George Carlin once said, “Everybody smiles in the same language.” 

Many use the phrase surface metrology interchangeably with roughness measurement, but it actually has a much wider meaning that includes measurement and quantification of periodicity; geometry; size; shape and number of discrete features and shapes; height or spacing based statistics; etc.

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.

Surface finish affects how a part will fit, reflect light, transmit heat, wear, distribute lubrication, accept coatings and more. The right finish should ultimately be determined by the part’s function and the engineering requirements of the application.

Researching how different materials influence brake pad performance and durability involves a vast amount of back-and-forth testing and metrology analysis.

Michigan Metrology’s Don Cohen, Ph.D., will lead the two-day short course.

Height gages are a general purpose tool, which can be used in a variety of industries and applications by anyone who needs to measure precision parts.