A Supply Pressure Optimization System Based on Pneumatic Receiver Tank Operation for Improving Cumulative Manufacturing Variation
摘要
This paper presents a system and method for optimizing compressed air consumption in pneumatic actuators. The focus is on adjusting the pneumatic supply to air cylinders based on the rise and fall cycles of the receiver tank within the pneumatic system, with the aim of reducing cumulative manufacturing variation. In continuous manufacturing processes, cumulative variation can lead to defects when deviations approach the upper or lower control limits. The proposed pneumatic optimization system—comprising a compressor, receiver tank, pressure regulator, and pneumatic actuator—dynamically regulates the air supply to the production process. This is achieved by acquiring machining state information, such as product variation from previous processes, and defining variation limits based on defect frequencies observed in downstream processes. Depending on the cumulative variation of in-process products within these defined limits, the air supply conditions are adjusted in synchronization with the receiver tank’s pressure cycles. Through this research, a method has been established for extracting cumulative variation data based on dimensional and specification deviations from each unit process, along with their corresponding process conditions. This allows for effective feedback control in downstream processes such as compression, welding, and pressing. By transforming the pneumatic supply into a variable system responsive to the receiver tank’s cycles, the occurrence of defects can be significantly suppressed. Ultimately, by transforming the proposed technology into a platform, it is possible to contribute to enhancing quality across the entire supply chain ecosystem, including the final assembled product, by receiving feedback on the variation of all parts produced within the supply chain and optimizing, in real time, the processing conditions of operations performed by pneumatic actuators.