MSS SP-6-2017

Standard Finishes for

Contact Faces of Pipe Flanges
and Connecting-End Flanges
of Valves and Fittings

Standard Practice
Developed and Approved by the
Manufacturers Standardization Society of the
Valve and Fittings Industry, Inc.
127 Park Street, NE
Vienna, Virginia 22180-4602
Phone: (703) 281-6613 www.msshq.org
Fax: (703) 281-6671
E-mail: [email protected]
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 MSS STANDARD PRACTICE SP-6

This MSS Standard Practice was developed under the consensus ofthe MSS Technical Committee 102 (primary), li O,
201, and the MSS Coordinating Committee. The content ofthis Standard Practice is the resulting efforts of competent
and experienced volunteers to provide an effective, c1ear, and non-exclusive standard that will benefit the industry as
a whole. This MSS Standard Practice describes minimal requirements and is intended as a basis for common practice
by the manufacturer, the user, and the general public. The existence of an MSS Standard Practice does not in itself
preclude the manufacture, sale, or use of products not conforming to the Standard Practice. Mandatory conformance
to this Standard Practice is established only by reference in other documents such as acode, specification, sales
contract, or public law, as applicable. MSS has no power, nor does it undertake, to enforce or certify compliance with
this document. Any certification or other statement of compliance with the requirements ofthis Standard Practice shall
not be attributable to MSS and is solely the responsibility ofthe certifier or maker ofthe statement.

"Unless indicated otherwise within this MSS Standard Practice, other standards documents referenced to herein are
identified by the date ofissue that was applicable to this Standard Practice at the date of approval ofthis MSS Standard
Practice (see Annex AJ. This Standard Practice shall remain silent on the validity ofthose other standards of prior or
subsequent dates ofissue even though applicable provisions may not have changed "

By publication ofthis Standard Practice, no position is taken with respect to the validity of any potential c1aim(s) or of
any patent rights in connection therewith. MSS shall not be held responsible for identifying any patent rights. Users
are expressly advised that determination of patent rights and the risk of infringement of such rights are entirely their
responsibility.

ln this Standard Practice, ali text, notes, annexes, tables, figures, and references are construed to be essential to the
understanding ofthe message ofthe standard, and are considered normative unless indicated as "supplemental". Ali
appendices, if included, that appear in this document are construed as "supplemental". Note that supplemental
information does not include mandatory requirements.

The U.S. customary units and SI (metric) units in this Standard Practice are regarded separately as the
standard; each should be used independently of the other. Combining or converting values between the two
systems may result in non-conformance with this Standard Practice.

Substantive changes in this 2017 edition are "flagged" by parallel bars as shown on the
margins of this paragraph. The specific detail of the change may be determined by
comparing the material flagged with that in the previous edition.

Non-toleranced dimensions in this Standard Practice are nominal unless otherwise specified.

Excerpts of this Standard Practice may be quoted with permission. Credit fines should read 'Extracted from MSS
SP-6-20J7 with permission of the publisher, Manufacturers Standardization Society of the Valve and Fittings
lndustry'. Reproduction and/or electronic transmission or dissemination is prohibited under copyright convention
unless written permission is granted by lhe Manufacturers Standardization Society of the Valve and Fittings lndustry
Inc. Ali rights reserved

Originally Approved: December 1929

Originally Published: January 1930
Current Edition Approved: January 2017
Current Edition Published: March 2017

MSS is a registered trademark ofthe Manufacturers Standardization Society ofthe Valve and Fittings Industry, Inc.

Copyright ©, 2017 by
Manufacturers Standardization Society
ofthe
Valve and Fittings lndustry, Inc.
Printed in U.S.A.

Copyright MSS Order Number: W1970894

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 MSS ST ANDARD PRACTICE SP-6

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION

1 SCOPE 1
2 DEFINITIONS 1
3 REQUlREMENTS 1
4 LIMITATIONS 1

TABLE

Standard Finishes for Contact Faces of Pipe Flanges and Connecting-End Flanges
ofValves and Fittings 3

FIGURE

I1 Types ofContact Faces for Flanges 2

ANNEX

IA Referenced Standards and Applicable Dates .4 I

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 MSS STANDARD PRACTICE SP-6

STANOARO FINISHES FOR CONTACT FACES OF PIPE FLANGES

ANO CONNECTING-ENO FLANGES OF VALVES ANO FITTINGS

1. SCOPE

1.1 This Standard Practice pertains to the finish of gasket contact faces of pipe flanges and connecting-
end flanges ofvalves and firtings.

