• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.332-337
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• 2008

This paper presents the surface defect analysis based on the experimental investigation of scribed glasses. The scribing process by a diamond wheel cutter is widely used as a reliable and inexpensive method for sizing of glass sheets. The wheel cutter generates a small median crack on the glass surface, which is then propagated through the glass thickness for complete separation. The surface contour patterns in which are formed during a scribing process are strongly related to wheel cutter parameters such as wheel tip surface finish, tip angle and wheel diameter, and cutting process parameters such as scribing pressure, speed and tooling technique. The scribed surface of a glass sheet provides normal Wallner lines, which represent regular median cracks and crack propagation in glass thickness, and abnormal surface roughness patterns. In this experimental study, normal and abnormal surface topographic patterns are classified based on the surface defect profiles of scribed glass sheets. A normal surface of a scribed glass sheet shows regular Wallner lines with deep median cracks. But some specimens of scribed glass sheets show that abnormal surface profiles of glass sheets in two pieces are represented by a chipping, irregular surface cracks in depth, edge cracks, and combined crack defects. These surface crack patterns are strongly related to easy breakage of the scribed glass imposed by external forces. Thus the scribed glass with abnormal crack patterns should be removed during a quality control process based on the surface defect classification method as demonstrated in this study.