As part tolerances tighten, both form and surface finish have a bigger influence on the size and function of the product. And with pressures on manufacturing to be more productive, it is no longer viable for checks of surface or form to be performed on a measuring system in a quality room. It’s becoming more important to measure surface finish right at the point of manufacture—often by the same machinist who is manufacturing the part. And while this machinist is often an expert on running the machine, he or she is not necessarily an expert on making surface finish measurements (as well as related tasks like collecting and documenting data).
We have come a long way from the not so distant past when surface finish was “measured” by judgment or compared to a standard with a fingernail. Since the inception of roughness metrology, the number of international standards and internationally recognized surface parameters has increased exponentially. This makes it particularly difficult for new employees (or even seasoned ones) in the quality room or on the production floor to grasp the details and intricacies of surface metrology.