NON-CONTACT PENCIL PROBE FOR ADVANCED MANUFACTURING INSPECTION

AS THE UNITED STATES MOVES TO JUST-IN-TIME MANUFACTURING, THERE WILL BE INCREASED EMPHASIS ON RAPID AND ACCURATE INSPECTION TECHNIQUES. FOR THESE REASONS, RESEARCH AIMED AT THE ULTIMATE DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGH ACCURACY, MINIATURE PROBE CAPABLE OF INSPECTING MANUFACTURED PARTS WITH COMPLEX GEOMETRIES IS PROPOSED. A NOVEL LASER BASED, NON-CONTACT INSPECTION TECHNIQUE FOR PRECISION MEASUREMENTS OF INTERNAL SURFACES, DEPTH OF SMALL HOLES, EDGES OF SLOTS, INTERNAL THREADS AND NUMEROUS OTHER INSPECTION APPLICATIONS, IS DESCRIBED IN THIS PROPOSAL. THE DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOMATIC INSPECTION SYSTEMS, SUCH AS THE PENCIL PROBE, WILL HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT ON ADVANCED MANUFACTURING PROCESSES. TO INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY, THERE MUST BE IMPROVED QUALITY, INCREASED PRODUCTION RATES, REDUCED LEAD TIME BETWEEN DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE, REDUCED COSTS AND A SAFE ENVIRONMENT PROVIDED FOR WORKERS.