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A new resource makes it easier to find answers to surface texture related concepts and applications. “The Surface Texture Answer Book” is a Q&A style book that addresses more than 100 of the most commonly-asked questions regarding the measurement, analysis, interpretation, specification, and application of surface texture.

The 400-page paperback book is available through amazon.com.

In applications such as controlling sealing in gaskets or noise in bearings and gears, longer-wavelength waviness may be more important than shorter-wavelength surface roughness. In this video we look at how we extract waviness from surface texture data, using a "cutoff wavelength" to determine what will be considered waviness and what will be considered roughness for a given application. We also show how to specify waviness on a drawing so that we can measure and control it in production.

In this video we introduce the Rk Parameters, which are derived from the material ratio curve. The Rk parameters help us describe how a surface will wear, support a load, retain lubrication, etc. A single number cannot describe all of these traits...but the Rk parameters can. 

Digital Metrology's Mark Malburg was a guest speaker on Zygo Corporation's recent podcast, "2D and 3D Parameters: Should you stick to the typical results?" Dr. Malburg and Carl Musolff, retired senior technical advisor from Cummins Corporation, joined host Tyler Kern to discuss how surface texture parameters are specified and measured in order to control component quality.

In "The Material Ratio Curve" we look at this rather well-known curve (historically known as the Abbott-Firestone Curve). It shows us the amount of material that we encounter as we move further down into a surface. That can tell us a lot about the surface: how durable it may be, how it could carry lubrication, how well it may wear...even how comfortable it may be to slide around on (not recommended!).

In this introduction we show how the material ratio curve is derived. Then, we show you some examples that will help you estimate the nature of a surface from the shape of its material ratio curve.

Digital Metrology's Dr. Mark Malburg recently received the 2020 Patrick Higgins Medal. The annual award is presented to an individual who has contributed to the enhancement of standardization through contributions to the development and promotion of ASME codes and standards or conformity assessment programs.

ASME codes are recognized throughout the world for their excellence.  The Standardization group is one of the senior code writing bodies within ASME, with publication dating back over 100 years ago. The Higgins medal was established in 2006 to recognize voluntary codes and standards activity in the Society. 

The award is named for Patrick Higgins, who chaired ASME's A112 Committee on Plumbing Material & Equipment for over eighteen years. He also served as a Vice President of C&S Standardization.

In our latest video, "Rz (Average Peak-to-Valley Roughness)," we look at the world’s second most common surface texture parameter. Our eye can do a pretty good job of telling us the general roughness of a surface. Rz works similarly. One caveat: there are other definitions of Rz out there—we will show you the differences and what to look for.

In the December issue of our quarterly newsletter we round up the new blog posts, papers and videos that we've been adding to our website over the last few months—including our new Notepad Series videos which many of you have already visited. We share how one engineering professor is using our OmniSurf software products to help educate the next generation of machinists and designers. And, we introduce you to the Interactive Filtering feature in OmniSurf3D, which helps you focus on the features in your data that matter for the application, in a very visual way.

The average roughness (or “Ra”) value of a surface is the most common number describing the “amount” of roughness on that surface. While the Ra value (or “Sa” for areal / 3D measurements) may give a general sense of the surface texture, it cannot distinguish between two surfaces of different shapes. For example, a jagged surface with sharp spikes could have the same Ra value as a smoothly plateaued surface with lots of deep porosity. As we show in this video, describing a surface using only Ra is like describing a concert only by loudness! Yet, Ra (or Sa) may still have its uses in some production settings.

Controlling optical component performance requires well-defined measurement processes. In this white paper we look at how analysis software can help standardize measurement processes and results, by guiding users through the steps of the measurement process (geometry fitting, filtering, and defining parameters) and by making it simple to visualize the impact of analysis options.