Improving the surface quality using combined ultrasonic vibration and magnetic abrasive finishing method

With the development of manufacturing technology and advanced materials, improving surface quality has motivated researchers to study on modern methods of polishing. In this paper, a new non-contact ultrasonic abrasive finishing mechanism is designed and fabricated. This mechanism combines the function of ultrasonic vibrations and the magnetic abrasive finishing (MAF) process. A permanent magnet which is mounted on a horn has been used as the processing tool. This polishing tool is vibrated at an ultrasonic frequency with piezo-electric actuators. Ultrasonic energy and the relative motion between magnet and the workpiece are the stimulus of the steel grit abrasives for improving the surface quality. In order to take advantage of the cavitation collapse pressure, the components is immersed in water. The present work also studies the effect of parameters, i.e., finishing time and working gap between magnet pole and the workpiece on the surface roughness (Ra). The microscopic pictures of the finished surfaces and the roughness profile diagrams demonstrate the advantage of the proposed method.