Whenever these qualities are important, much attention should be paid to surface characteristics of components. Modern production methods, both conventional and those which are electrically assisted, have been developed to more efficiently process the higher strength and high temperature alloys which have evolved in recent years. At the same time, advanced designs have necessitated the requirement of holding closer dimensional control of larger surfaces as well as in areas of more intricate and complex geometry. Considering the nature of advanced materials requiring improved capabilities, the difficulty in machining and finishing these higher strength materials, and the sensitivity of component surfaces inherent in many operational modes to which these parts will be subjected, the need for paying careful attention to the surfaces of finished hardware is brought critically into focus. When machining any component, it is first necessary to satisfy the surface integrity requirements.
Surface integrity has two important parts.
The first is surface texture, which governs principally surface roughness, which essentially is a measure of surface topography. This subject has been and being pursued by many investigators. The second is surface metallurgy which is a study of the nature of the surface layer produced in machining. Surface integrity of a surface produced by a metal removal operation includes the nature of both surface topography as well as surface metallurgy on the mechanical and physical properties of a material in its chosen environment. Surface integrity is defined as the inherent or enhanced condition of a surface produced in a machining or other surface generating operation.