Method for processing semi-finished product, processing device, computer program and computer-readable storage medium

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for machining semi-finished products, in which at least one first of the semi-finished products is subjected to at least one machining process, in which the first semi-finished product is machined (step S1). According to the invention, the first semi-finished product is pre-evaluated, which is carried out before the machining process, in which pre-evaluation at least one first characteristic value is determined for the first semi-finished product, said first characteristic value characterizing at least one semi-finished product characteristic of the first semi-finished product (step S2). The first semi-finished product is re-evaluated, which is carried out after the machining process, in which re-evaluation at least one second characteristic value is determined for the machined first semi-finished product, said second characteristic value characterizing at least one machining characteristic of the machined first semi-finished product (step S3). At least one third characteristic value is determined for at least one second semi-finished product of the semi-finished products, said third characteristic value characterizing at least one semi-finished product characteristic of the second semi-finished product (step S4).

Description

Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for processing semi-finished products. The present invention also relates to a processing device for processing semi-finished products. The present invention also relates to a computer program. In addition, the present invention relates to a computer-readable storage medium. Background Art

[0002] US 9922345 B2 discloses a computer-implemented method. In addition, a computer-implemented method is known from US 8560366 B2. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The object of the present invention is to provide a method, a processing device, a computer program and a computer-readable storage medium, so as to achieve particularly advantageous processing of semi-finished products.

[0004] According to the present invention, this object is solved by a method having the features of claim 1, by a processing device having the features of claim 8, by a computer program having the features of claim 9, and by a computer-readable storage medium having the features of claim 10. Advantageous design solutions of the present invention are the technical solutions of the dependent claims.

[0005] A first aspect of the present invention relates to a method for processing semi-finished products. For example, the corresponding semi-finished products are slabs, especially metal slabs, which are made of, for example, metal materials, especially metal sheets. The metal material is, for example, aluminum or steel. In this method, at least one processing process is performed on at least one first semi-finished product among the semi-finished products, and the first semi-finished product is processed during this processing process. In particular, it is provided that in this method, at least one corresponding processing process is performed on a plurality of corresponding first semi-finished products among the semi-finished products. The corresponding first semi-finished product (on which the processing process is performed) is processed during the corresponding processing process. In particular, the corresponding first semi-finished product is processed by means of a processing device. The processing device can, for example, be or include at least one press or be or include at least one press line having a plurality of presses, and by means of these presses, for example, the corresponding semi-finished products are processed in sequence. For example, during processing, the corresponding first semi-finished product is formed, especially deep-drawn and / or trimmed, especially stamped.

[0006] In this method, a pre - evaluation is performed on the at least one first semi - finished product. This pre - evaluation is carried out before the processing operation. In the pre - evaluation, at least one first characteristic value is determined for the first semi - finished product, and the first characteristic value characterizes at least one semi - finished - product characteristic of the first semi - finished product. In particular, a corresponding pre - evaluation is performed on the corresponding first semi - finished product. The pre - evaluation is implemented, for example, by means of an electronic computing device, and the method is, for example, executed by means of this electronic computing device. The corresponding pre - evaluation is carried out before the corresponding processing operation on the corresponding first semi - finished product, so that before the processing operation on the corresponding first semi - finished product, i.e., before the processing during the processing operation, the corresponding first semi - finished product is pre - evaluated in the pre - evaluation. In the corresponding pre - evaluation, at least one corresponding first characteristic value is determined for the corresponding first semi - finished product. The corresponding first characteristic value characterizes or describes at least one semi - finished - product characteristic of the corresponding first semi - finished product. Therefore, in particular, it is stipulated that the first characteristic value characterizes, i.e., describes or explains, the same semi - finished - product characteristic.

[0007] In this method, a re - evaluation is performed on the first semi - finished product. This re - evaluation is carried out after the processing operation. In the re - evaluation, at least one second characteristic value is determined for the processed first semi - finished product, and the second characteristic value characterizes at least one processing characteristic of the processed first semi - finished product. In particular, it is stipulated that in this method, a corresponding re - evaluation is performed on the corresponding first semi - finished product, and this re - evaluation is carried out after the corresponding processing operation on the corresponding first semi - finished product. It can be seen that the pre - evaluation is carried out before the processing operation and the re - evaluation is carried out after the processing operation. In the corresponding re - processing, at least one corresponding second characteristic value is determined for the corresponding processed first semi - finished product, and the second characteristic value characterizes at least one processing characteristic of the corresponding processed first semi - finished product. In particular, it is stipulated that the second characteristic value explains, i.e., describes or characterizes, the same processing characteristic. In particular, for example, the processing characteristic is produced by the processing operation, i.e., by its implementation. The corresponding re - evaluation is, for example, executed by means of an electronic computing device. Therefore, it can be envisaged that the first characteristic value and / or the second characteristic value are determined by means of an electronic computing device.

