ANIMATION OF THE EVOLUTION OF SURFACE FINISH WITH WEAR

In recent years one of the most significant developments in surface me trology has been the three-dimensional characterization of engineering surfaces. The impetus for this development was primarily motivated by a need for a more realistic visualization of surfaces than the tradit ional two-dimensional surface profile could provide. There have been s everal approaches to three-dimensional characterization of engineering surfaces including using time series and fractals. A significant appl ication of these mathematical models would be to use them as the basis for the animation of the evolutionary changes of the surface with wea r. By considering simple wear models, this paper demonstrates how comp uter animation illustrating the evolution of a three-dimensional surfa ce with wear may be realized. Non-Gaussian fractals and time series ar e used as the basis for three-dimensional characterization and the ani mation is achieved using the standard morphing techniques provided by Autodesk 3D Studio.