An optoelectronic method for measuring the diameter of moving cylindrical objects using an experimentally calculated calibration function

The problem of high-precision measurement of the diameter of cylindrical objects moving linearly on a conveyor line is considered. It is shown that existing methods (including the standard measurement method with data processing based on direct geometric calculations and analysis of the cylinder's apparent diameter) do not provide the required accuracy in measuring the diameter of cylindrical objects under dynamic conditions, necessitating the development of new data processing methods. An optoelectronic method for measuring the diameter of cylindrical objects moving along a conveyor line has been developed. The method is based on an experimentally calculated calibration function – the dependence of the apparent diameter on the object's inclination angle in the plane of the recorded image. A previously developed measuring system with a software module was used to implement the proposed method. The system has been tested on an industrial grinding line for uranium fuel pellets and allows for monitoring the pellet diameter directly during the grinding process. The random error in measuring the diameter of moving cylindrical objects using the proposed method is 1.4 times smaller than that of the standard measurement method. The system has been tested on an industrial grinding line for uranium fuel pellets and allows for monitoring the pellet diameter directly during the grinding process. The random error in measuring the diameter of moving cylindrical objects using the proposed method is 1.4 times smaller than that of the standard measurement method. The standard deviation of diameter measurement results for moving cylindrical objects from the mean value was reduced from 3.6 (standard method) to 2.2 μm. The developed optoelectronic diameter measurement method improves the accuracy and reliability of measurements under dynamic conditions, paving the way for its widespread implementation in automated quality control systems on modern production lines. The results obtained open up prospects for the widespread application of the proposed method for precision inspection of the geometric parameters of high-tech products in industrial settings.