An Expert System for Automated Quality Control: A Case Study in a Mechatronic Manufacturing Company

The spreading of Industry 4.0 technologies in the manufacturing industry has led to an unprecedent availability of data. Companies are exploiting these data for monitoring and improving their operations and supply chain management processes; however, managers and practitioners are increasingly requiring advanced solutions to better capture value from them. In this study, we collaborated with a manufacturing company to design and develop an Artificial Intelligence system for automated quality control which is powered by data generated during the assembly process of mechatronic components in a semi-automated assembly line. Based on the data collected through sensors placed on press machines, the designed expert system is able to compare each new assembly’s curve with the learned ideal curve for its reference configuration, in order to detect deviations eventually leading to faulty items. The model has been tested on a dataset of historical data, related to about 175.000 joining operation...