Manufacturing-process management system

Abstract

To provide a manufacturing-process management system adapted to realize the containment of correction cost.SOLUTION: A manufacturing-process management system for a product to be manufactured through a plurality of manufacturing processes, is to set previously each of at least two or more manufacturing processes with a distribution of deviations in each process, divide the distribution of deviations into a plurality of areas and set previously correction costs for the plurality of areas, provide a deviations-correction cost database placing deviations and correction costs in correspondence for the two or more manufacturing processes in their entirety, and set previously a combination of deviations in the process falling within a permissible range by setting a permissible amount of deviation and permissible manufacture cost for a product in its entirety.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a manufacturing process management system.

Background Art

[0002] When manufacturing a product, it is common for the product to be manufactured through a plurality of processes. For this reason, if the inspection of the product is only carried out after completion, there is a problem that corrective processing cannot be carried out during the process and the defect rate becomes high. For this reason, it is known to perform inspection and, if necessary, correction for each process of the manufacturing process.

[0003] Furthermore, Patent Document 1 discloses that a probabilistic prediction is made about the final product quality using a machine learning model from measurement data, and the prediction is used for selection of correction or rejection, etc.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Patent Document 1 determines acceptance criteria for each individual process. In this case, although the quality of qualified products is ensured, there is a problem that the correction cost may increase. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing process management system that enables judgment and response of correction in consideration of a plurality of processes and realizes suppression of correction cost.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] An example of the means for solving the above problems is as follows.

[0007] In a manufacturing process management system for products manufactured through a plurality of manufacturing processes, for each of at least two or more manufacturing processes, the distribution of deviations in each process is set in advance, the distribution of the deviations is divided into a plurality of regions, a correction cost is set in advance for the plurality of regions, and a deviation-correction cost database in which deviations and correction costs are associated with each other is provided for the entire two or more manufacturing processes. A manufacturing process management system that presets combinations of deviations in each process that fall within an allowable range by setting an allowable amount and an allowable manufacturing cost for the entire product.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to realize suppression of correction costs as compared with the case where acceptance criteria are set independently in each process.

[0009] Further configurations and effects of the present invention will become apparent throughout the following entire specification.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Embodiment for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Hereinafter, the manufacturing process management system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Example

[0012] FIG. 1 shows an example of the manufacturing process management system of the present invention. 10 is the entire manufacturing process management system, 1 is the distribution setting unit, 2 is the area division unit, 3 is the correction cost setting unit, 4 is the deviation-correction cost database, and 5 is the allowable combination calculation unit.

[0013] 11 is a processor, 12 is a communication device, 13 is a storage device, 14 is a memory, 15 is an input device, and 16 is a display device. Note that the manufacturing process management system of the present invention is not limited to an integrated form, and also includes examples configured to be spatially separated, such as a server and a terminal, or a cloud and a terminal.

[0014] Although the deviation-correction cost database 4 is illustrated corresponding to the processor 11 in FIG. 1, it may be configured on the storage device 13 or the memory 14 and referred to by the processor 11.

[0015] FIG. 3 shows an example of the distribution of the deviation amount at the end stage of a certain process with respect to a predetermined value in a certain process. The vertical axis represents the distribution, and the horizontal axis represents the deviation amount. Such a figure can be an example of past data accumulation configured by accumulating measurement data during past product manufacturing. Also, when a distribution example can be empirically recognized for similar products or the like as a matter of course, it can also be set according to such an empirical rule.

[0016] In Figure 3, the 0 in the center means a state where there is no deviation from the predetermined value at the end of the process. In Figure 3, with respect to the 0 in the center, the left side represents a negative deviation amount and the right side represents a positive deviation amount. However, the distribution setting is not limited to only those based on 0.

[0017] The set distribution is divided into a plurality of regions. The way and number of divisions are not particularly limited, but if the number of divisions increases too much, the amount of data in the application of the present invention will increase rapidly, so it is desirable to keep it to about several tens at most. In Figure 3, as an example, an example of dividing into eight regions from R1 to R8 is shown.

[0018] A correction cost is correlated with each region. Figure 4 is an explanatory example of a table correlating regions and correction costs. For example, for Process 1, correction costs C1 to C8 are set corresponding to each region from R1 to R8. In a distribution like that in Figure 3, it is also possible to set that the vicinity of 0, for example, R4 and R5, do not require correction. In that case, correction cost 0 is assigned as the corresponding C4 and C5.

