KEYWORDS: Process modeling, Chemical lasers, Laser processing, Control systems, Manufacturing, Materials processing, Chemical reactions, Data modeling, Laser stabilization, Etching
Micro forming tools require high surface quality as well as contour accuracy, i.e. close tolerances at small dimensions.
However, their structuring with necessary accuracy is limited to a small number of applicable technologies due to the
mechanical properties of the tool material on micro scale. This contribution reports on an approach for machining
techniques for precise tool finishing, developed at Bremer Institut für angewandte Strahltechnik GmbH (BIAS) called
Laser-Jet-Process (LJP). This approach is based on a laser-chemical etching method where a focused laser beam is
guided coaxially to an etchant jet-stream onto the material surface. The material removal is a result of laser-induced
chemical reactions between etchant and surface at low laser powers. The evaluation of data shows a strong correlation of
material removal and several process variables. In particular, high laser powers combined with high feed rates of the
work piece and low flow rates of the etchant result in a break-off in material removal. In order to overcome this issue, the
process boundaries have been experimentally determined and implemented in a quality control system. The quality
control system consists of an automated path planning model and an inverse process model. The automated path
planning model computes position and Gaussian intensity profile for a sequence of overlapping laser removal paths to
achieve the desired tool shape. The inverse process model renders specific process variables for every single removal
path from a pre-assembled data pool within experimentally defined boundary conditions.
This paper reports on the calibration routine developed for an absolute measurement of the mean radius and the ovality
of a ring. By means of six laser triangulation sensors, the measurements are performed in-process in a furnace during
heat treatment. The lack of precise information about the exact position and direction of the sensors and the minimal
accessibility of the ring in the furnace is challenging and leads to a complex calibration routine. The calibration includes
the application of gauge rings with different diameters. The developed routine is described and calibrated measurement
results are compared with coordinate measurement machine (cmm) data. Concerning the ring radius (~ 72.5 mm), the
comparison exhibits a deviation to the cmm data of less than 35 μm.
This paper presents a simulation approach for light scattering from surfaces containing spherical and elliptical nanoparticles. For this approach an electrically equivalent macro model is derived based on the analytical solutions of Maxwell's equations (e.g. Mie's solution of a sphere). These macro models do not necessarily fulfill the boundary conditions or give the correct near-field but they provide a suitable far-field solution. The benefit of this approach is an abstract model for the far-field computation that is much more efficient than known solutions like FEM. The radiation sources at the surface are reduced to a maximum like a single source for a whole particle, which gives the correct far-field but does not fulfill the boundary conditions. For the set of radiation sources used for the macro models the approach presented here reverts to the accurate computation of simple geometries. In this special case of spherical and elliptical particles the solution of the Mie theory can be used. In this paper it is shown that in the case of nanostructures the far-field of a sphere and an ellipse can be replaced by the radiation field from a set of dipoles. Based on these results it is possible to approximate an equivalent macro model of the surface containing spherical and elliptical elements. The presented macro model provides a very reasonable simulation approach with acceptable simulation times for large surface areas of several square millimeters.
KEYWORDS: Light scattering, Radium, Speckle, Scattering, Speckle pattern, Near field, Laser scattering, Near field optics, Finite element methods, Computer simulations
This paper deals with an efficient computation method for scattered light intensity distributions, which occur, if a nanostructured surface is illuminated with a monochromatic laser beam of several millimeters in diameter. The minimization of the computational amount is an essential precondition in connection with the development of powerful design tools for laser optical surface measuring methods, which derive structure characterizing attributes from structure dependent scattering effects.
The presented approach differs from concepts based on near-field solutions of the Maxwell equations (finite element methods (FEM), finite difference time domain methods (FDTD)) or approximation methods for the near-field (Discrete Dipole Approximation (DDA), Generalized Multipole Technique (GMT)) as the near-field is not computed. Instead, an electrically equivalent model based on pre-computed radiation sources like Huygens point sources, dipoles, quadrupoles, etc. is used, which for standard geometrical nanostructures (cylindrical holes, spheres and ellipsoids) leads to the same far-field distributions as the conventional methods. In order to simulate the scattered light by an arbitrary surface it is divided into subwavelength geometries, which can be substituted by electrically equivalent dipole radiation sources. The far-field is calculated with a numerical scalar method. The computational effort is much smaller compared to algorithms based on the solution of Maxwell's equations.
Parallel kinematics machines (PKM) present a promising new formation of machine kinematics. But, their application is limited due to insufficient positioning accuracy, caused by errors of the transformation model and indirect position measurements. The theoretically attainable machining accuracy of machine tools is further decreased by unsolved calibration problems, which are the most important obstacles concerning the introduction of new machine tools with parallel or hybrid kinematics. This paper presents a conceptual improvement based on a direct position measurement in Cartesian coordinates, which overcomes these problems.
