Hybrid polishing of fused silica glass with bound-abrasive polishers in conjunction with vibration

Abstract

We incorporated ultrasonic vibration into recently developed fixed-abrasive pellets in an attempt to enhance MRR and/or to improve manufactured surface quality. A prototype ultrasonic vibrator, the heart of the polishing head, was designed and the related experimental work was performed on an in-house built setup in conjunction with the constructed head. The vibrator is devised for the generation of 2-D tool path despite using only one actuator in lieu of two actuators in conventional 2-D ultrasonic machining systems. We then combined the ultrasonic vibration with fixed abrasive polishing pellets to machine fused silica glass. Machining experiments reveal that MRR is considerably increased up to <50% upon the introduction of ultrasonic vibration (UV) whilst surface roughness is not degraded appreciably.