Descubra as melhores texturas de superfície para o seu design

Discover the best surface textures for your design

Surface Textures Feature Image

Designers determine the requirements for the final part. Basic requirements include geometry, size and material. However, as the industry develops, the part needs to have more and more quality parameters, which are not so easy to select or analyze. This may include hardness, grain size, tolerances and surface structure. A good designer must be able to select the ideal combination of part parameters so that it works perfectly and costs as little as possible. This article aims to wisely choose the correct surface texture of the part.

Surface Texture Parameters

There are many ways to obtain the desired surface structure. The structures themselves are described in several important ways. First, the processed (uncoated) surfaces can be determined based on their structure, waviness and roughness. Coated surface structures can be mirror-smooth or matte or have an individual structure. Furthermore, surface hardness and corrosion resistance are important when it comes to functional coatings.

Machined surface textures

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Processed surfaces are those without coatings and varnishes. Its nature is determined by the processing method and the required quality of the part. The overall result is determined by several parameters. For machined surfaces, the parameter name largely depends on the distance between two irregular elements.

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  1. Disposition. A layout is determined by which machining tool removes material from the workpiece (or adds it in the case of 3D printing) and which path it takes. For example, milling a part leaves a visible pattern on the surface of the part. In fact, you can see the path on a milled part even if the surface roughness is very smooth. You can work with the part layout for better lubrication. The cross-shaped layout of the surface keeps the lubricant longer. This is why honing is such a sought-after technology among bore manufacturers. The inner surfaces of the bore are lubricated for a much longer period of time.
  2. curling. The ripple is very less compared to the layout. If the layout is comparable in size to the dimensions of the part, the waviness will be significantly less, but it will still be noticeable if the overall quality of the part is not very high. Waviness is caused by vibrations of the machining tool during removal of excess material. Both layout and waviness are considered inferior surface textures on unimportant parts or prototypes and can be negated by more precise machining methods.
  3. surface stiffness. Surface roughness is the parameter you want to check if you need a specific texture from an uncoated part. The surface roughness determines whether your piece will be smooth, matte, mirrored or carved. There are many ways to measure surface roughness. If you want better aesthetics, corrosion resistance and overall smoothness, reduce the Ra parameter. For longer part life and corrosion resistance, reduce Rz. If you want better contact force, you need to reduce the Rtm (average distance between two peaks or valleys).

It should also be noted that some processing methods can give the material an individual surface structure. For example, sandblasting a material leaves an artificial roughness that can be used to prevent the part from slipping out of the user's hand.

Surface Structure Coatings

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Surface roughness texturing is quite expensive because the overall surface quality depends on the quality of machining, which in turn depends on expensive equipment, cutting tools and time. A more economical way to achieve a glossy, matte, glossy or mirror finish, even on a rough part, is to apply a coating. Metal parts can be coated in many different ways.

painting

Applying paint is the easiest way to create a reliable surface texture on a rough piece. And the beauty of this method is that modern colors can add not only color, but also texture to the piece. So if you're looking for the cheapest way to make your piece look good, simply ask the manufacturer to forgo precision finishing and instead apply a good coat of paint to cover it and leave the piece smooth. Furthermore, the paint protects the material from corrosion.

Colors can make your piece matte, shiny, sparkling, rough, metallic, etc. They can imitate virtually any type of texture available on the market. So if you want a custom texture, you should probably first look at the options that paint offers. However, if you choose a texture offered by the paint, you will reduce the size of the surface around the paint layer, which can be significant.

Powder coating

Powder coating is similar to painting, but the paint layer is much thinner. So powder coating is best for precise parts and due to the characteristics of the process (the plastic powder is sintered onto the surface of the part) you can't really get many different textures, so you can only achieve a matte or glossy finish with it. The advantages of powder coatings lie elsewhere.

Anodizing and electroplating

These are processes in which the surface of one metal is coated by another. You should choose these processes if you want to maintain the metallic feel of the part but still significantly improve the quality of the surface texture. Such procedures allow obtaining a good metallic texture in the desired color. However, the texture is limited to metal. You can't expect to have every option, from paints or even powder coatings. Anodized or galvanized layers are thinner than paint layers, so the dimensions of the part remain the same.

Conclusions

There are many parameters for surface structure. Some are simply aesthetic in nature and determine the appearance of the part, others also determine its functionality (surface roughness). Finally, I would like to say that I think the best way to obtain the desired structure and not spend a lot of money on machining is to have a part machined with average quality and then covered with paint. This way you don't spend a lot of money on editing and the colors offer the greatest variety of textures.

We really hope this article can help you. If you would like further advice on surface treatments, we would be happy to contact you.

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