Contents

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Classification of AFM Machine

3. Experimental setup and procedure

4. Major areas of experimental research in AFM

11

5. Applications of AFM

15

6. Conclusion

16

Abstract Abrasive Flow Machining (AFM) was developed in 1960s as a method to deburr, polish, and radius difficult to reach surfaces like intricate geometries and edges by flowing a abrasive laden viscoelastic polymer over them. Based on the application, three different types of machines have been reported i.e, one way AFM, two way AFM and orbital AFM. Because of simplicity in analyzing the physics, analysis of AFM process always refers to two way AFM. It uses two vertically opposed hydraulic cylinders, which extrude medium back and forth through passage formed by the workpiece and tooling. Abrasion occurs wherever the medium passes through the highly restrictive passage. The key components of AFM process are the machine, tooling and abrasive medium. Process input parameters such as extrusion pressure, number of cycles, grit composition and type, tooling and fixture designs have impact on AFM output responses (such as surface finish and material removal). AFM is capable to produce surface finish (Ra) as good as 0.05 m, deburr holes as small as 0.2 mm and radius edges from 0.025 mm to 1.5mm. AFM has wide range of applications in industries such as aerospace, medical, electronics, automotive, precision dies and moulds as a part of their manufacturing activities. For better surface integrity, texture and its performance, continuous developments are taking place for modifying the existing AFM process technology and AFM machine configuration. To overcome some of the draw backs such as low finishing rate and inability to correct the form geometry, researchers have proposed various versions of AFM machines abbreviated as M-AFM, DBGAFF, CFAAFM, spiral polishing and R-AFF.

1. Introduction :Abrasive flow machining (AFM) was developed by Extrude Hone Corporation, USA in 1960. There are three types of AFM machines that have been reported in the literature: one way AFM [1], two way AFM [2] and orbital AFM [3]. Commonly used AFM is Twoway AFM in which two vertically opposed cylinders extrude medium back and forth through passages formed bythe workpiece and tooling as shown in Fig.1. AFM is used to deburr, radius and polish difficult to reach surfaces by extruding an abrasive laden polymer medium with very special rheological properties. It is widely used finishing process to finish complicated shapes and profiles. The polymer abrasive medium which is used in this process, possesses easy flowability, better self deformability and fine abrading capability.

Fig.1. Principle of material removal mechanism in two way AFM process

Layer thickness of the material removed is of the order of about 1 to 10 m. Best surface finish that has been achieved is 50 nm and tolerances are +/- 0.5 m. In this process tooling plays very important role in finishing of material, however hardly any literature is available on this of the process. In AFM, deburring, radiusing and polishing are performed simultaneously in a single operation in various areas including normally inaccessible areas. It can produce true round radii even on complex edges. AFM reduces surface roughness by 75 to 90 percent on cast and machined surfaces. It can process dozens of holes or multiple passage parts simultaneously with uniform results. Also air cooling holes on a turbine disk and hundreds of holes in a combustion liner can be deburred and radiused in a single operation. AFM maintains flexibility and jobs which require hours of highly skilled hand polishing can be processed in a few minutes; AFM produces uniform, repeatable and predictable results on an impressive range of
4

finishing operations. Important feature which differentiates AFM from other finishing processes is that it is possible to control and select the intensity and location of abrasion through fixture design, medium selection and process parameters. It has applications in many areas such as aerospace, dies and moulds, and automotive industries.

2. Classification of AFM Machine :As mentioned earlier, AFM machines are classified into three categories: one way AFM, two way AFM and orbital AFM. A brief discussion of the same is given below. 2.1 One way AFM process One way AFM process [1] apparatus is provided with a hydraulically actuated reciprocating piston and an extrusion medium chamber adapted to receive and extrude medium unidirectionally across the internal surfaces of a workpiece having internal passages formed therein, as shown in Fig.2. Fixture directs the flow of the medium from the extrusion medium chamber into the internal passages of the workpiece, while a medium collector collects the medium as it extrudes out from the internal passages. The extrusion medium chamber is provided with an access port to periodically receive medium from the collector into extrusion medium chamber.

