What factors should be considered when selecting a roughness profilometer?

When selecting a roughness profilometer, the following factors need to be considered:


Measurement application industry: This determines whether you should choose a contact or non-contact roughness profilometer.

Measurement accuracy requirements: This mainly depends on the resolution of the sensor, the accuracy indicators of the hardware part, the type of probe and the radius of the probe, and the requirements of the usage environment.

The peak valley drop of the surface profile of the measured workpiece: this determines the size of the sensor range; The length and height of the measured workpiece depend on the travel in the X direction (measurement travel) and the height in the Z direction of the instrument.

Contact force of measuring needle: This affects the degree of scratches on the surface of the workpiece during measurement.

Analysis parameters, filtering types, and cutoff wavelengths: The types of parameters analyzed include: Primary, Roughness, Rk, Waveness, R&W, Aspheric, etc; The types of filtering include Gaussian, ISO 2CR, 2CR PC; Cutoff wavelength: 0.08mm, 0.25mm, 0.8mm, 2.5mm, 8mm.

Analysis type: Is it a single roughness analysis or does it require calculation of contour dimensions, whether the surface of the measured workpiece is a straight line or an arc?

The types of roughness analysis lines include Ls Line (Least Squares Method Line), Ls Arc (Least Squares Method Arc), and Mz Line (Least Squares Method Line).

Do I need to print the analysis results and graphics?

Is it a simple and economical type or a multifunctional type, with a high level of automation, used for batch testing or spot checks during the production process.


The above factors will all affect your choice of roughness profiler. Overall, you need to choose the appropriate instrument based on your specific needs.