Project BriefOpen Competition - Information Technology (October 2000)Smartsmith{Tm}: An Imaging-based High-temperature Deformation Process Control SystemCreate the first imaging-based system capable of modeling and controlling the deformation processes of ultrahot metals in forging and rolling, reducing waste by 90 percent, saving billions of dollars and reducing burn injuries in the work force. Sponsor: OG Technologies, Inc.58 Parkland PlazaSuite 200 Ann Arbor, MI 48103
Products that are manufactured by rolling and forging glowing-hot metals are critical to numerous U.S. industries, yet no system exists to precisely monitor defects and to control the quality of these products in real time. This is largely because radiated heat from the ultra-hot metals impairs the use of measuring instruments, including optical ones. The radiation makes it difficult to see and take detailed images of the shapes and surfaces of nascent parts. In addition, sensors can't stand up to the harsh processing environments: they must be placed as close as 10 centimeters to metals heated to temperatures of up to 1,850 degrees Celsius. Consequently, the dangerous task of monitoring the quality of hot products in rolling and forging is unattended or left to humans. The resulting lack of control adds up to billions of dollars in rejected parts and wasted energy costs. Now one small U.S. company, OG Technologies, has proposed the first system to solve these problems. The proposed system, "Smartsmith{Tm}", will consist of three innovative components: advanced sensors designed to detect surface imperfections by eliminating the image-distortion of high heat while also withstanding the searing temperatures; a device that accurately estimates the changing dimensions of parts as they are cooled; and a system that automatically detects processing problems and corrects them while parts are being formed, reducing defects. If successful, savings from using the system of more than $9 billion are projected for the rolling and forging industries, as well as saving 3 billion kilowatt hours of electricity. Smartsmith also could reduce the amount of metal scrap by 90 percent, saving about 11 million gallons of diesel fuel by cutting down on the need to ship rejected parts back to the factory. At the same time, using technology instead of people to scrutinize hot metal parts would result in fewer burn injuries. OG Technologies will work with Ohio State University and the University of Michigan to develop Smartsmith. Nine companies from the U.S. rolling and forging industries will support the work. The project requires ATP support because the company has been unable to attract venture capital funding for this high-risk work. Its success depends on overcoming the problem of heat-induced image distortion, while at the same time developing new models to predict geometrically complex work pieces, such as gears, turbine blades and crankshafts.
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