ME-EM 2010 Annual Report

Table of Contents First Year to First Career Faculty & Staff Alumni Resources Graduates Publicationshttps://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/mechanical-annualreports/1008/thumbnail.jp

Fault detection and prognosis of assembly locating systems using piezoelectric transducers

Fixture faults have been identified as a principal root cause of defective products in assembly lines; however, there exists a lack of fast and accurate monitoring tools to detect fixture fault damage. Locating fixture damage causes a decrease in product quality and production throughput due to the extensive work required to detect and diagnosis a faulty fixture. In this paper, a unique algorithm is proposed for fixture fault monitoring based on the use of autoregressive models and previously developed piezoelectric impedance fixture sensors. The monitoring method allows for the detection of changes within a system without the need for healthy references. The new method also has the capability to quantify deterioration with respect to a calibrated value. Deterioration prognosis can then be facilitated for structural integrity predictions and maintenance purposes based on the quantified deterioration and forecasting algorithms. The proposed robust methodology is proven to be effective on an experimental setup for monitoring damage in locating fixtures. Fixture wear and failure are successfully detected by the methodology, and fixture structural integrity prognosis is initiated. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009