Nanofinishing of Steel Rollers (SUS 304) Using Diamond-Based Loosely Bonded Magnetic Abrasives

Nanofinishing of steel rollers (SUS304) has been done using loosely bonded diamond-based magnetic abrasives prepared by homogeneous mixing of magnetic powder [Fe powder of 300 mesh size (51.4 μm)], abrasive powder [diamond particles of 200 mesh size (74 μm)], and lubricant. A series of experiments have been conducted using in-house fabricated setup. It has been found that magnetic flux density, quantity of magnetic abrasives, rotational speed of workpiece, and percentage of abrasives in magnetic abrasives have significant effect on PISF. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) photographs show that the surface generated by turning on lathe consists of deep scratches (pits and digs). These scratches have been removed by MAF resulting in improved surface finish, but fine scratching marks produced by MAF appear on the surface. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) micrographs show that valley to peak height is reduced considerably by MAF, and there is no bad effect of MAF on surface of finished workpiece. The surface roughness is reduced to 10 nm Ra as measured by AFM. Diamond-based loosely bonded magnetic abrasives have nanofinishing capability when used in MAF.