Magnetorheological finishing of low-gradient curved surfaces based on four-axis linkage technique

Abstract

Based on the distribution characteristic of magnetic field along the polish wheel, the four-axis linkage technique is advanced to replace a standard five-axis one to figure low-gradient optical surfaces with a raster tool-path in magnetorheological finishing (MRF). After introducing the fundaments of such simplification, the figuring reachability of a four-axis system for the low-gradient optics was theoretically analyzed. Further validation including magnetic field intensity and influence function characteristic was performed to establish its application. To demonstrate the correctness, feasibility and applicability of such technique, a K4 spherical part was figured by two iterations of MRF with surface form error improved to 0.219λ PV and 0.027λ RMS. Meanwhile, the surface roughness was also improved a lot in MRF process. These theoretical analyses and experimental results both indicate that high form accuracy and excellent surface quality can be obtained by using the four-axis linkage technique in the process of figuring low-gradient optical elements, and the four-axis linkage system undoubtedly is much more easy to control and much more economical.