In-Line Inspection of Engine Valve Seats Using a Non-Contact Range Sensor

Abstract

This paper presents a methodology for the inspection of geometric features on an internal combustion engine valve seat. Inspection of valve seat geometry using a high-precision non-contact range sensor is investigated. A method that can extract the cone angle, the valve seat length and the roundness of the cone surface has been presented. In-line implementation requires a methodology to analyze data from a minimum number of parallel cross sectional profiles of the valve seat. An in-line valve seat inspection prototype machine with two axes of motion that utilizes the method presented in this paper is presented. Validation of the method on several valve seat samples shows a high degree of repeatability, and the results are comparable to coordinate measurement machine measurements of the same samples.