Surface Finish and Surface Roughness

SURFACE FINISH & SURFACE ROUGHNESS WITH
INDICATION & SYMBOLS – ENGG DRAWING

Surface Finish and Surface Roughness
The finish on a metal surface after machining depends mainly on the material
and some are as follows.
 It depends on the structure of the metal before and after
machining,
 Depends on cutting conditions such as type and degree of
sharpness of the cutting tool,
 Depth of cut,
 Amount of feed,
 Coolant used,
 Working conditions such as hot or cold,
 Vibrations and deflections of the tool or the workpiece while
cutting, etc.
Symbols for Indicating Surface Finish
The quality of a surface finish on a metal surface produced by production
method other than machining is shown on the drawing by a tick symbol as
shown in fig-A. This basic symbol consists of two legs of unequal length. These
are inclined at approximately 60 degrees to the line representing the surface to
be machined with the vertex touching it.
Figure-A
If the surface finish is to be obtained by removing the material by any
machining process, a horizontal bar is to be added to the basic symbol.
Converting it into an equilateral triangle as shown in Figure-B.
Figure-B
If the surface is to be produced without removal of material or when a surface
is to be left in the very state resulting from the other manufacturing process,
whether this state was achieved by the removal of the material or otherwise, a
circle is written in the basic symbol as shown in fig-C.
Figure-C
If the general manufacturing processes by themselves ensure achieving of the
acceptable surface finish, then the specification of the surface finish is
unnecessary, hence need not be indicated.
Indication of Surface Roughness Values
The surface roughness may be indicated in the basic symbol shown in the
above figures by
 Roughness value in a micrometre
 Roughness grade numbers, or
 By triangle symbol
The indication of surface roughness values in the surface finish symbols are
shown the figure A.
a) If the surface roughness is obtained by any production method other than

machining, the value of surface rough necessary say,12.5μm is indicated in the
basic symbol as shown in figure B.
b) If the surface roughness is obtained by removing the material by machining,

the value of surface roughness, say 12.5μm, should be indicated as shown in
figure C.
c) If the surface roughness is to be obtained without the removal of material or
when it results from the previous production process, the value of surface
roughness say 12.5μm, should be indicated as shown in figure D.
Indication of Surface Roughness Grades

The surface roughness is too shown by the grade number instead of their
numerical values. The BIS has prescribed twelve grades of surface roughness.
These grades of surface roughness. These grades of surface roughness are
numbered as N1, N2, N3…..N12.
The standard prescribed grades of surface roughness may be chosen from the
given Table-A corresponding to the required surface roughness values.
Table-A: Surface Roughness, Values, Grades and Symbols
When the quality of surface finish is to be indicated by the roughness grade
number in the surface finish symbol, the grade number is written in the same
place of the roughness value the Figure-A.
a) If the surface roughness is obtained by any production method other than
machining, the grade number of surface roughness, for example, N10, is
indicated in the basic symbol as shown in Figure-B.
b) If the surface roughness is obtained by removing the material by machining

the grade number of surface roughness, for example, N10 is indicated as
shown in Figure-C.
c) If the surface roughness is to be obtained without the removal of material or

when it results from the previous production process, the value of the surface
roughness, for example, N10 should be indicated as shown in Figure-D.
Indication of Surface Roughness by Triangle Symbol
The BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) prefers the sign of surface roughness
either by grades or by values, from the point of the requirements of overall
engineering industries. It is suggested to indicate the surface roughness on
drawing by symbols.
The BIS recommended symbols for indicating the surface finish are shown in
Table A. For the roughness values greater than 25μm, the symbol is used. For
roughness value less than 25μm, the equilateral triangular symbol is used.
Indication of Surface Roughness by Symbols
The number triangles indicate the range of surface roughness. As
recommended in Table A, for roughness values ranging from 12μm to 25μm a
single triangle is used.
 For roughness values ranging from 1.6 to 6.3μm, two triangles are
used in series.
 For roughness values ranging from 0.025μm to 0.1μm, four
triangles are used in series.
 The figure shows a typical example of indicating the surface finish
by symbols.
Read Next:
 10 Different Types of Lines Used In Engineering Drawing
 What is Isometric Projection? [Isometric View, Drawing and
Representation]
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SURFACE FINISH & SURFACE ROUGHNESS WITH

INDICATION & SYMBOLS – ENGG DRAWING

a) If the surface roughness is obtained by any production method other than

b) If the surface roughness is obtained by removing the material by machining,

Indication of Surface Roughness Grades

b) If the surface roughness is obtained by removing the material by machining

c) If the surface roughness is to be obtained without the removal of material or

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