Investigations into the burnishing of external cylindrical surfaces of 7030 Cu-Zn alloy

Abstract Burnishing is a process of finishing metal by compressing its surface layer by the application of a highly polished and hardened tool. Burnishing, being an application of the cold working process, reduces the surface roughness, increases the hardness of the surface layer which, in turn, improves the fatigue strength of the workpiece and improves its wear resistance. This paper presents an experimental investigation concerning the effect of different burnishing parameters on the surface finish and micro-hardness of the surface layer during a ball burnishing process. The analysis of the experimental data has been carried out using a response surface methodology to improve upon the reliability of the nature of the interaction between the process parameters. The effects of burnishing speed, feed, ball force and number of passes on the above-mentioned surface properties for 70 30 Cu-Zn alloy have been discussed. Two mathematical models correlating the process parameters and their interactions with the response parameters have been derived. These models can be used in selecting optimum burnishing process parameters.