1.2 This Standard Practice is intended for applications to products for which ASME B 16 Standards do
not contain complete facing finish requirements or for which there are no such standards.

2. DEFINITIONS
2.1 Flange Facing Finish The surface finish on the flange contact face (see Figure 1) that comes in 1
1 contact with a gasket upon flange assembly.
2.2 Roughness Average The term "Ra" (Roughness average) is expressed in microinches (uin) or
micrometers (11m).

I 2.3 Other Definitions Other definitions may be found in MSS SP-96.

3. REQUlREMENTS

I 3.1 The flange facing finish shall be evaluated by visual comparison with "Ra" standards (see I
ASME B46.1) and not by instruments having stylus tracers and electronic amplification. The finishes
required are given in Table I.
Other finishes may be furnished by agreement between purchaser and manufacturer.

3.2 Dimensions shown in Table 1 shall not be cause for rejection by depth gage measurement or precision
instrument measurements.

LIMITATIONS

Surface finishes Iisted in Table 1 are not necessarily optimal for ali gasket material types.

On flat faces, serrations need not extend beyond corresponding raised face diameter.

4.3 Flat face and raised face flanges may be provided with a protective coating in certain industries. If
provided with such coating, the surface finish requirements only pertain to the machined surface under
the protective coating.

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 MSS STANDARD PRACTICE SP-6

Ring Joint Flat Face

0.25 (114) in. Raised Face 0.06 (1/16) in. Raised Face
7.0 mm Raised Face 2. Omm Raísed Face

Small Male and Female Large Male and Fernale

Small Tongue and Groove Large Tongue and Groove

IFIGURE 1 I
Types of Contact Faces for Flanges
INFORMA TIONAL NOTE: The 7.0 mm and 2.0 mm Raised Face Types above utilize the same contact face as the 0.25 in. and 0.06 in. Raised Face Types,
respectively, but are not the result of exact conversion. These "rnm" Raised Face Types are aligned with MSS SP-44, ASME BI6.5, and ASME B 16.47.

2
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li" I TABLE 1 Standard Finishes for Contact Faces ofPipe Flanges and Connecting-End Flanges ofValves and Fittings I V1
V1
H
;:::;:!1:

[~
s
~ Contact Face Materiais
~ Types of
~
a3 Contact Faces ,
I
<J>
Steel I Ductile Iron Gray Iron Bronze

Serrated (a): Non-serrated (b), Non-serrated (b): Non-serrated (b):

spiral or concentric, 250 uin (6.3 11m) Ra max., 250 uin (6.3 11m) Ra max., 125 uin (3.2 11m) Ra max.,
45 to 55 per in. (18 to 21 per em) or or or
• Flat Face recommended Serrated (a): Serrated (a): Serrated (a):
·0.06 016) in. Raised Face spiral or concentric, spiral, spiral or concentric, V1
• 2.0 mm Raised Face The resultant surface finish shall have a 11 to 50 per in. (5 to 19 per em) 11 to 50 per in. (5 to 19 per em) 30 to 80 per in. (12 to 31 per em) ~
• 0.25 (~) in. Raised Face 125 to 250 uin (3.2 to 6.3 11m) Ra. or concentric, >
8 or more per in. (4 or more per em)
Z
·7.0 mm Raised Face ~
• Large Male and Female
Approx. Depth: Approx. Depth:
Approx. Depth:
0.003 to 0.020 in.
>
~
w I I I
0.003 to 0.020 in. 0.003 to 0.020 in. (0.08 to 0.51 mm) ~
(0.08 to 0.51 mm) (0.08 to 0.51 mm) "'C

~
Serrated (a): >
('j
• Small Male and Female (as above)
~
•...
• Large Tongue and Groove or Same as above - -
• Small Tongue and Groove Non-serrated: o
~
125 uin (3.2 11m) Ra max.

• Ring Joint- Side Walls Non-serrated: Non-serrated:

ofGroove 63 uin (1.6 11m) Ra max. 63 uin (1.6 11m) Ra max.