[0019] Here, the correction cost is not only the simple part cost or the operator's work cost, but it is more desirable to set the cost per hour for the time required for the correction process and calculate the total. This is because in the actual manufacturing process, the working time is also included in the manufacturing cost. More plainly speaking, for a product with a correction operation of 0 and a product with a correction operation of 10 times, even if they reach the same finished product, the manufacturing costs required will be different.

[0020] Therefore, even if it is physically possible to correct so as to finally reach the finished product, there may be cases where it is clear that an enormous correction cost is required to get there. In such a case, that is, when forcing it to completion will instead result in a deficit, it is more in line with economic rationality to abandon the completion of the product halfway.

[0021] In the present invention, it is possible to provide a manufacturing process management system that can respond to such corrective work based on economic rationality. Even if the manufacturing is abandoned halfway, most of the parts up to that point can be effectively utilized through recycling or the like, so the impact on the environmental load is minimal.

[0022] Thus, in the present invention, in order to associate the region with the correction cost, the region can be divided by setting the number of divisions of the correction cost or by setting the region in response to a shift where the correction cost changes significantly. In that case, based on the product design information and past manufacturing performance data, the distribution of the deviation can be predicted and set, and the division of the region can also be set taking into account the past actual results of the correction cost. Alternatively, the designer may set it with the input device 15 in response to the setting requirements displayed on the display device 16 in view of the designer's past experience or the like. Or, using statistical methods or probability theory methods, an appropriate threshold value for the boundary of the region division may be set or calculated, and conversely, the number of region divisions and the position of the deviation to be divided may be set from there.

[0023] As an example of an applicable method, there is a linear regression model, but non-linear regression models are not excluded. Also, in order to extract the probability distribution from the past deviation history data, various methods such as the maximum likelihood estimation method and the Bayesian estimation method can be applied.

[0024] Then, the same settings are made for a plurality of processes. For example, when the same settings are sequentially made up to the nth process, the settings from C1n to C8n returned are made for R1n to R8n corresponding to the nth process. Note that in FIG. 4, the number of region divisions is the same in process 1 and process n, but the number of region divisions may be different in any of the processes to be set. This is to achieve both reduction of the data amount and accuracy.

[0025] Also, the distribution corresponding to FIG. 3 may be different for each process. Furthermore, the size of the region may also be different for each process.

[0026] FIG. 5 is an example of deviation - correction cost data that summarizes the correlation between the deviation set for the entire process and the correction cost.

[0027] Although FIG. 5 excerptedly shows some settings for description purposes, if there are 5 processes and the deviation of each process is divided into 8 regions, FIG. 5 actually represents a combination data set of 8×8×8×8× = 32768 combinations.

[0028] This is why the reduction of the number of data and the balance of accuracy were mentioned earlier. If there are 10 processes or more, it is obvious that the number of data will increase explosively. Therefore, it is more desirable to reduce the number of region divisions and the like within a range that does not have a significant impact on accuracy. Also, processes that require almost no correction or whose work results have only two values of pass and fail can be excluded from the deviation - correction cost data, which is also included in the scope of the present invention.

[0029] In FIG. 5, behind the region of each process, for example, behind the R1 notation of process 1, the deviation amount and the correction cost are corresponding. Therefore, as the horizontal axis of FIG. 5, it is possible to set the total deviation amount and the total correction cost as the results throughout the entire process. The items of the total deviation amount and the total cost on the right side of FIG. 5 are the corresponding parts. Thus, a major feature of the present invention is to create such a deviation - correction cost database in advance. Here, when receiving the information of the allowable deviation amount and the allowable correction cost from the input device 15 in FIG. 1, the input value can be compared with one or both of the total deviation amount and the total correction cost in FIG. 5, and the case where one or both of them exceed the allowable value can be set in advance as not correctable. This is the part marked as NG in the determination in FIG. 5.

