ME 312: Manufacturing Technology-II

Finishing Processes

U. K. Komal
Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
IIT Guwahati

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati

 Why Finishing Processes??
• To ensure reliable performance and prolonged
service life of modern machinery.
• It’s components require to be manufactured with
high dimensional and geometrical accuracy with
high surface finish.
• The surface finish influences functional
characteristics like wear resistance, fatigue
strength, corrosion resistance and power loss due
to friction.
• Normal machining methods like turning, milling
or even classical grinding can not meet this
stringent requirement.
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 Honing

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 Honing

• Honing is a finishing process, in which a

tool called hone carries out a combined
rotary and reciprocating motion.
• Most honing is done on internal cylindrical
surface, such as automobile cylindrical
walls.
• The honing stones are held against the
workpiece with controlled light pressure.

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 Honing
• Honing tool used to improve the surface finish of bored or ground holes
• The honing tool consists of a set of aluminum-oxide or silicon carbide bonded
abrasives called stones
• The stones are mounted on a mandrel that rotates in the hole, applying a radial force
with a reciprocating axial motion, thus producing a crosshatched pattern

• A fluid is used to remove chips and to keep

temperatures low.
• Honing is also used on external cylindrical or flat
surfaces, and to remove sharp edges on cutting
tools and inserts.

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 Crosshatched Pattern
The cross hatch pattern is important for two reasons;

1. Oil retention on the cylinder wall

2. Rotation of the piston ring.

Excessively shallow or deeper cross hatch angles can

hinder or slow down the necessary ring rotation that
allows dissipation of heat.

Ideal cross hatch

angles 35-40
degrees

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 Advancement in Honing

• With conventional abrasive honing stick,

several strokes are necessary to obtain the
desired finish on the work piece.

• However, with introduction of high

performance diamond and cBN grits it is now
possible to perform the honing operation in
just one complete stroke.

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Process Parameters

Rotation speed

The critical process

parameters are:
Oscillation speed

Length and position of the stroke

Honing stick pressure

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 Effect of Process Parameters
The unit pressure should be selected so as to get minimum
surface roughness with highest possible MRR

Where,
Q = Material Removal Rate (MRR)
R = Surface Roughness

Effect of honing pressure on MRR and surface finish 9

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 Effect of Process Parameters
An increase of peripheral honing speed leads to enhancement of MRR
and decrease in surface roughness.

Effect of peripheral honing speed 10

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 Lapping

• It is a mechanical precision finishing

operation on flat or cylindrical surfaces
done to achieve High Dimensional
Accuracy
• Lapping is basically an abrasive process in
which loose abrasives function as cutting
points finding momentary support from the
laps
• Material removal in lapping usually ranges
from 0.003 to 0.03 mm but many reach
0.08 to 0.1 mm in certain cases.

Scheme of lapping process 11

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 Lapping
• The abrasive particles are embedded in the lap, or they may be carried
through a slurry

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 Lapping
Abrasives of lapping: Vehicle materials for lapping:
• Al2O3 and SiC, grain size 5-100μm ✓Machine oil
• Cr2O3, grain size 1-2 μm ✓Rapeseed oil
• B4C3, grain size 5-60 μm ✓Grease
• Diamond, grain size 0.5-5 μm

Technical parameters affecting lapping processes are:

❑ Unit pressure
❑ The grain size of abrasive
❑ Concentration of abrasive in the vehicle
❑ Lapping speed
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 Effect of Process Parameters
To maximize the MRR an optimum lapping Unit pressure in the range of p1-p2 gives
pressure and abrasive concentration in the the best values for MRR and roughness of
vehicle have to be chosen. the lapped surface.

Effect of abrasive content on MRR Effect of lapping pressure

on surface roughness and MRR
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 Effect of Process Parameters
• The grain size corresponding to permissible surface roughness and
maximum MRR may be different.
• Primary consideration is made on the permissible surface roughness in
selecting abrasive grain size

Effect of abrasive grain size on surface roughness and MRR

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Lapping….. A Versatile Process

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Lapping Applications

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Super Finishing: Abrasive Flow Machining (AFM)

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 Abrasive Flow Machining (AFM)
• Abrasive flow machining (AFM) was developed by Extrude Hone
Corporation, USA in 1960
• A purely mechanical abrasive machining process that finishes surfaces
and edges.
• Abrasive flow machining removes a small quantity of material by
flowing a semisolid abrasive laden putty over the surface to be finished
• Use of a viscous abrasive media flowing, under pressure, through or
across a workpiece
• Widely used finishing process to finish complicated shapes and profiles

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 Material Removal Mechanism
• A hydraulic ram forces the abrasive medium
through the workpiece
• As the abrasive medium flows through the
part, its velocity will change with the different
cross-sectional areas of the passageways
• The passageways with the greatest restriction
will produce the largest forces and the
highest velocity medium
• The result is a multipoint-cutting action
against the passageway walls from the
medium’s many small abrasive particles

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 AFM: Abrasive Media
• AFM medium is a pliable material that is resilient
enough to act as a self-forming grinding stone when
forced through a passageway
• The medium comprises a base and abrasive particles
• The base consists of an organic polymer and special
hydrocarbon gels; the specific composition of the base
determines the degree of stiffness exhibited by the
medium.
• The stiffest medium is used for abrading the largest
holes
• For abrasion of small holes or long passages use softer
medium is used
• Abrasive used: aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, boron
carbide, and diamond.

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Classification of AFM machine

Unidirectional AFM Two Way AFM

process 22

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Classification of AFM machine

(a) (b)

Orbital AFM (a) before start of finishing, (b) while finishing

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 Finishing of Different Features of Part

Finishing of three parts with Finishing of two parts but with Deburring/finishing
same configurations. different configurations of inaccessible holes

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 Advancement in AFM

Courtesy: Cheema et al. Developments in

abrasive flow machining: a review on
experimental investigations using abrasive
flow machining variants and
media. Proceedings of the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of
Engineering Manufacture. 2012;226(12):1951-
1962.

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AFM of Intake Manifold

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 Applications

Internal passages within turbine Medical implants Complex automotive

engine diffuser engine parts
Video1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QBc59YZYxA
Video2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnnpGR7mE44 27

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 Magnetic Abrasive Finishing (MAF)
• Produces a high level of surface quality
• Primarily controlled by magnetic field.
• Workpiece is kept between the two poles
(N and S) of a magnet.
• Granular magnetic abrasive composed of
ferromagnetic material and abrasive grains
• The necessary finishing pressure is applied by
electro-magnetically generated field.
• It uses a brush of magnetic abrasives for finish
machining
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 Magnetic Abrasive Finishing (MAF)

• A cylindrical workpiece is clamped into the

chuck of the spindle that provides the rotating
motion
• The workpiece can be a magnetic or a
nonmagnetic (ceramic) material
• Axial vibratory motion is provided by the
oscillating motion of the magnetic poles
relative to the workpiece
• A mixture of fine abrasives held in a
ferromagnetic material (magnetic abrasive
conglomerate) is used 29

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 Applications of MAF

• Cutting Tools
• Turbine Blades
• Air Foil
• Optics
• Capillary Tubes
• Biopsy Needles

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 References

• V. K. Jain, Advanced Machining Processes, Allied Publishers, 2009

• Hassan El-Hofy, Advanced Machining Processes, McGraw-Hill Prof
Med/Tech, 2005
• Helmi Youssef, Non-Traditional and Advanced Machining Technologies, CRC
Press, 2020
• V. K. Jain et al., Abrasive flow machining (AFM): An Overview, 2008

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