A variety of manufacturing processes are used to create requirements in order to specify a manufacturing process which will produce a surface having the necessary characteristics. The engineering surfaces, each of which produces a surface with its own characteristic topography. It is important to realize that this quality engineer needs to have a system which will provide topography may affect the suitability of a surface for specific sufficiently detailed information, relative to the specified functional applications. Unfortunately, the relationship between characteristics, to ensure that surfaces have been produced within surface topography and functional behaviour is not yet fully the pre-determined tolerance levels. understood. It is clear, however, that there are two quite distinct issues which need to be addressed: (1) the relationship between SURFACE CHARACTERIZATION manufacture and the resulting surface topography, and (2) the relationship between topography and function. It is also clear that The most common method of determining surface characteristics is an adequate understanding of these two issues can only be through the use of a stylus-based measuring instrument. The stylus achieved through the use of a suitable technique for is drawn across the surface at near constant velocity for a pre­ characterization of the topography. Such a characterization determined distance. The vertical excursions of the stylus, relative procedure involves both visual and numerical techniques.