Industrial Surface Finish Method Comparison for Fine Finish Measurements

doi:10.1117/3.2513685.ch12

Book: Practical Optical Dimensional Metrology

Author(s): Kevin G. Harding

Published: 2019

https://doi.org/10.1117/3.2513685.ch12

Abstract

Surface finish plays an important role in the quality and performance of manufactured parts. It can impact how well two surfaces might fit together as well as how much friction the surface may exhibit, and even offers the potential for predicting the lifetime of parts subject to stress. The metrology of surface finish is largely based on measuring the average or peak-to-valley depth of the surface structure on a very fine scale of much less than a micron. The most common means of making this measurement is to use a mechanical stylus with a very small, sharp tip that is dragged across the surface.2 The instrument measures the change in height of the texture, but not the inplane dimension.