Optical Scanner For Ball Bearing Inspection
Abstract
A simple optical scanner has been designed to inspect bearing balls for surface defects. The scanner employs a fixed semicircular array of light sources to illuminate a rotating ball and an adjacent fixed array of light detectors to detect deviations from specularity on the ball surface. Each detector signal is processed by a separate channel of threshold detection electronics. The ball scanner must be able to inspect (track) balls which translate slightly as they rotate. To achieve high sensitivity and uniform surface coverage, a permanently balanced array of directional sources was built using fiber optics. Individual sources which can be accurately positioned and pointed were constructed using plastic fiber light guides and special cone shaped output apertures. Test results indicate that this scanner can reliably detect defects as small as 0.25 mm in diameter.
- Publication:
-
Optical Engineering
- Pub Date:
- February 1982
- DOI:
- 10.1117/12.7972869
- Bibcode:
- 1982OptEn..21..113L