Digital Surf, the
surface metrology solutions provider, announced the release of Mountains®
5.1, the latest version of its Mountains® surface imaging and analysis software.
Mountains® 5.1 contains powerful new features for 3D optical microscopy,
dimensional analysis of 2D component geometry, dynamic statistics for near-line
monitoring of surface parameters, and new Cpk capability parameters. In addition,
the new version exploits the latest multi-core and 64-bit technology to accelerate
analysis and also includes video tutorials with audio and subtitles to minimize
the learning curve for first time users.
Mountains 5.1: multi-channel information on a surface including from left to right: topography (Z), color (RGB) and intensity (I).
Imaging and analysis of multi-channel topography (Z), color (RGB) and intensity
(I) information acquired by 3D confocal microscopes is provided by new Z-RGB-I
functionality in Mountains® 5.1. All three kinds of information can be manipulated
simultaneously, for example when zooming in on a surface feature. In addition
both true color and intensity information can be superimposed on 3D topographical
height information.
Intelligent dimensional analysis of component geometry is provided by the optional
Mountains® Advanced Contour module. This module provides nominal form definition,
magnified form deviation graphics, form error parameters, support for large
positional tolerances, Gothic Arch analysis, and automatic generation of the
quality report. It can be used for both mechanical and nanotechnology applications.
Dynamic statistical analysis ensures that statistics are updated whenever a
new sample is measured in a production environment. An analysis template is
applied automatically to all samples in the measurement data population including
the new sample, making it easy to monitor the trend of surface parameters like
Sq and to ensure that upper and lower tolerance limits are respected. In addition,
the implementation of Cpk parameters makes it possible to evaluate the statistical
capability of the manufacturing/fabrication system to repeat itself.
4D analysis of the evolution of 3D surface parameters – a feature unique
to Mountains® - has been enhanced so that the T-axis (time, temperature,
magnetic field or another 4th dimension) can store non-linear information. This
means that it is possible, for example, to store information on 3D measurements
of a surface that are made at irregular intervals.
Mountains® 5.1 also includes features to speed up surface analysis and
enhance interactivity. Exploitation of multi-core technology accelerates time-consuming
calculations. A 64-bit version running under Windows Vista 64 provides faster
processing of large data sets.
"The release of Mountains® 5.1 reflects our commitment to provide
state of the art imaging and analysis software for all surface metrology instruments,
exploiting the latest technologies to maximize productivity,” stated François
Blateyron, Managing Director of Digital Surf’s Mountains Surface Analysis
Business Unit. "The new release is available free of charge to all users
of Mountains 5.0.”
Mountains® 5.1 will be shown on the Digital Surf stand (2.M.5) at the Mesurexpo
trade show in Paris from the 6th to the 8th of October 2009.