ACCRETECH E Book Tactile Vs Contactless ENG
ACCRETECH E Book Tactile Vs Contactless ENG
MEASUREMENTS
– TACTILE OR
CONTACTLESS?
E-BOOK
ACCRETECH E-BOOK
SURFACE MEASUREMENTS –
TACTILE OR CONTACTLESS?
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ACCRETECH E-BOOK
CONTENTS
INCREASING CHALLENGES
IN SURFACE METROLOGY 4
TACTILE METROLOGY 5
CONTACTLESS METROLOGY 12
Different procedures 13
CONCLUSION 23
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INCREASING CHALLENGES
IN SURFACE METROLOGY
The requirements for surface metrology are growing: More and more needs to be
measured, and be measured more often. To prevent the measuring room from
becoming a bottleneck, measuring instruments are increasingly being sought at
the production line or incorporated within it. In addition, there are further challenges
coming from product optimisation, and completely new applications.
In these and other cases, production managers and quality managers are increas-
ingly pressing for the use of appropriate production metrology, e.g. for process-
accompanying surface roughness measurements on or in the production line, in
order to be able to react quickly in case of deviations from the tolerance specifica-
tions – even before a large number of rejects occur.
The fact is: today, surfaces are usually measured tactilely in the traditional way.
However, in view of new measuring tasks, there is a growing demand for optical
metrology, as it often provides faster measurement results. But is this really the case?
Is tactile surface metrology already obsolete? With this whitepaper, we assist you
in finding your way through the jungle that exists between tactile and optical
metrology.
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TACTILE METROLOGY
Tactile metrology is a widely used standard measuring method for determining the
shape, position and dimensions of components. This also includes surface metrology.
Touch-activated styli trace the material surface. The accuracies of such systems are
very high, achieving values in the micrometer range and sometimes, depending on
the version, even lower. The measurement values determined in this way allow very
detailed conclusions to be drawn about the quality of the machining processes of
the analysed workpiece.
The tracing systems are moved on appropriate measuring instruments either relative
to the workpieces – in which case the machine moves – or the workpieces relative
to the tracing systems – in which case the workpiece moves. In both cases: Tactile
metrology requires a stable material surface that does not deform during probing.
cular to the test surface. However, Rz depends less than Rmax on individual
profile characteristics: Rz values scatter less than Rmax values during repeat
measurements.
Ra = 1.6 µm
Rmax= 9.4 µm
Rz = 4.4 µm
Honed surface
Ra = 1.7 µm
Rmax = 9.4 µm
Rz = 8.7 µm
Lathed surface
Ra = 1.3 µm
Rmax= 9.6 µm
Rz = 6.5 µm
Eroded surface
Today, tactile measuring systems are generally used to determine these roughness
parameters: These are primarily surface measuring instruments which operate
according to the profile method. But also profile measuring instruments already
offer the possibility to measure surfaces today.
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Stylus instruments are preferably used for roughness and contour measurement
and provide nanometer resolutions with the largest possible measuring range.
6
5
These instruments scan the surfaces with conical diamond scanning elements,
spherically rounded at the tip, with opening angles of 60 or 90° with rounding
radii of 2 µm, 5 µm or 10 µm. This is historically the first measuring method for the
quantitative assessment of the roughness of technical surfaces and is described in
detail in the relevant standards such as DIN EN ISO 3274 or 4760. Typical of stylus
instruments are the small scanning elements with defined radii of curvature in the
micrometer range. This results in a predictable transmission behaviour. High-end
stylus instruments are also characterised by their high flexibility: They measure
point-like, offer a large height measuring range with probe lengths > 100 mm and
provide a nanometre resolution in the x-z measuring plane.
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The two standards DIN EN ISO 4287 and 4288 can also be used to easily determine
an ideal profile filter and the appropriate radius of the stylus tip – and thereby carry
out roughness measurements in accordance with the standards.
10 80 50 200 1.3 4 8 40
Fig: Determination of the wavelength limit (as per DIN EN ISO 4288)
Source: Surface measurement guide, ACCRETECH Europe GmbH
An example should shed light on the rule texts and tables: Suppose you have a
workpiece with a non-periodic profile. This needs to be checked according to your
technical drawing for an Rz value of 5 μm. For Rz values of between 0.5 μm and 10
μm, DIN EN ISO 4288 specifies an individual measured length and a filter (λc) of 0.8
mm and a total measured length of 4 mm.
The λc value is also the basis for selecting a suitable button. For a λc value of 0.8 mm,
tips with a radius of 2 μm – or 5 μm for Rz values of more than 3 μm are recom-
mended. Accordingly, in this example select a probe tip with 5 μm radius. However,
a measurement with a smaller probe tip is always permissible – only it must not be
larger.