[0030] If the deviation amount does not fall within the allowable range, it is obvious that it is NG because the product cannot be established. On the other hand, when manufacturing as a profit-making product, even if a large correction cost is incurred and it falls within the allowable deviation range, incurring such a correction cost will result in a deficit and exceed the allowable range in terms of economics. This is why there is an item for the total correction cost as a determination item in FIG. 5, which is a major feature of the present invention. As a result, there is a great advantage that it is possible to determine whether correction is possible and the correction policy within a short period within the range of economic rationality. And, for example, even if there is a large deviation in the negative direction in a certain process, if there is a large deviation in the positive direction in another process, it is possible to grasp the case where the product as a whole falls within the allowable deviation range. For this reason, conventionally, it has been possible to expand the range of being regarded as a good product in a single process, and it is possible to avoid unnecessary corrections and reduce the rejection rate.

[0031] This is an effect that cannot be achieved by the conventional judgment focusing only on a single process. In the present invention, by providing a deviation-correction cost database by overlooking a plurality of processes as shown in FIG. 5 in advance, it is possible to realize remarkable effects of avoiding unnecessary corrections and avoiding excessive correction costs.

[0032] Note that when creating FIG. 5, there may be blank spaces. As an example, in the case where R1 continues for 3 processes, it is assumed that the total deviation amount and the total correction cost clearly exceed the allowable range regardless of the combination of the areas of the subsequent processes. In such a case, by intentionally leaving a blank space, that is, by cutting off the subsequent considerations, it is possible to reduce the calculation scale.

[0033] Note that the allowable deviation amount and the allowable correction cost are not limited to those input from the input device 15, and may be the case where they are set in the storage device 13 in advance. For example, it is assumed that they are included in the product specification data in advance.

[0034] Returning to FIG. 1, an example of the processing content in the manufacturing process management system 10 when creating the above-mentioned deviation-correction cost database will be described. The distribution setting unit 1 sets the distribution in FIG. 3 for each process. This can use past cases stored in the storage device 13 or cases of similar products. Alternatively, the theoretical state of the deviation distribution can be calculated and set based on product design. This also includes the case where it is input from the input device 15.

[0035] In the area division unit 2, area division processing such as R1 to R8 in FIG. 3 is performed. In the correction cost setting unit 3, a correction cost is set for each area set by the area division unit 2. This operation is performed over a plurality of processes, and the processor 11 constructs the deviation-correction cost database 4.

[0036] Then, information on the allowable deviation amount and correction cost is received from the input device 15 or from the storage device 13. The received information is compared with the deviation-correction cost database 4, and the allowable combination calculation unit 5 calculates and derives the allowable combination. The result is added as information to the deviation-correction cost database 4 as a determination of OK or NG.

[0037] Note that these may be realized as an arithmetic unit in the processor, or as a function, unit, or routine of a program.

[0038] The constructed deviation-correction cost database is stored in the storage device 13 or the memory 14.

[0039] Next, an example of the flow of creating the deviation-correction cost database in the present invention will be described using a flowchart.

[0040] FIG. 6 is a flowchart diagram for explaining the flow of creating the deviation-correction cost database in the manufacturing process management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The specific operations in each process can be performed according to the descriptions for the above-mentioned respective figures.

[0041] In S10, start creating the deviation - correction cost database. In S11, set the distribution of process deviations. In S12, divide the distribution of process deviations into multiple regions. In S13, set the correction cost for each region.

[0042] In S14, determine whether the operations in S11 - S13 are completed for all processes. At this time, among the processes, there may be processes that do not require the operations in S11 - S13, that is, processes with all - pass qualification. In that case, those processes will be treated as if the processing in S11 - S13 has been completed. If it is determined in S14 that not all processes are completed, then through S15, in order to perform the setting process for the next process, it will return to between S10 and S11. If it is determined that all processes are completed, in S16, the creation of the deviation - correction cost database is completed. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, information on the overall total deviation amount and total correction cost is added.

[0043] Next, in S17, obtain the allowable deviation amount and allowable correction cost. This may be input by the input device 15 in FIG. 1 or the designer, or may be obtained from the data related to the design specifications and manufacturing specifications provided on the storage device 13. Alternatively, information may be received through information cooperation from an external program or system via the communication device 12.

[0044] In S18, apply the allowable deviation amount and allowable correction cost obtained in S17 to the deviation - correction cost database created in S16, and set the allowable deviation combinations for the entire process. The set result will have information added to the deviation - correction cost database shown in FIG. 5 in the form of, for example, whether it is applicable, pass / fail, or OK / NG, regarding whether the combination of process deviations is adoptable.

