Flow loops

Flow grinding is a separating manufacturing process that is used for finishing workpieces with complex external and internal contours. The method can not be clearly assigned by the German Institute for Standardization , which is why the naming is subject to deviations. Alternatively, can often find the following names: Abrasive Flow , Pressläppen , abrasive flow machining , micro stream flow loops and Hubschleifen .

An abrasive paste is used to process the workpiece surface. This consists of abrasive grains of various types, sizes and concentrations, embedded in a polymeric plastic compound with a defined viscosity and tailored to the respective processing task. This abrasive medium is cyclically and alternately guided over the contour of the workpiece to be machined under pressures of typically 20-50 bar. In contrast to the related hydroerosive machining, which is used for machining very small inner contours, the working medium is visco-elastic and contains significantly larger abrasive grains of higher concentrations.

The process was developed in the USA at the end of the 1960s and made ready for industrial use. When it was first introduced, the process was initially used to machine components made of high-alloy materials with complex internal geometries, which are used in the aerospace industry. It is now used in many different branches of industry such as the automotive industry, molds and matrices, medical technology, textile industry and general tool making.

literature

• H. Szulczynski: Fundamentals of procedures and technology of lifting grinding with viscous media. (From the series Reports from the Production Technology Center Berlin. ) Fraunhofer IRB, Stuttgart 2007.
• V. Mihotović: Model-based process design of pressure flow lapping using the example of ceramic materials. (From the series Reports from the Production Technology Center Berlin. ) Fraunhofer IRB, Stuttgart 2012.