IRVINE, CA - Oak and other woods are now getting their close-ups using 3D non-contact metrology systems. The nano-views of wood surfaces rendered by Profilometer inspection devices from Nanovea, present images of grain and surface formation in extremely detailed resolution.

Irvine, CA-based Nanovea also sells its inspection systems into plastics, metallurgy and other manufacturing and research applications. In the wood industry, Nanovea's 3D non-contact Profilometers have been adopted by university research labs for projects on behalf of wood manufacturing firms, according to Craig Leising, product manager.

"Wood isn't rvery reflectant," says Leising. So the Profilometers, which use a technique called  "white light axial chromatism," can show, and measure, surface profiles, dimensions, roughness, finish, texture, shape, form and topography - factors that affect the woods acceptance of colorants and coatings. Flatness and warpage are also revealed, factors that affect wood manufacturing.

Profilometer speeds range from 7mm per second to 1 meter per second, allowing for use in laboratory or research or for high speed inspection on large surface areas. Leising says Nanovea Profilometers can be built with custom size, speeds, scanning capabilities, and for inline or online integration.

The higher speed inspection was developed in 2008, allowing for 180 measureable points to be acquired simultaneously, significantly decrease the time to create a 3D mapping of the surface.  “This gave us the ability to work with new markets that require high throughputs,”  says Leising, Product. Nanovea has Profilometer literature describing the measurement tools. Leising published a recent white paper that shows the ability of the system to measure oak grain and wood surfaces.