Analysis of surface defects using a novel developed fiber-optics laser scanning system

Various methods of determining surface defects are being used in automated industrial manufacturing environments. This work presents the design and development of a new high-speed photoelectronic laser scanning system. Recent methods of surface defect detection involve the use of fiber-optic light-emitting and detection assemblies. A line of five emitting diodes and five receiving photodiodes were used as light sources and detectors, respectively. These arrays of emitting diodes and photodetectors were positioned opposite each other. A data acquisition card was used to capture the output signals from the photodiodes. Data capture was controlled and analysis performed using Labview. The advantages of this new system may be seen as faster detection, lower cost and greater resolution. Such a system will also occupy less space than conventional scanners. The detected signals of this system were examined to measure the dimensions of the surface defects, such as holes, and blind holes for different materials.