en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 12, U.S. precision machining company Bullen Ultrasonics announced it received a $23,100 grant from the Ohio Smart Manufacturing Initiative to advance its autonomous process optimization project. The project will leverage artificial intelligence, machine learning, and digital twin technology to analyze and optimize operating parameters of custom machining equipment.
Bullen Ultrasonics will collaborate with industrial AI company Phenx to analyze approximately 2 billion data points accumulated from its production equipment, identifying correlations between equipment parameters, machining conditions, and production outcomes to optimize yield, cycle time, tool utilization, and process stability.
The preliminary phase of the project has completed the organization of historical production data. Phenx has built digital twin models based on production data from the target equipment to simulate the impact of different parameter combinations and process adjustments on machining results. Optimization algorithms are currently being validated in the digital twin environment.
Upon completion of model validation, Bullen Ultrasonics will deploy the algorithms on one production machine and evaluate equipment stability, production efficiency, machining consistency, and abnormal fluctuations through continuous operational testing. Results from the single-machine pilot will be used to determine the scope of subsequent production line rollout.
Bullen Ultrasonics' manufacturing data infrastructure began in 2019. The company has continuously upgraded equipment hardware and data acquisition systems in recent years, adding data tags to machining parameters and building capabilities for automatic data extraction, storage, and correlation analysis of equipment data. Different production departments are currently at various stages, including model validation, automated data collection, and hardware upgrades.
The company plans to continue improving data quality on automated machining lines over the next 12 months, supplementing existing datasets, expanding equipment data collection coverage, and aligning AI models with actual production goals. The first pilot will be used to validate AI's capability in optimizing process parameters within complex machining environments.
Bullen Ultrasonics, headquartered in Eaton, Ohio, USA, primarily processes advanced ceramics, glass, and specialty materials using ultrasonic and laser technologies. Its non-thermal machining processes are used to reduce micro-cracks, contamination, and material structural damage, with related products serving the semiconductor equipment, MEMS, aircraft engine and airframe components, missile guidance systems, automotive sensors, medical devices, and communications electronics sectors.
The company operates a technology development center in Eaton and possesses capabilities in ultrasonic machining, laser micromachining, automated equipment design, and tooling development. Previously, the company received a JobsOhio R&D center grant of up to $1 million to expand its technology development center, adding robotics, data automation, and MicroLucent laser machining technology.