[0008] In this method, at least one third characteristic value is determined for at least one second semi-finished product in the semi-finished products, and the third characteristic value characterizes, that is, explains or describes at least one semi-finished product characteristic of the second semi-finished product. Therefore, for example, the second semi-finished product is evaluated at least once, and in this evaluation, the third characteristic value is determined for the second semi-finished product. The third characteristic value preferably characterizes the same semi-finished product characteristic, which is also characterized by the first characteristic value. In particular, the at least one evaluation can be a pre-evaluation, especially in the case where the second semi-finished product is processed by a processing device or by another processing device after the first pre-evaluation. The descriptions of the corresponding processing of the corresponding first semi-finished product before and after can also be transferred to the possible processing of the second semi-finished product without any problem and vice versa. Therefore, the descriptions of the first processing device before and after can be transferred to the other processing device without any problem and vice versa. For example, the third characteristic value is determined in the pre-evaluation of the second semi-finished product or in the pre-evaluation.

[0009] If the third characteristic value corresponds to the first characteristic value or the deviation of the third characteristic value from the first characteristic value is lower than a threshold value, at least one indication signal perceptible by human hearing and / or vision is output by means of a playback device according to the second characteristic value. Alternatively or additionally, if the third characteristic value corresponds to the first characteristic value or the deviation of the third characteristic value from the first characteristic value is lower than the threshold value, the second semi-finished product is processed according to the second characteristic value after the third characteristic value is determined.

[0010] Alternatively or additionally, if the third characteristic value corresponds to the first characteristic value or the deviation of the third characteristic value from the first characteristic value is lower than the threshold value, a module for determining, especially recommending, the process parameters of the processing process for processing the second semi-finished product determines the process parameters of the processing process for processing the second semi-finished product according to the second characteristic value. For example, the module is a software module, such as an algorithm or a part of an algorithm. The module can, for example, implement an output, which includes, for example, a display signal, and the display signal is, for example, displayed on an electronic display also called a screen. The display signal can be visually perceived by a person staying in the environment of the display, and thus the process parameters can be communicated, especially recommended, to the person. The person can then set the process parameters on the processing device, so that the second semi-finished product can be processed by the processing process for processing the second semi-finished product subsequently. Here, the process parameters are the parameters of the processing process for processing the second semi-finished product, that is, the process parameters describe and affect the processing process for processing the second semi-finished product. For example, the display is a component of the playback device, so that the environment of the display can be the environment of the playback device.

[0011] If the deviation of the third characteristic value from the first characteristic value is greater than or equal to the threshold value, at least one indication signal perceptible by human hearing and / or vision is output by means of the playback device, especially output to the environment or output into the environment.

[0012] It can be seen that, considering the second characteristic value, each process or step of the implementation method is carried out. If, for example, the third characteristic value corresponds to the first characteristic value or the deviation of the third characteristic value from the first characteristic value is lower than a threshold value, then, for example, it is checked whether the second characteristic value or the first semi-finished product after its processing has met or meets at least one or more quality requirements. For this purpose, for example, the second characteristic value is compared with at least one reference value, which, for example, characterizes the at least one or more quality requirements. If, for example, the second characteristic value corresponds to the reference value or the deviation between the second characteristic value and the reference value is less than, for example, a predetermined or predeterminable level value (Niveauwert), then the second characteristic value or the first semi-finished product after processing has met or meets the quality requirements. This comparison is carried out, for example, in a re-evaluation. Then, the re-evaluation stores this comparison in a database. Subsequently, for example, the re-evaluation result of the second characteristic of the first semi-finished product is searched for the preparation of the second semi-finished product. If the quality or the second characteristic of the first semi-finished product is compliant, that is, the second characteristic value corresponds to the reference value or the difference between the second characteristic value and the reference value is less than the level value, then, for example, no warning is output. Thus, if this condition is met, it is considered that the second semi-finished product can also be processed without problems, because the second semi-finished product has a third characteristic that is the same or similar to the first characteristic of the first semi-finished product. However, if the re-evaluation of the first semi-finished product shows that the quality requirements of the produced component, that is, the second characteristic value, are not compliant, that is, if the difference between the second characteristic value and the reference value is greater than or equal to the threshold value, then a warning is output.

[0013] In particular, the playback device is an electrical or electronic playback device, by means of which, for example, in particular, an indication signal is output to the environment of the playback device, and the indication signal can be perceived auditorily and / or visually by a person staying in the environment. For example, an electronic computing device controls the playback device, in particular, according to the one or more first characteristic values and / or according to the one or more second characteristic values and / or according to the third characteristic value, in order to output the indication signal thereby. For example, after determining the third characteristic value, the second semi-finished product is processed, in particular, by means of the processing device or by means of another processing device. For example, for this purpose, the electronic computing device controls the first processing device or the other processing device in order to subsequently process the second semi-finished product according to the one or more second characteristic values.

