9303401 Ehmann This award provides funds to permit Dr. Kornel F. Ehmann, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, to pursue with Dr. Dong Woo Cho, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pohang Institute of Science and Technology, Korea, for 24 months, a program of cooperative research on factors relevant to process quality and efficiency monitoring of the micro-hole drilling process in microelectronics manufacture. Their objective is to develop and implement a technology for on- line monitoring of gradual drill wear, breakage, and the locational tolerances of through holes on both top and bottom surfaces of multi-layer printed circuit boards (PCB's). A combined theoretical and experimental approach will be implemented in this research. A new theoretical approach will be utilized based on (1) the mechanics of initial penetration, for determining the state of the process, and on (2) the use of neuro-fuzzy algorithms, for recognition purposes. Practical studies will take place on a unique instrumented high speed micro-drilling testbed. Micro-hole drilling is becoming increasingly important in a wide spectrum of precision manufacturing industries including the production of automotive fuel injection nozzles, watch and camera parts, medical needles, air bearings, and thick multi-layer printed PCB's in electronic circuitry. Mechanical micro- drilling has proved to be superior to alternative methods such as laser drilling. The collaborators are recognized as experts in the field of the proposal. They will be assisted by graduate students who are not supported under this grant. This project is relevant to the objectives of the U.S.-Korea Cooperative Science Program which seeks to increase the level of cooperation between U.S. and Korean scientists and engineers through the exchange of scientific information, ideas, skills, and techniques and through collaboration on problems of mutual benefit. Korean participation in the project is sup ported by the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF). This project adds an international cooperative dimension to the PI's research under NSF Grant No. DDM-9201144. ***
