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This paper presents optimisation of a measuring probe path in inspecting the prismatic parts on a CMM. The optimisation model is based on: (i) the mathematical model that establishes an initial collision-free path presented by a set of points, and (ii) the solution of Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) obtained with Ant Colony Optimisation (ACO). In order to solve TSP, an ACO algorithm that aims to find the shortest path of ant colony movement (i.e. the optimised path) is applied. Then, the optimised path is compared with the measuring path obtained with online programming on CMM ZEISS UMM500 and with the measuring path obtained in the CMM inspection module of Pro/ENGINEER ® software. The results of comparing the optimised path with the other two generated paths show that the optimised path is at least 20% shorter than the path obtained by on-line programming on CMM ZEISS UMM500, and at least 10% shorter than the path obtained by using the CMM module in Pro/ENGINEER ® .

Optimisation of manufacturing processes is typically performed by utilising mathematical process models or designed experiments. However, such approaches could not be used in the case when explicit quality function is unknown and when actual experimentation would be expensive and time-consuming.The paper presents an approach to optimisation of manufacturing processes with multiple potentially correlated responses, using historical process data. The integrated approach is consisted from two methods: the first relays on Taguchi's quality loss function and multivariate statistical methods, the second method is based on the first one and employs artificial neural networks and a genetic algorithm to ensure global optimal settings of a critical parameters found in a continual space of solutions.The case study of a multi-response process with correlated responses was used to illustrate the effective application of the proposed approach, where historical data collected during normal production and stored in a control charts were used for process optimisation.