An improved setup for precision polishing of metallic materials using ice bonded abrasive tool

This paper presents an improved setup for Ice Bonded Abrasive Polishing (IBAP) of materials with in-built refrigerating unit and temperature controller. Freezing of water into ice serves as a bond that can firmly hold the abrasives and aids to form a flexible tool for polishing. Unlike the earlier setup that made use of liquid nitrogen to prepare a IBAP tool, this work was attempted to develop a refrigerating unit that helps to prepare the tool in-situ and to enhance the life of tool by maintaining its temperature within reasonable limits. Preliminary experiments were attempted on Ti6Al4V alloy, copper and stainless steel in order to study the effectiveness of polishing of metallic materials with the improved setup. © Springer-Verlag London 2013.