Surface finishing is a broad range of
industrial process
Industrial processes are procedures involving chemical, physical, electrical or mechanical steps to aid in the manufacturing of an item or items, usually carried out on a very large scale. Industrial processes are the key components of heavy in ...
es that alter the surface of a manufactured item to achieve a certain property.
Finishing processes may be employed to: improve appearance, adhesion or
wettability
Wetting is the ability of a liquid to maintain contact with a solid surface, resulting from intermolecular interactions when the two are brought together. This happens in presence of a gaseous phase or another liquid phase not miscible with ...
,
solderability The solderability of a substrate is a measure of the ease with which a soldered joint can be made to that material. Good solderability requires wetting (low contact angle) of the substrate by the solder.
__TOC__ Of metals
Solderability varies depe ...
,
corrosion resistance
Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engin ...
, tarnish resistance, chemical resistance,
wear resistance
Wear is the damaging, gradual removal or deformation of material at solid surfaces. Causes of wear can be mechanical (e.g., erosion) or chemical (e.g., corrosion). The study of wear and related processes is referred to as tribology.
Wear in ...
,
hardness
In materials science, hardness (antonym: softness) is a measure of the resistance to localized plastic deformation induced by either mechanical indentation or abrasion. In general, different materials differ in their hardness; for example hard ...
, modify
electrical conductivity, remove burrs and other surface flaws, and control the surface
friction
Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction:
*Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative lateral motion of ...
.
[.] In limited cases some of these techniques can be used to restore original dimensions to salvage or repair an item. An unfinished surface is often called ''
mill finish''.
Surface finishing processes can be categorized by how they affect the
workpiece
A workpiece is a piece, often made of a single mater