Fig. 2. Unidirectional AFM process

The hydraulically actuated piston intermittently withdraws from its extruding position to open the extrusion medium chamber access port to collect the medium in the extrusion medium chamber. When the extrusion medium chamber is charged with the working medium, the operation is resumed. 2.2 Two-way AFM process Two way AFM machine [2] has two hydraulic cylinders and two medium cylinders. The medium is extruded, hydraulically or mechanically, from the filled chamber to the empty chamber via the restricted passageway through or past the workpiece surface to be abraded (Fig.1). Typically, the medium is extruded back and forth between the chambers for the desired fixed number of cycles. Counter bores, recessed areas and even blind cavities can be finished by using restrictors or mandrels to direct the medium flow along the surfaces to be finished. 2.3 Orbital AFM process In orbital AFM, the workpiece is precisely oscillated in two or three dimensions within a slow flowing pad of compliant elastic/plastic AFM medium. In Orbital AFM, surface and edge finishing are achieved by rapid, low-amplitude, oscillations of the workpiece relative to a self-forming elastic plastic abrasive polishing tool. The tool is a pad or layer of abrasive-laden elastic plastic medium (similar to that used in two way abrasive flow finishing), but typically higher in viscosity and more in elastic.

(a)
6

(b)
Fig.3. Orbital AFM (a) before start of finishing, (b) while finishing

Orbital AFM concept is to provide translational motion to the workpiece. When workpiece with complex geometry translates, it compressively displaces and tangentially slides across the compressed elastic plastic self-formed pad (layer of viscoelastic abrasive medium) which is positioned on the surface of a displacer which is roughly a mirror image of the workpiece, plus or minus a gap accommodating the layer of medium and a clearance. A small orbital oscillation (0.5 to 5 mm) circular eccentric planar oscillation is applied to the workpiece so that, at any point in its oscillation, a portion of its surface bumps into the medium pad, elastically compresses (5 to 20%) and slides across the medium as the workpiece moves along its orbital oscillation path. As the circular eccentric oscillation continues, different portions of the work piece slide across the medium. Ultimately, the full circular oscillation engages each portion of the surface. To assure uniformity, the highly elastic abrasive medium must be somewhat plastic in order to be self forming and to be continually presenting fresh medium to the polishing gap. For finishing applications, AFM medium allows the use of a simple arrangement for feeding and evacuating the abrasive medium pad to achieve uniform results. Regions of the medium pad that overly fill the gap generally get pushed aside and are shaped by the oscillation of the workpiece itself. Regions of medium in the gap that are worked

excessively become warmer, due to deformation heating, and consequently become less elastic and more plastic and are squeezed out of the work gap. Orbital AFMs small (0.5 to 5 mm) oscillation amplitude allows finishing highly complex geometries, since all areas except internal features that are even smaller than the oscillation amplitude are equally worked in the process. The controlled and cushioned, but still repeated, bumping of the workpiece against the self-shaped tool imparts beneficial residual compressive stresses to the workpiece surfaces. The tangential translation of the workpiece across the elastically compressed and cushioned abrasive particles provides remarkable improvements in surface roughness. Orbital AFM can be applied to many different workpieces from many different industries from precision ground aerospace components to cast aluminum wheels. Coining dies used to make proof coins can be polished from a 0.5 m before surface to an amazing 0.01 m after finish after only seven minutes of Orbital AFM processing. Orbital AFM is used to produce extremely fine finishes on the complex geometry of prosthetic devices while maintaining critical dimensional tolerances. Beverage container blow molds are finished using the Orbital AFM process dramatically reducing polishing costs while, at the same time, improving consistency, increasing production rates, and reducing the need for skilled labor.

3. Experimental Setup and Procedure :Fig.4 shows an assembly drawing of the table-top setup for an AFM process, designed and fabricated by the authors. The setup is mounted on the work table with the help of steady rests. The configuration is a single cylinder, one-way AFM setup which comprises of single media cylinder, piston, end and mid support plates, work-piece holder with clamp and guiding fixtures, and nozzle to match work-piece profile. The cylindrical work pieces of varying passage geometries, as given in the table1, are placed in the work holder. The setup works as described below. The mechanical motion/rotation of the lead screw results in the forward translational motion of the piston inside the media cylinder. During this movement, the piston pressurizes the media in the cylinder in a forward direction and extrudes it through the work piece surface. As a result, the abrasive laden media abrades the work-piece placed in the work holder. The forward direction of the piston is reversed mechanically after completing the stroke and the media is refilled in the media cylinder from the media collector during the reverse stroke. This combination of one forward and reverse stroke completes one cycle of the AFM process. The work-pieces are machined for a predetermined number of cycles. After the machining is over, the work-pieces are taken out from the setup and cleaned with acetone before any measurement is taken. The instrument used to measure surface roughness, Ra value of the finished work-piece, is Tally Surf portable tester. For
8

material removal measurement, an electronic weight balance having accuracy up to 10gm has been used. Procedure The experiments were performed and micromachining by AFM technique conducted on cylindrical work-piece surfaces of varying cross-sections and lengths having single vent/passage, three vents/passage & five vents/passages for media outflow with brass as work material. For preparing these specimens, the brass section is machined at the predetermined cutting conditions. The other/inner side of the section is milled to get the required passage geometry. From this section, the pieces are cut in the desired size and then filed so as to make them of desirable dimensions. The media used for the present experimentation is a mixture of 3 of the following readily available and mutually miscible constituents in predetermined amounts, Waxpol Polishing paste, AP-3 Grease & Base Oil. The abrasives used in the media are silicon carbide. The mixture of media is mixed with the abrasive particles of specified mesh size in a definite proportion to achieve the desired percentage concentration of abrasive particles by weight. Percentage concentration of abrasive by weight is defined as, Percentage concentration of abrasive = __________Weight of abrasive particle______________ x 100 Weight of abrasive particle + Weight of polishing particle

