Not surprisingly, it is estimated that surface effects cause 10% of manufactured parts to fail, with the associated economic implications.
With the aim of establishing traceable and standardized measurement methods for these optical systems and processes, the Tekniker technology center has been participating in the European TRACOPTIC project since 2021. The project will test various tools, such as 3D microscopes and different types of optical sensors, to facilitate their implementation in industrial environments.
“Optical measuring systems allow for time and cost savings in industrial processes, improving the competitiveness of European companies and reducing outsourcing to other regions. Furthermore, they contribute to the early detection of defective parts and reduce waste generation. The fact that there is no contact prevents surface damage and makes it possible to measure complex geometries or very small sizes,” highlights Gorka Kortaberria, head of the Industrial Metrology unit at Tekniker.
The initiative will have the ultimate goal of designing a guide of good practices for the use by companies, manufacturers, laboratories, research institutes and universities of optical measurement techniques, taking into account the different geometric characteristics that occur in sectors such as automotive, aeronautical or biosanitary in order to choose the optimal instrumentation and procedure for each use case.
Validation and Simulations:
Tekniker's work on the project focuses on validating the capabilities and limitations of a 3D optical profilometer for measuring different types of samples. The device uses a high-resolution optical technique (white light interferometry) for this analysis, employing a low-coherence light source to measure the height and topography of surfaces at a micro and nanoscale.
“The technique is based on measuring the interference between the light reflected from the surface and the reference light, and allows the surface topography to be reconstructed with high precision and resolution,” explains Gorka Kortaberria.
Tekniker also participates in the development of best practices for the measurement techniques contemplated in the project and collaborates in the development of digital twins to verify the scope of the measurement systems through simulations.
“Thanks to digital twins, it is possible to have a model of the microscope with its characteristics and simulate a large number of measurements of the real surface to obtain the statistical distribution of the results before carrying out the measurement,” explains the expert from the technology center.
As a result of these analyses, companies will have a "map" with the capabilities of each instrument evaluated in order to make scientifically based decisions in selecting the most suitable optical measurement system for their characterization needs.
The TRACOPTIC project, co-financed by the European Partnership on Metrology program and the European Union's Horizon 2020 program, involves 24 agents including Tekniker and the national metrology institutes of nine European countries: PTB (Germany), CEM (Spain), DFM (Denmark), GUM (Poland), INRIM (Italy), LNE (France), RISE (Sweden), VSL (Netherlands) and VTT (Finland).
