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Improving Surface Roughness Of Optically Telegraphed Composite Laminations, Michael Smith

Materials Engineering

In collaboration with Watson Furniture, this project seeks to identify the cause of surface roughness on composite panels processed into commercial furnishings. The surface roughness was examined and measured using an optical microscope, a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and a profilometer. The SEM and optical microscope provided qualitative data on the surface roughness as well as the film build of each layer. After an initial characterization of the manufactured samples provided by Watson Furniture, additional samples were fabricated for testing using different manufacturing processes than those used by Watson Furniture. These samples were constructed in-house using raw materials provided by …