Modeling and simulation of cylindrical electro-chemical magnetic abrasive machining of AISI-420 magnetic steel

The objective of the present research is to simulate cylindrical electro-chemical magnetic abrasive machining (C-EMAM) process for magnetic stainless steel (AISI-420). C-EMAM is a new hybrid machining process used for high efficiency finishing of cylindrical jobs made of advanced engineering materials. The material is removed from the workpiece surface due to simultaneous effect of abrasion and electrochemical dissolution. Finite element method is used to calculate the distribution of magnetic field between the magnetic poles in which cylindrical shaped workpiece is placed. The cutting forces responsible for abrasion are calculated from the magnetic forces due to gradient of magnetic field in the working gap. The effect of electrochemical dissolution and abrasion-assisted dissolution are incorporated into the C-EMAM process model using empirical relation for average anodic current. The empirical relation is correlated with the input parameters in the present system based on experimental results. Finally a surface roughness model is developed by considering total volume of material removed with the assumption of triangular surface profile. The simulation results for material removal and surface roughness are validated using experimental results. The simulated results agree with experimental observations. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.