Magnetorheological Fluid Assisted Photochemical Machining

Abstract

The advancement in the field of micro and nonconventional machining is provoking the manufacturers to improve the machining process and eventually optimize the process. The betterment of the process is thus being inevitable. Photochemical machining (PCM) is a technique where material removal takes place with control corrosion phenomenon. Chemical etching is performed over the chosen areas through the perforated photoresist layer, which results in machining of chosen areas. Surface roughness and undercut produced through the PCM process are still need to be improved as they hamper the quality of workpiece being machined. Magnetorheological (MR) fluid is one of the smart materials, encompasses microsized abrasive particles along with ferromagnetic particles utilized in polishing of the optical lenses to minimize the surface roughness. In this paper, the use of MR fluid to minimize undercut and surface roughness associated with the PCM process is discussed.

Keywords: Magnetorheological Fluid, Photochemical Machining, Surface Roughness, Undercut