# How to Measure with Boring Thickness Module

> [!note] Cette page n'est pas encore traduite et s'affiche en anglais.


This guide describes the standard, automatic workflow for measuring layer thicknesses on a Säberg-drilled multi-layer coating sample. For manual placement or editing of the ring boundaries, see [Boring Thickness Manual Mode](rhopoint-appearance-elements-using-aesthetix-with-ae-aesthetix-modules-boring-thickness-module-boring-thickness-manual-mode.md).

### Before You Start

- A Säberg drill bit of a **known** cone angle has been used to prepare a clean conical crater through the coating stack down to (or close to) the substrate.
- The Aesthetix device is connected, calibrated, and listed in the device manager.
- The drilled site is clean and free of dust or drill swarf.

### Step-by-Step

1. **Open the Boring Thickness module**
    
    In the Module Bar, select the Boring Thickness Module.
    
    ![](../_images/20260610145244-TBD-module-bar-with-boring.png)
    
2. **Enter the Drill Angle**
    
    In the right-hand properties panel, set the **Drill Angle** to match the cone angle engraved on the drill bit used to prepare the sample (for example 5.7°). Confirm by pressing **Set**.
    
    See [Boring Thickness Parameters](rhopoint-appearance-elements-using-aesthetix-with-ae-aesthetix-modules-boring-thickness-module-boring-thickness-parameters.md) for details on every parameter.
    
3. **Place the instrument on the sample**
    
    Position the Aesthetix flat over the drilled crater so the crater is centred and entirely visible in the live image.
    
4. **Optimise the camera exposure**
    
    Press the **Auto-Exposure** button (the "A ±" button below the live image). All rings should be clearly visible with sharp contrast between adjacent layers. Set the Marker color, this will enable the detection of the outer circle.
    
5. **Enable Center Lock (recommended)**
    
    For a correctly drilled, concentric crater, enable **Center Lock** in the properties panel. This forces every detected ring to share the same center point and improves consistency.
    
6. **Run automatic ring detection**
    
    Press the **Auto** button. Appearance Elements takes a preview measurement and places one circle on each detected ring boundary.
    
    ![](../_images/20260611162434-TBD-boring-auto-detection.png)
    
7. **Verify the detected rings**
    
    Inspect each detected ring against the actual layer boundary in the image:
    
    - If a ring is missing, add it manually — see [Boring Thickness Manual Mode](rhopoint-appearance-elements-using-aesthetix-with-ae-aesthetix-modules-boring-thickness-module-boring-thickness-manual-mode.md).
    - If a ring is misplaced, select it (single click on the ring outline) and drag its edge to align it, or edit Radius / Center X / Center Y directly in the ring list on the right.
    - If a ring was detected on a feature that is not a layer boundary (dust, scratch, drill swarf), remove it using the trash icon in its row.
    - Coating or Layer Thickness is calculated below the Circle properties
    
8. **Run the measurement**
    
    Press the **Tick** button. Appearance Elements saves the layer thicknesses from the current ring radii and the Drill Angle to the measurement table.
    
10. **Inspect the result in the table**
    
    Return to the table view (Navigate to Table View button). The measurement appears as a row with **Total Depth**, **Drill Angle**, and individual **Layer 1–5 Depth** columns.
    
    ![](../_images/20260611163920-TBD-boring-data-table.png)
    
    Expanding the row reveals the drill image, the overlay with numbered rings, and a per-layer thickness table.
    
    ![](../_images/20260611164121-TBD-boring-expanded-result.png)

### Tips for a Good First Measurement

- Always perform an Auto-Exposure first; an over- or under-exposed image will both confuse automatic detection and hide subtle layer boundaries.
- The outermost ring corresponds to the **top** of the coating system (Layer 1 = topcoat); the innermost ring corresponds to the **bottom** of the deepest measurable layer.
- The module supports up to **five** layers in the data table (Layer 1 Depth … Layer 5 Depth). Drilling six or more visible rings is technically possible but additional layers will not be stored as separate table columns.