A Taguchi and experimental investigation into the optimal processing conditions for the abrasive jet polishing of SKD61 mold steel

F. C. Tsai, B. H. Yan, C. Y. Kuan, F. Y. Huang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

102 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study introduces an abrasive jet polishing (AJP) technique in which the pneumatic air stream carries not only abrasive particles, but also an additive of either pure water or pure water with a specified quantity of machining oil. Taguchi design experiments are performed to identify the optimal AJP parameters when applied to the polishing of electrical discharge machined SKD61 mold steel specimens. A series of experimental trials are then conducted using the optimal AJP parameters to investigate the respective effects of the additive type and the abrasive particle material and diameter in achieving a mirror-like finish of the polished surface. The Taguchi trials indicate that when polishing is performed using pure water as an additive, the optimal processing parameters are as follows: an abrasive material to additive ratio of 1:2, an impact angle of 30°, a gas pressure of 4 kg/cm2, a nozzle-to-workpiece height of 10 mm, a platform rotational velocity of 200 rpm, and a platform travel speed of 150 mm/s. Applying these processing parameters, it is found that the optimal polishing effect is attained using #8000SiC abrasive particles and a 1:1 mixture of water-solvent machining oil and pure water. The experimental results show that under these conditions, the average roughness of the electrical discharge machined SKD61 surface is reduced from an original value of Ra=1.03 μm (Rmax: 7.74 μm) to a final value of Ra=0.13 μm (Rmax: 0.90 μm), corresponding to a surface roughness improvement of approximately 87%.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)932-945
Number of pages14
JournalInternational Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture
Volume48
Issue number7-8
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2008

Keywords

  • Abrasive jet polishing
  • Mirror-like surface finish
  • Taguchi method

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