INDUSTRY FIELD GUIDE
Iron and steel casting inspection data for AI
A rough area on a ferrous casting does not tell an inspector everything about the part.
NAICS 331511 · Iron Foundries
NAICS 331512 · Steel Investment Foundries
NAICS 331513 · Steel Foundries (except Investment)
A rough area on a ferrous casting does not tell an inspector everything about the part. The ARM Institute selected funded projects for robotic inspection of castings and forgings. Another ARM project used controlled views of complex metallic surfaces to support automated inspection. These projects show investment in the inspection problem. A supplier still needs a buyer-approved part family, method, and data spec. ARM casting and forging selections · ARM metallic part inspection project
On an approved reference casting, mark the inspected zone and capture fixed views with consistent light. Include harmless texture or a known witness mark that can resemble an indication. Record what the visual review establishes and whether another qualified inspection is required. Keep casting process and part family visible in neutral labels so the evaluator can measure whether a system generalizes across surface conditions.
Use cold, approved specimens and clear the tooling and customer design rights first. Exclude proprietary part geometry, defense program identifiers, restricted inspection results, and process settings.
Describe a foundry inspection collection
Original Fiund exercise
Surface evidence stops at the surface
A paper casting sketch has named regions and original photos. A fictional report index contains an entry for a different region.
| Record | Source | What it records |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zone map | Casting C4 rim R and web W marked separately. |
| 2 | Photo | Visible pit-like feature at R; W outside crop. |
| 3 | Report index | Separate internal inspection entry references W only. |
Question for the model
What label can be supported for R?
Show the reference answer and checks
Annotate a visible pit-like feature at rim R from records 1 and 2. The internal inspection entry in record 3 concerns web W, so it cannot characterize the rim beneath the surface. Keep the visual description separate from depth, cause and disposition.
- Inferring subsurface extent from appearance
- Borrowing a web-region method result for the rim
Fields to preserve
- casting_region
- Pins the observation to a zone
- evidence_method
- Distinguishes surface and internal evidence
- observation_scope
- Records what remains unknown
Test another case
Use a rim report for a different casting from the same run and require specimen-level matching.
Use only owned images; omit actual foundry records, operating parameters and disposition authority.
Discuss a contribution
Describe the sources you control, the task they could support and what has already been checked. Use the existing-data assessment for an archive or the collection brief for a new recording project. The contributor agreement defines Fiund’s licensing authority and compensation. A guide or fictional exercise does not establish an accepted collection or a sale.