New water-based fluids as alternatives to oil-based fluids in superfinishing processes

Abstract

To reduce the environmental impact and improve the manufacturing productivity, many manufacturers are replacing the oil-based grinding fluids in their grinding processes with water-based ones. However, wholly oil-based grinding fluids are still used in superfinishing processes, in which the replacement is highly desired. To investigate the feasibility of the desired replacement, superfinishing experiments were conducted on hardened steels supplied with oil-based and water-based grinding fluids, and the superfinishing characteristics were investigated. Based on the findings, new water-based grinding fluids introducing ultrafine bubbles were developed. In superfinishing experiments, the machining performances of the developed fluids matched those of oil-based fluids.