Surface angle measurements on the Mentor Visual iQ+ VideoProbe 

In this article:

• Explains how surface angle measurements work on the Mentor Visual iQ+ VideoProbe, using a reference plane (3 points) and an angle plane fitted to the target surface.
• Highlights typical applications such as turbine blade tip curl, weld toe angles, and angles between two surfaces using 3D point cloud data.
• Shares best practices for accuracy, including optimal probe positioning, use of the 3D Surface Mask, and verifying plane alignment in the 3D view.

What surface angle measurements are available on the Mentor Visual iQ+ VideoProbe?

Measures the angle between a reference plane, defined by three points, and an angle plane determined by fitting the surface within the fourth plane cursor.

Example Applications:

• Turbine blade tip curl
• Weld toe angle
• Angle between two surfaces.

3D Surface Mask:

When enabled in Settings, surface points very close to the reference plane are shown in green, and surface points very close to the angle plane are shown in light blue.

Best Practices to Improve Measurement Accuracy:

• Position the measurement tip as close as possible while keeping enough reference surface in the view for establishing the reference plane.
• Position the three reference-plane cursors to maximize the coverage of 3D Surface Mask green pixels on the
• Check the 3D point cloud view to verify that the reference plane, indicated by a blue square, is accurately aligned with the reference surface.
• In the 3D point cloud view, verify that the angle plane, indicated by the light blue 3D Surface Mask and the angle line, is tangent to the surface at the desired measurement point.
• The fourth cursor is relatively small to allow it to be placed near the tip of curled turbine blade corners. This small fitting area does make Surface Angle somewhat sensitive to 3D noise on the angle-plane surface. In applications where both surfaces are large relative to the size of the fourth cursor, accuracy can be improved by placing the Measurement Plane on the angle-plane surface, in which case the Surface Angle result is the angle between the reference plane and the Measurement Plane.