Development of a hand-held Burr measurement system for statistical process control of the trimming process

Burrs´ presence in autobody panels is perceived as highly damaging since they affect final quality especially in terms of corrosion resistance and assembly performances. Burr formation can be controlled during the trimming, therefore a hand held device that measure such a phenomenon is required by the automotive industry. Several sensing techniques were explored choosing, for this application, a cantilever probe fitted with strain gauges. The signal was amplified acquired and displayed employing an 8-bit microcontroller. The developed device shows high repeatability and it will be applied to set up an X-R Statistical Process Control Chart within an automotive manufacturer