NOTES:
(a) Unless otherwise speeified, the manufaeturer may supply either spiral or eoneentrie grooves for serrations. The spiral maehining operation is eommonly aeeomplished
with the eutting tool having a 0.06 in. (1.5 mm) or larger tip radius.
For serrations, this Standard Praetiee utilizes eentimeters (em) for the SI (metrie) units and not millimeters (mm) due to ease ofmeasurement and ability to more
effeetively verify without magnifieation equipment.
V1
(b) Unless otherwise speeified, the manufaeturer may supply either the serrated (commonly accomplished with lhe cutting 1001 having a 0.06 in. (1.5 mm) or larger tip radiusy,
or a smooth fmish.
~
I
0\
 MSS STANDARD PRACTICE SP-6
•

ANNEXA
Referenced Standards and Applicable Dates

This Annex is an integral part ofthis Standard Practice and is placed after the main text for convenience.

Standard Name Description

ASME; ANSI/ASME
B46.1-2009 Surface Texture (Surface Roughness, Waviness, and Lay)

MSSj ANSI/MSS
SP-96-2017 Guidelines on Terminology for Valves and Fittings

The foliowing organizations appear in the above list:

ANSI American National Standards Institute

25 West 43rd Street, Fourth Floor
New York, NY 10036-7406

ASME American Society ofMechanical Engineers (ASME International)

Two Park Avenue
New York, NY 10016-5990

MSS Manufacturers Standardization Society ofthe Valve and Fittings Industry, Inc.
127 Park Street, NE
Vienna, VA 22180-4602

4
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 MSS STANDARD PRACTICE SP-6

ti

nd

5
Copyright MSS Order Number: W1970894
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 MSS ST ANDARD PRACTICE SP-6

ti

nd

6
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 Purchase or View a Full Listing of MSS Standards at:
http://111ssh9·orglStorelPriceList.cfin

MSS Standard Practices (SPs) related to or referenced in this publication:

ANSI/MSS SP-96 Guidelines on Terminology for Valves and Fittings
ANSUMSS SP-25 Standard Marking Systemfor Valves, Fittings, Flanges, and Unions

American National Standards Published by MSS, an ANSI-accredited Standards Developer:

ANSI/MSS SP-25 Standard Marking Systemfor Valves, Fittings, Flanges, and Unions
ANSIIMSS SP-44 Steel Pipeline Flanges
ANSIIMSS SP-55 Quality Standard for Steel Castings for Valves, Flanges, Fittings, and Other Piping Components
- Visual Method for Evaluation of Surface Irregularities
ANSUMSS SP-58 Pipe Hangers and Supports - Materiais, Design, Manufacture, Selection, Application, and
Installation
ANSI/MSS SP-96 Guidelines on Terminology for Valves and Fittings
ANSI/MSS SP-1l4 Corrosion Resistant Pipe Fittings Threaded and Socket Welding Class 150 and 1000
ANSI/MSS SP-134 Valvesfor Cryogenic Service, including Requirements for Body/Bonnet Extensions
ANSIIMSS SP-135 High Pressure Knife Gate Valves
ANSI/MSS SP-138 Quality Standard Practice for Oxygen Cleaning of Valves and Fitüngs
ANSI/MSS SP-144 Pressure Seal Bonnet Valves

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AboutMSS
Th~ Manufacturers Standardization Society (MSS) ofthe Valve and Fittings Industry is a non-profit technical association organized
fordevelopment and improvement of industry, national and intemational codes and standards for Valves, Valve Actuators, Valve
Modifications, Pipe Fittings, Flanges, Pipe Hangers and Supports, and Associated Seals. Since its establishment in 1924, MSS has
been dedicated to developing standards for national and global applications, in cooperation with other standardizing bodies and
regulatory authorities.
For more information on membership and eligibility requirements, visit: http://msshq.org/Store/Membership.cfm

Manufacturers Standardization Society ofthe Valve and Fittings Industry, Inc.

127 Park Street, NE, Vienna, VA 22180-4620 • Phone (703) 281-6613 • Fax (703) 281-6671
"The Technical Voice of the Industry"

MSS·IHS SP·6·2017

Copyrighl MSS Order Number: W1970894

Provided by IHS under license with MSS Sold to:CONSULT N T lD. [149164100oo1J" [email protected].
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