The Light Controlled Factory

该项目将研究和开发新的和相互关联的测量使能技术，以实现高价值产品的“组装、集成和测试”(AIT)的下一代工厂。《光控工厂》这一标题反映了光学计量在未来工厂中的赋能作用。为了实现这一愿景，需要通过这项研究解决的科学和技术挑战包括：(A)未来的AIT工厂要求特定于产品的组装定制，最终调整每个部件的组装条件，同时确保组装的完整性和高工艺生产率。研究的挑战是：(I)开发使用准确的高频测量数据来实时控制零件的位置和方向的方法，以及(Ii)在不对零件和机器的空间保真度产生不利影响的情况下，将半精加工过程与装配(如加工)相结合。(B)在AIT工厂内，重力偏转和环境温度梯度对大型部件和工装结构的影响可能很大，并且大于装配公差。在这种情况下，主要的尺寸不确定性来源往往是环境对装配设备的部件和结构的影响。目前，工业没有强大的机制来确定环境不确定性来源的影响，当试图证明组装符合设计时，会在产品验证方面产生重大后果。(C)为了集成、实时控制和验证AIT工厂内的不同工艺，必须开发可扩展、负担得起的新型计量网络，这些网络可用于创建具有卓越工艺能力的启用测量的生产工艺，也可用于验证部件。研究挑战包括：来自多个系统的测量和不确定数据的实时融合，通过本地和大容量测量缓解环境影响，以及基于测量不确定度算法的通用网络设计原则的定义。该项目对英国很重要，因为根据TSB题为《英国高价值制造业未来的前景》的文件，所部署的技术涉及“系统建模和集成设计/模拟”的国家能力，并解决了“灵活和响应迅速的制造”战略主题。从战略上讲，这项建议符合EPSRC的制造未来主题。对EPSRC投资组合的审查表明，这一建议不同于以前和当前的研究。这项建议之所以及时，是因为它建立在三所大学最新研究的基础上，利用NPL的当前研究成果进行高精度、灵活的光学计量，并在大容量计量中使用最先进的供应商系统。所有这些因素的综合作用是，这项雄心勃勃的研究所需的基础知识、理解和技术现在已经到位，降低了研究风险。研究计划包括五个相互关联的研究主题(RTS)，这些主题将在整个补助金期限内进行。RTS与研究目标及其工作包相对应，其中包括交付成果和里程碑。

This project will investigate and develop novel and interlinked measurement-enabled technologies for realising the next generation of factories for the "Assembly, Integration and Test" (AIT) of high value products. The vision is for the widespread adoption and interlinked deployment of novel, measurement-based techniques in factories, to provide machines and parts with aspects of temporal, spatial and dimensional self-awareness, enabling superior machine control and parts verification. The title "Light Controlled Factory" reflects the enabling role of optical metrology in future factories. The scientific and technological challenges that would need to be addressed via this research to realise this vision include:(a) Future AIT factories require product specific customisation of assembly, ultimately adapting the condition of assembly for each part, whilst ensuring assembly integrity and high process yield. The research challenges are; (i) to develop methods using accurate high frequency measurement data to control the position and orientation of parts in real-time, and (ii) to integrate semi-finishing processes with assembly, such as machining, without adversely impacting the spatial fidelity of parts and machines. (b) Within AIT factories, the effect of gravitational deflection and the impact of the environmental thermal gradient on large components and tooling structures can be significant and larger than the assembly tolerances. In such cases the dominant dimensional uncertainty source is often the effect of the environment on the parts and the structure of assembly equipment. Currently, industry has no robust mechanisms for identifying the impact of environmental uncertainty sources when seeking to demonstrate assembly conformance to design, with major consequences in terms of product verification. (c) In order to integrate, control in real time and verify heterogeneous processes within an AIT factory it is essential to develop novel metrology networks that are scalable, affordable and can be used to create measurement-enabled production processes of superior process capability, and also to verify parts. The research challenges include; the real time fusion of measurement and uncertainty data from multiple systems, the mitigation of environmental effects through local and large volume measurement, and the definition of generic network design principles underpinned by algorithms for measurement uncertainty.The project is important to the UK as the technologies deployed relate to the "systems modelling and integrated design/simulation" national competency and address the "flexible and responsive manufacturing" strategic theme according to TSB's document entitled 'A Landscape for the Future of High Value Manufacturing in the UK'. Strategically this proposal fits into the Manufacturing the Future theme of EPSRC. The review of the EPSRC portfolio reveals that this proposal is distinct from previous and current research. The timeliness of the proposal is due to its building on the latest research of the three Universities, utilising current research from NPL into high-accuracy, flexible optical metrology and making use of state of the art vendor systems in large volume metrology. The combined effect of all these factors is that the underpinning knowledge, understanding and technologies required for this ambitious research are now in place, reducing research risk. Moreover, the project is timely in satisfying the industrial needs for better factory "ramp-up" flexibility and 100% product compliance with specifications at zero or minimum extra cost for high value products due to increasingly demanding customers and safety legislators. The Research Programme comprises five interrelated Research Topics (RTs) that will be carried out throughout the duration of the Grant. The RTs correspond to the research objectives and their work packages that include deliverables and milestones.