Machined Feature Estimation and Inspection for Internet-Based Manufacturing System

Abstract

With easy access of the Internet, the real-time, web-based collaborations are impacting the current practices of product design and manufacturing. In this research, an Internet-based manufacturing design system has been developed based on the collaborations of several partners located thousands of miles away from each other. This paper introduces a sub-system of this Internet-based manufacturing system for machined feature estimation and inspection using 3D solid models. Using the engineering data of cutting processes received from our collaborator, through the broadband Internet, taking into account of the factors like cutting forces and tool deflections, this sub-system determines the material removal processes by subtracting the tool cutting volume from work-piece raw material. It creates the machined 3D solid geometry models by simulating the machining processes. The estimated geometry is then taken to a simulated inspection process for engineering analysis and CNC machining program verification. To simulate the inspection process on a Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM), a series of rays is shot to the machined surface to simulate the CMM probe touching for acquiring surface data. The simulated measurement data is then localized to design surface and comparison between them is made to quantify the machining errors. Through the Internet, the geometrical features and inspection result can be visualized and shared by other sub-systems of the whole manufacturing system based on the commercial CAD data formats. The operation of this subsystem and related facilities is local execution.