Multiple cameras measure pipe geometry
An innovative solution for measuring tube geometry and quality inspection in pipe production was developed by AICON 3D (Braunschweig, Germany): the tube measurement system TubeInspect. The system works with 16 high-resolution digital FireWire cameras from Allied Vision Technologies (Stadtroda, Germany).
The line to be measured is simply placed in the optical measurement cell, and its geometry is determined and digitalized via the cameras. TubeInspect measures tubes with diameters from 4 to 200 mm (from a fraction of an inch up to 0.22 in.). The measurement of a line with 15 bends takes about 10 to 20 seconds.
The results of measurement can be recorded in a database and documented during the process. Once the data has been recorded, the software does a target/actual comparison. Variances are displayed in color on screen with the aid of a curved surface tolerance calculation. If the tube measured needs corrections, the system can transmit them via a server directly to the CNC program of the tube-bending machine.
For more information and a video, follow this link.