Bent pipes vary in shape, diameter, and curvature, often featuring complex geometries. The wide variety of such components necessitates dedicated, one-to-one inspection fixtures, resulting in high manufacturing, metrology, and storage costs; furthermore, rising labor costs make manual inspection an expensive undertaking.
Inspection of bent tubes and piping assemblies is typically conducted concurrently with production on CNC tube-bending machines, allowing for rapid assessment of batch quality; consequently, both the inspection process and the machine setup/adjustment need to be as fast as possible.
3D Optical Tube Measurement Solution
The XTOP3D Tube Qualify 3D optical tube measurement system is an in-house innovation and the first of its kind in China. Utilizing technologies such as flexible multi-camera spatial calibration, image recognition, and 3D stereo matching, the system rapidly reconstructs 3D models of tubes and piping components, enabling non-contact, optical 3D in-line inspection of tubes and wire forms.
The Tube Qualify 3D optical tube measurement system performs inspections in just two seconds, offering superior accuracy and generating comprehensive reports that combine graphics and text.
Beyond standard tube inspection, the Tube Qualify system supports applications such as reverse engineering, tube bender calibration, and the inspection of non-standard tubes. It can also be integrated with robotic arms, loading/unloading racks, and host control systems to achieve highly efficient, automated tube inspection.
Application in Pipe Bending Manufacturing
Traditional inspection methods cannot achieve 100% inspection for high-volume pipe production, making quality control difficult.
Traditional methods struggle to inspect complex components such as irregularly shaped or multi-branched pipes. The Tube Qualify system is designed for the inspection of complex parts—including irregularly shaped pipes with intricate spatial geometries, multi-branched pipes, and components with flanged ends—that feature continuously varying forms.
v Rapid iteration and finalization of manufacturing processes for new products;
Process exploration and iteration during the design finalization stage still rely on manual experience, resulting in high costs regarding materials, time, and labor.
v Reverse modeling of pipe fittings without blueprints;
Rapid reverse modeling enables the creation of 1:1 digital replicas of non-standard pipe fittings—such as those obtained through assembly sampling or physical disassembly.
Application in Pipe Bending Machine Manufacturing Enterprises
During production changeovers or the launch of new products, machine adjustments must be made intermittently based on actual materials, processes, and other factors; this process is cumbersome and difficult to quantify, thereby constraining production efficiency.
During the delivery and pilot production phase of a pipe-bending machine, a complete production line solution incorporating an inspection unit is required; since traditional inspection methods cannot quantitatively verify performance metrics, a pipe-bending measurement system can provide third-party verification support.
Application in automated pipe-bending production lines
Centered on the Tube Qualify 3D optical tube measurement system and integrating components such as an automatic loading rack, a robot, an all-electric CNC tube bender, a host control system, and an unloading unit, the system achieves highly efficient, automated tube bending inspection.
The Tube Qualify system identifies deviations in bent tube measurements, enabling rapid, interactive feedback to guide the trimming of excess material or the quick adjustment of production processes.
Currently, the XTOP3D Tube Qualify 3D optical measurement solution has been successfully deployed across the automotive and aerospace sectors, as well as by various other tube manufacturing enterprises. It has become a designated supplier for tube inspection, providing partners with systematic, customized, and one-stop tubing solutions and services.
