An automated apparatus for dynamic inspection of mass‐produced custom parts

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -Quality control and part inspection add no monetary value to a product, yet are essential processes for manufacturers who want to maintain product quality. Mass-produced custom parts require processes that are able to perform high frequency of inspection, whilst providing rapid response to unanticipated changes in parameters such as throughputs, dimensions and tolerances. Frequent inspection of these parts significantly impacts inspection times involved. A method of reducing the impact of high-frequency inspection on production rates is needed. This paper addresses these issues. Design/methodology/approach -This paper involves the research, design, construction, assembly and implementation of an automated apparatus, used for the visual inspection of moving custom parts. Inspection occurred at user-defined regions of interest (ROIs). Mechatronic Engineering principles are used to integrate sensor articulation, image acquisition and image-processing systems. The apparatus is tested in a computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) cell for quantifying results.Findings -Specified production rates are maintained whilst performing high frequencies of inspection, without stoppage of parts along the production line.Research limitations/implications -The limitations of these results lie in the fact that they are suited only to the speed of the CIM cell. Higher inspection rates may be achieved, and changes in the design may be required in order to make the apparatus more suitable to industrial applications. Practical implications -The paper shows that it is possible to maintain high standards of quality control without significantly affecting production rates. Originality/value -Current research does not focus on maintaining production rates whilst inspecting custom parts. The use of ROI inspection for moving custom parts is a relatively new concept.

Fuzzy Logic Control for Varied Inspection

“…Recent research is focused on reducing inspection to aid production needs. Frequent inspection impedes production rates [8]. Davrajh and Bright [8] developed a method of high inspection frequency without affecting production rates, as inspection was only performed on important areas of the product as prescribed by the customer.…”

“…Frequent inspection impedes production rates [8]. Davrajh and Bright [8] developed a method of high inspection frequency without affecting production rates, as inspection was only performed on important areas of the product as prescribed by the customer. Similar research to this was performed by He and Chang [9], where inspection was focused on product key quality characteristics (PKQCs), as these characteristics held the most value in the product.…”

Modular Research Equipment for on-Line Inspection in Advanced Manufacturing Systems

“…It was suggested by Davrajh & Bright [13] that it was possible to defend a production rate while performing high frequencies of inspection by inspecting only significant regions of interest (ROIs) on moving parts. Parts were classified according to the shape of their volumes, and ROIs were predefined by the user.…”

“…The concepts of classifying part families [19] into rectangular and cylindrical volumes, as well as the inspection of ROIs on moving parts, were adapted from previous research [13]. The implementation of modular hardware was identified as the best strategy for varying products.…”

“…Traditional quality tools are insufficient to cope with modern quality requirements characterised by variations in significant quality characteristics, low-volume production, high levels of automation, and often unique inspection requirements [4,[10][11][12]. Coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) are not suitable for high volume production, and inspection equipment used in DMSs is often too rigid for modern inspection requirements [13]. Quality control for manufacturing environments that perform mass production with high levels of customisation needs to be researched further [5,6,12].…”