• Tribology and Lubricants
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• 제33권5호
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• pp.214-219
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• 2017

Abrasive fluidized bed machining (AFBM) is similar to general abrasive fluidized machining (AFM) in that it can perform polishing of the outer and inner surfaces of a 3-dimensional shape by the flow of particles. However, in the case of AFM, the shear force generated by the flow of the particles causes material removal, while in AFBM, the abrasive particles are suspended in the chamber to form a bed. AFBM can be used for deburring, polishing, edge contouring, shot peening, and cleaning of mechanical parts. Most studies on AFBM are limited to metals, and research on application of AFBM to plastic materials has not been performed yet. Therefore, in this study, we investigate the effect of rotating speed of the specimen and the air flow rate on the material removal characteristics during AFBM of polyacetal with a horizontal AFBM machine. The material removal rate (MRR) increases linearly with increase of the rotating speed of the main shaft because of the shear force between the particles of the fluidized bed and the rotation of the workpiece. The reduction in surface roughness tends to increase as the rotating speed of the main shaft increases. As the air flow rate increases, the MRR tends to decrease. At a flow rate of 70 L/min or more, the MRR remains almost constant. The reduction of the surface roughness of the specimen is found to decrease with increasing air flow rate.