• Optical Dimensions LCC

Surface Roughness Gauge

The Lasercheck in-process surface roughness gauge performs high speed non-contact measurements of surface roughness during the manufacturing process. The system uses a "laser light reflectance and scattering"technique to measure a variety of materials including metals (sheet-formed and machined), magnetic media, plastics, and ceramics. First, a visible laser diode emits a laser beam from the bottom of the gauge illuminating the surface beneath it. "Smart sensors"integrate the laser technology with Windows-based software to guide operators through setup alignment and to dynamically monitor and correct for motions and vibrations during the measurement process. After striking the surface, the laser light is reflected and scattered back into the detection system where the distribution of light is measured-, digitized, and R roughness is calculated for the illuminated area. Roughness a values are sent to a host computer where Lasercheck software displays real-time Ra values in graphic and numeric format along with statistical parameters.