A three-dimensional (3D) inner surface inspection system is developed in this research based on circle-structured light, which is an improved laser triangulation method. A conical reflector is used to reflect the laser and generate radial laser plane that is called circle-structured light, and a CCD camera is used to capture the light stripe on the inner surface. Then, the 3D coordinates of points on the light stripe are calculated through laser triangulation algorithm. Compared with existing inner surface measurement systems, this research takes assembly errors and refraction distortion into consideration and proposes a laser plane mathematical model with four degrees-of-freedom along with corresponding flexible laser plane calibration technique based on binocular vision that is easy to operate. The proposed inspection system calibrated by proposed algorithm performs well in diameter measurement experiment, in which the absolute error is superior to 3 μm, and defect detecting experiment, in which the defect resolution is superior to 0.02 mm. Moreover, the system also performs well in straightness and roundness evaluation. Experiments indicate that this system is applicable in inner surface measurement and inspection, and the calibration method is accurate and easy to operate.
