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Industry 4.0: inline metrology on the up
Frankfurt am Main, 17th December 2015. – Machine to machine, or M2M
for short, is the magic spell for the factory of tomorrow. Only when
machines can communicate with other machines without any
problems will the vision of Industry 4.0 come true. But for this to work,
inline metrology, integrated into the production process, is essential.
Experts from the academic community and the industrial sector will be
showcasing the current state of the art at the METAV in Düsseldorf from
23 to 27 February 2016.
The metrological units involved include bar, Hz, µm, kW, m/min, kN, rad
or rpm. That’s just a small excerpt from the list of measured variables
that describe the ongoing process status of a production operation.
Only when these data are continuously available in real-time can a
stable production process be implemented. The focus here is on
achieving full coverage with the as-yet-incomplete control circuits. One
important technical tool for this purpose is inline metrology, integrated
into the production process. “Production metrology provides the
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foundations for imaging the real factory world,” explains Walter
Kimmelmann, who heads the Model-Based Systems Department at the
Faculty for Production Metrology and Quality Management of the
Machine Tool Laboratory at RWTH in Aachen University. “With the data
thus acquired and evaluated, the ideal operating points can be
determined and optimised in a model world, and then serve as
manipulated variables for controlling the real production world,” to
quote the expert.
Metrology: ten times better than the tolerance
For this job profile, very sturdy and durable sensor technology is
needed, which can always be relied upon to function dependably
round the clock in a machine tool even under what are sometimes very
harsh environmental conditions. “The golden rule of metrology applies
here,” emphasises Walter Kimmelmann. “It has to be better than the
anticipated tolerance by a factor of 10.” After all, the production staff
can only intervene sensibly in the process if they’re getting soundly
based, dependable measured data.
But how can a thoroughbred machine tool be transformed into a valid
measuring system? “The advantage of using a classical three- or fiveaxis system for measuring purposes is that it has the same kinematics as
a coordinate measuring machine,” comments Machine Tool
Laboratory Group Leader Martin Peterek. “This means that similar
procedures and guidelines can be used. The aim is to determine a
measuring uncertainty for the measuring process, because it’s only by
specifying a measuring uncertainty that the measurements will supply a
usable statement.” However, it must be remembered that the machine
tool and in particular the workplace environment possess some
characteristics that are metrologically disadvantageous. Requirements
include precise knowledge of the geometrical errors and behaviours
encountered during machining and measuring, so as to compensate
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for disturbance variables with fit-for-purpose metrological equipment
and software. To quote Martin Peterek: “Anyone planning to upgrade
to a measuring machine should accordingly involve us at a very early
stage. This is essential in order to obtain a machine that provides
feedback featuring a significantly reduced degree of measuring
uncertainty. The requisite steps involved, from mapping out the
measuring strategy to determining the measuring uncertainty, are
supported by a software package developed in-house. This enables
the user to give other machines a measuring capability as well. The
acquisition, processing and forwarding of the data concerned are
accordingly crucial to the success of the metrological operations
integrated into the process. Only when the measured data and thus
the information on the product and the process are available can they
be utilised for purposes of process control.”
“If a manufacturer takes advice from metrological experts like us at an
early stage, he will get a machine tool that not only gives more
accurate measurements but also produces more precisely machined
parts,” adds Walter Kimmelmann. “Robots, by the way, can also be
used as dedicated measuring machines. We utilise robots in
conjunction with cameras and laser scanners for digitising unknown
contours of large, complex components, for example.”
Laser-based metrology has proved its worth
In recent years, laser-based measuring systems have proved their worth
in Aachen, since they exert only a slight influence on the manufacturing
process. Other processes, such as inclination scales, are also options,
but have to be permanently installed in the machine. “We opt almost
entirely for light-based technologies, rooted in modern-day coordinate
measuring equipment,” says Martin Peterek. “Optics are going to
increasingly displace tactile processes, since you obtain significantly
more information in a shorter time.” The possibilities opened up by
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optical metrology in interaction with the industrial sector are
demonstrated by a robot cell for assembling truck drivers’ cabs. To
quote Walter Kimmelmann: “An external, mobile coordinate measuring
system on an optical basis acquires the location of the truck cab on an
assembly line, and the entire surroundings in six degrees of freedom, so
that the robot “knows” how and where, for example, it fits a windscreen
to an accuracy of 100 to 200 µm.”
