Experimental Study of Abrasive Flow Rotary Machining and Effect of Abrasive Paste Temperature on Material Removal Rate of the Process

Abrasive Flow Rotary Machining (AFRM) is a new form of Abrasive Flow Machining process (AFM) which has been recently introduced by the authors as one of the non-conventional finishing and polishing methods. Since in AFM, the negative impact of temperature increase in abrasive paste has been reported on the material removal rate, in this study the role of this parameter has been evaluated on AFRM. For this purpose, a new tool equipped with pressure and temperature measuring instruments as well as temperature control device have been designed and fabricated and the temperature changes of the abrasive paste during the process are measured. The process variables in this case have been selected based on the optimum machining conditions corresponding with the maximum material removal rate from the previous study of the authors. The experimental results with new tool show that material removal rate and surface finish of AFM are obtainable by AFRM process. Also no significant increase in paste temperature occurs in AFRM process during effective machining time which is one of the advantages of AFRM. In the case of the process continuation, material removal rate decreases by increasing the temperature of the paste, which shows similar behavior to AFM process.