It is frequently necessary to have some form of real-time dimension
measuring system on a production line to satisfy quality control
requirements or to verify tolerances prior to further downstream
processing. Fast moving products pose particular problems and can tax the
accuracy and repeatability of such systems; they can also be very
expensive. In an attempt to keep costs down without compromising accuracy
and repeatability, Micro-Epsilon has introduced a high-speed LED
micrometer that is claimed to offer three times the accuracy of laser
micrometers.
The optoControl ODC 2600-40 system shown here is a non-contact,
high-speed LED micrometer based unit with integral high-resolution CCD
camera for measuring a wide range of geometric dimensions. It offers a
2.3kHz sampling rate, an accuracy/repeatability of +/-1um and a
resolution of 0.25um. The system measures the dimensions of a target or
the position of an edge based on the 'shadow' cast by the contour as it
passes the CCD camera in the receiver section.
No laser-safety classification is required and, unlike a scanning
micrometer whose performance will deteriorate over time, the unit's CCD
technology will yield highly accurate real time measurements over a much
longer life span.