Applications of Micro Sensors for Fundamental Study of Manufacturing Processes

Fundamental understanding of many multiscale manufacturing processes can be significantly improved with better sensing and instrumentation techniques. In light of the recent advances in micro senor technologies, this paper first reviews the recent research conducted at University of Wisconsin-Madison in developing methods to integrate micro thin film sensor into harsh environment manufacturing processes. The study demonstrates how thermomechanical data obtained with distributed micro sensors to improve the understanding of laser micromachining and mesoscale ultrasonic metal welding. The paper then presents the current study in an effort to extend the method to more manufacturing process, the feasibility of embedded micro sensors in metallic material using ultrasonic welding and diffusion bonding was investigated.