Applied Mould Engineering 1

UNIT-I
Surface Roughness – Surface Roughness terminology – Roughness grades number, value and
symbol - Symbols indicating surface texture – Relation between surface finish and
manufacturing process. Symbols representing direction of lay, operations.

SURFACE ROUGHNESS
A surface is a boundary that separates an object from another object or
substance. Surface is divided into three subgroups:
1. Nominal surface or Ideal Surface is the intended surface. The shape and
extent of a nominal surface are usually shown with dimensions on a
drawing. The nominal / ideal surface does not include intended surface
roughness.
2. A Real surface is the actual boundary of an object. It deviates from the
nominal surface as a result of the process that has created the surface.
The deviation also depends on the properties, composition, and structure
of the material.
3. A Measured surface is a representation of the real surface obtained with
some measuring instrument.
This distinction is made because no measurement will give the exact real
surface.
On a surface the imperfections take the form of successive hills and valleys,
which may vary both in height and spacing, and results in a kind of “texture”,
which in appearance or feel is often a characteristic of the machining process
and its accompanying defects. The departures from a truly smooth surface may
arise from a variety of causes and may be of several kinds. There is a certain
“texture” or “roughness” in the form of minute irregularities, which are resulted
directly from the particular process

SURFACE ROUGHNESS: Surface roughness often shortened to roughness, is

a component of surface texture. It is quantified by the deviations in the direction
of the normal vector of a real surface from its ideal form. If these deviations are
large, the surface is rough; if they are small, the surface is smooth.

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SURFACE ROUGHNESS TERMINOLOGY:

When roughness of any surface is measured following terminologies may be
used;
1. Profile: Profile is the contour of any section through a surface.
Mathematically, it is the line of intersection of a surface with a sectioning
plane, which is (ordinarily) perpendicular to the surface.
2. Waviness: It includes the more widely spaced (longer wavelength)
deviations of a surface from its nominal shape. Waviness errors are
intermediate in wavelength between roughness and form error. Note,
that distraction between waviness and form error is not always made in
practice and it is not always clear how to make it.
3. Profile Height: The profile height at a particular point is the distance from
the profile to its mean line. Profile height is considered positive above the
mean line and negative below the mean line.
4. Profile Peak: A profile peak is a region of the profile that lies above the
mean line and intersects the mean line at each end. The height of a peak
is the height of the highest point within the profile peak.
5. Profile Valley: A profile valley (analogous to a profile peak) is a region of
the profile that lies below the mean line and intersects it at each end. The
depth of a valley is the depth of the lowest point within the profile valley.
6. Spacing: Spacing refers to the distance between features on a profile in
the X direction, parallel to the nominal direction of the trace. The features
that determine a spacing parameter usually relate to peaks and valleys or
to average wavelengths, etc.
7. Lay: Lay is defined as the direction of the predominant surface pattern
produced by tool marks.
8. Sampling Length: Sampling Length (l) is the nominal wavelength used for
separating roughness and waviness. Also known as Cut off Length or Cut
off.

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9. Evaluation Length, L, is the length over which the values of surface

parameters are evaluated. It is recommended that the evaluation length
consist of five sampling lengths although it may comprise any number of
sampling lengths. Also known as Assessment Length.
10.Mean Line, M, is the reference line about which the profile deviations are
measured. The mean line of the roughness profile is usually established
by analog or digital filters with the selected cut off corresponding to the
roughness sampling length.
11.Roughness Average, Ra, is the arithmetic average of the absolute values
of the profile heights over the evaluation length.
12.RMS Roughness, Rq, is the root mean square average of the profile
heights over the evaluation length
13.Ten Point Height of Irregularities, Rz (ISO), is the average value of the
absolute values of the heights of five highest profile peaks and the depths
of five deepest valleys within the evaluation length.
14.Skewness, Rsk, is a measure of the asymmetry of the profile about the
mean line.
SURFACE ROUGHNESS SYMBOL IN DRAWING
Surface roughness symbol is given to convey manufacturing process related
information only. Unless written specifically on the symbol, they do not carry
the surface texture type (i.e. plated / milled / cold drawn). These symbols are
given irrespective of material and its surface condition.

The following information is conveyed through symbols:

 We do not need to remove material
 We need machining operation
 We need to manufacture by any process

The latest Indian Standard for method of indicating surface texture on technical
drawings suggests the practice of giving the surface roughness value directly in
micron as Ra value or by grade numbers.

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Roughness Grade Numbers, Value and Symbols

Representation of Surface Roughness/Texture:

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Relation Between Surface Finish & Manufacturing Process:

Knowing what manufacturing process can produce surface finishes that desired
on a surface can be an added advantage while making the designs. Here is a
table showing maximum and minimum Ra values can produced on each
production methods.
Roughness Average Ra- Microns
Process Maximum Minimum
Planning, Shaping 12.5 1.6
Drilling 6.3 1.6
EDM 4.75 1.6
Milling 6.3 0.8
Reaming 3.2 0.8
Boring, Turning 6.3 0.4
Grinding 1.6 0.1
Polishing 0.4 0.1
Sand Casting 25 12.5
Honing 0.8 0.1

LAY:
Lay is defined as the direction of the predominant surface pattern produced by
tool marks. It is important for optical properties of a surface. Turning’ milling,
drilling, grinding, and other cutting tool machining processes usually produce a
surface that has lay with peaks or striations and valleys in the direction that the
tool was drawn across the surface. Other processes such as sand casting,
peening, and grit blasting produce surfaces with no characteristic direction.

1. Parallel or Unidirectional (||): Lay parallel to the boundary line of the

nominal surface that is, lay parallel to the line representing surface to
which the symbol is applied, e.g., parallel shaping, end view of turning
and grinding of outer diameter.
2. Perpendicular (Ʇ): Lay perpendicular to the boundary line of the
nominal surface, that is, lay perpendicular to the line representing
surface to which the symbol is applied, e.g., end view of shaping,
longitudinal view of turning and I.D. grinding.

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3. Cross (X): Lay angular in both directions to line representing the

surface to which symbol is applied, There are two types of angular lays
(i) criss-cross straight (ii) crisscross arcuate. The examples are side-
wheel grinding, traversed end mill.
4. Multidirectional (M): Lay multidirectional e.g., lapping, super-
finishing.
5. Circular (C): Lay approximately circular relative to the centre of the
surface to which the symbol is applied, e.g., facing on a lathe.
6. Radial (R): Lay approximately radial relative to the centre of the
surface to which the symbol is applied, e.g., surface ground on a
turntable, fly-cut and indexed on a mill.
7.
8. Particulate (P): Lay with no characteristic direction, e.g., sand casting,
peening and grit blasting. Sometimes these surfaces are said to have a
non-directional, protuberant, pitted or porous lay.

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