Intelligent Metrology Research Articles

An Intelligent Metrology Architecture With AVM for Metal Additive Manufacturing

The capability of measuring melt pool variation is the key evaluating metal additive manufacturing quality. To measure the variation, a metrology architecture with in situ melt pool measurement and an estimation module is required. However, it is a challenge to effectively extract significant features from the huge data collected by the in situ metrology for quality estimation requirement. The purpose of this letter is to propose an intelligent metrology architecture with an in situ metrology (ISM) module and an enhanced automatic virtual metrology (AVM) system. The ISM module can extract the melt pool features with a coaxial camera and a pyrometer. On the other hand, the AVM system is improved with a feature selection method to solve the issue of limited samples in the component modeling quality. The examples with different metals are adopted to illustrate how the system works for estimating surface roughness and density of components, and, in the future, the system can even serve as the feedback signal for adaptive control of the process parameters by layering in an additive manufacturing system.

An Intelligent Metrology Informatics System based on Neural Networks for Multistage Manufacturing Processes

The ability to gather manufacturing data from various workstations has been explored for several decades and the advances in sensory and data acquisition techniques have led to the increasing availability of high-dimensional data. This paper presents an intelligent metrology informatics system to extract useful information from Multistage Manufacturing Process (MMP) data and predict part quality characteristics such as true position and circularity using neural networks. The input data include the tempering temperature, material conditions, force and vibration while the output data include comparative coordinate measurements. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated using experimental data from a MMP.

Towards a sophisticated approach to cost oriented automation and intelligent metrology in the advanced manufacturing

Abstract The manufacturing industry faces currently and in the near future due to the information society, very important challenges. New data, network, automation, digital customer interfaces blow up the existing value chain. The production of nanoscale workpieces requires integration of a high level of quality in conformance with manufacturing processes and micro-/nanometrological assessment and evaluation. Nanotechnology is multidisciplinary in nature. Modern production metrology and its industrial application started on the basis of the scientific, technical and organisational work of E. Abbe, William Taylor and Frederick Winslow Taylor and at the end of the twentieth century – the “Quality Control Century” – the development has reached Nanotechnology and is proceeding to Pico- and Femto-technology. To meet high-level demands both from industrial and from private customers in the future, manufacturing enterprises must be flexible and agile enough to respond quickly to product demand changes also according technological developments especially in the field of precision engineering at micro, nano and pico scale production. With support of AI and modern IT, it is possible to realise modern cost-effective customer-driven design and manufacturing.

A Transformable Manufacturing Concept for Low-Volume Aerospace Assembly

This paper presents a vision for a transformable manufacturing system based on reconfigurable and adaptive intelligent technologies, anchored in the description of a real automation cell demonstrating the assembly of various aircraft structures. This production environment developed by the University of Nottingham is a new reconfigurable production environment for the complete manufacturing of high-accuracy high-complexity low-volume aerospace products. This agile reconfigurable cell can accommodate multiple product variants and families which ensures that the capital invested in fixturing is not tied to one application. By compressing the assembly of an aircraft wing structure into a single automated cell, the Future Automated Aircraft Assembly Demonstrator features a flexible, holistic, and context-aware solution that includes automated positioning, drilling, and fastening processes. The assembly cell is based on industrial robots for the handling of aircraft components while an intelligent metrology and control system monitors the cell and ensures that the operations carried out are safe and adhere to the tight tolerances required. These modules are integrated into a single, standardised interface requiring only one operator to control the cell. Performance analyses have shown that, using the reconfigurable production environment described hereafter, an assembly part location accuracy better than ±0.1 mm can be achieved.

Experimental And Theoretical Validation Method For Estimation Of Straightness Deviation And Associated Uncertainty In Cnc-Cmm Measurement

Abstract Geometrical deviation in intelligent metrology system is an important factor in precision engineering. Estimating the deviation and associated uncertainty in straightness feature remains a necessary requirement to ensure highly accurate metrology method especially in CNC-CMM measurement. Optimization in straightness measurement using soft algorithm techniques is a widely encountered solution in coordinate metrology. In this work, straightness deviation has been measured precisely in 2D and in 3D using slab surface by CNC-CMM at the Egyptian national metrology institute (NIS). The work has been investigated experimentally and theoretically analyzed. The straightness deviation and its uncertainty results from 2D measurement have been estimated experimentally. The straightness deviation result of the 3D discrete points measurements have been analyzed theoretically using the standard Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. The probability density distribution of the measured straightness was calculated using a Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) technique. A probability density histogram is obtained with an expanded measurement uncertainty based on coverage factor k equals 2 providing confidence level 95%. The computational results of straightness deviation and expanded uncertainty have been also estimated for 3D discrete point measurements. Comparison with relevant report showed agreement with our result since we used a computationally efficient modified SMC technique and PSO algorithm. The results of the straightness deviations and associated expanded uncertainties for both 2D and 3D measurements have been discussed and compared. They were found to be suitable for the proposed validation method. This work confirms that the developed strategic alternative methodology can be achieved successfully. Systematic acquisition of CNC-CMM data is another contributing factor for improving the required accuracy in measurement. Moreover, the confidence in the proposed hybrid validation method for estimating the straightness deviation with associated uncertainty has been achieved

A Model of Global Cooperation to Enable Intelligent Metrology Applications by Means of an Integrated Teleoperation System

Today’s advanced production industry faces challenges of increasing quality and competition requirements in the global market. The new aspects of cooperation between the production industry and metrology laboratories enable a development capacity providing an information highway and expertise exchange by accommodating rising demand of services. This paper proposes a novel approach to develop a global network on two different continents that will moreover be a model for the industry without any limits of location, time difference or facility.
 Due to the high cost of special infrastructure, equipment and expertise for production of complex components, this study also proposes a strategic approach to develop a remotely controlled high precision metrology system with high accuracy as well as with the smallest measurement uncertainties for the micro- and nanotechnologies and intelligent integrated management system applicable in advanced manufacturing industry. This will provide a roadmap for the industrial applications as well as in educational organizations with the developed and integrated low-cost telepresence and teleoperation system.

Trends in Precision Manufacturing Based on Intelligent Design and Advanced Metrology

ts of extreme importance in present time of worldwide international competition in industry and production engineering to safe time on the one hand and on the other keep an eye on increasingly higher costs of energy and raw materials. Comprehensive knowledge in the areas of market requirements, product and process development and design, intelligent metrology and end of life management are important presuppositions to achieve rapid, agile, waste free and cost-effective production of innovative, customized complex products using next-generation materials as well as to protect the environment by making zero emissions and improve environmental sustainability and reduce the use of energy by using intelligent manufacturing systems.

Intelligent Design and Metrology for Higher Quality, Accuracy and Improving Production Efficiency

Adequate knowledge in the areas of intelligent metrology and design are important presuppositions to achieve waste free production and low costs of manufacturing and accuracy at the same time within the sophisticated production systems. This is of extreme importance in present time of worldwide international competition in industry and production engineering and at the same time increasingly higher costs of energy and raw material. The prescription and consumption of material and energy to achieve the necessary and required workpiece accuracy in series manufacturing depends to a great extent from the (geometrical) workpiece tolerances of any kind (roughness, form, positional, dimensional) which are prescribed for the production and the fulfillment of these tolerances and therefore for the function of the produced workpieces and their fitness for practical application and none the less of the economy of production altogether. This requirement is of great importance at the time being which is characterized as described above.