Despite these developments, the external measuring room is not passé.
“I am confident that it will continue to have its justified place, since
some things cannot be measured with the requisite precision, even with
specialised machine tools,” says Martin Peterek. “For complex tasks with
stringent requirements for accuracy, the enclosed measuring room with
temperature compensation will accordingly still be a viable option – in
approval processes, for example.”
It’s not only because of the multitudinous questions themed around
production metrology that the two experts think a Quality Area at the
METAV 2016 is a good idea. The Group Leader interprets it as a
significant upgrading in the perceived importance of his specialism,
since “we basically have the appropriate metrological equipment for
machine tools, robotics, and a vast majority of automation solutions”.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Robert Schmitt, who heads the Faculty of Production
Metrology and Quality Management, and is Director of the German
Society for Quality (DGQ) sees the Quality Area not least as an
opportunity “to break down the functional-organisational walls
between the production and metrological specialisms”.
February 2016: a good moment for new trade fair approaches
“The moment is well chosen for breaking new ground with the METAV in
February 2016 – a few months after the EMO in Milan,” opines Ulrich
Löhr, Managing Director of m&h Inprocess Messtechnik GmbH from
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Waldburg. “We are confident that the Quality Area will prove highly
invigorating, and together with our partners Edgecam and Work NC will
under the logo of Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence be showcasing
production and metrology solutions directly on the machine tool.”
m&h will at the METAV be exhibiting probes and software, enabling
“the most direct form of inline metrology” to be implemented. “Our
technology is used in the machine in which it also measures data
directly in the process,” explains Ulrich Löhr. “An important role is played
by the CAD-based program 3D Form Inspect, which reads in the user’s
3D CAD model.” Thanks to the software, control geometries plus shapes
on all sides can be quickly and easily measured and recorded directly
on the machine tool.
The software transfers all defined measuring points to the machine’s
control system. On the machine itself, a direct target-actual
comparison is performed, in which the component concerned is
measured in its clamped state. “Our patented calibration strategy
enables us to achieve precise measurements in 3-axis and 5-axis
machine tools,” says the Managing Director. “This means we can
measure inside the machine’s positioning accuracy.” For this purpose,
the software acquires kinematic changes, different axis behaviours like
tracking errors and thermal shifts in the workroom. All these factors are
taken into due account by 3D Form Inspect, which compensates for
them automatically during the measuring operation.
Further processing on all levels and axes
To also enable machine operators to handle complex measuring jobs
quickly and easily without any prior knowledge of programming, 3D
Form Inspect can be operated intuitively. For this purpose, they simply
specify the measuring points with a mouse-click, whereupon these are
transferred automatically to the control system. The measurements and
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the log correspond to the actual state of the component concerned in
regard to the machining zero point. Thanks to a special software
function, a log can be created that corresponds to that of a
coordinate measuring instrument. Within the machining operation, the
component can, with the aid of the “best-fit” option, be completely realigned and further machined at any time on all levels and axes.
Whereas previously the software was used primarily in tool and mould
construction, nowadays, according to m&h, it’s deployed in numerous
branches of industry, by automakers, the energy sector, all the way
through to the aerospace industry. One of the benefits, says Ulrich Löhr,
is using it with complex component shapes, without any straight
reference surfaces, which otherwise can be clamped and aligned only
in an elaborate procedure. An important role is also played by the
hardware, where the company is proud of the “smallest infrared probe
on the market”, which thanks to a tiny diameter of just 25 mm can also
be used in extremely small high-precision machine tools, in the
watchmaking or medical technology sectors, for example.
Another advantage cited by Ulrich Löhr is the versatility of the
evaluation function. To quote the Managing Director: “Some users send
the measurement reports for each individual component directly to
their customers. Others use the program for no longer measuring every
component on the coordinate measuring instrument, which now
checks only random samples.”
