Strategies in cone beam CT inspection of cylindrical objects

Axial symmetry is a feature that often occurs in industrial parts. Analysing these with X-ray computed tomography (CT), cylindrical coordinates about an axis fixed to the object form the most natural base to check certain characteristics of objects that contain such symmetry. This work presents two methods to investigate this coordinate system and to incorporate it in the current algebraic reconstruction framework and the analysis tools. The methods are applied to fast scans with few projections of cylindrical products with slight random tilts. Standard reconstruction requires more advanced and hence slower techniques in the analysis phase. Reconstruction in a symmetry adapted base needs precise knowledge about the object’s pose, but it allows aimed sampling. This takes down the reconstruction and analysis time, which is necessary when applying CT for in-line inspectio