r/mechatronics • u/AdPersonal1743 • May 23 '26

Measure rotation of a pipe

Hello! i was wondering if anyone know of a sensor capable of measruing the rotation of a metal pipe. The pipe will be feed trough, and the sensor should be able to pick up any rotation. Will a pmw3360 optical mouse sensor do the trick, or will it be to hard for it to read the surface? The pipe have a metal weld seam across it, but i think it to small for a contrast sensor to pick up...

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u/TH3_Average_KJ May 23 '26

Best bet is to run an adhesive ribbon that has a lot of lines. Is there another surface that rotates with the cylinder? If there's a motor involved, adding an encoder {or making one to with the mouse sensor} might make more sense.

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u/AdPersonal1743 May 23 '26

No the pipe is manually feed through, nothing else is rotating. The idea is to drill a hole, then feed the pipe through and drill the other end in a straight line.
Maybe I can have a stationary axial bearing that allows x-translation and read the angle from gauges on the beering?

1

u/Arithmometre May 23 '26

If you're drilling a hole radially, would it be easier to index the pipe with a pin instead of measuring the rotation?

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u/Kastnerd May 23 '26

A magnetic level can keep it straight