First international collaborative project at LNE on surface states

Controlling the surface condition of manufactured parts is essential, regardless of the manufacturing process, the geometry (simple or complex), the field of application (domestic products, bioengineering, medicine and dentistry, metallurgy, production of electronic and optical components, etc.), and finally the scale (or dimensions) of the parts. Improving the accuracy of surface finish inspection means will allow to optimize manufacturing processes, and consequently to reduce the scrap of manufactured parts, which amply fulfills the objectives of Green-Deal.

Development of a metrological chain

To address this issue, professors from Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia ("principal investigator"), researchers from LNE in France ("co-investigator") and engineers from SASO (Saudi metrology laboratory) have submitted an international collaborative project whose objective is to develop a traceable metrological chain for the characterization of surface states with an accuracy of less than 100 nm in accordance with ISO-GPS.

The metrological chain will include robust reference algorithms for the extraction of surface state parameters, filtering methods and the development of a reference point cloud generator. The development of a multi-scale standard is envisaged and measurements on reference standards will be performed using primary equipment complemented by estimates of measurement uncertainties.

The results of the project will contribute to the improvement of object manufacturing processes in all sectors (precision mechanics, energy, medical, chemical, automotive, aerospace, photonics, etc.) in France and Saudi Arabia.

Funded by the Saudi Ministry of Education, this project will run for three years, until 2024.

Find out more about LNE's calibration of surface texture standards.