Consultings

Scope:

In manufacturing, it is of key importance to ensure that the shape of the final objects conform to the requirements of the design model. However, due to various issues in the manufacturing process (e.g., quality of raw material, instabilities in actuators, thermal stresses, etc.), deformations or other deviations in the object shape are not uncommon. While such issues can often be detected by ex situ scan data acquired after the manufacturing process, in other cases, data captured from in situ sensors can provide enough information to be able to reconstruct the geometry digitally. This opens up the possibility for real-time monitoring, allowing for deviations in manufacturing processes to be corrected, or for the processes to be stopped early in the case where the deviation is irreversible, saving both time and energy, and cutting material wastage.

The components of such a system can include aspects of geometric modelling, semantic segmentation, visualisation, calibration & alignment, and comparison of 3D models, among others. Relevant techniques include both modern data-driven methods based on deep learning as well as more traditional geometric and signal processing techniques. We make use of modern programming languages for high performance computing and real-time development platforms such as Unity.

We have previous experience with layered image data in the additive manufacturing setting, but the approaches can be generalized to both different sensor types and other manufacturing processes.

Approach:

The consultancy will start with communication (e.g., online meeting) where the problem is discussed and the feasibility of 3D reconstruction in the specific setting is established. A typical next phase will be the development of requirements specifications followed by a design of the application to be developed. It will be important to establish test data for verification of the application when the development has been completed. The complete development could be done by SINTEF, or alternatively the application can be developed by the customer with assistance from SINTEF.

The price for SINTEF consultancy for 3D reconstruction will be determined for each phase of the consultancy based on the expected use of resources.

Outcome:

Depending on what the customer wants, the outcome can be on different levels: a study of the feasibility of applying 3D reconstruction based on existing or new sensor types; a specification of the application to be developed; or, a fully developed and verified application targeting the specific challenge.