圧電ポリマーを用いた携帯式薄板型センサによる表面形状測定

Abstract

For the quality-check process of manufacturing, skilled workers often use their sense of touch for inspections. However, this method is non-quantitative and depends on the experience of the workers. Therefore, a measurement device that can acquire quantitative surface profile data more easily than existing equipment is required. In our previous study, we prototyped a cantilever structured thin plate tactile sensor, with an attached piezoelectric polymer film as a strain detector, and showed that this sensor can evaluate uneven surface profiles. However, these measurements were performed by moving the tactile sensor with an automatic linear stage. To make the measurement tasks at an actual work site easier, an operator must be able to choose any target surface and evaluate that surface without troublesome settings and jigs. Therefore, in this study, we prototyped a portable, manually operated tactile sensor system comprising two thin plate tactile sensors. We showed that this prototype sensor system can estimate the amount of sensor movement during measurements by calculating the time lag between two sensor signals. Using the estimated amount of movement, this sensor system can evaluate uneven surface profiles easily and quickly.