If no roughness value can be taken from the design drawings, the standard recom-
mends a test measurement with λc = 0.8 mm, as most industrial values are in this
range. If the result is positive, you must also check the next lower value. Because
according to DIN EN ISO 4288, the smallest possible λc value must always be used.
In addition, influences such as the noise floor can be eliminated via the λs filter.
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With the λc filter, the overall profile is divided into a waviness and roughness profile.
For probe tips with a radius of 2 µm a probing force of 0.75 mN is specified, for probe
tips of 5 µm and larger a probing force of 4 mN can be applied.
Nevertheless, precise tactile surface measurements can also be carried out during
production. One example is the SURFCOM C5 surface roughness measuring instru-
ment from ACCRETECH: The big challenge when trying to measure minimal rough-
ness values during production is the noise floor of the measuring instruments. In
addition, there is often much greater ambient noise compared to the measurement
room. The noise floor and ambient noise may even exceed the roughness value,
distorting the measurement results. For the SURFCOM C5, ACCRETECH has suc-
ceeded in reducing the noise floor so that highly accurate measurements can be
achieved in production environments – uncompromised and without interference.
An active damping table with high torsional rigidity reduces the influence of ambi-
ent vibrations. The natural frequency spectrum of the measuring machine has been
designed so that it counteracts the excitation spectrum. In other words, the ambient
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and machine vibrations cancel each other out. In addition, the amount of electrical
noise has been minimised. The instrument therefore enables high-precision
measurements of all known surface parameters directly at the production line.
For example, a car manufacturer currently using the SURFCOM C5 can measure
an Rpk value for the reduced peak height of repeatedly/reliably <70 nm.
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CONTACTLESS
METROLOGY
In order to achieve a higher level of information about surfaces, in some cases a
three-dimensional recording of the surface using contactless measuring instru-
ments is useful – especially if the structures on machine-processed surfaces are
no longer arranged in a straight line but are distributed stochastically, i.e. randomly.
A 2D cut is then not sufficient in this regard. Optical 3D measuring methods are
used in such cases. They usually facilitate a direct visual representation of the
surface. This is particularly advantageous for inhomogeneous surfaces – for example,
if there are particles or particle-like structures on them at irregular intervals. These
are not correctly represented in the profile section during 2D recording. This means
that the surface parameters calculated from it cannot be reproduced, which prevents
any meaningful evaluation of the surface.
Contactless methods also enable short measuring times for smaller measuring
fields. With larger measuring fields, on the other hand, they are slower than tactile
methods, since in this case several individual images need to be combined into one
large image using what is referred to as the stitching function.
Contactless methods also work without mechanical wear on the measuring system
or the workpiece. They are therefore also suitable for soft or elastic materials that
can be deformed or damaged by tactile processes, as well as for surfaces with differ-
ent characteristics. A free line of sight to the measuring point is required for all
contactless measuring systems. Undercuts cannot be detected, for example. This
means: only what the sensor sees can be measured.
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Different procedures
With regard to surface metrology, processes are sometimes combined with each
other. An example of such a multi-sensor concept is the combination of confocal
microscopy and white-light interferometry.
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White-light interferometry
White-light interferometry is the most accurate of the contactless methods.
ACCRETECH's modular system SURFCOM NEX, for example, offers a white light
sensor for optical surface measurement with a resolution of 10 nm and a measure-
ment precision of 0.1 µm. The optical 3D contour and roughness measuring instru-
ment OPT-SCOPE operates in the nano measuring range. It has a resolution of
0.01 nm and an accuracy of (0.08 ±/2H/100) µm.z
Mirror
Camera
Example
White-light interferometry uses the interference effects that occur when the light
reflected from the target is superimposed on the light scattered back by a high-preci-
sion reference mirror. The method is based on the principle of the Michelson interfe-
rometer, whereby the optical structure contains a light source with a coherence length
in the micrometer range. At a beam splitter, the collimated light beam is split into
measuring and reference beam. The measuring beam hits the measured object, while
the reference beam hits a mirror. The light reflected by the mirror and the measured
object is superimposed at the beam splitter and projected onto a camera.
If the optical path for an object point in the measuring arm matches the path in the
reference arm, constructive interference occurs for all wavelengths in the spectrum
of the light source. The camera pixel of the respective object point then has the maxi-
mum intensity. For object points that do not meet this condition, the assigned camera
pixel has a low intensity. The camera therefore registers all pixels of the same height.
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Focus variation
Focus variation is one of the less precise methods. The main component of the
measuring systems based on this method is a precision optic which contains
several lens systems and can be equipped with different lenses in order to measure
objects with variable resolution. Using a semi-transparent mirror, modulated light
from a white light source is directed into the optical path of the measuring system
and focused on the component via the lens. When the light hits the surface, it is
reflected in different directions depending on the characteristics of the sample.
