Surface finishing technique for small parts using dielectrophoretic effects of abrasive particles

A new finishing method for polishing local area of three-dimensional surface has been developed. The method utilizes the dielectrophoretic effect of abrasive particles, such as Al2O3, diamond, or SiC, in a suspension. The proposed method polishes the target surface with the collected layer of abrasive particles around a microtool caused by the dielectrophoretic effect. To model the behaviors of the abrasive particles dispersed in silicone oil under electric field, the ielectrophoretic characteristics of the abrasive particles are investigated. To verify the abrasive behavior model, the dielectrophoretic particle motions are captured in real-time with respect to various electric field conditions using a specially designed video recording system. The performance of proposed polishing method is evaluated using a borosilicate glass specimen. A dominant parameter to determine material removal rate is investigated and surface quality is evaluated using an atomic force microscope. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.