Experimental investigations into magnetic abrasive flow finishing process on aluminium 6061-T6

Abstract

The magnetic abrasive flow finishing (MAFF) process has been developed and investigated as an advanced fine finishing process. It is used for a surface finish (SF) of the straight and complex intricate profile using the ferromagnetic nature of abrasive media. This article presents an experimental investigation on the newly developed MAFF attachment, which was mounted on a shaper machine. A custom design workpiece fixture was used in MAFF attachment for the finishing of a straight hollow cylinder shape workpiece, which can easily modify based on workpiece shapes. A curved workpiece seat was prepared and fasting with two brass plates by nut and bolts arrangement. Taguchi design of experiment approach applied for experimentation on aluminium 6061-T6 workpiece material by MAFF setup. The main process parameters considered for experimentation are magnetic flux density (MFD), number of cycles, abrasive concentration, and piston speed while responses are material removal (MR) and surface finish (SF). The results found after finishing by MAFF were also compared with the AFF. It was identified that remarkable enhancements observed in MAFF responses. The finished surfaces were also observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (X-RD).