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Basic Concepts in Surface Measurement

The document discusses the importance of surface measurement in engineering. It defines what a surface is and explains that 90% of engineering failures are due to surface issues. It then describes how the nominal surface differs from the real surface due to manufacturing processes leaving a unique texture, and introduces the concepts of roughness, waviness and form. The rest of the document discusses surface metrology and its goal of measuring deviations from the intended shape, as well as sub-surface layers and related disciplines like dimensional and physical metrology.

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Anuj Sharma
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16 views

Basic Concepts in Surface Measurement

The document discusses the importance of surface measurement in engineering. It defines what a surface is and explains that 90% of engineering failures are due to surface issues. It then describes how the nominal surface differs from the real surface due to manufacturing processes leaving a unique texture, and introduces the concepts of roughness, waviness and form. The rest of the document discusses surface metrology and its goal of measuring deviations from the intended shape, as well as sub-surface layers and related disciplines like dimensional and physical metrology.

Uploaded by

Anuj Sharma
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Basic concepts in Surface Measurement

Surface and its importance

The surface of an engineering component can be defined as the physical boundary between
the work piece and the surrounding environment.

The real surface of a workpiece has been defined in international standards (ISO) as:

A set of features which physically exist and separate the entire workpiece from the
surrounding medium.

For most purposes, however, especially where the workpiece interacts with its working
environment through some form of mechanical contact it is the mechanical surface that is of
interest. This is the surface that is measured using standard surface metrology techniques and
it is this surface that is referred to on engineering drawings of components to be
manufactured.

The clear reason behind the surfaces becoming topics of interest is that it has been shown that
90% of all engineering component failures in practice are surface initiated, through
mechanisms such as fatigue cracking, stress corrosion cracking, fretting wear, excessive
abrasive or adhesive wear, corrosion, erosion etc. Clearly then, it is important to understand
the properties of the surface and near surface zones of a component. These properties can be
grouped together under the term surface integrity.

A glance at the nominal technical drawing of an engineering component clearly shows that
the drawing assumes that each surface of the component is perfectly smooth, straight, clean
and free from defects. This surface, the one assumed by the drawing is called the nominal
surface. The manufacturing engineer now studies the drawing and attempts to manufacture
the component to the specified dimensions within the tolerance limits. When manufacturing
the component the engineer knows that it is impossible to manufacture a perfectly smooth
surface, as the particular manufacturing method chosen will leave a micro-scale "fingerprint"
on the surface which is unique to that manufacturing process. The nature of that "fingerprint"
is referred to as the surface texture or surface topography of the component. Normally, this
consists of a series of peaks and valleys that have characteristic shape, size and spacing.

As well as affecting the shape of the surface texture the manufacturing method chosen also
affects the layers directly below the surface of the component. For example, if we take the
machined surface of a metal such as steel and take a cross section through the surface we can
see the surface is made up of a number of layers (Figure 1.1).
Figure1.1 Schematic cross sectional view of a surface showing the surface and sub surface
layers

These layers consist of:

1. An oxide layer, which all metals possess, this layer being several nanometers thick.

2. The topographic layer, the hills and valleys that make up the shape of the surface.

These result from the material removal (or addition) process and are produced by the

unit manufacturing process (tool passage, electrical discharge, plating process etc.).

3. A plastically deformed layer produced by the machining operation.

4. A metallurgically deformed layer resulting primarily from heating during its machining
process.

5. The bulk material.

Whilst the sub surface layers are critically important, they are very difficult to measure
without destroying the component. Therefore engineers have concentrated on measuring the
surface texture as both a means of quality assurance and as a means of inferring functional
performance. The geometrical form of any surface is usually referred to as the surface
texture. Conventionally the texture is made up of features defined as roughness, waviness
and form (Figure 1.2). Traditionally, when the surface texture is quantitatively measured it is
only the roughness that is analysed and the waviness and form elements are mechanically,
electrically or digitally filtered out from the recorded data.
Figure 1.2 Roughness, waviness and form of an engineering surface

1.2 SURFACE METROLOGY

Surface metrology from an engineering standpoint is the measurement of the deviations of a


workpiece from its intended shape, that is, from the shape specified on the drawing. It is
taken to include features such as deviations from roundness, straightness, flatness,
cylindricity, and so on. It also includes the measurement of the marks left on the workpiece in
an attempt to achieve shape accuracy, i.e., the surface texture left by the machining process
and also surface deviations on naturally formed objects. Surface metrology is essentially a
Mechanical Engineering discipline but it will soon be obvious that as the subject has
developed in recent years it has broadened out to include aspects of many other disciplines.
Perhaps the best way to place the role of engineering surface metrology is to consider just
what needs to be measured in order to enable a workpiece to perform according to the
designer’s aim. Assuming that the material has been specified correctly and that the
workpiece has been made from it, the first thing to be done is to measure the dimensions.
These will have been specified on the drawing to a tolerance.

So, Dimensional Metrology is the first aim because it ensures that the size of the workpiece
conforms to the designer’s wish. This in turn ensures that the workpiece will assemble into an
engine, gearbox, gyroscope or whatever; the static characteristics have therefore been
satisfied. This by itself is not sufficient to ensure that the workpiece will satisfy its function
as an example it may not be able to turn or move. This is where Surface Metrology becomes
important.
Surface metrology ensures that all aspects of the surface geometry are known and preferably
controlled. If the shape and texture of the workpiece are correct then it will be able to move at
the speeds, loads, and temperatures specified in the design, the dynamic characteristics have
therefore been satisfied. The final group of measurements concerns the physical and chemical
condition of the workpiece. This will be called here as Physical Metrology.
It includes the hardness of the materials, both in the bulk and in the surface layers, and the
residual stress of the surface, both in compression and in tension, left in the material by the
machining process or the heat treatment. It also includes measurement of the metallurgical
structure of the material, and its chemical construction. All these and more contribute to the
durability of the component, for example, its resistance to corrosion or fatigue. Physical
metrology therefore is the third major sector of engineering metrology. As a general rule, all
three types of measurement must take place in order to ensure that the workpiece will do its
assigned job for the time specified and to guarantee its quality.

This report is concerned specifically with surfaces but this does not necessarily exclude the
other two. In fact it is impossible to separate any of these disciplines completely from the
others. After all, there is only one component and these measurements are all taken on it.
Physical and chemical features of importance have been covered in some detail.

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