Ali Moustafa Ali Mohamed

Section 6

Department of Mechanical Engineering

To: Prof. Dr Zakaria Mohamed

Definition of Surface Finish:
Surface Finish is a measure of the overall texture of a surface that is characterized
by the lay, surface roughness, and waviness of the surface. Surface Finish when
it is intended to include all three characteristics is often called Surface Texture to
avoid confusion, since machinists often refer to Surface Roughness as Surface
Finish. Another term, analogous to Surface Texture, is Surface Topology.
This diagram gives an idea of how to think of the relationship of Waviness, Lay
and Roughness.

Lay:
The Lay is the direction of the predominant surface
pattern, and is usually determined by the production
method used to process the surface. Here are some
typical Lay patterns:

Surface Roughness:
Surface roughness is a measure of finely spaced surface irregularities. Surface
roughness is usually what machinists refer to when talking about “surface finish.”
When talking about all three characteristics, they may use the term “Surface
Texture” more properly.

Waviness:
Surface Roughness speaks to fine detail imperfections, but there may also be
much coarser irregularities. For example, a surface may be warped or deflected
from the ideal.
Surface Finish Units from RA To RZ:
Ra – Average Roughness
Ra is also known as Arithmetic Average (AA) or centre Line Average (CLA). It
is the average roughness in the area between the roughness profile and its mean
line. Graphically, Ra is the area between the roughness profile and its centreline
divided by the evaluation length. The evaluation length is normally five sample
lengths where each sample length is equal to one cut-off length.
Ra is by far the most commonly used Surface Finish parameter. One reason it is
so common is that it is fairly easy to take the absolute value of a signal and
integrate the signal using analog electronics, so Ra could be measured by
instruments that contain no digital circuits.
Ra, while common, is not sufficient to completely characterize the roughness of
a surface. Depending on the application, surfaces with the same Ra can perform
quite differently. Here are 4 surfaces with the same Ra and quite different shapes:

All four surfaces have the same Ra but quite different shapes…
To distinguish these differences, more parameters are needed.

Rmax – Vertical distance from highest peak to lowest valley:

Rmax is particularly sensitive to anomalies such as scratches and burrs that may
not be obvious from measures such as Ra that rely on averages.
Rz – Preferred by many Europeans:
Rz is often preferred to Ra in Europe and particularly Germany. Instead of
measuring from centreline like Ra, Rz measures the average of the 5 largest peaks
to valley differences within five sampling lengths. While Ra is relatively
insensitive to a few extremes, Rz is quite sensitive since it is the extremes it is
designed to measure.
Surface Roughness Grades: “N” Numbers
Here is a chart table showing how Roughness Grade Numbers convert to Ra
numbers:

Roughness Grade Numbers and Ra Measures

Surface Roughness of Abrasive Grits and Sandpaper

One approach to Surface Finish is to use abrasives or

sand the surface. This chart converts from abrasive grit
to Surface Finish Ra values:
Machining Operations:

a) Turning, in which the workpiece is rotated and a cutting tool removes a layer
of material as the tool moves to the left.

b) Cutting off, in which the cutting tool moves radially inward and separates
the right piece from the bulk of the blank.

c) Slab milling, in which a rotating cutting tool removes a layer of material from
the surface of the workpiece.

d) End milling, in which a rotating cutter travels along a certain depth in the
workpiece and produces a cavity.

*There are many kinds of machining operations, each of which is capable of

generating a certain part geometry and surface texture.

In turning, a cutting tool with a single cutting edge is used to remove material
from a rotating workpiece to generate a cylindrical shape. The primary motion
is provided by rotating the workpiece, and the feed motion is achieved by
moving the cutting tool slowly in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of
the workpiece.

Drilling is used to create a round hole. It is accomplished by a rotating tool that

typically has two or four helical cutting edges. The tool is fed in a direction
parallel to its axis of rotation into the workpiece to form the round hole.

In boring, a tool with a single bent pointed tip is advanced into a roughly made
hole in a spinning workpiece to slightly enlarge the hole and improve its
accuracy. It is a fine finishing operation used in the final stages of product
manufacture.

Reaming is one of the sizing operations that removes a small amount of metal
from a hole already drilled.
In milling, a rotating tool with multiple cutting edges is moved slowly relative
to the material to generate a plane or straight surface. The direction of the feed
motion is perpendicular to the tool's axis of rotation. The speed motion is
provided by the rotating milling cutter. The two basic forms of milling are:
• Peripheral milling
• Face milling.
Other conventional machining operations include shaping, planing, broaching
and sawing. Also, grinding and similar abrasive operations are often included
within the category of machining.