How do we machine cylinder heads to improve gasket sealing? What parameters control surface finish? How do we get the perfect finish?

Rottler’s Ryan Thompson answers these questions for you by diving into how speeds and feeds affect roughness values, and what it takes to get your perfect surface finish.

Starting with a new Chevy small block aluminum cylinder head (thanks Straub Technologies!), Ryan demonstrates how to measure the out-of-the-box surface finish using a profilometer.

Then he moves the head over to a Rottler surfacing machine to run five passes at different feed rates (.025 inches per revolution – .005 IPR at 1,000 RPM) and measures the surface finish after each pass.

Which combination of feeds and speeds provides the best finish? Watch the video and find out!

Equipment in the video:

• Rottler S86A CNC Surfacing Machine
• Rottler 6303M PCD Cutting Insert
• TraceBoss Surface Roughness Measurement Software
• USB Profilometer