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Non contact surface roughness measurement instrumentation

Article · January 2007

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AC 2007-2557: NON CONTACT SURFACE ROUGHNESS MEASUREMENT
INSTRUMENTATION

Claudio Campana, University of Hartford

Research Engineer in Mechanical Engineering at Engineering Applications Center University of
Hartford, College of Engineering Technology and Architecture. Received bachelor's degree from
Boston University and Masters from University of Hartford. Area of research is in Cad/Cam
Instrumentation and Mechatronics.

Brian Derynioski, University of Hartford

Brian Derynioski BSEET, Ward College of Technology, University of Hartford, 1985, currently
pursuing Masters of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering, currently employed full time
as a contractor at Sikorsky Aircraft, supporting international Blackhawk/Seahawk sales.

Saeid Moslehpour, University of Hartford

SAEID MOSLEHPOUR is an Assistant Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering
Department in the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture at the University of
Hartford. He holds PhD from Iowa State University and BS MS and EdSp degrees from Central
Missouri State University. His areas of interest are logic design, CPLDs, FPGAs and distance
learning.

© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007

 Development of Non Contact Surface Roughness Measurement
Instrumentation
Abstract

This paper presents the design and implementation of a non-contact Surface Roughness probe
from a pc based data acquisition system to a standalone measurement instrument system. The use
of OrCAD PSpice is demonstrated for circuit design, analysis and PCB layout for the fabrication
of the PCB board that will interface and drive the surface roughness probe.

Introduction: Need and Background

The demand for higher product quality requires continuous monitoring of various processes and
product conditions. It is obvious that one of the essential aspects of quality control in many
manufacturing operations is the measurement of surface finish quality of the machined parts
during the manufacturing process. Variation in the texture of a critical surface of a part
influences its ability to resist wear and fatigue, to assist effective lubrications to increase or
decrease its friction and abrasive action with other parts, and to resist corrosion

Many techniques have been developed to measure surface roughness, which vary from the
conventional profilometer to the recently developed laser diffraction technique. An attempt is
made in this paper to present a simple, reliable and robust way of evaluating the roughness of an
engineering surface regardless of the work piece orientation. The research has wide applications
in manufacturing industries. One typical application suggested in this paper is the measurement
of surface finish of an aircraft gas turbine rotor blade.

The original use of the Surface Roughness Probe was part of an inspection system, used on CNC
/ Robotic machines for Pratt and Whitney [1]. Currently, for analyzing surface roughness, the
probe is connected to a PC via a data acquisition card running VisSim as shown in Figure 1. In
this current configuration the probe is capable of reaching an instrument accuracy of ±0.025 µm
for a Ra range of .05 to 0.4µm.
Computer
Interface
Data
Robot Acquisition
Card

Workpiece
Laser
Probe

V-Block

Figure 1. Surface Roughness Inspection system setup

One of the variations of this setup is to make it more self contained (and very low cost), hence
this project. Of course more flexibility could be added by using an embedded processor.

Measurement of Surface Roughness

A traditionally machined surface consists of many components from different sources generated
during the manufacturing process. It is the combination of these components that comprise
surface texture. Figure 2 illustrates these components of a turned surface [2]. They are roughness,
waviness, profile, error of form, flaws and lay.

Figure 2. Surface Texture Components

In all, surface texture can provide information about the manufacturing process. In metal
machining, for example, surface texture is generated by the "tool noise" and is related to the feed
rate. However, it is also affected by many other variables such as vibration, cutting fluid quality
and tool wear. Therefore measurement of surface texture components can potentially provide
diagnostic information for process control applications.

Various techniques for surface roughness measurements exist which can be largely classified as
contact and non-contact. For example the stylus technique[3] is a contact method in which the
stylus is drawn over the sample in order to detect and record variations in surface geometry.
Surface statistics can then be calculated from the profile record. The accuracy obtained by
mechanical profilometer is quite high, with Ra values being in the order of micro meters.
However this technique is limited by its low speed and the need to contact the surface being
inspected. On the other hand, non-contact methods such as optical interferometry and light
scattering techniques offer the advantage of high speed measurement without the need to contact
the surface being measured.

Interferometry technique uses two coherent beams split by a partially transmitting mirror to
observe the fringe patterns in an interferogram [4]. Interferometry has been found sensitive to
measure high accuracy in the order of 1 nanometer. Thus this method is suitable to inspect very
fine - close to mirror finish surfaces.
Light scattering technique uses a beam of light of known wave length that is projected onto a
surface at an incident angle θ. Figure 3 shows the basic light scattering principle If the surface is
perfectly smooth, the light will be reflected at the same angle as θ, according to the law of
reflection. However, if the surface is rough, the reflection will be scattered around the direction
of specular reflection.. The diffused light intensity has close to linear relationship with surface
roughness. The necessary link between scattering light and surface topography can be made
using either empirical correlation or an appropriate scattering theory [4][5]. For surfaces with Ra
value of 2 µin., 95 percent or more of the incident radiation will be reflected specularly. For
surfaces with Ra value of 20 µin., 95 percent or more of the incident radiation will be scattered
[6].