[0014] It can be seen that the method according to the present invention enables the possible processing of the second semi-finished product to be carried out while taking into account the one or more pre-assessments and taking into account the one or more re-assessments, i.e., while taking into account the at least one first semi-finished product or a plurality of first semi-finished products. By taking into account the first semi-finished product, it is possible to infer, for example, whether the semi-finished product characteristics of the second semi-finished product may cause problems and / or undesirable results in the processing of the second semi-finished product. This can be avoided, for example, by processing the second semi-finished product according to the one second characteristic value or the plurality of first and second characteristic values after determining the third characteristic value. Alternatively or additionally, a person can be made aware of the problems or undesirable results that may lead to the possible processing of the second semi-finished product by means of an indication signal. Subsequently, the person can, for example, take at least one countermeasure to avoid the problems or undesirable results, such as influencing the person or at least temporarily interrupting or avoiding the possible processing of the first semi-finished product. Alternatively or additionally, for example, a process control device or a module acting as a process control device can determine process parameters according to the one or more second characteristic values and communicate with the person, for example. Thus, for example, the process control device can learn about the problems or undesirable results that may lead to the possible processing of the second semi-finished product, and subsequently the process control device can determine, in particular change, the process parameters in such a way that such problems can be avoided.

[0015] It has been shown to be particularly advantageous to determine at least one frequency value, in particular by means of an electronic computing device. This frequency value characterizes the number of first characteristic values that are equal to the third characteristic value and / or have such a second deviation from the third characteristic value, the absolute value of which second deviation is less than a non-zero and, for example, predetermined or predefinable threshold. It is preferably provided here that an indication signal is output by means of a playback device according to the frequency value. Alternatively or additionally, the second semi-finished product is processed after determining the third characteristic value according to the frequency value. Alternatively or additionally, the module determines process parameters according to the frequency value. Thereby, the first semi-finished product can be particularly advantageously taken into account in the possible and / or planned processing of the second semi-finished product.

[0016] Another embodiment is characterized in that the one or more first characteristic values and / or the one or more second characteristic values and / or the third characteristic value are detected by means of at least one sensor. Thereby, these characteristic values can be determined particularly precisely, so that particularly advantageous processing of the second semi-finished product can be achieved. For example, the sensor provides a particular electrical signal that characterizes, i.e., describes or explains, the corresponding characteristic value. The electronic computing device can receive this signal and thus determine the corresponding characteristic value. Alternatively or additionally, for example, the corresponding, in particular detected, characteristic values can be stored in an electrical or electronic data memory, in particular in the electronic computing device. The electronic computing device can, for example, call from the data memory and thus determine the corresponding characteristic value.

[0017] In another particularly advantageous embodiment of the present invention, it is provided that the semi-finished product characteristics include the wall thickness, also known as the wall thickness and, for example, the sheet thickness, and / or the material from which the corresponding semi-finished product is made, and / or the amount of lubricant (also known as the lubrication amount or the amount of lubricating material) provided on the corresponding surface of the corresponding semi-finished product, and / or the roughness of the corresponding surface, and / or the elastoplastic characteristics of the corresponding semi-finished product. This ensures particularly advantageous processing of the semi-finished product.

[0018] In another particularly advantageous design of the present invention, it is provided that the processing characteristics include the wall thickness and / or the amount of lubricant provided on the corresponding surface of the corresponding semi-finished product, and / or the roughness of the corresponding surface, and / or the elastoplastic characteristics of the corresponding semi-finished product. This can ensure particularly advantageous processing of the semi-finished product. Alternatively or additionally, the processing characteristics may be or include at least one or more quality characteristics that are inspected or determined after processing the corresponding semi-finished product, i.e., for example, after manufacturing the corresponding component. For example, the processing characteristics may include the geometry of the component or the processed semi-finished product, at least one or more surface defects such as dents, the absence of cracks or shrinkage, one or more lubricating material characteristics, the amount of lubricating material, the wall thickness, the elastoplastic characteristics, and / or the roughness.

[0019] In another particularly advantageous embodiment of the present invention, it is provided that the second semi-finished product is processed after determining the third characteristic value, and this processing does not necessarily have to be carried out based on the first characteristic value, the second characteristic value, and the third characteristic value. It is further provided that after processing the second semi-finished product, at least one fourth characteristic value is determined for the processed second semi-finished product, and this fourth characteristic value characterizes at least one processing characteristic of the processed second semi-finished product. Subsequently, for example, the fourth characteristic value can be taken into account for at least one or more subsequent processing steps, thereby enabling particularly advantageous processing of the semi-finished product.

