A Review of Automated Inspection Planning Systems for Use with an Integrated Manufacturing System

The paper outlines a comprehensive state-of-the- ar t review of automated inspection planning systems for use with a co-ordinate-m easuring machine (CMM) and summaries the application methods and techniques used in automation of inspection planning for CMMs. A classification of the automate d inspection planning systems according to the concept, methodologies and techni ques used for inspection planning tasks has been identified and grouped. The rev iew also outlines the classification of inspection planning systems based on g eometric description, output format of inspection plan, type of inspected surfac es, level of automation and level of integration. Finally, the paper presents th e trends in the development of the commercial inspection planning systems using standardized world-wide communication standard for integration with advanced ma nufacturing systems. The inspection planning is an integral part of manufacturing planning and the qu ality assurance of products and processes is one of the important factors in mod ern manufacturing enterprises. One of the current trends is the desire for error -free, zero-defect, "six-sigma" manufacturing where bad parts are hardly ever produced. As a part of manufacturing process, the inspection process has the ro le to decide if the part accomplishes the design intent but also can assist the process control to provide a feedback to better control of manufacturing process es. Automated inspection planning systems has received wider attention in recent yea rs. Process planning in inspection is knowledge-intensive in nature and covered by the concept of computer aided inspection planning (CAIP). The process pl anning function of a manufacturing system is responsible for the transformation of product design specification into process specifications. An automatic inspec tion planning system is used to generate the inspection plan for a CMM related t o CAD model of the part and constraints of inspection process. The development o f inspection plan includes: tasks: identification of inspected features; selecti on of part set-up as part orientation, selection of fixtures and clamping devic es; selection of probe set-up as probe orientation and probe structure; determi nation of number and distribution of sampling points; generation of probe path; generation of CMM commands. To obtain an optimum inspection plan it is necessary that all these tasks involved in inspection plan to be optimum. Optimum inspect ion plans decrease the time and costs involved in inspection process and increas e the accuracy of results. A poor inspection plan is usually the result of: incorrect selection of inspected features, frequently changing of part orientati on, frequently changing of probe orientation, poor sampling and measurement stra tegies. The classification of the automated inspection planning systems according to the concept, methodologies and techniques used for inspection planning tasks has be en identified and grouped and their applications has been outlined. The applicat ion of hierarchical task-decomposition systems; expert systems; procedure syste ms has been summarized. The review also outlines the classification of inspectio n planning systems based on geometric description used, output format of inspe ction plan, type of inspected surfaces, level of automation and level of integra tion. The paper finally concludes the current trends and development of the commercial inspection planning systems using standardized worldwide communication standard for inspection data. Several CMM manufacturers have implemented software packag es that can be used to produce DMIS file automatically and to simulate the measu ring process.