Analysis on surface texture software measurement standards and their application

For surface texture measuring instruments, the embedded analysing and evaluating software is as important as its hardware for accurate and integral performance. To evaluate the precision and correctness of the software, software measurement standards have been proposed in ISO 5436-2 (2001). As the traditional hardgauge specimens, which are used to calibrate the instrument hardware, the software measurement standards were designed for calibrating the software of the instrument. In this paper, the software measurement standards, including two types of standards Type F1-reference data, Type F2-reference software and data file formats of Type F1, are described. Their recent developments worldwide are reviewed, and differences among software measurement standards for the surface texture developed by different organizations are compared and analyzed in the light of a practical application example of the standards. (PACS, Measurement Science and Technology)