Analysis of material removal rate and stability in lap-magnetorheological finishing

A magnetorheological finishing (MRF) method, which is named lap-MRF, is proposed in this paper. A lap, instead of a large polishing wheel, is used to expand the polishing area, which significantly improves the material removal rate. Lap-MRF uses the flexible magnetorheological fluid (MR fluid) as a polishing pad to match the surface well. Moreover, the MR fluid in the polishing zone can be renewed continuously to ensure the stability of the material removal rate. The principle of Lap-MRF and the theoretical model of the material removal rate are presented. The effects of the spindle speed and the working gap distance on the polishing normal pressure and the material removal rate are analyzed. Finally, a series of polishing experiments and simulations are carried out. The volume removal rate for K9 is up to 0.76  mm3  /  min and the comprehensive material removal stability is 6.7%. Using MATLAB simulation process method, the convergence efficiency for a ϕ1000  mm mirror is 98.5%. The results verify the validity of the proposed method.