[0020] It has been shown to be particularly advantageous here that the fourth characteristic value is stored in a data memory or the aforementioned data memory. This enables the fourth characteristic value to be used in a particularly advantageous manner for future processing steps, thereby enabling particularly advantageous processing of the semi-finished product. Thus, for example, it can be envisaged that at least one third semi-finished product is processed, for example, based on the fourth characteristic value. Alternatively or additionally, for example, an indication signal can be output by means of a playback device based on the fourth characteristic value.

[0021] The second aspect of the present invention relates to a processing device for processing semi-finished products, which is configured to carry out the method according to the first aspect of the present invention. The advantages and advantageous designs of the first aspect of the present invention can be regarded as the advantages and advantageous designs of the second aspect of the present invention and vice versa.

[0022] A third aspect of the present invention relates to a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to the first aspect of the present invention. The advantages and advantageous designs of the first and second aspects of the present invention can be regarded as the advantages and advantageous designs of the third aspect of the present invention and vice versa.

[0023] A fourth aspect of the present invention relates to a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to the first aspect of the present invention. The advantages and advantageous designs of the first, second and third aspects of the present invention can be regarded as the advantages and advantageous designs of the fourth aspect of the present invention and vice versa.

[0024] The present invention is in particular based on the following recognition and consideration: Generally, the manufacture of components, such as body components for motor vehicles, in particular passenger cars, in a stamping shop is divided into a plurality of process steps. First, blanks are cut from a coil (also referred to as a roll or coil) on a coil device (also referred to as a winding device). A traceable stack of blanks is thereby produced, which is temporarily stored in a press line before being processed. In the press line, the respective cut blanks, which are constructed as at least substantially flat metal sheets, are usually processed, in particular formed and in particular deep-drawn. Subsequently, further process steps, such as trimming and / or re-forming, can be carried out. The blanks are, for example, semi-finished products constructed as sheets, which are thus processed.

[0025] The semi-finished products processed in the stamping shop fluctuate in their properties. For example, the sheet thickness, the amount of lubricating material, the roughness and the elastoplastic material properties fluctuate. Depending on the extent of these fluctuations, it may be necessary to adjust the process parameters of the production process in order to achieve the required quality of the component to be produced (also referred to as a part). The production process is, for example, or includes the aforementioned processing process. Generally, the adjustment of the process parameters, which is associated with the downtime of the press line (also referred to as a device), is carried out empirically by the personnel operating the device. Depending on how long it takes to find a suitable combination of process parameters, downtime of the device or the production process can incur considerable costs. Generally, the draw pad force, the setting of the draw assist device, the determination of the corresponding position of the adapter, the kinematics of the punch movement and the application of additional lubricating material are used as process parameters. In addition, the setting of the straightening device on the coil device can also be adjusted by process parameters.

[0026] Currently, when cutting slabs, it is checked whether the semi-finished products meet the specifications. However, it is currently not possible to determine all the dimensions included in the specifications of the thin sheets used in the automotive industry for processing through online measurement. If a violation of the specifications is determined, the cutting of the corresponding coil is interrupted and all the slabs cut from this coil are prevented from being used for further processing. Particularly critical in this context is that the characteristics of the semi-finished products are within the boundaries of the specifications and have not occurred so far. This situation (which is also referred to as an indication of intervention or intervention indication) does not necessarily pose a problem for production. This also includes, for example, the situation where a semi-finished product meets the specifications but cannot be processed. An example of this is that the characteristics are severely scattered within the boundaries of the specifications. In principle, if the necessary intervention is identified too late, there is a risk of producing defective products. In this case, all the process parameter combinations known so far may not be applicable, and even if they exist, the process control algorithm cannot determine meaningful suggestions. Finding process parameters to stably further process this material may result in a relatively long downtime. Currently, the characteristics of the semi-finished products can record indirect and direct data regarding the quality of the components and the intermediate products involved, as well as the process parameters of the coil equipment and the press production line, and assign them to the slabs and components. This assignment is carried out, for example, through a serial number (also known as a serial identifier), which is applied to the corresponding surface of the slab, for example, during the cutting of the slab. These data are available in the database and can be used for the assistance system. Here, the data mentioned are available for each individual component produced. In principle, it can be envisaged that the characteristics of the semi-finished products (slabs) are recorded and the serial number is applied just before processing in the press production line. It is even expected that the accuracy in measuring the amount of lubricating material will increase slightly because the transfer process of the lubricating material during the storage of the cut slabs can also be detected in this way. However, the disadvantage of this solution may be that there is little time to react when an anomaly and / or a potential need for intervention are identified. In the following, it is assumed that the slab cutting process and the slab processing process are decoupled because usually, the number of slabs cut per unit time is more than the number of slabs processed, especially formed, in the press production line at a later time. The two processes may run synchronously. But even in this case, sufficient time should be left based on the logistics process to analyze the cut slabs (semi-finished products) in terms of possible necessary interventions. In addition, for example, it is assumed that the characteristics of the semi-finished products are determined when cutting the slabs.

