SBIR Phase I: Integrating Electrical Discharge Non-Contact Measurement into Manufacturing Platforms for Precision On-Board Metrology

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目将开发一个微放电电路，在皮焦耳的能量水平，为制造平台作为自动化微计量系统。这将是一种非接触、非破坏性的计量过程，并具有传统的电火花加工小孔和去毛刺工艺的能力。加工微小零件的最大障碍之一是检测。传统上，零件从加工平台移除并由专用计量平台测量。当关键尺寸超出公差范围时，零件将在加工平台内更换，以进行额外的工作。然而，随着尺寸和公差减小到微米或更小，这些部件一旦被移除就不可能重新定位。然后这些零件被废弃，工艺被修改，并在其位置上制造新零件，这会花费时间，材料浪费和金钱。这一障碍将通过开发一种优雅而有效的原位计量过程来消除。此外，通过使用微细电火花加工电路的能力，传感器可以现场制造，成本很低，以测量任何加工形式。通过这项技术，在平台上加工的任何东西都可以在平台上进行测量和重新加工，而不会损失位置精度。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是具有微尺寸特征的小型化产品的进步和可靠性的提高。这些产品是医疗、汽车和航空航天工业中迅速发展的部门。例如，由微计量支持的微创医疗产品市场预计到2011年将成为190亿美元的行业。这些行业由微型制造商提供，微型制造商继续塑造它。随着这一市场的快速增长，更多的传统机器供应商也将设备引入微型制造市场。然而，在所有这些制造商中，微细电火花加工供应商凭借其非接触式、高纵横比和高精度的能力，处于独特的位置，可以为微型零件开发优雅的非接触式机载测量解决方案。微型制造公司已经与从医疗设备到消费品和政府/国防等领域的客户建立了完整的关系，实现了他们的原型设计和生产需求。这些关系将对消费产品产生直接影响，因为有效的微计量和微制造工具的集成将迅速投入使用。在传统的CNC系统上安装这项技术也将对宏观加工行业产生巨大的影响，因为它还将提高工艺质量，增加产量，减少操作时间和材料浪费。

This Small business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an on-board micro-electrical discharge circuit, at pico-Joule energy levels, for manufacturing platforms to act as automated micro-metrology system. This will be a non-contact, non-destructive metrology process as well as have traditional EDM capabilities for small holes and de-burring processes. One of the greatest obstacles in machining micro-parts is inspection. Conventionally, a part is removed from the machining platform and measured by a dedicated metrology platform. When a critical dimension is out of tolerance, the part is replaced within the machining platform for additional work. However, as dimensions and tolerances are reduced to microns and smaller, it is impossible for these parts to be re-positioned, once removed. These parts are then scrapped, the process is modified, and a new part is manufactured in its place, costing time, material waste, and money. This obstacle will be removed by this development of an elegant and effective in situ metrology process. Additionally, by using the abilities of the micro-EDM circuit, sensors can be manufactured on-site, at little cost, to measure any machined forms. With this technology, anything machined on the platform can be measured and re-machined on the platform without losing positional accuracies.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is the advancement and increased reliability of miniaturized products with micro-sized features. These products are a rapidly expanding sector of the medical, automotive, and aerospace industries. As an example, the minimally invasive medical products market, supported by micro-metrology, is predicted to be a $19 Billion industry by 2011. These industries are supplied by the micro-manufacturers that continue to shape it. As this market shows rapid growth, more conventional machine suppliers are also introducing equipment into the micro-manufacturing market. However, of all these manufacturers, micro-EDM suppliers, with their non-contact, high aspect ratio, and high precision capabilities, are uniquely situated to develop an elegant non-contact on-board metrology solution for micro-parts. Micro-manufacturing companies have formed integral relationships with customers in areas ranging from medical devices to consumer products and government/defense, realizing their prototyping and production needs. These relationships will mean an immediate impact on consumer products as the integration of effective micro-metrology and micro-manufacturing tools will be rapidly put to use. Mounting this technology on conventional CNC systems will also have a great impact on the macro-machining industry, as it will also improve process qualification, increase throughput, and reduce operator time and material waste.