Testing the capabilities of the three-spheres alignment method for laser triangulation sensors

Abstract

This paper studies the suitability of the 3-spheres conventional alignment method located in the test part. Firstly, the three spheres are measured by contact scanning using a touch stylus probe (trigger probe) with the highest precision. Secondly, scanning with a laser triangulation sensor is used applying different strategies. Then, deviations among the point clouds of the digitized spheres generated with laser scanning are analyzed. The obtained results not only show the importance that a right choice of the part reference system has, but also the size and location of the reference spheres with respect to the test part. These aspects affect the inspection times and measuring errors directly