Thickness is one of the key indicators characterizing the quality and functional properties of coatings. Various indirect methods (electromagnetic, radiation, optical) most often used in practice to measure thickness are based on the functional dependence of a particular physical parameter of the system «base – coating» on the coating thickness. The sensitivity of these procedures to the certain properties of coatings imposes the main restriction to the accuracy of measurements. Therefore, the development and implementation of the approaches based on direct measurements of geometric parameters of the coating appears expedient. These methods often belong to the class of «destructive» and, in addition to measuring instruments, require the use of special equipment. To ensure the uniformity of measurements in the laboratory or technological control, these methods are isolated as a separate procedure (method) and must undergo metrological certification in accordance with GOST R 8.563–2009. We present implementation, metrological certification and practical application of the method for measuring thickness of coatings by crater-grinding method. The principles of technical implementation of test equipment, measurement procedure and calculation formulas are described. The results of evaluating the accuracy indicators of the proposed procedure by calculation and experimental methods are presented. In both cases, the relative error did not exceed 6%. The applicability of the developed technique is shown for a wide range of coating materials (from soft metals to superhard ceramics) of different thickness (with from units to hundreds of micrometers). Apart from the goals of process control and outgoing inspection, the method can be recommended as a reference measurement procedure for calibration of measures and adjusting samples for various types of thickness gauges.
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