Surface Integrity of Machined Surfaces

This chapter presents the basic knowledge on surface integrity produced in traditional and non-traditional machining processes. An extended overview of fundamental characteristics of surface finishes and surface integrity including surface roughness/surface topography, specific metallurgical and microstructure alterations and process-induced residual stresses is carried out. Surface roughness was determined by many important 3D roughness parameters and representative scanned surface topographies were included. They allow recognizing the structural features, i.e., determined and random components of the machined surfaces. Moreover, some practical formulae for prediction of the theoretical surface roughness in typical cutting operations (turning and milling) and grinding operations are provided. On the other hand, possible surface alterations resulting from abusive machining operations are demonstrated. Finally, the state-of-the-art of machining technology is addressed to many finishing cutting, abrasive and non-traditional (EDM, ECM, LAM, USM, etc.) operations to show how the manufacturing processes can be effectively utilized and optimized in practice.