Assembly suitable for determining a surface topology of a workpiece

摘要

An assembly preferably utilized in cooperation with a method for determining a surface topology of a workpiece. The assembly includes a projectile; means for coupling the projectile to a surface of a workpiece, and for imparting an initial momentum to the projectile with respect to the surface; and, means for sensing a relative movement of the projectile with respect to the workpiece surface, for generating a locus of positional points over time of the projectile as a measure of the surface topology of the workpiece.