Study on magnetic abrasive finishing of spiral grooves inside of aluminum cylinders

Finishing freeform complex surfaces with limited access has been raised as a challenging issue in advanced manufacturing industries. In this study, a new magnetic abrasive finishing (MAF) apparatus for finishing internal spiral grooves of a cylindrical tube is proposed. The MAF setup was installed on a CNC machine for performing experimental trials. A full factorial design approach was used and the results of the experiments were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique. Through this study, the effectiveness of finishing parameters including tool rotational speed, finishing time, and abrasive mesh number on the grooves’ surface roughness was investigated. Microscopic surface profiles and patterns demonstrate 70% improvement in the surface roughness.