Automated Manufacturing Process Integrated with Intelligent Tooling Systems (AUTOMAN)

大型3D面板被用在汽车、火车、轮船和飞机的车身上，并用于建造内部和正面。北京奥运会鸟巢体育场提供了一个采用3D面板的高调建筑范例。大型3D面板的全球市场价值数十亿英镑，如果有成本效益和可持续的面板生产方法，这个市场可能会增长多种。英国公司每年投资数十亿英镑在专用工具上，以各种材料制造3D面板。生产这种面板所需的模具和模具制造起来非常耗时，涉及广泛的制造试验。工具通常与特定的部件相关联，当它们改变时，旧工具被丢弃或不得不拆卸然后存储。因此，与传统工具相关的报废材料、空间和时间浪费很高。这使得目前的面板生产技术对于小批量生产效率低下，而小批量生产是高价值产品(如跑车、船舶和飞机)制造中的典型做法。多点模具成形(MPDF)是麻省理工学院首创的一项技术，能够在不需要更换刀具的情况下修改模具表面以生成不同的零部件形状。MPDF涉及使用销钉矩阵来表示柴油表面。在成形操作之前，可以通过预先调整销的长度来改变这些长度。在现有的MPDF系统中设置管脚长度是一个费力的试错过程，因此这些系统不能随时重构。该项目将开发世界上第一个完全可重构的工具系统，具有过程中传感和自适应能力。这一先进的系统将包括驱动销，以便其长度可以在成形过程中自动调整，以实现对工艺的更精确控制。它将包括传感器和在线建模、计量和逆向工程，以确保生产准确和无缺陷的面板。这一新系统将用于冲压和拉伸作业，以及在装配过程中支持和定位柔性复合板。建议的系统将具有以下创新特征：-完全可编程性，在工具的过程中重新配置工具，以数字化地生成工具表面，并能够执行不同的成形操作；-支持重新配置的高级建模，以提高质量和安装效率；-在线计量，以提供关于实际零件几何的过程中的信息，考虑机床和工具的偏转和零件回弹；-回弹和偏转的补偿，以实现净成形制造；-确保零件完整性的措施，包括精确的几何形状、有限的残余应力和高质量的表面光洁度；-局部加热，以允许包括复合材料在内的各种材料的成形。项目中开发的可重构工具系统将显示出与当前技术相比的以下好处：-3D面板制造效率提高50%-100%；-面板制造成本节省80%以上；-在整个产品生命周期内节省30%-50%的材料和能源。该项目将在伯明翰大学的机械工程学院和冶金与材料学院、斯特拉斯克莱德大学的设计、制造和工程管理系以及三个工业合作伙伴的支持下进行，并得到高价值制造推进器和知识转移网络的支持。这一完整的链条连接了参与研究、设备设计和制造、知识转移和最终使用的组织，确保了工作的相关性以及成果的快速传播和利用。

Large 3D panels are used on the bodies of cars, trains, ships and aircraft and for building interiors and facades. TheBeijing Olympic Bird's Nest Stadium provides a high-profile example of a construction employing 3D panels. The worldmarket for large 3D panels is worth billions of pounds and could grow manifold if cost-effective and sustainable methods ofpanel production are available.UK companies invest billions of pounds annually in dedicated tooling to manufacture 3D panels in a variety of materials.The dies and moulds needed to produce such panels are time consuming to fabricate, involving extensive manufacturingtrials. Tools are normally associated with specific parts and, when they change, the old tools are discarded or have to bedismounted and then stored. Thus, there are high levels of scrapped material, space and time wastage associated withtraditional tools. This makes current panel production techniques inefficient for small-batch production which is typical inthe manufacture of high-value products (e.g. sports cars, ships and aircraft).Multi-Point Die Forming (MPDF) is a technology pioneered at MIT to enable die surfaces to be modified to generatedifferent component forms without requiring tool changes. MPDF involves using a matrix of pins to represent the diesurfaces. These can be varied before the forming operation by pre-adjusting the lengths of the pins. The setting of the pinlengths in existing MPDF systems is a laborious trial-and-error process and thus these systems are not readilyreconfigurable.This project will develop the world's first fully reconfigurable tooling system with in-process sensing and adaptationcapability. This advanced system will incorporate pins that are actuated so that their lengths can be automatically adjustedduring forming to enable more precise control of the process. It will include sensors and on-line modelling, metrology andreverse engineering to ensure the production of accurate and defect-free panels. This new system will be usable for pressstamping and stretch-drawing operations as well as supporting and locating flexible composite panels during assembly.The proposed system will have the following innovative features not found in prototypes developed to date:- full programmability, in the in-process reconfiguration of the tool to generate tool surfaces digitally and to enable differentforming operations to be carried out;- advanced modelling to support reconfiguration to increase quality and setup efficiency;- on-line metrology to provide in-process information on real part geometry, considering machine and tool deflection andpart spring back;- compensation of spring back and deflection to enable net-shape manufacturing;- measures for ensuring part integrity including accurate geometry, limited residual stresses and high quality surface finish;- localised heating to allow forming of various materials including composites.The reconfigurable tooling system developed in the project will demonstrate the following benefits compared to currenttechnology:- an increase in 3D panel manufacturing efficiency by 50%-100%;- panel manufacturing cost savings of over 80%;- overall material and energy savings of 30%-50% over the product life-cycle.This project will be carried out in the Schools of Mechanical Engineering and of Metallurgy and Materials at the Universityof Birmingham, the Department of Design, Manufacture & Engineering Management at the University of Strathclyde andthree industrial partners with the support of the High-Value Manufacturing Catapult and a Knowledge Transfer Network.This complete chain linking organisations involved in research, equipment design and manufacture, knowledge transferand end use ensures the relevance of the work and rapid dissemination and exploitation of the results.