Enhanced flexible process optimizer

Abstract

The invention describes a flexible process optimizer for recording and analyzing various parameters to improve the efficiency of a production process. The flexible process optimizer acquires and conditions signals from a variety of transducers mounted on a production machine. Through qualitative and quantitative data analysis, specific aspects of the production process which need improvement are identified. The qualitative evaluation looks at the presence, absence, level, rate of change or duration of certain features of the production cycle as revealed by the sensor data. The quantitative evaluation of data involves the computation of certain data attributes. By providing useful data acquisition and data analysis tools, necessary adjustments are made to the required parameters of the production process to provide improved efficiency. The results of the changes are immediately verifiable on the display of the flexible process optimizer.

1 . A method for measuring electrical signal parameters that are indicative of one or more characteristics of a manufacturing process, and analyzing waveforms derived from the measured electrical signal parameters to optimize the manufacturing process, the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) acquiring first data related to a first electrical signal parameter indicative of a measure of nominal material removal from a component of manufacture at a given time in a production cycle;   (b) acquiring second data related to a second electrical signal parameter indicative of a measure of power consumed by a material removal tool at any time during the production cycle;   (c) generating first and second waveforms corresponding to the first and second data; and   (d) observing the first and second waveforms on a display device as adjustments are made to optimize the manufacturing process.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein step (a) comprises acquiring first data indicative of a position of the material removal tool relative to any portion of the component of manufacture as material is removed from the component of manufacture during the period of time. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein:
 step (a) comprises acquiring the first data indicative of a measure of material removed from the component of manufacture during a grinding operation; and   step (b) comprises acquiring the second data indicative of a measure of power consumed by a grinding wheel during the grinding operation.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising adjusting a rate of removal of material from the component of manufacture to optimize the manufacturing process, the adjusting based at least in part on the analysis of the first and second waveforms. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the first electrical signal parameter is a primary input variable which is controllable by an operator during the manufacturing process, and the second electrical signal parameter indicates a response of the material removal tool to changes in the primary input variable. 
     
     
         6 . An apparatus for measuring electrical signal parameters that are indicative of one or more characteristics of a manufacturing process performed by a production machine, and analyzing waveforms derived from the measured electrical signal parameters, the apparatus comprising:
 a first sensor module for measuring a first electrical signal indicative of a primary variable in the manufacturing process during a period of time, where the primary variable represents an aspect of the manufacturing process that is controllable by an operator of the production machine;   a second sensor module for measuring a second electrical signal indicative of a secondary variable in the manufacturing process during the period of time, where the secondary variable represents a response of the production machine to a change in the primary variable;   a processing device in communication with the first and second sensor modules for generating first and second waveforms corresponding to the first and second electrical signals; and   a display device in communication with the processing device, the display device for displaying the first and second waveforms to provide information useful in making adjustments to optimize the manufacturing process.   
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6  wherein the primary variable corresponds to an amount of material removed from a component of manufacture during the period of time, and the secondary variable corresponds to power consumed by a material removal tool during the period of time. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 7  wherein the first electrical signal is indicative of a position of the material removal tool relative to any portion of the component of manufacture as material is removed from the component of manufacture during the period of time. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 7  wherein the first electrical signal is indicative of a measure of material removed from the component of manufacture during a grinding operation, and the second electrical signal is indicative of power consumed by a grinding wheel during the grinding operation. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 6  further comprising a machine interface in communication with the processing device and in communication with a controller of the production machine, the machine interface for receiving information from the processing device for adjusting settings of the controller to optimize the manufacturing process. 
     
     
         11 . An apparatus for measuring electrical signal parameters that are indicative of one or more characteristics of a manufacturing process performed by a production machine, and analyzing waveforms derived from the measured electrical signal parameters, the apparatus comprising:
 a sensor module for generating a first electrical signal indicative of a parameter of the manufacturing process at a first time;   a processing device in communication with the sensor module, the processing device for receiving and processing the first electrical signal to generate a first waveform based thereon;   a data storage device for storing the first waveform;   the sensor module for generating a second electrical signal indicative of the parameter of the manufacturing process at one or more second times occurring after the first time;   the processing device for receiving and processing the second electrical signal to generate a second waveform based thereon;   a display device in communication with the processing device, the display device for generating a graphic overlay of the first and second waveforms to allow simultaneous viewing of the first and second waveforms; and   an input device in communication with the processing device, the input device for accepting commands from a user to control the processing device to selectively modify the graphic overlay of the first and second waveforms on the display device.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11  wherein the processing device receives and processes the first and second electrical signals over an extended time that includes the first time period during which a first repetition of a repetitive step of the manufacturing process is performed and the one or more second time periods during which one or more second repetitions of the repetitive step are performed after the first time period, whereby the graphic overlay of the first and second waveforms provides for simultaneous viewing of information related to the first and one or more second repetitions of the repetitive step. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 11  wherein
 the processing device generates the first waveform at a first amplitude scale and the second waveform at a second amplitude scale that may be the same as or different from the first amplitude scale, and   the input device accepts commands from the user to adjust one or more of the first amplitude scale of the first waveform and the second amplitude scale of the second waveform displayed on the display device.   
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 11  wherein the display device generates the graphic overlay comprising the first waveform displayed having a first display characteristic and the second waveform displayed having a second display characteristic that may be different from the first display characteristic, wherein the first and second display characteristics are selected from the group consisting of a first color, a second color, a first line type and a second line type. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 11  wherein the input device accepts commands from the user to control the processing device to modify the graphic overlay on the display device by shifting the first waveform with respect to the second waveform or by shifting the second waveform with respect to the first waveform. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 11  wherein the input device accepts commands from the user to control the processing device to modify the graphic overlay by adjusting an amplitude or time scale of one or more of the first and second waveforms on the display device. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 11  wherein the second waveform is based on a real-time second electrical signal. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 11  further comprising a machine interface in communication with the processing device and in communication with a controller of the production machine, the machine interface for receiving information from the processing device to adjust settings of the controller to optimize the manufacturing process. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 11  wherein the input device is further for accepting commands from the user for entry of information to be displayed as identification labels or comment fields on the display device in association with the first or second waveforms. 
     
