Nano-finishing techniques: a review

The quality of surface is one of the significant parameters which affects the life and functionality of any product. Many products require nano-level surface finish as their functional indispensability. Those processes having flexible finishing tool can be employed for such type of components. These finishing processes can be classified into two categories: with and without magnetic field assistance. The former includes magnetic abrasive finishing, magnetorheological finishing, and allied processes, and the latter includes abrasive flow finishing. This article reports the critical review of mainly three processes: abrasive flow finishing, magnetorheological finishing, and magnetorheological abrasive flow finishing. In this article, the issues that need attention of the researchers have been categorically mentioned. This article provides a comprehensive literature review of magnetorheological finishing process in terms of rheological characterization of magnetorheological fluid, experimental investigation, theoretical analysis, and applications. This article deals with various advancements in abrasive flow finishing and hybrid processes. The developments in magnetorheological abrasive flow finishing and its allied processes have been discussed in detail. By suitable modification of magnetorheological abrasive flow finishing process, it can achieve surface finish up to nano-meter on different materials such as brass, aluminium, stainless steel, and silicon-nitride.