Integrated Constructs plans to develop an integrated suite of specialized software tools for design and manufacturing aimed at 1) predicting and minimizing burr formation in machining and metal-forming operations and 2) selecting and planning deburring operations, based upon these predicted burr characteristics, to maximize deburring process performance and lower the overall cost of the design-to-fabrication cycle for precision components. Pockets of burr formation data are known to exist within aerospace and automotive manufacturers. However, no software tool has been developed to integrate burr formation relationships with existing data to predict burr formation and to match predicted burr characteristics with deburring process capabilities. This project meets the need described in 'General Aviation Propulsion and Ice Protection Systems' (Sub-topic 2.02) under General Aviation (Topic 2). Specifically, we address the needs articulated under Innovative Design and Manufacturing for practical improvements in design for manufacturability of small components by introducing burr minimization during design stages by fine-tuning critical features with high burr formation potential. Burr control and elimination are further achieved during manufacturing process planning by implementing strategies to reduce variation in burr size and by employing a deburring process advisor driven by a deburring knowledge base.
Potential Commercial Applications:The 'Edge-Finishing MASTER' is an integrated software tool for controlling burrs and selecting effective deburring processes for designers and manufacturers of precision mechanical components. This tool has the potential to bring burr formation into the commercial 'design-for-manufacturability' arena by delivering knowledge bases that address burr formation as an outcome of all machining processes which can be controlled in the design and process planning stages. The 'Edge-Finishing MASTER' has potential commercial attractiveness in all industries which produce mechanical components. This tool is particularly useful for the aerospace, automotive and computer industries which require production of components with tight tolerances and burr-free drilled holes and milled surfaces. Very little, if any, commercial work has focused on burr formation and there are literally no software tools or design aides to examine burr formation or to integrate selection of a capable deburring process with specialized characterization of the burrs which exist, or which are predicted, on part edges. The types of parts for which the 'Edge-Finishing MASTER' could achieve cost savings in the production cycle by reducing deburring time and reducing the risk of part failure due to burr-related problems include: propulsion and automotive engine components, precision valves in the biomedical and chemical industry as well as for weapons, optical lenses, ball bearings, gears, computer disks and disk drives.
