Manufacturing Qualification via Shared Geometry Process Modeling

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Solution Overview

Problem

The process for qualifying component manufacturing processes, particularly for complex equipment like gas turbine engines, is expensive and time-consuming, necessitating improved systems and methods for demonstrating manufacturing process reliability and consistency.

Innovation Solution

A method involving obtaining manufacturing data from qualified components with common geometric features, modeling the manufacturing process, obtaining process parameters, and qualifying the process by modifying it to include these parameters, while indexing and storing data in a database to establish physics equivalence and determine process capability or performance metrics.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional qualification processes are used to demonstrate manufacturing process reliability, then process reliability is improved, but cost and time consumption increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemanufacturing process reliabilityVSAvoidqualification time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by collecting and storing manufacturing data from previously qualified components in a database. When qualifying a new manufacturing process, the system retrieves relevant historical data and uses it to pre-establish process parameters and capability metrics, eliminating the need to start qualification from scratch and significantly reducing time consumption.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates a digital copy of qualification data from previously qualified components. By indexing common geometric features and copying their associated manufacturing parameters, process capability data, and quality metrics, the system can rapidly qualify new processes that share similar features without repeating entire qualification cycles.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

2Reliability

If conventional qualification processes are used to demonstrate manufacturing process reliability, then process reliability is improved, but cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemanufacturing process reliabilityVSAvoidqualification cost

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The qualification system serves multiple functions: it acts as a database for historical data, an analysis tool for process capability assessment, and a repository for reusable qualification results. By making the system universal and multi-functional, it eliminates the need for separate conventional qualification processes for each new component, thereby reducing overall qualification costs while maintaining reliability standards.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes parameters by transitioning from physical prototype testing to digital data analysis. Instead of physically manufacturing and testing multiple prototypes (which is costly), the system uses parameter-based analysis of historical manufacturing data to qualify processes, significantly reducing material, labor, and time costs while maintaining reliability assurance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Productivity

If data from multiple qualified components is used to qualify a new process, then qualification efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvequalification efficiencyVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the qualification process by indexing common geometric features separately from component-specific data. This segmentation allows the system to efficiently retrieve and apply only the relevant portion of historical data (common features) while ignoring unrelated component specifics, thereby improving efficiency without requiring the system to manage all possible component variations in complex detail.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP4261637A1Manufacturing process qualification system and method

Publication Date: 2023.10.18 PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP

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AI summary

A method for qualifying a manufacturing process for a first component including a common geometric feature includes obtaining manufacturing data for the common geometric feature. The manufacturing data is associated with one or more qualified second components. The one or more qualified second components are different than the first component. Each of the one or more qualified second components include the common geometric feature. The method further includes modeling the manufacturing process for the common geometric feature of the one or more qualified second components using the manufacturing data, modeling the manufacturing process for the common geometric feature of the first component, obtaining manufacturing process parameters for the manufacturing process for the common geometric feature of the one or more qualified second components, and qualifying the manufacturing process for the common geometric feature of the first component.