Customizable axes of rotation for industrial radiography systems
Described herein are examples of industrial radiography systems that enable rotation of a part about a custom axis that is offset from an actual rotation axis of a rotatable fixture that retains the part. This may be valuable in situations where it is difficult, impractical, and/or impossible to align the center of the part with the center of the rotatable fixture. In some examples, the custom axis rotation may be implemented on existing radiography machines, without requiring physical alteration of the radiography machines, integration of new components into the radiography machines, and/or risk of instability to the part and/or radiography machines.
1. A method of rotating an object around a custom axis of rotation in an industrial radiography system, the method comprising:
directing first radiation from a radiation emitter of the industrial radiography system, through an object, to a radiation detector of the industrial radiography system while the object is at a first orientation relative to the radiation emitter or the radiation detector;
generating a first image of the object at the first orientation based on the first radiation detected by the radiation detector;
receiving a first selection of a first user selected point in the first image of the object via a user interface of the industrial radiography system;
identifying a first plane defined by the radiation emitter and the first user selected point in the first image;
rotating the object to a second orientation via a rotatable fixture of the industrial radiography system;
directing second radiation from the radiation emitter through the object and onto the radiation detector while the object is at the second orientation;
generating a second image of the object at the second orientation based on the second radiation detected by the radiation detector;
receiving a second selection of a second user selected point in the second image via the user interface;
identifying a second plane defined by the radiation emitter and the second user selected point in the second image;
defining a custom axis of rotation as a line extending through an intersection of the first plane the second plane, the custom axis being offset from an actual axis of rotation about which the rotatable fixture configured to retain the object is configured to rotate;
determining an offset vector extending between the custom axis of rotation and the actual axis of rotation along a plane that is normal to both the custom axis of rotation and the actual axis of rotation, the offset vector comprising an offset distance and an offset direction;
identifying an angle to which, or an angular velocity at which, to rotate the object about the custom axis;
determining a translation of the rotatable fixture in the plane normal to the custom axis of rotation based on the offset vector and the angle, or the offset vector and the angular velocity;
moving the rotatable fixture in the plane based on the translation; and
rotating the rotatable fixture around the actual axis based on the angle or the angular velocity.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the custom axis of rotation is parallel to the actual axis of rotation.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the rotatable fixture is moved or rotated using a robotic arm or a robotic wrist.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the translation comprises a first translation, and the effective rotation comprises a first effective rotation, the method further comprising:
directing third radiation from the radiation emitter of the industrial radiography system, through the object, to the radiation detector of the industrial radiography system, after the first effective rotation of the object around the custom axis;
determining a second translation of the rotatable fixture;
moving the rotatable fixture in the plane based on the second translation; and
rotating the rotatable fixture around the actual axis, wherein the second translation of the rotatable fixture in the plane, and the rotation of the rotatable fixture around the actual axis, results in the offset distance fluctuating during the second effective rotation of the object around the custom axis; and
directing fourth radiation from the radiation emitter, through the object, to the radiation detector, after the second effective rotation of the object around the custom axis, the offset distance after the first effective rotation being equal to the offset distance after the second effective rotation.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein moving the rotatable fixture in the plane comprises moving the rotatable fixture via a support structure that retains the rotatable fixture.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising directing third radiation from the radiation emitter of the industrial radiography system, through the object, to the radiation detector of the industrial radiography system.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the third radiation is X-ray radiation.
8. The method of claim 6 , further comprising generating a two dimensional image of the object based on the third radiation detected by the radiation detector.
9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising generating a three dimensional image of the object based on the two dimensional image of the object and a plurality of other two dimensional images of the object.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first plane and the second plane are parallel to an actual axis of rotation of the rotatable fixture.