Measurement, monitoring and control system Shape-from-Shadow

The patented shape-from-shadow (SFS) method (EP4015987A1) is an active triangulation technique for measuring 3D geometry based on a laser triangulation principle differs from conventional methods by projecting a shadow pattern instead of light. The patent relates to a measurement system and a measurement procedure for simultaneously obtaining the heights of a track, bead or cladding formed by laser deposition of metal and its contact angle. In addition, pulsed laser is employed—synchronized with camera exposure—which eliminates the influence of the radiation stemming from the process. The measurement of the height of the deposits consists of acquiring images and processing them with an own algorithm developed in PYTHON. The algorithm calculates the difference in pixels between the peak of the distorted shadow line on the track, chord or liner and the undistorted part of the shadow (reference line). The measurement of the height of the deposits consists of acquiring images and processing them with an algorithm developed in PYTHON. Using the algorithm, the difference in pixels between the peak of the distorted shadow line in the track or strands of the direct energy deposition processes (LMD or WAAM ) and the undistorted part of the shadow (reference line) is calculated. The method has been validated and a refereed scientific publication has been published.