Smart tools: laser macro/micro fabrication strategies for embedding fiber optic sensors within heterogeneous metallic structures

由于光学和光子学已被美国研究理事会和欧盟宣布为21世纪的关键技术，美国国家科学基金会(NSF)工程局已将光学设备与工程系统的集成确定为其富有远见的计划中的战略研究领域之一。为了解决这一具有挑战性的感兴趣的领域，该项目旨在通过开发一种嵌入工艺，将光学传感器集成到各种制造设备(如模具和刀具)的金属结构中，从而在制造业中实现一个名为“智能工具”的新领域。需要获得有关生产工具性能和寿命的现场信息，这对许多制造业和石油业至关重要。这一要求可以通过使用嵌入式传感器来满足，这将使常规传感系统无法到达的位置能够监测物理参数。智能金属工具的使用将提高制造过程的整体效率和精度，进而提高生产率。

Inspired by the fact that optics and photonics have been declared as key technologies for the 21st century by both the American Research Council and the European Union, the Engineering Directorate of the US National Science Foundation (NSF) has identified the integration of optical devices with engineering systems as one of the strategic research areas in its visionary plans. To address this challenging area of interest, this project aims to realize a new area in the manufacturing community called "Smart Tools", through the development of an embedding process to integrate optical sensors within metallic structures of a variety of manufacturing devices such as dies and cutting tools. The need to obtain in-situ information on the performance and lifetime of production tools is of prime importance to many manufacturing and oil industries. This requirement can be addressed through the use of embedded sensors, which will enable the monitoring of physical parameters at locations inaccessible by regular sensing systems. The use of smart metal tools will improve the overall efficiency and accuracy of the manufacturing process, which will, in turn, increase productivity.