Electronic Gauge for Micron Measurement and its Relevance to Industry 4.0

Micron measurement of the manufactured part is an integral part of production process. This decides qualification of the manufactured part’s acceptance or rejection. First principle methods are well established to measure the manufactured parts with utmost certainty. In the advent of Industry 4.0 in the digital revolution era of manufacturing, an electronic measurement of various dimensional parameters is gaining prominence. The shortcomings of measurement by first principle methods such as written documents, inability to automate the analysis and hence cloud connectivity, etc., can be achieved with electronic gauging. In the proposed work, an electronic gauge with micron resolution and cloud connectivity is devised for measurement of outer diameter of a mass production component. The measured readings are validated using statistical methods for the Gauge Repeatability and Reproducibility (GRR). The electronic gauge registered greater stability in the key parameters of gauge capability such as Equipment Variation (EV), Appraiser Variation (AV), Part Variation (PV) and %GRR over its conventional measurement counterpart. The electronic gauge recorded %GRR of 7.81% against conventional gauge’s %GRR of 14.47%. This made the electronic gauge acceptable without any conditions for the measurement of a critical parameter in mass production environment. The paper extended the scope to record the measurement readings in cloud-enabled platform to make the measurement system ready in the context of Industry 4.0. The proposed model has been implemented and validated in a mass production set-up, engaged in manufacturing of precision auto components.