8 2 0 1 E a s t R i v e r s i d e D r . , S t e 1 5 0 , A u s t i n , T e x a s 7 8 7 4 4

HYDRA2:AnAutomatedProductQCSystemthatEliminatesNdFeBCoatingDefectRisk

08Fall

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Urban Mining Company, USA MagnetQualityInspectionProcessesSummary

Magnetmanufacturers establish process controls to ensure efficiency in production and

limit Critical to Quality (CTQ) failures in field strength, reversible loss coefficients, size

tolerances,andcorrosionresistance. Inorder tocommunicatecontrols,magnetsuppliers

report theirprocesscontrols tocustomersusingstandardmetrics (e,g,Cpk,Ppk,process

FMEAanalysis,GR&R,etc.)thatexhibittheefficiencyoftheirinternalprocesses.Nomatter

what the report shows, themagnet company’s processmust accept a certain amount of

failuresperproductionbatchwiththeaimtocontinuallyreducethenumberoffailuresper

productionbatch.

Tomitigatetheriskoffailuresinthefinalapplicationsandstrengthenthepresentationtoa

potential client, magnet manufacturers implement product controls like sampling

proceduresforfurthertesting.Forexample, ISO2859-1isatoolthathelpssuppliersand

customers define sampling plans for different inspection levels (reduced, normal,

tightened)inordertoagreeonstandardizedsamplingprocedure.Companiesusesampling

proceduresbecause100%productinspectionhasalwaysbeenconsideredimpracticaland

uneconomical.

However with all of these control measures, some customers report poor corrosion

resistanceas leadingcauseofmagnet failure, inotherwords,poorcoatingquality.These

coatingfailuresarearesultofoutdatedprocesscontrolsandpoorriskmitigationplansthat

followinferiorinspectionstandards.

As a newmarket entrant and innovativemagnetmanufacturer, UrbanMining Company,

aims to exceed customer expectations by raising current industry quality control and

processcontrolstandardsbyestablishinganewnormal.

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UrbanMiningCompanyProductorservicenamesareregisteredtrademarksortrademarksofUrbanMiningCompanyintheUSAandotherCountries.®IndicatesUSAregistration.Otherbrandandproductnamesaretrademarksoftheirrespectivecompanies.Copyright©2018UrbanMiningCompany,Tx,USA.Allrightsreserved.Allinformationincludedinthisdocument,andallAnnexesorAttachmentsheretoisSTRICTLYCONFIDENTIAL.Nodisclosureofthisinformation,whetherpurposefulorinadvertentisallowed,unlessfirstapprovedinwritingbyanauthorizedagentofUrbanMiningCompany. 3

In order to solve this quality problem UMC is investing in state of the art process and

product control technology to reduce the impact of the known sources of process

variability - human interaction, machine variability, measurement process variability,

environmentduevariability,sourcingmaterialvariabilityandmethodduevariability.

HYDRA:HighYieldDefinitionResolutionAcquisitionSystem

UMCisbuildinganautomatedvisionsystem,HYDRA2,whichwillconduct100%product

inspection at a high throughput, relieving the customer from uncertain quality levels.

HYDRA2cancheckcontinuousvariableslikedimensionsandcoatingthickness,with2um

and 10 um accuracy, respectively, while keeping repeatability under 2 um. Attribute

variables,likesurfacedefects,aremeasuredwith2umaccuracyand100%repeatability.

Currently other automated inspection systems can only measure dimensions with an

accuracyrangebetween20umand100umandrepeatabilityrangefrom50umto20um.

The current technology is limited by computational speed, which forces the application

designertoworkwithlowerresolutiondetectorsinordertoachieveahighthroughput.

Because most vision systems provide unreliable results magnet producers implement

additional processes to double check measurements with the aid of manned visual

inspection and ISO2959-1.This systemcreates an economicaldisadvantagebecause the

mannedvisualinspectionneedsaconsiderableworkforceinordertocheckthedailyparts

amount required to meet production schedules. Additionally, the operators use

measurement methods that cause a performance disadvantage because standard

micrometers are often not regularly inspected and calibrated. Themeasurement itself is

subject to bias due to the operator’s eyes fatigue or tendency to rush when pay is

dependentontheamountofprocessedparts.

HYDRA2ontheotherhandisfullyautomatedwithapushofabuttonandcalibratesinless

thanoneminute,thereforeensuringaccuratepartanalysisbeforeeachdeliveredbatch.

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UrbanMiningCompanyProductorservicenamesareregisteredtrademarksortrademarksofUrbanMiningCompanyintheUSAandotherCountries.®IndicatesUSAregistration.Otherbrandandproductnamesaretrademarksoftheirrespectivecompanies.Copyright©2018UrbanMiningCompany,Tx,USA.Allrightsreserved.Allinformationincludedinthisdocument,andallAnnexesorAttachmentsheretoisSTRICTLYCONFIDENTIAL.Nodisclosureofthisinformation,whetherpurposefulorinadvertentisallowed,unlessfirstapprovedinwritingbyanauthorizedagentofUrbanMiningCompany. 4

CoatingProcessControl

Theabilityofacoatedmagnet toresist tocorrosiondependsonthesurfacequalityafter

machiningprocessesandby thecoatingprocess.Pinholesandbubbles in thecoating, for

instance, are cause of coating failure resulting of poor surface finishing andpreparation.

Bubbles can be formed when the magnet surface is not properly cleaned, for example

residual grease is left on themagnet surface causingpoor adhesion of the coating layer.

Pinholes can be caused by surface roughness higher than1 umwhich allows the acidic

solution,usedintheactivationprocess,tostayonthemagnetevenafterrinsingandprior

to the deposition of the coating layer. The acid droplets will ultimately go through the

coatingofferingaspotforcorrosiontoattack.

ThekeytoUMC’sapproachintheprocesscontrolmeasurementsystemistoeliminatethe

human factor, through the implementation automated measuring system whenever

possible.Forexample,UMCisabletoproducesurfacefinishingwithroughnesslowerthan

0.8 um RMS thanks to state of the art surface grindermachines. Laser profilers control

surfaceroughnessonasampleplansetup toensureadeviation fromtheactualvalue is

lessthan0.1um.

Conclusion

HYDRA2willidentifyfailuresbeforeanymagnetsareshippedtothecustomer,therefore

providingthecustomerwithaZEROdefectedmagnetsrelatedtocoatingandsizeCTQ

parametersdefinedbythecustomer.

Processcontrolisalwaysnecessaryforincreasingefficiencyofaprocess.HYDRA2will

preventdeliveryofdefectivepartstoacustomer.However,ourultimategoalistocontrol

theprocesssowellthatHYDRA2willnotidentifymanydefectssowewillachievealow

attritionrate.