Optical Micrometer Uses GaN LED

Manufacturing Engineering, Mar 2005

Providing a resolution of 0.01 µm with a repeatability of ±0.06 µm, the LS-7010 optical micrometer system made by Keyence Corp. of America (Woodcliff Lake, NJ) samples targets at a rate of 2400 samples/sec. It's intended for the in-line diameter monitoring and production control of fine wire, fiber-optic filaments, small-diam tubing, and transparent glass fibers.

The new system doesn't use motors or rotating prism mechanisms. The micrometer includes a high-intensity, low-noise gallium-nitride (GaN) green, 520-nm LED to produce a continuous 6-mm-wide beam with no gaps in target detection caused by beam scanning. Combined with a high-speed linear CCD, this technology increases measurement speed and accuracy. Other LS series optical micrometers are offered with beam widths of 30, 40, 60, and 120 mm.

A newly designed telecentric optical system uses parallel light to form an image, thus preventing fluctuations in lens magnification that might result from changes in target position. Because of IP-64 construction, the unit can operate in harsh, wet production and assembly-type environments. A CMOS camera in the receiver head provides an image of the target on the LS-7501 controller's target viewer section. Users can quickly, accurately, position the target in the beam for precise measurement. Circle 303