• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.761-766
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• 2012

Abrasive fluid jet polishing processes have been used for the polishing of optical surfaces with complex shapes. However, unstable and unpredictable polishing spots can be generated due to the fundamental property of an abrasive fluid jet that it begins to lose its coherence as the jet exits a nozzle. To solve such problems, MR fluid jet polishing has been suggested using a mixture of abrasives and MR fluid whose flow properties can be readily changed according to imposed magnetic field intensity. The MR fluid jet can be stabilized by imposed magnetic fields, thus it can remain collimated and coherent before it impinges upon the workpiece surface. In this study, MR fluid jet polishing characteristics of fused silica glass were investigated according to injection time and magnetic field intensity variations. Material removal rates and 3D profiles of the generated polishing spots were investigated. From the results, it can be confirmed that the developed MR fluid polishing system can be applied for stable and predictable precise polishing of optical parts.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.28 no.8
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• pp.929-935
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• 2011

As a deterministic finishing process for the optical parts having complex surface, machining performance of the magnetorheological(MR) fluid jet polishing of optical glass are studied and compared with a general water jet polishing. First, design of the jet polishing system which has the special electromagnet-nozzle unit for stabilizing the slurry jet based on MR fluid and the change of jet shape as magnetic field is applied are explained. Second, for the BK7 glass, machining spot and its cross section profile are analyzed and the unique effect of MR fluid jet polishing is shown. Third, both material removal depth and surface roughness are explored in order to investigate the polishing performance of MR fluid jet. With the same ceria abrasives and amount in the polishing slurries, MR fluid jet shows superior machining performance compared to water jet and the difference of material removal mechanism and its resulting performance are described.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.767-772
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• 2012

Generally, abrasive fluid jet polishing system has been used for polishing of complex shape or freeform surface which has steep local slopes. In the system, abrasive fluid jet is injected through a nozzle at high pressure; however, it is inevitable to lose its coherence as the jet exits a nozzle. This problem causes incorrect polishing results because of unstable and unpredictable workpiece material removal at the impact zone. In order to solve this problem, MR fluid jet polishing method has been developed using a mixture of abrasive and MR fluid which can maintain highly collimated and coherent jet by applied magnetic field. Thus, in this study, an injection nozzle and an electromagnetic module, most important parts in the MR polishing system, were designed and verified by magnetic field and flow analysis. As the results of experiments, it can be confirmed that stable fluid jets for polishing were generated since smooth W-shapes and uniform spot size were observed regardless of standoff distance changes.