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Technology update
New borescope technology
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Olympus' 3-D stereo measuring can be used for measuring defects in turbine and compressor blades.
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A new 3-D stereo measuring technology has been developed by Olympus Industrial Products Group (IPG) for the measurement of tiny defects in turbines, compressors, and other components. The technology was developed to overcome some of the problems found with conventional measuring systems, which sometimes produce skewed results due to surface contours, approach angles, and the distance between the scope and the subject measured.
According to Gene McGarry, Olympus IPG's Marketing Communications Manager, stereo measuring is not affected by contours, angles, or distance. "There is no need for the scope to be perpendicular to the subject," he said. "The system provides 'point and shoot' measuring ease with results that are accurate and repeatable from inspector to inspector. Eliminating the need for the inspector to do any calculations or aligning means that the results are not subject to individual interpretations or judgments."
Stereo measuring can allow inspectors to make multiple measurements on a single image. Once the image is captured, it can be measured in any direction and along any engine axis multiple times without having to return to the live image.
The method can also be used to measure point-to-point, line-to-point, and line-to-line. By regenerating missing portions of a turbine blade on the screen, stereo measuring allows the total blade mass lost to be calculated easily.
Dual objectives in stereo measuring provide two perspectives of the object being measured. To measure between points, the inspector places the cursor and clicks on the two points on the video screen. The system automatically calculates the coordinates of the points and distance between them.
Frank Bokulich
Aerospace Engineering June 2000
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