Non-contact method and system for inspecting a manufactured part at an inspection station having a measurement axis

Abstract

A method and system for inspecting a manufactured part at an inspection station are provided. A supported part is rotated about a measurement axis so that the part moves at predetermined angular increments during at least one rotational scan. A backside beam of collimated radiation is directed at and is occluded by the supported part at each of a first plurality of consecutive increments of movement to create a stream of unobstructed portions of the backside beam in rapid succession passing by and not blocked by the supported part. A frontside beam of radiation is directed at and is reflected by the supported part at each of a second plurality of consecutive increments of movement to create a stream of reflected portions of the frontside beam in rapid succession. The streams of reflected and unobstructed portions are detected at the inspection station to obtain electrical signals which are processed.

1 - 31 . (canceled) 
     
     
         32 . A system for inspecting a manufactured part of the type having a cylindrical shape, an axial dimension, a circumferential surface and opposed ends, at a single inspection station, the system comprising:
 a fixture assembly for holding the part at its opposed ends, the fixture assembly being rotatable co-axially with the part;   a motor to rotatably drive the held part in controlled angular increments;   a source of light energy, spaced radially from the rotational axis of the fixture assembly, to project light energy over an area containing at least a portion of the circumferential surface of the part;   an image detector positioned to receive successive images of the part, each image defined by the light energy not occluded by the circumferential surface at each angular increment of the actuator assembly, and to produce a signal representative of each image of the part; and   at least one processor to process the image signals for comparison to one or more predetermined part standards to determine any nonconformity of the inspected part with one or more of such standards.   
     
     
         33 . The system as claimed in  claim 32 , wherein the fixture assembly includes:
 a rotatable first fixturing component, and   a rotatable second fixturing component connectable 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 securing the held part while undergoing rotation in controlled angular increments.   
     
     
         34 . The system as claimed in  claim 32  wherein the image detector is spaced radially from the rotational axis of the fixture assembly, opposite the source of light energy. 
     
     
         35 . The system as claimed in  claim 32  further comprising an optical depth sensor to sense a depth feature of the part undergoing inspection, comprising:
 a triangulation-based sensor configured to project focused lines of radiation on at least a portion of the circumferential surface of the held part and to sense corresponding reflected lines of radiation to obtain a signal representative of a depth feature of the part on which the radiation is incident. 
 
     
     
         36 . The system as claimed in  claim 35  wherein the radiation is strobed. 
     
     
         37 . A method of inspecting a manufactured part of the type having a cylindrical shape, an axial dimension, a circumferential surface and opposed ends, at a single inspection station, the method comprising the steps of:
 holding the part at its opposed ends in a fixture assembly rotatable co-axially with the part;   rotating the held part in controlled angular increments;   projecting light energy from a source of light energy spaced radially from the rotational axis over an area containing at least a portion of the circumferential surface of the part;   detecting successive images of the part at each angular increment of its rotation, where each image is defined by the light energy not occluded by the circumferential surface;   producing a signal representative of each image of the part; and   processing the image signals for comparison to one or more predetermined part standards to determine any nonconformity of the inspected part to one or more of such standards.   
     
     
         38 . The method as claimed in  claim 37  further comprising the steps of projecting focused lines of radiation on at least a portion of the circumferential surface of the held part to obtain reflected radiation, and sensing the reflected radiation to obtain a signal representative of a depth feature of the part on which the radiation is incident. 
     
     
         39 . The method as claimed in  claim 38 , comprising the further step of strobing the radiation.