Effect of the components of Magnetic Compound Fluid (MCF) slurry on polishing characteristics in aspheric-surface finishing with the doughnut-shaped MCF tool

For the aspheric optical surface finished with a doughnut-shaped MCF (magnetic compound fluid) polishing tool, the performance of the polishing tool depends mainly on the properties of the MCF slurry. Therefore, under-standing the effect of each MCF slurry component on the polishing characteristics is crucial to developing novel polishing techniques. In this paper, the polishing principle was depicted and the corresponding polishing jig was constructed with a six-degree-of-freedom manipulator. The conical surfaces, which were considered as special aspheric surfaces, were experimentally polished under proper polishing conditions to examine the effects of the carbonyl iron particles (CIPs) concentration and the sizes of the abrasive particles (APs) on the polishing ability to remove material/tool marks and improve work surface qualities. Theoretical analyses were also performed to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the behaviors of CIPs and APs in the magnetic field. The results were shown as follows: (1) The CIPs concentration affected positively the magnetization of the MCF slurry, leading to better performance in the removal rate of material/tool marks when a higher CIPs concentration of was applied. The best surface quality was attained with a CIPs concentration of 45 wt%. (2) Larger APs were beneficial for obtaining higher removal rates of material/tool marks. The APs with 1 mu m in diameter were preferred for achieving a better surface quality. (3) Ferric clusters were formed along the magnetic line of force and their orientations changed periodically to stir the APs with the magnet revolution. (4) The Aps, at a given working gap, can squeeze the work-surface. The squeezing action was much more intense when larger APs and the MCF slurry with a higher magnetization were employed. (5) The material removal model suggested that the material was removed due to the APs and the relative motion between the work-surface and APs.