[0027] Depending on the type of semi-finished product characteristics being analyzed, the semi-finished product characteristics can appear on the strip surface or inside the material. Parameters such as roughness or the amount of lubricating material used to describe surface topology, for example, are parameters related to surface and elastoplastic characteristics and in particular to the material volume here. In addition, the sheet thickness relates to the spacing between two surfaces. All the material of the coil here may have characteristics indicating the need for intervention, or it may also be that only a part of the material has such characteristics. This part can be, for example, a strip in the longitudinal or transverse direction or any other limited area on one of the two surfaces or a part of the strip volume, the surface of which does not have to coincide with the strip surface. If the strip is cut into smaller units, such as slabs, intervention indications can also be sought in these units.

[0028] For example, in this case, the characteristic of the intervention indication is that the individual parameters describing the semi-finished product characteristics take values that have never occurred before or relate to semi-finished product characteristics that cannot be processed by the corresponding production process based on existing data. It must also be taken into account, for example, that semi-finished products that could not be processed in the past, i.e., semi-finished products that did not meet the quality requirements of the components already produced or to be produced, may become processable in the future due to changes in the production process. The opposite situation may also occur, i.e., materials or semi-finished products that were processable until now may no longer be processable due to changes in the production process. In this case, the probability of the occurrence of semi-finished product characteristics does not form the basis for finding an intervention indication. If, for example, a small sheet thickness occurs rarely, but the material with such a sheet thickness can still be processed, this small sheet thickness is not considered an intervention indication. It can also be noted that newly emerging semi-finished product characteristics do not necessarily pose a problem for the processing or production process.

[0029] Here, it can involve locally constant high or low values or a different variation curve of a certain parameter compared to the past. The distribution of the individual parameters of the material can also be different compared to the past. For example, variance can be used to characterize this static distribution. In principle, these parameters can be considered not only individually but also as a combination. The values of these parameters can also be understood as vectors. This vector is also called the semi-finished product characteristic vector hereinafter. The positions of similar semi-finished product characteristics on one or more strips are points in the semi-finished product characteristic space, with small distances between them. Thus, it is possible to identify intervention indications by considering combinations of multiple parameters. If there is any, the correlation of the individual parameters should also be considered to identify such indications.

[0030] In order to plan production tasks, analysis functions are currently available to observe the recorded semi-finished product characteristics (properties). However, only individual coils or stacks can be analyzed. Recognizing the above-mentioned indications with the help of the above-mentioned analysis functions is a major challenge. In order to take into account the various aspects introduced for the identification of indications, an analysis function that can realize automatic evaluation can be advantageous, but such analysis functions have not been available so far. Manual evaluation of such an evaluation seems impossible due to the complexity. Unreasonable indication warnings can disrupt the flow of the production process. For example, it may happen that the equipment used to produce the component stops for no reason in order to react to such a notification. In order to be able to benefit from the identification of intervention indications, only reasonable warnings should be generated. This aspect also emphasizes the need to introduce automated solutions for the identification of indications. If the indication identification results can be stored for a long time, it is also possible to analyze, for example, which types of indications particularly affect the quality of the component. This information can be used in the next step to optimize the semi-finished product characteristics in a targeted manner.

[0031] Early identification of intervention indications can support task planning for the production process. For example, if a material that is critical to the properties of a semi-finished product is identified, it can be determined early whether a process control device (if any) can be used. If there is doubt about whether the process control device is working, experts can be provided to the factory, who manually handle the critical materials (semi-finished products). The background of this is that process control models are usually trained based on historical data. If the current semi-finished product properties deviate greatly from the training data, it is expected that the prediction quality of the model will drop significantly in this case. Therefore, intervention indication identification helps to identify the applicability boundary of the process control model. This indication identification also allows the responsibility to be transferred from the automatic process control to the operator in a targeted manner. But even if there is no process control device, indication identification also provides the following possibility, that is, to support the preparation of production tasks. For example, through corresponding planning, it can be ensured that, for example, particularly problematic materials (semi-finished products) are not handled during the night shift so that experts can be on site. It is also conceivable that manual quality control is strengthened in this case. In this case, additional time can also be planned to find suitable process parameters. Understanding the type of indication can also help to take appropriate measures and thus shorten fault finding. For example, if the amount of lubricant is low locally, the stretching aid can be adjusted more, while if the amount of lubricant is low globally, the cylinder force of the stretching pad can be changed more. This can reduce the machine downtime costs. Indicator recognition can also help reduce the amount of scrap.

