Surface Finish
Surface Finish
Surface Finish
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 centerline like Ra, Rz measures the average of the 5 largest peak 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:
Average
Roughness in
micro-meters
Ra = CLA = (M1 + M2 + M3 + M4) / 4
or micro-
Ra Where:
inches. Ra is
M1, M2, … Mn are measure values
the arithmetic
mean deviation
of the profile
Mean height of
Rc profile
irregularities
Kurtosis of the
Rku
profile
Maximum
Rmax roughness
depth
Material Ration
Rmr
of the profile
Max profile
Rp Rp = MAX( M1, M2, M3, … )
peak height
Root mean
square
Rq Rq = RMS
deviation of the
profile
Skewness of
Rsk
the profile
Max height of
Rt
the profile
Max Profile
Rv Rv = MIN( M1, M2, M3, … )
Valley Depth
Max height of
Ry
the profile
Rz = Ra x 7.2
Avg Max height
Rz This is a very ROUGH estimate and
of the profile
not an exact conversion!
Roughness
Rz ISO
Height
Average max
RPM profile peak
height
RMS = SQRT( (M1^2 + M2^2 + M3^2 Root Mean
RMS
+ M4^2) / 4 ) Square
Center Line
CLA CLA = Ra
Average
Length
Cut-Off Length required for
sample
New ISO
N N = Ra (um) x 40 (Grade) Scale
Numbers
Surface Roughness
Conversion Chart Tables –
Metric and Imperial
Cut-off Length
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Super High Glossy finish A-1 Grade #3, 6000 Grit Diamond Buff 0.012 to 0.025
High Glossy finish A-2 Grade #6, 3000 Grit Diamond Buff 0.025 to 0.05
Normal Glossy finish A-3 Grade #15, 1200 Grit Diamond Buff 0.05 to 0.10
Satin Textured finish D-1 Dry Blast Glass Bead #11 0.80 to 1.00
Dull Textured finish D-2 Dry Blast #240 Oxide 1.00 to 2.80
Rough Textured finish D-3 Dry Blast #24 Oxide 3.20 to 18.0
As machined - Finished to the machinist's discretion 3.20 (with visible machining marks)
Material recommendations
Not every mold finish produces the same results with every material. Use the tables below as guidelines to select the right mold
finish/material combination for your application.
Glossy finish
Matte finish
Textured finish