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Unit Second

Surface Finishing
Prof. Shashank S. Bhamble Mechanical Engineering Department

Shri Sant Gajanan Maharaj College of Engineering, Shegaon

Advanced Manufacturing Techniques

HONING (METALWORKING)
Honing is a manufacturing process that produces a precision surface on a workpiece by scrubbing an abrasive stone against it along a controlled path. Honing is primarily used to improve the geometric form of a surface, but may also improve surface texture.

Honing stones
Honing is classified as an abrasive machining manufacturing process. As with all abrasive machining processes, material is cut away from the workpiece using abrasive grains. In the case of honing, the grains are bound together with an adhesive to form a honing stone (or hone). Generally, honing grains are irregularly shaped and about 10 to 50 micrometers in diameter (300 to 1,500 mesh grit). Smaller grain sizes produce a smoother surface on the workpiece. A honing stone is similar to a grinding wheel in many ways, but honing stones are usually more friable so that they conform to the shape of the workpiece as they wear in. To counteract their friability, honing stones may be treated with wax or sulfur to improve life; wax is usually preferred for environmental reasons.[1] Any abrasive material may be used to create a honing stone, but the most commonly used are corundum, silicon carbide, CBN or diamond. The choice of abrasive material is usually driven by the characteristics of the workpiece material. In most cases, corundum or silicon carbide are acceptable, but extremely hard workpiece materials must be honed using superabrasives.

Process mechanics
Since honing stones look similar to grinding wheels, it is tempting to think of honing as a form of low-stock removal grinding. Instead, it is better to think of it as a self-truing grinding process. In grinding, the wheel follows a simple path. For example, in plunge grinding a shaft, the wheel moves in towards the axis of the part, grinds it, and then moves back out. Since each slice of the wheel repeatedly contacts the same slice of the workpiece, any inaccuracies in the geometric shape of the grinding wheel will be transferred onto the part. Therefore, the accuracy of the finished workpiece geometry is limited to the accuracy of the truing dresser. The accuracy becomes even worse as the grind wheel wears, so truing must occur periodically to reshape it. The limitation on geometric accuracy is overcome in honing because the honing stone follows a complex path. In bore honing for example, the stone moves along two paths simultaneously. The stones are pressed radially outward to enlarge the hole while they simultaneously oscillate axially. Due to the oscillation, each slice of the honing stones touch a large area of the workpiece. Therefore, imperfections in the honing stone's profile cannot transfer to the bore. Instead both the bore and the honing stones conform to the average shape of the honing stones' motion, which in the case of bore honing is a cylinder. This averaging effect occurs in all honing processes; both the workpiece and stones erode until they conform to the average shape of the stones' cutting surface. Since the honing stones tend to erode towards a desired geometric shape, there is no need to true them. As a result of the averaging effect, the accuracy of a honed component often exceeds the accuracy of the machine tool that created it. The path of the stone is not the only difference between grinding and honing machines, they also differ in the stiffness of their construction. Honing machines are much more compliant than grinders. The purpose of grinding is to achieve a tight size tolerance. To do this, the grinding wheel
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Advanced Manufacturing Techniques

must be moved to an exact position relative to the workpiece. Therefore a grinding machine must be very stiff and its axes must move with very high precision. A honing machine, ironically, is relatively inaccurate and compliant. Instead of relying on the accuracy of the machine tool, it relies on the averaging effect between the stone and the workpiece. In fact, compliance is a requirement of a honing machine that is necessary for the averaging effect to occur. This leads to an obvious difference between the two machines: in a grinder the stone is rigidly attached to a slide, while in honing the stone is actuated with pneumatic or hydraulic pressure. High-precision workpieces are usually ground and then honed. Grinding determines the size, and honing improves the shape. The difference between honing and grinding is not always distinct. Some grinders have complex movements and are self-truing, and some honing machines are equipped with in-process gaging for size control. Many through-feed grinding operations rely on the same averaging effect as honing.

Honing configurations
Track/Raceway honing Spherical honing OD through-feed honing (taper and straight) Flat honing Bore honing

Comparisons to grinding
Superfinishing is more expensive than grinding. Superfinishing has lower cutting efficiency because of smaller chips. Superfinishing has lower material removal rate. Superfinishing stones are softer and wear more quickly. Superfinishing stones don't need to be dressed. A superfinishing machine must move the stone in a compound or orbital motion relative to the part surface. In honing, the contact area between the abrasive and workpiece are larger than in grinding.[3] Unlike polishing, superfinishing can improve the geometric form of an object. The primary purpose of polishing is to improve surface finish without concern for form.