With diffuse surfaces, reflection takes place uniformly in all directions, with specular
topographies mainly in one direction only. All reflected light rays that hit the lens
are bundled by the optics and hit a light-sensitive sensor. Due to the low depth of
field of the system, only small areas of the object are always in focus. To enable a
3D measurement and the generation of a colour image with continuous depth of
field, it is necessary to move the sensor head vertically along the optical axis in such
a way that the sharpness range varies over the topography of the sample surface.
With regard to depth evaluation, a measure of sharpness is first calculated for each
object point detected by the sensor. Then the variation of the sharpness dimensions
is analysed to calculate the z-position of the object points.
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Object point
Strip projector
Matrix camera
Strip number
Image point
V
ζ
U
Triangulation base
The basic principle of strip light projection is triangulation. In contrast to the laser
profile measurement, which is also based on this principle, the entire surface of the
workpiece is captured at once in the strip light projection. A strip pattern – typically
at an angle of 30° – is projected onto the surface and recorded by a measuring cam-
era looking perpendicular to the surface. A special feature is the use of grey tone
gradients on the strip flanks. The exact lateral strip positions (phases) for all points
on the surface are determined from at least three strip patterns with a sinusoidal
intensity curve projected in very rapid succession. The grey value generation is digital,
using high-resolution micro mirror displays. This increases the triangulation and
thus the height resolution by up to two orders of magnitude, with extremely low
temperature drift and considerable long-term stability. The measuring fields can
be scaled from less than 1 mm to more than 1 m in the case of strip projection, with
the resolution scaling accordingly. The strip projection is therefore suitable for both
large and small measurement objects, for overview shots due to the high measure-
ment speed as well as for precise measurements due to high resolution and accuracy.
Strip light projection is only conditionally suitable for high-resolution roughness
measurements in the sub-micrometer range. Another disadvantage in this regard
is the limited measuring range, which is due to the low depth of field and the high
sensitivity with varying surface characteristics.
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Confocal microscopy
Light source (laser/white light)
Pinhole
Receiver
pinhole
Piezo adjustment
Microscope lens
Test specimen
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Each individual process has specific advantages and disadvantages, which is why
the optimum methods need to be selected for each application. In such situations, a
comparison of data sheets can help to identify the most suitable instrument.
However, it usually raises more questions than it answers. Different terms for simi-
lar characteristics and similar terms for different characteristics further confuse the
reader. The user is left at a loss if unrealistic procedures are used in practice to gloss
over specification values. One example of this is the specification of the vertical
resolution of a measuring instrument, which is often best represented by averaging
over many individual measurements. A direct comparison of the measuring instru-
ments is also made difficult for the user by the use of different terms: For example,
one manufacturer with “field of view” means the same as another with “lateral
measuring range”.
This is where the “Fair Data Sheet” initiative comes into play. This was launched
in 2015 by various manufacturers, user companies, the University of Kaiserslautern
and the Physikalisch Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB). It helps users to achieve a
more objective comparability of instruments and technologies by providing guide-
lines for uniform instrument and process specifications.
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DIN ISO 25178 is the first international standard that considers measurement and
specification of 3D surface textures by defining 3D texture parameters and the
operators for determination thereof. As a result, the standard facilitates a multitude
of new evaluations to better describe functions of the surface, which was not suffi-
ciently possible with 2D parameters. Planar parameters to describe surface roughness
are described in ISO 25178, part 2. The following 3D parameters are standardised:
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According to Ströer, the function-oriented parameters such as Sk, Spk or Svk, like
their 2D equivalents Rk, Rpk and Rvk, are derived from the (surface) material propor-
tion curve and are used to describe the proportion of ridges and grooves in a surface.
Structure-oriented parameters such as Sdv can be suitable for describing segmented
topographies and characterise the oil retention capacity of a sealing or lubrication
surface, for example.
ISO 25178 also describes the applicable metrology, calibration methods and physical
calibration standards as well as the requisite calibration software. In practice,
however, there is still little empirical knowledge on how such parameters can be used
– even among developers and designers.
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The selection of a suitable process for surface metrology is not easy because in
many cases both tactile and optical processes can be used – and such processes can
provide comparable data by all means. Which approach is the better one depends
on individual circumstances and the further requirements of the target application.
In comparison to optical methods, tactile methods are much more established and
well-known. However, optical processes reveal their strengths in production.
Experts assume that tactile and optical processes will complement each other very
well in the years to come.
There is no ideal solution – and finding a solution is complex. Those responsible for
quality assurance and production must ask themselves a number of questions:
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