Effects of tool surface irregularities on machining rate of a hydrodynamic polishing process

Abstract

The effect of tool surface irregularities on the machining rate of the hydrodynamic polishing process is examined in this study. It is proposed that the tool surface irregularities will affect the film thickness or shear stress distribution between the tool and the work surface. Accordingly, the machining rate of this process is affected. Based on the elastohydrodynamic lubrication theorem and the machining mechanism of this process, the relationship between machining rate and tool surface topography is derived by the statistical analysis. It is shown that the machining rate has a linear relationship with the average variance of tool surface irregularities. The sensitivity of this relationship depends on the average film thickness. A large film thickness will result in a reduction of surface irregularities on machining rate. However, the randomness of machining rate due to the variation of tool surface topography cannot be effectively improved by increasing the film thickness. The experimental study shows that the qualitative and quantitative trends of machining rate verse tool surface irregularities can be well predicted by analytical analysis.