Design and construction of a sample device for measuring helix steps using image processing technique

The same size of the helix steps in a traveling wave tube has a direct relationship with the efficiency of the system. In this article, the goal is to build a device that measures helix steps automatically and with proper accuracy by using image processing. For this purpose, the proposed algorithm was presented along with innovations in the fields of noise removal and threshold determination for the automatic measurement of helix steps, and the prototype of the device was made. This device has the ability to work in two modes of manual and automatic measurement, and it has no domestic equivalent, and it is much cheaper in terms of cost and use in measuring helix steps than the sample made abroad. In automatic mode, this device is able to measure all helix steps at once. In the case of a similar sample made abroad the steps must be measured manually and separately. The selection of the beginning and end points of steps in this device is done adaptively, which increases the speed of measurement and increases the repeatability in measuring steps. In the sample made abroad, the selection of the start and end points of the steps is done by the user, which reduces the repeatability of the measurement. The obtained results show that the measurement accuracy of the manufactured device is acceptable compared to the sample made abroad.