Experimental investigation into cutting forces and active grain density during abrasive flow machining

It is important to know cutting force components and active grain density during abrasive flow machining (AFM) as this information could be used to evaluate the mechanism involved in AFM. The results show that cutting force components and active grain density govern the surface roughness produced during AFM process. In this paper, an attempt has been made to study the influence of these two parameters, namely cutting force and active grain density, on the surface roughness. This study will help in developing a more realistic theoretical model. The present paper highlights a suitable two-component disc dynamometer for measuring axial and radial force components during AFM. The influence of three controllable variables (extrusion pressure, abrasive concentration and grain size) on the responses (material removal, reduction in surface roughness (R-a value), cutting forces and active grain density) are studied. The preliminary experiments are conducted to select the ranges of variables by using single-factor experimental technique. Five levels for abrasive concentration and six levels for extrusion pressure and abrasive grain size were used. A statistical 2(3) full factorial experimental technique is used to find out the main effect, interaction effect and contribution of each variable to the machined workpiece surface roughness. The machined surface textures are studied using a scanning electron microscope. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.