The use of PC scanners in micro-abrasion wear testing

This short communication describes the application of PC scanners to the measurement of craters produced during the micro-scale abrasion of coatings. It was found that the results that were obtained by the use of PC scanners were as good as more conventional measurements using optical microscopy. In fact, with modern PC scanners the error from the measurements is less than the scatter that is intrinsic in the micro-scale abrasion process, so that the use of scanners does not limit the accuracy of the technique. The experimental results are backed up by an analysis of errors that can be expected from the measurements.