Magnetic Abrasive Finishing using PPM Magnetic Abrasives

Most of mold manufacturing procedures have been automated by the introduction of NC machine tool and CAD/CAM system. But the surface finishing of the mold must be done by hand work of well-skilled workers. Though many attempts were tried in the past 10 years to eliminate this hand work, the automatic finishing of mold surface with 3D curvature has not been achieved yet. New magnetic abrasive finishing process is thought as one of the possible methods for the automation of 3D surface finishing. In order to improve the grindability of magnetic abrasive Fe-NbC was made by Plasma Powder Melting (PPM). Fe-NbC abrasive was experimentally checked and its excellent grindability was confirmed by finishing milled surface into mirror surface. This Fe-NbC abrasive may contribute to the automatic 3D finishing combined with CAD/CAM system.