Advances in optomechatronics: An automated tilt-rotational 3D scanner for high-quality reconstructions

3D vision systems are more and more required in a large variety of applications and mostly for mechanical and medical purposes. This paper presents the study and realization of a prototype of a structured light automated tilt-rotational 3D vision system for high-quality reconstructions of components of various sizes and in cases of freeform and complex surfaces. The main goal of this research work was to develop an instrument with the following main novelties: configurability for different object sizes, high precision and resolution levels and ability to automatically generate the mesh representing the full scanned objects without any intervention of the operator by means of a 2 degrees of freedom automated tilt-rotational mechanical positioning system. A detailed analysis of the instrument and the procedures and results of the performance tests are presented, together with the examination of possible strategies to obtain a better performance, especially by the calibration and the synchronization between the optical and the mechanical systems. As a result, the prototype and the performance parameters resulting from the experimental campaigns, are reported.