Glowing Steel Castings

Laser sensor Q4 – with a small form factor – Q4 for standard 2D / 3D measuring applications: Low sensitivity against influences of secondary light Measuring ranges from 5 mm to 1000 mm Laser wave lengths starting from UV via blue, red and green through to IR Average measuring speed up to 350 Hz frame The Q4 laser sensor has been designed to meet the requirements of standard measuring applications. Thanks to its increased flexibility, it can be used for several tasks also in complex projects. The dimensions of the ultra-compact version amount to only 86x40x25, at a weight of 140 g. Protective panes and cooling modules are available as an option. The Q4 laser sensor model enables users to obtain stable measuring results also on difficult surfaces, whether mirroring or transparent. The QS-View Standard Software comprises a comprehensive selection of application modules, to be invoked at once without previous programming steps. Customized adaptations are possible any time.

QuellTech Solution: The performance of a manual inspection cannot be compared with the speed and the repeatability of a contactless QuellTech Q4-1000 laser scanner. It is even possible to install several instruments in parallel to cover the whole width of the ingot with one single scan. These instruments are mounted on an existing portal and correctly synchronized, so that interaction of the laser light originating from the other scanners is excluded. The QuellTech laser line scanners produce 3D point cloud of the raw ingot surface, and the software calculates the coordinates of the highest and deepest levels of this surface. After scalping the flat surface can be scanned again for any defects. Benefits for the Client: Thanks to QuellTech’s wide area laser line scanners, the cycle times for ingot scalping could considerably be reduced, and excessive material scrap due to a too low scalping level is prevented.

The QuellTech laser sensor family Q4 or Q5 used for these tasks is generally mounted on an arm of a rotational axis, to scan along the complete 360° angle of the internal surface in a sequence of strips. The Q4 sensors can also be used to control the weld seam tracking itself for rapid setup and ease of use. Even during a project, the range and scope of the Q Series sensor demonstrates the advantages of a modular system to quickly adapt to project needs, where the smallest system has provided fast analysis of pipes as small as 105mm. The low power, with standard communication protocols, enable battery powered systems to transmit wireless data to other systems for review and cloud back up.

Particular Challenge: For the assessment of rotating parts, numerous parameters have to be taken into consideration: Concentricity, radial run-out and axial run-out (i.e. wobble); furthermore thickness, diameter, planarity and the absence of surface defects had to be examined. The solution developed by QuellTech consists in a configuration of three Q6 Laser Laser Scanners.Each of the lateral surfaces is assigned to its own scanner. In order to enable the thickness precisely to be determined, both laser lines are mutually oriented in opposite direction. The third scanner inspects the outer circumference of the wheel, this way measuring diameter and radial run-out. All of these scanners are subject to encoder signals supplied by the rotary axis and synchronously triggered, so possible defects on the wheel can precisely be localized. The measurement takes place at a resolution of ca. 30 µm, and a cloud comprising several millions of points are obtained.