Diagnostic method for manufacturing processes
First Claim
1. A method for diagnosing a cause of deviation from an intended form in a workpiece produced by a manufacturing process, in which at least one form is defined for the workpiece and manufacturing equipment acts upon the workpiece according to the manufacturing process to impart the form, the method comprising the steps of:
- defining a plurality of measurements for the workpiece, each relative to a respective reference datum;
taking the defined measurements for the workpiece;
generating a record of the measurements;
comparing the recorded measurements for each workpiece; and
inferring from the comparison of the measurements the existence of an alert condition associated with the action of the manufacturing equipment on the workpiece, wherein the measurements correspond to a hierarchic set of forms characterizing the workpiece, each form corresponding to an action of the manufacturing equipment, wherein the hierarchic set of forms comprises two categories;
a first category of forms characterizing the shape of a portion of the workpiece, and a second category of forms characterizing sets of portions of the workpiece.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method for use in a system for diagnosing the causes of manufacturing defects involves process characterization. A set of forms is identified for a workpiece and for a piece of manufacturing equipment that acts upon the workpiece. The forms for the workpiece are preferably a hierarchic set of geometric forms. Each such geometric form corresponds to an aspect of the action of the manufacturing equipment upon the workpiece. A plurality of measurements is made on a defective workpiece following the hierarchical order of forms. The measurements are compared to a reference datum, and a deviation from the datum is computed. If the deviation exceeds a preselected threshold, an alert condition results, attributable to the action of the manufacturing equipment. Targeted adjustment corresponding to the action that caused the defect can then be made to the equipment.
18 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method for diagnosing a cause of deviation from an intended form in a workpiece produced by a manufacturing process, in which at least one form is defined for the workpiece and manufacturing equipment acts upon the workpiece according to the manufacturing process to impart the form, the method comprising the steps of:
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defining a plurality of measurements for the workpiece, each relative to a respective reference datum;
taking the defined measurements for the workpiece;
generating a record of the measurements;
comparing the recorded measurements for each workpiece; and
inferring from the comparison of the measurements the existence of an alert condition associated with the action of the manufacturing equipment on the workpiece, wherein the measurements correspond to a hierarchic set of forms characterizing the workpiece, each form corresponding to an action of the manufacturing equipment, wherein the hierarchic set of forms comprises two categories;
a first category of forms characterizing the shape of a portion of the workpiece, and a second category of forms characterizing sets of portions of the workpiece. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method for identifying evidence of deviation from specification in a workpiece produced by a manufacturing process, the manufacturing process being performed by respective manufacturing equipment, the method comprising the steps of:
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identifying a set of repeated portions of the workpiece, each instance of a repeated portion having a form, the form of one instance of a repeated portion being substantially similar to the form of the other instances;
for each instance of the repeated portion, making a set of measurements of the reproducible part relative to a respective reference datum;
comparing each set of measurements to a respective target range of values; and
based on the comparison, inferring the existence of evidence of deviation from specification, wherein the measurements relate to a hierarchic set of forms characterizing the workpiece, each form corresponding to an action of the manufacturing equipment. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for assessing a condition of a workpiece acted upon by manufacturing equipment, comprising the steps of:
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identifying a set of forms, each form corresponding to an aspect of the action of the manufacturing equipment upon the workpiece;
for each form, making a plurality of measurements;
for each plurality of measurements, computing a respective deviation from a corresponding datum;
defining a deviation threshold; and
if a computed deviation exceeds the deviation threshold, inferring the existence of the condition attributable to the action of the manufacturing equipment on the workpiece associated with action corresponding to the form for which the deviation exceeds the threshold, wherein the set of forms comprises two categories;
a first category of forms that characterizes a geometric element of a portion of the workpiece, and a second category of forms that characterizes differences between workpieces. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for detecting deviations from an intended form in a mechanical part, the deviations based upon computed differences between measured geometric properties with respect to a reference datum and defined threshold values, the deviations from an intended form caused by a machine tool operating on the mechanical part, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. identifying a hierarchic set of geometric forms characterizing the mechanical part, each form corresponding to an action of the machine tool on the part;
b. categorizing the geometric forms from a lowest order to a highest order;
c. making a plurality of measurements corresponding to the lowest order form, each plurality of measurements made relative to a reference datum;
d. computing deviations based on differences between the plurality of measurements and the reference datum;
e. comparing the deviations with respective threshold values, the deviations exceeding threshold values indicating an alert condition; and
f. if an alert condition is present, inferring a deviation from the intended form, wherein the hierarchic set of geometric forms comprises two categories;
a first category of forms characterizing the shape of a portion of a workpiece forming the mechanical part, and a second category of forms characterizing one or more portions of the workpiece, wherein the second category of geometric forms comprises a surface defined by forms selected from the first category of shapes. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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25. A method for detecting deviations from an intended form in a mechanical part, the deviations based upon computed differences between measured geometric properties with respect to a reference datum and defined threshold values, the deviations from an intended form caused by a machine tool operating on the mechanical part, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. identifying a hierarchic set of geometric forms characterizing the mechanical part, each form corresponding to an action of the machine tool on the part;
b. categorizing the geometric forms from a lowest order to a highest order;
c. making a plurality of measurements corresponding to the lowest order form, each plurality of measurements made relative to a reference datum;
d. computing deviations based on differences between the plurality of measurements and the reference datum;
e. comparing the deviations with respective threshold values, the deviations exceeding threshold values indicating an alert condition; and
f. if an alert condition is present, inferring a deviation from the intended form, wherein the step of checking for an alert condition is performed by plotting the plurality of measurements on a geometric deviation chart. - View Dependent Claims (26)
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Specification