INTEGRATION OF MULTI-SPECTRAL SENSORS IN MODULAR, OPEN ARCHITECTURE CONTROLLERS FOR PRECISION ...

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSED PROGRAM WILL BE TO INVESTIGATE 1) RATIOS, SUMS AND DIFFERENCES; 2) FITTING DISCRIMINANTMODELS; AND 3) FITTING OTHER STATISTICAL AND ENGINEERING MODELS, FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ACTIVE, REAL TIME, TOOL WEAR MONITORING AND CONTROL SYSTEM. THE USE OF THE "ENERGY CONTENT" AND THE "FREQUENCY SPECTRUM" OF MULTIPLE SENSORS IS PROPOSED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADEQUATE PROCESS MODELS. THIS PROGRAM WILL ALSO PROVIDE A DETAILED SPECIFICATIONOF THE PROPOSED SOFTWARE PACKAGES - PRINCIPLES OF OPERATIONS, INTERFACES, INFORMATION MODELS AND COMMUNICATION FEATURES WITH THE MODULAR, OPEN ARCHITECTURE INTELLIGENT CONTOLLER FOR MACHINE TOOLS. THE FOCUS WILL BE ON ITS USE IN A LARGE SCALE METAL CUTTING ENVIRONMENT. A PLAN OR PROCESS FOR OBTAINING BETA RELEASE PART QUALITY WILL ALSO BE ADDRESSED. THE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM (PHASE II) WILL BE DIRECTED TOWARDS GAINING INSIGHT INTO THE REAL TIME, TOOL WEAR MONITORING SYSTEM; THE SOFTWARE ACHITAECTURE; AND THE COMMUNICATION FEATURES UTILIZING THE SPECIFICATIONS DEVELOPED IN PHASE I. THIS INSIGHT WILL BE USED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A RATIONALE FOR INTERFACING WITH A MINUMUM OF THREE METAL CUTTING MACHINE TOOLS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE CONTROLLERS. THE UNDERSTANDING OBTAINED DURING THIS PROGRAM WILL BE USED TO DEVELOP A USER MANUAL WHICH WILL CLEARLY DESCRIBE ANY EXTERNAL INTERFACES OR REQUIREMENTS, AND HOW TO LINK ADDITIONAL METAL CUTTING MACHINES TO THE OVERALL SYSTEM. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS/POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS - THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE PHASE I PROGRAM WILL LEAD TO THE EVOLUTION OF INNOVATIVE MULTI-SPECTRAL SENSOR INTEGRATION TECHNOLOGY FOR EFFICIENT AND PRODUCTIVE USE OF MACHINE TOOLS. ITS VALUE WILL HAVE A COMMERCIAL INTEREST TO CONTROL AND MACHINE TOOL BUILDERS.