[0045] In this way, by using the method disclosed as a flowchart in FIG. 6, at the stage of production plan consideration or pre - simulation stage, it is possible to formulate a pre - determined correction countermeasure policy in advance, so that the accuracy of production plan and manufacturing cost estimation can be improved.

[0046] In addition, during actual manufacturing, for example, if a large deviation occurs in a certain process, even in the case of semi-finished products during manufacturing that were conventionally discarded as non-repairable, by applying the concept of the deviation-correction cost database of the present invention, it is possible to consider the room for making the product conforming through correction in subsequent processes. Therefore, as an example, an improvement in the final acceptable product rate can be expected compared to the case where each process is judged individually, and a reduction in the discard ratio of semi-finished products can be expected.

[0047] This is also in line with recent social demands such as environmental protection and reduction of manufacturing load. From this perspective as well, the manufacturing process management system of the present invention is highly significant.

Embodiment

[0048] In this embodiment, on the premise of the disclosure in Embodiment 1, an example of applying the present invention to an actual product manufacturing process will be described.

[0049] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the cooperation with an actual manufacturing process based on FIG. 1 of Embodiment 1.

[0050] Reference numeral 20 denotes a manufacturing factory. The manufacturing factory has a manufacturing line 21 and a measuring device 22. The manufacturing line 21 performs process processing, which includes both manufacturing and correction work. For the semi-finished products manufactured in the process, the measuring device 22 measures the deviation in the process. The measured results are input into the processor 11 via the communication network 23 and the communication device 12 of the manufacturing process management system 10. The processor 11 compares the deviation value measured by the measuring device 22 with the deviation-correction cost database and determines whether correction work is necessary. If it is determined that correction is necessary, an instruction for correction is sent to the manufacturing line 21 via the communication device 12 and the communication network 23. In that case, correction processing is performed on the manufacturing line 21, and as an example, the deviation after correction is measured again by the measuring device 22. Finally, when the 11 processors determine that the process is qualified, an instruction to transfer to the next process is given to the manufacturing line 21.

[0051] The manufacturing process management system 10 may incorporate a conventional production management system. This is because in this case, instructions and judgments for the manufacturing process can be carried out seamlessly. Also, if the conventional production management system is a huge system in terms of scale and specifications and requires a great deal of effort and cost to integrate with the manufacturing process management system of the present invention, the existing production management system and the manufacturing process management system of the present invention may be separate and the manufacturing operations may be carried out while sharing information with each other. Alternatively, if it is relatively easy to add new functions to the conventional production management system with a program configuration in unit units, the manufacturing process management system of the present application may be incorporated into the conventional production management system as an additional unit or additional program.

[0052] Next, with reference to FIG. 7, an example of applying the present invention to an actual manufacturing process based on the flowchart of FIG. 6 will be described together with an additional flowchart.

[0053] From S10 to S18 are the same as in FIG. 6. At S20, the manufacturing operation of the process is performed. This is the operation performed on the manufacturing line 21 in FIG. 2. After the completion of the process, the amount of process deviation is measured at S21. This is the operation performed by the measuring device 22 in FIG. 2. Note that the measuring device 22 does not necessarily need to be separately placed from the manufacturing line 21 and includes cases where it is integrated and incorporated into the manufacturing line 21.

[0054] Also, when it is difficult to measure the deviation amount of a single process, the total deviation amount up to that process may be measured, and on the side of the manufacturing process management system 10 in FIG. 2, the processor 11 may compare the measurement results up to the previous process with the measurement results up to the current process by the measuring device 22 to extract or calculate the deviation of the current process.

[0055] Alternatively, the deviation - correction cost database 4 may be updated at any time at the process completion stage, and the allowable combination may be recalculated from the cumulative deviation at the time of the process completion and the deviation distribution database for subsequent processes. However, since this process requires a large amount of computing power of the processor 11, it is more practical and desirable to simply compare the measurement results up to the previous process with the measurement results up to this process by the measuring device 22, and extract or calculate the deviation of this process.

[0056] Note that throughout the description including Example 1 so far, there can be various objects as process deviations, and any of them is an applicable example of the present invention. More specifically, various examples include mechanical deviations such as position and displacement. This includes not only displacements in the horizontal plane such as the X - axis and Y - axis, but also displacements in the height direction such as the Z - direction, or inclinations and rotations such as θ.

