Inspection System for Threaded Parts
AssigneeMectron Engineering Company, Inc.
InventorsIan Kent Penhorwood, Mark Lee Hanna
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to an inspection device and particularly to a device using an array of light sources and photo-detection devices to evaluate threaded workpieces for conformance to spatial form criteria. The invention provides for improved identification of flaws in threaded components to identify the conformance of parts.
Claims33
An inspection system for evaluating a workpiece for conformance to configuration criteria, comprising:
- a track configured to translate the workpiece through a test section, the workpiece defining a longitudinal axis;
- an inspection plane formed by a mounting plate being configured to align perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the workpiece;
- a pair of profile detection devices comprising a light source and a detector, the light source being configured to emit a sheet of light along a line defining an axis extending parallel to the inspection plane intersecting the longitudinal axis of the workpiece, and the sheet of light having a width extending outward from the axis being angled about the axis at a beam pitch angle;
- test section being configured to allow the sheet of light to be received by the detector, wherein each workpiece translating through the test section occludes the sheet of light and the occluded sheet of light is detected by the detector, and
- the beam pitch angle is provided by the configuration of a housing of the light source or the detector, or a shim for the housing of the light source or the detector, the housing or the shim having a mounting surface for mounting the housing or the shim to the mounting plate.
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An inspection system for evaluating a workpiece for conformance to configuration criteria, comprising:
- a track configured to translate the workpiece through a test section, the workpiece defining a longitudinal axis;
- an inspection plane formed by a mounting plate being configured to align perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the workpiece;
- a pair of profile detection devices comprising a light source and a detector, the light source being configured to emit a sheet of light along a line defining an axis extending parallel to the inspection plane intersecting the longitudinal axis of the workpiece, and the sheet of light having a width extending outward from the axis being angled about the axis at a beam pitch angle;
- the test section being configured to allow the sheet of light to be received by the detector, wherein each workpiece translating through the test section occludes the sheet of light and the occluded sheet of light is measured by the detector, and
- the beam pitch angle is provided by the configuration of a housing of the light source or the detector having a mounting surface for mounting the housing to the mounting plate.
An inspection system for evaluating a workpiece for conformance to configuration criteria, comprising:
- a track configured to translate the workpiece through a test section, the workpiece defining a longitudinal axis;
- an inspection plane formed by a mounting plate being configured to align perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the workpiece;
- a pair of profile detection devices comprising a light source and a detector, the light source being configured to emit a sheet of light along a line defining an axis extending parallel to the inspection plane intersecting the longitudinal axis of the workpiece, and the sheet of light having a width extending outward from the axis being angled about the axis at a beam pitch angle;
- the test section being configured to allow the sheet of light to be received by the detector, wherein each workpiece translating through the test section occludes the sheet of light and the occluded sheet of light is measured by the detector, and
- the beam pitch angle is provided by the configuration of a shim for mounting a housing of the light source or the detector to the mounting plate, the shim having a mounting surface for mounting the shim to the mounting plate and the shim having a second surface adapted to support the housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.