Analyzing Process Parameters for Finishing of Small Holes Using Magnetically Assisted Abrasive Flow Machining Process

The necessity of fine surface finish on the interior surfaces with no imperfections is a significant thought in various manufacturing components like hydraulic chambers, bearings etc. This analysis presents one of the non-traditional technique of finishing i.e., magnetically assisted abrasive flow machining for finishing the interior surfaces of small holes of aluminum tubes with mechanically alloyed cum sintered magnetic abrasives. These abrasives have been developed in a ball mill i.e., attritor. The central composite design was proposed to perform the experiments to discuss the effects of process parameters like extrusion pressure, magnetic flux density, and no. of processing cycles on percent improvement in surface finish, and a mathematical model of these parameters was established. It was concluded that surface finish is improved up to 72.7% (Ra 0.22 µm) which is in close conformity with optimized value of 72.3% at optimum conditions. Scanning electron microscopy has been carried out to understand the surface texture of the machined surfaces. © 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.