Method and system for optically inspecting the ends of a manufactured part at a single inspection station having a measurement axis

A system for optically inspecting the ends of a manufactured part at a single inspection station having a measurement axis, the system comprising:

• a fixture assembly including:
• a rotatable first fixturing component, the part having opposite top and bottom ends with top and bottom end surfaces, respectively, a length between the ends, a width and a part axis;
• and
• a rotatable second fixturing component mating with and removably connected to the first fixturing component to transmit torque from the first fixturing component to the second fixturing component, the second fixturing component including a device for holding the part in a generally horizontal orientation and permit rotation of the horizontally held part between first and second angular positions about the measurement axis;
• an actuator assembly to rotatably drive the first fixturing component about the measurement axis and to rotatably drive the second fixturing component about the measurement axis between the first and second angular positions when the second fixturing component is connected to the first fixturing component;
• an illumination device to direct a beam of radiation at the top end surface of the horizontally held part at the first angular position and at the bottom end surface of the horizontally held part at the second angular position to obtain first and second reflected beams, respectively;
• a lens and detector assembly to image and detect the reflected beams to obtain electrical signals;
• and
• at least one processor to process the electrical signals to determine at least one geometric dimension or any visual defects at the ends of the part.