ME 240

Manufacturing
Measurement & Inspection

Lehigh University ___________________________________________________ Mechanical

1. Lab Week 2
Report to CAD Lab.
Turn in Week 1 Tutorial drawings
Make measurements on Air Engine components (student shop) &
start solid modeling (CAD Lab).
Completely dimensioned engineering drawings plus assembly due
at beginning of lab week 3 meeting. Save all SW files to H:\ Drive

2. Project
Submit your Team Roster via Course Site Feedback by Wednesday
2/8 (first come, first served on 3 person teams).
Teams of 4. (32 Teams max.)
Kick-off meeting at Broughal Middle School probably WED 2/15.
 Measurement and Inspection
Measurement

Comparison of an unknown quantity relative to

a known standard

Inspection

Examination to determine conformance with

design specifications

Gauging

Qualitative determination of whether a part is

acceptable or not (go/no go)
Metrology

The science of measurement

Concerned with six fundamental quantities:

Length
Mass
Time
Electric current
Temperature
Light radiation
Metrology (continued)

From these basic quantities, most other physical quantities

are derived, such as:

Area
Volume
Velocity and Acceleration
Force
Electric voltage
Heat energy
 Manufacturing Metrology

The measurement of length as it is relevant to a part or product

Length and Width

Depth
Diameter
Straightness, Flatness, and Roundness, etc.
Surface roughness
Metrology: Tolerances

Typical Tolerance
Limits
(by Mfrg Process)

Worse

Better

Groover, M., Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing,, 1996

Metrology: Tolerances

Typical Tolerance
Limits
(by Mfrg Process)

Cheaper

Expensive

Groover, M., Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing,, 1996

Metrology Challenges

Example: Large Scale Metrology Airbus A-400M Transport

http://www.builditsoftware.com/files/buildit-success_airbus.pdf
Metrology Challenges

Example: Small Scale Metrology Atomic Force Microscopy

Nanotube tipped AFM probe

 Accuracy
Degree of agreement with the true value

Precision
Degree of repeatability

Accurate Precise Accurate & Neither

Precise Accurate
nor Precise
 Resolution (Sensitivity)

Smallest variation in a quantity that can be detected

by a particular measuring instrument

e.g. 0.001 for a caliper

Rule of
10 Resolution of a measuring device should
be at least 10 times smaller than the
resolution required for the measurement.

e.g. a caliper (resolution 0.001 )

appropriate for accuracy to 0.01

 Calibration

Procedure by which a measuring instrument is compared

against a known standard

Stability

Capability of an instrument to retain its calibration

Drift

Tendency of a device to gradually lose its accuracy/calibration

 Calibration

Procedure by which a measuring instrument is compared

against a known standard
Calibration curve
A = f (B)
A
time
Stability B
Capability of an instrument to retain its calibration

Drift

Tendency of a device to gradually lose its accuracy/calibration

Systematic Error

+/- variation (errors)

- are consistent from measurement to measurement

May be precise, but not necessarily accurate

Note: High Accuracy Low Systematic Error

Random Error

- Usually due to human error, temperature change, wear,

etc.

- Usually follows a normal distribution

(distributed around a mean or average value)

Note: High Precision Low Random Error

Normal Typical Bell
Distribution Curve

Two important descriptive statistics...

Mean
Probability
N

= x i

N
Average

Standard Deviation
N

(xi - )2
= Value (x)
N
Spread 66% of all values
 -3 +3

99.73% of data is within

3
For a given part measurement: where should nominal and value & tolerance band be??

-3 +3

99.73% of data is within

3
For a given part measurement: where should nominal and value & tolerance band be??
Nominal- Nominal Nominal+

-3 +3

Want part tolerances broader than sample

+
/- n
 Nominal
Nominal- Nominal+

-3 +3

Otherwise you can expect to make

garbage
Accurate Precise Accurate & Neither
Precise Accurate
nor Precise
 Inspection by Variables
(quantitative)
Actual values of key dimensions are measured
Record of manufacturing process--good for SPC
(Statistical Process Control)
 Inspection by Variables
(quantitative)
Actual values of key dimensions are measured
Record of manufacturing process--good for SPC
(Statistical Process Control)
Inspection by Attributes
(qualitative)
Pass/Fail
No record of actual dimension--not as good for SPC
Quicker & cheaper
 Inspection by Variables
(quantitative)
Actual values of key dimensions are measured
Record of manufacturing process--good for SPC
(Statistical Process Control)
Inspection by Attributes
(qualitative)
Pass/Fail
No record of actual dimension--not as good for SPC
Quicker & cheaper

