US Patent 9046497 Intelligent airfoil component grain defect inspection

A system including a positioning system with a component manipulator structured to position a component in response to a positioning algorithm; a scanning system capable of producing a set of light waves directed at a surface of the component, detecting a set of reflected light waves from the surface of the component, and producing a reflectivity data set in response to the set of reflected light waves; and a microprocessor structured to apply a fuzzy logic algorithm to the reflectivity signal to determine a solution set and produce a grain structure characterization in response to the solution set.