Abstract. This study proposes a novel approach to predict the shape of hardened metal workpieces using acoustic responses processed by a deep convolutional neural network (CNN), aiming to advance automated straightening in manufacturing.

Tool steel 1.2379 workpieces of varying widths (24 mm, 90 mm, and 200 mm) were struck using a custom-built device, with acoustic responses captured and transformed into scalograms via Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT). A 40-layer CNN predicted 5 × 9 shape matrices, validated by 3D scans.

The dataset of 219 shape states and 3396 recordings was evaluated using leave-one-workpiece-out cross-validation, comparing the CNN against linear regression, random forest, shallow CNN, and XGBoost. CNN achieved competitive accuracy, demonstrating the feasibility of acoustic-based shape prediction as a non-invasive, cost-effective complement to 3D scanning.