KNOWLEDGE-BASED METHOD FOR TOUCH PROBE CONFIGURATION IN AN AUTOMATED INSPECTION SYSTEM

Coordinate measuring machine (CMM) dimensional inspection is an integr al part of modern manufacturing processes, used to control the product ion quality of mechanical workpieces. An automatic planning system, li nking CAD with CMM, can increase inspection efficiency and effectivene ss, reducing or eliminating human influence. Developing a computer aid ed inspection planning (CAIP) system involves interpretation of part d esign (geometry and tolerance specifications), representation of inspe ction actions and their effects on the parts, reasoning about the effe cts of sequence of such actions, controlling the search and data manip ulation, as well as determining details of inspection and programming code for CMMs. In this way it is possible to automatize the different steps involved in a dimensional inspection: determining the measuring points, selecting inspection devices and sensors, determining a detail ed inspection sequence, etc. Touch probe selection is one critical ste p for inspection to be carried out on a coordinate measuring machine. The present paper reports the preliminary study and the prototypical r ealisation of an expert system to generate touch probe configurations. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.