Two-dimensional vibration-assisted magnetic abrasive finishing of stainless steel SUS304

Traditional magnetic abrasive finishing (MAF) involves unidirectional polishing of surface but suffers the drawback of forming deep scratches, resulting in poor surface quality. This study attempts to enhance the polishing efficiency of MAF by adding vibration to the platform, focusing on the fabrication of the two-dimensional vibration-assisted MAF (2D VAMAF) setup. Experiments are conducted with variations in parameter levels of 2D VAMAF. Comparison of finished surface results shows superiority of 2D VAMAF in obtaining lower surface roughness and mirror surface quality. In addition, this study uses the Taguchi experimental design method to obtain the optimal parameter combination of 2D VAMAF for surface roughness improvement. The optimal combination obtained includes working gap (1 mm) and weight of SiC, steel particles, and machining fluid (1 g, 1.5 g and 3 g, respectively); frequency of vibration along X and Y directions (16.67 Hz); rotational speed of magnet (500 rpm); and size of SiC and steel particles (8000 and #120, respectively). With 5-min 2D VAMAF under optimal parameter combination, the surface roughness of a stainless steel SUS304 workpiece can be reduced from 0.13 to 0.03 μm, an improvement of 77 %. Experimental results reveal that 2D VAMAF can indeed improve surface quality with a shorter processing time and a smaller amount of abrasives required, both of which contribute to cost reduction. With less pollution incurred, 2D VAMAF is a more environmental friendly machining method in industry.