Digital twin-based analysis of volumetric error mapping procedures

The evaluation of the volumetric accuracy of a machine tool is an open challenge in the industry, and a wide variety of technical solutions are available in the market and at research level. All solutions have advantages and disadvantages concerning which errors can be measured, the achievable uncertainty, the ease of implementation, possibility of machine integration and automation, the equipment cost and the machine occupation time, and it is not always straightforward which option to choose for each application. The need to ensure accuracy during the whole lifetime of the machine and the availability of monitoring systems developed following the Industry 4.0 trend are pushing the development of measurement systems that can be integrated in the machine to perform semi-automatic verification procedures that can be performed frequently by the machine user to monitor the condition of the machine. Calibrated artefact based calibration and verification solutions have an advantage in this field over laser based solutions in terms of cost and feasibility of machine integration, but they need to be optimized for each machine and customer requirements to achieve the required calibration uncertainty and minimize machine occupation time.This paper introduces a digital twin-based methodology to simulate all relevant effects in an artefact-based machine tool calibration procedure, from the machine itself with its expected error ranges, to the artefact geometry and uncertainty, artefact positions in the workspace, probe uncertainty, compensation model, etc. By parameterizing all relevant variables in the design of the calibration procedure, this simulation methodology can be used to analyse the effect of each design variable on the error mapping uncertainty, which is of great help in adapting the procedure to each specific machine and user requirements. The simulation methodology and the analysis possibilities are illustrated by applying it on a 3-axis milling machine tool.     

A rapid detection method for the surface defects of mosaic ceramic tiles

Due to its unique artistic value, mosaic ceramics are widely used in construction-related fields. To meet the artist's demand for high-quality mosaic ceramic to create artistic works, it is necessary to meet the needs for efficient screening of mosaic ceramic tiles. Different from the ordinary large-target ceramics, mosaic ceramics exhibit characteristics of small tile sizes, a variety of colors, large demand for quantities, and easy reflection on the surface. Common manual detection methods show problems of low efficiency or accuracy, easy to fatigue, and many others. To solve these problems, this paper proposes a new detection method to identify surface defects of mosaic ceramic tiles and designs a detection system platform to achieve rapid detection. The experiment proves that the detection system has a detection rate of 93.99% for small defects on the surface of mosaic ceramic tiles, and the detection time of a single mosaic ceramic tile is less than 0.06 s. The detection method can quickly and accurately screen out high-quality, defect-free mosaic ceramic tiles, which can effectively improve the quality and artistic value of mosaic ceramic art creation.     

Topology optimization of flexure hinges with a prescribed compliance matrix based on the adaptive spring model and stress constraint

This paper focuses on the configuration design of flexure hinges with a prescribed compliance matrix and preset rotational center position. A new method for the topology optimization of flexure hinges is proposed based on the adaptive spring model and stress constraint. The hinge optimization model is formulated by maximizing the bending displacement with a spring while optimizing the compliance matrix to a prescribed value. To avoid numerical instability, an artificial spring is used as an auxiliary calculation, and a new strategy is developed for adaptively adjusting the spring stiffness according to the prescribed compliance matrix. The maximum stress of flexure hinge is limited by using a normalized P-norm of the effective von Mises stress, and a position constraint of rotational center is proposed to predetermine the position of the rotational center. In addition, to reduce the error of the stress measurement, a simple but effective filtering method is presented to obtain a complete black-and-white design. Numerical examples are used to verify the proposed method. Topology results show that the obtained flexure hinges have the prescribed compliance matrix and preset rotational center position while also meeting the stress requirements.     

Nacre-Inspired,Liquid Metal-Based Ultrasensitive Electronic Skin by Spatially Regulated Cracking Strategy

The realization of liquid metal-based wearable systems will be a milestone toward high-performance, integrated electronic skin. However, despite the revolutionary progress achieved in many other components of electronic skin, liquid metal-based flexible sensors still suffer from poor sensitivity due to the insufficient resistance change of liquid metal to deformation. Herein, a nacre-inspired architecture composed of a biphasic pattern (liquid metal with Cr/Cu underlayer) as “bricks” and strain-sensitive Ag film as “mortar” is developed, which breaks the long-standing sensitivity bottleneck of liquid metal-based electronic skin. With 2 orders of magnitude of sensitivity amplification while maintaining wide (>85%) working range, for the first time, liquid metal-based strain sensors rival the state-of-art counterparts. This liquid metal composite features spatially regulated cracking behavior. On the one hand, hard Cr cells locally modulate the strain distribution, which avoids premature cut-through cracks and prolongs the defect propagation in the adjacent Ag film. On the other hand, the separated liquid metal cells prevent unfavorable continuous liquid-metal paths and create crack-free regions during strain. Demonstrated in diverse scenarios, the proposed design concept may spark more applications of ultrasensitive liquid metal-based electronic skins, and reveals a pathway for sensor development via crack engineering.     

