Roughness measuring systems

Applications in medical, aerospace, mechanical engineering and automotive

The roughness of surfaces determines their quality to a large extent. For example, in medical technology, micro-morphological processing on dental implant surfaces creates roughness that ensures optimal stability of the implant after it has been set as well as after the healing period. This means that keeping a certain level of surface roughness in the mid range will help the implant to take root in the jaw quickly and without complications. This also applies to other endoprostheses such as hip joints. In this case, high surface roughness ensures that the implant and the bones bond well.

In other industries, too, roughness is a central parameter for surface quality: In mechanical engineering, for example, pre-treating steel surfaces with steel technology significantly improves the roughness profile and thus the contact ratio and adhesion of the subsequent coating.

Low surface roughness on honed cylinder bores in the drive train of combustion engines, for instance, provides frictional optimisation of cylinder running surfaces – and thus generates higher performance, quieter operation and longer lifespan for car engines.

Measure surface roughness according to all important standards

Many parameters can be used to describe the texture of surfaces. The peak/valley parameters most often used, such as Ra, Rz or curve parameters such as RMR are described in the norms DIN EN ISO 4287/4288 and DIN EN ISO 13565-1/2 for physical metrology. DIN EN ISO 3274 describes the parameters and operators regarding their definition for optical 3D surface measurement.

With the ACCRETECH gauging systems for roughness, deviations from the target surface texture can be detected with nanometre-precise certainty – in both manufacturing and in the measuring room.

The roughness measuring systems from ACCRETECH – whether optical or physical – measure in compliance with these DIN norms. They also support international norms such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Japan Industrial Standards (JIS) and the French CNOMO norm. Gauging systems for 2D and 3D roughness measurements are available as well. All take fully automated measurements; this makes the software for operation self-explanatory to a large extent.

ACCRETECH provides roughness measuring systems for a wide variety of requirements and in various designs: The convenient mobile instruments in the HANDYSURF⁺ series form the entry level, followed by portable models 35, 40, 45 and 50 from the SURFCOM TOUCH series for higher requirements. In addition, there are three stationary roughness measuring systems (the SURFCOM TOUCH 550, the SURFCOM C5 and the SURFCOM NEX 001) for use in manufacturing environments or in the measuring room.

Due to the elimination of the drive shaft and the drive gears in the feed, the inspection instruments from ACCRETECH work at a low vibration with a resolution of up to 0.31 nm. Another major advantage of the linear technology, which requires little servicing and maintenance, is the durability of the system and therefore the extraordinary cost efficiency.