SURFACE ROUGHNESS

MEASUREMENT
INTRODUCTION

⚫ Surface metrology is basically concerned with deviations

between points on the same surface
⚫ Surface roughness or surface texture depends, to a large
extent, on the type of the manufacturing operation
⚫ Surfaces have asperities, which refer to the peaks and
valleys of surface irregularities
⚫ Surface irregularities generally have a pattern and are
oriented in a particular direction depending on the factors
that cause these irregularities
⚫ Imperfections on a surface are in the form of succession of
hills and valleys varying in both height and spacing
Factors causes surface
irregularities
⚫ Feed marks of cutting tools
⚫ Chatter marks on the workpiece due to vibrations caused
during the manufacturing operation
⚫ Due to rupture of workpiece material during the metal
cutting operation
⚫ Due to deformation of workpiece under the action of
cutting forces
⚫ Irregularities in the machine tool itself like lack of
straightness of guideways
Feed marks of cutting tool Chatter marks
TERMINOLOGY
Waviness
⚫ Surface irregularities are superimposed on a widely spaced
component of surface texture called waviness
⚫ It is the recurrent deviation from a flat surface
⚫ Waviness is an error in form due to incorrect geometry of
the tool producing the surface
⚫ The spacing of waviness is the width between successive
wave peaks or valleys.
⚫ Waviness height is the distance from a peak to a valley
Roughness
⚫ The finer irregularities in the surface texture, including
those irregularities that result from an inherent action of
the production process
⚫ Roughness spacing is the distance between successive
peaks or ridges that constitute the predominant pattern of
roughness.
Lay
⚫ It is the direction of the predominant surface pattern, ordinarily
determined by the production process used for manufacturing
the component
⚫ These are tiny scratches left behind by the movement of the
finishing tool during the course of relative movement with
respect to the work. This pattern is termed as “Lay” of the
surface.
Flaws
⚫ These are the irregularities that occur in isolation or
infrequently because of specific causes such as scratches,
cracks
Surface texture
⚫ The repetitive or random deviations from the nominal
surface that form the pattern of the surface
⚫ Surface texture encompasses roughness,waviness, lay,
and flaws
Errors of form
⚫ These are the widely spaced repetitive irregularities
occurring over the full length of the work surface
ANALYSIS OF SURFACE TRACES
⚫ To assess whether the surface quality meets the functional
requirements of a component it is required to assign a
numerical value to surface roughness
⚫ Various methodologies are employed to arrive at a
representative parameter of surface roughness. They are
⚫ Ten-point Height Average Value
⚫ Root Mean Square Value
⚫ Centre Line Average Value
Ten-point Height Average Value
⚫ It is also referred to as the
peak-to-valley height
⚫ The average height
encompassing a number of
successive peaks and
valleys of the asperities
⚫ The average
peak-to-valley height Rz is
given by the following
expression:
Root Mean Square Value
⚫ The RMS value is defined as
the square root of the mean
of squares of the ordinates of
the surface measured from a
mean line
⚫ if h1, h2, ..., hn are equally
spaced ordinates at points 1,
2, ... ,n, then
Centre Line Average Value(Ra)
⚫ It is defined as the average
height from a mean line of
all ordinates of the surface,
regardless of sign
Problems
⚫ In the measurement of surface roughness, heights of 20
successive peaks and valleys measured from datum are as
follows: 45, 25, 35, 40,25, 16, 40, 22, 25, 34, 25, 40, 20,
36, 28, 18, 20, 25, 30, 38 microns. If these measurements
were made over a length of 20 mm, determine CLA value
and RMS value of the surface.
SURFACE FINISH SYMBOL

⚫ The symbol for surface finish as per IS standard

METHODS OF MEASURING SURFACE FINISH
⚫ There are basically two approaches for measuring surface
finish: comparison and direct measurement
⚫ The comparative method advocates assessment of surface
texture by observation or feel of the surface.
⚫ Direct measurement enables a numerical value to be
assigned to the surface finish
Tomlinson Surface Meter
Construction:
⚫ The instrument consists of a diamond probe or stylus held
by spring pressure against the surface of a lapped cylinder
of steel by a leaf spring
⚫ A light spring steel arm is attached to the lapped cylinder.
⚫ The arm carries a diamond scriber at its tip, which rests
against a smoked glass.
⚫ Forces exerted by spring and leaf spring prevent the
motions of stylus except in vertical direction up or down
Working:
⚫ While measuring the surface finish, the instrument is
traversed across the surface
⚫ Any vertical movements of stylus due to irregularities
cause the lapped cylinder to roll
⚫ By its rolling, the tight arm attached to its end will
produce magnified movements on a smoked glass
⚫ The traces produced on the smoked glass are then further
projected at X50 or X100 magnification to examine them
by an optical projector
Taylor–Hobson Talysurf
Construction:

⚫ The stylus is attached to an armature, which pivots about

the centre of piece of an E-shaped stamping
⚫ The outer legs of the E-shaped stamping are wound with
electrical coils.
⚫ A skid or shoe provides the datum to plot surface
roughness
⚫ The measuring head can be traversed in a linear path by an
electric motor
Working:
⚫ The stylus moves up and down due to surface
irregularities, the armature is also displaced.
⚫ This causes variation in the air gap, leading to an
imbalance in the bridge circuit
⚫ The resulting bridge circuit output consists of only
modulation
⚫ This is fed to an amplifier and a pen recorder is used to
make a permanent record
⚫ The instrument has the capability to calculate and display
the roughness value according to a standard formula
Profilometer
Working:
⚫ Profilometer is an indicating and recording instrument
used to measure roughness in microns
⚫ Profilometer consists of two units: (i) A tracer and (ii) An
amplifier
⚫ Tracer is a finely pointed stylus. It is mounted in pick up
unit, which consists of an induction coil located in field of
permanent magnet
⚫ When the tracer is moved across the surface to be tested, it
gets displaced vertically up and down due to surface
irregularities.
⚫ This causes induction coil to move in the field of
permanent magnet and induces a voltage.
⚫ Amplifier: The induced voltage is amplified and recorded,
and then registered on a reading meter calibrated in
micrometers.
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