Three-dimensional profilometry for tool wear area using modulation-based structured illumination microscopy

A new approach named modulation-based structured-illumination microscopy (MSIM) is presented in this paper to reconstruct the three-dimensional (3D) topography of the tooltip, which can be used to evaluate the degree of wear. In MSIM, the modulation estimation of the reflected patterns characterizes the surface profile. This technique can reconstruct the 3D profile precisely and something that conventional computer vision and imaging analysis cannot achieve. Importantly, an ordinary objective lens is used in the measurement system to take the image of the sample. So, the measurement system is simple and cheap. The theoretical analysis and experiments conducted on the tooltip are presented. The measurement repeatability can reach 500 nm. This method holds promise for applications in tool wear monitoring, wear mechanism analysis, and micromachining.