[0057] Alternatively, in a semiconductor manufacturing process or the like, the present invention can also be applied to inspections such as line width and position in each exposure process and each process inspection of a semiconductor. However, in a semiconductor manufacturing process, usually dozens to hundreds of semiconductor chips exist and are formed simultaneously on a single semiconductor wafer. For example, even if there is a deviation beyond the standard in one of them, it is usually difficult to take special measures for it. Therefore, inspections are carried out for process management, but for individual products, it is common practice to perform a pass - fail judgment on the finished products and discard defective chips, that is, management in terms of so - called yield. Therefore, the scope of application of the idea of the present invention is presumably limited, but it is not excluded from being applied. Conversely, the idea of improving the accuracy and reducing the rejection rate in the manufacturing process of individual products as in the present invention is essentially different in direction from the semiconductor manufacturing process. Therefore, it is considered that it is relatively difficult to come up with the present invention from various conventional technologies related to the semiconductor manufacturing process.

[0058] Optical misalignment is also included as an example of the object. For example, in the assembly of a camera including a number of optical system lenses, or even in a smartphone camera that includes multiple lenses, the optical characteristics of the finished product, such as focus and sharpness, are affected by the accuracy during assembly. Therefore, as an example, at each stage of assembly, mechanical misalignment such as position and displacement is measured, or light such as laser light or infrared light is transmitted through the lens to measure focus and sharpness, etc., to measure optical misalignment. Based on this misalignment, the present invention is applied to finally determine whether it falls within the allowable range or the design specification range, or whether corrective work is required for this purpose.

[0059] Thereby, it is possible to avoid a situation where there are only two choices of passing or rejecting in the inspection only in the completed state, and it is expected to reduce the rejection rate and increase the proportion of overall high-performance products. In addition, the reduction of the rejection rate can also meet the social requirement of reducing the environmental load especially in the manufacturing process.

[0060] In addition, electrical misalignment can also be targeted. In the recent trend of electrification of mobile bodies and the trend of distributed power generation, it is considered that the reduction of electrical misalignment will be prominently spotlighted in the future. For example, it is an example of a battery system for mobile bodies that combines a number of small batteries, or a large-scale power generation facility constructed by combining a number of solar cell panels.

[0061] In such cases, in the former case, depending on the combination of the electrical characteristics of the small batteries, it is assumed that the overall performance will be reduced due to being limited by particularly low-performance batteries, or an overcurrent will be applied to the low-performance batteries, resulting in a reduction in the lifespan and reliability of the entire battery system. In the latter case, it is assumed that the predetermined power generation performance cannot be achieved due to variations in the power generation efficiency of individual solar cell panels or variations in the installation angle and grounding direction.

[0062] The idea of the present invention is applicable to such electrical characteristics as well. In this case, the manufacturing plant 20 in FIG. 2 can be regarded as a comprehensive concept of manufacturing including, for example, installation work. The manufacturing plant 20 in the present invention includes such a comprehensive concept of manufacturing. Similarly, the production line 21 includes the concept of manufacturing or installation work, including the case of the work itself such as installation work. Further, the measuring device 22 includes the concept of measuring work, which is implemented by a portable device, for example, in installation work or the like. Also, the communication network 23 includes not only the so-called network-based methods, but also analog methods such as recording on paper or the like and subsequent information input.

[0063] It goes without saying that the electrical characteristics include so-called electrical characteristics such as magnetic force, electric power, resistance value, current density, voltage, and current.

[0064] Returning to the description of the flowchart in FIG. 7. The manufacturing operation of the process is performed at S20. The deviation amount is measured at S21. It is determined whether correction is required at S22. If it is determined that correction is not required, it is determined at S25 whether the application to all processes is completed. If not, it moves to the next process via S26 and returns before S20, and the manufacturing operation of the subsequent process is performed. If it is determined at S25 that all processes are completed, this flowchart ends. Note that after S25, a final inspection and a determination based on the result of the final inspection may be provided. However, since it is widely common for a final inspection to be performed, it is not illustrated for the sake of simplifying the description of the present invention.

[0065] FIG. 8 is a flowchart for further explaining the correction work. The difference from FIG. 7 is that when it is determined at S22 that correction is required, the correction work is performed at S23 and it returns before S21 which is the measurement of the deviation amount again.

