On-Machine Measurement System and Its Application in Ultra-Precision Manufacturing

The increasing complexity of functional surface structures in terms of structure size and area shape and scale brings considerable challenges on the existing ultra-precision manufacturing and surface measurement technologies. The discrete nature of manufacturing cycle in industry where the measurement instrument used for quality assessment is normally in an offline manner significantly limits productivity and flexibility.

This chapter gives a brief coverage to the historical development of surface metrology and measurement systems embedded within the manufacturing process. The current typical metrological techniques and instrumentation for carrying out embedded surface metrology are presented from the aspects of working principle, advantages, applications, and limitations. The specific emphasis has been put on the applications of embedded measurement system in ultra-precision manufacturing environment. It is found that with embedded metrology, it is possible to further improve the processing efficiency and reliability of high-precision manufacturing. The merits and limitations of embedded measurement systems used in ultra-precision manufacturing are compared and discussed.