The Evaluation of a Contact Profilometer Measuring Tip Movement on the Surface Texture of the Sample

Measuring instruments based on contact methods are commonly used in industrial, as well as laboratory conditions for the evaluation of geometric structure of the surface elements of machine parts. One of the flaws of such measuring systems is the risk of damaging a measured surface due to the contact with the measuring tip. The paper discusses research aimed at evaluating the impact of a stylus profiler measuring tip passage on the condition of the surface layer of samples made from three different materials, i.e. C45 steel, EN-AW-2017A aluminium and Vero White liquid resin. The tests involved thirty measurements of surface roughness of the selected samples and evaluating the changes in the basic roughness parameters due to the passage of a profiler measuring probe. The condition of the analysed samples was evaluated after the roughness measurements using a Talysurf CCI non-contact profilometer. The tests demonstrated that a multiple passage of a stylus profiler measuring tip influences the change in the measured surface roughness parameters. Moreover, the roughness measurement on the surface of a sample made from EN-AW-2017A aluminium caused a clear scratch.