Fast and cost efficient measuring of geometry and temperature for open-die forging

In open-die forging it is state of the art to use simulation tools for creating forging plans and setpoint values for the forging press and the automated part manipulator. These forging plans define required positions and forces. Therefore, the process can be fully automated. However, even small variations of not considered influence parameters lead to different forging results and thus to a discontinuous process. Influencing factors are, e.g. material parameter deviations, uncertainties in force measurements or variations in the part temperature due to varying environmental conditions. This paper presents an approach for a fully automatic open-die forging process with respect to actual conditions, based on a parallel measurement of the workpiece geometry and temperature and a “process-real-time” adaptation on the controller system. The focus of this work is the development of a measuring strategy and an according sensor setup for the combined temperature and geometry measurement of the workpiece. In addition, the structure, the characteristic features of the components and the beam path of the sensors scanning units are shown. Furthermore, first experimental results for the alignment of the beam path are presented. In the outline, the setup and calibration strategy of the measurement system are stated.