Flexible system for metallography analysis.

Vesselenyi, Tiberiu ; Moga, Ioan ; Mudura, Pavel 等

1. INTRODUCTION.

The idea of an automated metallographic laboratory is sustained by an increasing need for an efficient quality control of products in the context of a higher competition level on the global market (Vesselenyi, Mudura, 2001), (Vesselenyi, 2005).

A laboratory for automated preparation and analysis of metallographic probes would improve the quality of the products at sustainable costs and would offer services of analysis and verification for an important number of industrial companies, because small and medium companies can hardly afford necessary investments in laboratories of their own, and in the big companies, more frequently the strategy of services externalization is used. In this way potential beneficiaries are all the companies that use, in their products, metallic materials which have to fulfill proven quality materials.

The microstructures database of the system can be used by the clients not only for production connected activities but in the R&D activities, developed for elaboration of new materials and as an information centre in this field. Beside industrial companies, the flexible system and its database can be used by universities and other institutions for educational purposes.

This paper highlights the advantages of a project which would aim to develop a flexible system for metallography analysis.

2. FLEXIBLE SYSTEM STRUCTURE

In metallographic domain, there are systems that have in their structure a microscope, storage device microscope, and a service robot ("CLEMEX Robotic Imaging Analysis System", all together with a software for image processing Clemex Vision), but without automated probe preparation integration, this task being fulfilled by human operators. Automated metallographic image analysis also remains an open field, not fully investigated yet, especially in what concerns classification, interpretation and automated recognition of microstructure (MetLab Corporation), (VISIONx Inc.), (ASM Materials Information), (Alicona Imaging), (METADEX).

According to the studied documentations, it is estimated that a flexible system which can solve the problems both for automated preparation of probes and automated metallographic analysis, (even for a small group of microstructures), was not yet developed.

The purpose of a project to develop such system, on short term, is the development of a distributed flexible system which has to be able to provide services in metallic materials verification and identification and a database containing microstructures, with Internet accessibility which may be consulted by industrial clients, universities and research institutes. The strategic purpose is to initiate a platform in order to support product quality maintenance in which the partners represent a core of expertise.

Command and control of the flexible system, using intelligent agents and the scattered nature of the flexible system are representing new elements in the field.

The flexible system should integrate the subsystem for microstructure investigations (METSYS) and the subsystem for chemical investigations (CHEMSYS) creating a distributed structure, connected through Internet. This flexible system can solve complex problems, which today can be solved only by human operators. During flexible system construction the mechanisms for innovative solution implementation are created.

The flexible system for metallographic analysis represents a new concept, namely that of an expert flexible system, in which the final products are not physical objects but the information about materials obtained after their processing. The system involve innovative construction and information technology solutions: a new command language of the system based on intelligent agents; construction solutions for the flexible system mechanics of preparing metallographic probes, etching, washing and drying of probes, positioning the probes on the microscopes table and also microstructure image processing algorithms (Vesselenyi, 2005).

The proposed metallographic analysis distributed flexible system is structured from two subsystems with a permanent Internet connection, one dealing with chemical analysis (CHEMSYS) and one dealing with preparing probes and metallographic analysis (METSYS). The command program of the flexible system is based on decisions and actions of four intelligent agents (I.A.) generically denominated: "Coordinator" (it coordinates actions, assists decisions, solve conflicts between the other agents), "Metallographer" (metallography analysis), "Chemist" (chemistry analysis) and "Assistant" (figure 1). Intelligent agents are in a permanent cooperation, are accessible to the human operator, demands and give information, deliver warnings and messages to the operator, take decisions on their own action domain and launch different tasks to be executed, coordinates actions for common use of system's resources. Intelligent agents are manipulating information objects in a direct connection with physical objects: system components (robots, magazines, modules for probe processing) or processed probes.

Real objects (system's components) are materialized by probe grinding machine, laboratory industrial robots (with max. manipulated weight of 0,2 kg), magazines, motorized stage microscopes, washing and drying modules, etching modules.