Fringe Projection systems generate phase distributions of an object illuminated with a specific fringe pattern. These phase correspond to the object coordinates. It is mostly necessary to transform the dimension-less phases to a metric dimension. Until today this is realized by photogrammetric techniques, which are subdivided into three main processes. At first a reference plane is defined. Then a grid within this plane is fixed. In the third step, the height axis is calibrated by different methods, for example, by use of a single height step or another well defined base object. This article describes a new method to calibrate the measuring volume by a multi-value calibration algorithm. As a first step, the fringe projection systems detects the phase distribution of a plane, denoted as reference plane. The, the plane moves stepwise in z-direction. In each step the phase distribution is detected, while an interferometer measures the distance of the z-coordinate form the reference plane. Together with the discrete x-y-coordinates of a CCD- detection unit, a 3D measuring volume is defined. The volume calibration is performed by separate polynomials for each x- y-coordinate, which are derived from the corresponding values of the phase distributions and the interferometric height values. With this method some problems of the conventional 'single value calibration' can be solved. This contribution describes the theoretical solution of the problem and presents first experimental results.
The nitration process influences the mechanical and chemical properties of steel and changes the near-surface characteristics. The nitrided surfaces are less sensitive to corrosive fluids and show a better stability against abrasion. Unfortunately, during treatment pores emerge at the surface. In general this is not desired, since the pores reduce the wear stability. The change of the near-surface characteristics also leads to a remodeling of the surface topography. For example, ground, smooth surfaces show an increased but isotropic roughness after nitration. During the recent years, various speckle techniques for an in-process characterization of surface topography have been improved significantly. One of these promising techniques is the method of trichromatic speckle autocorrelation. Its measuring principle is based on trichromatic light scattering and enables to determine an integral parameter of the surface roughness by the evaluation of the speckle elongation. Especially in the case of nitration, where the specimen is located in a stove filled with ammonia at a temperature of 580 degrees Celsius, this technique offers an in-processing monitoring of surface topography changes from outside the stove. In this paper, the in-process characterization of surface topography by speckle autocorrelation will be introduced. In this context an algorithm has been developed, which allows to estimate the position of the optical axis within the speckle pattern and therefore to determine the surface roughness as well as the local inclination of isotropic surfaces. An important goal of the current research is to realize a reliable process control based on the speckle autocorrelation, that is necessary to produce nitrided surfaces without pores in the compound layer and with good abrasive and corrosive resistance.
For more than a double photothermal measurement techniques offer the suitability for a non-destructive and contactless evaluation of coating thicknesses and for the investigation of boundaries between a surface layer and its base material. In the following sections, we want to describe in detail the use of the photothermal radiometric technique (which is the most promising photothermal method for an in-line manufacturing control) on different interfaces embedded in an optically opaque workpiece. Additionally, we will demonstrate the effect of adhesion defects on the photothermal signals, or, vice versa, how the obstructed propagation of thermal waves can be explained by thermal contact resistances when delaminations or disbondings are located between a coating and its substrate. For this purpose, we mainly analyze very accurately the frequency dependence of the photothermal phase signal. Theoretical calculations and some experimental verifications on painted and on galvanically plated metal substrates will be presented. In summary, the photothermal measurement techniques allow to characterize subsurface adhesion defects possibly leading to a failure of a used component. Therefore we suggest that the photothermal instruments are usable for production control.
Mechanical or structural changes on surfaces and in near- surface layers become detectable by photothermal measurement techniques, when they correlate with alterations of thermal properties. We apply this approach on the detection of variations in ceramic surfaces (silicon nitride, WIDIANIT or alumina) wherein a mechanical impact load or a thermal surface treatment have been induced. Vickers indentations model the mechanical load during grinding and a thermal surface treatment was performed by pulsed laser illumination. Afterwards, the treated areas are either scanned stepwise resulting in a lateral resolution comparable to microscopic images (thermal microscopy) or examined at different modulation frequencies. The photothermal images show remarkable changes near the marked areas depending on the different loading strengths. Proceeding from the photothermal signals' amplitude and phase the depths and profiles of thermal conductivity variations can be reconstructed. Certainly, mechanical changes on surfaces and in near-surface layers, cracks and plastic deformations as well as alterations of the microcrystalline structures are responsible for these effects. Finally, we intend improving the surface finishing by the applied laser and thermal treatments.
Photothermal measurement techniques offer sensing methods for the determination of material properties and for a contactless and non-destructive identification of subsurface defects and hidden structures. Our special interest in these fields is focused on the non-destructive parameter evaluation of coatings, of disturbed zones and surface layers after manufacturing processes (e.g. grinding, hardening, or cutting). Our aim is to present some theoretical aspects and experimental results of the photothermal measurement techniques with respect to a non- destructive and reliable thermal material characterization and to an identification of subsurface defects and hidden structures. Two different photothermal detection techniques have been used: the optical beam deflection and the radiometric method. The results combined with image processing routines and numerical data analysis may be used in order to characterize the materials' properties and their response to different kind of loadings.
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