Automated inspection of sheet metal parts for manufacturing applications

Automated inspection of parts is a requirement to assure quality and to reduce manufacturing costs and rework. This paper presents an inspection system of sheet metal parts with large and complicated curved surfaces used widely for manufacturing applications. For such sheet metal parts, which is characterized by a great volume, a big area, deforming easily and its loading and unloading can be difficultly, the required accuracy and rigidity of the system are critical features. The purpose of the system is to inspect sheet metal parts before and after the remanufacturing process for avoiding a range of possible errors that can occur during the manufacturing process. The proposed system focuses on the techniques of measuring and identifying part. The work uses the online measurement system (OLMS) developed with improved accuracy, flexibility and advanced measuring efficiency advantages, and the coordinates matching method to reduce computational time and mistake. Therefore, the system can work well for sheet metal parts mentioned. Experimental results on automated inspection of a variety of the metal skin of aircraft are reported to show the performance of the system in manufacturing processes.