146 Micromanufacturing Processes

7.4 Magnetorheological Abrasive Flow Finishing (MRAFF)

MRAFF is a new precision finishing process that has been developed by taking advantage
of both AFM and MRF for nanofinishing of parts even with complicated geometries [5].
MRAFF is a fine-finishing process that uses abrasives mixed with the MR fluid in a
controlled manner.
MR fluids exhibit real-time controllable change in flow properties of the fluid,
enabling in-process control of finishing forces through the magnetic field. Any complex
geometrical surface, internal or external, inaccessible to existing finishing processes can
be finished by the MRAFF process by suitably designing the workpiece–fixture assembly.
In the MRAFF process, the MR fluid is a homogeneous mixture of CIPs and abrasive par-
ticles in a base medium of liquid paraffin and grease. When an external magnetic field
is applied, the CIPs in the fluid form chainlike structures along the lines of the magnetic
field between two magnets, as shown in Figure 7.14. Nonmagnetic abrasive particles are
embedded into the CIP chains, and these chains give bonding strength to the abrasive
particles. When the MR fluid is extruded back and forth through the passage formed by
the workpiece or fixture, abrasive particles embedded into/between the chains of CIPs
and in contact with the workpiece surface perform finishing by shearing off peaks of
surface undulations.
Among the three main variables, magnetic flux density, extrusion pressure, and number
of finishing cycles, magnetic flux density is most significant in the MRAFF process that
influences improvement of surface finish [5]. Furthermore, MR polishing fluid composi-
tion also plays an important role in process performance [29,30] for finishing of hard mate-
rials such as stainless steel.

7.4.1 Rotational-Magnetorheological Abrasive Flow Finishing (R-MRAFF)

The concept of R-MRAFF has evolved from the MRAFF process. In R-MRAFF, rotational
motion is also provided to the magnets, which rotate the MR fluid inside the cylindrical

Workpiece fixture
Fluid Workpiece Electromagnet
Abrasive particles motion surface pole
Workpiece

Fa
Fn
N S

Chip
Abrasive
particle

CIP chains Magnetic flux lines

FIGURE 7.14
Mechanism of finishing in the MRAFF process. (From Jha, S., et al., International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing
Technology 33, 725–729, 2006.)