[0066] At this time, regarding the content of the correction work S23, the manufacturing process management system 10 in FIG. 2 can give instructions to the production line 21. Of course, it does not exclude the involvement of human judges such as work responsible persons and on-site workers.

[0067] At this time, when performing the correction work in S23, it is more desirable for the manufacturing process management system 10 in FIG. 2 to instruct the content of the correction. That is, it is desirable to refer to the deviation-correction cost database completed in S16 and instruct the work in the direction of reducing the deviation or offsetting the deviation up to all processes. For example, when the amount of deviation is largely in the plus direction in the cumulative processes so far, it is a case where it is corrected by shifting it in the minus direction more actively.

[0068] The correction content can include various contents. For example, instructions on the correction direction and amount, instructions on the correction vector, instructions on component replacement, instructions on reprocessing, instructions on reassembly, etc. are also included as examples thereof.

[0069] The instruction on the correction vector is a case of an instruction including both the correction direction and the degree thereof.

[0070] The instruction on component replacement means that, for example, depending on the type of manufactured product, parts once used may be disposable. For example, various packings are an example thereof. Suppose there is a process of assembling a vacuum system with a packing interposed in the assembly work of the vacuum system. An example of an applicable case is when instructing the increase or decrease of the tightening pressure of a plurality of bolts and nuts occupying the packing for a specific bolt. At this stage, it is still an instruction in the form of an instruction on the target screw and an increase or relaxation of the tightening force.

[0071] However, when it has been tightened to a certain degree of pressure or more and it is determined that further tightening of the packing is necessary to ensure the vacuum performance, it may deviate from the range of use of the packing. In such a case, it may be more appropriate to remove the packing itself once, replace it with a new one, and reassemble it in view of the working time and the characteristics of the finished product. Therefore, in the present invention, the instruction for component replacement is also included as part of the instruction for the correction content.

[0072] The instruction for reprocessing includes, for example, various modification and addition processing steps such as heat treatment, baking treatment, painting treatment, plating treatment, magnetization treatment, or demagnetization treatment, including additional processing, change in the degree of processing, and additional response, etc.

[0073] The instruction for reassembly is an instruction to remove the component once and perform the assembly work of the process again. At this time, it is more desirable to include at least one of the instruction for the direction and amount of correction, the instruction for the correction vector, or the content to be noted during reassembly for the operator, the insufficient content assumed during the previous assembly work, and the content of assumed work mistakes, etc. Note that the present invention does not exclude an instruction for comprehensive reassembly over a plurality of past steps at this time. However, since the cost of correction increases rapidly when going back to a plurality of steps, it is more desirable to avoid it if possible. However, if there are other circumstances where it is necessary to prioritize the delivery date, such as the assembly of order-produced products considering the cost, etc., the instruction for reassembly or correction for going back to a plurality of steps is not excluded.

[0074] FIG. 9 is an example showing an example related to the correction instruction of the present invention in another flowchart.

[0075] In S30, the deviation of the current process is measured. In S31, it is determined whether the current process is qualified. If it is qualified, no correction work or the like is performed, and the process ends.

[0076] In the case of non-conformance, that is, when it is not within the allowable range in view of the deviation-correction cost database, that is, when it is determined that correction is necessary, the response will be determined at S32. Although this determination is mainly made by the manufacturing process management system 10 in the present application, it does not exclude those involving an artificial judgment process.

[0077] The determination at S32 is roughly divided into two categories. One is Option A, that is, retry at S34, perform the correction work, and then measure the deviation in the subsequent process after retrying at S30 again.

[0078] The other is Option B, that is, to relax or expand the deviation allowable range of the current process. In a sense, this means special relief for the process. Such a response is made when it is required by customers, etc. to prioritize the delivery date even if the characteristics of the entire product are relaxed, or when the manufacturing accuracy in the subsequent process is improved compared to the original assumption, and it is expected that the deviation in the subsequent process can be recovered or the accumulation of deviations can be suppressed.

