VL53L1X 3d mapping application

Support Sensors
1

Hi,
I am planning to use the VL53L1X board to map out the surface profile of a workpiece prior to machining with a X Y Z CNC router. Depths from 1mm to 2mm must be milled off the surface of the workpiece, to an accuracy of +/-0.1mm, but the workpiece depth is irregular (it varies by up to 1mm). Therefore the Z axis depth varies across the entire surface in order to remove an exact amount. The color of the workpieces also varies. However, from what I read, VL53L1X is repeatable enough for a given set of lighting / object conditions. Therefore this is my plan to produce a depth map for creating the required G code.
a) install the VL53L1X on the Z axis.
b) place the workpiece on the CNC table
c) perform an initial calibration (to account for lighting, workpiece color, etc) - vary the Z axis height and plot this against the VL53L1X output. Having at least one absolute measurement would be helpful.
d) park the Z axis in the best position for accuracy.
e) build the depth map by moving X and Y across the workpiece and measuring the depth. Calculate true depth using the table derived in step c

Can you comment on the suitability of this design?

Moderators, I might have posted this in the wrong area, please shift if appropriate.

Thanks in advance.

2

My reading of the VL53L1X data sheet suggests that the ranging error will be several mm at best, so it would seem unsuitable for your purposes.

Averaging would surely help, but if this were my project, I would spend some time experimenting with the sensor before I commit to a design.

There are laser distance sensors with +/- 0.1 mm and better accuracy, but they tend to be quite expensive.

3

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, reading the documentation further lead me to the same conclusion. I’m going for a digital dial gauge / linear precision pot.