Experimental investigation of different morphology textured ceramic tools by in-situ formed for the dry cutting

Surface texture is considered an important measure to improve the cutting performance of a tool. In this study, we have prepared three types of textured and conventional tools on the rake face by an in-situ formed method. During the experiment, the best parameters of three types of textured tools were selected for dry cutting AISI 1045 steel at different cutting speeds. Cutting forces, cutting temperatures, workpiece surface roughness, and tool wear were measured during the cutting process. The results showed that textured tools have significantly reduced cutting force, cutting temperature, and tool wear, and the roughness of the workpiece was improved compared with the conventional tool. The micro-pit texture tool has less stress contact region than the micro-groove width texture tool, but the micro-groove width texture tool exhibiting the best cutting performance. This investigation clearly showed that the textured tool prepared by the in-situ formed method has improved cutting performance.     

基于粒子群优化算法的五自由度机械臂轨迹规划

为了让机械臂的工作时间达到最优,以自主研发的抛光机器人样机为研究对象,针对手表表壳表耳部分的抛光过程,提出PSO算法对五自由度机械臂轨迹规划进行优化,并通过MATLAB软件进行机械臂的仿真与分析。仿真结果表明,基于PSO算法的轨迹规划使机械臂在工作过程中加加速度不会产生突变,运动轨迹精度高,机械臂工作时间达到最优。     

开关磁阻电机结构性转矩脉动抑制方法

开关磁阻电机具有结构简单、成本低和调速范围广等优势,但其双凸极结构和控制器的开关特性,导致存在转矩脉动现象,使得抑制转矩脉动成为焦点问题。首先从开关磁阻电机的结构和运行机理出发,针对线性解析方法难以分析转矩特征的问题,建立电机有限元模型求解出转矩特征并进行样机验证试验。分析样机结构参数对转矩脉动的影响,针对结构参数耦合问题,选择NSGA-Ⅱ算法在参数优化平台上对样机结构参数进行多目标寻优,在保证优化后样机的转矩脉动系数和平均转矩均优于初始电机的条件下,最终获得样机最优化结果。结果表明,不同结构参数对电机转矩的影响有较大的差异,对结构参数的优化能有效地抑制转矩脉动,该参数优化方法可以为开关磁阻电机结构性转矩脉动抑制提供参考。     

Synthesis and characterization of Ce/SiOC nanocomposites through the polymer derived ceramic method and evaluation of their catalytic activity

Cerium oxide and silicon oxycarbide (Ce/SiOC) porous nanocomposites have been synthesized through the polymer derived ceramic route. In the synthesis of the preceramic precursors, the addition of urea facilitates the deposition of Cerium atoms on the surface of SiO₂ nanoparticles since it prevents the SiO₂ from agglomeration. Both Ce and urea affects the structural and textural parameters of the obtained ceramics. Less crosslinked structures are formed when the urea concentration increases and it also provokes a reduction of the carbon crystallite size. Cerium, on the other hand, induces an increase of the carbon size as well as the number of SiOC units. Pore anisotropy and smoothness of the surface are also dependent on the composition of the material. As expected, the better thermocatalytic behavior against CO₂ decomposition is found at the largest Ce amounts but also, smooth surfaces and low pore anisotropies favor the accessibility of the gases to the thermocatalytic centers.     

Studying local liquid velocity in liquid–solid packed bed using the newly developed X-ray DIR technique

Combination of X-ray Digital Industrial Radiography (DIR) and Particle Tracking Velocimetry (PTV) techniques for local liquid velocity measurement (V_LL) has been newly developed and successfully applied for trickle bed reactor (TBR). The technique was validated against newly developed fiber optical probe technique. This work attempts to highlight the applicability of this newly developed technique on a liquid–solid packed bed reactor. In this work, liquid was represented by water and solids were represented by EPS beads. The EPS beads were chosen because of its low density property. Three superficial liquid velocities (V_SL) were applied to the system. The experiment was replicated four times. The digital industrial radiography (DIR) consists of a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) digital detector and X-ray source. Results of this work suggest that the technique has been successfully applied and comparable with previous work that has been done in the literature. It also suggests that there will be a maximum measurable interstitial liquid velocity when it travel inside the packed bed. The measured V_LL can have a maximum range that is between 4 and 4.7 times that of its V_SL. For V_SL=0.42±±2%, the V_LL-Max is in between 1.7 cm/s and 1.9 cm/s, V_SL=0.84±±2%, the V_LL-Max is in between 3.6 cm/s and 4.0 cm/s, and for V_SL=1.11±±2%, the V_LL-Max is in between 4.3 cm/s and 4.8 cm/s.