Sensing, Control, Real-time Systems

Laser-based processes have multiple variables (e.g. material, laser power, feed rate) which can affect the process. In order to achieve high quality, the variables have to be adjusted in favor of higher process stability. One way to achieve this is the conduction of time consuming test series.

This approach leads to one process window which is not stable considering changes in process variables. Therefore another approach is the implementation of a process control mechanism. The control of the specific process parameters creates a dynamic process window which allows reacting to process errors and guaranteeing a high process quality.

For the implementation of a control mechanism it is crucial to research the link between the changes of process variables and specific process emissions. The research group “sensing, control and real time systems” focuses on the implementation of sensors for the capture of process emissions, the development of control systems and the realization of real-time capable control mechanisms in the field of laser material processing.

Current research topics concentrate on the capture and processing of optical emissions of the process zone, for example with a one-shot hyperspectral high-speed camera, which is currently being developed. With this camera it is possible to capture a 2D field of absolute temperature information in the process zone. In addition to that we work on the implementation of parallel algorithms to realize high performance image processing and low latency real-time control prototypes.

Contact person is Silvana Burger, M. Sc.