More useful info on surface roughness designations can be found here.
This information has been collated from a variety of sources. If you have any suggestions of processes to include in this table please leave a comment and they will be added.
Tolerance and surface roughness table
| Tolerance (mm); | Surface roughness (µm) | |||
| Process name | min | max | min | max |
| Electro- discharge wire cutting | 0.01 | 0.125 | 0.1 | 30 |
| Band sawing | 0.8 | 3 | 0.8 | 45 |
| Circular sawing | 0.2 | 3 | 0.8 | 45 |
| Cropping/guillotining | 0.2 | 2 | 0,1 | 12.5 |
| Sheet metal | 0.01 | 1 | 0,1 | 12.5 |
| Sheet metal (non-tooled) | 0.01 | 1 | 0,1 | 12.5 |
| Water jet cutting | 0.1 | 0.25 | 3.2 | 27 |
| Oxyfuel gas cutting | 0.8 | 2 | 6.3 | 71 |
| Plasma arc cutting | 0.5 | 2.54 | 12 | 128 |
| Chemical machining | 0.004 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 12.5 |
| Chemical polishing | 0.0001 | 1.3 | ||
| Electro-Chemical Machining | 0.013 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 12.5 |
| Electro-Discharge Machining | 0.05 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 30 |
| Electron beam machining | 0.005 | 0.05 | 0.2 | 6.3 |
| Electropolishing | 0.012 | 1.3 | ||
| Abrasive jet machining | 0.05 | 0.125 | 0.1 | 1.6 |
| Abrasive grinding / polishing | 0.0006 | 0.1 | 0.025 | 6.3 |
| Broaching | 0.0015 | 0.02 | 0.4 | 6.3 |
| Drilling | 02 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 12.5 |
| Honing | 0.00055 | 0.04 | 0.025 | 1.6 |
| Lapping | 0.00055 | 0.04 | 0.012 | 0.8 |
| Milling (CNC) | 0.01 | 1 | 0.2 | 25 |
| Milling (manual) | 0.01 | 1 | 0.2 | 25 |
| Planing/shaping | 0.02 | 1 | 0.4 | 25 |
| Reaming | 0.002 | 0.07 | 0.4 | 6.3 |
| Turning/boring (CNC) | 0.003 | 0.2 | 0.05 | 25 |
| Turning/boring (manual) | 0.003 | 0.2 | 0.05 | 25 |
| Ultrasonic machining | 0.005 | 0.05 | 0.2 | 1.6 |
| Laser beam machining | 0.013 | 0.13 | 0.2 | 6.3 |