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

受到光学和光子学被美国研究委员会和欧盟宣布为21世纪关键技术这一事实的启发，美国国家科学基金会（NSF）工程理事会已将光学器件与工程系统的集成确定为其前瞻性计划中的战略研究领域之一。为了解决这一具有挑战性的领域，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（如模具和切割工具）的金属结构中，从而在制造界实现一个名为“智能工具”的新领域。对于许多制造业和石油行业来说，获取生产工具的性能和寿命的现场信息是至关重要的。这一要求可以通过使用嵌入式传感器来解决，这将能够监测常规传感系统无法进入的位置的物理参数。智能金属工具的使用将提高制造过程的整体效率和准确性，从而提高生产率。

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.