irtual Manufacturing is
the use of a desk-top virtual reality system for the computer-aided design
of components and processes for manufacture. It offers unrivalled scope
for creating and viewing three-dimensional engineering models, later to
be passed to numerically-controlled machines for real manufacturing.
The University of Bath team are the first to demonstrate that this is not a pipe-dream but a valuable technique, destined to become part of the next generation of CAD products and in routine use wherever high-quality manufacturing is to be found. The research team is:
What follows is a brief description of what we can do today. If you are interested in seeing more, we will be pleased to demonstrate the system to you. Opportunities to work closely with companies wishing to use or market this system are welcomed.The computer system presents the user with a view of a virtual workshop, complete with milling machine, choice of tools, a robot and other items. This view is a fully-textured three-dimensional scene and may optionally be seen in stereo by wearing a special pair of spectacles. The spectacles have no physical connection to the computer so do not restrict your movement. In addition, they allow you to see the real world as well as the computer-generated one.
The machine is controlled using the panel in the top-left of the picture. The view in the top-right is a close-up and can be rotated at will - this is just like examining the component in your hands, except that you can do it while it is actually being machined, and you can have as many views as you like.
The main advantage of the virtual machine though is that mistakes are easily rectified: any metal which has been removed can be replaced just as quickly. In fact, you can edit your design with our system in much the same way that you edit text with a word processor.
At the design stage no constraints are applied to parameters like feed rate or depth of cut - allowing the design engineer to produce a rough design very quickly. The rough design can subsequently be replayed and all the parameters validated in a virtual manufacture stage. Of course, you can switch between design mode and manufacture mode at will - thus integrating the processes of design and manufacturing.
At any time, you can make measurements on the workpiece using built-in tools. The picture above shows a tool which measures from a selected surface to the current datum plane (transparent green). The values D and A are the distance and angle between surface and datum. We also use ray-casting to measure thickness into the surface and out from the surface.
When you are satisfied with the result, the system will not only have a complete CAD model of your component, it will also be able to reproduce the tool path needed to cut it, with all cutting mistakes removed, and carefully chosen with knowledge of the limitations of physical cutting rates.
As well as a milling machine we also have a robot in our virtual workshop. We can use this robot to spray-paint components that have been machined. The robot can be controlled either via a control panel or, more conveniently, directly in 3D using a 3D input device.
Links2Go Virtual Reality |
Vman Index. These documents are maintained by
Adrian
Bowyer.
