Stylus profilometry has been used for many years to measure surface finish. A stylus is drawn across a surface creating an x -y data set. A range of 2D surface parameters can be calculated. Measurements are now possible using 3D technology by raster scanning a stylus across a surface. This creates an x -y -z data set. Although various 3D parameters can be calculated, there is currently no 3D standard for parameters whereas there are 2D standards. Many studies of 2D parameters, their usefulness and reliability have been published but as yet there has been little work done on 3D parameters. This project seeks to redress the balance by presenting the results of a study into 3D parameters and their reliability. Raster-scan measurements have been made on a variety of different surfaces and at a variety of points within the surfaces. The paper reports on the stability and variability of the measurements.

Burrs' presence in autobody panels is perceived as highly damaging since they aflectpnal quality especially in terms of corrosion resistance and assembly pegormances. Burr formation can be controlled during the trimming [2] therefore a hand held device that measure such a phenomenon is required by the automotive industry. Several sensing techniques were explored [3J choosing, for this application, a cantilever probe Jitted with strain gauges. The signal was amplified acquired and displayed employing an 8-bit microcontroller. The developed device shows high repeatability and it will be applied to set up an X-R Statistical Process Control Chart within an automotive manufacturer.

Surface topography plays a significant role in functional performance situations like friction, lubrication and wear. A European Community funded research programme on areal characterization of steel sheet has recently assisted research in this area. This article is dedicated to the software that supported most of the programme. Born as a rudimentary collection of procedures, it grew steadily to become an integrated package, later equipped with a graphical interface and circulated to the research community employing the Open-Source philosophy.

The continued globalization of the automotive industry, market saturation and escalating legislative requirements are placing demands on European automotive manufacturers. In response, manufacturers and their supply chains are striving to reduce cost and weight and to extend product lifecycle times while enhancing quality to maintain competitiveness with North America and the Far East, to meet legislation and to increase penetration into new markets. In response to this there has been an increasing emphasis on the three-dimensional nature of surfaces and the relationship to pressing performance. This is re¯ected in the fact that the European Union is sponsoring two major projects in the area of three-dimensional surface metrology. The object of this paper is to review the literature published to date in the area of automotive pressing performance and to draw general conclusions, which will set directions for future research.

Material for the production of autobody panels is usually dispatched in the form of coils. Because of their weight, they tend to `compress' the lubricant applied for rust protection and some of it leaks from the coil. Those areas affected by lubricant starvation are known as `dry-spots' and are a cause of a number of product rejections during the subsequent forming operation. A test was deployed with the combined work of Ocas, CORUS IJmuiden and Renault that proved that surface topography controls, amongst other factors, affects lubricant migration. The test consists of compressing a stack of lubricated steel sheets at known pressure for a known time using different lubricants in different amounts. It was observed that, because of the `compression', the lubricant tends to migrate to the side of the sheet, and its migration was quantified using a Fischer Betascope MMS module. Analysis consisted of analysis of variance on several designs of experiments and subsequent correlation with surface topography 3D parameters. These experiments showed the importance of standard amplitude surface parameters and new closed area surface parameters to characterize lubricant migration under pressure.