3D Surface Roughness and Wear Measurement, Analysis and Inspection

How Do We Define “Roughness?”

September 13, 2023

“Roughness” can mean a lot of things, but in surface texture analysis, it has a very specific meaning. In this short video we look at how 2D and 3D surface

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Friction and surface roughness, Real Area of Contact and Apparent Area of Contact, how the difference affects frictional force, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michigan Metrology

Friction and the Real Area of Contact

July 25, 2023

If I need to push a long, heavy block, it seems like it should be easier if I stand the block up rather than laying it flat on its face…and

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Dashboard surface, highly engineered surface texture with both fine surface roughness to scatter light and larger roughness to hide wear

Dashboard surface texture

July 7, 2023

When you’re thinking about the most engineered surfaces in a car, you may think of cylinder bores, clutches, brakes, etc. But we’d like to put one more item on your

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Cavitation erosion

June 22, 2023

Cavitation is the formation of air bubbles in a fluid as it goes from high pressure to low pressure. The dissolved gas can grow into bubbles—and under certain conditions those

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Surface texture - a bearing surface may look shiny as it wears because the peak material with short spatial wavelengths has been removed during the run-in period. Michigan Metrology

Why do some bearings look shiny with wear?

April 25, 2023

We tend to think of “new” surfaces as shiny and smooth, and “worn” surfaces as rough, dull, or uneven. But for a bearing surface, the opposite is often true: the

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surface texture filtering animation - Michigan Metrology

Visualizing “filtering” — an animation

April 18, 2023

Surface texture can be described as a spectrum of spatial wavelengths. “Filtering” is the process to isolate the wavelengths that matter for our application. But what does that really look

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Surface roughness of paint - surface texture is a spectrum of spatial wavelengths, and by examining different ranges within that spectrum we can spot differences that we might miss if we only track the overall average roughness

Paint finish and spatial wavelengths

March 14, 2023

Two lots of steel pass inspection for surface roughness. Yet, when we paint a panel from each lot, one looks great, and the other…does not. How can it be, when

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Donald Cohen of Michigan Metrology is an expert in surface roughness, surface texture, 3D surface roughness measurement and tribology

A little tribology every morning

September 13, 2022

Years ago, I’d just completed one of my first major surface roughness measurement projects, and I was considering my next steps to form an actual business. I thought that I

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michmet.com has a new look!

July 13, 2022

We’ve updated the Michigan Metrology website to give our visitors a better experience. All of the helpful content that you’ve come to expect is still here—the Surface Texture Parameters Glossary,

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Full Course now available online!

May 28, 2022

As you may know, our Surface Roughness, Texture and Tribology course has been available as ten individual modules for online learning at udemy.com. We have had quite a few requests

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