Ultra-Precision Polishing of N-Bk7 Using an Innovative Self-Propelled Abrasive Fluid Multi-Jet Polishing Tool

Abstract

As the demand for optical glasses has increased, precision requirements for specific shapes, forms, surface textures, and sizes (miniaturization) have also increased. The standards and surface finishes applied to the reference mirrors used in measuring appliances are crucial. Hence, enhancements in figuring and surface finishing are indispensable to manufacturing industries. In this article, a novel self-propelled multi-jet abrasive fluid polishing technique is proposed for an ultra-precision polishing process in which a blade-less Tesla turbine was used as a prime mover. The turbine was characterized by high swirling velocity at the outlet; therefore, high levels of kinetic energy moving away from the turbine were used as polishing energy. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was also used to simulate the flow on the turbine blades. With a newly designed and manufactured polishing tool, the optimal polishing parameters for improving the surface roughness of crown optical glasses (N-BK7) were investigated. Taguchi's experimental approach, an L18 orthogonal array, was employed to obtain the optimal process parameters. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also conducted to determine the significant factors. The surface roughness has been improved by approximately 94.44% from (Ra) 0.36 μm to (Ra) 0.02 μm. This study also presents a discussion on the influence of significant factors on improving surface roughness.