Laser chain wear indicator

grabcad

This is my idea of a chain wear indicator. On this design I thought about using a kind of optical sensor for a measurement. You will probably know it as “laser-scanner”. This scanner could be built into a hoist or an external housing. In my design I placed two scanners near the chain, one for scanning the side of the chain and another one for scanning the top of the chain. By using two scanners every chain link could be checked permanently from every side. The scanners will detect surface defects like cracks, corrosion or deposits. Also they can detect geometric defects like nicks, gouges and distortion by measuring some points on the chain surface. Also the length of the chain can be checked by measuring two points, from chain link end to chain link end. This measuring can be down for few links (for example 5,7,9,11) and the result could be compared with a theoretical length. Measurement principle: A laser beam that has been expanded into a line is diffusely reflected from the surface of the target. This reflected light is formed on the Sensor and by detecting changes in the position and shape of the reflection, it is possible to measure the position of various points along the surface of the target. This works also for fast moving objects. Even surfaces defects, like cracks or corrosion (reflection on corrosion is different to the rest of the surface this will affect the formed light in the sensor) could be detected. So it is possible to make 3D measurements of all targets and all shapes. For example: http://www.keyence.com/products/measure/laser2d/ljv7000/ljv7000.php http://www.keyence.com/products/measure/laser2d/ljv7000/ljv7000_features_1.php