A novel surface profile measurement system

Surfaces are commonly formed in woodworking by planing and moulding timber. Due to the nature of machining, these operations inevitably leave cutter marks on the surface of machined artifacts. These marks, though unavoidable, need to be monitored, measured and controlled to obtain the required surface finish. This research work presented here is an investigation on the use of commercially available devices to realize a highly cost-effective surface profile measurement system geared towards measuring non-ideal surfaces, e.g., timber. It looks into the development of a novel low-cost surface profile measurement system using off-the-shelf devices: an optical mouse sensor (acting as an encoder) and a Digital Video Disc (DVD) reader (providing the vertical profile information). [Continues.]