

"materialization" of innovation - from an idea to its implementation in a product, service, technology; "commercialization" of innovation - turning it into a source of income.

The innovative activity of firms is a much more effective means of competition than all traditional methods. With it, other methods can no longer play a significant role. In the second half of the XX century. A boom in innovations began in all spheres of society. In 1979, the US Congress passed the National Science and Technology Innovation Act, which stated that innovation is a central issue for US economic, environmental, and social prosperity. Innovation strategy was designed to reduce the trade deficit, win competition in the world market, and stabilize the dollar. In Germany, it was also confirmed at the state level that innovations are the main means of combating all social diseases. Thus, the fact that in 1940-50. was the strategy of individual firms, in the 1970-80s. becomes the strategy of entire nations, public policy developed countries.

At the same time, the science of innovation activity also developed. It meant a departure from understanding the market as a free game of supply and demand. Now it was supposed to seize the initiative from the market, manage the market, provoke the emergence of the needs of the mass buyer, offer him something that he had not yet had time to think about. This strategy created the "consumer society".

The classification of innovations makes it possible to systematize knowledge about the types of innovations, their manifestations and positions in the company's system. The methodology for a systematic description of innovations is based on international standards, recommendations for the practical application of which were adopted in Oslo in 1992 and called the Oslo Guide.

There are several approaches to the classification of innovations.

1 Classification by objects of innovation, location, degree of novelty.

1. Depending on the type of object, innovations are divided into:

Subject innovations are new material resources, raw materials, semi-finished products, components, products. Innovation in the form of a new product is defining and is called product innovation. Such innovation aims to meet new needs or existing needs, but in a different way;

Process innovations are new services, production processes, methods of organizing production, organizational structures, management systems. In this class of innovations, innovation in the field of production processes, it is also called technological innovation. Such innovation is aimed at improving the quality of the product, increasing labor productivity and increasing production volumes.

2. According to the place in the enterprise system, innovations are divided into:

Innovations at the entrance of the enterprise - new material resources, raw materials, information;

Innovations within the enterprise system are new semi-finished products, technological processes, information Technology, organizational structure. The economic effect of such innovation remains in the enterprise;

Innovations at the output of the enterprise are new products, services, technologies and information intended for sale (know-how). The economic effect of such an innovation is received by the consumer.

3. Depending on the degree of novelty, innovations are distinguished:

Radical (basic) - for example, a new product based on a pioneer invention;

Improving - for example, a new product based on an invention that improves on the pioneer invention;

Modification (private) - for example, a new product based on a rationalization proposal.

Invention - a new and significantly different "technical" solution practical task in any area of ​​the economic, socio-cultural or defense sphere. A pioneer invention is an outstanding invention that has not been preceded by prototypes (analogues) in the world practice, they are based on discoveries.

Discovery is the establishment of previously unknown, objectively existing patterns, properties and phenomena of the material world, introducing fundamental changes in the level of knowledge.

A rational proposal is a “technical” solution that is relatively new, for example, new to a given industry, or to a given market, or to a given organization.

The first reliably known technological processes were developed in ancient Sumer - on a clay tablet in cuneiform, the procedure for making beer was described in operations. Since then, the ways of describing technologies for the production of food, tools, household utensils, weapons and jewelry - everything that mankind has made, have become much more complicated and improved. A modern technological process can consist of tens, hundreds and even thousands of individual operations, it can be multivariate and branch depending on various conditions. The choice of this or that technology is not an easy choice of certain machines, tools and equipment. It is also necessary to ensure compliance specifications, planned and financial indicators.

Definition and characterization

GOST gives a scientifically rigorous, but too dry and scientifically formulated definition of the technological process. If we talk about the concept of a technological process in a more understandable language, then a technological process is a set of operations arranged in a certain order. It is aimed at the transformation of raw materials and blanks into final products. To do this, they perform certain actions, usually performed by mechanisms. The technological process does not exist on its own, but is the most important part of a more general one, which in the general case also includes the processes of contracting, procurement and logistics, sales, financial management, administration and quality control.

Technologists occupy a very important position in the enterprise. They are a kind of intermediary between designers who create the idea of ​​a product and produce its drawings, and production, which will have to translate these ideas and drawings into metal, wood, plastic and other materials. When developing a technical process, technologists work in close contact not only with designers and production, but also with logistics, procurement, finance and quality control. It is the technical process that is the point at which the requirements of all these departments converge and there is a balance between them.

