Cycle time reduction through a novel view planning concept for hybrid white light interferometry-based inspection

Abstract

Inspecting large areas with a white light interferometer is time-consuming. To shorten inspection times, additionally, a coarser sensor can be used in a preceding step to identify possible defects. These are afterwards accurately measured with the white light interferometer. Often, several points of interest can be grouped and scanned with a single white light interferometer measurement. Grouping approaches found in the literature show potential for further improvement. In this paper, a novel algorithm for view planning concerning a two-step inspection is presented. Respective literature is reviewed and discussed. Afterwards, the functionality of the algorithm is demonstrated through an example and its performance is evaluated based on comparison to other solutions. The approach generates results that are promising for reducing inspection times further than other approaches.