Methods and systems for numerical prediction and correction of processes using sensor data

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11256239-B2
Application number	US-201916674809-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 5, 2019
Priority date	Aug 13, 2019
Publication date	Feb 22, 2022
Grant date	Feb 22, 2022

Abstract

Methods and systems are disclosed for simulating a fabrication process based on real time sensor measurements obtained during the process. In one embodiment, a first simulation of the process computes a set of predicted physical responses based on a first set of assumed boundary conditions, and then, during the fabrication process sensor measurements are obtained and used to compute a second set of boundary conditions. A second simulation, based on the second set of boundary conditions, can then be performed to compute an updated set of predicted physical responses that can be compared to the previously computed set of physical responses. The difference(s) can be used to determine line, surface or volumetric response distribution from point, line or surface boundary conditions respectively, whether and how to modify the fabrication process (or other processes) and how to take additive and other manufacturing process decisions real-time using simulation. Other examples are also described.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing executable program instructions which when executed cause a data processing system to perform a method, the method comprising:
performing a first simulation of a fabrication process, the first simulation computing a first set of results to define predicted physical responses based on thermal properties for a first object to be created in the fabrication process, the first set of results based on a first set of one or more assumed boundary conditions;
receiving, from one or more sensors, sensor measurements of one or more parameters that are sensed by the one or more sensors during the fabrication process after the fabrication process has been initiated;
performing a second simulation based on the sensor measurements, the second simulation computing a second set of results based on the sensor measurements and based on a second set of boundary conditions that are based on the sensor measurements; and
storing the second set of results for use in performing a modified fabrication process.

2. The medium as in claim 1 wherein the modified fabrication process is a continuation of the fabrication of the first object after receiving the sensor measurements and wherein the thermal properties include CALPHAD properties.

3. The medium as in claim 2 wherein the method further comprises outputting the second set of results to drive the modified fabrication process for the continued fabrication of the first object.

4. The medium as in claim 1 wherein the modified fabrication process is used to fabricate a second object after the first object was fabricated or its fabrication was aborted.

5. The medium as in claim 1 wherein the method further comprises initiating the fabrication process to fabricate the first object.

6. The medium as in claim 1 wherein the method further comprises comparing the first set of results to the second set of results to determine a degree of discrepancy of at least one of temperature or displacement of one or more simulated nodes on a mesh in a finite element analysis simulation of the first object.

7. The medium as in claim 6 wherein the method further comprises dynamically updating the fabrication process as it occurs without stopping it to create the modified fabrication process based on the degree of discrepancy.

8. The medium as in claim 1 wherein the fabrication process comprises an additive manufacturing process and wherein information about the first object is stored in a computer automated design file having an STL file format.

9. The medium as in claim 8 wherein the method further comprises matching a sensed position on the first object during the fabrication process with a location in the computer automated design file.

10. The medium as in claim 1 wherein the first set of boundary conditions and the second set of boundary conditions are constraints used for the solution of one or more differential equations which are solved in the first simulation and the second simulation respectively.

11. The medium as in claim 1 wherein the sensor measurements comprise image data of the first object and wherein the image data is used to derive displacement data for nodes.

12. The medium as in claim 1 wherein the sensor measurements comprise temperature data for locations on the first object during the fabrication process, which locations are matched to the position of each node in a set of nodes in at least the second simulation.

13. The medium as in claim 1 wherein the method further comprises outputting display data to an augmented reality display, the display data based on the second set of results.

14. A method comprising:
performing a first simulation of a fabrication process, the first simulation computing a first set of results to define predicted physical responses based on thermal properties for a first object to be created in the fabrication process, the first set of results based on a first set of one or more assumed boundary conditions;
receiving, from one or more sensors, sensor measurements of one or more parameters that are sensed by the one or more sensors during the fabrication process after the fabrication process has been initiated;
performing a second simulation based on the sensor measurements, the second simulation computing a second set of results based on the sensor measurements and based on a second set of boundary conditions that are based on the sensor measurements; and storing the second set of results for use in performing a modified fabrication process.

15. The method as in claim 14 wherein the modified fabrication process is a continuation of the fabrication of the first object after receiving the sensor measurements and wherein the thermal properties include CALPHAD properties.

16. The method as in claim 15 wherein the method further comprises outputting the second set of results to drive the modified fabrication process for the continued fabrication of the first object.

17. The method as in claim 14 wherein the modified fabrication process is used to fabricate a second object after the first object was fabricated or its fabrication was aborted.

18. The method as in claim 14 wherein the method further comprises initiating the fabrication process to fabricate the first object.

19. The method as in claim 14 wherein the method further comprises comparing the first set of results to the second set of results to determine a degree of discrepancy of at least one of temperature or displacement of one or more simulated nodes on a mesh in a finite element analysis simulation of the first object.

20. The method as in claim 19 wherein the method further comprises dynamically updating the fabrication process as it occurs without stopping it to create the modified fabrication process based on the degree of discrepancy.

21. The method as in claim 14 wherein the fabrication process comprises an additive manufacturing process and wherein information about the first object is stored in a computer automated design file having an STL file format.

22. The method as in claim 21 wherein the method further comprises matching a sensed position on the first object during the fabrication process with a location in the computer automated design file.

23. The method as in claim 14 wherein the sensor measurements comprise temperature data for locations on the first object during the fabrication process, which locations are matched to the position of each node in a set of nodes in at least the second simulation.

24. The method as in claim 14 wherein the method further comprises outputting display data to an augmented reality display, the display data based on the second set of results.

25. The medium as in claim 1 wherein the second simulation provides data to mitigate a defect detected during the fabrication process.

26. The medium as in claim 1 wherein the second simulation provides data to predict thermal strain, from which residual stress is computed.

27. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing executable program instructions which when executed cause a data processing system to perform a method, the method comprising:
performing a first simulation of a first object involved in a process, the first simulation computing a first set of results to define predicted physical responses based on thermal or other properties for the first object, the first set of results base

Assignees

• Ansys Inc

Inventors

• Pal Deepankar
• Keshavamurthy Madhu

Classifications

• G05B19/4097 Primary

  characterised by using design data to control NC machines, e.g. CAD/CAM (G05B19/4093 takes precedence) · CPC title

• Y02P90/02

  Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] · CPC title

• G05B2219/32341

  Grafcet model, graph based simulation · CPC title

• G05B19/41885

  characterised by modeling, simulation of the manufacturing system · CPC title

• G05B19/41865 Primary

  characterised by job scheduling, process planning, material flow · CPC title