Reaching zero-defect manufacturing by compensation of dimensional deviations in the manufacturing of rotating hollow parts

Abstract

In many sectors such as the aerospace industry, the manufacturing of rotating components is based on multi-stage production systems to achieve the complex requirements of high quality products. Even in the presence of Industry 4.0 and the increasing connectivity, these systems are very prone to failure due to the high level of potential influences of both the system and the products, ultimately leading to defects. The project “ForZDM”, funded by the EU under Horizon2020, envisions reducing scrap rate by avoiding and compensating defects at an early stage thus guaranteeing a high quality product. This paper presents an approach using an existing manufacturing line to compensate the dimensional deviations of an inner contour of a turbine shaft at an early stage. Based on measurements of the inner contour, a new rotation axis for the subsequent manufacturing processes is calculated in order to avoid unbalances at the end-of-line control. Different algorithms are developed and integrated in a web-based application to find an optimal rotation axis under consideration of the to-be-manufactured outer contour in an operator-friendly usage on the shop floor. The application is connected with the measurement system and the subsequent CNC machine which enables automatic execution and data transfer.