The description of the technological process should be contained in documents such as:

• A route map is a high-level description that lists the routes for moving a part or workpiece from one workplace to another or between workshops.
• Operational map - a description of the middle level, more detailed, it lists all operational transitions, installation-removal operations, tools used.
• Technological map - the document of the lowest level, contains the most detailed description of the processing of materials, blanks, units and assemblies, the parameters of these processes, working drawings and the equipment used.

A technological map, even for a seemingly simple product, can be a rather thick volume.

For comparison and measurement of technological processes series production the following characteristics apply:

The production program of the enterprise consists of the production programs of its shops and sections. It contains:

• List of manufactured articles with details of types, sizes, quantity.
• Release schedules linked to each key date of a certain volume of manufactured products.
• The number of spare parts for each item as part of the product life cycle support process.
• Detailed design and technological documentation, 3D models, drawings, detailing and specifications.
• Specifications for production and quality management methods, including programs and methods of testing and measurement.

The production program is a section of the general business plan of the enterprise for each planning period.

Types of technical processes

The classification of technical processes is carried out according to several parameters.

According to the criterion of repetition frequency in the manufacture of products, technological processes are divided into:

• a single technological process, created for the production of a unique design and technological parameters parts or products;
• a typical technical process is created for a certain number of products of the same type, similar in their design and technological characteristics. A single technical process, in turn, may consist of a set of standard technical processes. The more standard technical processes are used at the enterprise, the lower the cost of pre-production and the higher the economic efficiency of the enterprise;
• a group technical process is prepared for parts that are structurally different, but technologically similar.

According to the criterion of novelty and innovation, there are such types of technological processes as:

• Typical. The main technological processes use traditional, proven designs, technologies and operations for processing materials, tools and equipment.
• Promising. Such processes use the most Hi-tech, materials, tools, typical for enterprises - leaders in the industry.

According to the criterion of the degree of detail, there are the following types technological processes:

• The route technical process is executed in the form of a route map containing top-level information: a list of operations, their sequence, a class or group of equipment used, technological equipment and a general time limit.
• The step-by-step process contains a detailed sequence of processing up to the level of transitions, modes and their parameters. It is executed in the form of an operating card.

The step-by-step process was developed during the Second World War in the United States in the face of a shortage of skilled labor. Detailed and detailed descriptions of each stage of the technological process made it possible to involve people who did not have production experience in the work and to fulfill large military orders on time. In peacetime and availability, well trained and experienced enough production staff the use of this type of technological process leads to unproductive costs. Sometimes a situation arises in which technologists diligently publish thick volumes of operating charts, the technical documentation service replicates them in the prescribed number of copies, and the production does not open these Talmuds. In the workshop, workers and foremen have accumulated sufficient experience over many years of work and acquired high enough qualifications to independently perform a sequence of operations and select equipment operating modes. It makes sense for such enterprises to think about abandoning operating cards and replacing them with route cards.

There are other classifications of types of technological processes.

Stages of TP

In the course of design and technological preparation of production, such stages of writing a technological process are distinguished as:

• Collection, processing and study of initial data.
• Definition of the main technological solutions.
• Preparation of a feasibility study (or feasibility study).
• Process documentation.

It is difficult from the first time to find technological solutions that provide both planned terms, and the required quality, and the planned cost of the product. Therefore, the technology development process is a multivariate and iterative process.

If the results of economic calculations are unsatisfactory, then the technologists repeat the main stages of the development of the technological process until they reach the parameters required by the plan.

The essence of the technological process

A process is a change in the state of an object under the influence of internal or external conditions in relation to the object.

External factors will be mechanical, chemical, temperature, radiation influences, internal - the ability of a material, part, product to resist these influences and retain its original shape and phase state.

During the development of the technical process, the technologist selects those external factors, under the influence of which the material of the workpiece or raw material will change its shape, dimensions or properties in such a way as to satisfy:

• technical specifications for the final product;
• planned indicators for the timing and volume of production of products;

For a long time, the basic principles for constructing technological processes have been developed.

The principle of consolidation of operations

In this case, a larger number of transitions is collected within one operation. From a practical point of view, such a campaign improves the accuracy of the relative position of the axes and machined surfaces. This effect is achieved by performing all the transitions combined in the operation in one stop to the machine or multi-axis machining center.

The approach also simplifies internal logistics and reduces intra-shop costs by reducing the number of installations and adjustments of equipment operation modes.

This is especially important for large and complex parts, the installation of which takes a lot of time.

The principle is applied when working on turret and multi-cutting lathes, multi-axis machining centers.

