Integrated Adaptive Knowledge Management Dashboard Platform for Thermal Spray Manufacturing

ABSTRACT: Thermal spray is an enabling manufacturing technology for aero-engines supporting both OEM and engine overhaul. Thermal spray manufacturing has many inherent complexities within each sub-process, including feedstock, component surface preparation and masking, process parameter selection, robot motion, plume trajectory, local coating deposition condition, and laboratory coating qualification. Each sub-process is governed by specifications that provide TS operators and engineers with procedural and parametric guidelines per application. However, these sub-processes are often disconnected in the manufacturing cycle and as such there is no unifying approach to collect data, establish process maps, visualize and interpret outcome of the deposited coating. Integrated, adaptive, knowledge management platform is proposed that will provide a real time activity dashboard of the various sub-processes through both user input and sensor information. The knowledge management system will connect the input/output among the sub-processes and incorporate process diagnostic information as well as laboratory test outcomes. The system will be adaptive to display historical patterns in the form of control charts and learn from the data to provide predictive capability in terms of success and failure. The Dashboard will be user configurable and modular allowing different displays based on end-user required functions (TS operators, engineers, lab technologist, and managers). BENEFIT: Successful development of the AF151-166 SBIR program will enable a framework for seamless implementation of Integrated Adaptive Knowledge Management Dashboard Platform to USAF and industrial Thermal Spray coating manufacturing process. This proposed knowledge management platform will benefit wide variety of personnel involved in TS manufacturing process. TS production operators will be able to rapidly diagnose any process hardware anomaly and provide appropriate corrective measures to meet the process specification. The process and repair development engineers can the process evolution within the context of preestablished maps and thus have higher confidence while providing witness coupon for lab quality control, shortening qualification duration. The knowledge management dashboard will facilitate decision making process for engineers who will have a readily available process and sensor output information as well as laboratory analysis. Coating quality control technologist will have improved communication capability with process engineers ensuring system wide reliability. Furthermore, Cognizant engineers and managers will have on-demand statistical assessment of process/coating repeatability, reproducibility, and reliability. Additionally, this Integrated Adaptive Knowledge Management Dashboard Platform can benefit both system OEMs and spray shops to facilitate existing specification update, rapid establishment of new specification, and production performance assessment (including cost analysis).