What is a microinch?
A microinch (µin) is the inch with the SI prefix micro, meaning one millionth, so 1,000,000µin make one inch.
The microinch is mostly seen in surface finish. US drawings give a part's roughness (Ra) in microinches, and a typical machined finish is 63µin, or 1.6µm.
A microinch is a millionth of an inch, which is exactly 0.0254 micrometers or 25.4 nanometers. Outside the US surface finish is given in micrometers instead.
What is an inch?
An inch is a length unit normally used in the United States and, occasionally, in the United Kingdom. It is defined as a twelth (1/12th) of a foot. The inch is normally subdivided into fractions of an inch such as the ½, ¼ and ⅛.
An inch was originally the width of a man's thumb. It is still the everyday length unit in the United States, and TV and computer screens are sold by their size in inches worldwide.
Inches are used in combination with other units of imperial measurement such as feet and yards. For example, a standard door in the United States a football field is 100 yards long or 300 feet or 3,600 inches.