A curious observation of phenomena occurring during lapping/polishing processes.

Yue Yang,Haonan Li,Dragos Axinte,Zhirong Liao

doi:10.1098/rspa.2019.0304

Abstract

We demonstrate that the kinematics of the polishing process is more intriguing than an idealized planetary movement as all the previous studies reported. In reality, the workpiece is pseudo-constrained by the planetary carrier and because of this its relative motion to the polishing pad also incurs a 'parasitic' movement that previously has not been observed. Here, we report and model this parasitic movement and quantify its effect upon the workpiece surface roughness. Using a motion capture system, the principal and 'parasitic' movements between the sample and polishing tool have been tracked and our models validated. It is proved that considering this parasitic movement the prediction of workpiece surface morphology can be significantly improved when compared with the idealized approach (i.e. planetary). Our observations and modelling framework open the avenue to carefully consider the compliance between the tools and workpiece in other manufacturing processes for accurate predictions of the process outcomes.

Highlights

The research topics related to manufacturing processes might be considered on the applicative side of engineering science, as sometimes they are made to work using empirical methods, some intriguing problems could emerge at their close observation.royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspa Proc
Previous models of polishing processes have been simplistic and idealized, and for this reason, the prediction of resulting workpiece surface morphology still relies on empirical approaches
We proposed a mathematical model to reveal the real polishing condition, i.e. trajectories of points on the moving bodies, considering the clearance effects to enable the prediction of workpiece surface roughness in polishing processes

Summary

Introduction

The research topics related to manufacturing processes might be considered on the applicative side of engineering science, as sometimes they are made to work using empirical methods, some intriguing problems could emerge at their close observation (table 1).royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspa Proc. Surface roughness, containing combinations of high spatial frequencies, could be considered a key output of the machining operations [1,2] with implications on part functional performance (e.g. fatigue, wear) [3,4] and aesthetics. In this respect, for material removal processes with deterministic kinematics and defined (e.g. milling, turning) or undefined (e.g. grinding) cutting edges, analytical models for prediction of surface morphology (e.g. roughness) exist [5,6]. These are usually based on time-dependent trajectories of the cutting edges transferring their profiles on the workpiece surface while considering various secondary effects (e.g. ploughing, rubbing, elastic recovery) [7,8] that can occur at the cutting edge–workpiece interfaces

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