Author: Nikolaus Fecht, specialist journalist from Gelsenkirchen
Number of characters including blanks: 10 219
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Background
Faculty for Production Metrology and Quality Management, RWTH Aachen University
The Faculty for Production Metrology and Quality Management at the Machine Tool
Laboratory of RWTH Aachen University performs research and teaching in the following
core specialisms: development and optimisation of measuring processes and
instruments, production-integrated metrology and close-to-machine quality control
circuits, quality management systems, knowledge, innovation and improvement
management, plus methods and computer support for quality management.
Further information under: www.wzl.rwth-aachen.de/de/mq_lehre.htm
m&h inprocess messtechnik GmbH, Waldburg
The subsidiary of Hexagon Metrology Services Ltd. from Cobham in the UK produces
probes that measure workpieces on milling machines, machining centres, lathes,
turning and milling centres, grinding machines, specialised machines and robots. They
can be used not only for aligning workpieces in small batches and in medium to largeseries manufacturing operations, but also for inspecting geometries directly in the
machine. Turnover (Hexagon) 2014: 2.6 billion euros; employees (Hexagon) 2014: 14,864.
Further information under: www.mh-inprocess.com
METAV 2016 in Düsseldorf
The METAV 2016 – the 19th International Exhibition for Metalworking Technologies – will
be held in Düsseldorf from 23 to 27 February. It showcases the entire spectrum of
production technology. The principal focuses are machine tools, production systems,
high-precision tools, automated material flows, computer technology, industrial
electronics, and accessories, complemented by the new themes of Moulding, Medical,
Additive Manufacturing and Quality, which are now permanently anchored in what
are called “areas” with their own nomenclature in the METAV’s exhibition programme.
The METAV’s target group for visitors includes all branches of industry that work metal,
particularly machinery and plant manufacturers, the automotive industry and its
component suppliers, aerospace, the electrical engineering industry, energy and
medical technologies, tool and mould-making, plus metalworking and the craft sector.
Quality Area at the METAV 2016
Methods for quality assurance are developing at a rapid pace, belong in every
manufacturing process, and are therefore of interest to all production experts. One of
the crucial elements for quality is modern-day metrology. Users are demanding
progressively shorter measuring times, which is why more and more functions are being
integrated into the individual machines. In addition, consistent processing of the
measured results during the course of machine monitoring and process control is
gaining steadily in perceived importance. Industry 4.0 is now being complemented by
Quality 4.0. The Quality Area is ideally intermeshed in the keynote topics addressed by
the METAV, and the declared aim of ensuring high standards of quality throughout all
phases of the production process. It showcases the entire bandwidth of measuring and
testing technology, plus QM and analytical systems..
Further information under: www.metav.de
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Your contact persons
VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association)
Sylke Becker
Press and Public Relations
Corneliusstrasse 4
60325 Frankfurt am Main
GERMANY
Tel. +49 69 756081-33
s.becker@vdw.de
www.vdw.de
m&h inprocess messtechnik GmbH
Karl-Heinz Helfrich
Marketing
Am Langholz 11
88289 Waldburg
GERMANY
Tel. +49 7529 97330
karl-heinz.helfrich@hexagonmetrology.com
www. hexagonmetrology.com
Machine Tool Laboratory (WZL) of RWTH Aachen
Reinhard Freudenberg
Press and Public Relations
Steinbachstr. 19
52074 Aachen
GERMANY
Tel. +49 241 80-27614
r.freudenberg@wzl.rwth-aachen.de
www.wzl.rwth-aachen.de
Press Agency Dipl.-Ing. Nikolaus Fecht
Technical texts à la carte – when words fail you
Nikolaus Fecht
Husemannstrasse 29
45879 Gelsenkirchen
GERMANY
Tel. +49 209 26575
nikofecht@erzfreunde.de
You will find texts and pictures on the internet under www.metav.de in Press Service. You
can also visit the METAV through our social media channels:
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https://de.industryarena.com/metav