The principle of division of operations

The operation is divided into a number of simple transitions, the adjustment of the operating modes of the processing equipment is performed once, for the first part of the series, then the remaining parts are processed in the same modes.

This approach is effective for large batch sizes and a relatively simple spatial configuration of products.

The principle has a significant effect of reducing the relative labor intensity due to improved organization of workplaces, improving the skills of workers in monotonous movements for placing and removing workpieces, manipulating tools and equipment.

At the same time, the absolute number of installations grows, but the time for setting up equipment modes is reduced, due to which a positive result is achieved.

To get this positive effect, the technologist will have to take care of the use of specialized equipment and devices that allow you to quickly and, most importantly, accurately install and remove the workpiece. The batch size must also be significant.

Wood and metal processing

In practice, the same part, of the same size and weight, from the same material can be made by different, sometimes very different methods.

At the stage of design and technological preparation of production, designers and technologists jointly work out several options for describing the technological process, manufacturing and processing sequence of the product. These options are compared by key indicators, how well they satisfy:

• specifications for the final product;
• requirements production plan, terms and volumes of shipment;
• financial and economic indicators included in the business plan of the enterprise.

At the next stage, these options are compared, and the optimal one is selected from them. The type of production has a great influence on the choice of option.

In the case of a one-off, or discrete production, the probability of repeating the production of the same part is small. In this case, the option is chosen with minimal costs for the development and creation of special equipment, tools and fixtures, with the maximum use of universal machines and customizable equipment. However, exceptional requirements for dimensional accuracy or operating conditions, such as radiation or highly corrosive environments, may force the use of both specially made tooling and unique tools.

With serial production, the production process is divided into the production of repeated batches of products. The technological process is optimized taking into account the existing equipment, machine tools and machining centers at the enterprise. At the same time, the equipment is supplied with specially designed equipment and devices that allow reducing unproductive time losses at least by a few seconds. On the scale of the entire party, these seconds will add up and give a sufficient economic effect. Machine tools and machining centers are subjected to specialization, certain groups of operations are assigned to the machine.

In mass production, the batch sizes are very high, and the produced parts are quite long term are not subject to structural changes. Equipment specialization goes even further. In this case, it is technologically and economically justified to assign the same operation to each machine for the entire production period of the series, as well as the manufacture of special equipment and the use of a separate cutting tool and measuring and control instruments.

The equipment in this case is physically moved in the workshop, placing it in the order of operations in the technological process.

Means of execution of technological processes

The technological process exists first in the heads of technologists, then it is fixed on paper, and on modern enterprises— in the database of programs that provide the management process life cycle products (PLM). The transition to automated means of storing, writing, replicating and checking the relevance of technological processes is not a matter of time, it is a matter of the survival of an enterprise in the competition. At the same time, enterprises have to overcome the strong resistance of highly qualified technologists of the construction school, who have been accustomed for many years to write technical processes by hand, and then give them for reprinting.

Modern software allow you to automatically check the tools, materials and equipment mentioned in the technical process for applicability and relevance, reuse previously written technical processes in whole or in part. They increase the productivity of the technologist and significantly reduce the risk of human error when writing the technical process.

In order for the technological process to turn from ideas and calculations into reality, physical means of its implementation are necessary.

Technological equipment is designed for installation, fixing, orientation in space and supply to the processing zone of raw materials, blanks, parts, assemblies and assemblies.

Depending on the industry, this includes machine tools, machining centers, reactors, melting furnaces, forging presses, installations and entire complexes.

The equipment has a long service life and can change its functions depending on the use of a particular technological equipment.

Technological equipment includes tools, casting molds, dies, devices for installing and removing parts, to facilitate access for workers to the area of ​​operations. Equipment complements the main equipment, expanding its functionality. She has more short term use and sometimes specially made for a specific batch of products or even for one unique product. When developing technology, it is necessary to use universal tooling applicable for several standard sizes of the product. This is especially important in discrete industries, where the cost of tooling is not distributed over the entire series, but falls entirely on the cost of one product.

The tool is designed to provide a direct physical impact on the workpiece material in order to bring its shape, dimensions, physical, chemical and other parameters to those specified in the technical specifications.

When choosing a tool, a technologist must take into account not only the price of its purchase, but also the resource and versatility. It often happens that a more expensive tool allows you to release it several times without replacing it. more products than a cheap counterpart. In addition, a modern universal and high-speed tool will also reduce the machining time, which also directly leads to a reduction in cost. Every year, technologists acquire more and more economic knowledge and skills, and writing a technical process from a purely technological matter turns into a serious tool for increasing the competitiveness of an enterprise.