CAEDSMouldpartsmachining

Polishing
TampereUniversityofTechnologyHeikkiTikka

Principle
Quiteoftenpolishingismixedtogrinding.Theaimofgrindingistoremovematerial
to get more precise items (tolerances of form and dimension) and also to get better
surfacequality as surface roughness. During polishing which often followsgrinding
nomaterialisremoved.Thegoalistomakebettersurfaceroughness,removescratch
and holes by plastic deformation, material flow. Polishing can be divided into two
steps Pre and final polishing. Prepolishing is between grinding and polishing be
causesomematerialmightberemoved.

Image1. Theprincipleofpolishing:1=originalsurfacetexture,2=materialflow,3=ideal
profile,4=recrystallizedarea[Bladergroen1974]

ThefigureaboveisshowntheprincipleofplasticmaterialflowThepeaksofprofile
arepushedintothevalleys.Becauseofthedeformationthelocaltemperaturecanrise
until 500...1000 C. This leads to the recrystallization of metal. The hardness of a
polishedsurfaceismorethantheoriginalsurface.Thethicknessofhardenedmetalis
about10m.[Bladergroen1974]

Image2. Polishingtoolsandwaxorpaste

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Thestepsofpolishing:
1. Hardwheelandroughpaste
2. Changetosoftwheel,useroughpaste
3. Thenmiddlehardwheelwithmiddleroughpaste
4. Softwheelwithmiddleroughpaste
5. Softwheelandfinepaste.

Themosttypicalqualityerrorsare:
Thebiggestproblemissocalledoverpolishing.
Thismeansthatthesurfacebecomesmorefaultyaftercertaintimeofpolish
ingTherearetwotypefaultswhichcanappear:
Orangepeel:thisappearsonthemoldduringpolishingbecauseofmaterial
faultslike:
localdifferenceinhardness
toomuchcarbonduringhardeningprocess
overheatingandoverhardeningduringthermalprocess
Pinpricks:theblowupofslagpocketshowoutaspinpricks.
itisnecessarytousesteelswithlowslagand
theslagpartsshouldbedistributedequalinthematerial.
attheendthepolishingshouldbedonewithlowpressureandshort
time.

Geometricalerrors
Polishingcaneffectdimensionalerrorsbutespeciallyformerrors
Usageofsmalltoolsbypolishingbigsmoothandflatsurfaceswilldistortthe
geometry
Sharpedgeswillberoundedifusingsoftpolishingtools
Corners,chamfersaswellsharpdetailsaredifficulttopolish.Iteffecteasy
geometricalerrors
Itisnecessarytomakealotofmeasurementsduringthepolishingprocessto
avoidthegeometricalerrors
Todothepolishingforthedifficultfeatureslikeedges,cornersandtinyde
tailsspecialtoolsmustbepurchased

Mouldproduction
Manufacturingvolumeandproductionraterises
Themouldsfillsupbetterandmorefast
Thereleaseofpartsfromthemouldiseasier
Cleaningofmouldiseasier
Thecorrosionresistancebecomesbetter
Injectionpressureneededwillbeless
Theinternaltensionbecomeslessinparts
Itispossibletomanufacturethinnerwalls

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Someaspectsovermouldpolishing
Surfaces manufactured by spark erosion method are more difficult to polish as the
traditionalmanufacturedonesbycuttingtools(forexamplemillingandgrinding)or
heattreatment:
Thelastsparkerosionprocessfinefinishingshouldbedonebyrightpa
rameters.Ifnotthesurfacecanbecoatedbythinandhardlayer.Thislayeris
muchharderasthemainmaterialandhastoberemoved.
Nitratedorcarbonizedsurfaceismoredifficulttopolishasthebasemetal,but
theresultyieldsagoodquality.
Thetinyfaultsonthesurfacecanavoidtogetagoodqualityofsurface
Themouldswhichareflamehardenedorfixedbyweldingconsistoftenof
softmaterialbetweenthetreatedandthebasicmaterial.
Ifthepolishingtoolisbigandwidenoholescanappearonthesoftzoneof
material.
Itisimportanttounderstandthattheheattreatmenteffectchangesondimen
sionsaswellgeometry.Thismeansthatthedueoffinalfinishingistocorrect
theseerrors.
Theingredientduringtheheattreatmentcanaffectthesurfacequalityof
mould.
Becauseofdeformationofpieceanddevaluationofsurfacequalityduringthe
heattreatmentitmightbenotrealistictopolishtoogoodqualitybeforeit.Es
peciallyifthefinishingmanufacturingprocessmustbeexecutedanyway.

Polishingwheels
Polishingwheelsareproducedofcleancotton.Therearedifferentweightanddensity
for different purposes. Heavy, dense and hard woven textiles are suitable for pre
polishing of soft metals. Soft and lighter textiles are used for finishing. For steel are
best the sisal hemp (Agave sisalana), steel or brass wheels (round brushes). They
produceamattsurfacebyroughnessof0,1...0,3m(Ra).

Image3. Sisalandcottonwheels

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Theresultdependsofhardnessofpolishingmaterial,diameteroffiber,andthemate
rial. Some felt even wooden wheels are also popular. It is important to use right
circumferentialspeedtogetthedesiredsurfacequality.Thesuitablespeedis20to45
m/s.Theshape,materialandpolishingmachineitselfdoaffecttheoptimumspeed.In
practicethemosteconomicalspeedfordifferentmetalsisabout35m/s.

Image4. Rubberpolishingtools,softandhardwoodenwheels

Polishingpaste
Polishing wax are mixtures of different kind of powders, grease, wax or paste. The
waxfeedsstraightintothewheel,solidwaxbypressingandliquidbysprayingonto
thesurfaceofrotatingwheel.Sometimeswaxcanbesprayedbetweenthewheeland
workpiece(part)orstraightontothesurfaceofworkpiece.
Thepolishingpowderisthemaincomponentofcompound.Theideaofpowderisto
addpresstothepeaksofprofileandmakethematerialflowaswelltoremovemate
rialduringtheprepolishing.Thepowdersareverythinandbrakeevenmoresmall.
Themostusedpowderiscalcinedalumina.Itissuitableforpreandfinalpolishing.
Duringthepolishingthecalcinedaluminagrainsfalltotinybits.Atthebeginningthe
aluminagrainsdocutthematerial,butafterthegranuleissmalleras2mprimary
crystals, the polishing starts. Also silicon carbide and emery powder are common.
Differentkingofgreaseandwaxareusedasbondingagenttofixthepowderstothe
wheels.

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Thefollowingpolishingmaterialsareused:
calcinedalumina
ironoxide
chromiumoxide
diamond
siliconcarbide
boronnitride
bergmeal
Viennacaustic
polishingchalk
boroncarbide
emerypowder

Polishingtoolsandmachines

Image5. Amanualpolishingmachine,polishingwheelsandpaste

Image6. Left:Manualpolishingofmouldbyelectricequipment.Right:Pneumaticpolishing
tools

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Image7. Micromotorsbydifferentanglesupportsforrotatingandvibratingpolishing

Image8. Ultrasoundpolishingmachineandadiamantetool

Image9. Automatedrobotpolishing.Therobotbringsthepieceagainstthepolishingwheel.

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