Drill bit characterisation using a 3D optical microscope

摘要

It is known within the tool-making industry that there is a correlation between the surface roughness of critical tool surfaces and that tool's ultimate function. The difficulty for the tool company was finding a solution that could measure the surface roughness easily, quantitatively and repeatably. Previously the company had used 3D stereo microscopes to take pictures of the drill bits from differing angles. They would then use simple image analysis to identify metal burrs and damage to the drill bits. This methodology was highly user-dependent and was susceptible to varied part positioning and subjective user analysis. Surface roughness and its impact on the quality of the production grade product remained an enigma. Additionally, it was very difficult to compare new data to prior measurements due to these variables and the resulting lack of gauge capability.