     
         20 . A method for measuring electrical signal parameters that are indicative of one or more characteristics of a manufacturing process, and analyzing waveforms derived from the measured electrical signal parameters to optimize the manufacturing process, the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) calibrating at least one sensor module over a first amplitude range;   (b) acquiring sensor data related to an electrical signal parameter using the at least one sensor module over the first amplitude range; and   (c) generating a real-time waveform corresponding to the sensor data on a display device over a second amplitude range that is less than or greater than the first amplitude range, wherein the second amplitude range is adjustable in real time, and wherein the real-time waveform is generated in a time scale that is adjustable in real time as sensor data is acquired.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20  further comprising:
 step (c) including generating on the display device a graphic overlay of multiple waveforms corresponding to two or more of:
 the sensor data in the first amplitude range in real time, 
 the sensor data in the first amplitude range stored in a memory device, 
 the sensor data in the second amplitude range in real time, and 
 the sensor data in the second amplitude range stored in the memory device; and 
   (d) accepting commands from a user to select the sensor data to be included in the graphic overlay on the display device.   
     
     
         22 . A method for measuring electrical signal parameters that are indicative of one or more characteristics of a manufacturing process, and analyzing waveforms derived from the measured electrical signal parameters to optimize the manufacturing process, the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) acquiring sensor data related to one or more electrical signal parameters using at least one sensor module;   (b) generating a first waveform corresponding to the sensor data on a display device in a first window, wherein the first waveform has a first time scale and a first amplitude scale, wherein the first amplitude and time scales are adjustable in real time; and   (c) generating a second waveform corresponding to the sensor data on the display device in the first window or in a second window that may be positioned on the display device independently of the first window, wherein the second waveform has a second time scale that is different from the first time scale, and a second amplitude scale that is different from the first amplitude scale.   
     
     
         23 . A method for measuring electrical signal parameters that are indicative of one or more characteristics of a manufacturing process performed by a production machine, and analyzing waveforms derived from the measured electrical signal parameters to optimize the manufacturing process, the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) providing one or more sensors attached to the production machine for generating one or more electrical signals indicative of operational characteristics of the production machine;   (b) processing the one or more electrical signals to generate operational characteristic data,   (c) selecting time and amplitude settings for a display device to display one or more waveforms corresponding to the operational characteristic data,   (d) displaying the one or more waveforms on the display device,   (e) observing the one or more waveforms on the display device to monitor the manufacturing process,   (f) capturing a graphic image of the one or more waveforms displayed on the display device; and   (g) storing the graphic image in a storage device for future display.   
     
     
         24 . A method for measuring electrical signal parameters that are indicative of one or more characteristics of a manufacturing process performed by a production machine, and analyzing waveforms derived from the measured electrical signal parameters to optimize the manufacturing process, the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) attaching a plurality of sensors to the production machine for generating sensor signals indicative of operational characteristics of the production machine, the plurality of sensors selected from the group consisting of vibration sensors, position sensors, form sensors, power sensors, fluid characteristic sensors, temperature sensors and pressure sensors;   (b) processing the sensor signals to generate sensor data,   (c) selecting time and amplitude settings for a display device to display the sensor data,   (d) displaying two or more waveforms corresponding to the sensor data from two or more of the plurality of sensor signals simultaneously on the display device, and   (e) observing the two or more waveforms on the display device to monitor progress of the production process.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24  wherein step (d) further comprises selecting any combination of the two or more waveforms to be simultaneously displayed on the display device, wherein the selection of waveforms for display is controlled by processing commands executed by a processor of a process monitoring device.