Economics
Since honing is a high precision process, it is also relatively expensive. Therefore it is only used in components that demand the highest level of precision. It is typically the last manufacturing operation before the part is shipped to a customer. The dimensional size of the object is established by preceding operations, the last of which is usually grinding. Then the part is honed to improve a form characteristic such as roundness, flatness, cylindricity, or sphericity.

Performance advantages of honed surfaces


Since honing is a relatively expensive manufacturing process, it can only be economically justified for applications that require very good form accuracy. The improved shape after honing may result in a quieter running or higher precision component.

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Advanced Manufacturing Techniques

LAPPING
Lapping is a machining operation, in which two surfaces are rubbed together with an abrasive between them, by hand movement or by way of a machine. This can take two forms. The first type of lapping (traditionally called grinding), typically involves rubbing a brittle material such as glass against a surface such as iron or glass itself (also known as the "lap" or grinding tool) with an abrasive such as aluminum oxide, emery, silicon carbide, diamond, etc., in between them. This produces microscopic conchoidal fractures as the abrasive rolls about between the two surfaces and removes material from both. The other form of lapping involves a softer material for the lap, which is "charged" with the abrasive. The lap is then used to cut a harder materialthe workpiece. The abrasive embeds within the softer material which holds it and permits it to score across and cut the harder material. Taken to the finer limit, this will produce a polished surface such as with a polishing cloth on an automobile, or a polishing cloth or polishing pitch upon glass or steel. Taken to the ultimate limit, with the aid of accurate interferometry and specialized polishing machines or skilled hand polishing, lensmakers can produce surfaces that are flat to better than 30 nanometers. This is one twentieth of the wavelength of light from the commonly used 632.8 nm helium neon laser light source. Surfaces this flat can be molecularly bonded (optically contacted) by bringing them together under the right conditions. (This is not the same as the wringing effect of Johansson blocks, although it is similar).

Operation
By way of example, a piece of lead may be used as the lap, charged with emery, and used to cut a piece of hardened steel. The small plate shown in the first picture is that of a hand lapping plate. That particular plate is made of cast iron. In use, a slurry of emery powder would be spread on the plate and the workpiece simply rubbed against the plate, usually in a "figure-eight" pattern. The second picture is that of a commercially available lapping machine which is needed for this process. The lap or lapping plate in this machine is 30 cm (12") in diameter. For a commercial machine that is about the smallest size available. At the other end of the size spectrum, machines with eight to ten foot diameter plates are not uncommon and systems with tables 30 feet in diameter have been constructed. Referring to the second picture again, the lap is the large circular disk on the top of the machine. On top of the lap are two rings. The workpiece would be placed inside one of these rings. A weight would then be placed on top of the workpiece. The weights can also be seen in the picture along with two fiber spacer disks that are just used to even the load. In operation, the rings stay in one location as the lapping plate rotates beneath them. In this machine, a small slurry pump can be seen at the side, this pump feeds abrasive slurry onto the rotating lapping plate. When there is a requirement to lap very small specimens (from 3" down to a few millimetres), a lapping jig can be used to hold the material while it is lapped (see Image 3, lapping machine and jig). A jig allows precise control of the orientation of the specimen to the lapping plate and fine adjustment of the load applied to the specimen during the material removal process. Due to the dimensions of such small samples, traditional loads and weights are too heavy as they would destroy delicate materials. The jig sits in a cradle on top of the lapping plate and the dial on the front of the jig indicates the amount of material removed from the specimen.
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Advanced Manufacturing Techniques

Two-piece lapping
Where the mating of the two surfaces is more important than the flatness, the two pieces can be lapped together. The principle is that the protrusions on one surface will both abrade and be abraded by the protrusions on the other, resulting in two surfaces evolving towards some common shape (not necessarily perfectly flat), separated by a distance determined by the average size of the abrasive particles, with a surface roughness determined by the variation in the abrasive size. This yields closeness-of-fit results comparable to that of two accurately-flat pieces, without quite the same degree of testing required for the latter.

Schematic of two-piece lapping

One complication in two-piece lapping is the need to ensure that neither piece flexes or is deformed during the process. As the pieces are moved past each other, part of each (some area near the edge) will be unsupported for some fraction of the rubbing movement. If one piece flexes due to this lack of support, the edges of the opposite piece will tend to dig depressions into it a short distance in from the edge, and the edges of the opposite piece are heavily abraded by the same action - the lapping procedure assumes roughly equal pressure distribution across the whole surface at all times, and fails in this manner if the workpiece itself deforms under that pressure.

