Effects of Process Parameters on Material Removal in Vibration-Assisted Polishing of Micro-Optic Mold

Process parameter conditions such as vibrating motion, abrasives, pressure and tool wear play an important role in vibration-assisted polishing of micro-optic molds as they strongly affect material removal efficiency and stability. This paper presents an analytical and experimental investigation on the effects of process parameters, aimed at clarifying interrelations between material removal and process parameters which affect polishing quantitatively. The material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness which represent the polishing characteristics were examined under different vibrating motions, grain sizes of abrasives and polishing pressure. The effects of pressure and tool wear conditions on tool influence function were analyzed. The results showed that 2D vibrating motion generated better surface roughness with higher material removal efficiency while a smaller grain size of abrasives created better surface roughness but lower material removal efficiency. MRR gradually decreases with the increase of polishing pressure when it exceeds 345 kPa, and it was greatly affected by the wear of polisher when wear diameter on the polisher’s head exceeds 300 μm.