Review of Superfinishing by the Magnetic Abrasive Finishing Process
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High Speed Mach. 2017; 3:42–55 Review Article Open Access Lida Heng, Yon Jig Kim, and Sang Don Mun* Review of Superfinishing by the Magnetic Abrasive Finishing Process DOI 10.1515/hsm-2017-0004 In the conventional lapping process, loose abrasive Received May 2, 2017; accepted June 20, 2017 particles in the form of highly-concentrated slurry are of- ten used. The finishing mechanism then involves actions Abstract: Recent developments in the engineering indus- between the lapping plate, the abrasive, and the work- try have created a demand for advanced materials with su- piece, in which the abrasive particles roll freely, creating perior mechanical properties and high-quality surface fin- indentation cracks along the surface of the workpiece, ishes. Some of the conventional finishing methods such as which are then removed to finally achieve a smoother sur- lapping, grinding, honing, and polishing are now being re- face [1]. The lapping process typically is not used to change placed by non-conventional finishing processes. Magnetic the dimensional accuracy due to its very low material re- Abrasive Finishing (MAF) is a non-conventional superfin- moval rate. Grinding, on the other hand, is used to achieve ishing process in which magnetic abrasive particles inter- the surface finish and dimensional accuracy of the work- act with a magnetic field in the finishing zone to remove piece simultaneously [2]. In grinding, fixed abrasives are materials to achieve very high surface finishing and de- used by bonding them on paper or a plate for fast stock burring simultaneously. In this review paper, the working removal. Polishing is another finishing process used for principles, processing parameters, and current limitations smoothing a workpiece’s surface by an abrasive particle for the MAF process are examined via reviewing important and a work wheel. The conventional technique of polish- work in the literature. Additionally, future developments ing involves the use of fine abrasives in a liquid carrier on of the MAF process are discussed. a polishing pad. By this process, a rough surface with vis- Keywords: internal magnetic abrasive finishing; cylindri- ible irregularities can be transformed into a smooth sur- cal magnetic abrasive finishing; plane magnetic abrasive face to naked eyes [3]. Kuhar and Funduk [4] studied the finishing; surface roughness; removal weight effect of polishing techniques on the surface roughness of an acrylic denture. Their results concluded that the pol- ishing technique produced the smoothest surface for an 1 Introduction acrylic denture. Honing is an internal finishing process us- ing honing stones which are consisted of abrasive grains with a form of very fine powder. Honing is primarily used to Recent developments in industry have fueled the demand improve the geometric form of a surface, but may also im- for products with very high surface finish in addition to di- prove the surface texture [5]. Honing often is applied to in- mensional accuracy. However, it is very difficult to improve ternal cylindrical surfaces, such as automobile cylindrical the accuracy of such products with one simple finishing walls. There is another method called burnishing, which method. Therefore, many researchers have tried to adopt consists of pressing hardened steel rolls or balls into the different processing methods to improve the surface qual- surface of the workpiece and imparting a feed motion to ity of these products. Conventional methods for achieving the same surface [6]. Burnishing has provided very good high surface finish include lapping, grinding, honing, pol- results for finishing internal holes and tubes. ishing, and burnishing. Despite wide applications of these conventional fin- ishing processes, there are several limitations on the sur- face finish and dimensional accuracy achievable by these *Corresponding Author: Sang Don Mun: Department of Mechan- conventional finishing processes. ical Design Engineering Chonbuk National University Jeonju-si, These problems include high cost needed to accu- South Korea; Email: [email protected] rately finish high strength materials, high energy con- Lida Heng: Department of Mechanical Design Engineering Chon- buk National University Jeonju-si, South Korea sumption, lower ecological safety, etc. In addition, the Yon Jig Kim: Department of Mechanical Design Engineering Chon- pressure applied on the workpiece surface is high, which buk National University Jeonju-si, South Korea © 2017 L. Heng and S. D. Mun, published by De Gruyter Open. