The Applied Technical Services Family of Companies (ATS FoC) calibrates optical surface roughness measurement instruments to evaluate the roughness and smoothness of materials. While it may often go unnoticed by many consumers and end-users, a material or product’s surface roughness can have a significant influence on the object’s performance and functionality. Our calibration lab services can provide critical insight into the functionality and accuracy of your surface roughness testers.
What is Surface Roughness, and How is it Measured?
Surface roughness refers to the fine irregularities on a material’s surface. These irregularities are microscopic, but they can influence the material’s performance, longevity, and ability to accept adhesive bonds. Surface irregularities can occur naturally in certain materials, but they’re often formed during the manufacturing process or as a result of environmental factors such as temperature and humidity.
Surface roughness can be measured through contact methods and non-contact methods. The most common contact method uses a stylus profilometer, a metrology instrument that records a surface’s vertical displacement, quantifying its surface topography. This method is revered for its repeatability, high accuracy, and abundance of ASME and ISO guidelines. It has its disadvantages, including its slow pace and propensity to damage highly sensitive surfaces.
As their name suggests, non contact methods do not require direct contact with a material, so they are suitable for use on sensitive materials. Optical profilometry, one of the most popular non-contact methods, measures a material’s surface roughness using light. During the measurement process, technicians project a structured light pattern onto a material’s surface and capture the light via a detector, camera, or laser. The reflected light pattern’s distortion gives technicians critical insight into the surface’s topography, allowing them to determine its surface roughness. The optical profilometry method is advantageous because it can scan 3D objects and yield quick measurements, but it’s more prone to inaccuracy than its contact alternatives.
About Our Optical Surface Roughness Measurement Services
Our experienced team of metrology experts provide optical surface roughness measurement services, providing clients with precise, accurate, and clear reports of our findings. Our surface roughness measurement services do the following:
- Provide information on surface roughness values (Ra, Rz, Sa, Sq, Sz, etc.)
- Analyze dimensional data.
- Visualize surface defects via 3D topography.
- Comply with industry regulations.
Contact Us
Submit a web request form or call +1 (888)-287-5227 to discuss your testing needs with one of our specialists.
