Ultrasonic on-machine measurement for internal topographies

The integration of metrology into the manufacturing process is becoming increasingly important for production technology. The measurement directly on machine tools is especially improving manufacturing strategies. So far, optical or tactile measuring systems are the state-of-the-art for dimensional measurements in process metrology. However, the wall thickness of structures with inner cavities cannot be measured with these systems. Owing to these deficits, an ultrasonic system was integrated into the peripheral equipment of a machine tool. Both the extensive signal processing of the acoustic echoes and the developed software tool ' w -sonic' are discussed. The aim is to show the potential of the ultrasonic in-line measurement. A practical application for the individual machining of gas cylinders and initial results are also presented.