APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR INSPECTION OF SURFACE QUALITY OF SMOOTH SURFACES

摘要

A method and apparatus for inspecting the surface quality of automotive parts having smooth surfaces utilizes a light source and diffusing surface contained in an opaque enclosure. The diffusing surface has a convex shape and is arranged relative to the light source to direct a gradient of light through the aperture in the form of a beam. An object to be inspected is placed in the beam at a low angle relative to the inspection apparatus. All extraneous light is controlled and the beam is reflected off the object to an observer. The gradient in the reflective beam exposes any defects on the surface that are located on the beam and the location of the defects is noted. The inspection system and method can be used to inspect objects having surfaces that range from being highly reflective to lowly reflective. The curvature and location of the diffusing surface within the enclosure is adjustable. The size and location of the aperture is also adjustable. The apparatus and method is particularly suited to inspect body parts in the automotive industry. No pretreatment of the parts is required. The system can be used in a production line with the parts mounted on a conveyor system. The observer can be the human eye or a camera or series of cameras. The system is readily adaptable to observation by machine vision.