Assembly monitoring or verification is sometimes required in critical assemblies. When two parts are mated together, there may be strict requirements on squareness or parallelism.Multi-channel sensing systems can provide feedback during assembly, and/or assembly verification further down the production line.
Checking level or squareness of an assembly requires at least three sensors. The sensors are installed in the assembly or inspection system such that the outputs of the sensors are equal when the part is correctly assembled. Comparing the outputs of the sensors indicates to an operator or data acquisition system which sensor point is out of position. This specific feedback can tell an operator where the assembly needs to be adjusted or repositioned.
Capacitive or Eddy-Current sensors can work in this application. Selection will be based material type, accuracy requirements, and cost factors.