Optimizing highly reflective CNC abrasive polishing on aluminum sheets

Abstract

ABSTRACT The polishing industry’s demand for achieving a smooth, highly reflective surface, flat, particle-free metallic surface, crucial for imaging and optical applications has increased. As aluminum metallic mirrors are more in demand, an eco-friendly, cost-effective mechanical polishing procedure that can be carried out on a CNC milling machine is proposed. The proposed CNC Abrasive Polishing (CNC AP), performed on CNC machines achieves 3 nm roughness average with high reflectivity on aluminum sheets. The influence of machining parameters, such as including polishing wheel speed (S), depth of cut (DoC), feed rate (FR), and passes, to evaluate the surface quality (Ra), material removal rate, and reflectance were studied, using Response Surface Methodology. The experiments were conducted based on the L16 orthogonal array. A 3D optical profilometer, an atomic force microscope (AFM), and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with EDS are among the advanced tools used for analyzing polished surfaces. UV-VIS spectrophotometer measurements indicated a substantial 35% to 96% improvement in the optical qualities. Additionally, a simple visual reflective grid method was used to assess the deformation behavior of the reflective Al sheets.