Accuracy and surface roughness


Lapping can be used to obtain a specific surface roughness; it is also used to obtain very accurate surfaces, usually very flat surfaces. Surface roughness and surface flatness are two quite different concepts. Unfortunately, they are concepts that are often confused by the novice. A typical range of surface roughness that can be obtained without resort to special equipment would fall in the range of 1 to 30 Ra (average roughness in micrometers or microinches). Surface accuracy or flatness is usually measured in Helium Light Bands, one HLB measuring about 0.000011 inches (280 nm). Again, without resort to special equipment accuracies of 1 to 3 HLB are typical. Though flatness is the most common goal of lapping, the process is also used to obtain other configurations such as a concave or convex surface. As a side note: Two parts that are lapped to a flatness of about 1HLB will exhibit "Wringing-in" or "Jo Blocking": a phenomenon where the two parts will cling to each other when placed in contact. The name "Jo-blocking" comes from the fact that gage blocks - sometimes called "Johansson blocks" after the manufacturer - can be made to stick together in this manner.

Measurement
Of flatness
The easiest method for measuring flatness is with a height gage positioned on a surface plate. Note that you must setup the part on three stands and find the minimum variation while adjusting them, just placing the part on the surface plate and using a dial indicator to find TIR on the opposite side
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Advanced Manufacturing Techniques

of the part measures parallelism. Flatness is more easily measured with a co-ordinate measuring machine. But neither of these methods can measure flatness more accurately than about 0.0001" (2.5m). Another method that is commonly used with lapped parts is the reflection and interference of monochromatic light.[1] A monochromatic light source and an optical flat are all that are needed. The optical flat which is a piece of transparent glass that has itself been lapped and polished on one or both sides is placed on the lapped surface. The monochromatic light is then shone down through the glass. The light will pass through the glass and reflect off the workpiece. As the light reflects in the gap between the workpiece and the polished surface of the glass, the light will interfere with itself creating light and dark fringes. Each fringe or band represents a change of one half wavelength in the width of the gap between the glass and the workpiece. The light bands display a contour map of the surface of the workpiece and can be readily interpreted for flatness. In the past the light source would have been provided by a Helium lamp or tube, but nowadays a more common source of monochromatic light is the low pressure sodium lamp. The picture to the right shows a typical monochromatic light unit used in workshops and laboratories.

Of roughness
Surface roughness is defined by the minute variations in height of the surface of a given material or workpiece. The individual variances of the peaks and valleys are averaged (Ra reading), or quantified by the largest difference from peak-to-valley (Rz). Roughness is usually expressed in microinches. A surface that exhibits an Ra of 8 consists of peaks and valleys that average no more than 8 microinches over a given distance. Roughness may be also measured by comparing the surface of the workpiece to a known sample. Calibration samples are available usually sold in a set and usually covering the typical range of machining operations from about 125 Ra to 1 Ra. Surface roughness is measured with a profilometer, an instrument that measures the minute variations in height of the surface of a workpiece.

SUPERFINISHING
Superfinishing, also known as micromachining and short-stroke honing, is a metalworking process that improves surface finish and workpiece geometry. This is achieved by removing just the thin amorphous surface layer left by the last process with an abrasive stone; this layer is usually about 1 m in magnitude. Superfinishing, unlike polishing which produces a mirror finish, creates a cross-hatch pattern on the workpiece. The superfinishing process was developed by the Chrysler Corporation in 1934.

Process
After a metal piece is ground to an initial finish, it is superfinished with a finer grit solid abrasive. The abrasive is oscillated or rotated while the workpiece is rotated in the opposite direction; these motions are what causes the cross-hatching. The geometry of the abrasive depends on the geometry of the workpiece surface; a stone (rectangular shape) is for cylindrical surfaces and cups and wheels are used for flat and spherical surfaces. A lubricant is used to minimize heat production, which can alter the metallurgical properties, and to carry away the swarf; kerosene is a common lubricant. The abrasive cuts the surface of the workpiece in three phases. The first phase is when the abrasive first contacts the workpiece surface the dull grains of the abrasive fracture and fall away, which
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Advanced Manufacturing Techniques

produces a sharp new cutting surface. In the second phase the abrasive "self dresses", where a most of the stock is removed. Finally, the abrasive grains dull, which improves the surface geometry. The average rotational speed of abrasive wheel and/or workpiece is 1 to 15 surface m/min, with 6 to 14 m/min preferred; this is much slower compared to grinding speeds around 1800 to 3500 m/min. The pressure applied to the abrasive is very light, usually between 0.02 to 0.07 MPa (3 to 10 psi), but can be as high as 2.06 MPa (299 psi). Honing is usually 3.4 to 6.9 MPa (490 to 1,000 psi) and grinding is between 13.7 to 137.3 MPa (1,990 to 19,910 psi). When a stone is used it is oscillated at 200 to 1000 cycles with an amplitude of 1 to 5 mm (0.039 to 0.20 in).[3] Superfinishing can give a surface finish of 0.01 m.

