Rotational abrasive finishing (RAF); novel design for micro/nanofinishing

Abstract

Traditional finishing techniques, including grinding, honing, and lapping have several disadvantages and limitations due to their solid and rigid tools with complex geometries. To overcome these limitations, modern techniques known as nanofinishing techniques are introduced. This paper presents a new micro/nanofinishing technique used in different industries, especially high-tech industries like aerospace, military applications, and auto-making industry. This technique is called rotational abrasive finishing (RAF) method. In this technique, the medium inside the cylindrical workpiece is rotated using a bladed stirring axis. The medium hits against the surface of the workpiece while rotating in the opposite direction. In this way, material removal and finishing operation are achieved. In order to avoid medium discharge, two caps, one in upper side and one in the bottom side of workpiece, are used. RAF technique makes it possible to reduce surface roughness and achieve roughness in nanometer scales so that on our test workpiece roughness was reduced from 0.283 to 88 nm, indicating 70% improvement in surface quality by applying 20 min machining duration. It was practically proved that RAF is a fast, efficient, and cost-effective finishing technique for different products by which it is possible to achieve ultra-precise surface quality at nanometeric scales.