Abstract
The ultra-precision polishing method using MR fluid has come into the spotlight for polishing metals and optical materials. The MR fluid jet polishing process can be controlled using a change of viscosity by an imposed magnetic field. The MR fluid used for polishing process is a mixture of CI particles, DI water, $Na_2CO_3$ and glycerin. The efficiency of polishing depends on parameters such as polishing time, magnetic field, stand-off distance, pressure, etc. In this paper, the MR fluid jet polishing was used to polish nickel and brass mold materials, which is used to fabricate backlight units for 3-D optical devices in mobile display industries. In MR jet polishing, ferromagnetic materials like nickel can decrease the polishing efficiency by interaction with the cohesiveness of the MR fluid more than non-ferromagnetic materials like copper. A series of tests with different polishing times showed that the surface roughness of brass (Ra=1.84 nm) was lower than that of nickel (Ra=2.31 nm) after polishing for 20 minutes.
