MEASUREMENT AND CONTROL OF THE THICKNESS OF QUARTZ TUBES BY OPTICAL METHOD

Abstract

Quartz glass tubes are widely used in electronic, chemical, lighting and other industries. They have good heat resistance, light transmission, electrical insulation and chemical stability. To avoid breakage and potential harm to the user, the wall thickness of the quartz glass tube must be checked. At the same time, the control of the parameters of the tubes, in particular the thickness, is usually done manually. This article presents the method and algorithm of the system for monitoring and measuring the thickness of quartz glass tubes in the process of their production based on technical vision. An important advantage of the method is the ability to measure the thickness of the tube even in the presence of possible fluctuations and vibrations during pulling, and it possible to control the difference in thickness along the tube's length. The method provides real-time operation (processing time for one tube image does not exceed 30 ms) with an accuracy of no more than 3 – 5 %.