The other goal of this project would be an Internet accessible database which has (in addition from a keyword based browsing engine), a "searching by content" service centre, in which the client transmits an image file and different information about an analyzed material and the system, based on image processing algorithms and developed decision making algorithms, is capable to return the microstructure, that is best related to the presented one (figure 2). In this case the same algorithms are used as in the probe's case.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

[FIGURE 3 OMITTED]

A generic technological flux for probe preparation and analysis is shown in figure 3.

In what concerns programming media that are used, software applications can be firstly developed in MATLAB package (Image Processing Toolbox, Neural Network Toolbox, Fuzzy logic Toolbox, Control System Toolbox, MATLAB Compiler), and then in the operational stage every application is to be implemented in Visual C++ language.

3. ADVANTAGES OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM

In contrast to a classical laboratory the flexible system for metallographic analysis is distinguished by a higher capacity of preparation and analysis (productivity augmentation) and by a higher and constant quality of provided information. Metallographic probes preparation and analysis capacity can be augmented up to 10 times compared to a classic metallographic laboratory (compared to the case in which all the operations are made by a human operator). Accuracy of the resulted information and constant quality are also advantages which produce long term economical benefits.

Another major advantage of the analysis flexible system, that produces immediate economic effects, is the promptitude of deliverance to client of the information that is needed to guarantee a higher.

Generally speaking, lack of information about materials blocks the beginning of some manufacturing processes, but in the case of obtaining rapid information these blockages are diminished or eliminated. We may also remark that an analysis flexible system with a higher productivity offers a support for industrial companies that cannot invest in a metallographic laboratory of their own.

Chemical substances automated management (as it is foreseen in the flexible system) imposes strict and clear rules in order to avoid environment contamination risks. A clear evidence is kept concerning quantity, origin and using of chemical substances. In a classical metallographic and chemistry laboratory management, using of chemical substances is provided totally by a human operator which is submitted to human errors.

4. CONCLUSIONS

Estimated scientific and technical results of the proposed project, are as follows:

--development of a metallographic analysis flexible system and a microstructure database, accessible by Internet, which offer services to clients. Based on the developed techniques similar flexible systems can be realized (including other investigation domains too--ecology, biomedical);

--command program of the system, based on intelligent agents, represents a new information technology which may be applied in different domains;

--by developing of automated roughness analysis and microstructures analysis there are created a set of image processing methods useful on a large scale of these domains;

--Internet accessible microstructure database, with a "search after content" browser, constitutes a development core of an information system in the field of material science.

In the near future, the authors plan to develop the described flexible system as part of a national project, in the benefit of universities and education institutions and also of manufacturing companies.

5. REFERENCES

Alicona Imaging (TEX 3D Professional), (2008), Available from: http://www.alicona.com/cms/front content.php, Accessed: 2008-06-27

ASM Materials Information (Micrograph Center), (2008) Availablefrom:http://products.asminternational.org/mgo/ind ex.jsp, Accessed:2008-06-27

METADEX (2007), CSA, Available from: http: www.csa.com Accessed: 2007-03-12

MetalloROM (2007), HDH Thermal, Dr. Sommer Werkstofftechnik, Available from: http: www.werkstofftechnik.com, Accessed: 2007-03-12

MetLab Corporation--ImagePro Plus(2008); Available from: http://www.mediacy.com, Accessed: 2008-06-27

Vesselenyi, T.; Mudura, P. (2001) Metallography image, FFT characteristics analysis, (in Romanian) Simpozion materiale avansate, tratamente termice si calitatea managementului, Zilele Academice Timisene, ISBN 973-8247-32-2.

Vesselenyi, T., (2005) Metallography image analysis automation, (in Romanian) PHD Thesis, University "Politehnica" Timisoara.

VISIONx Inc.--Vision Gauge; Leco--IA32) (2008).