Measurement techniques used for analysis of the geometric structure of machined surfaces

The quality of machined surfaces, resulting from the manufacturing process and conditioning their functionality, is determined by the surface geometric structure (SGS). There is a close relationship between surface properties, shape, qualitative imagining of the surface topography, technique and technology employed for machining purposes [1, 2]. If a given surface is to have practical applications in engineering, the correct technological process needs to be chosen. In the paper, various techniques used for measuring the surface geometric structure were described. The results of the study, which were obtained from different measuring devices like Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Optical Interferometer (WLI), were presented. Optical Microscopy (OM) was shown as a helpful device to analyse some aspects of surface topography. Each measuring technique provided different, yet complementary data on the topography of the machined surfaces. Owing to this, a full characterization of the geometric surface structure of the machined surfaces was enabled, including surface properties resulting from the applied technological process. Based on the measurements made, the characteristics of chosen devices (measurement techniques) were defined with an indication of how they can be applied to the analysis of the surface geometric structure (SGS). The devices which are considered to give the best view of examined surfaces and allow a thorough analysis of their irregularities were then indicated