Types
There are three types superfinishing: Through-feed, plunge, and wheels. Through-feed This type of superfinishing is used for cylindrical workpieces. The workpiece is rotated between two drive rollers, which also move the machine as well. Four to eight progressively finer abrasive stones are used to superfinish the workpiece. The stones contact the workpiece at a 90 angle and are oscillated axially. Examples of parts that would be produced by process include tapered rolls, piston pins, shock absorber rods, shafts, and needles. Plunge This type is used to finish irregularly shaped surfaces. The workpiece is rotated while the abrasive plunges onto the desired surface. Wheels Abrasive cups or wheels are used to superfinish flat and spherical surfaces. The wheel and workpiece are rotated in opposite directions, which creates the cross-hatching. If the two are parallel then the result if a flat finish, but if the wheel is tilted slightly a convex or concave surfaces will form.

Abrasives
Common abrasives used for superfinishing include: aluminium oxide, silicon carbide, cubic boron nitride (CBN), and diamond. Aluminium oxide is used for "roughing" operations. Silicone carbide is harder than aluminium oxide, so it is used for "finishing" operations. CBN and diamond are not as commonly used, but find use with specialized materials, such as ceramics and M50. Note that graphite may be mixed with other abrasives to add lubricity and to enhance the appearance of the finish. Abrasive grains must be very fine to be used with superfinishing; usually 58 m.

Advantages & disadvantages


Advantages of superfinishing include: increasing part life, decreasing wear, closer tolerances, higher load bearing surfaces, better sealing capabilities, and elimination of a break in period. The main disadvantage is that superfinishing requires grinding or a hard turning operation beforehand. This adds cost to the finished product.
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Advanced Manufacturing Techniques

Applications
Common applications include: steering rack components, transmission components, fuel injector components, camshaft lobes, hydraulic cylinder rods, bearing races, needle rollers, and sharpening stones and wheels. It has been proven that superfinishing certain parts makes them more durable. For example if the teeth in a gear are superfinished they will last up to four times as long.

BURNISH
Burnishing is a form of pottery treatment in which the surface of the pot is polished, using a hard smooth surface such as a wooden or bone spatula, smooth stones, plastic, or even glass bulbs, while it still is in a leathery 'green' state, i.e. before firing. After firing, the surface is extremely shiny. Often the whole outer surface of the pot is thus decorated, but in certain ceramic traditions there is 'pattern burnishing' where the outside and, in the case of open bowls, the inside, are decorated with burnished patterns in which some areas are left matte. This technique can be applied to concrete masonry, creating a polished finish. Burnishing can also be applied to wood. Hard woods are best to use with this. Rub them along one another, the more important one should be rubbed down its grain, but cross ways will still work, and shortly a glossy sheen will come up and the wood will become slick. Burnishing does not protect the wood like a varnish does, but you do not have to wait for a burnished piece of wood to dry as you would if you had varnished it. If one wood has a dye in it, or is colored in some way, it may rub off onto the other wood, so choose carefully and perform a test rub first. Burnishing can also apply to relief printing.

Burr (edge)
A burr is a raised edge or small pieces of material remaining attached to a workpiece after a modification process.[1] It is usually an unwanted piece of material and when removed the process is called deburring. Burrs are most commonly created after machining operations, such as grinding, drilling, milling, engraving or turning. It may be present in the form of a fine wire on the edge of a freshly sharpened tool or as a raised portion on a surface, after being struck a blow from an equally hard, or heavy object. Burr formation in machining accounts for a significant portion of machining costs for manufacturers throughout the world. Drilling burrs, for example, are common when drilling almost any material. The Boeing 747 airplane has approximately 1.3 million holes drilled in it,[citation needed] most of which have to be deburred to some extent. As one could imagine, the cost and time needed to perform these drilling and deburring operations is significant. In addition to drilling, milling is also a source of burr formation in machining. One good example of unwanted burrs is in the automotive industry where cylinder blocks, pistons and other engine components are cast then milled to a specific dimension. With higher and higher demands placed on accuracy and precision, burr formation is of critical importance because it can affect engine performance, reliability, and durability.

