Mike Zecchino

Gages need calibration, but an annual calibration sticker can mislead non-experts. In addition to regular calibration, proper maintenance, operation, and frequent result verification are crucial. The best practices outlined in this article will help ensure reliable measurements during and between calibrations.

Quality assessments of parts often rely on a "yes" or "no" on a printed report, a "good" part versus "bad." However, advancements like 3D scanning allow engineers to visualize and analyze surface textures, revealing crucial insights beyond basic roughness values, which is vital for meeting increasing performance demands.

3D optical profiling, developed in the early 1990s, is crucial for high-resolution measurement of optics, semiconductors, medical devices, and precision machining. Recent developments have expanded its capabilities, allowing high-resolution surface texture measurements over many square millimeters in minutes.

An Industry 4.0 mindset and a “lights-out” style of operation is driving quality and manufacturing teams to integrate measurements and process controls more tightly. The hope is that localized, closed loops will provide great benefits, including lower manufacturing costs, lower labor costs, and improved product quality.

In Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) there has been a long-standing conflict between the worlds of specification and measurement. The goal of specification is to ensure that components will function; the goal of measurement is to ensure that manufactured components meet those functional requirements. 

Specifications for surface texture frequently focus on surface “roughness”—the finer structures in the texture—often to the exclusion of the “waviness”—the larger structure of the texture. Unfortunately, problems related to sealing, vibration, noise, wear, etc., are regularly caused by issues hidden in the waviness domain, which cannot be captured by common roughness specifications.