Automated Vision Inspection for Composite Ply Anomaly Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manual inspection of composite parts during manufacturing is time-consuming and lacks precision in identifying anomaly locations relative to the composite part and other plies, hindering timely and efficient anomaly addressing in automated lamination systems.
Innovation Solution
A vision-based inspection system scans the composite part during ply placement, maps anomalies to a digital part model with three-dimensional visualization software, and provides location coordinates, allowing for informed decision-making on anomaly addressing by overlaying visual indications, post-cure quality data, and sensor measurement locations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual inspection is used to identify anomalies, then anomaly detection capability is achieved, but inspection time increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual visual inspection with an automated vision-based inspection system that uses cameras and image processing algorithms to detect anomalies. This substitution of mechanical/manual inspection with automated optical inspection systems resolves the contradiction by maintaining high anomaly detection capability while dramatically increasing inspection speed and reducing manual labor time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a digital copy of the composite part through photogrammetry and 3D modeling, allowing anomalies to be detected and analyzed in the digital domain. This copying approach enables automated anomaly detection without requiring direct manual inspection of the physical part, thereby maintaining detection accuracy while improving inspection efficiency and productivity.
2Productivity
If automated vision systems are used to inspect plies, then inspection speed improves, but the ability to determine anomaly location and relationship to other anomalies is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a comprehensive digital model that copies not only the geometry of the composite part but also the locations of all detected anomalies. This digital replica preserves the spatial relationships and contextual information about anomaly positions relative to each other and to the part geometry, eliminating information loss while maintaining automated inspection speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple data streams including vision inspection data, photogrammetry data, 3D modeling data, and anomaly location data into a single integrated digital model. This consolidation ensures that all anomaly location context and spatial relationships are preserved in one comprehensive digital representation, preventing information loss while enabling fast automated inspection.
3Reliability
If manual inspection and marking of anomalies is performed, then anomaly identification is achieved, but the manufacturing process time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs anomaly detection and digital documentation as a preliminary action during the inspection phase, before the manufacturing process continues. By identifying and recording all anomalies in the digital model beforehand, the system enables rapid decision-making about which anomalies require repair and how to address them, eliminating the time-consuming manual inspection and marking process while maintaining identification accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual process of inspecting, marking, and documenting anomalies with an automated vision system that detects, locates, and records all anomalies in the digital model. This substitution eliminates the sequential manual operations that consume time, while the automated system maintains or improves anomaly identification accuracy through consistent algorithmic detection.
4Ease of operation
If comprehensive anomaly data is collected and mapped to digital models, then decision-making quality improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a simplified digital copy of the complex physical system, representing the composite part geometry and anomaly locations in a manageable digital format. This digital model serves as an information intermediary that organizes comprehensive anomaly data in a structured, easily analyzable form, improving decision-making quality without requiring the physical system itself to become more complex.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a digital model as an intermediary between the complex inspection data collection processes and the decision-making process. This intermediary digital representation simplifies the presentation of comprehensive anomaly information, making it easier to analyze and use for decision-making while isolating the complexity of data collection in automated subsystems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Facilitates timely and efficient detection and addressing of in-process anomalies, improving the overall manufacturing process by enabling precise location-based repairs and optimizing the manufacturing workflow.
Implementation Method 1
A vision-based inspection system may be utilized to scan a surface of the ply of the composite part during placement of the ply
Data Source
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AI summary
A method, system and computer-readable storage medium are provided to facilitate inspection of a composite part during manufacture. In the context of a system, a system for inspecting a composite part during manufacture is provided that includes an inspection system configured to detect an in-process anomaly with respect to a ply of the composite part during placement of the ply. The system also includes a computing system configured to determine part location coordinates of the in-process anomaly detected by the inspection system with respect to the ply of the composite part. The computing system is also configured to map the in-process anomaly to a digital part model based upon the part location coordinates. The system additionally includes a display, responsive to the computing system, configured to present a representation of the digital part model including an indication of the in-process anomaly relative thereto.