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Advanced Manufacturing Techniques

In the printmaking technique of drypoint, burr, which gives a rich fuzzy quality to the engraved line, is highly desirable - the great problem with the drypoint medium is that the burr rapidly diminishes after as few as ten impressions are printed.

Types
There are three type of burrs that can be formed from machining operations: Poisson burr, rollover burr, and breakout burr. The rollover burr is the most common.

SURFACE FINISHING
Surface finishing is a broad range of industrial processes that alter the surface of a manufactured item for achieve a certain property. Finishing processes may be employed to: improve appearance, adhesion or wettability, solderability, corrosion resistance, tarnish resistance, chemical resistance, wear resistance, hardness, modify electrical conductivity, remove burrs and other surface flaws, and control the surface friction. In limited cases some of these techniques can be used to restore original dimensions to salvage or repair an item. Surface finishing processes can be categorized by how they affect the workpiece: Removing or reshaping finishing Adding or altering finishing Mechanical processes may also be categorized together because of similarities the final surface finish.

Adding and altering


Blanching Case hardening Ceramic glaze Cladding Corona treatment Diffusion processes: o Carburizing o Nitriding Galvanizing Gilding Glazing Knurling Painting Passivation/Conversion coating o Anodizing o Bluing o Chromate conversion coating o Phosphate conversion coating Parkerizing o Plasma electrolytic oxidation Plasma spraying Powder coating Thin-film deposition
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Advanced Manufacturing Techniques

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) Electroplating Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) Mechanical plating Sputter deposition Physical vapor deposition (PVD) Vacuum plating Vitreous enamel

o o o o o o o

Removing and reshaping


Abrasive blasting o Sandblasting Burnishing Chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) Electropolishing Flame polishing Gas cluster ion beam Grinding Linishing Mass finishing processes o Tumble finishing o Vibratory finishing Pickling Polishing o Buffing Peening o Shot peening Superfinishing

Mechanical finishing
Mechanical finishing processes include: Abrasive blasting o Sandblasting Burnishing Grinding Mass finishing processes o Tumble finishing o Vibratory finishing Polishing o Buffing The use of abrasives in metal polishing results in what is considered a "mechanical finish".

Mechanical finish designations


For stainless steel finish designations, see Brushed metal. #3 Finish
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Advanced Manufacturing Techniques

Also known as grinding, roughing or rough grinding. These finishes are coarse in nature and usually are a preliminary finish applied before manufacturing. An example would be grinding gates off of castings, deburring or removing excess weld material. It is coarse in appearance and applied by using 36100 grit abrasive. When the finish is specified as #3, the material is polished to a uniform 6080 grit. #4 Architectural finish Also known as brushed, directional or satin finish. A #4 architectural finish is characterized by fine polishing grit lines that are uniform and directional in appearance. It is produced by polishing the metal with a 120180 grit belt or wheel finish and then softened with an 80120 grit greaseless compound or a medium non woven abrasive belt or pad. #4 Dairy or sanitary finish This finish is commonly used for the medical and food industry and almost exclusively used on stainless steel. This finish is much finer than a #4 architectural finish. Great care should be taken in removing the surface defects in the metal, like pits, that could allow bacteria to grow. A #4 dairy or sanitary finish is produced by polishing with a 180240 grit belt or wheel finish softened with 120 240 grit greaseless compound or a fine non woven abrasive belt or pad. #6 Finish Also known as a fine satin finish. This finish is produced by polishing with a 220280 grit belt or wheel softened with a 220230 greaseless compound or very fine non woven abrasive belt or pad. Polishing lines should be soft and less reflective than a #4 architectural finish. #7 Finish A #7 finish is produced by polishing with a 280320 belt or wheel and sisal buffing with a cut and color compound. This is a semi-bright finish that will still have some polishing lines but they should be very dull. Carbon steel and iron are commonly polished to a #7 finish before chrome plating. A #7 finish can be made bright by color buffing with coloring compound and a cotton buff. This is a good way to keep polishing costs down when a part needs to be shiny but not flawless. #8 Finish Also known as a mirror finish. This finish is produced by polishing with at least a 320 grit belt or wheel finish. Care should be taken in making sure all surface defects are removed. The part is sisal buffed and then color buffed to achieve a mirror finish. The quality of this finish is dependent on the quality of the metal being polished. Some alloys of steel and aluminum cannot be brought to a mirror finish. Castings that have slag or pits will also be difficult, if not impossible, to polish to a #8.

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