Based on the results of earlier performed experiments, four important variables are identified - the number of cycles, abrasive percentage concentration, abrasive mesh size, media flow speed and are kept constant. The experiments are performed according to the plan given in Table 1, which is explained below. Values of variable parameters and of constant parameters are given in this table. All experiments were conducted on work-piece surfaces comprising of cylindrical sections of varying crosssections and lengths having 1, 3 or 5 vents/passages for media outflow with brass as work material. Material removal and surface roughness values were output responses measured as performance indicators in each case.

Fig. 4. Experimental setup of AFM 10

4. Major areas of experimental research in abrasive flow finishing :4.1 Process parameters and their influence on output responses (Ra and MR) Experimental investigations have been carried out by various researchers to investigate the effects of process parameters like extrusion pressure, number of cycles, viscosity, abrasive concentration and grain size on the output responses namely, surface finish and material removal during AFM. The controllable input parameters are shown in Fig.4. Rhoades [4-6] experimentally investigated the basic principle of AFM process and identified its control parameters. He observed that when the medium is suddenly forced through restrictive passage then its viscosity temporarily rises. Significant material removal is observed only when medium is thickened. The amount of abrasion during AFM depends on design of tooling, extrusion pressure, medium viscosity and medium flow volume. All these parameters ultimately change the number of particles interacting with the workpiece and the force acting on individual abrasive grain. A higher volume of medium flow increases number of interacting abrasive grains with the workpiece, hence more abrasion takes place. Number of cycles depend on the velocity of medium, during a given time period. Flow pattern of medium depends on its slug (medium exiting the workpiece) flow speed, medium rheology and passage size (cross-sectional area). AFM can be used in industrial applications such as precision deburring, edge contouring, surface finish, removal of thermal recast layers, etc. Williams and Rajurkar [8] used the full factorial experimental design to study the effect of medium viscosity and extrusion pressure on metal removal and surface roughness. Mediums viscosity effect is more significant on material removal as compared to extrusion pressure. It is also reported that major change in the surface finish is observed after finishing for a few cycle only. 4.2 Process modeling and optimization Williams and Rajurkar [12] developed a stochastic model of AFM generated surfaces by using Data Dependent Systems (DDS) methodology. They have estimated the ratio of surface roughness peak to valley height (Rz) to centerline average surface roughness value (Ra) by DDS methodology and found to be between 1.4 and 2.2 for the AFM process. It was established in their research that AFM finished surface profiles possess two distinct wavelengths, a large wavelength that corresponds to the main path of abrasive while the small wavelength is associated with the cutting edges. Good agreement is found between the primary frequency ranges obtained in DDS modeling
11

and those derived from spectral analysis function. It is stated that these frequency bands are related to different material removal modes in AFM; consequently, the mechanism of material removal in AFM is considered to consist of ploughing responsible for creation of characteristic flow lines and micro-cutting. They also proposed an expression for estimating the abrasive grain wear and the number of active grains (Cd). The estimated value of Cd is used as a cutting life criterion for abrasives. For small number of cycles its value should remain fairly stable but with more and more processing the abrasive particles may fracture thereby increasing the Cd value. The downturn of Cd value indicates that the medium has absorbed too much work piece material and need replacement. Jain et al. [13] also carried out simulation of finished surface profile and material removed considering the interaction of abrasive grains with workpiece. Rajeshwar et al. [14] proposed a mathematical simulation model to determine the characteristics of the medium flow during finishing and its experimental verification was carried out. This model was developed using constitutive equations of Maxwell model considering the medium characteristics as nonnewtonian flow. They reported that a linear relationship exists between shear stress acting on the surface and the layer thickness of material removed. A finite element approach was developed by Jain et. al. [13] for prediction of the stresses developed during finishing of a cylindrical passage by AFM process (axi-symmetric flow). In their study it is assumed that medium exhibits linear viscous flow property and medium properties are independent of temperature and are constant with regards to time and space. They also presented a theoretical model which is based upon the consideration that abrasion process in AFM i.e., combination of micro-ploughing and micro-cutting by assuming that all the abrasive particles are spherical in shape having a single cutting edge with same size. It is also assumed in this model that the load acting on each particle is constant and every grain achieves the same penetration depth depending upon applied load.