[0032] For example, assume that all algorithms described below are based on data related to each cut slab (semi-finished product). The current slab (i.e., for example, the first semi-finished product) can be compared with the processed slab (i.e., the second semi-finished product) not only in the pre-evaluation but also in the re-evaluation. The current slab (first semi-finished product) is, for example, the slab or semi-finished product that is about to be used for processing or treatment. In this case, it can also involve multiple slabs or multiple first semi-finished products. For example, all slabs in the stack that are being processed or the next one to be processed. Whether multiple slabs or only a single slab (semi-finished product) should be considered simultaneously, the principle of the algorithm on which the proposed method is based is similar.

[0033] To solve the above technical problems, a method is proposed, which especially automatically implements or executes the corresponding pre-evaluation and the corresponding re-evaluation. For example, the corresponding pre-evaluation and the corresponding re-evaluation constitute the corresponding overall evaluation, which is divided into the corresponding pre-evaluation and the corresponding re-evaluation. Within the scope of the pre-evaluation, it is determined, for example, whether the characteristics of the current slab (second semi-finished product) that is about to be processed (also called semi-finished product characteristics) have occurred in previous production tasks, that is, in the processing process that has been carried out or is being carried out on the second semi-finished product. If the slab (second semi-finished product), also called the material, has characteristics that have never occurred before, the operating processing equipment or the person also called the equipment operator is warned, for example, by outputting an indication signal. This warning also contains, for example, the following hint: There may not necessarily be problems with the quality of the component to be manufactured (component quality) in this material (second semi-finished product). Here, the deviation is evaluated, and especially after exceeding the tolerance, it is classified as critical, for example, in order to limit the amount of warning prompts. Therefore, as described above, the adverse impact on the production process caused by frequent warning notifications is avoided.

[0034] Furthermore, if the characteristics of the current slab (second semi-finished product) have occurred in the past, it is possible, for example, to check to what extent these or similar semi-finished product characteristics have led to quality problems in the components (parts) produced in the past. Generally speaking, the production process can change during its life cycle. For example, wear of the tools may cause semi-finished products that were processable or machinable in the past to no longer be processable or machinable. Conversely, improvements to the production process may cause semi-finished products that were not processable in the past to be processable in the future. For example, in order to take this aspect into account, a time weighting can be applied to the evaluation of slabs evaluated within the scope of a re-evaluation in the past. Here, for example, more weight is given to recent evaluations (re-evaluations). If there is information indicating that the semi-finished product characteristics of the current slab (second semi-finished product) may lead to a violation of the quality requirements of the component during processing, a warning (indicator signal) is also output. This warning can also include a hint that these semi-finished product characteristics have led to problems regarding compliance with the required component quality in the past. If there was no information in the past indicating that the semi-finished product characteristics of the current slab may be critical, no warning and / or status indicating that the semi-finished product characteristics of the current slab should not lead to non-compliance with the quality requirements of the components produced during its processing should be transmitted to the equipment operator. Information about the relationship between quality and semi-finished product characteristics, for example, comes from a re-evaluation of the method that will be further described below. Within the scope of the re-evaluation, for example, after the completion of a production task (processing process), each individual slab is evaluated to determine whether one or more of its semi-finished product characteristics have led to the desired component quality. The result of this evaluation (re-evaluation) is written into a database for pre-evaluation of the next production task. The result can be a boolean value, or several real numbers, or other string-based annotations. Advantageously, the evaluation result is associated with the component serial number, which was initially applied to the respective slab during cutting.