[0079] However, usually, unless the deviation in the finished product is relaxed, etc., it is necessary to suppress the deviation in the subsequent process. In the manufacturing process management system of the present invention, when the deviation allowable range of the current process is relaxed at S33, then, at S35, the range of deviation allowed in the subsequent process is recalculated to reduce the combination or range of allowable deviations in the subsequent process of the target product. Thereby, even when the deviation allowable range in the process is expanded due to special circumstances, it becomes possible to manage the manufacturing process in the direction of keeping the deviation range of the entire product within the specifications.

[0080] Note that the relaxation or expansion of the allowable deviation range of the current process in the response determination at S32, in the case of selection B, can be applied, for example, even when the number of corrections in the process reaches multiple times. In such a case, even if selection A is chosen and the correction work is repeated, the correction cost will only accumulate and the product will not reach the acceptable quality, or a significant correction cost will be assumed until the product reaches the acceptable quality. In such a case, it is determined that there are some difficulties in the manufacturing process of the current process, and it is judged that relaxing the current process is advantageous in terms of the overall manufacturing cost and manufacturing time, even if the required accuracy of the subsequent process is strengthened. By corresponding with the combination of S33 and S35, it becomes possible to continue the manufacturing operation without excessively stagnating the manufacturing process.

[0081] Note that when such an event occurs, it is assumed that there is some problem in the background. Insufficient ability of a specific operator, insufficient accuracy of the parts for the current process incorporated, or trouble with the manufacturing equipment are examples of this. Therefore, when an event occurs in which the manufacturing process management system 10 selects option B, it is desirable for the manufacturing process management system 10 to issue an alarm for the occurrence of an abnormality and instruct an investigation of the cause and a response through the display device 16. At that time, it may also be in the form of issuing an alarm to the manufacturing factory 20 side via the communication network 23.

[0082] Note that when the ratio or frequency of passing the current process at S31 reaches a large number of target manufactured products, it is assumed that the accuracy in this process has been improved or enhanced beyond the initial assumption. Figure 10 is an example of the response in such a case. The difference from Figure 9 is that after the determination of passing the current process at S31, a consideration of reducing the allowable deviation range of the current process is carried out at S36. Note that it is not necessary to perform this S36 every time. It may be performed when the ratio of one-shot passing in this process exceeds a preset ratio, or in a specific case where the ratio has rapidly improved. At this time, the recalculation of the allowable deviation range of the subsequent process at S35 is the same as in Figure 9, but in Figure 10, there is a difference in that the recalculation is in the direction of expanding the allowable range.

[0083] As a result, since the tolerance range of deviation in the subsequent process can be expanded by the amount by which the deviation in the current process is reduced, it becomes possible to facilitate the manufacturing in the subsequent process and reduce the correction cost.

[0084] Needless to say, the flowcharts of FIGS. 9 and 10 can be incorporated into and applied as part of the flowchart of FIG. 8.

[0085] As described above, the technical idea of the present invention has been described with reference to the drawings in each embodiment. However, not limited to the described scope, as long as the technical idea of the present invention is used, modifications and the like thereof are also included in the scope of the present invention.

[0086] Also, a program, a manufacturing method, a manufacturing process management method, etc. for realizing the present invention are also included in the scope of the present invention as long as the technical idea of the present invention is applied.

[0087] Also, other additional items and other parameters may be used in the deviation-correction cost database of the present application. As long as at least the technical idea disclosed in the present specification is applied, these are also included in the scope of the present invention as modifications.

