The Selection of Surface Finish for Engineering Components

Abstract

One of the problems facing designers is specifying the surface textures required on surfaces in sliding contact. For a given application there is an optimum method of producing a suitable surface texture with respect to:- (i) The cost of manufacture. (ii) The Effect of the surface texture on the functioning of the components. There is little published information available for guidance and most of this has been obtained by surveys of existing practise. Accordingly a research programme was carried out to investigate the effects on the rate of wear of:- (i) The Surface textures produced by various manufacturing processes. (ii) The orientation of the lay of the surface with respect to the direction of sliding. As part of a general survey into methods of examining surface texture the use of a Scanning Electron Microscope (S.E.M.) was evaluated, since this instrument has a much greater depth of focus and higher magnification than optical instruments, and permits direct examination of the surface without the need for replica techniques. Similarly techniques for the measurement of small amounts of wear have been investigated.