DEVELOPMENT OF A GEOMETRIC ACCURACY MACHINE VISION APPLICATION FOR METAL CASTINGS

Metal castings provide critical products to several industries such as aerospace, medical, and automobile.A prominent level of geometric accuracy is required in high-value casting components to ensure an adequate level of quality.While traditional methods of measuring critical features on metal castings such as laser scanning measurements have proven effective to determine geometric accuracy, these techniques are often time consuming and require costly equipment and labor time.The aspect of geometry measurement in Industry 4.0 involves the application of advanced digital technologies to streamline the measurement of geometric features through machine vision techniques.Machine vision systems utilize cameras and image processing algorithms to capture and analyze visual data from manufactured parts to accurately measure geometric features, enabling real-time inspection and quality control.While previous research has been conducted into the accuracy and efficiency of laser scanning methods and gauge measurement methods, little research has been conducted in the application of machine vision for geometric accuracy of metal castings.In this study, a machine vision application is introduced and utilized to analyze, measure, and evaluate parts based on the critical geometry of two castings.The geometry measurements have been done on as-built components using caliper and machine vision techniques.The results of the machine vision application are compared to manual measurements using a caliper.The study demonstrated the effectiveness of machine vision technology in accurately measuring geometric features of metal casting components.Potential for the introduction of this application of machine vision to the metal casting industry in the context of industry 4.0 is also discussed and an implementation framework is introduced as well.