Will a gasket seal? Will brakes chatter? Will pits on a surface lead to corrosion or failure?

These types of questions are asked daily in a vast variety of industries. Surface texture (surface finish, surface roughness) is often the key to the answers. Measuring surface texture, and analyzing it accurately, provides vital information as to how a component will perform its intended function—as it leaves the factory and throughout its lifespan.

Many people in industry are familiar with measuring common surface roughness parameters such as Average Roughness (Ra) and RMS Roughness (Rq). Yet these parameters often do not tell the whole story about how a part will function.

This module introduces many common and advanced surface texture parameters, starting with basic amplitude parameters such Ra, and Rq, and moving on into spatial parameters, hybrid parameters and functional parameters. We look at the definition and meaning of each parameter, as well as their strengths and shortcomings for describing how a part will fulfill its function. Most important, we show which parameters are best suited for use in common applications.

Finally, we take a look at how surface texture/surface roughness is specified per the ISO 1302 standard and the ASME Y14.36 standards.

This module is Part 3 of the 10-part Surface Texture and Tribology short course. The full course is available on udemy, or you can select the individual course modules of interest to you. Enter "surface roughness texture tribology" in the udemy search bar to browse the full course and modules.