APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATIC INSPECTION OF THROUGH-HOLES OF A COMPONENT

The present invention provides an apparatus and a method for automatic inspection of through-holes of a component. The proposed apparatus (1) includes an imaging module (2), an image processing module (3) and an analysis module (4). The imaging module (2) is adapted for generating a thermographic image (40) of the component (5) by passing a medium through the through-holes (6) and capturing infra-red radiation emitted from the component (5) while the medium is flowing through the through-holes (6). The image processing module (3) is adapted for fitting the thermographic image (40) on a digital image (20, 22) obtained from geometrical data of the component (5). The image processing module (3) is further adapted for masking the fitted thermographic image (40) using a digital image mask (30) to extract regions (41) corresponding to through-holes in the thermographic image (40). The digital image mask (30) is computed based on a determination of positions (21, 23) of through-holes on said digital image (20,22). The analysis module (4) is adapted for evaluating the masked thermographic image (50) to determine an irregularity or blockage in one or more of said through-holes (6).