Angular
Distribution

Incident
Light

Surface
Profile Scattering
Reflection

Figure 3. Basic Light Scattering Principle [7]

Many researchers have contributed to the development of reliable non-contact techniques using
optical methods. Among these, Rovati et al. have developed an optical measurement system for
measuring surface roughness of wood based panels [8]. Marx and Vorburger [9] have developed a
non-contact method of measuring the specular and scattered reflection of a laser beam off the
surface of a workpiece. This research was further enhanced by Shetty and Neault [10] by
developing a non-contact surface roughness analyzer. The method developed by Shetty and
Neault takes advantage of the fact that a light source reflected off the surface of a workpiece
provides a signature pattern based on the roughness of the surface

Light scattering has significant promise as a practical tool for measuring surface finish. It is a
quick, sensitive, area sampling, and accurate method, and unlike the stylus method, is completely
non-destructive. The research discussed in the paper addresses the issue of transferring the light
scattering technique into a practical on-line surface roughness inspection instrument.
Standalone Surface Roughness Analyzer

Overview

The proposed standalone surface roughness probe consists of a laser diode and 4 photo resistor
detectors. Light from the laser diode shines down onto the work surface. Reflected light coming
back into the probe is read by the detectors (4) and converted to a proportional voltage output (in
the 2 volt range) by internal voltage divider circuits. These analog voltages are then added and
converted to an equivalent digital quantity and displayed in numerical format. Refer to the
block diagram below Figure 4.

Figure 4. Overview of the self contained Surface Roughness Analyzer

The Surface Roughness Analyzer is divided into five subsections: the probe, power supply, adder
circuit, A/D circuit and the display circuit (including MOSFET decimal point driver circuit).

Probe

The probe as shown in Figure 5 is comprised of the following components. A 1 milliwatt solid
state laser is used as a light source. The beam of light emitted from the laser passes through a
series of optical lenses and a mirror. The focused and collimated light impinges normal to the
surface of the workpiece to be measured. The distance between the probe and the workpiece is
fixed. The tube which is internally coated with reflective material is employed to collect the
diffused reflection and send it to an array of highly sensitive photoelectric sensors. The sensors
convert scattered light intensity into electric voltage signals.

Measurement
Cover Housing Head

Nut Tube

Mirror

Figure 5. Overall assembly of probe

The amount of scattered light received by the photoelectric sensors will be proportional to the
degree of roughness of the surface. Outputs from the photoelectric sensors are added to produce
a single output.
Completed Circuit

Figure 6 shows the completed circuit. It was designed using the OrCAD CAPTURE utility. This
has many advantages over the traditional paper and pencil approach. Parts (contained in built-in
libraries) are easily placed on the workspace. If one decides to change components, it as easy as
high lighting the old part, deleting it and inserting the new part, as opposed erasing the old part,
drawing in the new part and then adding any nomenclature. If working with active components
(IC’s, transistors etc) this would all have to be done while referencing the manufacturers
datasheets to get the proper pins assignments and nomenclature.

It should be noted that had a PSpice model for the A/D converter been available, the captured
schematic could have also been simulated.

D1N4002
9vdc_in D2

2 1 LM317_TO220
3 2 3vdc
J2 1 VIN VOUT
D1 R9
ADJ U2 1k
2

Ci 1 D1N4002
J3 circuit_gnd .1uF D3 Co
2 4
+ -
1uF
1

R10
1K Cadj
3 0 .1uF
LCD socket
0

R16 CON40

8
to_leftmost_DP
9_vdc_supply D 1
1MEG
M1 3
IRF830 G 4
21 5
S 20 6
19 7

18
J1 U4
41

24

21

17
2
BP

AB4

0 V+
TEST

1 29 22 J4
2 V- 6
3 R1 40 A1 5 23
4 detector_1 REFHI B1 4
5 R14 R15 39 C1 3
100k 0 REFLO D1
6 240k 250K 9 25
7 R2 E1 7
8 detector_2 C4 32 F1 8 24
.01uF A/Z G1 14
100k A2
R13 31 13 15
R3 U1 1.8MEG BUFF B2 11
C2
7
5

