Material Removal Rate in Polishing Polymethylmethacrylate Parts

Abstract

The investigation into the mechanism of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) polishing using dispersed systems of micro- and nanoparticles of polishing powders revealed that the formation of slurry particles in the processed material is driven by Förster resonance energy transfer between the energy levels of the polishing powder particles and the processed material. This transfer occurs within the open microcavity created by the surfaces of the processed material and the polishing powder particles, in a multimode regime. The material removal rate during PMMA polishing is determined by the combined coefficients of volumetric wear and the total lifetime of the excited states of clusters on the processed surface, along with the resulting quality factor of the resonator at all allowed frequencies of the discrete spectrum. The results of the theoretical calculation of the material removal rate during PMMA polishing are in good agreement with the data from the experimental determination of polishing performance, with a deviation of 1–3%.