SwRI: Projects for Manufacturing and Automation Engineering

  image of DepthX, a NASA Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets project to design, develop, and field-test a robotic vehicle to explore extreme aqueous environments
 

DepthX was a NASA Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets project to design, develop, and field-test a robotic vehicle to explore extreme aqueous environments.

A long list of successful projects and satisfied clients has been established by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), but much of the work and even the names of clients themselves are confidential. Below is a sampling of projects conducted by the Manufacturing Systems Department. Contact us for your specific needs.

Image-Based Precision Measurement

Displacement Mapping

High-resolution video cameras can be used as optical sensors. The DisMap? system was designed for precision measurement of strain. Normalized image correlation is used to determine the displacements at grid points when a specimen is loaded. The resulting displacement map provides information of material deformation that would be impossible to obtain by any other method.
 

image of The DisMap system, designed for precision measurement of strain image of strain

Click photo for larger image (264k)

The DisMap system was designed for precision measurement of strain.

  

 

Image Measurement Based Control

Microcapsule Manufacturing

We have used image-based optical sensing for measurement and feedback control of complex processes. In one case, it was necessary to measure the size and shape of microcapsules as they were formed in order to control the extruder parameters to maintain quality. This system included a high-speed video camera with high-magnification lens and strobe lighting to capture images of the capsules as they fell from the extruder. Image analysis determined the size and shape of the capsules, and control algorithms were used to adjust the extruder speed and pressure.

 

image of microcapsules forming image of vision-based process controls

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High-speed video camera with high-magnification lens and strobe lighting to capture images of the capsules as they fell from the extruder.

  

 

  image of reticule storage
 

Reticule Storage

Clean Room Robot Development

SwRI designed a 6-degrees-of-freedom robot to store reticules in a clean room environment. It was designed to store and retrieve reticules without human intervention to keep dust contamination down.

 

For more information about robotics and automation engineering projects and capabilities at SwRI or how you can contract with SwRI, please contact Clay Flannigan at wflannigan@swri.org or (210) 522-6805.

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Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®) is an independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 12 technical divisions using multidisciplinary approaches to problem solving. The Institute occupies more than 1,200 acres and provides nearly two million square feet of laboratories, test facilities, workshops, and offices for more than 3,300 employees who perform contract work for industry and government clients.