5. Product/quality tracking

The quality of stamped parts is ensured by various controls:

• firstly, a visual check by the operator in charge of palletizing the parts at the end of the line, whose eye assesses the absence of defects in critical areas of the part;

• secondly, a statistical inspection carried out by periodically sampling parts whose geometry is checked on test dummies and characterized by a geometric quality index (GQI).

For external parts, inspection is enhanced by high-frequency probing.

An emerging practice in this field is to instrument presses and compare the effort/stroke signals measured with a pre-recorded curve (known as the tool signature) corresponding to the stamping cycle of a good part. Any deviation of the measured signal outside the acceptable range...