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License. Unauthenticated Download Date | 8/20/17 11:33 AM Review of Superfinishing by the Magnetic Abrasive Finishing Process Ë 43 may damage the finished surface [7]. Pranita et al. [8] 1.2 Advantages of MAF pointed out that the conventional finishing processes (i.e., grinding, lapping, and honing) are not suitable to process Because MAF uses very low forces and loose abrasive par- parts with complex shapes, miniature sizes, or 3-D struc- ticles, the damages to the surface can be minimized. The tures economically and rapidly. Singh et al. [9] reported advantages of MAF over other alternative processes such that advanced engineering materials, such as silicon ni- as super finishing, lapping, and honing are listed below: tride, silicon carbide, and aluminum oxide, are difficult to • The simultaneous machining of mutually perpen- finish via conventional grinding and polishing techniques dicular surfaces (such as cylindrical and conical sur- to achieve high accuracy and with minimal surface de- faces), other combinations (such as finishing the fects, such as micro-cracks. Rampal et al. [10] reported that outer diameter and radii of a piston ring), and simi- the surface finish requirements for parts used for manu- lar parts is possible. facturing semiconductors, atomic energy parts, medical • Material surface is free of buns and thermal defects. instruments, and aerospace components are very high; • Low energy consumption. however, many of them, such as vacuum tubes, waveg- • Simple to implement. uides, and sanitary tubes, are difficult to process by con- • Ecologically safe. ventional finishing methods such as lapping, because of • Self-adaptability. their shapes. • Controllability. Yin and Shinmura [11] reported that it is difficult for • Substantial improvement in service characteristics conventional finishing processes using a solid tool tofin- such as wear resistance, as well as mechanical and ish complicated micro-curved surfaces of cast parts of physical characteristics. magnesium alloys because the solid tool may not be able • Nonferrous materials, such as aluminum and its al- to enter inaccessible and unseen areas. loys or brass and its alloys, can also be finished with ease. 1.1 Magnetic abrasive finishing (MAF) Sumit and Chhikara [17] showed that MAF can be used to efficiently produce mirror-like internal and external sur- The Magnetic Abrasive Finishing (MAF) process has sev- faces of good quality for tube-type workpieces. Deepak et eral advantages over the conventional finishing processes. al. [7] reported that the MAF process can be used to effi- MAF is a non-traditional precision machining process, in ciently produce mirror-like surfaces of good quality on the which the finishing process is completed using magnetic order of a few nanometers for flat surfaces, as well as inter- force and magnetic abrasives [12]. It was initially devel- nal and external surfaces for tube-type workpieces. Their oped as a machining process in the US in the 1930s, but study showed that surface finishing via MAF is better than was not further developed until after the 1960s [13]. Mag- that via conventional finishing processes, such as lapping, netic abrasive finishing was discussed in a patent in 1938 honing, and the abrasive flow finishing. by Harry P. Coats [14]. In the last decade, MAF has been Yin and Shinmura [11] reported that the vertical developed as a new finishing technology, in particular in vibration-assisted magnetic abrasive finishing process is the manufacturing of highly precise and sensitive instru- a better process than the conventional magnetic abrasive ments for medical, optics, electrical, and engine compo- finishing process for removing the micro-burr of magne- nents [15, 16], although it is still a useful and viable ma- sium alloys. chining method. In the following sections, the working principles, pro- In MAF, the workpiece is kept between the N-pole and cessing parameters, and current limitations for the MAF S-pole of the magnet, and the working gap between the process will be examined in details by citing important re- workpiece and the magnet is filled with magnetic abra- search work in the literature. sive particles [12]. These abrasive particles forms a flexible magnetic abrasive brush (FMAB), acting as a multipoint cutting tool due to the effect of the magnetic field inthe working gap. When a workpiece is inserted into such a pro- cessing field under a given rotational speed, feed, and vi- bration in the axial direction, surface and edge finishing are carried out via the magnetic brush. Unauthenticated Download Date | 8/20/17 11:33 AM 44 Ë L. Heng and S. D. Mun 2 Principle of MAF 2.1 Process setup of MAF 2.1.1 Process setup of cylindrical MAF Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the cylindrical mag- netic abrasive finishing process setup, in which a cylindri- cal workpiece is inserted inside the gap between the two magnetic poles [12]. The gap between the workpiece and the magnet pole is filled with magnetic abrasive particles (MAPs), which are composed of ferromagnetic materials, Figure 2: Cylindrical magnetic abrasive finishing process [19]. such as iron particles, and non-magnetic abrasive pow- ders. The MAPs are joined magnetically between magnetic poles (N and S) along the lines of magnetic force and form 2.1.2 Process setup of internal MAF a flexible magnetic abrasive brush (FMAB). The cylindrical magnetic abrasive finishing process is achieved when the The magnetic abrasive finishing process can also be used cylindrical workpiece starts to rotate at the same time as for finishing internal surfaces.