Design and Development of an Image-Capturing System for the Non-Contact Estimation of Drilled Surface Roughness
Received: 3 July 2025 | Revised: 28 July 2025 and 18 August 2025 | Accepted: 30 August 2025 | Online: 8 December 2025
Corresponding author: Shilpa Karegoudra
Abstract
Accurate evaluation of surface roughness in drilled components is vital for quality assurance in manufacturing processes, particularly in high-precision industries such as aerospace and automotive. Traditional contact-based measurement techniques pose limitations when assessing the inner surfaces of drilled holes, especially blind holes. This study presents the design and development of a custom non-contact image-capturing system aimed at acquiring high-resolution images of drilled hole surfaces for subsequent texture-based roughness estimation. The proposed setup integrates a rotary stage, an X-Y positioning platform, and a height-adjustable, angle-controllable camera mount, along with a ring-based LED illumination unit to ensure uniform lighting within the hole interior. A series of controlled drilling trials were conducted on Aluminum 7075 (Al-7075) workpieces at varying spindle speeds and feed rates. Imaging experiments were carried out at multiple camera angles and vertical heights to identify the optimal configuration for maximum surface visibility. The best image clarity and observable depth (6.162 mm) were achieved at a 47° camera orientation and 21.5 cm height from the workpiece. This optimized setup lays the foundation for building a machine learning model for surface roughness prediction, which forms the next phase of this research. The study demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of a modular imaging platform for automated, non-contact inspection of drilled surfaces.
Keywords:
image capturing setup, surface roughness, drilling, drilled surface, image acquisition, computer visionDownloads
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