[0035] The following describes how to evaluate the similarity between the current slab (second semi-finished product) and the slabs (first semi-finished products) that have been processed or machined in the past. Since noise in measurement data is also expected when using sensors, the probability of two semi-finished product characteristic vectors having the same components can be considered to be very low. To address this problem or situation, for example, if two semi-finished product characteristic vectors are different within a certain tolerance range, they can also be regarded as the same. To achieve such a tolerance, for example, the two semi-finished product characteristic vectors can be understood as position vectors with respect to an arbitrary reference point and a point in the semi-finished product characteristic space can be determined from each of them. The distance between the two points thus generated, which respectively represent the semi-finished product characteristics of the slabs, can be used as a measure of the semi-finished product characteristic deviation. For example, the Euclidean distance can be used as a measure of the distance. Here, the deviation of each individual component of the vector is weighted equally. It is also conceivable to use other criteria that enable the weighting of the differences between the individual components of the vector. The reason for this can be to consider the different measurement accuracies of the sensors. Thus, the above tolerance, for example, gives the maximum value allowed by the standard such that two semi-finished product characteristic vectors are interpreted as the same. The tolerance can be estimated, for example, by determining the vector differences of adjacent slabs. Then the limit value of the tolerance can be derived from the dispersion of this difference. This result also allows the analysis of the extent to which criteria for weighting are required. The amount of available data can also be considered when determining the tolerance. The more data there are, the more precisely the reasonable tolerance can be estimated. This operation process is based on the following assumption: In the normal semi-finished product production process, adjacent slabs should also have similar semi-finished product characteristics. If adjacent slabs are from different cold-rolled strips, these pairs of slabs should not be considered for estimating the tolerance. Finally, it can also be pointed out that the introduced criteria can also be applied individually to each component of the semi-finished product characteristic vector. To finally evaluate the similarity, in this case, the evaluations of all individual parameters can be aggregated again into an overall evaluation. It should also be pointed out that there is also the possibility of smoothing the data before processing using the above algorithm. To determine the similarity between a slab and past slabs, the slabs can be compared based on the above use of criteria and corresponding tolerances. However, the computational cost for such a comparison may be high or executable. To address this challenge, common machine learning algorithms can be used to identify clusters of similar slabs and then the comparison can be reduced to the representatives of the clusters. Despite forming clusters, individual slabs that cannot be assigned to one of the clusters can still be considered for comparison. Alternatively or additionally, algorithms from the field of anomaly recognition can be used. It should also be pointed out that the determination of the tolerance can also be used to determine the sensitivity for generating warnings. The higher the selected tolerance, the fewer critical slabs are identified within the pre-evaluation range. On the contrary, if the tolerance is selected to be lower, fewer warnings are identified within the reprocessing range. Therefore, it may make sense to select different tolerances for pre-evaluation and re-evaluation.

[0036] For re-evaluation, the recorded data on the component quality (if available) can be used. Specifically, the component quality data of the component is compared with the requirements. If it is determined that one or more quality criteria are violated, the violation is stored in the database based on the above serial number. In addition, the quality criteria can here include the occurrence of cracks and / or the measured geometric deviations between the component geometry and the target geometry to which it belongs. Thus, for each past slab, it can be determined whether there are quality problems on the components (parts) produced therefrom after its treatment or processing. This information is used, for example, as the basis for the re-evaluation described. Alternatively or additionally, parameters that indirectly indicate the quality of the produced component or descriptively describe the quality can be used. For the latter case, an example is that the component has or has had surface defects recorded in the quality inspection system. "Continuous production" indicates that the quality requirements for the component have been met. Thus, the quality of the production process can be inferred indirectly by analyzing the stability of the production process. Indications of the advantages or necessity of intervening in the production process can be used not only for manual but also for automatic control of the production process. The advantage provided by this method is that the necessity of intervening in the production process is identified early during work preparation. In addition, at least the following advantages can be achieved by this method:

[0037] - Ensure that there are experts to solve problems when needed;

[0038] - Provide support for personnel shift planning (e.g., strengthen visual inspection of critical materials);

[0039] - The fault finding time is shortened due to the available anomaly analysis;

[0040] - Identify early the necessary transfer (if any) from the process control device to the operator. Description of the Drawings

[0041] Other details of the present invention follow from the following description of the preferred embodiments together with the drawings.

[0042] The sole attached Figure 1 shows a flowchart for illustrating a method for processing semi-finished products. Detailed Description of the Invention

[0043] The sole attached Figure 1A flow chart is shown, and a method for processing semi-finished products will be described with the aid of this flow chart. In the first step S1 of the method, at least one corresponding processing process is carried out on the corresponding first semi-finished product in the semi-finished products. The corresponding first semi-finished product is processed during the corresponding processing process, and the corresponding processing process is carried out on the corresponding first semi-finished product. For example, the corresponding first semi-finished product is processed in such a way that the corresponding first semi-finished product is shaped, in particular deep-drawn and / or trimmed, in particular stamped. The corresponding processing process is, for example, a production process or a part of a production process, by means of which a component, also referred to as a part, is manufactured from the first semi-finished product. In particular, the corresponding processing process is carried out by means of a processing device. The processing device is or includes, for example, at least one press. It is also conceivable that the processing device is or includes a press line, which can, for example, have a plurality of presses.

[0044] In the second step S2 of the method, a corresponding pre-evaluation of the corresponding first semi-finished product is carried out, in particular by means of an electronic computing device, and this pre-evaluation is carried out before the corresponding processing process. Thus, for example, the second step S2 is carried out in time before the first step S1. In the corresponding pre-evaluation, at least one corresponding first characteristic value is determined for the corresponding first semi-finished product - before the corresponding processing process is carried out on the corresponding first semi-finished product - and this first characteristic value characterizes at least one semi-finished product characteristic of the corresponding first semi-finished product. In the third step S3 of the method, for example, after the first step S1 and the second step S2, a corresponding re-evaluation of the corresponding first semi-finished product is carried out, in particular by means of an electronic computing device. The corresponding re-evaluation is carried out in time after the corresponding processing process carried out on the corresponding first semi-finished product. In the corresponding re-evaluation, at least one corresponding second characteristic value is determined for the corresponding, processed first semi-finished product, and this second characteristic value characterizes at least one processing characteristic of the corresponding, processed first semi-finished product. The processing characteristic can be a characteristic different from the semi-finished product characteristic, or the semi-finished product characteristic is the processing characteristic, where, for example, the corresponding semi-finished product characteristic or its corresponding characteristic value is changed by the corresponding processing process, in particular changed to the corresponding processing characteristic or changed to the corresponding second characteristic value.

