Reactive Process Planning: Incorporating Machining, Inspection, and Feedback

Closed-Loop Manufacturing (CLM) techniques include machine tool self-checks, automated setups, tool measurement, in-process probing with process adjustment, on-machine final inspection, data collection and data analysis. All of these elements and more are utilized to collect data in a mostly automated fashion to subsequently correct and adjust undesired conditions that can affect part quality. Inspection process planning plays an essential part of CLM. As G&M codes that contains low-level information or vendor-specific bespoke routines is the primary programming language, inspection process planning is mostly isolated from machining process planning. With the development of new data model standards such as STEP and STEP-NC providing high-level product information for the entire manufacturing chain, it is conceivable that both machining and inspection process planning are considered hand-in-hand to generate optimal machining and inspection sequences with real-time measurement feedback for the CLM scenario. This paper introduces an reactive process planning system architecture that incorporates machining, inspection, and feedback. In order to provide real-time inspection feedback, On-Machine Measurement (OMM) is chosen to carry out inspection operations. Implementation of the proposed architecture has been partially carried out with newly developed data model and interpreter. A case study testified the feasibility of the proposed architecture.