Parametric optimization of curved-rectangular shaped magnetorheological finishing tool for external cylindrical surfaces

Abstract

Finishing of cylindrical surfaces in nano-scale roughness level is important to improve the surface structure of various industrial components. The nanofinishing not only enhances the surface quality but also improve the durability and reliability the components. In the present research, a new tool is developed i.e. curved-rectangular shaped magnetorheological finishing tool which is used for precise finishing of cylindrical materials made of non-ferromagnetic materials. The tool consists of two set of magnetic arrangement which is fixed at an angle of 90o by means of a tool bracket. The magnets placed inside the cylindrical bush moves to and fro as per the circumferential of workpiece. To check the performance of this tool, the design of experiments using design expert software is conducted with different process parameters i.e. workpiece rotational speeds (400 rpm, 600 rpm and 800 rpm), mesh sizes of SiC abrasives (600, 800 and 1000) and mesh sizes of EIPs (200, 300 and 400) against the percentage change in surface roughness value. The results concluded that the higher material removal in terms of Ra value as 77% is found with workpiece rotational speed 400 rpm followed by 600 mesh size of SiC abrasives and 200 mesh size of EIPs with finishing time as 40 minutes.