Development of an innovative laser scanner for geometrical verification of metallic and plastic parts

The paper presents some results of a European Co-operative Research Project started in November 2006. The Project concerns the development of an innovative optical measuring system for automated inspection of dimensional and geometrical tolerances, including freeform surfaces, on metallic and plastic parts. A first prototype of the novel measuring system has been developed, using laser triangulation. The system, besides ensuring the automatic reconstruction of complete surface models, has been designed to guarantee user-friendliness, versatility, reliability and speed. The paper focuses mainly on the metrological aspects of the system development. Details are given on procedures and artefacts developed for metrological performance verification and traceability establishment. Experimental results from measurements on metallic and plastic parts show that the system prototype is capable of performing dimensional measurements with adequate accuracy for most industrial requirements.