形位公差控制

Form and position tolerances in precision components

When manufacturing components, increasingly tight manufacturing tolerances must be met — particularly on technical and functional precision surfaces. Manufacturers therefore need to verify form tolerances such as waviness and flatness, as well as position tolerances such as parallelism and tilt, with high accuracy. This ensures compliance with specifications and reliable delivery within defined time frames.

In many cases, manufacturers inspect the complete surface topography of a component to verify compliance with form and position tolerances — for example in shock absorber components, other precision components in the automotive and aerospace industries, or in fine mechanics.

High precision components need form and tolerance precision

Verifying form and position tolerances

White-light interferometry measures form parameters such as flatness, parallelism, and step-height faster and more efficient even for large samples. Working great on materials of different reflectivity, such as shiny polished metals or dull ceramics makes them the flexible choice for lab and production. Requirements for component warpage (e.g., printed circuit boards) also continue to increase as geometries shrink.

In addition, many applications involve challenging geometries: areas of interest may be located inside deep bores or show significant height differences between functional areas. Here, Polytec systems based on proven white-light interferometry deliver reliable results — where other optical measurement methods face limitations.

Polytec white-light interferometers perform repeatable, non-destructive measurements with resolutions down to a few nanometers — or even sub-nanometer capability. Optical profilers are ideally suited for the precise determination of form parameters such as flatness and parallelism — supporting efficient verification and easy integration into inline inspection workflows for form and position tolerances.

Optical profilers for tolerance verification

Polytec provides optical systems for measuring the topography of large surfaces with nanometer-level vertical resolution. This high vertical resolution is independent of the field of view, enabling stable measurement results across different sample sizes and inspection setups. Typical measurement tasks include determining flatness, step height, roughness, parallelism, and other surface parameters required to comply with form and position tolerances.