12

4.3 Monitoring of AFM process For online monitoring of material removal and surface roughness in AFM process, Williams and Rajurkar [23] applied acoustic emission technique (elastic stress waves generated by the rapid release of strain energy within a material due to a rearrangement of its internal structure is called "acoustic emission"). In a full factorial experiment, the effect of extrusion pressure, medium viscosity, abrasive grit size, number of cycles, and work piece material was investigated on material removal, root mean square of acoustic emission signal (AERMS), and surface roughness improvement. From the above parameters only grit size showed insignificant affect on material removal. They studied acoustic emission signals for grinding to analyze the mechanism involved in AFM and found that the acoustic emission signal is highly dependent on the characteristics of the initial surface roughness of the workpiece. The AERMS of the signal is sensitive to extrusion pressure and other AFM process parameters, which affect material removal. They used Data Dependent Systems technique to analyze the acoustic emission signal acquired during AFM processing. In DDS analysis, they found that main root of frequency of signal was around 160 kHz and secondary root with less power had a frequency around 80-90 kHz. They reported the fact that the higher frequency
13

component is associated with the ploughing mechanism which would agree with the results obtained during grinding. They also found that aluminum workpiece give stronger signals than steel workpiece because of higher material removal from aluminum workpiece as compared to steel under identical finishing conditions. This suggests a strong correlation between material removal rate and acoustic signal in AFM. 4.4 Recent developments in AFM processes Though there are many advantages of AFM process, it has a few disadvantages also, such as low finishing rate, and incapability to correct the form geometry. Many researchers have been working to improve the finishing rate, surface integrity and compressive residual stresses produced on the workpiece surface. Singh and Shan [24] applied magnetic field around the workpiece in AFM and observed that magnetic field significantly affect the material removal and change in surface roughness. With the application of magnetic field, less number of cycles are required for the higher material removal. Higher material removal and higher change in surface roughness are observed (in case of brass as workpiece material) with the low flow rates of medium and high magnetic flux density. Ravi Sankar et.al., [25] tried to improve finishing rate, material removal and surface texture by placing drill bit in the medium flow path called Drill Bit Guided Abrasive Flow Finishing (DBG-AFF) (Fig.5). The inner part of medium slug flows along the helical flute which creates random motion among the abrasives in inner region of the medium. This causes reshuffling of abrasive particles at outer region. Hence, comparatively more number of new and fresh abrasive grains interact with the workpiece surface. From the experimental results, it is concluded that the abrasive traverse path is longer than the AFM abrasive traverse path in each cycle. It results in higher finishing rate in DBG-AFF as compared to AFM. Material removal is found to decrease with decrease in drill bit diameter.

14

Fig.5. Sectional front view of tooling in the finishing region in DBG-AFF process and top view of medium splitting through twin slotted fixture plate.

5. Applications of AFM :5.1 Automotives The demand for this process is increasing among car and two wheeler manufacturers as it is capable to make the surfaces smoother for improved air flow and better performance. AFM process is used to enhance the performance of high-speed automotive engines. AFM process is capable to finish automotive and medical parts, and turbine engine components.

15

Internal passages within a turbine engine diffuser are polished to increase air flow to the combustion chamber of the engine. The rough, power robbing cast surfaces are improved from 80-90% regardless of surface complexities. 5.2 Dies and Moulds Since in the AFM process, abrading medium conforms to the passage geometry, complex shapes can be finished with ease. Dies are ideal workpieces for the AFM process as they provide the restriction for medium flow, typically eliminating fixturing requirements. The uniformity of stock removal by AFM permits accurate 'sizing' of undersized precision die passages. The original 2 m Ra (EDM finish) is improved to 0.2 m with a stock removal of (EDM recast layer) 0.025mm per surface.

6. Conclusions :The following conclusions have been derived from the above study: 1. Vent/passage considerations for media outflow in work-piece surface significantly affects performance measures, material removal (MR) and surface roughness (Ra value) in abrasive flow machining. 2. Micro machining work-piece surfaces having single vent/passage for media outflow by abrasive flow machining produced better results in comparison with work-piece surfaces having multiple vents. 3. Work-piece surfaces having single vent/passage for media outflow have higher material removal and more improvement in surface roughness and the performance measures decrease with increase in the number of vents for media outflow. 4. The change in surface roughness, Ra increases with the increase in length of the work-piece and decreases with the increase in cross section of the work-piece. 5. As the length of the work-piece increases, material removal increases while the surface roughness value decreases.

16