8_HEADER detector_3 C3 30 10 14 12
3 + .047uF INT D2 16
100k E2
6 38 15 13 16
R4 2 - C5 .1uF CREF+ F2 28
detector_4 R8 37 G2 26 28
LM318 20K CREF- 26
100k
4
8
1

Vout_adder 44 A3 18 27
OSC1 B3 27
R12 43 C3 17 30
180k OSC2 D3 20 33
R5 C1 42 E3 19 29 34
0 50pF OSC3 F3 25 35
36 G3 11 36
300k COM
R7 22 10 37
R6 1k ICL7136/LCC IN+ IN- POL 9 38
100k 31 39
35

33

32 40

0
2

R11 C2
0 1MEG .01uF
probe_gnd

Figure 6. Completed Circuit

PCB Layout and Fabrication

From the PSpice schematic created in Capture CIS, the PCB layout is done using OrCAD
LAYOUT. The user need only designate where all the componets are to be placed, resistor and
capacitor size and configuration (axial or radial leads) and pad spacing for items such as wires
and connectors. LAYOUT does all the traces automatically. The completed layout is shown
below in Figure 7. A two layered board was generated in this case.

Figure 7. Circuit board layout

Once the layout is complete OrCAD will also generate all the files needed to cut the board to
size, place and drill the holes and route the board (including any text or numbering). The files
were then sent to a PCB fabricator who made the board on a CNC machine. The manufactured
board as received from the fabricator is shown in Figure 8. The completed board with all the
components soldered onto the board is shown in Figure 9.

Figure 8. Manufactured board Figure 9. Completed board with components installed

Test and Results

The experimental test setup for measuring surface roughness is shown below in Figure 10. The
completed board was connected to the probe through the screw terminals. With power applied to
the system, the measurement instrument operation is verified through the lcd display and
calibration is performed.

Figure 10. Board and probe experimental test setup

A series of test measurements were performed using a surface roughness standard. Calibration is
initially performed for the range of readings to be taken. Readings were taken on the ground
samples from 0.1 to 1.6 µm. Results of the test readings using the standalone surface roughness
analyzer are shown in Figure 11.

Ra Measurement Using the Standalone Laser Probe

Instrument
1.8

1.6 Ground Specimens

1.4 Ra Measurement

1.2
Ra (u m)

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
1 2 3 4 5
Specimen number

Figure 11. Ra measurements using standalone laser probe instrument

 Results from the test measurement show a good correlation with the surface roughness value of
the ground specimen. Measurements show that the accuracy of the instrument to be within
±0.025 µm which was the accuracy reached by the PC based data acquisition measurement
system.

Conclusion

The implementation of a non-contact Surface Roughness probe to a standalone measurement

instrument system has been demonstrated in this paper. It is a portable low cost non-contact
surface roughness measurement system solution achieving the same reading accuracy as
compared to the existing pc based data acquisition measurement system. In particular the use of
Orcad PSpice and Layout has been shown for the design, analysis and fabrication of the PC
board.

References
1
Han, Qingwen “Methodology and Modeling of a Laser Based In-Process Surface Finish Inspection Instrument”,
Masters Thesis, Mechanical Engineering, University of Hartford, 1997
2
Federal Product Catalog (1996)
3
S.M. YOO, D.A. DORNFIELD and R.L.LEMASTER (1990) Analysis and Modeling of Laser Measurement
System Performance for Wood Surface, Journal of Engineering for Industry, Vol. 112, p.69-76
4
M.M. BENNET(1976) Measurement of the RMS Roughness, Applied Optics, Vol. 15, No. 11,
p.2705-07
5
M. SHIRAISHI(1981) In Process Measurement of Surface roughness in Turning by Laser Beam, Trans. of ASME
J. of Ind. Eng., Vol. 103, p.203-209
6
D.G. JANSSON, J.M. ROURKE and A.C. BELL(1984) High-Speed Surface Roughness Measurement, Journal of
Engineering for Industry, Vol. 106, p.34-9
7
P. BROADMANN and G. THURN(1986)Roughness Measurement of Ground, Turned and Shot-Peened Surfaces
by the Light Scattering Method, Wear, 109, p.1-13

8
Rovati, L., Pollonini, L., Zanasi, M., Sivien, D., Badiali, M., “Design of an Optical Sensor for Surface Roughness
Measurements of Wood based Panels”, Slcont04 - Sensors for Industry Conference
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 27-29 January 2004
9
Marx, E., and Vorburger, T.V., 1990, “Direct and Inverse Problems for Scattered by Rough Surfaces,” Applied
Optics, Vol. 29, No. 25, pp. 3613-3626.
10
Shetty, D., and Neault, H., 1993, “Method and Apparatus for Surface Roughness Measurement Using Laser
Diffraction Pattern,” United States Patent, Patent Number: 5,189,490.

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