[0045] In the fourth step S4 of the method, which is in particular carried out in time after the first step S1, the second step S2, and the third step S3, at least one third characteristic value is determined for at least one second semi-finished product in the semi-finished products, in particular by means of an electronic computing device, and this third characteristic value characterizes at least one semi-finished product characteristic of the second semi-finished product. In the fifth step S5 of the method, which is in particular carried out after the first step S1, the second step S2, the third step S3, and the fourth step S4, the third characteristic value is compared with the first characteristic value, for example.

[0046] If the third characteristic value corresponds to the first characteristic value or the deviation of the third characteristic value from the first characteristic value is lower than a threshold value, at least one indication signal perceptible by human hearing and / or vision is output by means of a playback device on the basis of at least one second characteristic value. Alternatively or additionally, if the third characteristic value corresponds to the first characteristic value or the deviation of the third characteristic value from the first characteristic value is lower than a threshold value, a second semi-finished product is processed on the basis of the at least one second characteristic value after determination of the third characteristic value. Alternatively or additionally, if the third characteristic value corresponds to the first characteristic value or the deviation of the third characteristic value from the first characteristic value is lower than a threshold value, process parameters for a process for processing a second semi-finished product are determined on the basis of the at least one second characteristic value by means of a module for determining process parameters for a process for processing a second semi-finished product.

[0047] If the deviation of the third characteristic value from the first characteristic value is greater than or equal to the threshold value, at least one indication signal perceptible by human hearing and / or vision is output by means of a playback device in a sixth step S6 of the method.

[0048] List of reference signs

[0049] 1 Electronic computing device

[0050] 2 Environment

[0051] S1 First step

[0052] S2 Second step

[0053] S3 Third step

[0054] S4 Fourth step

[0055] S5 Fifth step

Claims

1. A method for processing a semi-finished product, wherein: - performing at least one processing process on at least one first semi-finished product among the semi-finished products, in which the first semi-finished product is processed (step S1); - performing a pre-evaluation of the first semi-finished product, the pre-evaluation being carried out before the processing, in which at least one first characteristic value is determined for the first semi-finished product, the first characteristic value characterizing at least one semi-finished product characteristic of the first semi-finished product (step S2); - re-evaluating the first semi-finished product, the re-evaluation being carried out after the processing, in which at least one second characteristic value is determined for the processed first semi-finished product, the second characteristic value characterizing at least one processing characteristic of the processed first semi-finished product (step S3); - determining at least one third characteristic value for at least one second semi-finished product of the semi-finished products, said third characteristic value characterizing at least one semi-finished product characteristic of the second semi-finished product (step S4); - comparing the third characteristic value with the first characteristic value (step S5); - if the third characteristic value corresponds to the first characteristic value or the deviation of the third characteristic value from the first characteristic value is below a threshold value, - outputting at least one indication signal that can be perceived by human hearing and / or vision by means of a playback device (step S5); and / or - processing the second semi-finished product after determining the third characteristic value (step S5); and / or - a module for determining process parameters of a processing process for processing the second semi-finished product determines process parameters of a processing process for processing the second semi-finished product (step S5); and If the deviation of the third characteristic value from the first characteristic value is greater than or equal to the threshold value, at least one indication signal perceptible to a person auditorily and / or visually is outputted by means of a playback device (step S6 ).

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first characteristic value and / or the second characteristic value and / or the third characteristic value is detected by means of at least one sensor.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The semi-finished product properties include the wall thickness and / or the material from which the respective semi-finished product is made and / or the amount of lubricant provided on the respective surface of the respective semi-finished product and / or the roughness and / or the elastic-plastic properties of the respective surface.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The processing properties include the wall thickness and / or the amount of lubricant provided on the respective surface of the respective semi-finished product and / or the roughness of the respective surface and / or the elastic-plastic properties and / or the geometry and / or at least one surface defect.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that After determining the third characteristic value, the second semi-finished product is processed, and after processing the second semi-finished product, at least one fourth characteristic value is determined for the processed second semi-finished product, the fourth characteristic value characterizing at least one processing property of the processed second semi-finished product.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The fourth characteristic value is stored in the data memory.

7. Processing equipment for processing semi-finished products, where: The processing plant is designed to carry out the method according to any of the preceding claims.

8. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

9. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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