Natural fibers generally lack uniformity and large numbers of measurements often must be obtained to achieve estimates of sample parameters having reasonable levels of precision and confidence. This problem calls for automating the measurement and data analysis processes so obtaining a large amount of data is practical. We will discuss hardware and software designs used in our laboratory to automate microscope measurements and data analysis for fibrous materials.

Automating the measuring process requires constructing hardware to accomplish several tasks. Hardware should accommodate large-sized samples when they lack uniformity since many measurements are desirable. Sample positioning should be automated to remove the operator from the data acquisition process and eliminate a source of operator-dependent positioning error. Lens focusing should be automated since it is difficult to maintain flatness for large samples and the thickness of many samples exceeds the depth-of-focus of lenses. Finally, the quality of illumination provided to all sample locations during measurement should be flexible and consistent.