Surface quality of Zirconia (ZrO2) Parts in shear-thickening high-efficiency polishing

Abstract High-efficiency shear-thickening polishing (HE-STP) technology was used on ultraprecision machining of Zirconia (ZrO 2 ). The STP slurry (STPS) with SiC abrasives was prepared for HE-STP process and its rheological property was studied. The STP machining performance of ZrO 2 parts was analyzed. Results show that STPS with SiC abrasive exhibits shear-thickening performance. With SiC size of 0.1 μm, the material removal rate (MRR) changed from 3.05 to 2.72 μm/h after 90 mins´ polishing; and decreased from 2.48 to 2.30 μm/h after 150 mins´HE-STP. The average surface roughness reduced from R a 85.4 to R a 25.7 nm after 150 mins´HE-STP. The maximum peak-to-valley height (PV) ( R t ) of the Zirconia parts decreases as polishing time increases, finally, smooth surface, even with mirror effect can be achieved. This indicates that HE-STP with SiC abrasive could achieve high efficiency polishing of Zirconia (ZrO 2 ) parts with good surface quality.