Uncertainty analysis in 3D shape measurement of steel strips using laser range finding

Quality evaluation of rolling processes in the metal industry involves an inspection of the shape of the outgoing products in real-time during manufacturing. Shape measurement systems are usually based on 3D reconstructions of the surface of the rolled products. As surface properties are crucial, these systems favour contactless techniques. Based on 3D measurements of the surface of rolled products, several geometric properties can be analyzed. In this paper the use of a contactless shape measurement system based on active triangulation which is able to provide inline width and flatness measurements of steel strips is presented. In addition, an uncertainty analysis to estimate the combined uncertainty of each measurement provided by the system has been carried out.