White light interferometry and MountainsMap® - case studies in static load capacity of bearings and surface finish optimisation of orthotic knee joints

This paper deals with two case studies demonstrating the combined use of white light interferometry and MountainsMap® software to: 1) accurately measure indentation diameters on race elements with an accuracy of a 1/100th of a micrometer and to examine static load capacity of bearings compared to the industry standard. In this case study, static load capacity of the ball bearings was shown to be 31% lower than that specified by ISO and ANSI/ABMA bearing standards; 2) characterise machined surfaces with 2D and 3D parameters, with the goal of producing optimal surface finish on orthotic knee joints used by Cerebral Palsy patients. In this case study, 2D roughness parameters Ra, Rq, Rp, Rz, and 3D roughness parameters Sa, Sq, Sp, Sz, were improved by 34%, 31%, 8%, 20%, and 36%, 33%, 6%, 6% respectively. Both case studies demonstrate the significance of modern topography techniques in enhancing the measurement accuracy of surface characteristics.