In-situ workpiece perception: A key to zero-defect manufacturing in Industry 4.0 compliant job shops

Job shop manufacturing is characterized by excellent job flexibility and highly customizable products. The dynamic nature of jobs in this manufacturing segment poses a relatively high challenge to actualizing zero-defect manufacturing (ZDM). The continuous emergence of new engineering materials and improved consumer's contributions to product development driven by IIoT further complicates the uphill task. This study develops a methodological framework that positions in-situ workpiece perception and industrial recommender system as tools to trivialize the challenge of ZDM in job shops. In-situ workpiece perception was experimented using a case study of friction stir welding (FSW), a thermomechanical manufacturing process where existing algorithms for online quality assessment are material-specific. The novelty in this study is deciphering unique applications for the hitherto jettisoned sensor data acquired prior to the FSW tool traverse (the actual welding stage), ensuring that the material perception process does not induce defects in the products. This study presents two major contributions towards attaining first-time-right ZDM in job shops. First, a novel interlink for IIoT-driven production planning to aid the selection of optimal process parameters; second, the selection of appropriate quality assessment algorithms during the welding process.