Contact or Non-Contact
Contact - most common, requires orientation
Non-contact - faster, less handling, avoids damage
Manual Inspection

Boring & monotonous

Time consuming

TWO OPTIONS:

- Sampling inspection OR

- 100% inspection
 Sampling Inspection

Typically perform representative (statistical) sampling

in most cases <1% of parts actually inspected

- by time (e.g., hourly, each shift)

- or by throughput (e.g., every 100 parts)

risk that defective parts will get through

trade-off between 100% assurance and cost

100% Inspection

Has its benefits & drawbacks...

every single part is checked--only good parts pass

expense of inspection added to every part

human error is bound to occur

100% Inspection

Has its benefits & drawbacks...

every single part is checked--only good parts pass

expense of inspection added to every part

human error is bound to occur

100% inspection using manual methods

is no guarantee of 100% good quality product
 Standard Measuring
Tools
 GO/ NO GO
Gauges

Upper Bound
Lower Bound
Advanced Measurement and Inspection Technologies

Modern alternative for manual measuring and gauging

techniques

Include contact and noncontact sensing methods:

- Coordinate measuring machines
- Laser scanning
- Machine vision
- Other noncontact techniques
Levels of Automated Inspection

1. Automatic handling/human inspection

2. Manual Loading into automatic inspection equipment

3. Automatic handling/automatic inspection

Levels of Automated Inspection

1. Automatic handling/human inspection

2. Manual Loading into automatic inspection equipment

3. Automatic handling/automatic inspection

On-line or Off-line
Levels of Automated Inspection

1. Automatic handling/human inspection

2. Manual Loading into automatic inspection equipment

3. Automatic handling/automatic inspection

With or without feedback

 Coordinate Measuring Machine

Measurements performed
under manual or computer
control

Consists of contact probe &

3-D positioning mechanism

Workpart is fixtured to work-

table

Location coordinates of probe

are recorded as it contacts
part surfaces
 Coordinate Measuring Machine

Electrical touch trigger

probe senses probe
deflection

Some use ultrasonic

detection (non-contact)
 Coordinate Measuring Machine

Advantages over manual

measurements:

- can perform more

complex
measurements
- higher productivity

- inherently more accurate

- reduced human error

 Laser Measurement

Low powered gas lasers

Scanning system
- light sweeps past object D

- time that light is

interrupted
by object is converted to a
linear measurement
Applications
- wire
extrusion
- steel rolling
- grinding
Laser Measurement

Sensors
Laser Triangulation

- light shines on object

from know angle, A
- light spot is sensed by
detector located known
distance (H)above work
plane

- part surface must be

reflective, since spot is
determined by re-
radiated light Sensor distance from laser

Part thickness D = H - R = H - L cot(A)

Fixed sensor height
Machine Vision

- Acquisition, processing, and interpretation of image data by

computer

- 2-D system views the scene as a plane

Uses:
-dimensional measuring and gauging;
-verifying presence of components;
-checking for features on a flat surface.

- 3-D vision systems are required where contours or shapes are

involved

- The majority of current applications are 2-D

Machine Vision
Camera used to capture picture
of part
Picture digitized into pixels
- binary
- gray
scale
Image analyzed using edge detection or feature
recognition

http://www.pptvision.com/
Machine Vision

Original image Binary digitizing of Binary

image representation
Image Processing and Analysis

The data for each frame must be analyzed within one scan
(1/30 or 1/25 s)
Analysis of image data:
-Edge detection
- location of boundaries of an object
- identification of contrast in light intensity between
adjacent pixels at borders

-Feature extraction
- determination of feature values of an image,
eg. area, length, diameter, and perimeter
Interpretation of Processed Image

Recognition of an object in 2-D --- How?

Identification by comparison with a predefined model or

standard

- Accomplished using extracted features

-Template Matching

-Comparison of one or more features of an image

with corresponding features of a model (template)
stored in computer memory
Machine Vision
Example of commercial
software

http://www.ds-gmbh.com
Machine Vision

Some Video Examples:

- Animation of Bottle Inspection

- High Speed Cup Inspection

- Pharma Blister Pack Animation

http://www.ds-gmbh.com