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Holistic approach for geometric and technological similarity search in the production for profiled elements in the wood working industry for a more efficient production

  • In the whole field of woodworking, from carpentry to industry, new products are created and designed every day and manufacturers wonder if similar workpieces have already been produced in the company and if corresponding drawings, information, tools, jigs, etc. can be reused. Under certain circumstances, considerable duplication of work can be avoided and a more efficient production is possible. In order to find similar workpieces, it must be clarified what exactly is meant by similarity. The different fields of knowledge do not provide a clear definition. However, similarities are always used to compare objects. In woodworking, objects can be a wide variety of components and products, such as carcase sides, furniture fronts, fittings, tools or profile strips. The search for similar profiled elements – related to the potential, data structure and algorithms – is the focus of this paper. There is a wide range of different profiled elements, which are used constructively as well as decoratively, e.g. for baseboards, door frames, window frames or decorative moulding profiles. These profiles are manufactured in a multi-stage production process in which the workpieces are first machined with profiled tools before surface finishing takes place. Along this production chain, tools, machine settings and, in some cases, fixtures are used that are adapted to the respective profile and can be reused for the same or similar jobs. Inheritance of information offers the greatest potential of similarity search. Inheritance means that existing knowledge in the form of drawings, CNC programs, process parameters and setup specifications, etc., is transferred from existing profiles to a new profile. By inheriting existing information, for example, the effort required for process setting can be reduced by adopting spindle positions, positions of guides and stops, or feed and cutting speeds. However, this can only be done if the process knowledge and other technological information concerning a profile are sufficiently documented. This is the only way how all information is made available for the similarity search and inheritance, and also for setting the processes when the profile is manufactured once again. The profile data must therefore be stored in a meaningful structure without loss of information. Therefore, a holistic product data model was developed that combines the geometrical with the technological profile data. The developed model allows a combined search for geometrically and e.g. materially similar products – also with a weighted evaluation of the individual criteria. The research has shown that data modelling is the essential foundation for the implementation of modern AI algorithms to enable similarity search. In conclusion, the use of a search system for geometrically and technologically similar profiles represents a real innovation for wood processing companies. This paper presents a holistic approach for geometrical and technological similarity search presenting different algorithms
Metadaten
Author:Christian Kortüm, Stefan-Andreas Böhm
Parent Title (English):Proceedings of the 25th International Wood Machining Seminar
Editor:Gary Schajer
Document Type:Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Publication Year:2023
Tag:multi-stage production process; product data model; profiled elements; similarity search
Page Number:9
Peer reviewed:Ja
faculties / departments:Fakultät für Holztechnik und Bau