[0088] Also, the various inventions disclosed in the present specification described above can be expressed as follows as an example. <Part 1> In a manufacturing process management system for a product manufactured through a plurality of manufacturing processes, For each of at least two or more manufacturing processes, the distribution of deviation in each process is set in advance, the distribution of the deviation is divided into a plurality of regions, and a correction cost is set in advance for the plurality of regions. A deviation-correction cost database is provided in which deviations and correction costs are associated with respect to the entire two or more manufacturing processes. By setting the allowable amount and the allowable manufacturing cost of the entire product, A manufacturing process management system that presets combinations of deviations in each process that are within the allowable range. <Part 2> In the manufacturing process management system described in <Part 1>, referring to the deviation - correction cost database for the measurement results of the deviation amount in the process, a manufacturing process management system that determines whether correction is required for the process. <Part 3> In the manufacturing process management system described in <Part 2>, When it is determined that a process correction operation is required, an instruction to perform the correction is given, A manufacturing process management system that determines again whether correction is required for the process with respect to the measurement results of the deviation amount in the process after the correction is completed. <Part 4> In the manufacturing process management system described in <Part 3>, A manufacturing process management system that, when correction is required, instructs the content to be corrected. <Part 5> In the manufacturing process management system described in <Part 4>, The content to be corrected includes any one of an instruction on the correction direction and amount, an instruction on the correction vector, an instruction on part replacement, an instruction on re - processing, and an instruction on re - assembly in the manufacturing process management system. <Part 6> In the manufacturing process management system described in <Part 3>, When the number of corrections reaches multiple times, a manufacturing process management system that determines and instructs either the continuation of the correction operation or the expansion of the allowable deviation in the process. <Part 7> In the manufacturing process management system described in <Part 6>, When the expansion of the allowable deviation is selected, a manufacturing process management system that re - sets the combination of allowable deviations for the subsequent processes. <Part 8> In the manufacturing process management system described in <Part 7>, The combination of allowable deviations for the subsequent processes after the re - setting has a smaller allowable range than before the re - setting in the manufacturing process management system. <Part 9> In the manufacturing process management system described in <Part 8>, When the re - setting is performed, a manufacturing process management system that issues an alarm regarding the manufacturing process. <Part 10> In the manufacturing process management system described in <The Second>, A manufacturing process management system that re - sets the allowable deviation combinations after the next process based on the deviation amount in the process. <The Eleventh> In the manufacturing process management system described in <The Tenth>, The re - setting includes a case where the allowable range of deviation after the next process is expanded. A manufacturing process management system.

Explanation of Signs

[0089] 1: Distribution setting part 2: Area division part 3: Correction cost setting part 4: Deviation - correction cost database 5: Allowable combination calculation part 10: Manufacturing process management system 11: Processor 12: Communication device 13: Storage device 14: Memory 15: Input device 16: Display device 20: Manufacturing factory 21: Manufacturing line 22: Measuring device 23: Communication network

Claims

1. In a manufacturing process management system for products manufactured through a plurality of manufacturing processes, for each of at least two or more manufacturing processes, the distribution of deviations in each process is set in advance, the distribution of deviations is divided into a plurality of regions, and a correction cost is set in advance for the plurality of regions. A deviation-correction cost database is provided that associates deviations with correction costs for the entire two or more manufacturing processes. By setting the allowable amount and allowable manufacturing cost for the entire product, A manufacturing process management system that presets combinations of deviations in each process that fall within the allowable range.

2. In the manufacturing process management system according to Claim 1, with respect to the measurement result of the deviation amount in the process, the deviation-correction cost database is referred to, and a manufacturing process management system that determines whether correction is necessary for the process.

3. In the manufacturing process management system according to Claim 2, When it is determined that correction work for the process is required, an instruction is given to perform the correction. With respect to the measurement result of the deviation amount in the process after the correction is completed, again, a manufacturing process management system that determines whether correction is necessary for the process.

4. In the manufacturing process management system according to Claim 3, When correction is required, a manufacturing process management system that instructs the content to be corrected.

5. In the manufacturing process management system according to Claim 4, The content to be corrected includes any one of an instruction on the direction and amount of correction, an instruction on the correction vector, an instruction on part replacement, an instruction on reprocessing, and an instruction on reassembly. A manufacturing process management system.

6. In the manufacturing process management system according to Claim 3, When the number of corrections reaches multiple times, a manufacturing process management system that determines and instructs either the continuation of the correction work or the expansion of the allowable deviation in the process.

7. In the manufacturing process management system according to Claim 6, When the expansion of the allowable deviation is selected, a manufacturing process management system that re-sets the combination of allowable deviations for the subsequent processes.

8. In the manufacturing process management system according to Claim 7, The combination of allowable deviations for the subsequent processes after the re-setting has a reduced allowable range compared to before the re-setting. A manufacturing process management system.

9. In the manufacturing process management system according to Claim 8, When the re-setting is performed, a manufacturing process management system that issues an alarm related to the manufacturing process.

10. In the manufacturing process management system according to Claim 2, Based on the deviation amount in the process, a manufacturing process management system that re-sets the combination of allowable deviations for the subsequent processes.

11. In the manufacturing process management system according to claim 10, The manufacturing process management system, wherein the reconfiguration includes a case where the allowable range of deviation after the next process is expanded.

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